November 2018 Bulletin: Prayers for Our Leaders

Lead article from the November 2018 bulletin, online now.

November 6th is mid-term election day. The political climate is stormy. The rhetoric on both sides is extreme. We are all getting crushed with political ads on radio and TV. Some crazy is sending "apparently" fake pipebombs to political figures. It's wild out there.

Those who know me know exactly where I stand on President Trump. To say I am a enthusiastic supporter would be an understatement. He has been under attack from the Washington political establishment since the day he was elected. Including talk of impeachment on the very day of his election. Both left and right. His personality and style has been thoroughly and comprehensively criticized, (some of it justified).

I for once don't have to wonder about the skeletons in our president's closet because they are doing the "twist" dance all about the room. We also don't have to sort through the passive - aggressive sophistry and platitudes associated with previous administrations. We are constantly told he is a "divider" not a "uniter". Nonsense I say. Most historians view Lincoln as the most "uniting" of all the presidents. Only one problem, 500,000 Americans including Lincoln himself had to die before we could unite. Talk of uniting our politics has been going on for over 250 years. Politicians have been throwing mud at each other since the mid 18th century. History clearly shows that it was much more politically polarized and aggressive then, than now. Maybe sometime in the future, politicians will figure out how to get along and enact the policies that we want in a bi-partisan way. Clearly, we are not there yet.

The unfortunate truth in Washington DC is that when you have power you need to use it in order to enact legislation that fits with your constituency. It has ALWAYS been that way. Naive idealistic politicians are of very little practical use in Washington DC. They are ignored in congress and languish accomplishing nothing and never get appointed to any meaningful committee positions. I think Trump is a cool rush of fresh air sweeping through Washington D.C. I don't agree with all of his tweets. I don't agree with all of his rhetoric. However, I do forgive him his defense of himself considering the anti Trump onslaught. We are all sinners are we not? He's no exception to the human condition. I pray for him all the time.

It is true that we need to unite, we need to unite in terms of the issues of the day, the most important of which is the issue of life. No president in my lifetime has done more for this issue than president Trump. Most if not all the politicians we support because of the issues we hold dear, not their personality. No matter what you think of our president, please look at your local politicians and senators and congressman and please get out and vote the issues. I know that if a politician get the life issue correct, he or she is going to be right on just about everything else. These are my beliefs and my beliefs only. Forgive me if I stepped on any toes.

God bless.

Gary Frandsen

Grand Knight

June 2018 Bulletin: We Do Great Work...But We Need Your Support!

Lead article from the June 2018 bulletin, online now.

Hello, Knights,

It's been a very eventful year with all our annual events, plus, fundraisers, gaming, socials and such. Andy and I handed out twenty-four $750 scholarships at the high school on Wednesday evening, May 23. This is one of the great things we do for this community. 

I have decided to be your Grand Knight for a second year if you so choose. We will vote on candidates at the June meeting. They are as follows: Andy Sipple, Deputy Grand Knight, Donald Legatt, Financial Secretary; Erich Kunzman, Chancellor; Dave Miodus, Warden; Brian Beaudry, Treasurer; Jim Shovelain, Advocate; Jeff Eull, Recorder; Cory Sommer, Lecturer; Dan Lhotka, Inside Guard; and Gene Hackenmueller, Outside Guard. All directors will remain the same. 

One thing that we have noticed over the past few years is the increasing difficulty to fill our events with volunteers. Our Christmas tree lot has become a real issue. We actually considered eliminating it because of this. Losing this fundraising event would be very unfortunate as the parish youth would have to cut back their budget. I would like to appeal to the rank and file to read all correspondence from the KCs in general and our council 4174 in particular. Dan Lhotka has graciously agreed to head up a calling committee. Please consider joining this important group as we move forward in the 2018-2019 year.

I am going to ask those who head up our annual scheduled events to familiarize yourself with the KCs websites this year so you can order kits and turn in forms for your events. This will go a long way towards gaining our council the recognition it deserves. Our annual AFCD beer tent is almost here and we have many shifts to fill. Please click on the link below and sign up today. Let's have another great year! 

God bless,

Gary Frandsen

Grand Knight

February 2018 Bulletin: Chaplain's Message

Lead article from the February 2018 bulletin, online now.

Spirituality is what a person or community believes and how they act on that belief.  As Catholics we believe that God is the Author, Sustainer and Goal of every human life and society, and thus every human life should be protected at conception and nurtured by society, starting with the family.

We believe that a person can discover the basic dignity of every human being at any stage or condition of life by reasoning with the natural light of truth.  This is what the Founders of America did.

The pilgrims of the thirteen original colonies came to America mostly to get away from tyrannical officials who oppressed those less powerful.  Many rulers, Catholic as well as Protestant, ignored the Church’s teaching and God’s natural law and disrespected the dignity of those less powerful than themselves.  This is sinful, and if it is of grave matter that is placed into law it becomes “institutional sin” for the society.  Unfortunately that is the state of our country with regard to abortion and so called same sex “marriage.”

Our Founders inscribed in the Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  Our country was founded on principles that call for respect for every person and their freedom, so long as they respect the “laws of nature and Nature’s God."

These natural laws reflect that God is the Creator of natural rights and responsibilities of which mankind is called to participate; as well, that  God is the “Supreme Judge of the world”, not the imperfect courts of man, including the Supreme Court of this country which failed to protect black people in the Dredd Scott decision (1857), nor has it protected unborn babies with their faulty decision of the recent Roe v. Wade decision (1973), nor the rights of children to have a Mom and a Dad in their 2015 decision.

The Founders used objective reason to discover these natural laws and thus reasoned that  there must be a Lawgiver, namely God.  However, since people can choose to follow or break theses natural laws, God calls us to participate in protecting and promoting these self-evident truths, especially for those with little power like unborn babies and children, who have a right to a Mom and a Dad.  This is clearly revealed in the Divine Revelation of Sacred Scriptures which upholds and builds upon natural law, both of which come from the heart of God.

The Founders also relied on God to provide for the victory of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” that flows from God, but not without their struggles and sacrifices.  The last sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads: “And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

To be pro-life and pro-marriage as God intended, so as to protect unborn babies and children, we must measure candidates for public office with the natural law standard.  We have a moral duty and obligation to participate in the protection and promotion of God’s will by upholding the principles of our country.  To do less is to watch our country sink further into sin and thus jeopardize our salvation.

In order to have good political candidates from which to choose, and propose laws that conform to God’s natural law, we should participate in the precinct caucuses for whatever political party you align with.  The Secretary of State has declared that Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, at 7 p.m. will begin the caucuses.  Google "Minnesota Secretary of State Precinct Caucuses" for more information.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Thomas McCabe
Council Chaplain

May 2016 Bulletin: The Catholic Voter

Lead article from the May bulletin, online now.

WHEN THERE IS NO "ACCEPTABLE" CANDIDATE

In some political races, each candidate takes a wrong position on one or more issues involving non-negotiable moral principles.  In such a case you may vote for the candidate who takes the fewest such positions or who seems least likely to be able to advance immoral legislation, or you may choose to vote for no one.

A vote cast in such a situation is not morally the same as a positive endorsement for candidates, laws, or programs that promote intrinsic evils: It is only tolerating a lesser evil to avoid an even greater evil.  As Pope John Paul II indicated regarding a situation where it is not possible to overturn or completely defeat a law allowing abortion, "an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality"(EV 73; also CPL 4).\

Catholics must strive to put in place candidates, laws, and political programs that are in full accord with non-negotiable moral values.  Where a perfect candidate, law, or program is not on the table, we are to choose the best option, the one that promotes the greatest good and entails the least evil.  Not voting may sometimes be the only moral course of action, but we must consider whether not voting actually promotes good and limits evil in a specific instance.  The role of citizens and elected officials is to promote intrinsic moral values as much as possible today while continuing to work toward better candidates, laws, and programs in the future.

With the presidential elections front and center in the news and so many people talking about the candidates I find myself questioning what my duties as a Catholic voter are. I have heard so many people say, "I will not vote for X” or “If X gets the nomination I'm not voting."

Those statements really bother me because I feel that even if we don't agree with a particular candidate we still have a responsibility to vote. I don't particularly care for the front runners in the race but I still feel obligated to support the party that best upholds my Catholic values. I do not know about you but regardless of what any politician says I can not say I trust them to do anything other than protect their own best interests. Those best interests reside in supporting their political party because without the support of the party the politicians career will be short lived. Politicians do not get to where they are by not knowing how to play the game. Those are my opinions so I decided to see what the church says about voting.

I found a copy of the Voters Guide for Serious Catholics published by Catholic Answers in my KC briefcase and I highly recommend all of you to read it.  Above is an excerpt from the guide that talks about what to do when there is no acceptable candidate.  Obviously we have the right to not vote but we also have the responsibility to promote good and limit evil. In the case of this election I strongly believe that we as Catholics have to vote because not voting will result in votes for the party that will cause greater harm to our beliefs than the candidate we refuse to vote for.  We are obligated to uphold the 5 non-negotiable issues (Abortion, Euthanasia, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Human Cloning, and Homosexual Marriage).  The only way to uphold those values is to look past the candidate and vote for the party that has done the most to uphold those non-negotiable issues.

This November 8th make sure you get to the polls and vote.  Don't let your personal opinions stop you because we are morally obligated to limit evil by making informed voting decisions.

God Bless,

Joe

Joe VanHoorik

Grand Knight

December 2012 Grand Knight's Article: A New Beginning

Grand Knight's message from the December 2012 bulletin:

“Hail, Full of Grace” — Luke 1:28 

I promised myself this article would not be about the election. Personally, I feel the elections support a belief many of us felt: that our culture is sliding further from a just society—further and further into an unjust society. Many issues we hold in our hearts to be just and true were defeated. And what is important is seen as unimportant in our society.

Before I move on to the man point of this article, I feel it essential to recognize the courageous position the laity, priests and bishops took in speaking up on issues of morality. I have been Catholic for 18 years — and in the span of 2,000 years, that’s not much. However, I can say that in my short life as a Catholic, never before have I seen the Church defend her teachings so concretely. The next time you see one of our clerics, thank them for their bold proclamation of the truth. I am sure those who do not agree with their position on issues are more than happy to let them know what they think.

John Paul the Great, at the beginning of his pontificate, proclaimed “Do not be afraid.” In light of very uncertain times, Blessed John Paul always seemed to lead us with great joy and hope. The perfect response to poll results we do not like can be found in scripture:

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent forth from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this may be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” — Luke 1:26-31

In the Incarnation, hope is never lost. In fact, we shall, in the words of John Paul II, “fear not.” In the great mystery of the Incarnation, we place all of our hope and joy in the victory yet to come. We look forward with joy to Christmas morning and hope for the fulfillment of time when heaven and earth are united for eternity. The season of advent helps refocus our thoughts of things of this world, and direct them to what really matters, the supernatural world. It helps us to remember that while we must live in this world, we are intended for another. We should see this season as a time to focus and prepare on the greatest gift ever — Christmas morning, and ultimately our fulfillment with God at the end of time. In light of this truth, this great joy, our struggles here begin to be put into place. And while even greater persecution shall come to us, our hope is not lost. In fact, it can become a cause for joy. For in times of great persecution, God always raises up great saints to help guide Mother Church. He is calling each of us to become the saint we were intended to be. We are placed in a society in which we will be given plenty of opportunity to die to self for Christ.

The Incarnation is God’s response to darkness. For He sent his son, the “Light of the World,” to illuminate our world, and so this light overcomes all troubles we may have.

In light of this great truth, we begin to move forward with hope. Our mission is to spread hope this Advent and to let those who may think differently that we are not defeated, but rather, rejuvenated in Christ. So in Advent, we hope in the possibilities of a new beginning.

Fraternally In Christ,

Mike Engel

Grand Knight, Council 4174

 P.S. I apologize that this article had more to do with the election than I had hoped!