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From The Grand Knight June 2009 Brothers, Please accept my sincere thanks for your confidence in electing me as your Grand Knight this past year. So many of you have lifted my spirits this difficult year simply by just saying yes when you wanted to say no. You have helped so many people, and in the process, I hope it has helped you in your own life. Thank you to our officers and committee chairmen who have taken their responsibilities very seriously and made many projects successful this year. If you get the chance, thank our Church staff for their help this year. They have gotten us back “into the Church” (especially the kitchen) and they patiently work with each new Grand Knight every year. Join me in supporting our new slate of officers for next year. They are dedicated to continuing the works of our Council and our Order, and they have some great new ideas. Reach out to our new and incoming brothers who have made a commitment to our Council and help make them feel welcome. Please consider a leadership position (officer, committee chairman) in your Council when you feel the time is right for you. Talk with an officer or trustee and let them know of your interest. Our next meeting will be Monday, June 1st at Verdi Lodge. We will elect our new officers, and discuss plans for a monument to the unborn to be placed at Redeemer. Please plan to join us. The meeting will be pot luck, so bring a favorite dish or snack to share with the group. Once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as Grand Knight of one of the greatest Knights of Columbus Councils in the state of Virginia! “Know that the Lord is God; he has made us and we are his own, his people, the flock which he shepherds. Give thanks to him and bless his name; for the Lord is good and his love is everlasting, his constancy endures to all generations.” Ps. 100
Vivat Jesus,
The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is the topic of this month’s article by Bishop Lori. I remember as a young man who attended Catholic schools for a few years, going to dances and the Nuns walking around separating couples who were dancing saying, “Make room for the Holy Spirit”. Other than that, I don’t remember much talk about the Holy Spirit. Yet it is as important to the Church as the Father and Son. Bishop Lori calls the Spirit “the driving force” of the Church’s life. How important is the Spirit in our lives and the life of the Church? We initiate our prayer in the name of the Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit and we are baptized in the name of that same Trinity. We also profess our belief in the Holy Spirit each time we pray the Apostles Creed or Nicene Creed and we celebrate the outpouring of the Spirit in a special way on Pentecost and in the Sacrament of Confirmation. I can’t help but think that how appropriate that this series of articles reaches the Holy Spirit as the topic so close to Pentecost. It must be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has existed through all eternity with the other two persons of the Trinity. We hear in Genesis how the Spirit of God was present before creation. In the first story of creation we hear of a mighty wind that swept over the waters. In the second story of creation we hear how God blew into man the “breath of life”. Throughout the Jewish history we hear of the presence of the Spirit of God. The Spirit rushed upon David when Samuel anointed him. We hear how God breathed his Spirit into the dry bones bringing them back to life. In Isaiah we hear many references to the Spirit of God. In Chapter 11 he hear: “The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him” and in Chapter 61, we hear it proclaimed “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me... to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.” In the Gospels and the other writings of the New Testament we also hear references to the Spirit. At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke we hear how the Spirit of God descended upon Mary and she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus talks about another advocate and the Spirit coming to the disciples. When John’s disciples ask Jesus if he is the one to come, Jesus tells them to go and report what they see and hear; the blind see, the lame walk and the poor have the Good News preacher to them. This is a direct reference to Isaiah 61. He quotes Isaiah again in the Synagogue when he stands and reads from Isaiah and then proclaims that this Scripture to be fulfilled in their hearing. After his resurrection, Jesus appears to the Disciples and says, “Peace be to you, receive the Holy Spirit...” In Paul we hear about the outpouring of the Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us that there are many gifts but one Spirit. The Spirit of God was not only very active in the history of the Jewish people and in the early Church; it is also alive and very present in the Church today and to us. The Spirit provides us with the impetus to begin God’s work and the strength to see it through. In the Sacrament of Confirmation all of us received a special outpouring of the Spirit in our lives and this presence is reaffirmed every year in our celebration of Pentecost. Bishop Lori says that the Spirit animates the Church and gives life to it. We as members of the Church should also be animated and given life by the Spirit. However, this happens only when we are open to the presence of the Spirit in our lives and respond to it. The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Third Person of the Trinity, not matter what name we attach to the Spirit, it is present to us. Do we respond to this presence? Are we open to this presence in our lives? To be “a practicing Catholic as understood by the Church” we must respond to the call of the Spirit in our lives. Sometimes it will be a soft whisper in the wind or it might come through our spouses, or brother Knights. It might even come through our Children. It does come to us in many different ways. Our task is to be ready to recognize that presence and to respond. HAPPY PENTECOST Support our sponsors!
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