Our past Supreme Knight of Columbus Carl Anderson and our current Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly have repeatedly said the Knights of Columbus are the Knights of the Eucharist.

 

 

Obedience was disregarded firstly by satan and the other damned angels. It was Saint Michael the Archangel who stood up to satan’s folly with the angelic call of “Quis ut Deus?” meaning “Who is like unto God?”. We see this theme of satan’s disobedience all through the pages of history even into our present day. There is no need to give an exhaustive history. Our Church saw it strongly during the Protestant revolt and ever since it has been seen throughout the Christian West. The virtue of obedience was almost completely snuffed out in the revolutionary times of the 1960’s. This lack of piety has extended and expanded even more so into our own day with the “Woke” culture rebelling agent all things good and wholesome. The “Woke” agenda is especially targeting Christian morality, ethics, and more broadly speaking the Christian way of life even in the Church herself. Saint John Paul ll acknowledged this saying “In fact, a new situation has come about within the Christian community itself, which has experienced the spread of numerous doubts and objections of a human and psychological, social and cultural, religious and even properly theological nature, with regard to the Church's moral teachings. It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine, on the basis of certain anthropological and ethical presuppositions. At the root of these presuppositions is the more or less obvious influence of currents of thought which end by detaching human freedom from its essential and constitutive relationship to truth. Thus the traditional doctrine regarding the natural law, and the universality and the permanent validity of its precepts, is rejected…”1 I wonder what Saint John Paul ll would have to say about our time’s now? I am sure he would exhort us to be courageous, strong, and most of all faithful and Obedient to Christ truly present in the Eucharist.

Sadly, the only times we hear about obedience in these times is when its referred to in a false sense. True “Obedience (Lat. obêdire, "to hearken to", hence "to obey") is the complying with a command or precept….It is then said to be the moral habit by which one carries out the order of his superior with the precise intent of fulfilling the injunction…. It is the recognition of the authority of God vicariously exercised through a human agent that confers upon the act of obedience its special merit.”2 True obedience is obedience to God and those he has put in charge over us when legitimately exercising that authority.

As Knights of Columbus, as Christian men of honor and virtue, we are called not to be like the world. (See John 17:11, 14–15) This is why we always say we are in Solidarity with our Priests and Bishops. Knights of Columbus are called to excel at all virtues, especially obedience to our superiors. As a counter cultural organization, we need to set the example for other men: true men obey God and those He has authoritatively put in change. We see this exemplified in the great men of our U.S military services who the Fourth Degree honors in particular. Obeying is not easy, it is not for the weak of heart, but it is a virtue all Catholic men are called to do!

“Listening to bishops has never been easy – nor will it ever be. But obedience to our superiors is inscribed in the word of God: the Decalogue’s command to honor parents includes obedience as a necessary component. And closer to the current subject, the Letter to the Hebrews says “Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give an account.” (13:17)”3“Our mission is simple,” said Supreme Knight Anderson in his 2017 annual report. “Whether it is a pastor, a bishop or the pope who needs our help, the Knights of Columbus responds. We do this because we are first and foremost men who love our Church.”4

Bishop Kevin Vann, our very own Bishop of Orange County has said in a letter specifically address to us: “I am writing to all my Brother Knights requesting your active support and leadership in the further development of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration with Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament in our Diocese and local Parishes. I have formed a committee at the Diocesan level and charged them with the responsibility of furthering Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration with Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament in Parishes throughout The Diocese of Orange. This effort certainly builds upon the leadership of Bishop William Johnson, the first Bishop of our Diocese who established Eucharistic adoration in all of our parishes in 1976 for the fostering of vocations to the priesthood and religious life and for the holiness and welfare of our entire Diocese…”5

We Knights of Columbus should feel a strong conviction to fulfill what our leadership is asking of us and champion this Spiritual and Eucharistic Revival by the promotion of the Personal Holiness of our Members! Our Supreme Knight has already said we would. The Knights of Columbus need to do what we do best and use our resources to come together to do what our superiors are asking of us. This is the time the Knights need to shine and become the vision of what they are called to be; Knights of the Eucharist. My prayer is the Knights of Columbus will champion Eucharistic adoration and holy hours. When they do, as a good friend of mine always says, “all heaven will rejoice.”

Vivat Jesus,

Sir Knight Nicholas Bezzina, FIA 18915

1: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor.html#%242P

2: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11181c.htm

3: https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2013/06/09/on-listening-to-bishops/

4: https://www.kofc.org/en/news-room/columbia/2021/february/strong-right-arm-of-the-church.html

5:https://www.ocadoration.org/images/rcbo/pageimages/knights/BishopVannLetterToAllKnightsOfColumbus.PDF