On August 25, 2008 the new men have entered the formation house, and the returning men came back. The professed, and the newly professed came back to Orange. It is such a great sight; to see so many young men ready to drop their social lives, their family lives, and their private lives, to live a life where they put the Lord first. To date, we have 19 men living in the house. 13 Sons of Mary (non-professed) and 5 professed brothers. The diverstiy of the house is vast, but the different diversities bring us together as we all learn about eachother’s cultures and families.

We have all come together from these different families, and cultures to form one culture, one family. We all have come as strangers, and acquaintances, to become brothers. All the men in the house get along in a way that suggests that they had all lived together for quite some time. It is a great thing to see so many young men from so many different backgrounds mesh so well together.  We have men from all over the US, and from other countries.  The places that these men come from are, Michigan (2), Ohio (3) New York (2) California (2) Florida (1) Kentucky (1) Arkansas (1) Minnesota (1) Louisiana (1) Rhode Island (1) Texas (1) New Jersey (1) and Haiti (2). So as you can see we come from everywhere, but we all have 1 mission, Da Mihi Animas, to save souls.

It is a great gift to have so many holy men in the house, each being a role model for the other. What one of us lacks, another has, an so on and so forth. We all learn from one another, we all teach to one another. Together we all function as a family. Each individual brings with him from his homeland a special task or gift that is used to help in the common mission of the salvation of souls. Some are good musicians, others are magicians, some are great planners and organizers, and some a good listeners, able to help out their brothers. All of us come to serve the young as Don Bosco did, as well as to serve one another.

To all who read this please keep praying for vocations, and please pray for the men here in this house. May God Bless you and keep you forever under his merciful eye.