Called to Creative Courage

Oct. 1, 2021

At the 139th Supreme Convention, Knights are urged to follow the example of St. Joseph and Blessed Michael McGivney

By Columbia staff

Oct. 1, 2021

Following the Aug. 4 Memorial Mass celebrated by Supreme Chaplain Arch- bishop William Lori of Baltimore, Supreme Officers and members of the board of directors stand with Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford, concelebrating priests and Connecticut Knights outside St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn. Photo by Aaron Joseph — Following the Aug. 4 Memorial Mass celebrated by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, Supreme Officers and members of the board of directors stand with Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford, concelebrating priests and Connecticut Knights outside St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn. (Photo by Aaron Joseph)

At least one thing is certain in these uncertain times, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly told delegates to the 139th Supreme Convention: the need for men of faith to act. “God is calling us to fulfill a great task,” the supreme knight said in his first annual report. “This is a time of challenge, but as every Knight knows, strength rejoices in challenge.”

For the second time in the Order’s history, most delegates participated in the convention from their home jurisdictions, as the annual meeting was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Convention proceedings and liturgies took place Aug. 3-4 in New Haven, Conn., and were livestreamed to Knights of Columbus around the world. The Supreme Officers were joined by delegates from Connecticut while those in many other jurisdictions gathered together locally .

In his annual report, Supreme Knight Kelly urged his brother Knights to emulate St. Joseph and Blessed Michael McGivney by finding creative solutions to the challenges of the pandemic and other challenges facing Catholics today.

“Charity is our highest calling, and it demands our renewed focus,” the supreme knight said. “Where there’s pain, let us heal. Where there’s grief, let us comfort. Where there’s need, let us meet it, in new and creative ways.”

A portrait of Blessed Michael McGivney adorns the sanctuary as Archbishop Blair leads the congregation in prayer. Photo by Jeffrey Bruno — A portrait of Blessed Michael McGivney adorns the sanctuary as Archbishop Blair leads the congregation in prayer. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno)

CHARITY IN TRUTH

What kind of man, what kind of priest, is Blessed Michael McGivney? … There is always a temptation — never more so than today — to separate the two defining aspects of his life: on the one hand, his firm conviction about the truth of the Catholic faith, and on the other, the kindness and empathy that led him to charity in action.

Today, a growing number of people say “yes” to charity but “no” to religion, “yes” to social justice but “no” to absolute truths about God, the human person or the world. Reflecting on this situation our former pope Benedict once wrote this: “Truth is the light that gives meaning and value to charity. … Without truth charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. … It falls prey to contingent subjective emotions and opinions, the word ‘love’ is abused and distorted, to the point where it comes to mean the opposite” (Caritas in veritate, 3).

This affirmation really characterizes Blessed Michael’s life and the mission of the Knights he founded: charity motivated by truth; truth lived in charity. As a man of faith and as a priest, our blessed founder confronted in his day the problems, anxieties and prejudices that we human beings experience and that we inflict on one another, all of which threaten humanity with what Pope Francis describes as “spiritual, moral and material destitution.” It’s only when all three forms of destitution are addressed in truth and love, as Father McGivney understood so well, that human beings can live in justice and peace.

This remains a fundamental lesson for us today, one that the Knights of Columbus strives to put into practice: namely, that if a society fails to address its spiritual and moral destitution, then it cannot provide a just material way of life either.

The social problems that arose in Father McGivney’s time are remarkably like our own. His biographers describe them as “the loneliness that ran through displaced populations; the reassessment of the role of the family in the face of technological advances; the pressure to judge self-worth purely on a monetary basis; the availability of low-cost inebriants; and the undermining of an adult sense of responsibility due to the simple and acceptable option of moving far away from inconvenient obligations.”

These were the challenges facing society when the Knights of Columbus was founded, and in many respects these same challenges still confront us today.

Whereas Blessed Michael once offered inspiration, action and guidance on earth, now he does so from his place in eternity. He is close to his brother Knights and their families still; close to the brother priests who have followed him as chaplains; close to all the faithful who invoke his name and intercession in their need.

— Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of Hartford, Homily, Votive Mass of Blessed Michael McGivney, Aug. 3

Archbishop Lori, joined by Archbishop Blair and the Supreme Officers, leads the congregation in praying the Litany of Blessed Michael McGivney. (Photo by Aaron Joseph)

‘THE HARVEST IS ABUNDANT’

In spite of the opposition of the Pharisees, Jesus went about towns and villages teaching the crowds, proclaiming the kingdom of God and healing the afflicted. As he encountered the misery of the crowds, their physical and spiritual disorders, Matthew tells us that he was “moved with pity”; he felt their suffering viscerally. Feeling their suffering in the depth of his heart, Jesus loved them as only God can, and desired only to enlighten them with faith, brighten them with hope and allow them to taste at least something of his Father’s boundless love.

The Good Shepherd’s love filled the heart of St. John Vianney and Blessed Michael McGivney. Good priests that they were, they were living extensions of Christ’s ministry. Like Jesus, they experienced the sufferings of their people in the depth of their hearts, and acting in the person of Christ, offered to them his healing touch. As they proclaimed the word of God, they turned minds and hearts from sin and error. As they extended their hands in sacramental absolution, they healed souls of sin. As they offered holy Mass, they nourished starving souls with the body of Christ. …

In the Lord’s name and in his person, they gathered the harvest — not a harvest of wheat or barley but rather a harvest of charity, a harvest of good and loving deeds accomplished in the grace of the Holy Spirit. A harvest of charity: This is what the Lord wishes to reap from each one of us. …

In the Gospel, Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few” (Mt 9:37). Founded by a holy priest, the Knights ardently promotes priestly vocations and helps our priests to be faithful and generous in living their vocation. On this feast of St. John Vianney, let us pray for an increase in priestly vocations: priests of goodness, virtue and pastoral love, after the mind and heart of our Savior.

This is also a good moment for us as Knights to recognize that the Lord is calling us to help gather his harvest of charity and love by practicing what St. John Paul II called “a charity that evangelizes” — a charity that flows from prayer, a charity that is so rooted in the person of Christ that it leads many into the heart of the Gospel — wins them over — whether they are practicing Catholics, Catholics who have left, or simply those searching for truth and meaning in their lives. Just as the Knights, as a lay organization, has always worked closely with the clergy, so let us be good partners with our bishops and priests in the new evangelization, confident that we are supported by the prayers of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Joseph, St. John Vianney and Blessed Michael McGivney.

— Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, Homily, Memorial Mass, Feast of St. John Vianney, Aug. 4

Monks at Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, Okla., cross the suspension bridge built on abbey grounds by members of St. Cecilia’s Council 7395 in Claremont. Photo by Thomas Shannon — Monks at Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, Okla., cross the suspension bridge built on abbey grounds by members of St. Cecilia’s Council 7395 in Claremont. (Photo by Thomas Shannon)

HONORING EXEMPLARY SERVICE

The annual Supreme Knight’s Award Session, streamed online Aug. 4, honored achievements related to charity and fraternal leadership. Below are details about the five international program award winners and select honors for insurance sales and membership growth.

FAITH
The Knights of Monroe (Mich.) Council 1266 took a K of C fundraising staple — the pancake breakfast — and turned it into a vehicle to forge bonds of faith and fraternity. The council’s prayer breakfast program began in 2019 with five men and has grown to more than 50 participants, 18 of whom have since joined the Order. The men, who call themselves the “Regular Joes,” meet twice a week at 5:45 a.m. Even during the pandemic, they gathered in person or via Zoom to eat, pray and build each other up as husbands, fathers and followers of Christ.

FAMILY
When pandemic restrictions closed their parish church, the Knights of Our Lady of Fatima Council 9636 in Las Piñas, Luzon South, developed a plan to maintain community and foster the faith of families. Beginning in July 2020, the Knights invited parishioners to gather virtually every Saturday night to pray together, particularly for the sick and those who had died. Over 250 people participated in more than 40 virtual Family Prayer Nights, and the weekly event has been a source of unity and consolation over the past year.

The Knights of St. Cecilia’s Council 7395 in Claremore, Okla., exemplified the Helping Hands program by providing more than 3,000 hours of service to the Benedictine monks at nearby Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey. The council organized 30 members and provided funds to rebuild a 120-foot-long suspension bridge on the property, build a gravel sifter to maintain the abbey roads and complete other projects. They also worked with the monks to make the abbey a distribution point for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families program and helped to give out more than 1,200 food boxes to the surrounding community.

LIFE
When the 2020 March for Life in Chicago was unable to proceed as normal because of the pandemic, the Knights of Divine Word Council 7331 in Techny, Ill., did not give up. Council members, who serve as route marshals for the event each year, worked with the Archdiocese of Chicago and a pro- life student organization to organize a “Drive for Life” car procession and rally. About 4,000 people in more than 1,100 vehicles participated in the event, which also brought in more than 70,000 diapers for a Chicago-area pregnancy resource center.

LEAVE NO NEIGHBOR BEHIND

Lockdowns and restrictions have been extremely tight across Canada during the pandemic. The Knights of St. Bonaventure Council 7432 in Calgary, Alberta, helped St. Bonaventure Parish adapt to regulations by organizing more than 200 Knights and other parishioners to bring Communion to the parish community, register people for Mass and clean the church. The council maintained its fraternal life with virtual meetings and prayer nights and continued its charitable work while following safety guidelines. Collectively, the members of Council 7432 contributed more than 4,000 volunteer hours and raised nearly CA$7,000 for local charities over 18 months.

Leading general agents: Kevin Pierce of Oklahoma/Kansas (192% of quota) and Tony Rangel of Texas (167% of quota).

Leading field agents: Joseph Carlin of the Carlin Agency in Texas (664% of quota) and Shane Duplantis from the Cabirac Agency in Louisiana (385% of quota).

Top recruiters: Past State Deputy Walter Streit of Father Bonner Council 7599 in Edmonton, Alberta, was recognized as the top recruiter for 2020-2021 for the Order’s insurance territories, signing up 715 members. Noel Lacanilao of Manila (Luzon South) Council 1000 was recognized as the top recruiter for the Order’s non-insurance territories for signing up 863 members.

‘WE WANTED TO LOVE’

Knights of Columbus International Family of the Year recognized for their pro-life witness and service

Michał and Angelika Steciak of Rembieszyce, Poland, first met in 2006, during an event commemorating the anniversary of St. John Paul II’s death, and they have had a special devotion to him ever since. In fact, they were married Oct. 22, 2011, John Paul II’s first feast day after his beatification.

Only a few months after the wedding, Angelika was taken to the hospital with severe pain. The doctors found a cyst near an ovary, and both had to be removed.

“It made me enter premature menopause,” she said. “Over the next few years, it turned out that I would not be able to have children.”

Nevertheless, Michał and Angelika still felt a profound call to share their love with others. They founded an organization — the Angels’ Village Foundation— that helps elderly people and disabled children. They became involved in parish groups, including the Knights of Columbus. And they decided to try to adopt children.

“We prayed a lot through the intercession of St. John Paul II for help in choosing the path of our life,” said Michał, a member of St. John Bosco Council 16266 in Rembieszyce. “Once we had made the decision to adopt, various miracles and signs led us to our child.”

At the beginning of 2020, they attended a pro-life event at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Kraków. The speaker’s words deeply touched them: “If we care about life and everyone who has conceived, why don’t we adopt disabled children?”

Two days later, Michał and Angelika received a call from an adoption center asking if they would consider adopting a child with a genetic defect. The couple later found out that nine families before them hadn’t even wanted to meet the child, an infant boy named Piotr.

“We thought that it cannot be a coincidence. He was just waiting for us,” Michał said. “We wanted to love, and we wanted to give Piotr our love. Thank God for our son!”

In addition to their pro-life witness and activities, Michał and Angelika are actively involved in their parish, Sts. Peter and Paul, leading Bible studies and running a children’s choir.

Michał said that the Knights of Columbus has given him opportunities to serve the parish and local community while helping him strive for holiness alongside other Catholic men.

“It shows the true strength of men,” he said. “The work of the Knights of Columbus brings you closer to God.”

The Steciak family grew earlier this year with the adoption of a little girl. Marysia is now nearly a year old, and Piotr is 19 months.

“During evening prayers with our children, we make intentions through the intercession of St. John Paul II, whose image hangs in our bedroom,” Michał said. “We say, ‘St. John Paul II, pray for us.’ And they understand it.”

Pope Leo XIV speaks with Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori.

Called to Creative Courage

CHARITY IN TRUTH

‘THE HARVEST IS ABUNDANT’

HONORING EXEMPLARY SERVICE

LEAVE NO NEIGHBOR BEHIND

‘WE WANTED TO LOVE’

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