PathToHoliness

Yesterday we held the Knights of Columbus Silver Rose program at the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel. The program is held around the Mass and after a rosary was said during our weekday Holy Hour. Besides many attendees from our parish and others we also had 37 Knights of Columbus from different councils attend. After the program was completed we got to take photos while holding the silver rose. It is one of eight that travel throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The rose in our ceremony was delivered by members of the Knights on Bikes brothers who then traveled on to the next stop.

This was for many a very emotional program since each Friday we celebrate life that is so precious. To have this symbol and prayers for the life of all and very especially for the unborn was something to always remember even if we don’t get to participate again.

The St. Michael Chapter of the Knights of Columbus, #8589, held its officer installation on May 30, 2023 at V. Paul’s restaurant in Pensacola, FL. Not all officers were able to be present but most of them were. Officers were able to have their wives join them as well as a few guests.

We have often had the installation prior to a business meeting. However, this provided for a special ceremony which included not only having wives and some friends but some good social time without having to conduct business with reports and voting on activities.

It has been a challenging year for many non-profits as inflation has taken made it difficult for people to continue regular donations. My Knights council did a great job though in collecting donations for our support for life.

Knights of Columbus council 8589, Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, raised a record $5721.41 in the annual Baby Bottle Drive this year. The Council presented a check to the Alpha Center, a pregnancy support service offering alternatives to abortion. Pictured is Fr. Joe Fowler, Rector and Pastor and left to right, Chuck Zimmerman, Council Lecturer/Program Director, Mary Thomas, Alpha Center and Mark Fanfalone, Council Financial Secretary.

My Knights of Columbus Council 8589 received the Columbian & Founders Award at our last meeting. Presenting the award was our District Deputy Roger Avery and receiving was our just past Grand Knight Fred Myers.

The Columbian Award is presented for excellence in sponsoring programs that serve the church, community, families, culture of life, and youth organizations, as well as council members.

The Founders’ Award recognizes excellence in your council’s promotion of our top-rated insurance products.

Our council is embarking on some changes to help attract new members. We’re especially hopeful to have some of our younger parishioners join and get involved. Here are the requirements: Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to practical Catholic men in union with the Holy See, who are at least 18 years old.

If you are interested you can join online here.

This past Saturday morning the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, Pensacola, hosted a Knights of Columbus display and ceremony of the Silver Rose program. There are several silver roses that travel around the country. In this case, our Florida member hands off the silver rose to a member in Alabama who will take it to the next stop.

The Silver Rose program demonstrates the unity between Knights of Columbus in Canada, the United States and Mexico, through a series of prayer services promoting the dignity of all human life and honoring Our Lady.

Each year, from early March through mid-December, Silver Roses are stewarded by Knights of Columbus councils along routes from Canada to Mexico. Every stop the Silver Rose makes throughout the pilgrimage is a rosary-centered occasion for Knights, parishioners and community members to pray for respect for life, for the spiritual renewal of each nation, and for the advancement of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Silver Rose Program began in 1960, when the first rose – a real, live one – was blessed by a bishop in Ontario. The rose then traveled to New York and then to Texas where it was taken across the border into Mexico. The rose ended its pilgrimage at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Monterrey on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. To better ensure future annual trips, a silver rose was ultimately made. Today, due to the popularity of the program throughout the North American continent, eight silver roses travel unique routes.

You can find more information here. Perhaps your local council can be selected for a stop on the annual pilgrimage. Thanks to Bob Pappas we have lots of photos of this event you can find here.

It is Columbus Day and a good time to learn more about Christopher Columbus. There is certainly a lot of misinformation about this man and the times he lived in. As a member of the Knights of Columbus I’ve learned a lot more about him and am glad that the organization has gone to considerable effort to chronicle why we have Columbus Day.

Here’s a good example of where you can learn more about Christopher Columbus. It is documentary you can watch on the Knights of Columbus website:

COURAGE AND CONVICTION: THE TRUE STORY OF COLUMBUS

The voyages of Christopher Columbus were a watershed moment in the history of human civilization. Like every encounter, or new day, they offered a world of possibilities.

Narrated by actor Chazz Palminteri, Courage and Conviction is a 30 min. documentary that offers insight into Christopher Columbus’ remarkable journey, facts on the encounter of civilizations, details on the origins of Columbus Day and context behind the affinity many immigrants have for Columbus. Finally, the film addresses elements of cancel culture and currents that would prefer to rewrite history based on false accusations. Courage and Conviction shows why Christopher Columbus remains not only a man worthy of admiration, but a noble icon of what it means to be a Catholic and an American.

Friday evening Most Rev. William Wack, Bishop of the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese, held a Holy Hour at the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, Pensacola, with adoration of the Eucharist, Evening Prayer, meditation on adoration and the Litany of Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney.

The Knights of Columbus worked with the Diocese for this event which was open to the public. We had an honor guard of the 4th Degree Knights, the State Deputy representing the national Knights of Columbus and other members of the Knights and their families. Our council at the Basilica provided assistance in putting together and distributing the handout for the prayers as well as being ushers.

It was a beautiful service and Bishop Wack’s remarks on adoration were great. The national Knights of Columbus had a tv crew their shooting video for a project that will be appearing on their website. They also interviewed several people including Bishop Wack and several Knights like myself. I look forward to seeing how they put the production together.

I belong to the Knights of Columbus Council #8589, Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, Pensacola, FL. Last week we installed a new slate of officers. I volunteered for the position of Lecturer. My main responsibility is to provide information for the good of the order on topics that include our Catholic faith or encouragement to participate in council activities. I’ve been a member of the Knights of Columbus for many years but never volunteered for office, although I’ve always helped with activities and I started and ran a website for the council I belonged to in Missouri before moving back to Florida.

Our council has a number of projects to benefit our community which most recently included donating three wheelchairs to the Haven of Our Lady of Peace. It is a local nursing home that our parish supports. It is just one example of not just our council but all of the councils around the world! I’m proud to be a members and associated with great men doing good work out of the love for God and our fellow man.

This weekend the Beatification Mass was held for Fr. Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus. I was able to watch part of the live stream.

Father McGivney was known as the apostle to the young, protector of Christian family life as well as founder of the Knights of Columbus. He lived in a time that most Americans don’t even know about since I doubt much of it is taught in schools anymore. Catholic immigrants faced prejudice, social exclusion, and financial and social disadvantages. You probably don’t know that he died at an early age of 38 years from pneumonia during a pandemic which there is recent evidence was caused by a coronavirus.

The Knights three main principles are Charity, Unity and Fraternity. I am very happy to have been asked to become a member many years ago. We do many good works throughout the world today.

It is certainly a time of joy for the Catholic Church to have this newly beatified man honored in such a way.

This past Friday evening at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Pensacola, FL our Bishop William Wack provided a homily during an annual ecumenical prayer ceremony attended by 82 people. We had a beautiful sunset and setting on “Priest’s Hill” in the cemetery.

Cindy and I assisted in the setup for the ceremony with the Women’s Sodality at the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel and my Knights of Columbus council. This is what I’d like to be able to do more of. My travel schedule for our business takes me to many interesting places in the U.S. and many other countries but it also makes it difficult to attend church activities and even write here, which is painfully obvious.

This month let’s pray for the faithfully departed and gain a plenary indulgence for them. Here’s more information:

The Church offers an Indulgence for a Cemetery Visit that is available as a partial indulgence all year round, but from November 1 through November 8, this indulgence is plenary. Like the All Souls Day indulgence, it is applicable only to the souls in Purgatory. As a plenary indulgence, it remits all punishment due to sin, which means that simply by performing the requirements of the indulgence, you can obtain the entrance into Heaven of a soul who is currently suffering in Purgatory.

Today at the conclusion of Mass we held a short Immaculate Conception prayer program. This is a program of the Knights of Columbus which includes this traveling icon. Several of us processed to the altar where we placed the icon and then said a prayer.

The Knights of Columbus Immaculate Conception Marian Prayer Program honors the central place the Blessed Virgin Mary holds in the life of our Order and the historic devotion that has been afforded to the Immaculate Conception by the Church in North America. The first cathedral in the New World north of Mexico was named for the Immaculate Conception, and the bishops of the United States named Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception as the patroness of the nation.

The image used for this prayer program is a reproduction of a painting of Mary as the Immaculate Conception that hangs above the main altar of the Basilica-Cathedral of Notre- Dame de Québec. It was painted in 1925 by Sister Mary of the Eucharist, a Sister of Charity of Québec, to replace the 18th-century painting destroyed during a fire at the cathedral in 1922.

At the bottom of the image it says, “His Holiness Pope Francis cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican June 29, 2013.”

This morning my Knights of Columbus Council #12992 held one of its monthly breakfasts. These are important for several reasons.

To start with, we raise funds to use in our community service projects. Additionally, it’s a really nice way for members of the Parish to enjoy a good healthy meal and visit with each other after Mass. If you haven’t been to a KofC breakfast then watch the video to see what you’re missing.

I don’t get to attend a lot of our events due to work travel but when I do I get some photos and add them to our website and online photo album.

My Knights of Columbus Council 12992 met last night. It was very gratifying to see our Grand Knight pull out his rosary before we got started and lead us.

This is the month to especially honor our Lady and she means a lot to members of the Knights. When we become members we receive a rosary like the one in his hands in the photo. All Knights are encouraged to use their rosary daily, especially during this month.

The Knights of Columbus is urging all Knights to say a novena in support of our Pope Benedict. You can learn more about it on the national Knights website.

All Knights of Columbus are encouraged to join in a special novena for Pope Benedict XVI, beginning Divine Mercy Sunday, April 11, and concluding Monday, April 19, the fifth anniversary of the Holy Father’s election in 2005.

We pray for the pope and for his pastoral mission, asking God to protect, strengthen and uplift our beloved Holy Father at this time of considerable challenge.

This is the image and prayer from the prayer card they have created (pdf).

PRAYER FOR POPE BENEDICT XVI

Lord, source of eternal life and truth, give to your shepherd, Benedict, a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love. By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he, as successor to the Apostle Peter and Vicar of Christ, build your Church into a sacrament of unity, love and peace for all the world. Amen.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be…

I’m a member of the Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe Knights of Columbus Council 12992. Each year we hold a benefit barbeque to raise money to support pro life causes. Except for a little bit of wind we had a beautiful day for it today.

I manage our council website and have an online photo album for council activities which I’ve added a number of photos to from today’s event. We have a great time and meet a lot of wonderful and hungry people. You might just guess what’s for supper in our house tonight!