IWKnights Corner (Bulletin Insert) For July 7, 2019

Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus?

For the much of a year, a Knight of Columbus have been touring the country and Puerto Rico with a special and very Catholic relic.  It is the incorrupt heart of St Jean Marie Vianney.  The following, and next week’s piece, are excerpts from a very interesting story written by Rosemary Sullivan, the executive director of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors. 

“The greatest gift the Knights of Columbus may have brought to a national gathering of 17,000 young Catholics in January was an opportunity to experience a deeper silence.

The Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ biennial SEEK Conference is usually marked by uncontainable joy for Christ as well as periods of silent reflection, especially at Mass and other times of prayer.

Held in Indianapolis Jan. 3-7, this year’s gathering included something special, the incorrupt heart of St. Jean Marie Vianney.  The major relic had a profound effect on the participating students, especially during adoration.  It also touched the 350 seminarians and more than 400 priests on hand as Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, is revered by Catholic clergy as the model of priestly holiness.

The Fellowship of Catholic University Students, or FOCUS, is a Catholic collegiate outreach whose mission is to share the hope and joy of the Gospel with college and university students.  FOCUS holds the SEEK conference in order to, as its mission states, know Christ and fulfill his great commission.

In addition to daily Mass, confession, top-notch workshops and speakers, the organizers arranged for daily Eucharistic adoration overseen this year by DiocesanPriest.com.  It offered a quiet place for prayer and conversation with God. Each day the chapel was packed and some of those sacred conversations could be seen etched on the faces of those in prayer.

The silence was first felt on Friday evening when the relic arrived at SEEK 2019 as part of a national pilgrimage that will stretch into the spring.

Catholic journalists and reporters have written about the tremendous response of the young people in wanting to venerate the relic.  At one point on Friday evening, the chapel had over 3,000 people and could not fit another soul, all in prayer, all in absolute silence.

For more details on the K of C-sponsored tour of the incorrupt heart of St. Jean Vianney, visit kofc.org/vianney.”

You can find the link to the entire piece in the KofC.org web site (in the “For Chaplains” section) or at www.IWKnights.com/bulletin or at facebook.com/IWknights9981 and NOW on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights.

Links Related to this week’s column:

KNIGHTS OFFER THE SILENCE OF SANCTITY TO YOUNG CATHOLICS
	KOFC.ORG > For Chaplains > Knights Offer the Silence of Sanctity to Young Catholics.
		By Rosemary Sullivan (2019)
			The greatest gift the Knights of Columbus may have brought to a national gathering of 17,000 young Catholics in January was an opportunity to experience a deeper silence.....
				Click here for the article.