May Knight Times

Transcription

1 May 2017 Knight Times ST. JOHN FRANCIS REGIS S.J. COUNCIL 7914 KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HOLLYWOOD, MD Grand Knight: John Selby, Deputy Grand Knight: Dan Greenwell Chaplain: Father Ray Schmidt, Associate Chaplain: Deacon Ammon Ripple GRAND KNIGHT'S REPORT One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy. Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics Brothers- It seems that summer is nudging its nose under Spring s tent! We continue to see vacillations in the weather that do no one s nose any good. On my return from my trip to Germany, I was greeted with a hefty dusting of pollen such as I haven t seen since the salad days of my young career down in North Carolina! The Council continues its strong work to support our local community, our parish, and our families. Thank you for all you do! As we continue to move toward our next Fraternal Year, and I encourage you all to become involved not just as a Council Officer, or event as a Committee Chair, but as a man devoted to the service of your community. Vivat Jesus! Tempest Fugit, Memento Mori. John Selby Grand Knight DEPUTY GRAND KNIGHT REPORT Brothers- I enjoyed a fine mission trip with several Brother Knights Curtis Winslow, Tim Henkel also along Rick Murphy, Lawrence Forte Ok gents, our business meeting is on the Wed Long-Term Care Plans Offer Peace of Mind Since its addition to the Order s product portfolio in 2000, long-term care (LTC) insurance has provided the Knights of Columbus with an excellent opportunity to further serve members and their families. And, for our long-term care policy holders in the United s, there s an added bonus. It s called Provider Pathway, a program offering access to a network of longterm care providers at discounted rates. The network includes discounts on products, such as hearing aids, diabetic supplies, personal emergency response systems, and durable medical equipment, as well as skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, and adult day care. Eligibility for participation in this program is open to Knights of Columbus longterm care insurance policyholders, their spouses, dependent children, parents and parents-in-law. All providers are fully credentialed and meet state licensing requirements. If you haven t yet spoken with me about long-term care insurance, you owe it to yourself to do so. There are a few decisions to make in choosing a plan a comprehensive plan that covers care whether you re at home or in a facility, or one that covers facility only; daily benefit amounts and benefit durations (how much and how long it will last); and the length of the elimination period (waiting period) before benefits kick-in. Having a professionally trained agent and a brother Knight you can trust to help guide you through the process is yet another valuable benefit that comes with your membership. Take advantage of it; contact me today. I m at or john.fenwick@kofc.org. Call me let s talk. the 3rd. The state convention runs from the 6th thru the 7th of May. The parish breakfast is on the 7th also. Our council receives the from the 8th until the 14th On the 13th and the 14th, we present flowers to the mothers of the parish for Mother s Day at each mass. The 17th is our planning meeting. The Doughnut Social is on Sunday, May 21st and the 29th is the Memorial Day mass and ceremony. Please attend these event if possible. Your Brother in Christ Dan Greenwell Membership Column Brothers, The fraternal year is drawing to a close, but that should be no deterrent to our quest for new members. Last month Mickey reflected on all the good work the council does, and the rewarding feeling we get from being a part of it. That work just reinforces the old adage It is better to give than to receive. Again at our officers meeting, while we scrutinized the budget, we were reminded of all the worthwhile causes we support. Whether a project involves our parish, community, or youth we always need new ideas and the eagerness for success. New projects are often proposed by our newest members who bring their wealth of experience to us. To get these new members involved, we need you to approach good Catholic men and simply ask them if they would like to learn more about the Knights. Once the Membership Committee has an opportunity to speak with a new man and show him who and what we are, the rest is pretty easy. Let Mickey or Ray know

2 if you need any follow up with a new prospect. Vivat Jesus, Mickey and Ray District Deputy Remarks My Brothers, What comes to mind when you think of the month of May? Maybe the Maryland Convention, the Kentucky Derby and the Indy 500. I think of Mary, the Blessed Virgin, my mother and my wife (May 14th), Memorial Day (May 29th) and membership! One knight can make a difference, every member counts. Paul J Zimmerman District Deputy #4 Faithful Navigator Column My Brothers, This month of May, take some extra time to remember those service members who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live in freedom. Take an extra moment to thank a service member currently serving, someone you know but more important, someone you do not personally know. See how proudly they thank you. Finally, remember to fly our flag each and every day. You do not have to wait for May each year to do these things. Try it every day and see how you begin to feel. God Bless America Paul J Zimmerman, Navigator, FAWA 377, zimmerman.paul@comcast.net May, 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 7 Convention / 05:30 Parish Breakfast :30 KoC Business Convention Convention/ 13 / 06:30 Men's 14 / Mothers Day :30-20:30 KoC Planning :30-08:00 Men's 21 09:00 Doughtnut Social Where: St. John's Memorial Day Mass

3 June, 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 4 05:30 Parish Breakfast 18 09:00 Doughtnut Social Where: St. John's :30 KoC Business :30-08:00 Men's :30-20:30 KoC Planning ST. JOHN FRANCIS REGIS, S.J. COUNCIL 7914 C/O Stephen Scaggs Rosalinds Drive, Hollywood, MD 20636

4 Reflections Lawrence P. Grayson Today s Ignored Martyrs ISIS is carrying out its vow to systematically kill and persecute Christians in countries of the Middle East and North Africa. On Palm Sunday, as Holy Week began, Islamic suicide bombers in Egypt exploded their lethal weapons in two Coptic Christian churches, killing 47 people and injuring more than 100 others. Shortly before last Christmas, a suicide bomber killed 30 worshipers in St. Mark s Cathedral in Cairo. On February 15, 2015, ISIS beheaded 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya, and released a video of the group murder. Radical Islamic terrorist groups are employing barbaric tactics in a jihad, including mass slaughters, beheadings, kidnapping, rape, abductions of women and girls, compelled marriages, forced conversions, destruction of churches and involuntary migrations. The results are devastating, forcing Christians to flee their ancestral lands. In Iraq, for example, the Christian population has decreased from 1.4 million in 2003 to 275,000 in In Syria, the number of Christians dropped from 1.5 million to 500,000 in just five years. A similarly large exodus is occurring throughout the region. In the early 20 th century, Christians constituted 20 percent of the population of the Middle East; in 2010, they made up only 5 percent; today, it is undoubtedly less. Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, in announcing that the Order gave $1.9 million in 2016 to support these persecuted peoples, stated that 2017 may be the decisive year in determining whether many Christian communities throughout the Middle East will continue to exist. Religious persecution is a worldwide problem, but a region where oppression of Christians is experienced daily is the Holy Land, the place where Christianity began. In that area, which is under Israel s control, Christians must contend with severe restrictions on routine living, especially in the occupied parts of the West Bank, due largely to the separation walls, checkpoints and military procedures that Israel has installed to protect itself from attacks by Palestinian extremists. Religious fundamentalism in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, as well as Jewish fundamentalism and settler movement, are also serious concerns. The conditions on travel, education, housing and employment have become so onerous that there has been a large emigration of Christians from the Holy Land. Today, Bethlehem where Jesus was born, Nazareth where he grew up, and Jerusalem where he died and resurrected are nearly devoid of Christians. In Jerusalem, where 27,000 Christians lived in 1948, today there are about 5,000. If there is no change, there soon may be no Christians living in the region. The Holy Land with its numerous sites so integral to Christian history then would become nothing more than a spiritual theme park, attractive to pilgrims and tourists, but not hospitable to the Arab Christians whose families have lived there continually since the time of Our Lord. The persecution of Christians extends beyond the Middle East. Under Caesar s Sword, a global research project on religious persecution, reports that about 200 million Christians around the world are at risk of physical violence, arrest, torture, even death simply because they live and practice a faith that is not acceptable to the rulers in that part of the world. It has concluded that Christians are the most widely targeted religious community, suffering terrible persecutions globally, with at least 60 percent of the cases of global religious persecution and 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination directed against them. Even the Vatican is considered at risk of Islamic terrorism. The Pew Research Center, in its recent annual report on Global Restrictions on Religion, noted that government laws targeting religious groups and societal hostilities, including hate speech, harassment, vandalism and violence against individuals of specific religions, increased markedly from 2014 to In 2015, 40 percent of the countries worldwide were rated to have very high or high levels of religious hostility. This was up six points from While the cited countries are in all parts of the world, the highest levels by far of both government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion were in nations of the Middle East and North Africa, the same regions where ISIS is operating. Last year, the European Union, the United s and the British Parliament each declared that the persecution of Christians by ISIS is genocide. In spite of these resolutions, the oppression continues, for these governmental bodies have not supported their resolutions with concrete action. Until then, nothing will change. World leaders can no longer delay. Pronouncements are not enough. To save and protect the Christians of the Middle East, world leaders must take swift and aggressive steps to end this crisis. Pope Francis, in his Regina Coeli address in 2015, said: Everyone is called to a spiritual journey of intense prayer, concrete participation, and tangible help in the defense and protection of our brothers and sisters who are persecuted, exiled, killed, and beheaded just for being Christians They are our martyrs of today, and there are so many, we can say that they are more numerous than in the first centuries. In his visit to Cairo on April 28, the pope urged participants at an International Conference on Peace to say once more a firm and clear, No! to every form of violence, vengeance and hatred carried out in the name of religion or in the name of God. He continued, We have an obligation to denounce violations of human dignity and human rights, to expose attempts to justify every form of hatred in the name of religion, and to condemn these attempts as idolatrous caricatures of God.

5 The next day at a Mass for 15,000 people, the pope recalled the meeting of the forlorn disciples with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and how their despair was turned into life, for when human hope vanishes, divine hope begins to shine in its place. He provided a message of hope, saying that when we reach the depths of failure and helplessness, when we rid ourselves of the illusion that we are the best, sufficient unto ourselves and the center of our world, then God reaches out to us to turn our night into dawn, our affliction into joy, our death into resurrection. As a worldwide moral leader, the pope must continue to speak out, urging the heads of the world s major countries to take specific actions to eliminate all religious persecution.