Our Lady Seat of Wisdom

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom

Council No. 11259

JULY 2006

For The Good of the Order!

With the clamor surrounding the change over of the officers of the Council, we let slip an opportunity to wish a fond farewell to one of brothers.

Carl McClanahan has been a Knight since 1968 and from what I can discover has been with this Council almost from the beginning. Carl has served the Council in many capacities and most recently has been our Financial Secretary. He has also been our Council’s point of contact at St. Francis De Sales parish. While Carl and his bride, Charlene, moved to North Carolina last month, he plans on continuing his membership with our council for the foreseeable future. Since they have family in the area, I am sure we will see them again. Good bye and God bless Carl and Charlene, you will be greatly missed!

Last month elections were held for officers for the upcoming year. The results of the election are as follows:

Chaplain (appointed)	Rev. Daniel Leary	Treasurer	John Harper
Associate Chaplains	Fr. Peter Daly Ed Chrzanowski	Advocate	Charles Smallwood
Grand Knight	Doug Wood	Financial Secretary	Larry Smialek
Deputy Grand Knight	John O’Conner	Inside Guards	Charles Caplins Robert Hirschbert
Chancellor	Chuck Knapper	Outside Guards	James Clement Michael Redshaw
Warden	Anthony Migliaccio	Trustees 3^rd year	Stephen Bayliff
Recorder	Joe Mills	2^nd year	Elroy McCleod
Lecturer (appointed)	Scott Flynn	1^st year	Eugene Gonzales

Please join me in congratulating our new officers.

The installation of the officers is on Saturday, July 22 at Jesus the Divine Word. Mass will be at 5:00 pm followed by the installation and dinner. Mark your calendars and plan to attend.

I have now “officially” taken over editing of the newsletter from Jim Caldwell or esteemed “Editor Emeritus”. I want to thank Jim for all the help he has given me over the last couple of months and also to thank him for his many years of service as the editor. After putting together July’s newsletter I can well appreciate the time and effort it takes to accomplish this. He should be spending little, if any, time in purgatory after having performed this service for twelve years. Jim will continue to write for the news letter from time to time, and I for one will look forward to his insight and spirituality. Thanks again, Jim

SK Joe Mills

Grand Knight’s Report

After Mass last Sunday, Joe Mills stopped me to see if I had anything for our Newsletter. It hit me then; Hey, I’m the new Grand Knight. Up to now it was like I was playing the role when Steve was out of town. Now, it is for real. PLEASE bear with me as I get my feet on the ground. Also, I am going to need as much HELP as all of you can give!!

I am going to keep this short as I will the meetings. We have a new State Deputy SK Edgar Haynes who I have met. He is a great guy and for me personally a great choice. His motto is Living Our Faith. I am sure we will be more about this as the year progresses.

Our new District Deputy is SK Laurence Donnelly, yes our Larry. I know he will have some things to say as well, in the upcoming months. He is a great choice for this position, and our Council will benefit from having him as District Deputy. Please offer him your congratulations the next time you see him.

Investiture of your officers is on July 22, 2006 at Jesus the Divine Word. Mass will be at 5:00 pm with the installation and dinner to follow. SK John O’Conner is hooking us up with an uptown caterer. All Council members should be there to greet our new State Deputy, SK Edgar Haynes. Please contact either myself or Larry Smialek prior to July 15^th to get a head count for the dinner. If you only come to one meeting make it this one. Those who attend will be talking about it for a year.

Last year we had some great guys step up to the plate and we hit home runs in all our endeavors. This year we are going to need the same if we are to continue to grow in our Faith, our charitable contributions and in the eyes of our follow Christians.

Thank you very much.

With God’s Help,

Your Grand Knight

SK Douglas C Wood

Council Meeting Schedule !!!!!!!!

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom

Meeting	Location	Time and Date
Business	St. John Vianney	7:30 pm 7/13/06
Investiture	Jesus the Divine Word	5:00 pm 7/22/06

Monthly Rosary -- Important – Important – Important!

The Council Rosary schedule is as follows: Every 1^st Saturday of a month at St. John Vianney Parish at 5:00 p.m. before the 5:30 Mass. Every 2^nd Sunday of a month at St. Francis De Sales at 8:30 a.m. before the 9:00 a.m. Mass. Every 3^rd Sunday of a month at Jesus the Divine Word at 9:30 a.m. before the 10:00 a.m. Mass.

Chaplain’s Corner

Editor’s Note: The following is Deacon Ed’s homily given on Corpus Christi

Happy Father’s Day / Happy Corpus Christi

In order to prepare for this homily, a few weeks ago I sent an email to my adult children asking them what they expect of me as a father now that they have grown up. They said it was a thought provoking question. But they all responded. I was surprised to see all of them at the 11:15am Mass.

I wanted to know what children expect of their Fathers.

Children at home expect them to always be available; to be strong, courageous, sincere, not funny; to have a dynamic interest in their children, to act in their children’s best interest, to provide fair yet gentle discipline, to be loving and yet not emotional, to not cry; to be a provider for their children’s needs and to be consistent in dealing with their children.

In short, they expect their fathers to be perfect. And yet, in today’s world, who is the perfect father? I can tell you that there is one person in this room who is the perfect Father. He is most often forgotten. He is most often not even remembered on Fathers’ Day. Yet we receive our life and our spirit from him every day. He is “Our Father,” God the Father, whom we have the courage to call Our Father because His Son, Jesus Christ, allowed us to call him Father.

I’m sure there are fathers who thought I was describing them as the perfect father. But if we think of our own fathers, I suspect we would feel that our earthly fathers are not perfect. I suspect we would remember the times they were not fair to us, or yelled at us, or spanked us.

And if we fathers think back about our lives, I’m certain that sometime in our life, we fathers have felt that if we had failed at one little thing, we have failed as a dad. But what this actually shows is our sense of our lack of perfection. It shows that indeed the world is not perfect; that we all make mistakes.

If you thought I was describing you as the perfect father, then there is hope for our families.

I will be honest with you, there have been and there are perfect human fathers. And what makes them perfect? Let me quote the first letter of St. John: “God is love and he who abides in love, abides in God and God in him.” In other words, the father who loves his family, the father who loves his children and their mother, the father who does everything he can for his family out of love, is the perfect human father. This most especially describes a father who is more interested in his family’s spiritual needs, which goes beyond his family’s physical needs. As Father Daly said to us at Pentecost, the perfect father, mother and child is enthusiastic, in God.

Little children require love and caring. Older children require love, caring and support. Even adult children need love and support. The love you show them proves that you are there to guide them.

In a few months Marie and I will celebrate our 33^rd anniversary as parents. Our children still expect love, support and wisdom. We are the first ones they want to come to with good news or bad news. We are the first ones they want to come to for advice. They feel safe with us. They also expect us to take them in for a weekend and provide a warm bed and a hot meal. In short, they continue to expect our love. Through our love, they think our wisdom will make their decisions better.

Our children feel that our wisdom has improved since I became a Deacon only four years ago. This shows how important God is in our children’s lives. I feel this only occurred because God is important in our lives as well. These are the same feelings we felt coming here to the Church, the physical presence of God in you, to be continuously nourished by the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. And we continue to come here for advice, to feel safe.

I look at Ed and Vicki Greenan and their wonderful and understanding children. I am willing to bet that many times, like me, they feel inadequate. I can see that somehow they want their love to heal the imperfections of this earth in their children. And yet, through their love for their children, I come to realize that “Our Father” wants to heal the imperfections of this earth in us.

What does prevail in our earthly relationships is spiritual healing. It’s the warmth of a hug. It’s the sincere smile. It’s knowing that “it’s good to see you” or “we missed you. “ It’s a father’s private blessing over his children. It’s a tear in dad’s eyes when his child falls asleep in his arms. It’s God the Father’s love radiating through each of us.

And so today we honor and we celebrate our human fathers, but we should also remember our heavenly Father who loved us so much that he gave for us His only Son, Jesus Christ. He gave Him to us body and blood, soul and divinity. So this day is not only Fathers’ Day but also the Son’s day (Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ).

How do we fulfill expectations of others? How do we handle emergencies? How do we handle difficult money issues? Through God the Father. And how do we know the Father? Through Jesus Christ! For Jesus Himself told us that if we know Him, we know the Father.

If we truly know God the Father as Our Father, then Jesus Christ is our brother as well as our Savior. Through the love of God the Father and Jesus Christ, working in his Church, Christ becomes physically present through the love of Father Daly here on our altar.

As Father Daly told us last Sunday, this is a mystery. It’s a mystery as to how it happens and why it happens. But after all, God can do anything. God can work miracles in us. All we need to do is accept Him in faith.

Saint John Vianney tells us: "What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist? It is God who, as our Savior, offers himself each day for us to his Father's justice. If you are in difficulties and sorrows, he will comfort and relieve you. If you are sick, he will either cure you or give you strength to suffer so as to merit Heaven. If the devil, the world, and the flesh are making war upon you, he will give you the weapons with which to fight, to resist, and to win victory. If you are poor, he will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and eternity. Let us open the door of his sacred and adorable Heart, and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of his love, and we shall see what a God who loves us can do."

And the amazing thing about our God is that it’s never too late to return to the Lord. It’s never too late to reconcile. But it’s important to know that it takes a commitment, a commitment of unconditional love. For if we are to take Jesus Christ as our own, we too must give our love to others without expecting anything in return. That’s the true love of a Father.

Today at the end of Mass, we will have a parishioner present a witness talk on the power of prayer and their attachment to the Eucharist.

Beginning June 29^th we are extending our hours of Eucharistic Adoration to include Thursdays from 8:30am until 9pm. Why? Because of the many blessings we have received as a parish as well as individuals. Because we want to share the miracle of the presence of Jesus Christ among us.

Saint John Vianney also tells us, "When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other."

And so on this special day, after the 11:15 Mass, we will carry the Eucharist through Prince Frederick. “We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other.”

There is a marvelous story of a dad who once stood before God, his heart breaking from all the pain and injustice in the world. “Dear God,” he cried out, “Look at all the suffering, the anguish and distress in your world. Why don’t you send help?” God responded, “I did send help. I sent you!”

Heavenly Father,

I need your special care.
Make me gentle and selfless
in the care of my family and children;
help me guide them in the toils and troubles,
the happiness and wonders of this life.

Like you, my Father in heaven,
make me strong in love and forgiveness
for those you entrust to my care.

No one can do these things rightly, without the constant help and boundless mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Be with me always,
and may I come to you in heaven,
and all my family with me.
Amen.

News from the District Deputy: Larry Donnelly, SK

District Deputy's Report:

The installation of the new State Deputy and the District Deputies of Maryland was held on Sunday July 2 at the Cathedral in Baltimore. Mass was con-celebrated by our State Chaplin, Monsignor Jeremiah Kenney and nine others. Over 600 people were in attendance. I was both inspired and humbled by the ceremony.

I am very honored in being appointed District Deputy of District 9 which consists of Calvert Council 7870, Our Lady Star of the Sea Council 9258, our Lady Seat of Wisdom Council 11259, and Most Holy Rosary Council 11511. I look forward to working with each of these Councils. I will be there for them for guidance and support.

Our new State Deputy, Edgar Hayes, has chosen the motto “Living our Faith” for the next two years. The Knights are the largest Catholic men’s organization and women’s auxiliary in the Catholic Church. If we each follow this motto of “Living our Faith” then we will be fulfilling our responsibility as Knights by leading by example. I challenge you to get out and do great deeds for others, visit the sick, the homebound, and the widows of our departed brother Knights. Be there for our priests when they need us. Wear your Knights pin or your badges to church. Take pride in being a Knight. You never know when a member of the church or the community will step forward and say “Can you help me?”

God Bless.

Vivat Jesus

Larry Donnellly

District Deputy District 9

Fourth Degree

I would like to start this month’s article by congratulating and welcoming our new officers of the Lord Baltimore Assembly. The 2006-2007 Officers are as follows:

Faithful Friar	S/K Rev. Peter Daly	Faithful Scribe	S/K Michael Polak
Associate Friars	S/K Rev. David Russell S/K Rev. Salverio Vitturino S/K Rev. Deacon Ed Chrzanowski S/K Rev. Deacon Robert Connelly S/K Rev. Deacon John Lynch	Faithful Inner Sentinels	S/K Brian Keefe
Faithful Navigator	S/K Jose Baca		S/K Anthony Migliaccio
Faithful Captain	S/K Eugene Gonzales, V-CCC, DW, PGK	Faithful Outer Sentinels	S/K Joseph Daigle
Faithful Pilot	S/K Robert Cross		S/K Matthew Zingraff, Sr.
Faithful Admiral	S/K Edward Waskiewicz, PGK, PFN	Faithful Trustees	S/K Laurence Donnelly, DD, PGK, PFN
Faithful Comptroller	S/K John Lehane, PFN, PGK		S/K David Wilson, Sr., PGK, PFN, FDD
Faithful Purser	S/K Luis Cuevas		S/K Lawrence Smialek, PFN, PGK, FDD
Faithful Color Corps Commander	S/K Earl Thorne, Warden to Master	Vice Color Corps Commander	S/K John Lehane, PFN, PGK

The installation of the officers is tentatively scheduled for Sept 23 at St. Anthony’s in North Beach. Program and dinner will follow at Padua Hall. Details will be sent out as the plans are firmed up.

Our Color Corps will be busy this month with installations. The Flag team will be presenting the Colors for the Cardinal Hickey Prince of the Church Assembly No.2534 at St. Dominic Church in the District on Saturday July 15^th at 5:00 pm. There will be a Mass followed by the Installation. Of course, the Color Corps will be presenting the Colors at our own Council Installation on July 22. Details of that event are in the Grand Knight’s report.

In news from around the District; The Archbishop Curley Assembly will be having their Installation on July 23^rd at 5:00 pm at St. Mary of the Mills in Laurel MD. Mass will be followed by the Installation. Also, the District is planning an awards brunch. Details will be forthcoming. Lastly, the Archdiocese of Washington District has started a yahoo group for the purpose of sharing information between councils. Details on how to access the group can be found on the state web site, http://www.kofc-md.org/

Pro-Life

Our Blessed Mother’s Message of June 25, 2006 on the 25^th Anniversary of Her Appearances at Medjugorie

“Dear children, with great joy in my heart I thank you for all the prayers that in these days you offered for my intentions. Know little children that you will not regret it, neither you nor your children. God will reward you with great graces and you will earn eternal life. I am near you and thank all those who through the years have accepted my messages, have poured them into their lives, and decided for holiness and peace. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Our Blessed Mother has been appearing at Medjugorie now for twenty five years. This is unprecedented in our salvation history, and yet we hear little about this in our mainstream media. We also do not hear many people talking about this great grace. Even our church leaders do not talk about these appearances by the Mother of Jesus, Our Lord and Savior. Why is this?

Mary has indicated through the visionaries that her appearances at Medjugorie are the last ones that God will grant, and that the mercy of her appearances and the great graces that flow to us through her messages will not be continue once her appearances end. While I do not claim any special insight into Our Mother’s messages or the reason behind the long period of her visitation with us, the fact that she has been appearing for such a long time should catch our attention. Sad to say for a great lot of us, Mary’s appearances and the messages she is conveying for our salvation haven’t registered with us as the clarion call for our conversion that Our Mother and Jesus intend.

From Mary’s message above, one might draw the conclusion that she is beginning to let us know that her appearances are drawing to a close. A grace like Medjugorie happening in our lifetime is something that a lot of our saints would have run to experience, and yet we react with boredom and inattention. Did you know that Mary has asked through the visionaries at Medjugorie for 3 to 4 hours of prayer a day? Did you know that she has asked the faithful to fast two days a week on bread and water? Did you know that she has asked the faithful to receive Holy Communion each time that circumstances permit, or to set aside certain times a day to pray? There are many other things she has communicated, but we do not seem to be listening. It is time to wake up.

If you want to know more about Medjugorie and Mary’s messages, there is an easy source. Caritas of Birmingham has published a book titled Words from Heaven, Messages of Our Lady from Medjugorie. This book is now in its eighth edition and was published in 2000, so it does not contain all of Mary’s messages, but it does contain a lot of them. Mary said to the visionaries on December 25, 1989, “….Little children, read everyday the messages I gave you and transform them into life. I love you and this is why I call you to the way of salvation with God.”

I, myself, have not paid much attention to the messages of Medjugorie, though I have tried to do some of what Mary has asked of us there. I am praying most days at least three hours a day. I am fasting, but not the two days Mary has asked and sometimes not on just bread and water. I have had some successes and some failures and I have a lot to learn. The key is trying. Isn’t it time you tried too?

If you want to know how to reach Caritas of Birmingham to obtain a copy of the book Words of Heaven, call me at 410 535-1041. I will be happy to give you information on how to reach them.

SK Jim Caldwell

INSURANCE

As everyone gets ready to go off into vacation season, and we have some time to think about our situations and the care for our family, I urge you not to forget me! Give me a chance to help you. If you want to know more about what I can do for you, just call me at 301-262-4300 Cell: 301-335-7939 Fax: 301-262-6304.

God Bless! William Guinane

USEFUL WEBSITES

Please note: information about the Knights of Columbus and our council is now available at www.calvertkids.net – this web site provides a guide to family events and organizations in and around Calvert County. It is an exciting new non-profit website that features calendars of events happening in the area, an extensive directory of community resources, news articles and discussion forums. The website is operated by the Calvert Crusade for Children, and strives to create an electronic community in Calvert County.

Remember, if you have access to a computer and the Internet, I urge you to try to visit www.priestsforlife.org. This website is an amazing fount of information available to priests and non-priests alike on Pro-life issues. Please visit the website, and please keep the unborn in your prayer

How plugged in to your Knights of Columbus are you? If you want to know what is on tap for next six month the Calendar of Events from Aug – Dec 2006 is posted at www.kofc11259.us, so don’t say you don’t know what is going on.

If you haven’t visited the State Web site recently, please take the time to peruse it. It is at

http://www.kofc-md.org/. A reminder: The Knights of Columbus Supreme Council‘s Web Site is http://www.kofc.org there you will find information regarding the Father McGivney Guild.

Our council under the great efforts of John McFadden has started a web page that will soon contain issues of the newsletter and other information. You can access the web page at www.kofc11259.us

Do you want to know a little more about the new Pope? Go to www.vatican.va you will find a Vatican web site there that publishes Pope Benedict’s papal texts and public speeches practically every day.

Trivia Question

Editor’s note: As it happens, I have been accused of being a trivia nut. In fact my wife has called me the largest repository of useless information on earth. I wouldn’t go that far, but I will admit to having a predilection for the more arcane aspects of human history. In light of that I plan on continuing this section of the newsletter, however, starting next month (as space permits) it will be called “Did you know that?” and will focus on different aspects of the Catholic Church. With over 2000 years of history in the Catholic Church there is a gold mine out there waiting to be discovered. I’ll let you know what I uncover.

For this month I have included a 4th of July Quiz submitted by SK Larry Smialek. (Answers are on the following page)

History Quiz (from Massanutten Resort [VA] paper July 2006)

1) True of False: Our Declaration of Independence affirms that our certain inalienable rights are a gift from God.

2) True or False: Every session of Congress since 1777 has begun with a prayer by an orthodox preacher.

3) Who said this? “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

4) True of False: Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the United States Constitution were practicing members of orthodox colonial churches.

5) Who said this? “The safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depends on the protection and blessings of almighty God.”

6) Who said this? “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

7) Who said this? “History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.”

8) True or False: President Abraham Lincoln was a member of the First Presbyterian Church.

9) True or False: Karl Marx, primary author of what has become modern Socialism and Marxist Communism stated: “The first requisite for the people’s happiness is the abolition of religion.”

10) Which four words are conspicuously missing from the National World War II Memorial portion that commemorates President Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech?

IN CLOSING

A couple of things have occurred to me last month that has made me contemplate suffering and the role it plays in our lives. Our trip to Pass Christian was what first got me thinking about this subject. Here is a community of good, decent, and some holy people that were utterly devastated by hurricane Katrina, and still months later are dealing with the after effects. Later in the month I heard an interview of Immaculee Ilibagiza a Tutsi who survived the Rwandan massacre by hiding in a bathroom with several other women for over a month. She and her companions survived by constant prayer not only for their survival but also prayer for forgiveness of the people performing the massacre.

How can our God who loves us so much allow bad things to happen to good people? I don’t pretend to know the whole answer, but after experiencing Pass Christian and listening to Immaculee’s story, I know that part of the answer is that suffering allows us to be Christ for each other.

At Pass Christian, beyond the physical work that was accomplished by our group and other volunteer groups was the spiritual connection that developed both within our group of volunteers and within the members of St. Mary’s parish that we were fortunate to meet. I think that each of us on this trip got more from it than what we gave, and the same probably holds true for Fr. Enslow and his parishioners. It is in this way that God works within our lives to transform devastating situations into ones that brings great good and gets us all closer to the Kingdom of God.

The experience of Immaculee is another example of how God can use suffering to transform our lives. From her interview, her and her companion’s survival was a miracle. This lady had every reason to hate the people responsible for massacring her relatives and friends, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit brought about by her great prayer, she was able to forgive those who were committing these atrocities. It was in this forgiveness that she grew more Christ like and was not only able to survive, but also to become a great witness for Christ.

Suffering will come sooner or later into everyone’s life. We do not need to go looking for it, suffering will find us. It is in those times that we must pray the prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane; “Father, if it is possible, take this cup from me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

As Knights we must respond to those that are suffering and in doing so be Christ for each other. That is our Father’s will. Take the time to connect with the people you meet and when faced with the suffering of others be there for them as the angel was with our Lord in Gethsemane.

Vivat Jesus

Joe Mills