Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus?
The columns of the last two weekends our column have, essentially, dealt with the story of Father Michael McGivney's path toward eventual sainthood. The key element of this story is the fact that Pope Francis announced that the Church has recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Father McGivney. This is the first of two miracles necessary for his ultimate canonization.
Interestingly, the background of this miracle trends toward the ironic as it involves a pro-life incident. The Knights, of course, have a long and robust history of promoting and raising funds for many pro-life charities. The story is too long to publish so we will present the basic facts and then point below to where you can view a copy of the entire story. It was originally published in the Tennessee Register, a pro-life newspaper, and written by Theresa Laurence.
"Five years ago, Dan and Michelle Schachle prayed to Venerable Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, to intercede with God to save their son, still in his mother’s womb, who was given no hope of surviving a life-threatening case of fetal hydrops.
When the condition, which is a dangerous accumulation of fluids throughout the body, disappeared, it triggered a long and complex process of evaluating whether a miracle attributable to Father McGivney’s intercession had occurred.
'It’s a strange thing to investigate, whether God has intervened in the world in an extraordinary way,' said Father Dexter Brewer, pastor of Christ the King Church in Nashville and a Vicar General of the Diocese of Nashville and former Judicial Vicar of the diocese, who oversaw the local tribunal investigating the miracle.
'It’s all very formal, and very intense,' Father Brewer said of the process, which involved dozens of interviews, examinations of medical evidence, months of work, and a very specific submission process to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The process begins in the diocese where the miracle occurred, explained Brian Caulfield, the vice postulator of Father McGivney’s cause for sainthood.
The local bishop, in this case the late Bishop David Choby, appoints members of a tribunal to gather all the facts of the case.
To verify an event is a miracle, “you have to prove two things,” Caulfield said. “The first thing is to prove this was a healing that’s not explained by medical science.”
The second is to clearly identify who people were praying to for their intercession, in this case, whether the intercession of Father McGivney was clearly invoked, Caulfield said."
You can link to the full article present above via one of the following sites. Also, find more about the Knights of Columbus at KofC.org - our web site or at iwknights9981.com/bulletin or in facebook.com/IWknights 9981 and NOW on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights.
Links Related to this week’s column:
The road to sainthood runs through Tennessee ......He is now one step closer to sainthood.. By Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register (5/1/2020) Five years ago, Dan and Michelle Schachle prayed to Venerable Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, to intercede with God to save their son, still in his mother’s womb, who was given no hope of surviving a life-threatening case of fetal hydrops.......... Click here for Article
Prayer for Protection in Time of Pandemic A Novena which seeks Our Lady’s Intercession for Protection in Time of Pandemic By His Holiness, Pope Francis (3/2020) A PRAYER FOR PROTECTION IN TIME OF PANDEMIC (PDF Version) Click here for the Prayer
Rack-in-the-Back . . . . . . . .
Please shop our book and CD Rack-in-the-Back. Suggested Donation for the CD's is $3.00/title - books on the top shelf are FREE.
We would like to talk with you about becoming an IW Knight. Please visit us on-line at our web site at www.IWknights.com/AboutUs. Or call Rob Schultz at: (314) 973-2373.
