October 2018 Bulletin: Cultivate Fraternity to Remain Strong

Lead article from the October 2018 bulletin, online now. It was originally published by past Grand Knight Steve House and is as true today as it was when this was written in 2011. God bless, Gary Frandsen, Grand Knight

Brother Knights, 

In our fallen world, Catholics are often called upon to be counter-cultural, to “go against the grain” of our secular world. The forces arrayed against the faithful are formidable. Satan prowling the world looking to devour us is bad enough, but consider that many other mainline Christian denominations are not aligned with the Church on abortion:

• Mormons allow exceptions for rape, incest, risk to the mother, and severe birth defects. 
• The Episcopal Church similarly allows for those exceptions.
• The Southern Baptist Convention allows the exception for risk to the mother. 
• The Evangelical Lutheran Church allows exceptions for risk to the mother and severe birth defects. 

And, don’t walk into any Catholic Church and believe you’re all .singing from the same hymnal. Just this week the Star Tribune article regarding the Archbishop’s call for parish action on the 2012 Minnesota marriage amendment, noted that the archdiocese has many “diverse” parishes and parishioners—meaning, I suppose, that many Catholics are out of step with the Magisterium on these fundamental topics. All of this is no surprise to any of us who pay even slight attention to the world around us. 

Being counter-cultural can indeed be a daunting prospect for Catholic men. The moral responsibilities of honesty, fidelity and chastity are difficult compared to the ease of going along with the world and its values. That’s where the men of St. Michael and St. Albert parishes can take heart that they are not alone, that organizations such as the Knights of Columbus offer a brotherhood that promotes love (charity), fidelity to the Magisterium (unity), and moral support (fraternity). In addition, we have various men’s faith-sharing groups, the Man Night events and the Archdiocesan Men’s Conference.

Brothers, avail yourselves of these opportunities to support one another in the daily struggle for holiness, for yourself and your families. You need those other men, and they need you!

April 2018 Bulletin: Easter Vigil

Lead article from the April 2018 bulletin, online now.

For the first forty-nine years of my life, the Easter Vigil meant nothing to me. That all changed at the Easter Vigil 2009 when Fr. Gregory Abbott and Fr. Michael Becker led me into the water as a Catechumen as I welcomed the light of Christ. I found myself immersed in the same baptismal font that my youngest daughter Anna was baptized in five years earlier. I had literally followed all three of my girls into the faith. The occurrence would not have taken place without them.

God set me on my path in February 1986 aged twenty six years. The journey was started as a result of my signature on a document that clearly explained my commitment to raise my future children in the Catholic faith. Father Joe at St. Gerard's Catholic church would not marry us without it. After all, I was being honest when I informed him of my agnostic beliefs. We hoped to have a bunch of kids, but they did not come.

The next 14 years were filled with infertility, doctors and frustration. As a Catholic, my wife Gina prayed on it. I also offered prayers that followed within my agnostic parameters, you know, "If you are up there please present us with children" type of prayer. Those prayers were answered in 2001- 2003 when we journeyed to the Russian Republic on four occasions and gained our daughters through adoption. We moved to Albertville between daughters and set up shop. We were reminded of our commitment to raise our daughters Catholic and began to attend Mass on Sundays. Father Siebenaler then baptized Marina in 2003 and Father Michael Becker baptized Anna in the new church in 2005.

For the next five years I attended Mass with my family on a weekly basis. I behaved myself as a non-Catholic and stayed in my seat during communion while paying close attention to that which was going on around me. I asked Gina many questions about the Mass: the stand-up-sit-down-stand-up-sit-down, the doing of the dishes, and such. 

What I witnessed also was a lot of men bringing their families to church, and leading them to faith filled lives. This began to chip away at my uncertain position about Christ and God. I began to watch the EWTN network and studied Pope John Paul to some extent due to his huge cultural impact in the Christian world. My wife asked me if I was stalking the Catholic church. I guess I was and we placed both girls on the list to attend the Catholic school and continued attending Mass.

One day I found my way to Father Abbott's office discussing the RCIA program. I joined and spent the next year pouring over the Catechism. The long, 49-year, meandering path then ended in 2009 at the Easter Vigil where Fr. Abbott and Fr. Becker led me into that same baptismal font that my daughter was led into five years earlier. The congregation that night could not have made me feel more welcome. I was bathed in Christ's light for the first time in my life, delivered there in no small part due to my three girls. 

So when you are thinking about which Easter service to attend, please consider the wonderful Easter Vigil. Where else can you witness a large group of people coming into the light of Jesus and embraced by his welcoming arms?

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 2017 Bulletin: 100th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima and Reminders!

Lead article from the May 2017 bulletin, online now.

2017 marks the 100th Anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria, Fatima, Portugal, beginning on May 13 and ending October 13, 1917.  The children were Lucia Santos, age 10, and her younger cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto.

This amazing story begins with these children reporting that on May 13, 1917, a woman adorned like the sun appeared to them from the sky and lighted on a shrub.

The woman asked them to devote themselves to the Holy Trinity and to “pray the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to war.”  The woman asked the children to return on June 13th, and when Lucias’ mother heard about this she sought counsel from the parish priest, Fr. Ferreira.  He suggested she allow them to go and said he would question them afterward.

The Virgin Mary appeared as promised and told the children to pray the Rosary daily to bring an end to World War I – the war which precipitated the rise of godless Communism in Russia with the Bolshevik Revolution occurring in October, 1917.  Mary also revealed that Francisco and Jacinta would be taken to heaven soon, but Lucia would live longer to spread her message and devotion to her Immaculate Heart, which she promised would eventually triumph over Communism’s errors.  The 1918 flu pandemic, from which about 50 million died globally, took Francisco in 1919, and Jacinta in 1920.  Both were beatified by St. John Paul II on May 13th, 2000.

Our Lady allowed the children to see a vision of hell and asked them to pray for sinners.  They became fervent in their prayer life for the conversion of hardened sinners.  She also entrusted to them a secret.

Government officials intercepted the children before they reached the Cova da Iria on August 13th.  The parents and officials tried to convince the children to stop what they perceived as nonsense; but neither derision nor threats persuaded the children, and they courageously held true to their witness.

The Virgin Mary appeared to them on Sunday, August 19th, at nearby Valinhos, and spoke to them about a miracle at the Cova da Iria on October 13th. She reminded them to pray the Rosary daily and “pray a lot… for sinners and sacrifice a lot, as many souls perish in hell because nobody is praying or making sacrifices for them.”

Although it rained incessantly for three days before October 13th, an estimated 70,000 people gathered to witness the promised miracle, soon to be called “Miracle of the Sun”.  Our Lady appeared to the children and Lucia saw light rising from Mary’s hand and reportedly cried out, “Look, the sun.”  For about 10 minutes the sun seemed to dance and then zigzagged to the earth only to spring back to its original position.  The people were at first horrified thinking it was the end of time, but then they broke out in praise as the sun returned to its position, and all their clothes had become dry. 

In 1930, after ongoing investigations, the Catholic Church officially recognized the apparition events as “worthy of belief”.  It is important to note that the Catholic Church defines these events as “private revelations.” They do not form the deposit of the Catholic faith, and we are not bound to believe in them.  Yet, Holy Mother Church holds them out to those who wish to receive such miracles as supernatural gifts to deepen the practice of their Catholic faith by following Jesus in his Catholic Church.

In the coming monthly newsletters there will be small vignettes of the miracles and messages of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fatima until its conclusion on Oct. 13th, 2017.   Look for opportunities at both St. Albert and St. Michael Churches to draw closer to God’s promises through devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.  First monthly event: Mass, May 13th, 9:30 a.m. at St. Michael Catholic Church with Patriotic Rosary until Noon near the Historic Church (unless inclement weather).

Father Thomas McCabe

Council Chaplain

*     *     *

Deputy Grand Knights Message

Hello Knights.

The long winter's over and we will be mowing our lawns soon.  We are also nearing the end of Grand Knight Joe VanHoorik's  second year at the helm and I would like to personally thank him for his great leadership and the great things he has accomplished for Council 4174.  We are also closing in on the Albertville Friendly City Days (AFCD) softball tournament and beer tent event.  This three day annual effort funds much of what we do during the year.  We will need the assistance of many Knights to make this important three day event a great success.  Multiple shifts on June 8th, 9th, and 10th will be open on the Sign Up Genius website soon.  We will need more volunteers than in years past.  There will be opportunities to serve beer as well as help out with score keeping and ball shagging during our new multi-tier softball tournament.  I would like to ask the new Knights in particular to sign up for this year's AFCD events.  Let's get this new 4174 Council year started with a bang!  Thank you for your help. God bless you and your families.

Gary Frandsen

Deputy Grand Knight

  

October 2016 Bulletin: Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism

Lead article for the October 2016 bulletin, online now.

Do those words come to mind when you think about the Knights of Columbus?  Do you know how those four principles define and make up the history of the order? Do you realize that you are a member of an organization that has over 1.9 million members throughout the world?

Father McGivney had a vision over 134 years ago to create an organization that was desperately needed to protect Catholic men, their families, and their faith.  This was a time when hostilities towards Catholics were high, and men were dying from harsh working conditions or leaving the faith to find the protection they needed.

Well over a century later our faith is still under attack and our beliefs constantly being challenged or even taken away.  The Church can only do so much, so how can we help?  How about a Catholic organization with 1.9 million members who took a pledge to live as strong Catholic men and support our Church and community in any way we can?  If you are only a first degree member there is a lot of background and meaning in those principles that you haven't been exposed to yet.  We are part of a pretty amazing organization that has done unbelievable things throughout its history. 

This month we are putting on a 2nd and 3rd degree at our council meeting.  I strongly encourage you to take this opportunity to learn more about the Knights of Columbus and what we stand for.

We haven't had a 2nd and 3rd degree for a few years so now is your chance to attend without having to travel!

2nd and 3rd Degree @ St Alberts Parish Center

Thursday October 6th

6-6:30 Registration

6:30 Ceremony Begins (no late arrivals accepted)

God Bless,

Joe VanHoorik

Grand Knight

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

November 2015 Bulletin: Pro-Life and the Unsung Heroes

Lead article from the November 2015 bulletin, online now.

With October being Respect Life Month there have been plenty of opportunities to reflect on this topic. As a father of 7 it would seem obvious that I am pro-life, but that wasn't always the case.  Of course when someone finds out how many kids I have I get the standard “you must be Catholic” or “you know how that happens right?” or some other comment that drives me crazy.  Why must I be Catholic to have a big family?  The fact is that we were expecting our 4th child before we went through RCIA, so technically we had a big family before fully joining the Church.  But even after having children I still cannot say I was pro-life.  I remember having a very serious conversation with my wife between child 3 and 4 about getting a vasectomy at 26.  We “knew” that we were done having kids after a miscarriage left a bad scar on our marriage.  Thankfully, my procrastination meant that I never got around to making that appointment.  Now, 4 children later, we still seem to have the conversation about being done having kids quite often but permanent prevention is absolutely never an option.  If I have learned anything, its that how I feel today does not mean that I will feel that way in the future.  Life will always give you plenty of opportunities to regret permanent decisions.  I've talked to too many men, especially in our own parish, that have horrible regrets after getting sterilized earlier in their lives.  Fr. Joah put it best in one of his homilies, “being Catholic does not mean having a dozen kids, it means always being open to life and not putting up any barriers to prevent life.”  We as responsible adults are expected to make decisions based on our situation in life and whether we have the resources to raise more children.  The Church doesn't tell us to carelessly have as many children as we can.  We need to be able to provide for those children both financially and emotionally.  There are ways to manage family size without forcing barriers into our bodies.  Don't live your life with regrets, nobody ever regrets another child but they will always regret not having the option to have one more child.

Now let me jump to another, very important side of this issue.  For those of you blessed with biological children ask yourself this question: Would you be the same parent if your children were adopted?  That's a hard question for me to think about because as much as I want to say yes I honestly don't know.  We have been fortunate that we have never had issues conceiving.  I've heard so many heartbreaking stories from men in this community on the struggles of not being able to conceive or bring a pregnancy to full term.  These men and women put everything on the line for that opportunity to be a parent.  Its not until many years pass, lots of tears are shed, and outrageous expenses incurred that many of them finally decide to adopt.  That is if their marriage is still intact after everything they went through.  It's at this point they are faced with yet another daunting challenge in their journey to become parents: more time, more money, and more tears.

After all this they finally get to become parents.  These are people that made sacrifices most couldn't, just to put all that love into raising a child.  How can we deny them that opportunity by not being pro-life?  If these young women only knew what these people go through for the opportunity to adopt their child and the wonderful life they will provide them I think we would see a change of heart.  This is why its so important for us to support pro-life women's centers like Cornerstone.  Places that can get the right information and support to these women.  Never forget these unsung heroes because they are the critical piece of this respect life war we are fighting and they don't get the appreciation they deserve.  Go out and thank an adoptive parent for being the ultimate example of how precious life is and the love that is out there just waiting to embrace these children.

God Bless,

Joe VanHoorik

Grand Knight

May 2015 Bulletin: Catholic Prayer and Devotions

Lead article from the May 2015 bulletin, online now. Reprinted from the KC Supreme website.

The human heart is drawn to the divine.  Many people have a sincere longing for holiness and that is why they spend time in contemplation.

We are encouraged to cultivate a profound inner life, contact with Jesus Christ that is both personal and constant.  The Fathers of the Church have consistently said that without true friendship with Jesus, it is impossible for a Christian to fulfill the mission of the Lord.

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church may help focus our attention on the nature of prayer.  Here is a sampling of what you will find:

What is Prayer?
Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God, or the petition of good things from him in accord with his will.

It is always the gift of God who comes to encounter man.  Christian prayer is the personal and living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is infinitely good, with his Son Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit who dwells in their hearts.

How Does Jesus Teach Us to Pray?
Jesus teaches us to pray not only with the Our Father but also when he prays.  In this way he teaches us, in addition to the content, the dispositions necessary for every true prayer: purity of heart that seeks the Kingdom and forgives one’s enemies, bold and filial faith that goes beyond what we feel and understand, and watchfulness that protects the disciple from temptation.

Why is Our Prayer Efficacious?
Our prayer is efficacious because it is united in faith with the prayer of Jesus.  In him Christian prayer becomes a communion of love with the Father.  In this way we can present our petitions to God and be heard: “Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full” (Jn 16:24).

God Bless,
Jim 

For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ. 

-- Philippians 1:20

November 2013 Bulletin: What Makes Us Catholic?

Lead article from the November 2013 bulletin, online now!

Have you ever wondered what makes us Catholic? With all the happenings around the world today, do you ever second-guess your faith from time to time? I sometimes sit and think, “Am I living the Catholic life? Do I make the right decisions? Am I a good leader in my home?” … for my most important job is to help my family reach heaven. I can directly affect this by the choices I make and by leading by example.

As I look around this community, I see so many other great examples. We have six seminarians from this area, and if you dig deeper, you see that their fathers are Knights.

We have a great youth program at our churches, and when you see the children involved, most of their fathers are also Knights. You can see the positive influence that the fathers of these children have had on their lives.

Read "Nine Things That Make Us Catholic" by Thomas H. Groome, online at www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0904.asp.