About Us - Catholic Men's Guild

CATHOLIC MEN’S GUILD, (CMG).

The CMG is a society in the Church for only married and practicing Catholic men.

The Catholic Men’s Guild at the Church of Assumption Falomo-Ikoyi, Lagos, was formed in 1990. Its existence to date, as a Society in the Church, is sui generis to the Church of the Assumption, Falomo.

CMG monthly meetings are held regularly after the 11am Mass on the first Sunday of every month (with a joint thanksgiving at that Mass before the meeting). At the monthly meetings, members devote most of their energies to discussing the Gospel readings, as well as listening to and discussing well-prepared commissioned talks from experts before dealing with domestic matters on how to assist the Priest in running the Church.

By our Constitution, the Parish Priest is an ex officio member and the spiritual leader of the Guild. CMG celebrate her major feast day around the birthday of their number one patron saint, St. John the Baptist on Sunday 24th June or soon after.

The mission of the CMG, like that of the Church, is to make Christ present wherever we are. Members, as friends, encourage each other and wish each other well so that we can continue to grow, especially in the spiritual realm.

Our Aims and Objectives

To foster a more perfect Catholic life among members.
To be a forum through which Catholic justice and teachings on culture and morals may be studied and practiced
To guard and protect the interest of the Catholic Church, foster a Catholic conscience and outlook in our respective homes, places of work and relaxation in an endeavor to apply Catholic principles and teachings in all aspects of our social life through example, social and educational organizations.
To render spiritual, intellectual and material aid to members and foster among them a spirit of co-operation.
To serve as the nucleus for the growth of a nationwide association of men who are married and wedded in the Catholic Church and are living Catholic married lives according to the doctrines of the Church.
To carry out other activities consistent with these aims and objectives

THE SPIRIT OF CATHOLIC MEN’S GUILD, (CMG).

Early History

The Catholic Men’s Guild at the Church of Assumption Falomo-Ikoyi, Lagos, was formed in 1990. Its existence to date, as a Society in the Church, is sui generis to the Church of the Assumption, Falomo. The main task then was to continuously find ways of having religious dialogue among all the ethnic and religious groups with a view to finding better and longer lasting ways of living in harmony with all our neighbours, despite our different backgrounds. As Nigerians, we had always prided ourselves with the slogan, “Unity in Diversity”. Here now was a test.

Does the Catholic Church teach harmony and peace?

We were determined from the start to explore various ways of answering this crucial question. At inception, we agreed to organise conferences, seminars, workshops and all other ways of bringing experts together to advise us and the nation on this vexed and other issues. Our monthly meetings too would be used to educate members on the tenets of good governance and the fundamental difference between democracy and all other forms of government.

As Catholics, we know on good authority that, “Christ came to redeem all mankind… This world-wide spirit, rooted in the preaching of our Lord has been taken over in its full breadth and depth by the Catholic Church, and by her alone.

The Church is not one society, one church alongside many others, nor is she just a church among men; she is the Church of men, the Church of mankind.” (Karl Adam – The Spirit of Catholicism)

With this strong conviction, the men approached the then Parish Priest, Rev.Fr. Noel O’Leary and requested to register a new society for serious minded married Catholic Men, to use as a platform where they could continue with their discussions.

The Parish Priest sought and obtained the permission from the Archbishop of the Diocese, and so in 1990, a new and unique society was born. The pioneer President of the Guild, was Justice Frederick Okwudili Anyaegbunam, OFR, CON, KSM, (Retired as Chief Judge of the Federal High Court), now late.

From the start, the group had its work well spelt out. Under continuous good leadership, the group has made steady progress ever since. The emphasis from the start has been making Catholic men play their God-given leadership role through a sound formation in Catholic doctrines and faith, in the defence of the Catholic Action.

CMG and CMO

CMG has come a long way since 1990. Whilst the CMO is the umbrella body for all men in the Church, married and unmarried, the CMG is for only married and practicing Catholic men with reasonable means of livelihood. The two Societies play complementary roles in the Church.

CMG's Modus Operandi

Over the years the composition of membership has had to change without losing substance, as the political capital moved from Lagos to Abuja, taking with it many of our opinion shapers. One thing that has remained is our focus on unity instead of uniformity. We do not wear uniforms. We dress in a dignified way, using either dark coloured European style suits or white Nigerian attires for our ceremonial occasions. The group consists of men who have been honoured as Knights by the Church and others who belong to societies of Knights as well as those who care little for such things. We refer to each other as brothers, because that is what binds us together. We never use coercion as God respects our individual freedoms and would prefer to be worshiped in freedom rather than in slavery.

Continuous Relevance

What is it about the CMG that makes it special and continuously relevant? It could be argued that the CMG is elitist. There is a defence for that. When you want to catch a fish you hook it at the head. Fishes also begin to rot from the head downwards. The head is definitely very important. Only properly married men (men married to women!) and not all men can be members of the CMG. The Guild tries to work with those who can influence policy at all levels; Presidency, Government House, the Senate, House of Representatives, the Civil Service, Banks, industries and similar top level decision taking positions of the economy, in line with the teachings and doctrine of the Church. This is not elitism but more like pragmatism.

Our Core Values

From all this, by way of summary and reminders, we have also documented our core values as signposts that help further in guiding our thinking and some of our practices. Here now are some of our core values.

Respect and continuous search for the truth
Continuous study of Catholic doctrines in conjunction with Holy Scripture with a view to propagating them

Scrupulous integrity and accountability of members in all dealings

A strong desire for justice on local and national issues
Fortitude – like that of St John the Baptist, St Joseph, or St (Sir) Thomas More.
Willingness to help the Church in all her needs

Unity – many in one with Christ! Regular reception of the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion as major aids.
Personal holiness, that is, development of each one’s personality to God’s specifications for him.

Hard work and continuous focus on our vocation as married men
Sincerity in prayer without ostentation
Learning to live detachment from material wealth

Love and care of our nuclear families, our communities, society and the nation.
Participation in works of mercy and promoting human dignity
Cheerfulness and a good sense of humour at all times.
The holy fear of God.

Some Customs and Traditions.

In the last ten years, CMG has met regularly after the 11am Mass on the first Sunday of every month. We usually do a joint thanksgiving at that Mass before the meeting. We celebrate our major feast day around the birthday of our number one patron saint, St. John the Baptist on Sunday 24^th June or soon after. Our motto, like our Patron’s is “Fortudo”(Courage). We also use the occasion of our feast day to induct new members, who are always carefully selected. Our meetings rarely exceed two hours, as we devote most of our energies in discussing the Gospel readings, as well as listening to and discussing well-prepared commissioned talks from experts before dealing with domestic matters on how to assist the Priest in running the Church. By our Constitution, the Parish Priest is an ex officio member and the spiritual leader of the Guild.

We honour our other patron saints, Joseph and Thomas More, during their feast days too. In all we do our best to live honourable and dignified lives as is expected of good fathers to our families and the parish community. In our private lives we aim at being role models while earning an honest living.

We are best known within the parish premises and even outside for our greeting, “Pax Christi”, the peace of Christ, which we patented and which has since been unsuccessfully copied by other groups, because our response is also Pax Christi!

Conclusion

The mission of the CMG, like that of the Church, is to make Christ present wherever we are. Members, as friends, encourage each other and wish each other well so that we can continue to grow, especially in the spiritual realm.

Pax Christi.