TOPSFIELD -- As Brian Curley watched his newborn son languish in a boxy NICU incubator, surrounded by doctors and nurses performing tests and operations on the baby's small body, he was grateful to God.

Curley, then 23, was at work when he got the call that his wife, Megan, had gone into labor six weeks prematurely. Rushing to the hospital, he wasn't sure whether he would make it in time to see his baby alive. When he was in the car, a nurse called: "Congratulations, you have a baby boy."

Brian and Megan named him Finnegan. They didn't know whether he would make it home. A priest was called. Throughout the ordeal, Brian never tried to bargain with God. He was happy he could witness the miracle of his son's life.

"I think where faith came into it was it reminded us of our purpose as parents and as people," he said. "We're here to love and to do God's will, and we're going to raise our child in the faith the best way we can."

"Through God's grace," Finnegan recovered and is now a healthy eight-month-old. Brian Curley is now 24 years old and a parishioner at St. Rose of Lima in Topsfield. On Thursdays all through Lent, Curley and a handful of other young fathers meet at the parish, sharing their experiences and relying on each other as role models. In a society with declining birthrates and fewer young adults interested in having children, Curley wanted to bring the young fathers of his parish together.

"There's other guys that are in my shoes, and it's nice to do it alongside them," he said.

The Pilot attended their March 12 meeting. Projected on a screen behind Curley was a presentation on "The Art of Living," based on the book of the same name in which theologian Edward Sri explains the cardinal virtues. Curley was inspired by a recent Sunday homily on the cardinal virtues given by Father Dan Hennessey, pastor of St. Rose.

"It struck me as such a relevant thing in my life as a new father and important for everybody, especially as the heads of our homes and our families," Curley said. "Virtue is paramount. So I figured it'd be a good thing to focus on."

Being a father has been the biggest adjustment of his life. He doesn't know what he's doing -- but no one does, he said, until they have children of their own.

"Parenthood has been such a joy, and I can understand and appreciate how, before being a parent, it's easy to write it off as a burden," he said.

He added, "I get so much from it, and my son can't even talk, and it's still so rewarding."

Joseph Muth, a 35-year-old father of two, thinks it's easier to be a Catholic parent than to be a parent who isn't Catholic.

"The demands are higher, but you have a foundation that's clear and set apart from which to build on," he said.

He sees contemporary culture as "arbitrary," moving one way and then another. Raising a family with Catholic teaching, he said, is like "building your house on rock."

"It's like sharpening a knife," he said. "It's a useful tool, and it's important to stay accountable of how you use it, but it's still a tool."

His oldest, five-year-old Jordan, is now old enough to be asking questions about God and Jesus. His parents enrolled him in Catholic school, which made him even more interested in his faith. He refuses to eat a meal without praying. The Muths pray together every morning and every night. Jordan recently made his dad proud by asking if he could go to adoration. It feels good for Muth to share experiences like that with other young fathers.

"These are my teammates, so to speak, and we're all trying to pull for the same thing, and that's making our kids saints," he said.

He and his wife Katy married at age 21, when he was in grad school. His peers were shocked. They thought he was making a mistake.

"How are you married and in grad school?" They would ask.

"How are you not married?" Muth would wonder.

"They automatically made the assumption that having additional responsibility would make life harder," he said. "And I was like, 'It actually makes life easier, because your priorities are clearly aligned in a better way.'"

He currently works as a senior director at an AI company, where it's difficult to achieve work-life balance. He and Katy are both professionals who love their jobs and love being parents. Coordinating their schedules with the needs of Jordan and his one-year-old sister, Olivia, is the hardest part.

"When there's a snow day, life's hell," Muth said, "because you're trying to work and you have nowhere to take care of your kids, and you do the best you can and give yourself a lot of grace."

David LeBlanc, 37, feels like he missed out by not having children earlier. He and Jennifer, his wife of 13 years, have one daughter, 11-month-old Sylvie.

LeBlanc said his parents were strict but loving, an example that influences his own parenting.

"It starts with the marriage," he said. "So, my relationship with my wife, that needs to be strong, and then our child will be raised a lot easier."

He has gotten used to raising a baby after the initial lack of sleep. The time he used to spend watching TV now goes toward spending time with his family and cooking meals. Sylvie is still an infant, but soon David and Jennifer will have to compete with the world for her attention.

"It's a matter of coaching her, teaching her, guiding her as best I can, so that she stays in the lane of the Catholic faith," he said.

Work has also taken up more of his focus. In his own words, he's a "sales operations customer account manager for jet engine parts" for General Electric, a job that allows him to work from home. Jennifer also stays at home to help take care of Sylvie.

Many of Muth's coworkers say they would rather focus on their careers before having children. He wants them to know that children will bring them much more joy than they might expect. The way he sees it, all it takes to be a parent is love and time.

"God can take care of the rest," he said.