We Are Knights

My Brother Knights. I write this article with two themes rolling around in my head. The first is the magnificent demonstration of Charity throughout South Texas in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and which continues even now. The second is our ongoing, routine outreach to Brother Knights and widows of Brother Knights.

It's easy to ask why God permits such chaos and destruction as many witnessed firsthand in South Texas, then the Caribbean and Florida. I think perhaps it is not to punish people, but to allow the great goodness present in the vast majority of people to shine forth. Many of us watched on TV as numerous rescues were conducted by first responders, our Military but also frequently by neighbors and people who came from far and wide to help. Nobody asked them, they just came. When the floodwaters receded, the effort moved to one of cleanup, cleanout and the start of early stages of rebuilding. I’m not going to dwell on the specifics of the many acts of Charity performed by Knights of Columbus members from Texas and across the nation as I’m sure our Charity Director will in his article, but will merely repeat an observation Bishop Callahan made at our October Officers and Directors meeting – “Don’t underestimate how much people notice the good that you do”. As Knights, we know firsthand the tremendous sense of joy that comes from serving others with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Brothers, I believe a large number of Catholic gentlemen have observed or heard about the work of the Knights in South Texas and would like to be a part of this great organization. Let us make it our mission to ask them to join us. I used the video of Sir Knight Gene Kranz talking about his personal experience in Hurricane Harvey as part of our Councils pulpit talks for our recruiting weekend, and found it very powerful. I think you will too. Here is a link if you have not seen it, please take two minutes and watch it.

The second stems from a chance encounter I had at Mass at my home parish. My wife and I are on the ministry team for the 5PM Mass on Sundays, so we are pretty much always at the back of Church. Before Mass, the widow of a Brother Knight from my Assembly stopped to say hello (she had begun attending Mass at our Church). As we talked, our Councils upcoming Clergy Appreciation Dinner came up and she indicated she would like to attend. Lori and I invited her to attend and sit with us. The short story is that during conversation I realized we as Knights had not done a good job reaching out to this lovely lady. Brothers, this points out to me the need to continually ask ourselves if we are doing enough to reach out to our Brother Knights and potentially their widows? How many of our Councils keep an eye on their rosters and ask Council members to reach out to members they haven’t seen for a while. Does your Council have a phone tree? Why haven’t we seen our Brothers? Are they sick? Have they lost their job? Are they in a situation where we as Brother Knights could help them – that is one of the primary reasons we are Knights! So, please take a look at how your councils and assemblies reach out to keep Brother Knights engaged and involved, to react when there may be an opportunity to help and to serve, and absolutely to keep an eye on the widows and children of deceased Brother Knights.

Vivat Jesus! Viva Cristo Rey!