SK Col. Charles H. Gallina, USMC (Ret), KHS, PSD, FVSM, FDD, PGK-C, PFN-C - our charter Faithful Navigator and the honoree for the Archdiocese of Washington 4th Degree District's 46th Annual Exemplification of the Fourth Degree - speaks to Catholic TV about the Knights of Columbus Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage.

The Knights of Columbus, animated by its core principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism, has a long history of serving the military. Its celebrated Army Hut program provided hospitality for members of the military throughout Europe during the First World War. Since then, the Knights has helped sponsor war relief activities, education programs for veterans and sponsorship programs for military chaplains, in addition to providing Catholic spiritual resources for military members and a steady stream of volunteers to the more than 135 VA medical centers. More recently, the Knights has partnered with the Gary Sinise Foundation by providing funding to help complete the construction of computer equipped custom smart homes for severely wounded heroes.

To learn more about the Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage, or to make a donation, please visit WarriorsToLourdes.com

 

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Officers of the James Cardinal Hickey Assembly of the Knights of Columbus' 4th Degree were installed by District Master John Winfrey following Mass on the Feast Day of St. Dominic at St. Dominic's Church in the nation's capital.

The new field of officers (Five first-time Assembly officers) features members from Councils throughout the City, including two College Councils, and four officers under the age of 35.  The Officer Corps also boasts one active and three retired Colonels.

Led by retired Marine Corps Colonel Ed Mays, the Assembly heads into its 18th year with posturing for a strong and vibrant future.

 DSC 6558Pictured: Rev. John Martin Ruiz OP, Adam Shrivinski, Carl Picconatto, Conrad DeWitte Jr., Daniel Kerns, Joel T Weber, Phillip Butler, Roderick Cruz, William Cavanagh Jr., AWD District Master John Winfrey, MD District Master Thomas Greul, Former AWD Master Joseph Murtha, and the rest of the 2015 AWD Priests' Fourth Degree Exemplification Class
At the 2015 Archdiocese of Washington Priests' Exemplification the James Cardinal Hickey Assembly welcomed nine new Sir Knights as members.

"I look forward to having our new Sir Knights assist us with our critical work in support of our veterans and military personnel at home and abroad," said Faithful Navigator Otto Heck. "As more men continue to flock to the patriotic work of the Fourth Degree, we look forward to increasing our programming and assistance to our community."

Held at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, DC, the Exemplification brought 16 new Sir Knights into the Fourth Degree District.  The Principal Exemplification of hte Fourth Degree will take place on April 11 at the Colony South Hotel and Conference Center in Clinton, MD.

Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention that at the death of Jesus, the veil (or curtain) of the Temple was torn in two, leaving the Holy of Holies open and exposed. The Holy of Holies and the Temple were where Israel knew it could always find its God. The opening of the Holy of Holies by the tearing of the curtain and, a few years later, the destruction of the Temple itself by the Roman army was traumatic. With no more Temple and no more Holy of Holies, where could the people go to find God now?

As the people and the rabbis confronted this question, many came to the conclusion that the Law and their traditions were where they could go to meet God. The Jewish followers of Jesus, though, came to a different, more radical, conclusion. They came to see, through their belief in Jesus’ teachings, death, and Resurrection, that Jesus himself was the new Temple and they would encounter God there.

And this new Temple, this new Holy of Holies, wasn’t separated from people or from the world. Now God could be found anywhere and everywhere, and no curtain separated God and people any more. Fifteen hundred years later, St. Ignatius of Loyola urged people to seek to find God in all things, insisting that all things were places to meet God, even those things, people, and events that seem to be empty of God, including the events of Jesus’ own passion and death. Nothing can keep God from meeting us and us from meeting God.

This Easter season is a perfect time for us to deepen our appreciation of the fact that Christ is God’s Temple and that there are no more curtains now between God and us, God and the world, God and life. Fifty days spent pondering this, as we move towards Pentecost, can make a tremendous difference in where we look for God and how we look at everything around us.

For more spiritual commentary by Fr. Frank Majka, SJ, please visit his website at http://www.frankmajka.com/

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"Today, the Knights of Columbus is providentially positioned to play a key role in the new alliance between the Church and the family called for by Pope Francis … What is necessary now is our greater involvement in the renewal of parish and family life."

-Supreme Knight Carl Anderson


 

 

Associated Sites

venerable mcgivney


jpii national shrine


kofc museum


fathers for good


columbia


kofc chaplains

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