Knights, No More

How often do you sit back and shake your head in disbelief?  For me, it seems to happen quite frequently.  It’s unfortunate, bewildering, and frustrating to see story after story where people cave to the culture, to the “tolerance” regime, to the mainstream, and to politics.  Why can’t we simply see truth and respond to it appropriately?!  I speak of the males that were formerly known as Knights of Columbus from Norfolk KofC Council #3548.  This likely doesn’t include every Brother Knight there, but for the sake of this argument, one is too many.  As I read the stories, the council is acting, and that includes every member of that council.  For any who did stand with Church teaching, it goes without saying, good job.

In Virginia, the Governor is pro-abortion, pro-same-sex marriage, and stands in conflict to most, if not all, Catholic teaching.  Council 3548 invited, and even after rebuke, are continuing to advocate for Gov. Terry McAuliffe to act as Grand Marshall in the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Parade (next week, Tuesday.)  The pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, where this Knights council is based, has repeatedly rebuked these former Knights.  I say “former”, because no Catholic man who calls himself “Knight” would allow this to happen, and I wouldn’t call them “Brother”.  If this were my council, heads would roll.  But it’s not my council, because we’re actually Catholic warriors!  We stand for truth, goodness, and beauty, and as defenders of Mother Church.  I’m not sure, but I would imagine that these behaviors and decisions may automatically excommunicate some.  I urge them to reconsider their decision of honoring a person who so vehemently opposes Catholic doctrine, especially on issues that are paramount to Catholicism.  Life and Marriage go hand-in-hand and must be upheld, especially by the “Strong Right Arm of the Church”.

Fr. Beeman, their pastor, has done what he can to teach his parishioners the proper approach to these issues.  He is quoted as saying, “It is the clear teaching of the Bishops of the United States in Catholics in Political Life that, ‘the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles,’” he wrote in his letter. “‘They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions’.”

So here’s the deal… in one way or another, we’re all faced with decisions of how we stand against evil.  How we react is important.  When faced with “going against the crowd” or “ruffling feathers”, are you courageous enough to do it?  Do you back down and shy away from confrontation?  Do you buy into the “church of nice” and “want people to like you”?  Men, there are times in life when we can step back and let things play out.  There are other times, especially when it comes to fundamental Church teachings, that we must fight.  This situation in Virginia is one of those times.  The TrueMan is wise enough to know the difference.  The vicious man would choose incorrectly.  I can promise you that Fr. Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, would have stood and fought.

TrueMan up!

“Winner at Home”

I saw this on the Father’s For Good website and thought it would be good to post here as well.  Great job, Trever Miller!

“Cardinals’ lefthander, a Knight of Columbus, has challenges on and off the field”

By Brian Caulfield

“As he begins his 12th season as a major league pitcher, Trever Miller is familiar with baseball’s performance measurements: earned run average, strikeout-walk ratio, winning percentage, saves and a dozen other metrics. A lanky lefty reliever with the St. Louis Cardinals, who specializes in retiring left-handed batters in late innings, he even holds a major league record for consecutive mound appearances without a win or loss decision. Having pitched for five teams, the 37-year-old hurler’s lifetime record is a respectable 18-16.

But as a father of a child who was born with two holes in her heart and a genetic disorder so rare that it doesn’t have a name, Miller measures success in life in more basic ways these days – the next breath, a winning smile, a new movement from his daughter Grace. She was not supposed to leave the hospital after birth yet turns a miraculous 7 years old in June.

“Faith goes with the territory,” Miller said last month during the Cardinals’ spring training in Florida. “Grace is my hero and my inspiration. She has overcome more physical tests than I ever have in a lifetime of baseball.”

Miller is a member of the Knights of Columbus’ Our Lady of the Rosary Council 8104 in Land o’ Lakes, Florida. He was brought into the fraternal Order by his father, Terry Miller, who serves as financial secretary for the same council. Father and son are both Fourth Degree Knights in Fr. Malachy Hugh Maguire Assembly 2741.

“I grew up Catholic, went to Catholic school” in Louisville, Kentucky, said the younger Miller. He attends Mass each Sunday and when Mass is offered in the Cardinals’ clubhouse through an arrangement with the group Catholic Athletes for Christ.

One of Kentucky’s all-time great baseball stars at Trinity High School, Miller was drafted by the Detroit Tigers after graduating. He spent a few years in the minors before breaking into the big leagues in 1996.

A year earlier, he married Pari, his wife of 16 years, and they have three children: Tyler, 14, who is a member of the Columbian Squires; McKenzie, 13, and Grace. After his youngest child was born, he and his wife had a choice to make about her treatment. The couple opted for life and hope by approving surgery to close the holes in her tiny heart.

Today, she cannot walk or talk, and a simple cold can mean a trip to the emergency room to prevent fluid from filling her lungs. Still, Grace attends school as often as she can and receives regular therapy.

“She’s a battler, she’s tough,” said Terry Miller, her grandfather. “She’s the only child with her condition who has lived beyond one year, so nothing would surprise me, even if she started talking one day. I’m sure she’d have a lot to tell us.”

Trever Miller tells of dark days a few years ago when he was angry with everyone, including God, over his daughter’s condition.

“We were stunned, we didn’t understand,” he recalled. “We had to stress acceptance, and as a father I wanted to fix her situation and I couldn’t. It was a helpless feeling.”

As a man who makes his living by his physical abilities, acceptance has been difficult. “Dads are looked to as Mr. Fix It, but no matter what I couldn’t fix this. It was tough that I couldn’t control this.”

He now pours his frustration into running, completing two 26.2-mile marathons and wearing a t-shirt that reads: “26 for Grace, .2 for me.”

“I think our faith in God and his running was his saving,” his wife said.

Miller agrees. “One thing all this has done is to keep our family praying,” he said. “Because of this, Grace has so many other people praying for her too.”

Trever Miller is hoping for a stellar year with the Cardinals, but he knows that his biggest wins will be at home with his family.”

Outstanding College Council Award – Council 8200

Congrats to the Knights of Columbus, Council 8200 at the United States Air Force Academy for being named the 2009-2010 Outstanding College Council!  This council is near and dear to me, as it is and has been my council since 2004.  Congrats, men!  I am a lucky man to be a part of this great council and apart of so many of the lives of the Knights in 8200.  For any Catholic men who are reading who might not be a Knight, I highly encourage you to join.  If your council is inactive or “deadlocked”, as we sometimes refer to it, then take the bull by the horns and start something.  Resurrect the council and get others excited to be Knights.  Pope John Paul II once said, “All Catholic men should be Knights.”  Take his advice, and my push, and get involved today.

Knights of Columbus is a fraternal, service organization and has the tenets of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism.  Here is an article about the award-winning council.

“To be named Outstanding College Council is an exceptional distinction; and it requires exemplary achievement across the spectrum of program categories. College councils know that their challenge is to foster a culture of life on their campus and to strive, through their actions, to build a civilization of love.

This year’s winner demonstrated a strong commitment to community service, social justice and spiritual formation. An outstanding college council not only knows and accepts these challenges, but faces this task with a sense of dedication and determination that elevates the entire Order and promotes a new evangelization.

Last year, Brother Knights at Our Lady of the Skies Council 8200 at the United States Air Force Academy offered service to Mary’s Choice, a home and helping hand Program for young women that provides them opportunity to reflect and learn in a loving, structured home for the duration of their pregnancies with ongoing support. By cutting ten cords of firewood, they saved the facility thousands of dollars on heating expenses. The council also collected winter clothing for families assisted by Mary’s Choice.

To offer spiritual formation for Catholic men, the council organized several annual retreats, as well as bimonthly dinners featuring guest speakers on Catholic manhood and vocational discernment. Exemplifying the chivalry that marks true Catholic gentlemen, the council also hosted a dinner to honor the women of their community.

To affirm the bonds of fraternity, this council organized a wide of variety of social activities, including mountaineering expeditions, and held outdoor activities and sporting events. The council also sponsored a “Man Talk” freshman recruitment event that drew in a large number of prospective members.

These men embody Father McGivney’s founding vision for the Knights of Columbus. When a student’s young brother died suddenly, these brother Knights intervened personally to raise funds to pay for the cost of her airfare home and to assist her family with funeral costs.

In recognition of their exemplary accomplishments and service, Our Lady of the Skies Council 8200 at the United States Air Force Academy was named Outstanding College Council for the 2009-2010 academic year.”

Abortion Funding Showdown

I recently received this letter from Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson.  Brother Anderson is the head of the Knights of Columbus based out of New Haven, CT.  We have a chance to do something, to stand up for a social (in)justice and to push the truth.  If this bill goes through, it will be the most devastating assault on pro-life since Roe v. Wade in 1973.  Here is what Brother Anderson wrote last week:

The debate on health care legislation has now reached its final and most critical stage, with final votes expected in Congress within the next two weeks.  The legislation is being fast-tracked through Congress using a rare parliamentary maneuver known as “reconciliation.”  This procedure will push the bill through Congress over the objections of a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives that wants to remove abortion funding from the bill.

Very soon the House will be asked vote on a Senate bill containing provisions that would overturn the thirty-year federal policy against tax-dollar funding of abortion. If the Senate bill is approved by the House, it goes immediately to the President’s desk and will be enacted into law. A second “reconciliation” bill will then be voted on by both houses to make changes to the new law. These changes will not amend the abortion mandates enacted through the Senate bill.

The American Catholic bishops oppose the Senate bill, calling it “deficient” because it contains multiple pro-abortion provisions and federal subsidies for abortion. It allows for federal dollars to flow to abortion providers in community health centers; it allows for federal subsidies for overall health plans that cover abortion. Lastly, it provides no conscience protection for those who refuse to participate in abortion.  A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including brother Knight Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI), is working to ensure that health care legislation contains language that would ban abortion funding. They need the support of brother Knights from across the United States.

I urge you to encourage every Knight in your state to contact their representatives in Congress. Ask them to go to the Knights of Columbus homepage at www.kofc.org for instructions on contacting Congress.  Your immediate action is critical. If the Senate bill becomes law, it will be the largest expansion of abortion in our country since Roe v. Wade.

Carl A. Anderson

Supreme Knight