The Tar Heel Knight

Greetings from the mountains of western North Carolina.
 
“So he said to them, ‘Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.’”  An interesting thing about this Bible verse, which I frequently cite.  It is verse 25 from the 20^th chapter of Luke’s Gospel.  So, yes, 20:25.  I thought it might be an appropriate way to start the new year.
 
Many in our society have spent a lot of time over this past year focusing on partisan politics and many churches of all denominations were torn apart by the divisiveness fostered by our leaders on both sides.  We must always be mindful to let our faith guide our politics instead of the other way around.  As Knights, we must always be that strong cord and never allow anyone to try to divide us back into those individual fibers.  Now that we have given Caesar our votes, and as we prepare to give him our taxes, let us enter 2025 as loyal patriotic Catholic citizens guided by the Holy Scriptures and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Let’s take the time we spend watching partisan news and bickering on social media and focus that time on Christ during 2025.  One way to do this and to foster unity is by praying together.  This is one of the reasons we have our weekly Rosary every Sunday night at 8:00 on Zoom.  Here is your link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5719261315?pwd=aXNtWUl4NldvUi9lcjVuVGMwYWxWUT09.  We will also be having a virtual Novena for Life from January 16-24 at 6:00 PM each night.  You can join us here:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5719261315?pwd=aXNtWUl4NldvUi9lcjVuVGMwYWxWUT09.
Yes, for those who noticed, it is the same link for both the weekly Rosary and the Novena for Life.  Let us all plan to get together for prayer time in the year ahead.  Starting COR in your parish would also make an excellent New Year’s resolution for your council.  Our Worthy State Warden can help you with that.
 
2025 is also a jubilee year in the Church, which has been titled “Pilgrims of Hope”.  What is a pilgrim?  A pilgrim is someone on a journey.  And we are all on multiple journeys after all, aren’t we?  As individuals, we are all on a lifelong journey of faith towards Christ.  Every week, we journey to our local church to receive Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist.  As Knights, we are on a journey to bring Jesus to the people and places that need Him most.  So, let us strive to make these journeys the focus of our lives and grow in charity, unity, and fraternity in the year ahead.
 
As we start a new year in our world, we start the second half of our fraternal year in our Order.  This is a good time for a council checkup to see where we are and where we would like to be.  How are you doing with your programs?  With new members?  With fraternal benefits events?  With submitting your forms?  And, last but not least, and of particular interest to me as your Advocate, how are you doing with safe environment compliance?  If you have any questions or are encountering any challenges, please reach out to me.  I am here to help.
 
“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:  the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
 
Happy New Year!  Vivat Jesus!