ST MARY KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 6993, PO BOX 2, MOKENA, IL 60448 Volume 8 # 3 SEPTEMBER, 2013 TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ST MARY COUNCIL CALL Barry Cullum @ (708) 829 1265 or Richard Ciancio @ (815) 485 0896 WWW.MOKENAKNIGHTS.ORG OFFICERS 2013-2014 2014 SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR: Deacon Nabil Halaby GRAND KNIGHT Richard Ciancio DEPUTY GK Donald Zich CHANCELLOR Clifford Peloquin ADVOCATE Barry Cullum RECORDER Michael Baker TREASURER Tim Cosgrove FIN. SECRETARY Daniel Michalak WARDEN Vince DiFiori INSIDE GUARDS: Lino Sbragia Tom Adent, Jr. OUTSIDE GUARDS: Dennis Borkowski Joe Figliulo TRUSTEES: 3 YEAR Donald Bauc 2 YEAR Albert Sparks 1 YEAR James Peppmuller FIELD AGENT: Todd Minard KNIGHT OF THE QUARTER Tom Adent, Jr. FAMILY OF THE QUARTER Mario and Lynn Carreon MOKENA KNIGHTHOOD TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3: JOLIET ASSEMBLY MEETS: At 7:30 PM, Council 4400 Hall in Joliet. Steak Fry at 5:00 PM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY SEP- TEMBER 6 AND 7: ANNUAL GARAGE SALE!: The Sisters hold their fabulous garage sale at St Francis of the Woods from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. (Flyer page 2 ) SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8: THE BLOOD & THE ROSE: An exciting event for Woman s Choice Services, see the back page for details. TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 10: COUNCIL MEETING: In the church hall at 7:00 PM. SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14: DAY OF REMEMBRANCE: At 1:00 PM at Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville. Bishop Siegel and Jill Stanek will speak. A fourth degree honor guard is scheduled. See the article on page 7. SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14: HISPANIC FOURTH DEGREE EXEMPLIFICATION: The first Fourth Degree Exemplification in Spanish will be held in Des Plaines See the article on Page 2 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14: SOCIAL NIGHT: This month we meet at Joe Kral s apartment. At 20668 Landings Pointe, Apartment 204. (East of US 45 on Colorado Street) Phone (708) 478 4543. SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14 AND SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15: ST MARY ID (TOOTSIE ROLL) DRIVE: At all St Mary Masses. Lots of volunteers needed. Come to Mass and help! Volunteer with Dan Michalak (815) 463 1044 (Article Page 3) WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 18: OUR LADY OF FATIMA: The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima will visit the Strezo house at 6:00 PM. Come and pray with Bob and Virgie. (Article Page 4) FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20 THROUGH SUNDAY SEPTEM- BER 22: THE TOOTSIE ROLL DRIVE: DRIVE: This is the main event at the stores and train stations. Call Dan Michalak (815) 463 1044 (Article P 3.) TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24: OFFICER AND DIRECTORS MEETING: Church hall at 7:00 PM. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY SEP- TEMBER 27 AND 28: AN- NUAL GARAGE SALE!: The Sisters hold the second installment of their fabulous garage sale at St Francis of the Woods from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. (Flyer page 2 ) SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 28: SPAGHETTI DINNER AND BAKE SALE: A great annual fund raiser for the council! In the church hall starting at 4:00 PM. (See page 2)
SPAGHETTI DINNER AND BAKE SALE Our annual Spaghetti Dinner and Bake Sale is always a big hit. This year it is scheduled for Saturday September 28. We begin serving the customers at 4:00 PM but the work of setting up the tables and other preparations starts early. Master Chef Richard Ciancio will be producing our top secret spaghetti sauce with a group of culinary experts in the kitchen. They need help! All council members will also receive a phone call about the bake sale. Each will be asked to bring something. Pricing is done by the volunteer ladies who conduct the sale. Contact Joe Kral at (708) 478 4543 to volunteer as a worker, or just show up. HISPANIC FOURTH DE- GREE EXEMPLIFICATION Master Paul Isherwood of the Northern Illinois District of the Fourth Degree has scheduled an exemplification of Fourth Degree Sir Knights in Spanish for Saturday September 14 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on US 45 north of Central Avenue in Des Plaines. This will only be the second exemplification in Spanish held in the United States. The degree will be held in the afternoon, to be followed by a Mass and a banquet. The banquet will be a buffet costing $15 per person. The Master asks that all Sir Knights able to do so come to this event with regalia to support him and this great new initiative. For more information contact Faithful Navigator Peter Baker (815) 806 1499 or Faithful Comptroller Tim Cosgrove at (815) 485 5599
TOOTSIE ROLLS! Shortly after World War II, Father C. C. Boyle Knights of Columbus Council 4698 at St George Parish in Tinley Park, Illinois came up with the idea of raising money for handicapped adults by giving out Tootsie Rolls in exchange for a donation. Since then, the Tootsie Roll Drive has spread all over the United States. All councils do not hold their drive at the same time but Knights of Columbus standing on street corners collecting money for needy Intellectually Disabled persons are an American tradition.. The council buys the tootsie rolls and pays for supplies such as new money cans and aprons out of the proceeds from the fund drive. All other money collected goes to charity. When the drive is over, Financial Secretary Dan Michalak sends a report and a check for the net proceeds to the Illinois State Council. The State Council collects everything from all Illinois councils and then sends a form to each council asking how the money should be distributed. There is a strict set of guidelines for selecting the charities. The councils vote, the Financial Secretaries return the forms with their council instructions and the State Council then combines all the results to issue a single check to each charity selected. Saturday and Sunday September 14 and 15 we will ask for donations at St Mary Church. Knights wearing aprons will be outside The wording on the aprons has changed often Friday through Sunday September 20 through 22 is the main effort. We man locations at the METRA stations, at Berkot s and at other stores around town. The job is very labor intensive. All those who can help are asked to do so. Volunteers who are not knights are welcome to join us ask them to help. Wives and teens are always popular and good at this! We don t sell individual tootsie rolls they are a thank you for donated money. A tootsie roll is given to each donor regardless of how much money is donated. Some people want to buy a box of fifty tootsie rolls to use for Halloween or a similar purpose, and we then sell them a box of 50 for $6.50 or a whole case for $35.00. There are also banks for $ 2.50 To help call Dan Michalak at (815) 463 1044 or Pete Baker at (815) 806 1499 the church both before and after each Mass. Our parishioners are always generous.
Our Lady of Fatima The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima will be visiting Mokena on September 18. A representative of the Blue Army will bring the statue to the home of Bob and Virginia Strezo. There will be an exposition of the statue, a prayer service and rosary at 6:00 PM at the Strezo home, 19129 Creekside Lane, Mokena, All Catholics are cordially invited to attend. Most Catholics are aware of the miracles that took place near Fatima, Portugal in 1917 when Our Lady appeared to three children. The Miracle of the Sun that culminated those amazing events was reported in most of the newspapers of the world. It was a major event of the twentieth century. The International Pilgrim Statue was made by famous sculptor Jose Thedim in 1947. Sister Lucia, one of the three children who witnessed the apparition of Our Lady guided the sculptor and asked that the statue be used as a pilgrim statue. When the statue was completed it was blessed and started a continuous tour that has now lasted 54 years. The miracles, favors and graces associated with the statue were so numerous that even the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII reflected on them in his famous radio address to Fatima pilgrims on May 13, 1951. He recalled we crowned Our Lady of Fatima as Queen of the world, and the next year, through her pilgrim image, She set forth as though to claim Her dominion The miracles She performs along the way are such that we can scarcely believe our eyes. Physical cures attributed to the presence of the Statue have been documented many times. Spiritual cures and gifts such as the sudden conversion of a heretic or the enlightenment of someone who has resisted praying to the saints have often occurred Come and pray! PLEASE CALL THE STREZOS AT (708) 479 8158 IF YOU PLAN TO COME Bob Meyer Brother knight Bob Meyer rarely attends council functions because he and his wife Terry spend most of their time operating their business Fast Signs in Crest Hill. Bob is one of those great knights who works behind the scenes for our council and the Church. He has made the signs we use to advertise the pancake breakfasts, taco fest, spaghetti dinners and more for many years without charge to the council. On August 2, Past Grand Knight Joe Sluis visited Bob and Terry at their store to honor Bob with a certificate of thanks from the council and another certificate recognizing him for twenty five years as a Knight of Columbus. The certificate was accompanied by a lapel pin. Bob s service to the knights has been a blessing to our council and our charities. Joe Sluis Bob Meyer Vivat Jesus
The Festival of Saint Anne July 26 is celebrated every year in the village of St Anne, Illinois, southeast of Kankakee, to honor the mother of the Virgin Mary. The town and its church have the same name and are a holy shrine. The gospels were compiled into the New Testament in the second and third century to save the inspired writings of the early apostles. Other writings with historical information that were not included in the New Testament have given the Church information about Saint Anne. She was the mother of the only woman born without sin, Mary the Immaculate Conception. Saint Anne and her husband Saint Joachim are discussed and explained every year at the beginning of the festival at 9 AM. An outdoor Mass follows that is attended by several hundred people and that includes a blessing of the sick. After the Mass all those attending join a procession led by the Knights of Columbus. A relic of Saint Anne is carried through the town while the rosary is recited. After the procession a chicken dinner is sold in the parish hall or hamburgers and similar fare can be purchased from a tent. It is a wonderful event. This year about twelve St Mary parishioners were there, including three knights from our council Joe Sluis participated in the honor guard. The festival is a major fund raiser for the St Anne Parish. There are booths selling flowers and garden plants, as well as a booth that sells religious goods related to St. Anne The town is famous for the gladiolus that most ladies bring home with them. In years past, The festival was a main source of ginko tree seedlings but they are no longer available. Plan to go next year! Fourth degree knights are invited to bring their regalia. Vivat Jesus Blessing the sick Knights of Columbus (McNamara Assy.) The procession The Shrine of Saint Anne (Photos by Deacon Nabil Halaby)
Timothy M. Marley The newest member of our council is Tim Marley. Tim came to us in a very unusual way he won the turtle race! When he was contacted to ask about his mailing address for the $500 winner s check, he asked about the knights and decided to join us, We are proud and happy to have our newest brother. PRIZE WINNING NEWSLETTER! Mokena Knighthood is presently in its eighth year of publication. I started it to replace a monthly schedule post card because the postcard producer, Dick Hinckley, moved to Texas. The newsletter has grown to include articles on a variety of subjects, all intended as worthwhile for our members. At this year s Illinois State Convention, Mokena Knighthood was selected for first place in an annual competition for council newsletters. It is a great honor. Joost Sluis, PGK, PFN, publisher THE SLAMMERS GAME Fran and Grand Knight Rich Ciancio The annual council outing to the Joliet Slammers was a huge success! Jim Peppmuller sold almost seventy tickets at $10.00 each. The Slammers provided the tickets at a discounted price of $5.00 so that the game was not only fun but it was a great council fund raiser. Unfortunately, the Slammers lost a close game. The fireworks were really great, though and everyone had a good time. Jim stated he will try to sell 100 tickets next year! Well done Jim! Baseball Impresario Jim Peppmuller
REMEMBERING THE BABIES In 1985 two babies were found dead in the dumpster outside of an abortion clinic. The pro life people who found them were able to have them stored at a funeral home until a suitable place could be found for burial. The Diocesan Chapter of the Knights of Columbus worked with the Diocese of Joliet to arrange a funeral and burial place for the children. The Diocese provided a burial place in Resurrection Cemetery located at the intersection of Route 53 and 135 th Street in Romeoville. The babies were each given a name and the Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated by Bishop Roger Kaffer at the chapel of the St Charles Borromeo Pastoral Center on March 17, 2001. After the Mass, Bishop Kaffer presided over the internment of Patrick and Sarah. The honor guard of the Joliet Assembly, officers of the Chapter, pro life supporters and others participated. The Pro Life Office of the Diocese of Joliet under Fran Fortier and Will County Right to Life under Monica Miller helped to achieve this victory for life. The Joliet Chapter purchased and placed the monument that stands near the graves. The graves are with other children s graves at the cemetery. Sir Knight Henry Hyde, the late U.S. Congressman from Illinois participated, was present at the Mass and spoke at the internment. Representative Hyde was a champion defender of the unborn in Congress and in all his public appearances. On September 14, 2013 a graveside remembrance service will be conducted for Patrick and Sarah by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Siegel of the Diocese of Joliet. The service will start at 1 PM near the tombs of the two children, located at the southeast corner of the cemetery. Jill Stanek, famous pro life nurse and champion of life will also speak.. The Remembrance Service is part of a Day of Remembrance that will be conducted nationwide on September 14 with numerous memorial services. Babies whose bodies were recovered from trash bins outside of abortion clinics are buried in many American cemeteries some in mass graves. The Day of Remembrance is being coordinated by Citizens for a Pro Life Society, Priests for Life and the Pro Life Action League. A Fourth Degree honor guard will participate. The honor guard should arrive at 10:30 AM. There is no place to change into regalia near the site. All Christians are urged to attend this important event. A rose is an autograph from the hands of God. So too were these unborn children Vivat Jesus