The Purpose of CatholicManNight.com is to help men better know Jesus and imitate Him in our daily lives 

The Essential Elements of a Catholic Man Night  

Focus on Jesus Christ 

• Jesus Christ is the “source and the summit of our faith.”  
• One core reason men are casual in their faith is that they don’t know Jesus. 
• Each CatholicManNight is focused on helping men encounter one specific aspect of Jesus Christ (e.g. Divine King, The Poverty of Jesus Christ, The Physical Nature of Jesus Christ, etc.). 

The Primacy of Adoration and Reconciliation 

• Each CatholicManNight starts with an hour of Adoration. 

• During Adoration, men have the opportunity for Reconciliation. 

Engaging Hearts and Minds 

• The heart (soul) is engaged in faith, particularly during Adoration. 
• The mind (intellect) is engaged in the reflections given by priests/deacons during Adoration and in the discussion about the evening’s topic after dinner. 

Led by Priests and Deacons and supported by Laity 

• Special grace is given to those men called by Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. 
• During Adoration, men are addressed by a priest/deacon on the Jesus Christ topic of the evening. 
• Laity leads the organization, outreach and hospitality for the evening; the Knights of Columbus often lead.  A Layman with appropriate training can lead the discussion portion of the evening. 

Fellowship in sharing a meal 

• Table fellowship was a core part of Jesus’ own ministry. 

• Each CatholicManNight includes a “feast” with plenty of manly food and the opportunity for discussion. 

The Raffle of Bibles, Catechisms and other books 

• At each CatholicManNight, men are encouraged to meet and know Jesus through Scripture and to grow in their Catholic faith by reading and understanding the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 
• Other books that draw men to Jesus Christ, Scripture and the faith are also raffled. 

Discussion 

• Following the raffle, the Discussion Leader does a 10-15 minute presentation of the evening’s topic following the CatholicManNight 2-page topic summary closely. 
• The floor is then open for discussion; open discussion is critical for well-catechized men add to the discussion and men are given the opportunity to see witness/evangelization in action. 
• When the discussion strays (e.g. politics, personal agendas), the Discussion Leader returns the focus to Jesus Christ. 

CatholicManNight events are self-funding 

• CatholicManNights are designed to be self-funding.  A free will offering is collected that off-sets the cost of food, refreshments and raffle books. 

CatholicManNights are typically held on Friday nights from 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m., but can be held on any evening that works within an individual parish.   After holding dozens of CatholicManNight events, the following agenda for evening is recommended: 

Before 6:30 p.m. – Preparation for Adoration 

Host men act as greeters to direct men to where Adoration is being held (wear nametags). 

6:30 p.m. – Adoration begins. 

Host priest does a brief welcome prior to Exposition.  Welcome includes: brief overview of Adoration, directions for confession and where to assemble for dinner after Adoration (See sample “Host Priest Welcome”). 

Priest, Guest Priest, Deacon and altar servers prepare for Exposition. 

6:40-6:55 p.m. – Priest or Deacon Reflections 

Guest Priest/Deacon offers a 10-15 minute reflection on the topic for the evening.  Simultaneously, men may begin confession. 

7:20-7:30 pm. – Benediction 

Host Priest leads the Benediction. 

7:30-7:45 p.m. – Social time 

Men go to the social hall and beverages are served. 

7:45 -7:50 p.m. – Dinner Prayer and Instructions 

Host Priest offers a prayer prior to eating.  Discussion Leader  gives direction for serving, etc. Men are encouraged to chip in $10 to cover cost of meal; free will basket is placed by buffet.  Collect emails. 

7:45-8:10 p.m. – Dinner and Discussion 

Men discuss the topic during dinner.  Raffle tickets are handed out. 

8:15 -8:20 p.m. – Introductions and Raffle 

Discussion Leader introduces and thanks Guest Priest, Host Priest, other Priests and Deacons.  2-4 items are raffled off (See typical book list). 

8:20-8:50 p.m. – Catechesis and Discussion 

Discussion Leader reviews CatholicManNight catechesis 2-pager and then leads open floor discussion. 

8:50-9:00 p.m. – Announcements and Closing Prayer 

Discussion Leader makes announcements.  Host Priest leads men in prayer and offers a blessing 

Host Priest – Is the sponsor/host of the CatholicManNight program at his parish.  Agrees to host a number of events during the year including setting dates, appointing lay people to organize events, inviting other priests to hear confessions and to attend the dinner/discussion portion of the evening.  Appoints Lay Leaders and Discussion Leader to organize and lead events in the parish.  By attending the discussion portion of the evening with the men, the Host Priest ensures that orthodox catechesis is offered and participates in discussion as needed to offer direction as needed. 

Guest Priest/Deacon (if desired) – Invited by Host Priest to offer a 10 -15 minute reflection on the evening’s topic, hear confessions and attend dinner (if possible).  Other Priests are invited by the Host Priest as needed to hear confessions. 

Lay leaders (2) – Appointed by the priest to be on the ongoing leaders of CatholicManNgith (usually for at least a year) and are responsible for all scheduling, appointing Event Organizers for each event (or lay leaders can organize the events themselves) and overseeing outreach/awareness and promotion of the events. 

Event Organizers (1+4-6) – Recruited by the Lay Leaders to manage the logistics of a CatholicManNight event including planning and organizing the meal, recruiting men to help prepare and clean up, welcome attendees and making introductions and announcements during the evening. 

Discussion Leader (1) – Responsible for the discussion portion of the evening including welcome, introductions, raffle, presenting the catechesis on the evening’s Jesus topic using the CatholicManNight 2-pager and moderating the discussion.[Text Wrapping Break] 

Organizing Checklists  

Host Priest Checklist  

• Appoint Lay Leaders (2) and Discussion Leader for the upcoming year. 
• Prior to the evening, invite Guest Priest (if desired) to offer talk during Adoration and Other Priests as needed to hear confessions. 
• Prior to the evening, make announcements at Mass and personally reach out to men to attend.  Also direct Director of Religious Ed to encourage teens to attend with parent and School Principal to invite teachers to attend. 
• At 6:25 p.m., offer short welcome and overview of evening. 

• At 6:30 p.m., begin Adoration. 
• At 7:20 p.m., lead Benediction. 
• At 7:40 p.m. lead dinner prayer. 
• During discussion, offer input/correction as needed to ensure orthodox presentation of the Catholic Faith. 
• At 8:55 p.m., lead closing prayer and blessing. 

Lay Leaders (2) Checklist  

Overall: 

• Confirm dates for the year are on the parish calendars and with CatholicManNight founders. 
• Work with CatholicManNight founders to select topics for the year. 

Confirm roles and recruit: 

• Recruit 1 Event Organizer and 4-6 men helpers to host food preparation and hosting for each event (can be same men; some advantages for building momentum by getting more men involved). 
• Work with Host Priest to secure a Guest Priest (if desired). 
• Work with Host Priest to secure additional priests for confession (as needed). 
• Secure altar servers. 

Build Awareness: 

• Put an ongoing “small ad” in weekly bulletin of upcoming CatholicManNight event dates. 
• The week before an event, place a full-page insert into the bulletin (see example in appendix). 
• Put up flyers/posters in parish. 
• The weekend before the event, have an announcement read at all masses. 
• Build or use an existing email list for men in the parish. 

• Send out 2-3 email announcements to build awareness for upcoming events (2 weeks out, 1 week out, the week of the event). 
• Make personal contact with men groups (bible study, confirmation leaders, etc.) and ask them to invite friends. 
• Get materials to Director of Religious Ed and School Principal for announcements. 
• Organize a phone tree to call men in parish and invite them. 

Night of the Event 

• Act as Discussion Leader (or recruit a person to do this role). 
• Ensure that CatholicManNight materials are given to the Event Organizers.  

• Make sure 2-page catechesis, email signups, pencils and prayer cards are printed and available . 
• Have raffle tickets, Bible, Catechism and other books/CDs for the raffle. 

• Collect money from free will offering to cover food/raffle items and collect email signup forms. 

After the Event 

• Add emails to email list for use in building awareness/invites for future events. 

Event Organizer (1 with 4-6 men helping) Checklist  

• Recruit 4-6 men to help. 
• Plan dinner menu including food and drinks (wine, beer, non-alcoholic). 

• Do set up of tables and place settings. 
• Prepare and serve dinner and drinks. 
• Have 2 men acting as hosts to direct men to Adoration. After Adoration, men hosts direct men to meal. 
• Collect free will offering and give to Lay Leaders. 
• Hand out raffle tickets. 

• Clean up. 

 Discussion Leader Checklist 

• Prior to the evening: Review CatholicManNight 2-pager topic sheet and rehearse 10 minute presentation of key points from the topic sheet. 
• Prior to dinner, offer welcome and direct men regarding food, contribution, etc. 
• Following dinner, do a general welcome, recognize Priests, Deacons, Seminarians and Event workers. 

• Offer short background on CatholicManNight. 
• Hold raffle to give away Bibles, catechisms or other books. 
• Lead Discussion including presenting the topic 2-pager for the event, fielding questions and moderating discussion. 
• After Discussion, make announcements about upcoming events. 
• Introduce Priest to lead closing prayer.