December 2023
Brothers,
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. As we move into the Christmas season, we are getting very busy. We had a decent turnout for the PGK/PCCP/PLAP Dinner, thanks to all who helped set up and clean up. Before I get into upcoming events, I’d like to share something I found from a fellow Brother Knight. The following is “Why I Am A Knight” by Paul Young.
When I tell people that I am a member of the Catholic Knights Of Columbus, I usually receive one of two reactions. Non-Catholics simply say, “What’s that?” Catholics often respond, “Why?” This is sometimes followed up with, “What do you guys do?” or “My Grandfather joined for the insurance” or even, “Do you go just to drink?”
The people who have no idea of the function of the Knights are easy to enlighten. After a brief rundown of our activities and goals, they nearly always leave with a positive impression. It is those who already have an idea of what goes on – or think that they do – who are a much tougher nut to crack. It is to them I address this: Why I am A Knight.
I am a Knight to serve our Lord, Mary His Mother, the Church, and the Holy Father. Like every other Knight, I devote my life to advancing God’s kingdom on earth and to protecting life, both born and unborn. As Blessed John Paul II now Pope St John Paul) said, we are “…the strong right arm of the Church ''.
I am a Knight to serve people everywhere. Catholic or not. We feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, care for the widow and orphan, assist the disabled, pray for the holy souls in purgatory, and we are friends of the forgotten. Whether it is a pancake breakfast to raise money for special needs children or money collected for a family burned out of their home, we are there.
I am a Knight to make me a better man. It is in fire that steel is strengthened and it is with other Catholic gentlemen that I learn how to be more honest, kind, even tempered and loyal to the teachings that make me a good, Catholic Christian.
I am a Knight because it is fun. I can’t deny it. All the other reasons are of course the most important, but being a Knight is fun. We eat, work, argue, occasionally drink a beer, and in general, do guy things. Our actions are always framed by what it means to be a loyal Son of the Church, but there’s no denying it – we have a good time.
So there you have it; that’s why I’m a proud, 3rd Degree, Catholic Knight of Columbus.
I think Paul summed up who we are and what we do and also why.
As he states in #1, we serve the Lord and our Church by being Ushers, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, lectors, cantors, choir members, sacristans etc.
In #2 We do what he states, we feed people at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We also used to feed the local community once a week through Bread From Heaven. With our Coats for Kids, we are clothing the needy, same with our Veterans program called “Sweats for Vets”. We have helped deliver furniture to those in need. Through our insurance program we help the widows and orphans. We welcome all in the activities we do.
In #3 He states how we can become better men. We have many opportunities to do this as Brothers with our monthly Family Rosary. We have “That Man Is You” every Saturday morning at St Aloysius. Some of us participate in the new “Cor” program offered at St Monica Church every third Thursday at 7:00pm.We have an upcoming “Into the Breach” video series that we will be showing once a week.
#4 sums up what most of us are doing. We do have fun, we do man things. We have Pool, Darts, Poker, Horseshoes etc. All this to have a good time with our Brothers.
Out of the four points, which is most important? How much do you participate? What is one thing you can do today to set yourself on the road to doing all four of these points? The opportunity is there and as a practical Catholic, we should be doing all these things every day.
Let’s make a bigger difference in our Community by striving to do all four of these things. To get you started, here are our upcoming events:
December 1st, Nativity lighting and Christmas Carols. Refreshments follow, social meeting is canceled.
December 3rd, Chili Cook off
December 9th, Breakfast with Santa
December 10th, Assembly 658 Christmas Party
December 15th, Adult Christmas party following the Council and Club business meetings.
December 16th, Christmas food baskets followed by Old Timers Day, drawing for the “Send A Hero Home” raffle.
December 25th, Merry Christmas, Club is closed.
November Knight of the Month: Larry Marzorati
November Family of the Month: The Gulics
New members this month: Fr RJ Ballacillo, Kevin Gosse, Mike Podhayny and Joseph Spoto.
As always, be sure to check the website often as well as emails, also, our meetings which are still the first and third Fridays of the month at 8:00pm.
Merry Christmas!
Mary Queen of the Knights, Pray for us!
Blessed Michael McGivney, Pray for us!
Vivat Jesus!
GK Frank Schear
