I'm directing this e-mail primarily to the
grand knights and district deputies, asking them to mobilize their men to
attend the Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal. However, I have sent a copy of
this to many others, some of whom may now be grand knights, as well as former
grand knights and other knights who can also promote the Men's Conference,
simply by talking it up or by acting as a parish representative. This letter is
also an invitation for all knights to attend.
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| Mike Aquilina, expert on the early Church, is our main speaker. |
February 23, 2018
Worthy Grand Knight:
If the Men of the diocese are in good spiritual shape, the
family is renewed. If the family is
renewed, the parish is renewed and so is the diocese. The men must be spiritual leaders in their
families. The men must step up and be
the pillars of the parish.......not only the women. The men must put Christ into the marketplace
and in their jobs. Set the men on fire and we renew
the parish, the diocese and ultimately the Country, thus transforming
Society.
That's what we're trying to accomplish with the
Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal and it very much coincides with the mission of the Knights of
Columbus.......the spiritual formation of our men and to strengthen
families. However, marketing is crucial to
the success of the Men’s Conference and that's where the Knights of Columbus
can follow their tradition in being there when help is badly needed.
In the spirit of service of the Knights of Columbus, a
couple of other 4th Degree Knights and I are on the Steering
Committee and we'd like to ask for your help in two big ways.
Number
one and the most important.......as the Grand Knight, please help us to
promote the Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal.
You and the leaders of your council would be invaluable in helping us to
mobilize the men of your Council and the parish to attend the Men's
Conference. It will be on Saturday
March 3 at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell (9 am to 3:30 pm) off of
Exit 25 of I-77 a half hour north of Marietta. One on one personal selling is ideal. Word of mouth by those who have gone
previously would be the best form of advertising. The help of the district deputies in their
contacts with their grand knights and councils would be indispensable.
The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual
development of the participants. The
includes helping the men to take the right path before having to face the four
last things.......Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell. Having spiritually strong men of faith and
character translates into more solid families, more dynamic parishes, and
better communities. This is crucial to the Church, now and in the future. It is
also critical for nurturing vocations.
The Conference will open with a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. There will be a Penance Service and Mass
presided by Bishop Monforton. The
featured speaker is Mike Aquilina, nationally known expert on the early
Church, author of over 50 books, and speaker.
His morning talk
is titled “The Strength of Heaven”, which will show how the angels were
effective witnesses and can teach us much to apply to our daily lives. In the afternoon, he will show how the
witness of the martyrs of the early Church can teach us to be witnesses today
in secular America. Mike Aquilina will
challenge the men to follow the example of the early Church Fathers and martyrs
and be effective witnesses in their homes, in their parishes, on the job, and
in their communities. As Blessed Pope
Paul VI said, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if
he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
Mike
Aquilina is the executive vice president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for
Biblical Theology, a Catholic research center, based in Steubenville. Drawing from his diverse experience as a
journalist, prolific author, conference speaker, and father of a family of six
children, Mr. Aquilina can speak to the needs of the men.
This
background puts Mike Aquilina in a position to speak on the theme of this
year’s Diocese of Steubenville Men’s Conference, “Being a Cloud of
Witnesses”. That is through the power
of faith rise up to be the spiritual leaders of their families, to do their
part in renewing their parishes, be servant leaders in the community, and to
make a difference for Christ by applying the social teachings of the Church to
their professions.
The men will see how the
participants are moved by the beauty and power of the faith. The experience of seeing so many men
enthusiastically participating and lifting up their voices in song is
uplifting. The men may bring their teen
age sons, godsons, relatives, and friends.
Thus the Conference can also be a father and son event, a shared
experience. After all, the Kof C is all about
family. Non-Catholics are also welcome. In the past the men have returned spiritually
refreshed, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic.
It involves sacrificing most of a Saturday
with some travel, but Lent is all about sacrifice and the quest for
holiness. Organizing the men to go
together in a van pool or even a bus for a two or three hour trip would be
great fellowship and give it a pilgrimage flavor, especially if there's a
rosary and discussion about the day's events along the way. During the middle ages, pilgrims would travel
for days by foot or horseback. Traveling
together is a great opportunity as well.
It can solidify the parish and the Council as the men get to know each
other better, especially if the pastor accompanies them. We will need confessors.
It should be a great day of enjoyable
fellowship and spiritual reinvigoration. But most of all, the organizers
expect that through grace there will be a few more good spiritually strong men
for the kingdom of God in the battle against secularism and other evils and
problems that our troubled society must confront.......men --not spiritual
weaklings and wimps-- who will put Christ into their professions. Finally, the men will become more
knowledgeable, firmer in their faith, and better prepared for a more joyful
Easter, not to mention a greater closeness to God, which life on earth is all
about. The annual Men's Day of Renewal
fulfills a great need.
Often the enthusiasm generated at a men's
conference is contagious since the men see fellow participants moved by the
beauty and power of the faith.
Non-Catholics are also welcome.
This is all a part of the New Evangelization......to fire up the
apathetic Catholic who doesn't do much beyond attending Sunday Mass, the minimalist;
to touch the drifting Catholic and the fallen away through the publicity and
inviting them to attend.
It's also an opportunity for your KofC Council because you'll have a captive
audience for up to four hours each way and that's great for recruiting. Another option is to stay at the Microtel
behind the Sunoco Gas Station off of the I-77 exit and make a retreat out of
it. Less than two miles from the St.
Stephen’s Church which has a parish program of Stations of the Cross (Mass at
Immaculate Conception Church nearby) on Friday at 7 pm preceded and followed by
Eucharistic Adoration. Wives could come
along and spend the day in Marietta, shopping and sightseeing. Pittsburgh is two hours away.
There’s more information on the diocesan website at www.diosteub.org
with a link at the bottom of the home page and the Conference Blog, “Becoming
a True Man of God” at diosteubmen.blogspot.com which is also
devoted to articles to keep men in spiritual shape after the Conference. For a greater variety, go to “A
Little Bit for God and His People” at paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com. One may also contact paulrsebastian@yahoo.com
or call 740-245-9404. Attached are the
conference brochure and other resources.
Also
very important is a little financial help from your Council, whatever you
can afford, in underwriting the Conference so that we can charge the men an
affordable price. My Council 3335
Gallipolis has given $100 each year since 2010.
It costs over $5000 to put this on and we need a reserve for next year
to bring in the best speakers.
A leader or two in the council could do
some one-on-one personal selling, organize a van pool, and register the men,
both in the council and in the local parish.
Filling out the attached registration form in advance and giving it with
payment of $25 to a representative would speed things up at the door. A sign-up sheet would also be helpful. This would also facilitate follow up on the
undecided and for organizing a car or van pool.
A few days before the event, send a count to “Roger Huck”
<huck4816@roadrunner.com>. If
sufficient time, please send the registration form to Roger Huck; %Men’s Day of
Renewal, P.O. Box 54; Beverly, OH 45715.
That would help our planning.
Non-Catholics are also welcome.
Even if you are no longer the grand knight of your council,
please forward this e-mail to the current grand knight and/or bring this letter to the attention of the membership at your
next council meeting. If your next
meeting is after the Conference date, please do what you can with the promotion
by word of mouth or forward this e-mail to all the members of your council and
quickly mobilize the men by phone to go together in a car or van pool. Such a collaboration with the local diocese
could be an example for other councils all over the country.
The
Knights have been invaluable in the past and we need your help again. Thank you so much for your past promotional
and financial help and for anything you can do this year. The paid ads of different KofC councils in
our program booklet are a big help. I
apologize for not sending you this material sooner, but there’s still time to
send at least a few men to the Conference.
For the men who are drifting spiritually or are not faithful to the
Sunday Mass obligation, this is evangelization at its best.......something that
every Catholic is called to do. God
bless.
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