recruiting

The Holy Name Society is the common name for the Confraternity of the most Holy Names of God and Jesus - a spiritual confraternity of the Catholic Church canonically erected to the order of St. Dominic – the Order of Preachers - Dominicans.  Recruiting members into such a spiritual organization should always be conducted by observation and personal invitation, known as "personal contact recruiting."  Never recruit for the Confraternity by general announcements. General announcement recruiting is analogous to a fisherman casting his net; he never knows what he is going to drag in.  For the parish Holy Name Society, you only want to invite those Catholic men whom you have observed and whom you feel are potentially ready, willing and able to carry out the spiritual and fraternal purposes of the Society and fulfill the Spiritual Obligations of Membership and live out the Holy Name Pledge.

Unfortunately, not all Catholic men practice a meaningful spiritual life. Some have even become "slothful" Sunday Christians whose spiritual formation is lacking in substance and whose knowledge of the true teachings of the faith are at a very minimal level. You need to attract devout Catholic men for your confraternities.  Men who are serious in their religious practices, strong in faith, interested in learning the true teachings of the Catholic Church and wish to grow in personal spiritual maturity and perfection.  Men who desire to serve their God and parish and to progress in their faith journey with other like-minded men of faith.

While it is true that all adult Catholic males over 18 are eligible for membership in the parish Society, not all are desirable. That is why each candidate’s application for membership must be screened by the Spiritual Director and the Membership Chairman before an invitation for membership is extended.  It is important to ensure not only their legitimacy as Catholics in good standing, but to also insure that they regularly practice their faith. This is not spiritual elitism, conversely, we are talking about a unique "call" to serving God in a spiritual way and achieving sanctification through mutual assistance and brotherhood in carrying out the mission and purpose of the Confraternity; which is "to spread honor and devotion to the Holy Name of God and Jesus by our example and the spiritual enrichment, formation and the religious education of the members."

You do not want lukewarm, "Sunday Catholics" who are looking for a quasi-religious social club.  Members like this tend to influence a more social agenda rather than the required spiritual formation that the Confraternity mandates.  These "social types" can become the "internal organization" within the parish Holy Name Society and tend to push their social agenda and are therefore particularly hazardous to the parish Society.  Especially when  they take positions of leadership. Recruiting this type "in your net" will eventually cause the parish Society's spiritual impotence and bring about the demise of your Society as a viable spiritual Confraternity and turn it into a ‘Good Old Boys’ Catholic Men’s Club. When spirituality dies within the parish Holy Name Society, the Holy Spirit withholds His blessings!

Therefore, quality recruiting of observed candidates must be the standard and essential value in personal contact recruiting - not general announcements or posters. Posters merely call attention to the fact that the parish has a Holy Name Society. Ideally, before being contacted, desirable candidate’s names should be sealed in an envelope, placed on the altar during spiritual devotions, particularly at the Votive Mass to the Holy Name, and prayed over. Or perhaps placed before the Blessed Sacrament by the Membership Chairman and prayed for by the entire Parish Holy Name Society Council.

After desired candidates have been prayed for, candidates for membership should be approached singularly by two-man recruiting teams who do not oversell the idea of membership, but simply invite the candidate to an upcoming assembly or conference and present him with brief historical information about the Society and casually offer an application, e.g., "We value your faith commitment which we have observed and would like to invite you to fill out a membership application and unite with our confraternity brothers in prayer and devotion to the most Holy Names of God and Jesus."

The two-man recruiting teams must be knowledgeable of the history and practice of the Society and all the spiritual benefits and indulgences associated with membership in the Confraternity and its relationship to the Dominican Order.  It is important that the candidate for membership receive accurate information about the spiritual requirements of membership and the true purpose of the Confraternity.  That’s it; there is no need to do anything more.  The Holy Spirit will do the rest. Remember that we can only offer the invitation; it is God who calls men to His service!

Men should never be recruited to join the Holy Name Society using guilt, shame or coercion.  Potential candidates must assume that membership will associate them with like-minded spiritual Catholic men with whom they will be able to satisfy their own expectations of spiritual growth and fraternal fulfillment.

There are two key elements to successful recruiting and retention of members. The first is the knowledge that relationships remain viable only while the relationship continues to fulfill the needs and expectations that formed the original basis for the relationship.  The second is the fact that people will not take ownership (make it their own) until they can clearly see the benefit or value in it for them.

In this context, "relationship" is defined as the association between the member and the organization or between individual members within the organization or both.  It is vital that a relationship develops between the Confraternity in which the candidate or inducted-member believes will bring him a greater sense of spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and fraternal fulfillment while providing him sense of worth as a member.  Thus, the members of the Confraternity should become a unique spiritual resource for the parish that prays for the priests, vocations to the religious life, the holiness and sanctification of their members, and the special intentions of the parish.

If the process of observation and personal contact recruiting is used and the leadership of the parish Society presents activities that adhere to the spiritual purposes and mission of the Confraternity, the Holy Spirit will increase your membership. "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who [try to] build it." Ps 127.

Blessed John Of Vercelli - Pray For Us!