IWKnights Corner For September 5, 2021
– 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus?

In August, the Knights of Columbus celebrated "100 Years of Columbia" - our magazine.  What follows is a column by the editor of the Columbia, Alton J. Pelowski, entitled High Standards.

"During a visit around the time I was in graduate school, a copy of Columbia in my parents’ dining room caught my eye. I had seen Columbia countless times, since my father had been a Knight of Columbus for some 25 years, but this was the first time I recall picking it up and reading it. Impressed — and, dare I say, surprised — by the quality and relevance of several faith-related articles, I asked my dad, 'This is the magazine you’ve been getting all this time? Is it always this good?'

Within a couple short years, I not only joined the Knights myself but also moved to New Haven to work on Columbia’s editorial staff. Still, it would be several more years before I really came to appreciate Columbia’s rich history, dating back to its inaugural issue in August 1921. From its beginning, the magazine was an ambitious project, featuring a remarkable lineup of prominent and talented contributors.

In those days, Supreme Knight James Flaherty was surely Columbia’s biggest fan. His column marking the fifth anniversary in 1926 gushes to a comical degree — yet it also rings true, for he was writing in the middle of the illustrious editorial tenure of Myles Connolly, who would go on to become a successful screenwriter, producer and author.

'You, as members of the Order, are, perhaps, a little too close to Columbia to see clearly the important and authoritative position it holds,' Flaherty wrote. 'It should be a source of pride to every Knight of Columbus....Columbia is like no other magazine. No other magazine is like Columbia. It accepts no other magazine as a standard of excellence by which to measure its own progress. Its contents are as wholesome as they are varied. Its wholesomeness is made of truth and strength and Catholic ideals.”

Five years later, an editorial signed 'Supreme Board of Directors' was a bit more modest: 'The observance of our tenth birthday involves certain difficulties. The first and greatest is that we are in the position of a man who is giving a party in honor of himself. It can be done but it is not easily done with good grace. Whatever is said here, then, is not said with the intention of insinuating that, in ten years, Columbia has achieved perfection.'

Columbia has undergone a series of evolutions over the past century and its effectiveness has varied, but certain things have not changed. The editorial staff remains committed to producing quality informative — and formative — articles. We also hope the magazine is a source of pride for Knights everywhere, even as we acknowledge that there is still much room for improvement.

As we pause to commemorate this centennial milestone — as well as the recent installation of Patrick E. Kelly as the 14th supreme knight and the first feast day of Blessed Michael McGivney on Aug. 13 — we also look forward to developing creative and compelling Columbia content in the months ahead."

To find the link to our feature story - and other information about the Knights of Columbus -  can be found at IWKnights9981.com/bulletin or on facebook.com/IWknights9981 and NOW on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights.

Links Related to this week’s column:

High Standards
	Devotion to Father McGivney is growing — and so are reports of his intercessory help.
		By Alton J. Pelowski, Knights of Columbus' Columbia Magazine (7/1/2021)
			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