Knights of Columbus serving
dinner to first responders after the
Blue Mass, Jan. 8th.
dinner to first responders after the
Blue Mass, Jan. 8th.
Monday is Columbus Day, and I am privileged to be the chaplain of our local Council of the Knights of Columbus. The Knights are the largest Catholic fraternal men’s order in the world, with over 1.8 million members in 15,000 councils. Of course, not all members are as active as others, but the active members of our St. Joseph’s Council are quite active. I would say that the Knights are the single largest and most influential organization in our parish.
Columbus Day falls in the month of October, which is also Respect Life Month. Mostly women have provided leadership in our Respect Life apostolates over the years, but almost all these women are married to Knights of Columbus. I think it’s a team effort, especially because the Knights themselves put so much emphasis into prolife work. Our Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson, has written and spoken extensively about building a culture of life and love (his A Civilization of Love is well worth the reading). The Knights partnered with the Sisters of Life to provide the “Love and Life Center” in Madrid at World Youth Day this year, which provided excellent events for English-speaking pilgrims. Our group spent every morning at the center listening to top-notch speakers. Our local Council, too, has always shown a delicate concern for the unborn, the needy, the handicapped, and the elderly. Our Council raised the funds to purchase a $36,000 ultrasound machine for the Modesto Pregnancy Center last year.
Perhaps more than anything, though, the Knights build up respect for human life by building up men. The Knights are one of the few organizations left whose membership is restricted to men. The men get together once a month for a meeting at which they encourage and challenge each other to live their manhood to the fullest. If women and children are not respected in our culture, if their rights are not upheld and their persons not cherished, it is because the men in their lives are not exercising their manhood. “Fatherless America” is certainly one of our greatest social problems, as President Obama wrote on Father’s Day this year. People sometimes denigrate the Knights of Columbus, and other men’s organizations, but any time men have the courage to get together as brothers, to encourage each other in their role as fathers and husbands, it is a hopeful thing for our society.
Columbus Day falls in the month of October, which is also Respect Life Month. Mostly women have provided leadership in our Respect Life apostolates over the years, but almost all these women are married to Knights of Columbus. I think it’s a team effort, especially because the Knights themselves put so much emphasis into prolife work. Our Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson, has written and spoken extensively about building a culture of life and love (his A Civilization of Love is well worth the reading). The Knights partnered with the Sisters of Life to provide the “Love and Life Center” in Madrid at World Youth Day this year, which provided excellent events for English-speaking pilgrims. Our group spent every morning at the center listening to top-notch speakers. Our local Council, too, has always shown a delicate concern for the unborn, the needy, the handicapped, and the elderly. Our Council raised the funds to purchase a $36,000 ultrasound machine for the Modesto Pregnancy Center last year.
Perhaps more than anything, though, the Knights build up respect for human life by building up men. The Knights are one of the few organizations left whose membership is restricted to men. The men get together once a month for a meeting at which they encourage and challenge each other to live their manhood to the fullest. If women and children are not respected in our culture, if their rights are not upheld and their persons not cherished, it is because the men in their lives are not exercising their manhood. “Fatherless America” is certainly one of our greatest social problems, as President Obama wrote on Father’s Day this year. People sometimes denigrate the Knights of Columbus, and other men’s organizations, but any time men have the courage to get together as brothers, to encourage each other in their role as fathers and husbands, it is a hopeful thing for our society.
RSS Feed