Who We Are
The  Patrist  Society  of  the  Sons / Daughters of  God the Father are  2 new separate Societies of Priests/ Brothers and Sisters in the Catholic Church. We are dedicated and consecrated to God the Eternal Father. We want to belong totally to the Father in loyalty and fidelity, like Jesus. 

Through Baptism we become sons and daughters of the Father through, with and in Christ. This is who we really are (Gal 4:4-7) Therefore as sons and daughters, we seek a close, intimate, loving, warm, affectionate relationship with our Father, like Jesus. We want the whole world to know and love God our Father and have a deep intimate relationship with Him. We believe this is what Jesus wanted, and what Jesus came for (John 17:6). He did not just come to tell us that there is a God or even that He is merely a “Father”. Jesus came to reveal a relationship, a Father-Son relationship, His own filial relationship with the Father (Luke 10:22). He wanted us to share in that relationship and have that same relationship with the Father (Mat 6:6), and He is the only One who can give it to us. Therefore He offered us sonship and daughterhood, if we receive Him, the only Son. (John 1:12-13). As Patrists, we are willing to suffer with Christ and to lose our lives for Christ and with Christ for the glory of the Father. The word “Patrist” has been coined by our Founder. It comes from the Latin word ‘Pater’, which means ‘Father’.   
 
We are actively-contemplative or contemplatively active Societies with a strong emphasis on Evangelization and Mission.

We Patrists feel chosen by Jesus and to work together with Jesus to continue His mission of making His Father known and loved (John 17:25-27). We desire to get people to live as good sons and daughters of the Father (Gal 4:4-7).  The Patrists’ vision and prayer is to bring the world together as one family under one Father. (John 17:21)

The Patrist Societies are:

• Loyal to the Holy Father
• Faithful to the Church’s teachings and Traditions
• Committed to authentic Religious and Community life
• Devoted to Mary our Mother, the Queen of our Society
• Emphatic about Evangelization and Contemplative Prayer
• Missionary in spirit

Our life together as a community derives from each one’s personal intimate love for the Father. The more we love Him, the more we love one another. All our dreams and our aspirations, all our joys and our sorrows, all our plans and our labours find their ultimate meaning in the Father alone. Ours is a life lived ‘FOR THE FATHER ALONE’, and this is our Motto.

The Patrist Society has been canonically and ecclesiastically erected in the Archdiocese of Perth, under the Archbishop Barry James Hickey, DD, the Archbishop of Perth, Western Australia.

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Our Founder
Fr Douglas Leslie Rowe S.F.P. is the founder of the Patrist Societies of the Sons and Daughters of God the Father. He was born on 3rd September 1942. Having lived as a Jesuit priest for many years he  specialized in Spiritual ministries conducting Directed and preached Retreats to Sisters, priests and Bishops for several years. His special field of expertise is Spiritual direction, Counselling and Discernment. He has been conducting Scripture and Theology courses for lay people in different parts of the world. Years ago he designed his own School of Contemplative prayer (Jesus’ way of prayer) comprising about 25 sessions. Besides, he is the author of several books and booklets, and above all else he is an accomplished musician specializing in Classical and Jazz music.

Over the years, he has been leading thousands of people to God through the various God experiences which he developed under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Among his well known God experiences are ‘Exodus’ (a 75 hour program), ‘Origins’ (a week end program), ‘Awakenings’ (a 6 hour program), a 9 night Parish Mission and of course The School of Contemplative Prayer (25 sessions leading people to the prayer life of Jesus)

Being a distinguished preacher, he has produced a number of CD’s on different spiritual topics, including CD’s on the Mass, Prayer and one on his own music compositions.

His spiritual journey as a Jesuit, led him ultimately to a deep experience of his own sonship in Christ. Later, Jesus brought him to a very touching experience of God as his own Father. This was followed by an ‘After-life’ experience. These events were a turning point in his life, in his spiritual life, in his prayer life and in his Priesthood. Then came a call within a call. After 7 years of discernment under his spiritual director, he applied to the General of the Society of Jesus to take leave of the Society of Jesus when he was the Superior of the Spirituality house in his Province. This was necessary in order to start the founding of the 2 Societies of the Sons and Daughters of God the Father.

From that point on, like most founders, his life has been an up-hill journey facing all kinds of opposition, persecution, rejection, misunderstanding and betrayal. But through it all he has remained faithful to the Spirit’s call to found the 2 Societies for the Father and the Father has been the only One supporting, strengthening and guiding him. After a long journey, the Spirit finally led him to the Archdiocese of Perth, Western Australia where he has established the 2 Societies under the Archbishop of Perth.

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Our Houses
AUSTRALIA
Patrist House
7 Warde Street
Midland, WA 6056
Australia

PHILIPPINES
Our Father’s House            
3-1 Azucena & Hyacinth Streets
St. Jude Acres, Bulacao
Cebu City 6000
Philippines

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Our Spirituality
As Patrists, our spirituality is to identify with the Spirituality of Jesus in our prayer life.  He prayed as a Son to His Father. And so like Jesus, we see God as our Father and pray as sons/daughters to a Father like Jesus and with Jesus.  In our daily life we seek to live in constant communion with the Father.  We want to please our Father alone as good sons/daughters, like Jesus and with Jesus.  St. Paul in Gal 4:6 emphasis the spirituality of sonship/daughterhood  “. . . to show that you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries ‘Father, my Father’ ”.

The basis of our spirituality and our prayer life also comes from the very lips of Jesus, “When you pray, go to your room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you” (Mat 6:6).  Even in His teaching on communitarian prayer, Jesus tells us to pray to God as a Father “...so you should pray like this: Our Father in Heaven may Your name be held holy…” (Mat 6:9-10).   To the Samaritan woman in John Chapter 4, Jesus said, “You will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth”.   Jesus makes it very clear that the focus of our prayer and our worship is the Father.

Therefore our spirituality is a spirituality  of ‘identity  in Christ’  because our focus is very much on who we are in Christ by our Baptism – sons/daughters of His Father. We are called to live our sonship/daughterhood at the deepest level as religious with all its implications. 

Our Spirituality is also a spirituality of ‘identification with Christ’. As sons/daughters of the Father in the Son, we are called to share in Jesus’ Servanthood. This means we seek to have the greatest share in His passion, death and resurrection, the Paschal Mystery.  In this event, Jesus’ spirituality and mission reached its climax as He proved his deepest love for His Father through abandonment to the Father’s will. Therefore, suffering and love of the Cross is an integral and vital part of our Spirituality, and so is humility and obedience.  The Patrist in his Spirituality seeks identification with the Servanthood of Christ.

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Our Charism
Our Charism, discerned by our Founder, Fr. Douglas Rowe S.F.P., and flowing from our Spirituality which is a relationship with the Father, is divided into 3 parts. 

The first part of our Charism, based on John 17:25-27,  is to bring all people to know and love the Father of Jesus deeply.  We want all people to have the same close, intimate, loving, warm, familiar and affectionate relationship which Jesus had with His Father.

The second part of our Charism based on John 1:11-13, and Gal 4:4-7, is to enable people to experience their identity in Christ as sons and daughters of the Father of Jesus. We enable people to experience their Baptism deeply and live the consequences of their sonship/daughterhood in Christ.

The third part of our Charism based on John 17:17-21, is to make the vision and Priestly prayer of Jesus a reality, “Father, I pray that they may be one just as You and I are one . . . “  (Jn 17:21).  Our focus is to create unity in the world, not only among Christians, but among all men and women of good will. 

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Our Mission
Our mission is to continue the Mission of Jesus which was to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, a Kingdom of justice, peace, love and equality; to bring people under the rule of God. And so He prayed..“Our Father in Heaven, holy be Your Name, Your Kingdom come….” (Mt 6:9-10)

Our Mission is to re-evangelize the Church by forming ‘Kingdom people’  whose first priority is to have a deep relationship with God the Father; people who value their spiritual lives and then put that spirituality into practice by becoming agents of the Kingdom. (Mat 6:14-15)

Pope John Paul II puts it beautifully in the Encyclical Redemptoris Mission “The ultimate purpose of mission is to enable people to share in the communion that exists between the Father and the Son”.   He emphasized this again in the same Encyclical Redemptoris Missio when he said “The Kingdom will grow in so far as every person learns to turn to God in the intimacy of prayer as to a Father” (R.M. 13).

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Our Apostolate
Our apostolate is the expression of our Charism and Mission, which is the fruit of our spirituality, prayer life and our relationship with the Father. It flows naturally from our deep love for the Father and our desire to bring people to an intimate relationship with the Father and to enable them to live as good sons and daughters of their Father.

SPIRITUAL WORKS

• ‘AWAKENINGS’ – a 6 hour spiritual process introducing people to the spirituality of Jesus.
• ‘ORIGINS’ (Phase 1) – a 1 week end God experience centering on one’s Identity in Christ.
• ‘ORIGINS’ (Phase 2) -  a 1 weekend experience of Unity in the Mystical Body of Christ.
• ‘EXODUS’ A 2 weekend God experience focusing on the Spirituality of Jesus and inner spiritual liberation.
• “SCHOOL OF PRAYER’ 36 sessions of 2 hours each to teach the laity contemplative prayer.
• “NOVENA TO GOD THE FATHER” A weekly perpetual novena to the Father inserted in the context of the Mass (This Novena has the Imprimatur of Archbishop Daniel Sheehan of Omaha)
• “PARISH MISSION’ 9 evenings of one and half hours each, giving the laity the Spirituality of Jesus in the context of the Catholic Faith.
• Formation of Baptismal communities in parishes whose aim is to unite the parish and work towards bringing back non-practicing Catholics to the Church.
• The Baptismal Catechesis Program. The unique feature of this program is that the parents and god-parents are instructed in their homes by trained couples of the parish. It is a beautiful couple to couple ministry involving deep faith sharing.
• Counselling and Spiritual Direction to people in need given by trained members.
• RETREAT MINISTRY: Directed and group retreats.
• Parochial Work
• Tape and Music Ministry
• Ministry with Children. Teaching of Catechism and Christian formation.
• Prayer Meetings and Novena in Homes as an outreach for people staying far away
• Ministry with the aged and sick bringing them to the love of the Father and preparing them for their end.
• House to house evangelization is part of our non-formal evangelization as we bring people to a reverence and respect for God, to keep His commandments and live good moral lives.                                            

 TEMPORAL WORKS

• Feeding the poor children.
• Helping poor children deal with their school problems; be it academic, material, social or psychological.
• Assisting poor women with marital and family problems.
• Housing children with family or home problems.

For the moment these are some of our apostolic works. Each Patrist according to his talents will be involved in the work of re-evangelization through the parish.

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