The Spirit Knights of Columbus Scott A. MacDonald Council 8512 V OLUME 3 7 I SSUE 3 M ARCH 2020 COUNCIL OFFICERS The Month of St. Joseph, Foster Fa- Chaplain ...................... Fr. Anh Tran ............ (817) 284-4811 Grand Knight ................ Mike Dellies ............. (817) 656-1492 ther of Jesus Christ Deputy Grand Knight.... Dave Tyrone ............ (682) 551-2793 n the United States, the month of Chancellor ..................... John Giglio ............. (817) 281-4617 March is most often associated with St. Recorder ..................... Robert Sands............ (817) 988-3376 Patrick, tons of corned beef and cab- Treasurer ................... Gary Yanowski ........... (817) 656-1142 bage, and many gallons of Irish stout Financial Secretary ....... Mark Krueger ........... (817) 939-1192 are consumed on March 17 in his honor. Lecturer ....................... Juan Valdez ............. (817) 966-8925 However, throughout most of the rest Advocate .................... Terry Barnhard .......... (817) 707-6135 of the Catholic world (with the excep- Warden ..................... Gary Obudzinski ......... (817) 656-3274 tion of Ireland), the month of March is Guard .......................... Paul Cuttica ............. (518) 774-4019 associated with St. Joseph, the husband Guard ........................ Paul Posluszny ........... (724) 987-3126 of the Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ. St. Trustee (3-Year) ....... Ken Kenvin, PGK ......... (817) 595-4104 Joseph's feast day falls two days later on March 19. Trustee (2-Year) ........Jerry Dews, PGK ......... (817) 932-0551 The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of March to Trustee (1-Year) .... Bobby Donahoo, PGK ...... (817) 498-9628 St. Joseph and urges believers to pay special attention to his INSURANCE life and example. In the 20th century, several popes had a Field Agent .............. Terry Peffers, PGK ........ (817) 690-7924 deep devotion to St. Joseph. Pope St. Pius X, pope from 1903 to 1914, approved a public litany, the "Litany to St. Joseph," FOURTH DEGREE while Pope John XXIII, pope from 1958 to 1963, wrote "A Pray- District 3 Master ..............Bill Elliot er for Workers," asking St. Joseph to intercede for them. San Juan Diego Assembly 2857 Faithful Navigator ....... SK John Bergs The Catholic Church urges fathers to cultivate a devotion to Comptroller .............. SK Dick Norgaard ........ (817) 656-2529 St. Joseph, whom God chose to care for his Son. The church urges believers to teach your sons about the virtues of father- DIOCESE hood through his example. Diocesan Rep. ............. Bruce Mallory ........... (817) 807-2982 District Deputy ........... Jerry Hightower .......... (817) 691-0213 An Offering to St. Joseph O great St. Joseph, thou generous depositary and dispenser of immortal riches, behold us prostrate at thy feet, imploring thee to receive us as thy servants and as thy children. Next to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, of which thou art the faithful copy, we acknowledge that there is no heart more tender, more compassionate than thine. What, then, have we to fear, or, rather, for what should we Inside this issue: not hope, if thou dost deign to be our benefactor, our mas- ter, our model, our father, and our mediator? Refuse not, Birthday Dinner News 3 then, this favor, O powerful protector! We ask it of thee by the love thou hast for Jesus and Mary. Into thy hands we News You Can Use 4 commit our souls and bodies, but above all the last moments Breakfast Crew Schedule 4 of our lives. Pro-Life Corner 5 May we, after having honored, imitated, and served thee on Calendar 6 earth, eternally sing with thee the mercies of Jesus and Mary. Amen. Fish Fry Fridays 18 T HE S PIRIT P A G E 2 Grand Knight’s Message Anyone hungry? How about some...fish? Lent is here and that means our Council is once again hosting Fish Fry Fridays in the St. John’s Assembly Room and gym. One of the last things we did as a Council before February ended was hold our first Fish Fry of the year. We had a good turnout, and lots of help! Thank you to all of those that helped, I know Obie Obregon surely appreciated the help on his first night as the Fish Fry chairman. So, why no meat on Friday during lent? The answer should be obvious. Abstaining from meat is a penance im- posed by the Church to commemorate the day of the Crucifixion of Our Lord. But, are you aware that the Fri- day abstinence rule is still in effect throughout the entire year? Technically, The the consumption of meat is allowed only if some other sacrifice or good work was substituted in its place. Well now. What sort of penance have you been doing since last year’s Lent? I guess praying the Stations of the Cross, saying extra Rosaries, or some other additional similar offering are in my future if I want that big ol’ juicy burger on Friday once Lent is over. Did you know that the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Friday was the reason for the creation of McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich? Because hamburger sales dropped off noticeably on Fridays, the owner of the franchise in Cincinnati introduced the new offering, and sales picked up again. Wow! When do you think we as Catholics had so much influence on society since then? The answer is every day! The way in which we choose to live our lives as Catholic gentlemen, and whether we choose to be firm in our convictions, can be influential. Imagine if all Catholics voted the same way on the issue of abortion, whether Republican or Democrat. Pick your issue. If Catholics acted as one, think of the possibilities! Oh, but think how “boring” life would be if we really lived out our Catholic faith. Do you think the most recent Superbowl halftime show would have occurred if modesty were more important than the so-called ‘dancing’ we saw? Television would be Hallmark Channel 24/7. College spring break would pale in comparison to today’s version. I could go on and on, and I’m sure you could come up with some examples of your own. The point is, we Catholics have become more tolerant of things that would have been seen as scandalous a few as 25 years ago. Tolerance has led to acceptance, and even to normalization of certain behaviors or actions. For example, when married couples felt they could not continue in their marriage, they divorced, but their divorce was done quietly so as to avoid scandal. Over the years, as more and more couples divorced, the break-up of marriages became less scandalous. Today, I’ve seen plenty of examples of young adults living together without getting married, as they don’t seem to understand marriage’s significance in society, or perhaps it’s just they fear commitment. I’ve seen that in my extended family and with co-workers. This month, as we move through Lent preparing ourselves for Easter, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, most of us will be focused on giving up something we “can’t live without” as a Lenten sacrifice. Giving up that cup of Starbucks or your favorite chocolate is admirable, and can be a difficult proposition. However, rather than focusing on giving up something as a self-sacrifice, where do you think society would be if we actually lived out our Catholic faith more ardently? What do you think you can do for penance for eating meat on Fridays outside of Lent? Could it be something personal like reading up on your Catholic faith, or something more open like volunteering at some parish minis- try activity? Whatever you choose, I can almost guarantee you’ll get more out of your experience than what you put in. I’ve heard it said that Sundays are mini Easters. Although we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday, we do so each weekend at mass. If we commemorate Easter every Sunday, then wouldn't every Friday be like Good Friday? Abstaining from meat on every Friday would serve to pre- pare us each week for Jesus’ resurrection. It would be a good thing for our souls to prepare each week as we do each Lent. Tempus fugit, memento mori. Vivat Jesus! SK Mike Dellies, Grand Knight NEW EXEMPLICIATION CEREMONY Beginning this month, there will be a new exemplification ceremony to replace the First Degree and Major De- gree Ceremonies. The new ceremony will still incorporate a significant amount of the previous content, but will no longer be ‘secret’ and is open to all family members. Watch for more details as we get farther into the new calendar year. T HE S PIRIT P A G E 3 MARCH BIRTHDAYS 2 John Price 18 Daniel Salgado 4 Robert Sands 18 John Willars 5 Richard Geil 19 Bill Fettig 6 David Britton 20 Christopher Stark Council 8512 proudly supports the following seminarian: 7 Bill Stolowski 23 Darryl Aucoin Joseph Hoffschwelle 9 Mark Krueger 23 Eric Hogentogler Michael Marincel 10 Jose Alvarez 23 Craig Velez Please keep them in your 10 Placido Martinez 24 Leandro Navarro, Jr prayers. 10 Kevin Yanowski 25 Michael Demboski 11 George Hernandez 25 James Walsh PRAYER LIST 11 Dennis Hicks 27 Fabian Mendoza, Jr Pope Francis I 13 Gary Widener 28 Edward Hernandez Pope Benedict XVI Bishop Michael Olsen 15 Jason Bisley 28 Kile Pitts Fr. Jack McKone 17 James Carter 30 Thomas Gonzalez, Sr Fr. Ahn Tran 18 Martin Mendoza Seminarians BIRTHDAY DINNER LAST MONTH... Unborn Children Come celebrate this month’s birthdays at The group enjoyed a variety of Middle Eastern Christians our monthly dinner on Tuesday, Mar. 10th, tasty eats at Chan’s Mongolian at Back Forty Smokehouse, 8021 Main Grill. If you didn’t come, you Victim of Domestic Violence Street, North Richland Hills, TX 76180.