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March 03, 2008
Knights Backing New Marriage Defense Group
In the past months, Pope Benedict XVI has spoken several times about what he calls an “educational emergency” with regard to defending and promoting the Christian values of marriage and family.
The Knights of Columbus and the National Organization for Marriage are responding to the pope’s call to protect marriage – and they are urging Catholics everywhere to join them.
In addition to financial support from the Supreme Council, Knights are encouraged to assist with the mission of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) on a grassroots level. That mission, NOM President Maggie Gallagher says, is to “protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it.”
In 2006, the Knights helped to promote a U.S. federal marriage amendment that unfortunately did not pass – but there has been success on the state level. So far, 27 states have passed constitutional amendments protecting marriage as the union of husband and wife.
This year, there are major efforts to put state marriage amendments on the ballot in Florida, California, and several other states.
“The Knights are the foot soldiers for the bishops and the faith,” says Gallagher. “The battle is shifting away from courts and into state legislatures in the heavily Catholic ‘blue states’ in the Northeast, where social conservative institutions are weakest.” Unless the situation changes, several state legislatures are likely to pass laws supporting same-sex marriage.
With this in mind, NOM was founded, in part, to support state groups fighting for marriage. Gallagher says she and Princeton Prof. Robert George founded the nonprofit after getting “tired of complaining to each other that ‘somebody’ should start an effective national marriage organization.”
Although NOM welcomes involvement from non-Catholics, it was also founded to motivate and mobilize Catholic citizens.
Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark, who serves as NOM’s episcopal adviser, says, “As Catholics, we cannot stand by in silence in the face of challenges that threaten the sanctity of marriage.We cannot shirk our responsibility.” Archbishop Myers is a member of Spalding Council 427 in Peoria, Ill.
Unless its definition is fundamentally changed, marriage is about bringing together the “two halves of humanity – men and women” as the foundation of the family and future generations, says Gallagher.
Given the terms of the debate, if Catholics lose the battle to “define” marriage, the consequences could be grave, according to Gallagher. Through government tax dollars, children would be indoctrinated with the idea that everyone who believes marriage is the union of husband and wife is a bigot. Catholic institutions would also face serious penalties in the public square, since the Catholic faith would, legally speaking, constitute bigotry.
In short, Gallagher says, the fight to legalize same-sex marriage is an issue of public, not private, concern: “It is about getting the government to use its power to endorse and enforce a powerful new idea.”
As the Knights and NOM work together, Gallagher hopes “there will be many opportunities for Knights to respond to Pope Benedict’s call to stand up for marriage.
* This article can also be found at the Supreme Counci's Website: http://kofc.org/un/news/releases/detail.cfm?id=547381
November 27, 2007
Arriving/Leaving Mass Early: What Catholics Miss
Here is a great column written by our Worthy Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori
about the increasing numbers of Catholics who arrive at Mass late or
leave directly after receiving the Eucharist. Worth your time to read
and pass on.
Some key points Bishop Lori makes are:
When we arrive late for Mass, we forfeit almost any opportunity to put ourselves into a good frame of mind and heart for the Eucharist. We miss the chance to speak to the Lord in private prayer before Mass begins. We pass up the chance to recollect ourselves and to ask forgiveness for our sins that hinder us from opening our hearts to the redeeming love Jesus wants to share with us in and through the Eucharist.
Bishop Lori also makes this key point which is a good one if you find yourself ever discussing this with a a fellow Knight of Catholic:
If we were invited to a talk given by our favorite athlete or author, we’d make sure we didn’t miss a word. Yet when the Lord comes to us in the power of the Holy Spirit to speak to us the words of eternal life, we find ourselves a few blocks away from church, perhaps with music or news bombarding our senses.
Here is the link to the entire Columbia article.
Come Celebrate Rev. John Howard's 40th Anniversary as a Priest
Come join your fellow parishoners at Mass on Sunday, December 16 at 11:30am as we celebrate Fr. John Howard's 40th Anniversary as a priest.
Our Pastor means so much to our community and we want to do all we can to help celebrate this special day.
A reception after the Mass will be held in the Parish Hall complete with a Brunch. The cost is $10 per person for the Brunch only.
For more information, contact Tony Corso @ 858-481-7096.
Thanks!
KofC 12749
November 10, 2007
St. James Disaster Relief Team Pictures
Teenagers know how to make light of a grave situation:
One of our new parishoners, Mindy, offers a "rock-star" ride in her ragtop:
This beautiful home on the hill was reduced to rubble:
Sifting through the ashes to find a family's precious keepsakes. We found pages of a family Bible, scattered among the ashes, relatively unscathed:
The awesome power of fire and its devastating effect on this family home:
KofC Event Photos
- Check out photos of our events around the parish. You just might see your family!
