Council 5436 works with Parish on White Cross Display

By: Thomas Kendziorski - Mon, Sep 15, 2025 9:00 PM

In concert with Right-to-Life Lifespan of Oakland and Macomb Counties, 75 students and staff from the Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes High School and 7 Brother Knights from the Pope Saint John XXIII Council #5436 worked together to set up the parish's annual "White Cross" display.  Unfortunately, this powerful outdoor public statement of 1,900 crosses represents over 3,000 babies losing their lives to abortion each day.  The purpose is to publicize the reality of abortion while enlightening everyone to the healing message of repentance, forgiveness, and the sacredness of life offered by the Church.  Kudos to Lady Debbie Brenner, Brother Knights Doug Ritter and Michael Mandziuk, and the OLL Parish Youth Evangelization Director, Michelle Marcy, for coordinating this year's effort.  The display will remain on the parish lawn along busy Dixie Highway until September 25th.
 
Photos were taken by Mary Zednik.
 
 

District 208 Exemplified Five Members

By: Matt Hoxsie - Sun, Sep 7, 2025 7:32 PM

On Sunday, September 7th, District 208 held a 1st-3rd degree exemplification hosted by Boyne Valley Council 7172 after the 11am Mass. 4 new members were welcomed into the order, and 1 member completed the 2nd and 3rd degrees.
 
The ceremony was led by DD 208, Andrew Mayer, with assistance from Boyne Valley Grand Knight,Eric Kesseler. Boyne Valley Chaplain, Fr Dennis Stillwell presided over the ceremony. 
 
The new members are:
  • Petoskey 923- Josh Daniel
  • Boyne Valley 6314- Matthew Tanner 
  • Charlevoix 7172-Jon Smalley and Patrick Gallagher 
  • Onaway 7688-John Hicks 
  • Tom Peltier of Boyne Valley completed the 2nd and 3rd degrees.
 
Congratulations and welcome, Brother Knights!!

 

Keep Christ in CHRISTmas Cards Ordering!

By: Matt Hoxsie - Sun, Sep 7, 2025 7:03 PM

Christmas is only a few months away!  Now is the best time to order your Keep Christ in CHRISTmas cards!

 

Click here for more information.

 

The Living Rosary is Less Than a Week Away!

By: Robert Bagley - Sun, Sep 7, 2025 9:47 AM

My Brothers and Sisters 

 
Our Living Rosary is now less than a week away, September 13th!
 
Here is a video message from our State Legal Council, John Bursch, that helps explain why this beautiful prayer is so important. 
 
See you there!
 

Importance of Prayer and the Living Rosary

 
PAX
 
Bob Bagley 
State Faith Director 

Dad Talk - Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

By: John Bursch - Sun, Sep 7, 2025 9:31 AM

 

Today’s first reading from Wisdom makes clear that God’s ways are not our ways.  Jesus makes that abundantly clear in the Gospel reading from Luke, when he says we must hate our family and give up all we own to follow him.  But don't Jesus's demands make us his slaves?  Not at all!  In today’s Dad Talk, we’ll explore how giving up earthly things makes us truly free - and why we must always love our parents:
 
Spotify - https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/nJIUWNvlsWb
 
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dad-talk-twenty-third-sunday-in-ordinary-time/id1795067269?i=1000725332344
 
Riverside - https://riverside.fm/shared/exported-clip/ae718f53a22ad17dad80
 
Please share with a friend, and God bless! Dad

The Origin of Pews in the Catholic Church

By: Robert Bagley - Thu, Sep 4, 2025 8:02 AM

My Brothers and Sisters 

 
Have you ever attended a Mass where you did not sit, but stood the entire time?
I have attended only one like that and wondered why,  when there was seating available.  Below is a little fact I have found about the origins of the pew.
DISCOVER THE ORIGIN OF PEWS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH✝️
 
_______________
Have you ever wondered where the pews in our churches came from?
 
Today, we walk into church, find “our spot,” kneel, sit, and stand, all within the wooden embrace of a pew. But did you know, for centuries, there were no pews in Catholic churches at all?
 
Yes, early Christians stood during worship. The liturgy was seen as active participation, not passive sitting. Church was not a lecture hall but a heavenly banquet, a foretaste of the eternal liturgy. Standing was a sign of readiness, reverence, and resurrection.
 
✝️Limited Seating: Some early churches, especially in the Roman and Byzantine world, had backless stone benches or sedilia built along the walls. But these were for the elderly and infirm. The vast majority of the faithful stood, attentive and alert, as the liturgy unfolded.
 
✝️So where did pews come from? Here’s the surprise: pews were first introduced by Protestants. Why? Because preaching became the center of Protestant worship. Long sermons required long sitting, and pews provided comfort and order. Eventually, pews entered Catholic churches in the West, not because the Mass changed in essence, but because of cultural influence and practical need.
 
✝️But here is the deeper lesson: the Church’s worship was never meant to be passive. In the early Church, you didn’t “sit back and watch.” You stood. You sang. You bowed. You responded. You were involved with your whole body.
 
Even today, notice that during the most sacred parts of the Mass, the Gospel, the Eucharistic Prayer, Communion, we do not sit. We stand or kneel, because these are moments of encounter.
 
So next time you sit in a pew, remember: it’s not an ancient Catholic invention, it’s a Protestant one. The Church simply baptized it, keeping the focus on active worship.
 
God bless you 🙏 
#catholicsonlineclass 
 
I pray you enjoyed this little fun fact.
 
PAX
 
Bob Bagley
State Faith Director