My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, greetings and blessings,
I was reading my daily meditation on September 9th and found that it touched my heart. During this reading Jesus is asked if he could heal someone on the sabbath? Despite the presence of the Pharisees looking on and waiting to scrutinize him or accuse him of something, Jesus simply responded, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did, and Jesus healed him. Jesus knew that he was being watched closely by those who wanted to discredit Him and His teachings of the Father, and yet He healed the man on anyways. This is what resonated with me. It has become common practice that some are looking for ways to discredit and criticize the presence of the Knights of Columbus in our parishes. Some will say we do “too little”; some will say we do “too much. To this I say, you can’t please everyone.
Instead, what we can do is to be alert and present for our fellow parishioners on Sundays. We need to come ready and willing to engage with those in our community that are in need. We should look for ways to invite them in and start conversations of substance and make the best use of the time we get with them. We will not see most of these people for another week or two, maybe even a month or half of the year. What are we waiting for? We have the power to stretch out our hands to our fellow parishioners and in doing so we can help heal their families and perhaps heal ourselves by getting outside of our own selves. It is a proven fact that when we help others we gain so much more in our own lives.
I was at a meeting two weeks ago where a council said they were not an organization that was inside the church but are seen more as an outside organization. My prayer for each of our members is that if that is where you council sits today you should do a council self-assessment and find out why you are not an inside organization. I pray you become an organization for your Priest when he needs something done. We can change any council by being in solidarity with the Priest. What does that look like? Well first it starts by asking him to be your Chaplin and inviting him to provide direction and input on how to make the biggest impact for your parish. Second have a clergy appreciation dinner and find out your Priest’s birthday and ordination date. Again, I was at another council meeting where they were changing the meeting night to make sure Father could be there. The most effective councils I have seen have a healthy relationship with their Priests. Have Father be active in deciding who belongs in your council, and then ask for his input on when and who should be asked to join your ranks.
I feel that it is important for Councils to look ahead and find what they wish to “hang their hat on” in the upcoming year. I recently was told that GK Andrew, of UW Madison Council, said he wants to make sure that they are known for their charity and leadership on campus for the year. I commend them for establishing and committing to a plan for the year. If you don’t know what your council will be the best at for the upcoming year, let me humbly recommend a few options. Try being first in faith and charity, find ways to fundraise with the plan to give the money away before you start. Beginning with the end in mind allows for maximum member engagement and allows those who have passion in what they are doing to step into leadership roles.
We are thankful for every council in this state and appreciate those councils that are working hard to promote maximum engagement and member growth. I wish you luck in this mission this fall, as well as between Badger and Packers games. May all your missions see success.
Vivat Jesus,
Tim Nowak, General Agent
