Today's Wisdom

Those who do not pass from the experience of the cross to the truth of the resurrection condemn themselves to despair! For we cannot encounter God without first crucifying our narrow notions of a god who reflects only our own understanding of omnipotence and power
Pope Francis

Friday, December 23, 2016

The Knights of God?

The Lord taught us how to pray: Our Father Who Art in heaven... Hallowed be Thy Name... Thy Kingdom come... Thy Will be done on earth as It is in heaven... Give us this day our daily bread, and Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and Lead us Not into temptation but Deliver us from the evil one.
Do we really talk to our Father with the trust that children have? Do we sanctify his name in the way we think and act?  These are the questions that Christians must ask themselves especially in the holy season of Christmas that reminds us of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ as a little baby more than 2000 years ago in a little manger surrounded by his mother the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph; both humble persons, and the shepherds who ran to see him with their sheep before the arrival of the kings of the East to pay him homage! The earth knelt and worshiped Christ while the angels in heaven sang their "Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth"!
Today, in a materialistic world, we hardly hear "Our Father" in public even though he gave us life and offered eternal life to those who wish to listen to and follow him.
In today's world, a few organizations try to help the successors of the Apostles in the living Church of God as much as the Knights of Columbus. With close to 2 million members, the Knights of Columbus, founded by Venerable Fr. McGivney as a fraternal organization to help the widows who lost their husbands in wars, portray a solid Catholic faith in their charitable work within the community, and for the needy and persecuted ones everywhere. They are pro-life who walk every year to support mothers to carry their babies in the womb to full term and deliver them to the joy of life. Many of them support their families and at the same time serve the parish or multiple parishes that constitute the community of the faithful. They serve in the collections in the Mass, and some as honor guards during religious festivals. They help the parish council(s) in planning and organizing events. They also organize social dinners, lectures around faith topics, and Bible studies. They sell holy items from the Holy Land for the benefit of the poor, refugees, and expansion of church little buildings. The Knights of Columbus publish books or booklets that help readers in their spiritual quest. With a chaplain (usually a priest) in every Council, their goal is to pray for the distressed and sick, reach out to those who despair, enrich those who are spiritually in need, and, above all, prepare people on earth for the Lord; a Biblical theme. To the distressed and persecuted in the Middle East, the Knights of Columbus sent much assistance to rebuild families, restore broken churches, and provide medicine in Iraq and to feed the hungry, help refugees, treat the wounded, and give medicine in Syria. The Supreme Knight participated in calling on the U.S. government and European governments to recognize the wars in the Middle East as acts of genocide. In the recent Supreme Convention in Toronto (August 2016) which some of Jesus the King Knights of Columbus Council members attended, we listened to Thomas Cardinal Collins advocating the right to life for the terminally-ill thus proclaiming the Church's stand for life and against the recent law in Canada for assisted suicide. Cardinal Collins has often spoken of the Knights of Columbus as "the strong arm of the Church." But above all, churches around the world have been called by Pope Francis to pray for peace in the lands that witnessed the early Christian testimonies from Jerusalem to Antioch (Syria) and beyond in the land of the Assyrians (today's Iran and Iraq).
The Church is here. Wishes alone do not deliver. Every member of every Council is encouraged to commit a few more hours to noble projects. The Knights of Columbus lead the Church in their services but they need more young members. This is the question that every young adult must ask himself.

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"Behold I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5)







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