March 2021 Dispatch

Brother Knights,

March 2021 provides a full month of . Before we know it, March will be gone and will be upon us, the greatest celebration of the Church. Not only will the promise of the Resurrection be a reason for joy, but spring should most likely be underway. Sure, there’s always a chance for inclement weather even into May, but the worst of it is certain to be behind us. So, brothers, let’s keep that in mind as we move through March - although there is a decent chance of still having unfavorable weather, we are close to the end!

Also near the end of March, we will celebrate the of on March 25, which is exactly nine months before . The Annunciation is a feast day that probably does not get as much attention as it deserves. The Annunciation celebrates Mary saying yes to the will of God, at which moment became incarnate in her womb through the working of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the salvation of the world! What a tremendous, astounding, and mysterious gift. The infinitely powerful and bodiless God had transcended down to creation to become one of us. Why? John tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

∞ ∞

Not only is it amazing that God chose to become a weak human being under the humblest of conditions, but it is absolutely crazy that God loves us enough, sinful as we are, to save us in the greatest act of love ever conceived. The plan of salvation, from eternity (even before creation itself), ordained that Jesus would redeem humanity by becoming fully man, while remaining fully God, and then offer Himself up to the Father in loving sacrifice on the Cross, pouring out His blood so that ours would be spared. Jesus traded His life so that we may have ours. His blood, the lifeblood of His very human and divine Self, was poured out as the catalyst and covenant for repairing the divided relationship between God and man. An infinitely good sacrifice of love to cancel out the infinitely terrible sin that man had brought into the world and committed against our infinitely good God.

The plan of salvation had to start somewhere, and it started with Mary agreeing to be the Mother of God. This is why the Annunciation is so important, and in fact, has historically been considered to be more important than Christmas in some ways. In order to make this Lent a great one, we too must start somewhere. We are asked to look inside ourselves and fast from those things in our lives that inordinately lead us away from the LORD or add things in our life that lead us closer to Him . The intention is build up the ability to say no to ourselves and yes to the things of God, just as Mary did. This is why it is so important to ask for her intercession. She is the perfect human model for how to live a holy life. This is why I am pushing the council to adopt a holy hour this Lent, every Thursday from 6 to 7 PM. Except for the Mass, there is no better way to grow closer to Jesus and be transfigured into a man of God (see Good of the Order below). Through Lent, through Mary, and through the Incarnate LORD, we will hopefully have a greater strength in resisting temptations and developing a life of holiness.

Mother Mary, our Lady of the Annunciation, pray for us! Help us to offer good penance and prayer to God for all sinners, especially through the remainder of Lent, that Jesus may be born evermore in our hearts and shared.

May God abundantly bless you and your families!

Happy birthday to Dennis Jonas!

Upcoming Events Summary – Mark Your Mobile Calendars! It’s the only way one can remember these things!

 Lasagna Building and Sale – the Knights are having another lasagna sale (no dinner)! The morning of Saturday, March 6, the lasagnas will be built between 8:30 to 10:00 and frozen for patrons to pick up later that evening after 5:30 PM Mass or after any Mass the following day. This is really good lasagna (St. Robert Bellarmine parishioners love it) and it’s a good time making them once the assembly lines get going. It also happens to be very effective fundraiser for the council. If you can help, please sign up using the Sign Up Genius link below. If you’re interested in supporting the council by purchasing a lasagna, you can purchase a half or full pan at the second link below.  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C44AFA92CAAFB6-march  https://tinyurl.com/SRBKOCLasagna2021

 Regional Free Throw Championship – the council Free Throw Championship, held on Tuesday, January 12, was a good success with 43 boys and girls participating. There were eight champions based on age and gender brackets that were eligible for the District competition. St. Robert Bellarmine Council 10108, under District Deputy Dennis Podjenski’s leadership, again hosted the District Free Throw Championship on Sunday, February 21. It was a really fun event and we had approximately 45 boys and girls participate, with four St. Robert’s kids advancing to the Regional Championship. The Regional Free Throw Championship will be hosted at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School on March 14 at 3:00 PM. I will be helping and supporting the St. Robert’s kids. Anyone else wanting to help and/or support can just show up as well.  Monthly Calendar

March Upcoming Events Birthdays Holy Days / Feast Days

1 Dennis Jonas St. of Wales

Shann McKeever, Timothy 2 St. Agnes of Bohemia Weiler

3 Ronald Thorngren St. Katharine Drexel

4 Knights Holy Hour Daniel McMahon St. Casimir St. John Joseph of the 5 Stephen Toth Cross St. Mary Ann of Jesus of 6 Lasagna Building Paredes Lasagna Sale/Donut 7 Dennis Podjenski St. Perpetua and St. Felicity Sunday

8 Gregg Vonnahme St. John of God

9 Bradley Kwiatek St. Frances of Rome

Leonard Becker, Robert 10 General Council Meeting St. Dominic Savio Blake

11 Knights Holy Hour Daniel Erker St. John Ogilvie

Sean Cuddigan, Jeff Holbrook, 12 Blessed Angela Salawa Matthew Lathrop, Gary Schmitz

13 St. Leander of Seville

Regional Free Throw 14 St. Maximilian Championship Gregory Kunz, Curtis 15 St. Louise de Marillac Neesen, Randy Kurtenbach

16 Scott McCarthy St. Clement Mary Hofbauer

John Beers, Steve Patterson, 17 St. Patrick Deacon Joe Laird

18 Knights Holy Hour St. Cyril of

St. Joseph, Husband of 19 Mary Gregory Reynolds, Joe 20 St. Salvator of Horta Taylor

21 Blessed John of Parma

22 St. Nicholas Owen

23 St. Turibius of Mogrovejo

24 Officer Meeting St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero

25 Knights Holy Hour Annunciation of the LORD + 26 St. Catherine of Genoa

Richard Mangus, David 27 St. Lazarus Sambol, Al Menghini 

28 St. Catharine of Bologna

29 St. Ludovico of Casoria

30 St. Peter Regalado

Chris Wheeler, Michael 31 St. Stephen of Mar Saba Burke, James Egan, Jr. *Bold Underlined Numerical Dates Represent Sunday – Don’t Forget Mass and Rest! *Bold , Italicized, and Underlined Dates Represent Holy Days of Obligation +Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the LORD. May it be done to me according to your word.” -:38, NABRE

Nine Months Prior to Christmas – The Annunciation of the LORD (The Incarnation)

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name Him Jesus.”

- Luke 1:31, NABRE

Good of the Order

 “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.”  - Mark 9:7, New American , Revised Edition (NABRE)

Brother Knights,

Every second week of Lent, as with this last weekend, we revisit the miracle of the Transfiguration, only reading the same version every third year. The other two versions are from the of Matthew and Luke, with this year being the according to Mark. It is striking how very similar all versions are with minor, yet expected, differences in descriptive terms and writing styles. This second Sunday is not the actual feast day of the Transfiguration, but it does serve a very practical purpose for the season of Lent and I would like to explore that here.

I will use a phrase that I read from Bishop Robert Barron. The Transfiguration is the version of the . However, consider how much greater this event actually is over Moses experiencing and hearing God in the form of a burning bush. Peter, James, and John are in the actual presence of the Incarnate God Himself, Jesus, Who suddenly becomes engulfed in a dazzling and blinding light. This is indeed a small, yet glorious, experience of Heaven. Peter has no clue what to do or say, but he knows that it is good that they are there and he wants to stay in that moment. This is why he offers to build three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.

While Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are discussing Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion, and death, it’s hard to imagine what other thoughts and sensations the three Apostles were experiencing – being they were enveloped in a taste of Heaven. A couple of the sensations they had to have felt was peace and joy, yet the moment is suddenly disrupted by the voice of God the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.” The three went from joy to fearful, yet the instruction and command could not be any clearer. Fortunately, Jesus tells them that they need not be afraid.

The Apostles were no doubt changed that day. Peter, James, and John were instructed by Jesus to not tell anyone about the event until He had risen from the dead. They had to have been constantly going over the details of what happened that day in their minds until Jesus’ Passion, but they had no idea why it happened. The main point to extrapolate is that Jesus had transfigured them as well in preparation for their upcoming ministry. In fact, the three men would certainly make some connections with what they had witnessed and how they were to apply it to worship following the Resurrection, Ascension, and . It is because of the instruction of the Apostles that we continue to prominently place the Transfiguration in the context of the Mass and during Lent.

Picture the Transfiguration in the context of the Mass today. Jesus is the High Priest, working through the priest celebrating the Mass, and we are present in His glory as we are surrounded by the Communion of Saints in Heaven (Moses and Elijah included). The Mass is the joining of Heaven and earth, where we eternally offer the sacrifice of Jesus to the Father. Jesus is again raised up, but it’s on a Cross. At first thought, there is nothing glorious about the brutal death of Jesus on the Cross; however, remember that the Mass is the memorial of His death and Resurrection. The glory of God has been revealed through the , through the death of Jesus, through the Cross of Jesus. We surround the table of the wedding feast and worship our God Who has saved us. We follow the command to “listen” to Jesus as we read from Sacred Scripture and we receive His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – the most powerful gift we have for continuing on the journey of holiness that we may finally reach Heaven eternally. Now, if you are thinking this is all really difficult to keep in mind all at once and especially during the Mass, you are not alone. We are simply human and can only do so much at once; however, I would like to point out that Jesus is our greatest ally in making good progress for living out holiness.

It seems that we often believe that the effort and struggle to be holy lies monstrously and solely on our shoulders. Well, the Transfiguration and the words of Jesus show us that this is simply not the case. The Transfiguration story shows us that Jesus lead Apostles Peter, James, and John to the mountain where He would be transfigured. It was His will that they experience Heaven and His glory for their benefit and the benefit of all Christians through the ages. How often is it in Sacred Scripture that we see God making the first move or instigating change upon someone for their good? It is quite often, and we can be assured that He is just as interested in us today. God is always reaching us in small ways, sometimes greater ways. We are alive today because of His goodness and we should thank Him for the faith He has instilled in us, which has led us to His Church and the Knights of Columbus.

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus tells us, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy, and My burden light.” You see now that the mission to be holy is not entirely up to us, but Jesus does ask us to seek Him, to strive for Him in our everyday lives. This is what Lent is about. We are interested in and focused on the intricate details of our lives that may lead us away from the LORD. We also must do things, increase them or add them, in our lives that aid us in walking with Jesus. The best way to know and love Jesus better is through prayer in the most holy Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. “Listen to Him.”

Through the Mass and visitation of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we go to Jesus, we ask Him for His help. It is through these simple acts of faith that Jesus looks upon all of us with mercy and grants us grace. It is the grace of God that transfigures us again and again, our heart, mind, and soul, so that we can be more like Him. Lent is a wonderful time to amplify our efforts in the days leading up to the Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus. This is the surest way to increase faith, hope, and love for an uplifting celebration of Jesus’ conquering of death for all humanity – the reason for which He came to earth in the Annunciation.

For the good of the Order, please continue your prayers for and visits to our sick or deceased brother Knights and their families, those in our parish, and especially those who have asked for our prayers (see also bulletin requests and Fr. McKercher’s prayer requests on Facebook). I would ask that you consider offering prayers for the repose of the soul of the brother Knight we lost within the last month – Don Egr. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you know of anyone who could use our prayers and would like to be added to the prayer intentions of our council and state.

May Jesus Christ transfigure us this Lent,

Kyle K. Uhing Grand Knight St. Robert Bellarmine Council 10108 Call or Text: (402) 640-3604 Email: [email protected]

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” – Matthew 25:40, NABRE

Annunciation Prayer of Faith

Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Word, You became Incarnate as man in the womb of the Blessed Mary. You, through Whom the universe was created, began Your earthly course, in the womb of a humble and chase Virgin. At the annunciation of this miracle, Mary responded in faith, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” May we who are made new creatures by Your grace, respond with such faith when You call us to Your service.

Amen.

Tempus Fugit, Memento Mori 