Joe Catholic

Joe Catholic is a lay apostolate. For a cogent explanation of the differences between "apostolate" and "ministry" I recommend reading this article in the Church Life Journal. 

We ARE Catholic and are therefore faithful to the Church Magisterium, the Holy Father and our local bishop. While we aim to be faithful, we are not infalible. We will strive to correct any error or ambiguity we may accidentally communicate. Nevertheless, all opinions expressed by the author of the blog are those of the author alone, and are in no way to be taken as the opinions of the Catholic Church. The blog is offered in the spirit of Canon 212 §3 of the Code of Canon Law. The author in all issues submits to the ultimate judgment of the living Magisterium.

In November of 2004, Chuck Gura and I (Don Gonzalez) formed a men's small faith group patterned after the St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers at St. Catherine of Siena in Carrollton, Texas. After a year of following a book study format, the attendance dropped to two and the group was disbanded. 

At least every other week some guy would approach me after Mass and ask when we were going to bring back the "Joseph's group." I smiled nicely and said "we'll see," knowing well I was not interested in another failure. Finally in the Spring of 2009, I relented and invited some of the male leaders in our church to discuss revamping the group.

We kicked around format ideas and settled on a new name - Joe Catholic. We liked the name because we wanted to promote that we were just ordinary guys trying to learn our faith. The name also still gave us a link to our patron, St. Joseph.

Our original workshop format included 3 sessions on a Saturday morning: Catholic Toolbox, Saint Talk and FAQ of Faith. Each session lasted about 15-20 minutes and were non-sequential by design. The Catholic Toolbox was normally a catechetical talk, focusing on primary teachings of the Church. Saint Talk covered the life of a saint whose feast we would  celebrate during the month we were meeting. We focused on the lessons we can learn from their lives, both before and after their encounters with Christ. FAQ of Faith took an apologetic approach to questions Catholics are often asked by their non-Catholic friends and family.

We maintained a casual environment encouraging men to show up late if they have to and leave early when they need. The bottom line is that we want to help men grow in their Catholic faith.

Don Gonzalez founded Joe Catholic  in 2009. 

Don holds a Masters in Theological Studies from Ave Maria University Institute for Pastoral Theology. He and his wife, Stacey, are parishioners at St. Ann's Catholic Church in Coppell, Texas. 

Over the last 20 years, Don has been  involved in adult formation.  He has regularly taught at RCIA, the Knight of Columbus and helped form a monthly workshop called Meal and a Message.

Don is also a Cooperator of Opus Dei,.