IWKnights Corner for January 1, 2023

Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus? 

For the fourth time we pull quotes from Pope St John Paul II.  “From his election in 1978 until his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II addressed more than two dozen messages to the Knights of Columbus.  From speaking to the K of C Board of Directors to sending letters to the annual Supreme Convention, the pope’s words were often characterized by appreciation and admiration for the Order’s work, as well as by reflections about its mission in the Church and the world today."  Because the Church acknowledges her Savior as the Lord of history, from the very beginning she saw the discovery of the New World as a fresh and urgent call to carry out the mission he entrusted to his Apostles: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).

I urge you to persevere in doing good works and to remain steadfast in the Catholic faith which has been handed on to you by the Church.  A passage from St. John expresses my sentiments well… “My reason for having written to you is not that you do not know the truth, but that you do” (1 Jn 2:21).  Let what you have from the beginning remain in your hearts.
— Message to 103rd Supreme Convention, Washington, D.C., 1985

In a society marked by the spread of messages opposed to the revelation in Christ of the Father’s redemptive love, the spirit of your Order calls you to bear clear and active witness to the final victory of God’s kingdom over the power of sin and death.  Your lives should be filled with the certainty of the hope announced by the Gospel of Jesus Christ (cf Rom 5:5).

It is clear that if the Church is to bring about successfully the renewal envisioned by the Second Vatican Council, her members need more intense catechesis and formation in the fundamentals of the faith.  They should be ever more conscious of their baptismal dignity, more assiduous in prayer and in the search for holiness, and more courageous in defending moral truth.  For this reason, I encourage the Knights to provide old and new members alike with an appropriate catechetical formation aimed at deepening their knowledge of the faith and their commitment to the Church’s life and mission.  Central to this effort should be the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Only on the basis of a clear and firm understanding of Christian doctrine will you be able to meet the spiritual and moral challenges of our age.  I am confident that the Knights will find practical ways to make the Catechism more widely known and used.
— Message to 115th Supreme Convention, Montreal, June 24, 1997

Joyful hope, rooted in the new life poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5), is the distinguishing mark of those who believe in Christ.  To radiate this hope is surely one of the most effective means by which the Knights can actively contribute to the new evangelization. The witness of hope is in fact one of the most powerful and attractive signs of the salvation which the Gospel offers to the men and women of our time, so frequently tempted to discouragement and despair.  I encourage all the Knights, most especially the young and those with young families, to strive to become ever more effective beacons of Christian joy and hope in the circumstances of their daily lives: at home, in the workplace and in society as a whole.  For generations the Knights of Columbus have helped to spread the Gospel message by showing solidarity with those in need.  In this way your Order has contributed to that outstanding “history of charity” (cf. Evangelium Vitae, 87) by which Christ’s followers in every age have sought to serve him in the least of his brothers and sisters.
— Message to the 116th Supreme Convention, Cincinnati, May 29, 1998

  The above article can be found in the  K of C’s Columbia On-Line magazine at KofC.org – or on IWKnights9981.com/bulletin, on facebook.com/IWknights9981, and on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights or by contacting Rob Schultz at (314) 973-2373.

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