IWKnights Corner for August 14, 2022  — 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time  

Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus? 

“FOR GENERATIONS, Knights have heard the words Tempus fugit. Memento mori — ‘Time flies. Remember death’ — as they are inducted into the Order.  Those simple yet profound words took on new meaning for me and my family earlier this year as I lay in urgent care with symptoms of a heart attack.

When you have wires attached to your body and hear the constant beeping of monitoring machines, interrupted by periodic blood draws, you can’t help but think that life is short and death very near.  I remember looking at my wife, a bedrock of strength, as she sat by the bed.  Next year is our 20th wedding anniversary.  Would I be here to stand beside her to renew our vows?  And what about our teenage daughter and son?  Would I get to walk my daughter down the wedding aisle?  Would I be around to see my son carry on the family name, with a wife and children of his own?  Was I ready to leave them?  If I died, was I leaving them enough financially to carry on?

Thanks be to God, I wasn’t called home to the Father that day.  That sense of gratitude extends to my family, friends and parish community, who all provided prayer and support.  Thankfully, I will have more opportunities to serve as a steward and sentinel, providing for and protecting those whom the Lord has entrusted to my care.  But I am a changed man, hopefully for the better, and people now ask me what I learned.

Death is not the end.  The urgency of a health emergency places the purpose and priorities of your life in order.  You realize very fast, and in a very real way, the scarcity of time.  Flat on my back, I wasn’t thinking about work meetings; rather, a multitude of blessings flashed to the forefront of my mind.

Carmelite Father Wilfrid Stinissen (1927-2013) helps us put such experiences in perspective in his book Eternity in the Midst of Time.  He describes time not as a flat line but as an upward spiral.  Our time on earth is a pilgrimage on an ascending path toward eternal life with an infinite, loving Lord.  ‘If we look at man’s purpose and destiny, which is to be introduced into the life of the Trinity, then it is clear that time is a gift.  Time gives us a chance to grow,’ writes Father Stinissen, who later asks, ‘Is man only on a journey toward death … or is he on a journey toward life?’

Cultivate a rosary relationship. I had — and still have — days when it isn’t easy to focus as I pray the rosary.  But since I left the hospital, the rosary has been the primary way I cultivate my relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary and her son.  In the mysteries of the rosary, Mary provides me with encouragement, refreshment and renewal.  The humility demonstrated during the Annunciation, the patience practiced in the Carrying of the Cross, the fortitude found during the Descent of the Holy Spirit: The mysteries aren’t just past events when prayed in the context of a relationship; they’re concrete lessons applicable to our daily life, given to us through the loving heart of Mary.

Heed heroes of virtue. Eternal eyesight and a rosary relationship also help us see and appreciate virtue in others.  History is full of heroes in this regard whom the Church recognizes as saints.  We Knights have a special model in Blessed Michael McGivney.  His own life on earth was short (he died Aug. 14, 1890, at age 38), but he spent his time tirelessly practicing faith and charity.  He saw the problems facing Catholics and the parish families in his day, and he acted, founding an Order that today is a blessing to millions around the globe.

‘But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father’ (Mk 13:32).  Set aside time in the days ahead to consider the fleeting nature of our lives.  With your senses spiritually attuned through and in prayer, think about your legacy as a provider and protector.  And assisted by your guardian angel and the intercession of saints and blesseds, remember that when death arrives, in faith you will never die alone.”

From the KofC Columbia on-line magazine – a column by Jason Godin entitled To Dust we shall Return – find the link and more at IWKnights9981.com/bulletin or on facebook.com/IWknights9981 and NOW on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights. For more information about the IW Knights of Columbus - contact Rob Schultz at (314) 973-2373.

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