Perhaps the most important opportunity for members of the Fellowship of Catholic Christian Women is that it offers women a chance to experience the value of community. Our vision includes our desire to grow as members of the Body of Christ, despite the persistence of secular values which stress the importance of individualism over the value of community. Thomas Merton said it this way, "There is no truly free society (or community) except in heaven. But that heavenly society is to be reflected as much as possible on earth. It is the responsibility of the Christian person to seek to bring this about. It needs to be reflected on earth by a society that is united by self-sacrifice and love, mercy and compassion, selflessness and a participation in the divine Pity." The value of community is at the heart of the philosophy of FCCW.