Knights of Columbus St. Joseph Pilgrim Traveling Icon Program
 |
A parishioner kneels to pray before the Icon placed at the St. Joseph altar after the Knights of Columbus Council #640 prayed the rosary in a prayer service held at St. Joseph & St. Patrick Parish in Escanaba. To sign up to host the traveling Icon contact g.brunson@mikofc.org Registration form HERE. |
Brothers... Here is the definition of the word “Fraternalism.”
a. Of or relating to brothers: a close fraternal tie.
b. Showing comradeship; brotherly.
Be honest with yourselves: Is that how you feel when you hear the name Knights of Columbus? In my heart, I am proud to call each and every one of you my brother. I have been a part of the Knights of Columbus since the mid-70s. After 9 years with the Columbian Squires, I joined our order in 1984. Through the last 38 years, I have met more brothers than I can count at various activities. These events, be they State, Regional, District, or Council-Level, have formed the basis for some of my closest friendships. These relationships are among my greatest blessings. Without active councils participating in and planning effectively, I wouldn’t have these blessings in my life.
There are several upcoming events that we hope to see you attend.
September 24th we have our District Deputy/District Warden golf outing. It's open to all DD's and DW current and former. It will be in Lansing. Hoping for a great turnout.
On October 15th we have the State Bowling Mixed Tournament. This is our first attempt at this event, and we’re hoping it becomes an annual fixture on our calendar. It’s also a good opportunity to invite prospective members to show them the fraternity that they can join. Each team only has to have one active Knight. So, get a team together and come out and have a good time.
In February, we will have our annual State Bowling Tournament opening weekend. This year, we’ll be in Bay City.
My primary goal is to make each one of these events fun for you and your families. But I cannot do that without your help.
Information and applications to the DD Golf & Mixed Bowling can be found in their links to the State website above. The 2023 bowling info will be added later. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you. In addition, if you have any ideas for additional events we can hold, please let me know. I want a good time to be had by all!
Chief of Fraternal Activities
"You can get business done while still having fun"
Anchor Bay Council Knights of Columbus Council # 5981 will be sponsoring an Exposition of Sacred Relics at St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish on Friday, September 16th at 6:30pm. This exposition contains: one of the largest remaining pieces of the True Cross in world, a portion of the Veil from our Blessed Mother, and a relic from our founder Blessed Michael J. McGivney.
On Friday, September 16th, at 6:30pm, the Anchor Bay Knights of Columbus will be sponsoring a teaching and exposition of Sacred Relics at St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish in New Baltimore.
Father Carlos Martins, a Vatican-appointed expert on relics will be present with an extraordinary Vatican collection of over 150 relics, some as old as 2,000 years. Among the treasures will be relics of St. Joseph, St. Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Lisieux (the “Little Flower”), St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Faustina Kowalska.
There will also be a portion of the Veil of Our Lady and one of the largest remaining pieces of the True Cross in the world.
Those in attendance will be able to examine and venerate each relic.
Throughout history, many healings have been worked in the presence of relics; and thousands have occurred through this ministry. Do not miss this opportunity. You are encouraged to bring your articles of devotion (such as rosaries, holy cards, etc.) and pictures of ill friends/family members, which you will be able to touch to the reliquaries as a means of intercession. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Please spread the word.
There will be no cost to attend the exposition, other than free will donations.
Here is the link to the website for the exposition: https://treasuresofthechurch.com/
YouTube video with more info: https://youtu.be/6htFBYxYmac
Please help us spread the word to reach as many people as possible.
Vivat Jesus!
SK Matthew B Hoxsie
Grand Knight Council #5981
mh29@att.net
43 Errors Found in Petition
Throughout the process of fighting the anything-goes RFFA abortion amendment, our coalition has had a thorough legal team working behind the scenes to put roadblocks in their way. Here is a timeline to remind you of the challenges.
January 7th: Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and Michigan Voices announce the pro-abortion ballot proposal.
February 11th: The petition is presented to the Michigan Board of Canvassers. Our coalition legal team challenged the union logo due to incorrect font size. The Board of Canvassers agreed that the font size needed to be edited to match the legally required format for all petitions in Michigan
.
March 23rd: The legal team for Planned Parenthood and ACLU presented the revised petition with the correct union logo to the board once again for approval. Our legal team came back with another challenge to their petition on the use of the word "the" in a spot that didn't meet legal requirements. The challenge was small, but effective. The board, while annoyed, had to agree with the challenge and granted conditional approval only if the RFFA removed the extra word. This same error led to the RFFA having to reprint all petitions and pull petitions from the field that were already circulating, ultimately costing them serious dollars.
Between April and July: The petition was being circulated all across Michigan, allowing for RFFA to gather more than 750,000 signatures—well over the required 425,059 signatures. From our analysis of the petitions, it appears that most of the signatures were collected after the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in the Dobbs case was leaked.
August 16th: Once again, our attorneys did their due diligence and found a serious printing error on the petitions. The error appears on the backside of the petition which features the actual language of the amendment. This language is important because it is the text that will appear in our state constitution if passed. We found 43 spacing errors that result in the text reading like this:
· DECISIONSABOUTALLMATTERSRELATINGTOPREGNANCY
· INCLUDINGBUTNOTLIMITEDTOPRENATALCARE
· POSTPARTUMCARE
· ORALLEGEDPREGNANCYOUTCOMES
· INCLUDINGBUTNOTLIMITEDTOMISCARRIAGE
· ORABORTION
· PREGNANCYWHEN
· JUDGMENTOF
· ANDBASEDONTHEPARTICULAR
· FACTSOFTHECASE
· THEREISASIGNIFICANTLIKELIHOOD
· OFTHEFETUS'SSUSTAINEDSURVIVALOUTSIDETHE
Our Spokesperson for this coalition summarized the gibberish language perfectly:
“This amendment cannot be made part of your constitution in its current form. And there is no legal or constitutional process for changing the text of the amendment at this late stage. It is shocking, indeed, that more than three-quarters of a million voters—including the Governor and the state Attorney General—signed a petition they didn’t read and couldn’t understand. But this error-riddled mess cannot be put on the ballot."
As of right now, these 43 errors will be presented to the Bureau of Elections, who will then recommend to the Board of Canvassers if the errors should be considered in the next meeting on August 31st. More updates on this to come, so stay tuned.
Gentlemen:
An important part of our relationship with Jesus is the new start we receive through the Sacrament of reconciliation.
" If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9
Jesus brings us freedom and new life through the graces of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a special encounter with Jesus, and it is a faithful source of grace.
As taken from the writings in the Ultimate Relationship, as published by Catholic Christian Outreach and our companion book Vivat Jesus.
Paul Kelsey State Catechesis Director
Fundraiser for the 2024 State Leadership Installation of
Michigan Knights of Columbus
Click HERE for Registration and Sponsor form
Brother Knights of Munising Council # 2804 held an Exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity on Wednesday August 9th inducting one new member into the Order.
Munising Council # 2804 exemplification, left to right. Staff Wally Vollenweider, GK Romaldo Nevarez, Joe St. Martin. Candidate & new brother Knight Don Pray. Staff Jim Corriveau, Sonny Vardon. Fr. Michael Ocran and DD #605 Harold Flagstadt.
Blessed Father Michael McGivney Feast Day – August 13
The official Feast Day in the Catholic Church of Blessed Father Michael McGivney is August 13. Patron and founder of the Knights of Columbus. The feast is celebrated annually across the universal Catholic Church. Bl. Fr. McGivney was born on August 12, 1852 and passed away on August 14, 1890 (aged 38). His feast day is celebrated on the 13th because it falls between these two dates. Bl. Fr. McGivney was Beatified on October 31, 2020 at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin (on behalf of Pope Francis). This Cathedral is the Diocese Seat for the Bl. Fr. McGivney’s shrine that also was the final parish church he served at during his life as a Priest and also where he founded the Knights (Church of Saint Mary in New Haven, Connecticut).
You can learn more about Bl. Fr. McGivney here.
Blessed Michael McGivney's Story
The eldest son of an immigrant Irish family in Connecticut, young Michael left school at 13 to work in a brass factory making spoons. At 16 he began studies for the priesthood in Quebec but was obliged to leave to help support the family when his father died. Michael completed his education in Baltimore, Maryland, and was ordained for the diocese of Hartford in 1877.
Assigned to St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven, Fr. McGivney was very active in parish and civic affairs, serving as director of public plays and fairs. He volunteered to become the guardian of Alfred Downes, a minor whose father had died leaving a large family in poverty. This situation as well as his own family's circumstances and that of other immigrants impressed on Fr. McGivney the need for lay Catholic men to establish a mutual aid society to provide financial assistance for their families if the primary wage earner died. Protestant fraternal groups already provided this type of life insurance protection for their members.
In 1882, Fr. McGivney formed the Knights of Columbus among a small group of St. Mary's parishioners to promote charity, unity, and fraternity, assisting widows and orphans. Because of the Knights' emphasis on serving Church, community and family, the organization grew and did not remain strictly parish-based. Patriotism was added as a founding principle in 1900.
Father McGivney died from pneumonia in 1890 and was buried in Thomaston, Connecticut. Later his body was moved back to St. Mary’s in New Haven where it remains today. He was beatified in 2020.
Reflection
Michael Joseph McGivney was a genuine pastor who, in the words of Pope Francis, was unafraid to share “the smell of his sheep.” He promoted families whose members were strong in their faith expressed through generous following of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. In a decree read at the beatification Mass, Pope Francis praised Fr. McGivney’s “zeal and the proclamation of the Gospel and generous concern for his brothers and sisters.” These “made him an outstanding witness of Christian solidarity and fraternal assistance.”
The Blessed Fr. Michael J. McGivney Prayer
God, our Father, protector of the poor and defender of the widow and orphan, you called your priest, Father Michael J. McGivney, to be an apostle of Christian family life and to lead the young to the generous service of their neighbor.
Through the example of his life and virtue may we follow your Son, Jesus Christ, more closely, fulfilling his commandment of charity and building up his Body which is the Church.
Let the inspiration of your servant prompt us to greater confidence in your love so that we may continue his work of caring for the needy and the outcast.
We humbly ask that you glorify your Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney on earth according to the design of your holy will.
Through his intercession, grant the favor I now present;
(here make your request)…………
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Join Bishop Gruss on a charity ride across the Diocese to raise money for Think Adoption Not Abortion, an organization which encourages adoption through billboard advertisements.
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 13 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
WHERE: Begins in Saginaw and ends in Chesaning
Detailed Schedule
8 a.m. - Mass with Bishop Gruss at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, 615 Hoyt Ave., Saginaw
9 a.m. - Bishop Gruss to pray a blessing over participants and their motorcycles (all times listed below are estimates)
11 a.m. - Break at Knights of Columbus (Council #1546), 1038 S. Van Dyke Rd., Bad Axe
12:40 p.m. - Lunch at Knights of Columbus (Council #414), 225 S. Linn St., Bay City
3 p.m. - Break at Knights of Columbus (Council #1297), 302 S. Kinney Ave., Mount Pleasant
Cost is $20 per bike and $10 per passenger. Proceeds go to Think Adoption Not Abortion. Those who wish to participate by car may follow the line of motorcycles.
For additional information or to register, contact Kirk Dupuie at (989) 280-2141 or kdupuie@yahoo.com.
The first week of August, 24 teams from throughout the world gathered in Detroit to compete in the Special Olympics Unified Cup Soccer Tournament. On Friday, August 5th, temperatures climbed into the 90s and thunderstorms fortunately passed us by as the teams battled it out on the pitch.
It was even hotter on the sideline as 17 volunteers from 6 councils in the Michigan jurisdiction gathered around 2 large grills to prepare and serve over 750 meals to the teams and coaches. The team prepared bagged meals that included a choice of chicken sandwiches, hamburgers and veggie burgers. The volunteers worked efficiently to serve all of the meals in only a couple of hours. Everyone was satisfied at the end of the event knowing that we had done our best to serve the Special Olympics community.
Brian Zahn - District Deputy#114
Michigan Knights of Columbus
