CARROLLIAN NEWS December 2018 January 2019 Grand Knight s Report -Merry Christmas and Happy New Year -As you may have noticed, this Carrollian is for both December and January. Thanks goes out to Matt Mandarino who has been our editor for the past couple of years. Because of Matt, we received State s Best Newsletter for 2016-2017. Great Job Matt. -Please plan to attend our annual Christmas party on our normal December meeting date, Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 6:30. Heavy appetizers will be served along with desserts, wine and spirits. We are also planning our Christmas 50/50 with the proceeds going to our Charity Fund to help fund Christmas donations. If you can t attend the party, but would like to participate in the 50/50, simply mail or drop off your money to the Council home. Tickets are $1 and winner need not be present. Also please bring a $10 generic gift for a fun exchange. Names will be drawn from the 50/50 tickets for the gift exchange. See you there. -Coats for Kids so far has collected 57 coats which have been donated to YSS and Catholic Charities, 18th St. Neighborhood Center. We do not collect in December but will continue the program from January through March. -The Essay Contest is currently being held in St. Michael s and St. Vincent schools. Thank you Brian Gordon. -Our Annual Memorial Mass was held at St. Vincent s on Saturday, November 24 at the 5 p.m. mass. Great job by our 4th Degree Honor Guard led by the Faithful Navigator Matt Koval. -Financially, we are in good shape and annual dues will remain at $50. Notices will be sent soon. Please help your Charity fund by donating to the fund when you send in your dues. Thanks! -We started painting the hallway between the bathrooms and realized that the whole inside of the house needs repainted. We will start with an example in the hallway. Tell us what you think. Once the house gets painted, we ll get new carpet. More to come. -Thank you for all you do and have a very Merry Christmas. God Bless, Ray Blust, Grand Knight Fourth Degree A BIG thank you to the Honor Guard for standing guard for Sir Knight Mike Simons funeral, assisting with the closing of the Infant of Prague Novena and with our annual Memorial Mass. We have had really good participation lately, THANK YOU!!! There is tentatively a 4 th Degree Exemplification scheduled for January 19 th. When I get more info on location and time I will pass it along. Dues notices and Seminarian Support 50/50 requests will be sent out next week. The 50/50 is open to anyone. Cost is $12 ($1 per month). We pull a ticket at all the monthly meetings. The November winner was Sir Knight Tom Burke. Our Annual Christmas Party will be held at the Council 504 house on Tuesday December 18 th @ 7:30. Wives, guests, kids are welcome. The Assembly will provide a meat and cheese tray and drinks. Feel free to being a covered dish to share. 1
The November attendance bowl would have been won by Sir Knight Chuck Wallace. The Charles Carroll Assembly 1185 hopes you and your family has a safe and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Matt Koval, Faithful Navigator Membership Matters Recruiting a new member into the Order is the most important and noteworthy accomplishment that any Knight can attain. New members keep our organization vibrant and in tune with the pulse of our local communities. The top three recruiters of the Order from between Dec. 1, 2018, and Jan. 31, 2019, will win their choice of either NHL or NBA tickets to the closest team to their home state with overnight accommodations the night of the game. What are you waiting for? Ask a man to join today. Another current incentive is the Top Grand Knight award. The top Grand Knight in each jurisdiction in the Insurance Territories (based on their Membership Quota) will be entered into a raffle for 5 trips to New Haven for him and his spouse. Also, the Top 10 recruiters and their spouses of the Insurance Territories will receive a complimentary trip to the International Supreme Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota and will sit at the Supreme Knight s Reserved Tables during the States Dinner. The Top Recruiter will receive the Top Recruiter Plaque during the Awards Ceremony. Brian Gordon, Membership Director Training Opportunity The Knights of Columbus has an enhanced Training Portal that aims to help you develop your skills, thus propelling your effectiveness and aiding the mission of your council. You will be provided targeted learning while being able to search through Video Channels for information. You can proceed at your own pace, as the content is accessible 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. As your schedule permits, please take some time to take advantage of all the new resources available to you. An Open Enrollment site has been established so that any officer or member can take any of the courses currently available. All Brother Knights are encouraged to go to kofc.org/trainingmicrosite to register. The next Supreme Training Webinar is on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Your Story, Your Council, Your Faith in Action. Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. [James 2:18]. Faith in Action answers in a special way the awareness of James that faith without works is meaningless. Faith in Action bridges the gap and realizes that your council s identity is wrapped up in what it does for its members and the parish community. With this in mind if your council is to be seen as faithful family men who are dedicated to defending life and serving the community, your council must put their faith into action. This webinar will discuss how Faith in Action is your plan to let the parish community know that your council are men of faith and of action. If you can t join the live event, register anyway and then view the recorded webinar at any time that is convenient to your schedule. To register go to www.kofc.org and click on the For Members button in the upper right corner. Then go 2
to the Resources tab and click on Fraternal Training Webinar. You will also find all of the Webinars on Demand section there as well. Even if you can t attend live, registering will allow you to be able to access this presentation on demand at a future date. Brian Gordon, State Training Coordinator Knights Are Pro-Life Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in America, now has more than 300 clubs on college campuses that encourage students to advocate for abortion on demand. Mark Basich, Pro-Life Director Candles at the Blessed Mother s Shrine DECEMBER 2018 WK 2 ND DOT SCHMITT (DEC) LEW AND BETTY NEWMAN III (DEC). WK 9 TH DUTCH AND CEIL FROHNAPEL (DEC) JIM POWELL AND RV BURKE FAM WK 16 TH CHUCK AND JEAN GRIFFITH KATIE AND JACK FAHEY WK 23 RD WAGNER-MADL FAMILIES (DEC) DON CARROLL & PHIL LEE BLUST CHUCK AND PAT WAGNER WEDDING ANNIV. (26 TH DEC) WK 30 TH JOANNE AND KEN BURKHART PLEASE CONTACT PHIL EMMERTH AT 304-312-0403 FOR CANDLES AT THE BLESSED MOTHER S SHRINE. 3
Knights of Columbus Insurance It s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year! This is really a wonderful time as we approach the end of the year and our thoughts turn to themes of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men! We think of our Savior s birth in Bethlehem and the beginning of this chapter of salvation history. Many of us will be busy getting our Christmas tree and homes decorated; looking for that perfect gift for our spouse, our children and maybe grandchildren. There are parties and school Christmas shows. There is a lot going on and you re busier than ever. But let me ask you to slow down for just a few minutes and consider some financial issues that come up at the end of the calendar year. 1. Because we re so late in the year, you may have met your individual or family deductible on your health insurance plan. Financially this may be the opportune time for some minor procedure to be scheduled; or that visit to a specialist you may have put off. The same is true about dental insurance and sometimes even for vision coverage. 2. Speaking of health insurance, do you have a Health Savings Account? Do you have to spend the money that s in there by year end? Some plans have a use it or lose it feature. Do you have to make a decision about how much to contribute next year? These are a couple of time-sensitive issues. 3. If you have earned income for the year, what amount will you want to contribute to your traditional IRA, Roth IRA or 401k? Are you eligible to contribute much more based on the catch up provision? You won t have to make that contribution until you pay your taxes and that could be four months away; however, now is the time to start making plans. 4. Speaking of IRAs, have you received your required minimum distribution for this year? If not, the Internal Revenue Service penalty is a hefty 50% of the amount you should have received! All of these issues come with lots of rules and regulations, so I don t ever want to give any blanket advice. But if you do have questions on any of these issues, please contact me. I d be happy to discuss them with you. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, let us be thankful for all the graces God has showered on us, especially the gift of his Son, our Savior! God Bless and Vivat Jesus! 4
MARK YOUR CALENDAR! - UPCOMING EVENTS Tuesday, December 11 th, Christmas Party at the Council Home, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 18 th, Fourth Degree Christmas Party, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 8 th, Carroll Council Regular Meeting, 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 18 th, March for Life, Washington, D.C. Ohio County Special Olympics Fundraiser The Ohio County Special Olympics is trying to increase their enrollment in the Kroger Rewards Program. This is free money they get from Kroger just by people shopping and using their Kroger Cards that are registered in the Community Rewards Program. You still get all of the personal benefits of your Kroger card, but Ohio County Special Olympics benefits too. They currently only have about 8 families registered, but received over $300 last year from Kroger. Increasing this enrollment would be a big help to Ohio County Special Olympics. The attached instructions detail how to register your Kroger card in the Community Rewards Program. This is an easy way that we can support our target Faith in Action organization. Please pass this along to any friends and family who may be able to help out also. Ohio County Special Olympics Kroger Community Rewards Registration 1. Get a Kroger Plus Card If you don t already have a Kroger Plus Card, you can get one at the Customer Service Desk at any Kroger Store. Have your card handy to complete the registration. You will need to enter the number from the back of your card. The number can be found near the barcode. There may be smaller printed digits to the left and right of the barcode. Be sure to include these when you are required to enter your number. 2. Create a Kroger Rewards Account If you don t already have a Kroger Rewards Account, create one at krogercommunityrewards.com Click on Register or Create an Account Create your account using your email address and a password Enter your zip code and select your favorite store You may then get an email to verify your account creation 3. Register your Card for Kroger Community Rewards Click on the link in the email that you received or if you already have an account click Sign In Sign in using your email address and password that you set up Go to the Community Rewards Section of your Account by selecting your account and scrolling down to the Community Rewards Section. You can also click on Community, Kroger Community Rewards, then on the View Your Rewards Details Button. 5
Click on Edit or Enroll Now Enter the number for our organization. The number for Special Olympics WV - Ohio County is RY804 Select Special Olympics WV - Ohio County and click Enroll or Save To verify, you should see the organization name under the Community Rewards Section of your account Use your card when shopping at Kroger and Special Olympics of Ohio County will benefit. You will begin seeing our organization name on your receipts within 10 days. You will still receive all of the benefits that you have always received by using your Kroger Card. Please pass this along to family and friends. The more people that sign up, the more money Special Olympics will receive. This will help to pay for things such as uniforms, equipment, registration fees for athletes, and travel expenses for state games. Officers for 2018-2019 Fraternal Year Grand Knight: Ray Blust Inside Guard: Sean Quirk Chaplain: Fr. Bill Matheny Deputy Grand Knight: Art Bertol Outside Guard: Joe Markovich District Deputy: Brian Gordon Chancellor: Matt Koval Trustee 1 Year: Bernie Grubler Recorder: Bill Buchanan Trustee 2 Year: Chuck Wagner Field Agent/ Treasurer: Ed Novotney Trustee 3 Year: Brian Gordon Fraternal Benefits: Eric Mowry Advocate: Patrick Baltzell Financial Secretary: Ken Staley Warden: Pat Plunkett Newsletter Editor: Matt Mandarino The Knights of Columbus presents The Building the Domestic Church Series Lord, Teach Us to Pray: The What, Why, and How of Prayer BY FATHER PETER JOHN CAMERON, O.P. HOW AND WHAT TO PRAY How do we begin to pray if we have never prayed before? Even before exploring the methods of various prayer forms, we must first embrace a fundamental truth about prayer that the Catechism makes clear: In prayer, the faithful God s initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals himself and reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call (n. 2567). Our chief responsibility in prayer, therefore, is to become able and eager to respond to God s offer of self-giving, image-perfecting love. We dispose ourselves to be people of prayer by making the truth of God s love for us the governing force of our lives. In this way, all prayer remains essentially a dynamic of receiving divine love and of responding to that gift by making our own act of love to God. It is that constant act of love to Jesus which remains essential to all good prayer, no matter what form it takes. Since a prayerful act of love to God thankfully acknowledges his love for us, it lifts us up out of ourselves by directing our energy to the divine Persons of the Trinity. So praying isn t merely thinking about God. Yet, whenever we are not actually considering God s love, we are not actually loving him. Therefore, we pray by making a constant active offering of our heart that takes us out of ourselves, and into the Sacred Heart of our Beloved. 6
Our unceasing act of love keeps us living, not in ourselves, but in Jesus. As Saint Paul reminds us: the life I live now is not my own, but Christ is living in me (Galatians 2:20). As soon as we give up our act of love, we are drawn back dangerously into ourselves. Our selfishness and unholy desires begin to assert themselves; our fears dominate us; we become tempted to trust our own ideas and willfulness instead of God. In order to be happy in this life and prepare ourselves for eternal life, we must pray. The way to begin to pray, then, is to turn all those troublesome things right over to God with the humility, dependence, and confidence of the tax collector in the temple who prayed: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13). That is the indispensable foundation for all authentic prayer, as the famous Christian of The Way of the Pilgrim discovered. This nameless 19th century peasant walked across Russia and entered into a state of great holiness simply by reciting the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner. In learning to pray, it is crucial for us to follow in his footsteps. The Holy Name of Jesus remains the God-given key to all true Christian prayer. For to pray Jesus is to invoke him and to call him within us... There is no other way of Christian prayer than Christ. Whether our prayer is communal or personal, vocal or interior, it has access to the Father only if we pray in the name of Jesus (CCC 2666, 2664). And the Catechism assures us that everyone can pray in this way always: This prayer is possible at all times because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus (n. 2668). Practically, then, how do we do this? First, set aside at least 15 or 20 minutes of your day when you are not overwhelmed by distractions, interruptions, or other obligations. Find a quiet, secluded place, and consecrate it to prayer by placing there a crucifix, icon, statue, holy card, etc. Settle yourself in a chair that is comfortable...but not too comfortable. Place your feet flat on the floor and your hands loosely in your lap. Relax...breathe slowly and deeply. Close your eyes. Then begin to recite softly or just in your heart the Jesus Prayer. Don t be surprised at what might happen. For example, your heart might start racing, making you nervous or agitated. Or, thousands of disturbing distractions might come thundering. Or perhaps you will feel absolutely nothing at all. It doesn t matter. Keep your heart and your mind peacefully fixed on the Name of Jesus. And stay there, in his arms, until the 20 minutes are up. Yet, if we get cut short, there is no need to worry. For as the pilgrim assures us, one short minute of calling on the Name of Jesus Christ outweighs many hours lost in slothfulness. Then, as we go about our business, we should continue to say the Name of Jesus to ourselves silently, no matter where we are or what we are doing, until we get the chance to meditate again. The unceasing act of love becomes perfected as we learn the sacred traditional prayers of the Church. Every Catholic should memorize these: the Lord s Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Glory be, the Gloria and the Profession of Faith of the Mass, the Apostles Creed, Come Holy Spirit, the Divine Praises, the Te Deum, O Sacred Banquet, the Act of Contrition, grace before and after meals, the Magnificat, the Angelus, the Regina Coeli, Hail Holy Queen, the Memorare, the Fatima Prayer. There are many fine books available that contain these prayers (including our booklet Prayer Time, #309) as well as instructions on how to pray the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, litanies and novenas. In short, praying is as easy as breathing. As the author of The Way of the Pilgrim reminds us: Really to pray means to direct our heart and mind to constant remembrance of God, to walk in his divine presence, to arouse in oneself the love of God by means of meditation, and to say the Name of Jesus in harmony with one s breathing and the beating of one s heart. 7
Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen. We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen. Interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith? Visit the Knights of Columbus on-line Catechism at: http://www.kofc.org/un/en/catechism/index.html. Nuptial Blessing Holy Father, who formed man in your image, male and female you created them, so that as husband and wife, united in body and heart, they might fulfill their calling in the world; O God, who, to reveal the great design you formed in your love, willed that the love of spouses for each other should foreshadow the covenant you graciously made with your people, so that, by fulfillment of the sacramental sign, the mystical marriage of Christ with his Church might become manifest in the union of husband and wife among your faithful. May they also sustain, O Lord, by their deeds the home they are forming and prepare their children to become members of your heavenly household by raising them in the way of the Gospel. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 8