The Tar Heel Knight

Greetings from the mountains of western North Carolina.
 
As we head into February, we have just passed a crucial deadline in our Countdown to Convention, as any resolutions or “of the year” nominations all had to be turned in by February 1.  We also have a lot of activity going on in sports in the secular world, with the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics happening this month.  We have Valentine’s Day for all you happily married couples out there.  I’m also going on a cruise at the end of the month, but I digress.
 
In the midst of all this activity and stimulation, let us not lose sight of that important date in the middle of this month – Ash Wednesday on February 18.  It is time to start Lent again.  For many of your councils, this is a very active time of the year with Stations of the Cross, Fish Fries, and Simple Suppers.  While conducting these important worthwhile activities, don’t let the busy-ness of this time take you away from having a fruitful Lent.  Most of us know that the three pillars of Lent are fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.  Most probably do well with at least one of these:  for fasting, most all of us at the very minimum abstain from meat on Fridays, we likely donate to Operation Rice Bowl or something similar, and hopefully some of our Knights-sponsored charities as well, but are we taking time out for prayer?
 
I listen regularly to the Hallow app, and one of the items they’ve been touching on regularly the past couple of months is the importance of quiet time with the Lord, whether it be time set aside during or at the beginning of your day, or time in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.  This should be a goal for each of us this Lent.  Quiet time in prayer can provide us with greater clarity for what the Lord is calling us to do in our lives, as well as provide us greater strength to fight against the temptations which face us every day.  In addition to quiet prayer time, there is also great value to prayer time in community with our brother Knights, whether it be through Cor, Corporate Communion, the traveling Icon, or joining your brothers from across the state on our weekly Rosary Sundays at 8 PM at this link:  http://bit.ly/45YgVe6.
 
I would also like to issue you a Lenten prayer challenge:  at some point during this Lent, attend Mass, Adoration, Stations of the Cross, or a church prayer service at least once in a language other than your own.  In most parishes, this will be Spanish, but in some parishes, it could potentially be Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Ukrainian, etc.  Once you get past the language difference and focus on the presence of Jesus, you will find this to be an enriching experience.  Also, it is a great way to foster unity among men in your council and parish, which is, after all, one of our core principles.
 
Shifting gears to Safe Environment, we are still holding steady at 60% council compliance.  If your council is not yet compliant, please make this a priority this month.  Also, although the official Praesidium training is still not yet available for all council members, there are tools out on the kofc.org website for those wishing to better educate themselves.  On the newly designed website, there is a link at the top of the page that says Safe Environment Program.  If you click on that, there are three options:  one is to report actual abuse, one is for those required to take the training, and the third option is called “Protecting Our Children”.  If you click on Protecting Our Children, there are three tabs – one is for a video series, one is a series of four lessons on Reporting Suspected Abuse, and the other is Parent Resources.  All of this valuable information is in the public area of our website.  Anyone can access this without having to log in, so you can even share these tools with your parish.  Let’s all do our part to protect those who are most vulnerable.
 
I wish all of your councils a fruitful, productive, and prayerful Lent.
 
“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:2
 
Vivat Jesus!