Right now Wreaths Across America (WAA) is collecting money so that every Christian Veteran grave in America receives a Wreath at Christmas. For our part, we support Arlington National Cemetery every year in December. Presently, we are behind where we were this time last year. If you are new to WAA, here is what it is:
Rather than wait until the last minute to make donations, lets start now! Let’s help WAA plan how much money they have taken in and how much fund raising efforts they have remaining. For every wreath donated ($15), the Assembly gets $5. This patriotic program enables our support for other worthwhile programs across DC. So please consider donating today.
Donation Link:
https://wreaths.fastport.com/donateLocation.html?page=19203
If you have additional questions, Sir Knight This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is the Assembly point of contact and lead for this program.
Friends, Family, Members of the Hickey Assembly and the community are encouraged to attend an awards dinner celebrating and honoring the outstanding ministries of Holy Comforter Saint Cyprian Parish and St. Benedict the Moor Parish.
The Spaghetti Dinner, hosted by St. Cyprian Council 10008 on June 11th from 6-9pm, will include spaghetti, meatballs, bread, salad, and desserts with a suggested donation of $5 per person. Tickets will be distributed after all masses in May or may be ordered by contacting PSD This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
WHAT: St Cyprian Awards Dinner
WHERE: St. Benedict the Moor - 320 21st Street NE, Washington, DC
WHEN: June 11th, 2016 - 6-9pm
COST: Suggested Donation of $5 per person
MENU: Spaghetti Dinner, Meatballs, Bread, Salad, Desserts
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis has captured the world’s attention with his infectious joy. What is striking to me is that in his actions we see the source of his joy. He loves sharing God’s love with others. His words, his gestures, his preaching teach us how to imitate Christ who is the human manifestation of God, the Father.
What Pope Francis is also quick to say is that all of us are called to be joyful followers of Jesus. Our Holy Father asks us to “bear radiant witness to communion, service, ardent and generous faith, justice and love of the poor” (The Joy of the Gospel, 288).
As a way to welcome Pope Francis, the Knights of Columbus want to invite you to consider sharing the joy you have found in your Catholic faith by taking the Walk with Francis Pledge and thereby transform our community. This initiative of the archdiocese and Catholic Charities is an opportunity for you to make a commitment to follow the Pope’s example of faith and service. We are asking everyone to consider signing the Pledge which invites you to:
Pledges can be made by individuals or families, book clubs or Bible study groups, whole classrooms, or afterschool clubs. Teen groups are welcomed and senior groups as well. We invite you to make this pledge your own. And this pledge is not just for Catholics – I am happy to say that already we have interest from local businesses and our brothers and sisters of other faiths who desire to show their gratitude for Pope Francis’ example ministry by taking the pledge. They show us that we have many partners in the work of building communities of compassion and mercy. Now I invite you to consider asking your co-workers, neighbors and friends to join you in taking the pledge.
The pledge can be a commitment of spending a little more time in prayer each day or volunteer once a week. The length of your commitment is for you in conversation with our Lord to decide. Pope Francis reminds us “not to be a part-time Christian, only at certain moments, in certain choices. Be a Christian at all times” (General Audience of May 15, 2013). The Walk with Francis Pledge is our opportunity to deepen our relationship with Christ and be more confident, courageous, and creative followers of Jesus.
It is hard to imagine a more perfect gift to present to our Holy Father than the promise that those most in need of prayer and healing, compassion and hope will be touched by Christ’s love by all of us who have taken the Walk with Francis Pledge. While touching those most in need of our love, Cardinal Wuerl can also assure our Holy Father that we will be praying for him, for his ministry and for the Church, that all pledge takers will grow in love of God and others. Please join us in taking the Walk with Francis Pledge. Go to walkwithfrancis.org to learn more and to sign the pledge.
In this Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has called upon all of the faithful to live their faith through the Works of Mercy.
"In the corporal works of mercy we touch the flesh of Christ in our brothers and sisters who need to be fed, clothed, sheltered, visited; in the spiritual works of mercy – counsel, instruction, forgiveness, admonishment and prayer – we touch more directly our own sinfulness. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy must never be separated. By touching the flesh of the crucified Jesus in the suffering, sinners can receive the gift of realizing that they too are poor and in need. By taking this path, the “proud”, the “powerful” and the “wealthy” spoken of in the Magnificat can also be embraced and undeservedly loved by the crucified Lord who died and rose for them. This love alone is the answer to that yearning for infinite happiness and love that we think we can satisfy with the idols of knowledge, power and riches."
This year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is again asking the nation's Catholics and non-Catholics alike to participate in the fourth annual Fortnight for Freedom from June 21 to July 4. This will be a period of prayer, fasting, and advocacy to respond to the many threats to religious liberty the United States now faces.
This year, during the fourth annual Fortnight for Freedom, share with your Council and Assembly members and fellow parishioners the importance of praying for our country during the days of the fortnight. Encourage them to attend or coordinate an evening prayer vigil at a government building, a religious-themed concert, an art show, a procession, a panel discussion or a march for religious freedom. Your Council or Assembly could also sponsor a special showing in your parish of the film For Greater Glory, about the struggle for religious freedom in Mexico. As the fortnight takes place when the liturgical calendar celebrates several great martyrs, including St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, another option is A Man For All Seasons, the Oscar-winning film about St. Thomas More's commitmennt to the faith despite persecution.
This is a time to remind our brothers and fellow parishioners that one of the Order's core principles, patriotism, teaches us to "love our country so much that we want it to embrace what is true and good. We want our country to be a place where human dignity is recognized and respected from conception until natural death, a place where religious freedom is robustly fostered, not just tolerated. Out of love for country we are vigilant, lest our freedoms be unduly curtailed for political reasons" (Supreme Chaplain Most Rev. William E Lori, The Meaning of Patriotism, 7 Jan. 2013).
For more information, visit fortnight4freedom.org
"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