By Matthew Greeley | Special Contributor

It is not a common sight to see a gathering of men dedicated to praying the Rosary together today. For most men, fellowship and a sense of community seem to be found in bars or on the sports’ field.

The Brazilian Catholic community of Christ the King Parish, Long Branch, is completely turning that stereotype on its head.

“Terço dos Homens,” Portuguese for “Men of the Rosary,” is a prayer ministry devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary that gathers every Thursday night in Holy Trinity Church, one of Christ the King’s two worship sites. Open to men of all ages and backgrounds, the prayer gathering draws anywhere from 35 to 100 participants. All men are welcome to participate in Terco dos Homens and knowing Portuguese is not required.

“In Brazil, Rosary groups for men have become very popular. There are gatherings of hundreds of thousands of men there, praying the Rosary,” shared one of the central founders of the parish ministry, Camilo Mattos.

Camilo continued, “We realized that we [men] were putting time into so many other things and that meeting for an hour, like they do in Brazil, is an easy way to be men of faith. It has been a grace. We make the time to be here because it is important to us.”

The group began in Christ the King Parish about two years ago. The format follows that of similar groups in Brazil. After the men gather in the church or hall, they have an opening prayer and then begin to pray the Mysteries of the Rosary. As Catholics do around the world, a leader begins the prayers alone with the congregation praying aloud for the second half of each prayer. Upon finishing the Rosary, the men, as they sing a hymn of gratitude, pass around a sheet with an image of Our Lady of the Aparecida which they are invited to venerate.

When asked why so many men seem drawn to this ministry, most agreed that it helps them at home, in their roles as husbands, fathers and grandfathers.

Member Chester de Oliveira said:  “Ask our wives! This time in prayer helps us to handle the stress of our lives.”

Because many of the men work in manual labor employment, mainly in construction, they spoke of the long work days and how stress is a common fact of their lives. The Rosary group offers them a time to pray and ask Our Lady to intercede to the Father for them. Mass is a time, one member shared, for Catholics to celebrate the Lord, to worship God. Terço de Hommes, however, gives the participants the opportunity to ask the Lord for help, to ask Mary for help with the things that they have “on their plates,” the member said.

 “For me, when I started, I changed a lot;  it helped with my work and handling my stress. Now I find that Church relaxes me. The Rosary relaxes me,” said Edienes Ferrara, one of the group’s founding members.

Gaspar Reis found comfort in the group during the time that his daughter was “very sick” and then after she died.

“I brought my fears and prayers here. I feel that the Lord heard my prayers and helped her to die peacefully. I know in my heart that she is in God’s loving hands,” he said, as he extended his appreciation to his fellow prayer group members.

For more information about the prayer group, contact Christ the King Parish office at 732-222-3216 or Camilo Mattos at [email protected].

Greeley is associate director of the diocesan Office of Communications and Media.