The Spirit Knights of Columbus Scott A
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The Spirit Knights of Columbus Scott A. MacDonald Council 8512 V OLUME 3 7 I SSUE 8 A UGUST 2020 COUNCIL OFFICERS The Bodily Assumption of Mary Chaplain ...................... Fr. Anh Tran ............ (817) 284-4811 Grand Knight ................ Mike Dellies ............. (817) 656-1492 By Matt Slick Deputy Grand Knight.... Robert Sands............ (817) 988-3376 The Bodily Assumption of Mary is the Roman Catholic teaching Chancellor ..................... John Giglio ............. (817) 281-4617 that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was bodily assumed into Recorder .................... Allan Fitzwater ........... (817) 528-8142 heaven. Treasurer ................... Gary Yanowski ........... (817) 656-1142 "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all Financial Secretary ....... Mark Krueger ........... (817) 939-1192 stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life Lecturer ....................... Juan Valdez ............. (817) 966-8925 was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly Advocate .................... Terry Barnhard .......... (817) 707-6135 glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so Warden ..................... Gary Obudzinski ......... (817) 656-3274 that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Guard .......................... Paul Cuttica ............. (518) 774-4019 Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death."508 The As- Guard ........................ Paul Posluszny ........... (724) 987-3126 sumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in Trustee (3-Year) ....... Ken Kenvin, PGK ......... (817) 595-4104 her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrec- Trustee (2-Year) ........Jerry Dews, PGK ......... (817) 932-0551 tion of other Christians: Trustee (1-Year) .... Bobby Donahoo, PGK ...... (817) 498-9628 This is a Roman Catholic dogma, which means it is a required INSURANCE and essential teaching that must be believed by all Roman Field Agent .............. Terry Peffers, PGK ........ (817) 690-7924 Catholics. FOURTH DEGREE "the Blessed Virgin Mary's bodily Assumption into heaven -- District 3 Master ........... Pat Conway which surely no faculty of the human mind could know by San Juan Diego Assembly 2857 its own natural powers, as far as the heavenly glorification Faithful Navigator ..... SK Dick Norgaard ........ (817) 656-2529 of the virginal body of the loving Mother of God is con- Comptroller .. SK Ejikeme “EJ” Alozie-Nwagboso cerned--is a truth that has been revealed by God and con- DIOCESE sequently something that must be firmly and faithfully be- Diocesan Rep. ............. Bruce Mallory ........... (817) 807-2982 lieved by all children of the Church," District Deputy ............ Obie Obregon ........... (817) 528-2393 Some Roman Catholics maintain that Mary physically died and was then assumed bodily into heaven, while others teach that she did not experience death at all. The consensus seems to be that Mary died, but that her body did not see corruption and was instead assumed into heaven. Consider this quote Inside this issue: from the Vatican website which strongly implies that she died. Calendar 3 Belief in the glorious destiny of the body and soul of the Lord's Mother after her death spread very rapidly from East Birthday News 4 to West." Pro-Life Corner 5 "Regarding the day, year, and manner of Our Lady's death, News You Can Use 8 nothing certain is known." Volunteer Opportunities 13 (Continued on Page 4) T HE S PIRIT P A G E 2 Grand Knight’s Message Brother Knights, As we enter the heart of the summer, the temperatures are warming up. By this time of the year, I usually fee like the heat will never end. A feeling that is reinforced each night when I watch the weather forecast. Hot today, hot tomorrow, hot for weeks. Thankfully, it’s been a little cooler than normal this year. What a nice change. Replacing the heat this year is the COVID pandemic. The despair of endless heat has been replaced with the despair of being stuck in the house or having our out-of-the-home freedoms limited. I think I would rather have the heat. Just like the old saying goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Keep this in mind as we persevere through this unusual time. With the COVID pandemic holding steady and not subsiding, there’s been no word from authorities, and thus the Diocese, about the easing of meeting restrictions. That means we’ll continue to have our business and officers’ meetings via Zoom. The Zoom virtual meetings may not be the best way to conduct business, but one benefit is it keeps us on track and the meetings short and to the point. I’m sure we’ll miss that aspect once we return to face-to-face meetings. The inability to hold on-campus meeting on Church property, and uncertainty of when restrictions will ease, has led to the cancellation of the 2020 Fall Fest. Bummer! Although the Fall Fest is a lot of work, it is my favorite activity we do as a Council. I’m sure some of you share that feeling and are just as disappointed as I am. Nonetheless, we are still planning on holding a garage sale at some point to generate seed money for the next Fall Fest. If we’re fortunate to be able to have one before the end of the calendar year (I have my doubts), we could conceivably have two garage sales before the next Fall Fest. Having two garage sales before the next Fall Fest would allow us some more opportunities for enhancing the 2021Fall Fest (think entertainment or activities). Other ‘usual’ activities are also being or have been affected, such as the cancellation of half of our 2020 Fish Fry Fridays and the monthly sandwich making for the Presbyterian Night Shelter to name a few. Without these ac- tivities, it’s hard for us to stay connected with each other. Speaking of not being connected, the restrictions on mass attendance could potentially lead to the loss of some parishioners. There is a real concern that mass attendance post-COVID will be less than before the pandemic began. That would be an unfortunate turn of events. Attendance prior to the pandemic had already begun to diminish. One website I visit reported that for the period 2014 to 2017, an average of 39% of Catholics reported attending church in the past seven days. This is down from an average of 45% from 2005 to 2008 and represents a steep decline from 75% in 1955. That’s a trend in the wrong direction, especially given the hits the Church has taken over the past decade or so. First it was the child abuse scandal, which severely damaged the image of the Catholic Church in general, and the public’s overall perception of parish priests in particular. Both the Church and our priests need our prayers now as much as ever. It was said during a recent Fraternal Benefits Night online presentation, the "Asiatic flu" or "Russian flu" pandem- ic was ravaging the country during the late 1800s. Also during that time, men were falling away from the Church in search of a sense of belonging. Coincidentally, the late 1800s is when Fr. Michael J. McGivney’s priesthood was at its peak. As you well know, he began the Knights of Columbus to take care of the widows and orphans who otherwise did not have a male figure in their lives to watch over them. Did you also know that the Knights were also created to prevent Catho- lic men from entering secret societies directly opposed to Church teaching? The parallels between the late 1800s and today are striking. God’s plan during the late 1800s was to utilize Fr. McGivney to create an organization where the emphasis is on serving one’s Church, community and family with virtue. What do you think God’s plans are for the Catholic Church during present times? Fr. McGivney was a typical parish priest who answered a call to action. Are you today’s champion for the Catholic Church? Remem- ber, Jesus called ordinary people and sinners to be his Apostles. As Knights of Columbus, we are called to be that champion for our Catholic faith. Faith through our words and deeds is our call to action. Keep strong during these times and pray the Rosary often for the health of our Catholic faith. Vivat Jesus! SK Mike Dellies, Grand Knight FALL FEST 2020 HAS BEEN CANCELLED Due to the COVID pandemic and the restrictions on gathering, the St. John’s Fall Fest for 2020 has been cancelled. Look for us again next year. T HE S PIRIT P A G E 3 Calendar of Events ALL MEETINGS ARE VIRTUAL UNTIL THE EASING OF COVID-19 MEETING RESTRICTIONS August 2020 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 1ST SAT. MASS 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ZOOM BUSINESS MTG 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 ZOOM OFFICER MTG. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 THIS MONTH’S EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS 1st 1st Saturday Mass SEPTEMBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 3rd Sandwich Making 3rd Business Meeting 1st Business Meeting 6th Business Meeting 5th 1st Saturday Mass 3rd 1st Saturday Mass 9th Breakfast (tentative) 7th Sandwich Making 5th Sandwich Making 11th Birthday Dinner 8th Birthday Dinner 11th Breakfast (tentative) 20th Officers’ Meeting 13th Breakfast (tentative) 13th Birthday Dinner 26th Chapter Meeting 17th Officers’ Meeting 15th Officers’ Meeting 30th Chapter Meeting 28th Chapter Meeting T HE S PIRIT P A G E 4 BIRTHDAY NEWS Council 8512 proudly supports the following seminarian: AUGUST BIRTHDAYS Joseph Hoffschwelle 2 Steven Miller 18 James Werline Michael Marincel 3 Ronnie Hodges 19 Jonathan Knowles Please keep them in your prayers. 3 James Peterson, Jr.