Columbia July 2010

KNIGHT S O F C O LUM BUS

J ULY 2010

COLUMBIA

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Dividends paid to insurance members: $318 million

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K N I G H T S O F C O LU M BU S

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COLUMBIA F E AT U R E S

8 The Light Amid Darkness Understanding the heroic faith and love of Mother Teresa in view of her dark night of the soul.

BY FATHER BRIAN KOLODIEJCHUK, MC

12 It All Begins With Prayer Mother Teresa strongly believed in the central importance of prayer and family life.

BY JIM TOWEY

14 Open to Life A couple turned to natural family planning as a last resort and were amazed by the graces that followed.

BY RACHEL WATKINS

18 Building on Faith Preserving generations of tradition, a Georgia parish hopes to see a historic church move 900 miles to its new home.

BY JOSEPH O’BRIEN

21 How to Find Happiness Everybody desires happiness, but we don’t always look for it in the right places.

BY CHRISTOPHER KACZOR

A religious sister stands above a large image of Blessed Teresa at the Calcutta home of the Missionaries of Charity in eastern India. Blessed Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work with the poor and destitute and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

D E PA RT M E N T S 3

Building a better world We are called to witness to charity, unity and fraternity in Christ

BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

PHOTO: CNS photo from Reuters

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Learning the faith, living the faith The Church promotes subsidiarity, solidarity and the common good.

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Knights of Columbus News Knights, Families March for Life in Canada • Pilgrims Seek Healing at Polish Basilica • John Paul II Institute Honors 2010 Graduates • Supreme Knight Tours New Seminary, Delivers Talk During Visit to Edmonton • State Deputies Gather for Annual Meeting

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Columbia Conversation A physician talks about the effects of the birth-control pill on health and society, 50 years later.

BY COLUMBIA STAFF

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Knights in Action

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Columbianism by Degrees

BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN BISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI

PLUS Catholic Man of the Month

JULY 2010

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The Simple Way of Love WHEN BLESSED TERESA of Calcutta (1910-1997) first took religious vows at the age of 20, she chose as her namesake St. Thérèse of Lisieux (18731897), whom Pope Pius XI beatified and canonized the previous decade. The choice of name proved fitting, as the similarity between these two saintly women goes far beyond their names.

Many have noted that Mother Teresa’s spirituality and experience of faith closely mirrored that of St. Thérèse.

St. Thérèse’s doctrine, which she called “the Little Way,” consisted of complete, childlike confidence in God and a desire to participate in his merciful love. Comparing the great saints and martyrs to roses and lilies in the garden of God, Thérèse called herself the Little Flower, knowing that while not all souls are called to great works, every person has a vocation to love (cf. 1 Cor 12-13). She joyfully offered even the smallest sufferings and acts of service for love of Christ, and received spiritual insights that are revealed only to the childlike (cf. Mt 11:25). Notably, she was named co-patron of the missions with St. Francis Xavier in 1927, despite the fact that she remained a cloistered Carmelite nun until the end of her short life.

While Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity and served the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India, she also understood the Little Way. Like her namesake, she recognized that a key to holiness is to do small things with great love. In 1992, upon receiving the inaugural Gaudium et Spes Award from

the Knights of Columbus for her service to the Church and society, she said, “Jesus really came to give us the good news that God loves us and that he wants us to love one another…. Let us thank God for every little opportunity that we get. And where does this love begin? In our own family. How does it begin? By praying together.”

Both St. Thérèse and Mother Teresa had a simple, yet profound understanding of the universal call to holiness, and both had a deep spiritual thirst for Jesus. Their lives were characterized by unshakeable faith and joy, despite experiencing the “dark night of the soul” — that is, an intense longing for God accompanied by a sense of absence. Finally, both promoted a universal message and spirituality that resulted in Pope John Paul II declaring St. Thérèse the 33rd Doctor of the Church on World Mission Sunday, Oct. 19, 1997, and beatifying Mother Teresa on the same day six years later.

In this issue of Columbia, we honor Mother Teresa as the 100th anniversary of her birth approaches Aug. 26. As Knights of Columbus, whose first principle is charity, let us seek the intercession of Mother Teresa and her spiritual sister, St. Thérèse, and look to their example. Indeed, Mother Teresa prayed for the Knights in 1992, and expressing her appreciation for the work of the Order, said, “Holiness is not the luxury of the few. It is a simple duty for you and for me.”♦ ALTON J. PELOWSKI MANAGING EDITOR

Knights of Columbus Book Club — July 29, 2010 Veteran news correspondent and TV host Rita Cosby will join the Knights of Columbus to discuss her recent book, Quiet Hero: Secrets from My Father’s Past (Threshold Editions, 2010). In this emotional history of war and family, Cosby uncovers the story of her father’s valiant service as a member of the Warsaw Uprising and Polish resistance movement during World War II. Please submit your questions and join the author July 29 at 5 p.m. EST for an online book discussion at kofc.org/bookclub.

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COLUMBIA PUBLISHER Knights of Columbus ________ SUPREME OFFICERS Carl A. Anderson SUPREME KNIGHT Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. SUPREME CHAPLAIN Dennis A. Savoie DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHT Donald R. Kehoe SUPREME SECRETARY Emilio B. Moure SUPREME TREASURER John A. Marrella SUPREME ADVOCATE ________ EDITORIAL Alton J. Pelowski alton.pelowski@kofc.org MANAGING EDITOR Patrick Scalisi patrick.scalisi@kofc.org ASSOCIATE EDITOR Brian Dowling brian.dowling@kofc.org CREATIVE & EDITORIAL ASSISTANT ________ GRAPHICS Lee Rader DESIGN

Venerable Michael McGivney (1852-90) Apostle to the Young, Protector of Christian Family Life and Founder of the Knights of Columbus, Intercede for Us. ________ HOW TO REACH US MAIL COLUMBIA 1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510-3326 PHONE 203-752-4398 FAX 203-752-4109 E-MAIL columbia@kofc.org INTERNET kofc.org/columbia CUSTOMER SERVICE 1-800-380-9995 ________ Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See. This means that an applicant or member accepts the teaching authority of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires to live in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church.

________ Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved ________ ON THE COVER Mother Teresa with a newborn.

COVER PHOTO: Raghu Rai/Magnum Photos

E D I TO R I A L

BU I L D I N G A B E T T E R WO R L D

Our Pilgrimage of Faith As we journey toward eternity with God, we are called to witness to charity, unity and fraternity in Christ

by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson AT THE END of May, I spoke to ap- up its ‘already’ and on that basis workproximately 100,000 pilgrims at the ing toward its ‘not yet.’” basilica in Piekary Śląskie, a city in He continued: “Faith is the approsouthern Poland. Speaking before men priation of the past history, which finds from every part of the country and itself transposed through love into the from beyond its borders, I recognized present and so becomes once more For Knights of Columbus, this means that pilgrimage is an excellent metaphor hope for the future. Salvation history for our own lives. is, therefore, not merely the past. It is two things: First, we must witness to the I was proud to have joined a large also the present and the future as we love of Jesus Christ whether in private delegation of brother Knights from continue on our pilgrimage till the or in public, at home, at work or in the public square. This means witnessing to Poland and the United States as to- Lord’s return.” gether we walked several miles from a In other words, each day of our own charity for all, to unity with all people local parish to the basilica. spiritual journey and that of the (especially with our fellow Christians), Pilgrimage — in the traditional sense Church should witness to the signifi- and to a sense of fraternity with our — occurs when a person travels to a cance of Christ’s life and death for both brother Knights with whom we work together to better our communities and place that holds special spiritual prom- our present lives and our future hope. the world. ise. During a pilgrimage, the Second, as we enter “into pilgrim encounters days of solidarity” with salvation hisjourney and prayer comWe must witness to the love of tory, in the words of Pope pletely oriented to increasing Benedict, we should also take one’s faith. In fact, a person is Jesus Christ whether in private up Pope John Paul II’s chala pilgrim both during the or in public, at home, at work lenge of solidarity — a comjourney and at the actual pilmunion among Catholics that grimage site, since the journey or in the public square. is based upon a common tradi— often a difficult one — is tion and a common heritage, part of the preparation for arand unity based in the sacrariving at a holy place. The pilgrim gives witness along the way, as well In my remarks to those gathered for ments of baptism and the Eucharist.

This solidarity ought to transcend as at his destination. the pilgrimage in Poland, I recalled that As on a pilgrimage, our lives should the Second Vatican Council called the political boundaries, cultural differbe a journey toward a spiritual destina- lay faithful to seek the kingdom of God ences and economic interests. And in tion. If an eternity with Christ is our by engaging in temporal affairs and di- keeping with the Order’s first principle goal, then our journey should be ori- recting them according to God’s will. of charity, it should be based on the anented to that objective. In addition, our Lay people “are called by God so that cient and enduring wisdom of our faith witness during the pilgrimage of life they, led by the spirit of the Gospel, — that we are our brother’s keeper.

If we can witness to our faith daily, must be complete. Each moment in might contribute to the sanctification each aspect of our lives must be ori- of the world, as from within like leaven, especially by living out Christ’s comented toward our expectation of full by fulfilling their own particular duties. mandment to love one another, then we unity with Christ in heaven.

Thus, especially by the witness of their will be living witnesses to Christ’s love In the 1980s, Cardinal Joseph life, resplendent in faith, hope and for us along the way and will find ourRatzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI charity they must manifest Christ to selves at the end of life’s journey ready — wrote, “Faith means entering into others” (Christifideles Laici, 15; cf. for our eternal destination.

Vivat Jesus! solidarity with salvation history, taking Lumen Gentium, 31).

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L E A R N I N G T H E FA I T H , L I V I N G T H E FA I T H

The Human Community Seeking authentic human development, the Church promotes subsidiarity, solidarity and the common good

by Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori

IT IS OFTEN SAID that the Church human person is and ought to be the should stay out of politics. And indeed principle, the subject, and the end of all the Church should refrain from partisan social institutions” (402). In other national and regional governments assist politics — explicitly favoring one candi- words, social institutions should exist for and support families and local governdate or party over another. In another the good of human beings — not the ments so that they can function well.

Because of the reality of sin, human sosense, the Church must remain in poli- other way around. All human beings tics, that is, the principled quest for a just need social institutions, beginning with ciety will always be less than perfect and and humane society that serves the com- the family and extending to the local even deeply flawed. Nonetheless, the mon good. This is because, ultimately, we civic community and one’s nation. We cause of human freedom must be won can only find happiness in community, are also increasingly linked to the inter- over in every age, and instead of becoming cynical, we must continue to seek in association with other persons en- national community. dowed by God with life and dignity and Over time, the Church took up and re- what is authentically good for ourselves, called to friendship with him. In truth, fined the principle of subsidiarity to pro- our families and our society. This means the one God is a community of Persons: tect the human person from being giving priority to “ethics over technology,” and acknowledging “the primacy Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since of the person over things” and we are made in God’s image, and All of us must seek the “the superiority of spirit over since Christ in some way has matter” (John Paul II, Redemptor united himself to each person, common good by living up Hominis, 16). To retrieve these human fraternity is modeled to values and keep them from besome extent on the oneness of the to our vocations and by being coming lost, we stand in continHoly Trinity. Here we find the ulloyal and engaged citizens. ual need of repentance, and the timate basis for the link between Church must often stand in the love of God and love of neighbor (Compendium, 401). breach to call for changes in laws overwhelmed and harmed by large, face- and social structures. Furthermore, as THE RULE OF LAW less, bureaucratic institutions and struc- Pope Benedict XVI reminded us in his In countries like the United States, there tures. The Compendium of the Catechism first encyclical, even the most just society are intense debates about the size and of the Catholic Church explains that “a would still require charity — providing scope of government institutions and community of a higher order should not basic necessities to those in need in a spirit programs. These debates, however, are assume the task belonging to a commu- of love and human respect (Deus Caritas sure to go awry when we forget that “the nity of a lower order and deprive it of its Est, 28; Compendium, 404). authority” (403). The most basic human structure is the family, based on the mar- THE COMMON GOOD The 28th installment of Supreme riage of a man and woman. It is in the in- Many people today distrust or disreChaplain Bishop William E. Lori’s terest of all, including the state, that spect authority. Yet, in God’s plan, every faith formation program addresses family life be strong. And as a rule, the human community, from the largest to questions 400-414 of the Comstate should not preempt parental author- the smallest, needs legitimate authority pendium of the Catechism of the ity, as happens for instance when laws (405). Of course, authorities do make Catholic Church. Archived articles are permit minors to procure abortions with- mistakes and sometimes break faith. at kofc.org. out parental notification. In a well-func- The legitimate exercise of authority intioning society, institutions such as cludes the personal integrity of leaders 4 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

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L E A R N I N G T H E FA I T H , L I V I N G T H E FA I T H

and requires that the common good is sought using morally licit means. Laws that are unjust and immoral “are not binding in conscience” (406). Lastly, governments are to be constituted and to function by the free decisions of citizens, and leaders should respect “the rule of law” rather than imposing their own will on others.

It is not only leaders of social institutions that have a responsibility to seek the common good; all of us must do so by living up to our vocations, by doing our work well, and by being loyal and engaged citizens. The common good is all those conditions which enable individuals and groups within society to flourish.

H O LY FAT H E R ’ S P R AY E R I N T E N T I O N S

PHOTOGRAPH OF POPE: CNS photo/Paul Haring — PAINTING: The Incredulity of St. Thomas (1601-1602) by Caravaggio/Wikimedia Commons

Offered in solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI GENERAL: That in every nation of the world the election of officials may be carried out with justice, transparency and honesty, respecting the free decisions of citizens.

MISSION: That Christians may strive to offer everywhere, but especially in great urban centers, an effective contribution to the promotion of education, justice, solidarity and peace.

It is best secured in communities that defend the dignity of individual citizens and promote various social institutions that truly assist citizens, while calling them to seek the good of the nation and the world as a whole (407-410).

In such a society, where authority is exercised well and wisely, social justice is more likely ensured. In other words, society is better able to help individuals and groups attain what is their due, such as the freedom to speak freely in the public square and the opportunity to pursue beneficial goals (411).

The attainment of the common good and genuine social justice is based on human solidarity. We are bound to-

gether because all persons are created in God’s image, endowed with a rational soul, share the same nature and are called by Christ to happiness in heaven (412,414). Despite this fact, there is a growing disparity between the rich and poor, affecting millions of people. We cannot be complacent about these inequities, which are contrary to the Gospel. Instead, we must work for a more just and humane society and practice generous charity. Indeed, the principles of the Knights of Columbus — charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism — track closely the Church’s social teaching and call us to work for the common good of all.♦

C AT H O L I C M A N O F T H E M O N T H

Saint Thomas the Apostle Feast day: July 3 MOST CHRISTIANS recognize St. Thomas as the Apostle who, doubting the Resurrection, asked to see Christ’s pierced hands and feet and touch his wounded side. It is often forgotten that he was the same follower of Jesus who, after hearing of his master’s plan to return to Judea where Christ was nearly killed, courageously exclaimed to the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (Jn 11:16). Although he was at first reluctant, St. Thomas was also the sole Apostle to carry the Gospel beyond the bounds of the Roman Empire.

According to ancient Christian sources, Thomas traveled from Jerusalem, through Syria and the Persian Empire, and finally to western India, where local traditions report that he travelled as far as the southeastern coast of the country.

Tradition also holds that Thomas was the sole witness of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and baptized the magi who traveled to Bethlehem after Christ’s birth.

St. Thomas continually evangelized along his 3,500-mile journey, and in

A.D. 52, he arrived in Kerala, a town in southwestern India that notably had a large Jewish community. Finding the community receptive to the Gospel, he established seven churches in the area.

The present-day 3.6-million member Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the second-largest Eastern Catholic Church, originated from these communities.

After converting the wife and son of a king in A.D. 72, Thomas was ordered to a mountain where he was given time to pray before he was stabbed with lances and stoned. While his patronage includes the blind, architects, builders and theologians, Thomas stands as a model for all Christians as a disciple who, despite moments of doubt, found the zeal and courage to bring Christ’s light to the world.

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K N I G H T S O F C O LU M BU S N E W S

Knights, Families March for Life in Canada SUPREME KNIGHT Carl A. Anderson and Deputy Supreme Knight Dennis A. Savoie joined tens of thousands of Canadians on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill May 13 to participate in the country’s national March for Life.

The annual event brought together Knights, Catholics and other pro-life supporters for a day of prayer and advocacy as well as mutual support and encouragement. Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec and primate of Canada, and Supreme Knight Anderson were among the speakers at the rally.

“Canada and the United States may be governed by different laws,” Anderson said, “but together we make clear that the culture of life cannot be limited by borders. Only a culture of life is worthy of the dignity of every Canadian and every American.”

The supreme knight also challenged those in attendance to build a culture of life in their relationships, their encounters and their everyday lives by offering charity and respect to all they meet.

Pilgrims Seek Healing at Polish Basilica

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson stands with Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, archbishop emeritus of Kraków (left) and Archbishop Damian Zimon of Katowice (right), along with Polish Knights.

SUPREME KNIGHT Carl A. Anderson joined an estimated 100,000 pilgrims May 30 at the annual Pilgrimage of Men and Youth to the Shrine of Our Lady of Piekary Śląskie in southern Poland.

After a painting of the Virgin Mary was moved from the side of the church to the main altar in the mid-17th century, many miraculous healings were reported among local residents. When an outbreak of the plague occurred in 1676, Jesuit priests encouraged their parishioners to make a pilgrimage to Piekary.

Four years later, when the plague broke out in Prague, the painting was brought to the city in solemn procession. The plague receded, and Archbishop Wellstein of Prague proclaimed the miraculous properties of the image.

Speaking to the large crowd following the procession’s Mass, the supreme knight recalled the numerous pilgrimages

of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła — later Pope John Paul II — to Piekary.

“Both as pilgrim and as preacher he taught us this great truth: To be human is to be a pilgrim, constantly drawn to the Father, by the Father’s love,” Anderson said. “He witnessed to a world-changing reality: that each personal journey toward God cannot be separated from the task of bringing our families, our society and our country closer to God.” Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, archbishop emeritus of Kraków, presided over Mass, and Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne delivered the homily.

Also in attendance were Jarosław Kaczyński, former prime minister of Poland and brother of the late Polish President Lech Kaczyński, as well as Jerzy Buzek, former prime minister of Poland and the current president of the European Parliament.

John Paul II Institute Honors 2010 Graduates THE COMMENCEMENT Mass for the 2010 graduating class of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family took place May 12 in Washington, D.C. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl, who is a member of Catholic University of America Council 9542 in Washington, celebrated the Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for faculty, graduates and their families. Among those in attendance was Supreme Knight

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Carl A. Anderson, who serves as the institute’s vice president.

A graduate school of theology, the Pontifical John Paul II Institute was founded in Rome on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, 1981. The Knights of Columbus has provided financial and administrative assistance to the North American campus of the institute since its inception in 1988. To date, the Washington session has awarded more than 390 advanced degrees.

The supreme knight shakes the hand of a graduate at the conclusion of the commencement Mass for the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.

K N I G H T S O F C O LU M BU S N E W S

Supreme Knight Tours New Seminary, Delivers Talk During Visit to Edmonton ON MAY 27, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and his wife, Dorian, visited the city of Edmonton, Alberta, first to tour the construction site of St. Joseph Seminary and later for the supreme knight to deliver a reflection on Christ and the Trinity with Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec and primate of Canada.

With a $1 million dollar pledge from local Knights and the Alberta State Council, the Archdiocese of Edmonton is relocating St. Joseph Seminary and Newman Theological College because a major thoroughfare is being constructed adjacent to the seminary and college facilities. In return for the Knights’ help, the seminary’s bell tower will be named after the Order’s founder, Father Michael J. McGivney.

St. Joseph Seminary forms men to serve as priests for Western Canada,

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and Alberta State Deputy Neil C. Gannon stand with a plaque to commemorate Father McGivney Tower and the support Alberta Knights have pledged to the construction of St. Joseph Seminary in Edmonton. and Newman Theological College is the only institution in Western Canada to offer a theological education for lay

people. The new seminary will be the first built in Canada in the new millennium and, along with the college, hopes to be a unique symbol of faith and a “state-of-the-art center for theological education.” The campus is scheduled to open September 2010.

Following his visit to the seminary, Anderson joined with Cardinal Ouellet for an evening of reflection called “Nothing More Beautiful” at the Basilica of St. Joseph in Edmonton. The two men spoke on the topic, “Jesus Christ: Revelation of the Trinity.”

“The key is to be open to how Christ reveals himself to us,” said Anderson during his portion of the discussion.

“In so doing he reveals to us how we are to be truly human.”

The reflection programs take place five times each year and are hosted by Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton.

State Deputies Gather for Annual Meeting LEADERS FROM 72 of the Order’s worldwide jurisdictions gathered in New Haven, Conn., June 3-6 for their annual organizational meeting prior to the start of the 2010-11 fraternal year. Newly elected and re-elected state deputies attended workshops and fraternal events, and visited important landmarks of the Order’s history, including St. Mary’s Church, where the Knights was founded in 1882.

“We have to be prepared to go places that we haven’t been before … to say, ‘Come on in and join us,’” said Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson during the meeting’s main business session.

Along with urging state deputies to continue the focus on membership growth, the supreme knight also praised them for the charitable efforts of councils.

“We can be very proud of what the Knights of Columbus and our jurisdictions have accomplished,” said Anderson before announcing the 2009 Fraternal Survey results.

In numbers released June 4, Knights reported total charitable contributions of $151,105,867 — a sum that exceeded the previous year’s total by more than $1 million. Meanwhile, the amount of volunteer service hours grew to 68,783,653 — an increase of 468,291 hours compared to 2008.

Newly-elected state deputies representing many of the Order’s jurisdictions worldwide participate in an orientation session during the annual organizational meeting.

“We have kept Father McGivney’s promise,” Anderson added, “and we have kept his vision. I’m not sure that Father McGivney could have visualized what the Knights of Columbus would grow into. … How could he possibly envision that the Order he was beginning would be doing this kind of tremendous service to our Church, community and neighbors?”

Photographs of the newly and re-elected state deputies are featured on pages 24-25.

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THE LIGHT AMID DARKNESS Understanding the heroic faith and love of Mother Teresa in view of her dark night of the soul

by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC

MOTHER TERESA’S LIFE AND MISSION BLESSED TERESA of Calcutta, the diminutive Catholic nun whose life was spent in service to, and as an advocate for, the “poorest of the poor,” died Sept. 5, 1997, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003. As she advances toward sainthood, she remains an icon of faith and selfless dedication to others. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth (Aug. 26, 1910), an exhibition titled “Mother Teresa: Life, Spirituality and Message” will be on display at the Knights of Columbus Museum until Oct. 4, 2010.

Mother Teresa addressed the assembled employees of the Knights of Columbus at the Order’s international headquarters in New Haven, Conn., in 1988. She was also the inaugural recipient of the Knights’ highest honor, the Gaudium et Spes Award, in 1992.

Additional information about her close relationship with the K of C are included in the exhibition. In the following pages, we share short reflections about her inspirational life from two men who knew her well.

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T

he publication of the book Come, Be My Light (2007), containing many of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s letters to her spiritual advisors, provoked a good deal of discussion and, unfortunately, confusion as a result of hasty and superficial interpretations. Could Mother Teresa really have lost — or at least had doubts about — her faith? An essential key to understanding the meaning of Mother Teresa’s “darkness” is to examine it in light of her religious and missionary vocation, and to grasp how she lived a heroic life of faith and charity, sharing in Christ’s mission of saving souls.

The private writings of Mother Teresa do not constitute a biography, nor do they say everything about her interior life.

Rather, they present several hidden aspects of her spiritual life that give us a hitherto unknown window into the profundity of her holiness. The first of these was the private vow she made in 1942, “binding under [pain of ] mortal sin, to give to God anything that He may ask, ‘Not to refuse Him anything.’”

Four years later, after telling Mother Teresa in prayer what he wanted from her, Jesus referred to this vow. She wrote, “In all my prayers and Holy Communions He is continually asking ‘Wilt thou refuse?’” The manner and details of this “call within a call” to serve the poorest of the poor is the second hidden aspect of Mother Teresa’s life. Her letters disclose that in 1946 and 1947, she received locutions, visions and (most probably) had 10 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

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moments of spiritual ecstasy. Her confessor, Father Van Exem, wrote of her “continual, deep and violent union with God.” CONSOLATION AND LONGING Even though Mother Teresa knew the consolation of great intimacy with God, Jesus also declared that her “vocation is to love and suffer and save souls”; that she and her sisters were to be “victims of My love”; and that “if you are My own little Spouse — the Spouse of the Crucified Jesus — you will have to bear these torments on your heart.” Mother Teresa had no way of knowing at the time what exactly these words meant and how much she would have to suffer to fulfill this vocation and to become a “victim of love.”

Her mission in the streets of Calcutta began in earnest in 1949. During this time, the experience of darkness began again.

She felt a terrible sense of loss, a great loneliness and the torment of thinking she was not wanted by God. Even more painful than this sense of loss was the pain of unfulfilled longing. “It is so painful to be lonely for God,” she wrote. We can only imagine how terrible this experience was for someone who, in her own words, wanted “to live only for love of Him.” An important key to understanding Mother Teresa’s faith is the fact that she had already reached union with Jesus, the state of contemplative prayer. In his book Fire Within (1989), Marist Fa-

From far left: Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson stands with Sister Mary Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Mother Teresa of Calcutta as superior of the Missionaries of Charity, and other members of the community during a visit to the Knights of Columbus Museum May 5. • Mother Teresa coming down stairs. • Missionary of Charity Father Brian Kolodiejchuk delivers a lecture at the Knights of Columbus Museum June 1. • Past Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant stands at a podium with Mother Teresa in 1992 during the inaugural presentation of the Gaudium et Spes Award.

MOTHER TERESA STAIRS: Raghu Rai/Magnum Photos

ther Thomas Dubay explains that in this state of union, the person experiences consolation or the joy of union as well as moments of dryness and longing for even greater union. While Mother Teresa did experience consolation and joy, her faith was later characterized by extreme dryness and a very intense longing.

A TRIAL OF FAITH AND LOVE Jesuit Father Joseph Neuner, who was a spiritual advisor to Mother Teresa, offered a key insight into Mother Teresa’s life in 1961. He said that Mother’s darkness was her way of union with Jesus and the “spiritual side of her work.” Mother Teresa often stated that the greatest poverty in the world today is to be “unloved, unwanted, uncared for” — and she experienced this with Jesus. In this regard, it is important to note that Mother Teresa did not have a crisis of faith — that is, a real existential or intellectual question, as if on an intellectual or volitional level she entertained the possibility that God really did not exist. Instead, Mother Teresa experienced a trial of faith and, even more, a trial of love.

Nonetheless, her faith, hope and love remained unshakable, even though she could not feel them. It was for this reason that Christ could share for so long and so intensely his most painful suffering –– the “torments of his heart” — that he underwent during his agony and crucifixion. And because Mother Teresa was so united to Jesus, she also identified with the spiritually poorest

of the poor, sharing their spiritual destitution.

In the end, rather than being something negative in an otherwise holy life, Mother Teresa’s “darkness” was an important and essential aspect of her vocation to be a religious and a missionary. Mother Teresa, I believe, is one of the great mystics and, as others have said as well, among the great saints of the Church. For the love of Jesus and the poor, she accepted the pain of not experiencing God’s love.

In 1988, reflecting on Christ’s experience of abandonment on the cross, Pope John Paul II stated: “That lack of interior consolation was Jesus’ greatest agony.” We can say the same of Mother Teresa, who was sent to “proclaim the good news to the poor, the good news that God is love and that He loves each one of us” (cf.

Lk 4:18). Indeed, Mother Teresa fulfilled the vocation Jesus gave to her — paradoxically while in darkness, to be his light.♦ MISSIONARY OF CHARITY FATHER BRIAN KOLODIEJCHUK is the postulator of the cause for canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the editor of Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday, 2007).

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IT ALL BEGINS WITH PRAYER Mother Teresa strongly believed that prayer and family life are of central importance

by Jim Towey

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lessed Teresa of Calcutta, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on Aug. 26, 1910, was very private about her own upbringing.

Accounts of Mother Teresa’s life report the bare essentials of her early years because she was reluctant to talk about them. In a 1960 letter to her biographer, Eileen Egan, she wrote, “In the book you are writing — please omit anything about me personally…. I want you to leave me and my family out.” She did not talk in detail about her home life in Skopje, Macedonia, or the effect that the premature, tragic death of her father had upon her family.

Nonetheless, we do know that she had wonderful parents as well as an older brother and sister, and that her family was plunged into poverty when her father died in 1919. The relatively comfortable childhood she enjoyed ended for her at the age of nine.

But this reversal of fortune seemed not only to draw the Bojaxhiu family closer together, but also to engrave upon Agnes’ heart an awareness of the beauty of the sanctifying vocation her parents were given. And while Agnes eventually chose to pursue the religious life and serve as a missionary in the faraway land of India, she never forgot the transformative effect of a family that prayed together.

THE FAMILY’S LIFELINE In later years, Mother Teresa would often meet young couples and impress upon them the necessary linkage between family life and prayer. When my wife Mary and I were engaged, we waited until Mother Teresa visited Washington, D.C., in December 1991 to 12 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

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give her our first wedding invitation. As it turned out, she could not attend, but she did send dozens of sisters from her religious order. In the parlor of her home for AIDS victims she took our hands and said, “Be one heart full of love in the heart of Jesus through Mary. Pray together and you will stay together.”

Mother knew that prayer was the family’s lifeline — that appealing to God had to be a matter of first resort. Her initial visit to the United States — 50 years ago this October — was to Las Vegas of all places, where she delivered a compelling message to thousands gathered for a convention of the National Council of Catholic Women. Her talk focused on the role of the family and the laity in the proclamation of the Gospel.

The order Mother Teresa founded, the Missionaries of Charity, does not simply preach this message — the sisters help people to practice it. This past May, I visited Calcutta and was impressed to see an army of sisters fanning out across the city to help families and children, teaching them the importance of prayer in the home.

Mother knew that supplying poor families with rice and medicine was not enough. Rather, she worked to feed their spiritual hunger

PHOTO: CNS photo/Jayanta Shaw, Reuters

and to heal their souls. It was as if the lessons from her childhood home became a missionary mandate. As she said so often, “It all begins with prayer.”

LEARNING TO PRAY For married couples in North America facing the pressures of balancing work and home life, praying can be difficult, if not elusive.

I once asked Mother Teresa to teach me how to pray. We were walking in a poor area in Tijuana, Mexico, and I luckily found myself alone with her for a moment. When she heard my question, she stopped, as if to add emphasis to what she was about to say, and replied, “The only way to learn how to pray is to pray.” She then added, “If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy.”

Mother knew that families that were too busy to pray together would eventually be too busy for each other or for their children, leading to inevitable breakdowns. She had an intense love for families and desired their harmony and happiness. Thus, she urged families to pray the rosary together and was delighted when families came to her chapels for Mass or eucharistic adoration. Looking

Missionaries of Charity sisters gather under a picture of Blessed Teresa in Calcutta. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950.

The order now has a worldwide presence serving those who suffer, including AIDS victims and the homeless and dying. to the Holy Family as an example, she urged couples to make their homes “another Nazareth.”

Indeed, Mother Teresa’s early life experiences and her admirable parents taught her that the vocation to family life was a high calling.

In an age that seeks to redefine the family and questions the institution of marriage, it is fitting during this centennial celebration year to recall Mother’s love of family life and her simple wisdom.♦ JIM TOWEY worked for 12 years as U.S. legal counsel to Mother Teresa of Calcutta. A member of Father Hugon Council 3521 in Tallahassee, Fla., he served as director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives from 2002-2006 and as president of St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., from 2006-2010.

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Open to Life We turned to natural family planning as a last resort and were amazed by the graces that followed

by Rachel Watkins

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, an annual educational campaign sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will be observed July 25-31, 2010. For more information, visit www.usccb.org/nfp.

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he Catholic Church’s teaching about natural family planning (NFP) is vulnerable to many misconceptions. For some, it is merely code for a Catholic form of contraception. For others it is seen as a guaranteed path to a super-sized family — whether you are called to one or not. But both distortions do injustice to the truth and beauty of the Church’s doctrine with regard to marriage and family.

Even the term “open to life” is often seen merely in terms of quantity — that is, the number of children a couple has. Yet, this false definition can be very painful to those who may wish for more children, as well as to couples who experience miscarriage after miscarriage. It is also limiting to God, who wishes us to be open to life and his will for us not only in the bedroom, but in every aspect of our lives.

For my husband and I, our own journey toward accepting NFP involved learning real “openness to life.” The openness we needed had less to do with how many children we would have than with the overall quality of our marriage.

TRIAL AND ERROR My husband and I are both cradle Catholics and met at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. Facing physical separation due to my financial situation, we decided marrying too young was better than being apart. (I was 21; Matt was 19.) The next decision we made pertained to family planning. Looking back, it is scary to realize how easy it was to accept contraception in our marriage. This was despite our upbringing, our college

studies and even our Catholic marriage preparation. But facing a world where contraception was readily available, advertised and promoted — and never having heard the Church’s teaching adequately explained or discussed — we made up our own minds.

God was not invited to the conversation.

When we finally reached a point in our marriage when we wanted to start having children, we were surprised when I quickly got pregnant after stopping “the pill” — and then suffered a miscarriage just as quickly. This was a risk of the birth control pill that we were told about by our doctors only after the fact. But I became pregnant again shortly after that first loss and gave birth to a healthy baby girl nine months later.

Thus began a roller coaster ride that would last the next four years as we faced both emotional and physical upheaval during a yearlong search for answers about medical problems I was having.

With the need to ensure that there would not be unnecessary complications from another pregnancy, we began to rely on a diaphragm. Contraception, however, let us down again, and our second daughter arrived along with my being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Not long after, condoms failed and I became pregnant with our first son. By this time, our roller coaster seemed to be running without any brakes, and we were heading for a marital crash when Matt lost his job. In a last-ditch effort for reliable contraception, Matt scheduled a vasectomy as our marriage teetered on the brink of divorce.

Desperate to avoid surgery, Matt sought the counsel of a good priest. Father Victor Galleone, now bishop of St. Augustine, Fla., challenged Matt and me not only to find out what the Church taught in regard to family planning, but also to embrace it.

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We were beyond skeptical when we attended our first NFP class offered by the Couple to Couple League, but since nothing else worked for us, we felt we didn’t have anything else to lose.

Little did we know how much we would gain.

Finally, we were told not only what the Church taught but also why. Finally, we were witnesses to both the beauty and power of a woman’s natural fertility and marital intimacy without the impact of chemicals, implants or barriers. Finally, we began to regain control of the roller coaster that was our life. And finally, we became truly open to life as God intended it.

THE BLESSING OF NFP The real beauty of natural family planning is freely giving God the right (which is his all along) to help plan your family and all that comes with it. For example, the discussion and prayer that is integral to any method of NFP opens the doors to deepening the communication and prayer that are essential elements of marriage and family life. Still, too many couples reserve NFP to their bedrooms, not realizing the grace it can provide for their whole lives.

Each of the various methods of NFP allows couples to accurately read and interpret a woman’s natural cycle and fertility signs (such as mucus and temperature changes). With this information, together with prayer and discernment, a couple can better decide if it is best to postpone having a child (this involves a period of abstinence each month) or to seek pregnancy. In this way, they are embracing both the procreative and unitive meanings of sex, and not trying to artificially separate them. As for my husband and I, we headed into NFP classes to get a handle 16 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

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on the procreative aspect of our marriage, but we gained more from the unitive benefits.

We went to our first NFP class due to the failure of every other family planning method we had tried and Matt’s strong desire to avoid a vasectomy. What we gained was much more than knowledge about fertility. We became more courageous in letting God become a part of our marriage, and he has rewarded our trust with a faithfulness that amazes us every day. I now realize that we began to practice NFP because we wanted only one of its benefits — child spacing. In truth, we have gained more from its other benefits, such as improving and enhancing our communication and marital satisfaction.

Sadly, many couples who meet us assume our family size is proof that either NFP doesn’t “work” or that we don’t “use” it.

Rather, we have merely been blessed by God in that regard and have welcomed a large family. Our real testament to the blessing of NFP is found in the length of our marriage despite divorce predictions at its onset, and in our family’s health and joy despite its unhealthy start and early misery.

When we first learned natural family planning and became open to life as God intended, we were able to better accept my diagnosis with multiple sclerosis and Matt’s lengthy unemployment. Over time, we have also accepted a large family, home education and even young vocations, as several of our children have entered consecrated or religious life. We no longer found ourselves on a roller coaster of our own design, bound to crash, but rather on an exciting journey prepared for us by God. Certainly, we have not been immune to challenges, but they have come with some amazing surprises. After all, what good adventure doesn’t have both?♦ RACHEL WATKINS writes from Elkton, Md., where she is a wife and mother.

She is also the creator of The Little Flowers Girls’ Club (eccehomopress.com).

Her husband, Matt, belongs to Bishop Becker Council 2427 in Elkton.

PREVIOUS PAGE: Thinkstock — WATKINS PHOTOS: Lori Elizabeth Photography

After marrying young, Rachel and Matt Watkins found contraceptives to be both unreliable and destructive to their marriage. This led them on a path to conversion and discovery. • The Watkins family gathers around the table for dinner.

THE PILL, HEALTH AND SOCIETY An interview about the effects of the birth-control pill, 50 years later

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n 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved the combined oral contraceptive pill, or birth-control pill, for use in the United States, thus beginning a social experiment with grave and far-reaching consequences. Despite its health risks and other side effects, millions of women today rely on the synthetic hormones contained in “the pill” to inhibit otherwise healthy fertility.

To find out more about the pill’s effects on health and society, Columbia interviewed Dr. James J. Joyce, a physician who practices family medicine, including obstetrics, in southwestern Minnesota. A member of St. Mary’s Council 3134 in Sleepy Eye, Minn., Dr. Joyce has worked as a medical consultant in natural procreative technology and as a FertilityCare Center consultant since 1992.

COLUMBIA: When the birth-control pill was first approved for contraceptive use, it was unlike any drug that came before it. It was not intended to treat disease but to suppress a normal biological function. How did this come about?

DR. JOYCE: Medical ethics demands that medicines given need to be proven less risky than the disease they treat. With enough false premises, some have concluded that if pregnancy (which is not a disease) has risks, then any method of avoiding pregnancy is justifiable if it is less risky than pregnancy.

COLUMBIA: Many people are led to believe that the birth control pill is “safe.” How serious are the side effects and health risks for women taking the pill?

DR. JOYCE: The various contraceptive pills used today have a long list of side effects published and available in print or online. Changes in blood clotting that lead to strokes, lung problems and heart attacks are some of the more serious short-term risks.

Long-term risks include a 40 percent increased risk of premenopausal breast cancer if they are taken before the first full-term pregnancy, as well as an increased risk of cervical cancer.

COLUMBIA: How would you respond to the recent Time magazine cover story that reported the findings of a 40-year study: “Women who take the pill are less likely to die prematurely from any cause, including cancer and heart disease”?

DR. JOYCE: Statements and studies like that demand a thorough review for any sources of bias, collateral negative effects and internal mathematical game-playing. After all, it defies logic to suggest that taking drugs to suppress the body’s normal function is healthier than allowing the body to function as it’s supposed to.

COLUMBIA: Is the pill ever prescribed for reasons other than preventing pregnancy?

DR. JOYCE: Since these drugs have been on the market, physicians have used them for the management of many conditions.

But they are not a cure for any disease. Their use can mask serious conditions where symptoms such as abnormal bleeding or painful menstruation are the only clue to the underlying problem.

COLUMBIA: Is it true that contraceptives such as the pill can act as abortifacients — that is, by causing the death of a human embryo shortly after conception?

DR. JOYCE: There are many studies that show that they cause a variety of changes to normal fertility, which have the potential to interfere with a person’s life after conception takes place. For instance, they cause changes to a woman’s endometrial lining that can prevent the implantation of an embryo without the mother even knowing. Many of the people we know were conceived while their mother was using a hormonal contraceptive, but many more have likely lost their lives after conception.

COLUMBIA: What effect has the pill had on marital stability and intimacy?

DR. JOYCE: These pills have been shown to be associated with lower intimacy, overall wellbeing, and spiritual well-being when compared to couples using methods of natural family planning. Some sociological studies have shown that taking contraceptives may affect the way men and women select a partner for courtship. We may look, act and smell differently under the influence of these hormones. These might at first glance seem to be small changes, until we consider that later when the artificial hormone influence is gone, a person may find himself with someone who doesn’t look, act, or smell like she used to. Animal studies indicate that these changes can have dramatic effects on relationships. It is sig-

nificant that couples using natural family planning methods very rarely divorce.

COLUMBIA: Recent studies have shown that oral contraceptives have even affected the environment. Does this mean the pill can have unintended health consequences on the general population?

DR. JOYCE: Hormonal contraceptives are removed from the body through the kidneys and make their way into the waste water systems in each community. These contaminate the water since they are not filtered or chemically removed from the water that we drink. The United States Fish and Wildlife Department has reported that all areas of the country that have been tested have streams with endocrine disruption (hormone overdose) in fish and amphibians. This syndrome has affected the ability of these populations to reproduce.

Although about 10 percent of couples in the United States experience infertility, it has not been established whether this is related to the contraceptive hormones in the water we drink.

COLUMBIA: What can Catholics and other people of good will do to counter the negative effects of the pill on health and society?

DR. JOYCE: First, find out if your doctor can respect your faith and its precepts. If so, ask to have your fertility respected as an integral part of your body and see if your doctor is one of the 10 percent of doctors who are knowledgeable enough about natural methods of fertility regulation to recommend them to you. Demand that health problems which are related to a woman’s cycle be evaluated instead of suppressed with these powerful anti-fertility drugs.

If you or family members are offered these drugs for painful menstrual periods or irregular bleeding, ask about alternatives that do not adversely affect your fertility — such as better diet, appropriate exercise, and simple anti-inflammatory agents. If these problems persist, ask to be evaluated for common conditions and see if there are specific medical or even surgical solutions.

Finally, if you have infertility issues or questions, there is a growing number of centers that offer comprehensive evaluation of fertility and cooperative, ethical treatment of fertility problems with very high success rates. (Visit fertilitycare.org for more information.)♦ JULY 2010

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Photos by Patrick McPartland, WNY Catholic Newspaper

Building on faith

Preserving generations of tradition, a Georgia parish hopes to see a historic church move 900 miles to its new home

by Joseph O’Brien

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Above and bottom right: The interior and exterior of St. Gerard Church is seen in Buffalo, N.Y. A scaled-down replica of St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica in Rome, the structure was built in 1911. • Bottom left: Father David M. Dye, administrator of Mary Our Queen Church in Norcross, Ga., talks with Alan Williams, operations manager for Brasfield and Gorrie, as they visit St. Gerard Parish.

ince its founding in 1994, Mary Our Queen Parish in Norcross, Ga., has grown from 70 families to more than 750. Now, having outgrown their old place of worship, the parishioners are about to find out that faith can move an entire church — literally.

The members of Mary Our Queen hope to move a colossal church — St. Gerard in Buffalo, N.Y. — about 900 miles from its present home to Norcross, where it will become their new parish church. A 99-year-old structure with a veneer of hewn Indiana limestone, St. Gerard is a scaled-down replica of St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica in Rome. With seating for about 600, the church boasts a dozen granite columns, ornamental ceilings and a dome over the apse.

Piece by piece, block by block, pew by pew, the hundreds of tons of material that form St. Gerard will be disassembled, numbered and hauled 880 miles on semi-trailers, where they will be reassembled 20 miles north of Atlanta.

Conceptualized by Father David Dye, pastor of Mary Our Queen, and Atlanta architect William Harrison, the project — officially named “Moved by Grace” — is described by those involved as “preservation through relocation.”

PARTS OF THE WHOLE The wholesale moving of St. Gerard Church really began as a scavenger hunt, said Father Dye, who serves as chaplain of Mary Our Queen Council 14944. After the parish began to outgrow its temporary 15,000 square-foot worship space, members overwhelmingly decided it was time to build a new church. After he hired

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Harrison to design a new structure, Father Dye began looking for “parts and pieces.”

“I began to look around to see if we could find a closed or unused church for its parts,” he said. “We wanted to use major parts of it, such as the stone around the windows and stained glass doors and light fixtures.”

The search led Father Dye to the Diocese of Buffalo, where he found out about the century-old St. Gerard Church. The building, which had been closed since 2008 due to a steady decline in the Catholic population, not only took Father Dye’s breath away with its beauty, but also left him with a sense of déjà vu.

“I was completely blown away,” he said. “St. Gerard was within 95 percent of what the architect had designed for us at Mary Our Queen.”

After visiting St. Gerard himself, Harrison suggested the possibility of moving the entire church. Although Father Dye was at first skeptical, he quickly warmed to the idea.

“I said to him, ‘Why don’t you have a little faith?’” Harrison said with a laugh.

The most difficult part of the project, Father Dye said, will not be the physical work of bringing the church to Norcross, but raising the funds for the project.

“We have estimates for the project which range from $14 to $16 million,” he said. “We’ve raised $3 million. We have to raise the majority of it before we can make the move.”

While the price tag seems intimidating, Father Dye acknowledged, it is actually a steal compared to the alternative. An architect with more than 20 years experience, Harrison said a number of features in St. Gerard are either unavailable or financially prohibitive in today’s building practices. According to Harrison, it would easily cost more than $40 million to build a comparable church today.

“If you had to build this with new limestone quarried and new stained glass windows, you couldn’t produce the quality there,” he said. “These are turn-of-the-century, American-made windows.

You can’t even get the colors in the glass anymore. You certainly can’t easily get the walnut pews anymore.”

The Knights of Columbus in Georgia are eager to lend their services to “Moved by Grace” — starting with Council 14944 in Norcross. The council’s grand knight, Bob Santos, has been leading the way by coordinating K of C fundraising efforts.

During the state convention in Augusta, Ga., Santos met with state officers, who suggested that an account with the Columbian Charities in Georgia might be opened to help with fundraising efforts. Santos hopes that councils and assemblies throughout the Peach State will get involved in the project.

Leaving no stone unturned, Santos said he has also contacted councils outside the state, including those in Florida and the Buffalo area.

“We’re going to look at everything we can possibly do to raise money for this project,” Santos said. He has even spoken with the charity officials at Major League Baseball (MLB) to schedule additional fundraising activities.

While many Catholics have donated to the project both at Mary Our Queen and elsewhere, the project has also caught the eye of supporters outside of Catholic circles, according to Harrison.

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“We’ve received several donations from Protestants and from Jewish people,” he said. “It’s a case in point that this is more than just a Catholic project.”

A WELCOMED MOVE Besides having the blessings of Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta and Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo, the project has received “overwhelming” support from the old parishioners of St. Gerard. According to Father Francis Mazur, who served the parish from 1992 until it closed, the enthusiasm of former parishioners is a testament to their faith — and to their love for the old church.

“There’s really no sadness about the move,” he said. “The parishioners are overjoyed to see their home church live on instead of sitting here as an empty building.”

For Mary Our Queen parishioner Sharon Wilbur, the church move will be a sort of homecoming in reverse.

“When Father Dye announced that they had decided to move St. Gerard down to Norcross, I was singing in the choir for Mass,” she recalled. “I just said, ‘That was my parish!’ I was flabbergasted.”

Although she was only nine years old when her family moved away from Buffalo, Wilbur said that the church remains a vital memory for her.

“I was born in that parish and so was my mother,” she said. “I was baptized and made my first holy Communion there.”

Another Buffalo native, Carol Braun, moved to the Atlanta area in the 1970s. A member of St. Peter Chanel Parish in Roswell, Ga., Braun said that St. Gerard holds a special place for her and her sister, who is also a member of St. Peter.

“We lived across the street and played in the schoolyard, and we were in the church every morning at Mass,” she recalled. “When we heard that St. Gerard was closed in 2008, we were just heartbroken.”

It is not only her sense of nostalgia that has Braun excited about the project, though.

“I turned out to be a civil engineer and sort of an architect,” she said. “I can remember as a child being drawn into the beautiful artifacts that were in St. Gerard.”

Using cutting-edge technology, Father Dye said, project engineers have been able to pinpoint how the church’s stone, wood and other materials are fastened together.

“We’ve done extensive examinations, including a laser beam survey of the building,” he said. “We know where every screw and nail in the church is, and we know where the plaster ends and the skeletal structure begins.”

In the end, Father Dye knows that the success of the project won’t be a personal accomplishment but an honor to God — and to the faith of those who first built St. Gerard Church a century ago.

“What has become so incredibly clear to me is how the church was built on the faith of the people in Buffalo, who struggled and gave their nickels and dimes and dollars that they could have done something else with,” he said. “But they built this magnificent church, and we’re building on that incredible tradition.”

For more information about the “Moved By Grace” project, visit movedbygrace.com.♦ JOSEPH O’BRIEN writes from Wisconsin.

How to Find Happiness Everybody desires happiness, but we don’t always look for it in the right places

by Christopher Kaczor

PHOTO: Thinkstock

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e all want to be happy. Every day, in whatever we do, we seek this goal — one that we share with every other person on the planet. But what exactly is happiness? And how can we find it?

To discover the answer to these questions, Sonja Lyubomirsky, in her book The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want (Penguin, 2007), examines hundreds of empirical studies. She writes, “Studies show that 50 percent of

individual differences in happiness are determined by genes, 10 percent by life circumstances and 40 percent by our intentional activities.”

Some people, it turns out, are naturally more optimistic, joyful and upbeat. Therefore, we should not feel bad if we find ourselves with a less cheerful temperament than others. At the same time, circumstances of life — great wealth, good weather, a promotion at work — have a relatively minor effect on our JULY 2010

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long-term level of happiness. Changing our circumstances will only slightly affect our outlook, as we quickly adapt to our new circumstances. Yet, while we cannot alter our genetic background, and altering our circumstances will not make much of a lasting difference to our happiness, we can dramatically change our intentional activities — that is, our goals in life.

Engaging in work toward meaningful goals that strengthen our relationships with others can make us much happier. And regardless of our circumstances, we can become happier if we choose our priorities wisely.

DISTINGUISHING ‘LEVELS’ OF HAPPINESS Drawing on the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, Jesuit Father Robert J. Spitzer distinguishes four levels of happiness in his book Healing the Culture (Ignatius, 2000). Level one happiness is bodily pleasure obtained by drink, food, drugs or sex. Level two happiness has to do with competitive advantage in terms of money, fame, power, popularity or other material goods. Level three happiness involves loving and serving other people. And level four happiness is found in loving and serving God. Although we may desire each level of happiness, not every level provides equal and lasting contentment.

In life, we are often faced with a choice between one level of happiness or another. For example, the Olympic athlete chooses success in athletics over pleasures of the body, which might be found in abusing drugs or alcohol.

I can have more level one happiness if I sleep late on Monday morning, but I would sacrifice level two happiness because I wouldn’t be able to earn money at work. Or, I could gain more of a certain kind of happiness by cheating others out of their money, but I would be sacrificing a higher level of happiness, because being unfair to others is the opposite of helping them. Since we often have to choose one activity over another, it makes sense to think through what kind of activities will truly lead to lasting happiness.

The first level of happiness — pleasures of the senses — has several advantages. It is easy to get; it arrives fairly quickly; and it can be intense. Level one happiness, though, leaves almost as quickly as it arrives. In addition, we build a tolerance to certain

things that bring us this level of happiness so that more is needed to achieve the same degree of enjoyment. Unfortunately, many of these pleasures can lead to addictions, and the addict’s enslavement is the opposite of real happiness. Finally, this lowest level of happiness is somewhat superficial. We all want it, but we also want to achieve something more meaningful and important in life.

The next level of happiness gives greater meaning and significance than the first. It involves not just keeping up with the Joneses, but also surpassing them — in money, fame, popularity or status. We celebrate such achievements as a culture — the valedictorian, the star athlete, the millionaire. But will such success lead to lasting happiness?

Let’s take money as an example of a level two goal. More money can make you significantly happier if you are in poverty. If you don’t eat three meals a day and you sleep under a bridge, then additional money can make a great difference. Yet, in his book The Pursuit of Happiness (Harper, 1993), psychologist David Myers shows that once a person escapes from dire poverty, additional amounts of money do not significantly increase happiness. In other words, if you compare a person making $30,000 a year, another making $100,000 and a third making $500,000, there is likely little difference in selfreported happiness or levels of depression.

Why don’t additional amounts of money make us happier in a lasting way? Research indicates that we eventually get used to whatever level of financial success we achieve and then begin to seek higher levels of affluence.

We tend to compare ourselves with those who are richer than we are, rather than the vast numbers that live in poverty. The average middle-class person today enjoys luxury and comfort unknown even to medieval kings.

But maybe having not just more money, but lots more money, would lead to higher levels of happiness. Again, empirical research does not support this view. Lottery winners — after the shock wears off — report being no happier than they were before winning. Fortune 500 executives on the whole have average levels of happiness, and 37 percent of rich business leaders are less happy than the average person. As St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out more than seven centuries ago, we want many

Since we often

have to choose one activity over another, it makes sense to think through what kind of activities will truly lead to lasting happiness.

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things that no amount of money can buy. And we cannot find true happiness in more fame, power or “winning” of any kind.

DISCOVERING LOVE AND GRATITUDE There is nothing inherently wrong with worldly success or with bodily pleasures, such as eating. Rather, the trouble comes when we think that these are the ultimate goals of life. Even if we had all the money in the world, all the bodily pleasure we could handle and all the worldly success possible, we cannot be happy without true friendship and true love. Happiness, Aristotle taught, is activity in accordance with virtue. In order for us to be objectively happy, we need to engage in activities that accord with virtue, especially the virtue of charity. Without choosing higher levels of happiness, even if we subjectively feel good (for a while), we are missing out on objectively being happy.

The higher levels of happiness — love for neighbor and love for God — go together. The two great commandments given by Jesus make this clear: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. … You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt 22:37,39). If we truly love God, we will also love people, for they are made in his image and likeness. We cannot truly love God without also loving our neighbor. Indeed, the teachings of Jesus point us toward higher levels of happiness by guiding us towards this love: “A new commandment I give to you, love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34).

Commenting on Aristotle, who argued that human happiness necessarily involves friendship, St. Thomas Aquinas added that we can be friends not only with other human beings, but also with God. Psychological research confirms this ancient wisdom. The happiest people have meaningful work that serves others (activity in accordance with virtue), and they have strong, loving relationships with their family, friends and God. On average, people who practice their faith report greater happiness than those who do not. Common religious teachings such as practicing thanksgiving, forgiving those who trespass against us and obeying the Ten Commandments bolster well-being and strengthen relationships — leading to greater happiness.

What, then, can we do to become happier? Here are several concrete suggestions: First, at the end of each day, write down

three positive things, large or small, that you experienced. They could relate to any of the four levels of happiness. (I had a really good cheeseburger; I finally got that promotion; I helped my son with his math homework; I felt close to God in prayer.) Psychologists have studied this practice, called the “Three Good Things” exercise, and found that it significantly increases happiness by making us more aware of what gives us joy. St. Ignatius Loyola discovered this secret centuries ago in his daily Jesuit “examen,” which begins by recognizing the blessings God has given us each day.

Second, write someone in your life a letter of gratitude. Detail what they have done for you and what it means to you. It could be your mother or father, an old teacher or coach, a priest or spiritual director. If possible, get together with that person and read the letter to them personally. Studies have shown that a letter of gratitude powerfully increases happiness in both the letter writer and the recipient.

A final suggestion is to deepen our highest level of happiness by growing in intimacy with God. Try reading a Gospel passage each day, praying the rosary or making a visit to the Blessed Sacrament for a heartto-heart conversation with the Lord. Prayer is a bit like exercise: It does not matter so much what kind you do, only that you consistently do something.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about the importance of expressing gratitude to God in his Summa Theologica. The Mass, or Eucharist — which literally means “thanksgiving” — is a standing invitation to thank God for the blessings of our lives.

We all want to be happier, and we all can be. You do not have to wait for that big promotion or for that party on Saturday night. Helping us achieve our true happiness — both here and eternally — is the very mission of Jesus: “I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). A happier life can begin today with choosing to grow in love of neighbor and of God.♦

The happiest

people have meaningful work that serves others, and they have strong, loving relationships with their family, friends and God. On average, people who practice their faith report greater happiness than those who do not.

CHRISTOPHER KACzOR is a professor of philosophy at Loyola Marymount University and the author of several books, including Life Issues, Medical Choices (Servant, 2007). He is a member of Father Emil Kapaun Council 3744 in Playa del Rey, Calif.

JULY 2010

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 23

S TAT E D E P U T I E S 2010-11

ALABAMA RAYMOND M. CARNEY

ALASKA MICHAEL W. WELCH

ALBERTA NEIL C. GANNON

ARIZONA HERBERT J. MADDOCK

ARKANSAS CHARLES L. KETTER

BRITISH COLUMBIA MICHAEL YEO

CALIFORNIA IVAN A. REEK

COLORADO FOSTER J. SAUTER

CONNECTICUT SCOTT A. FLOOD

DELAWARE LAWRENCE J. GARDNER

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PETER A. GABAUER JR.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC JOSé A. MENDOzA

FLORIDA DOUGLAS J. MURRAY

GEORGIA JAMES C. ST. JOHN

GUAM FRANCISCO A. FLORIG

HAWAII STANLEY A. MARIA

IDAHO BRIAN W. SIMER

ILLINOIS JAMES C. BEDNAR

INDIANA THOMAS GAWLIK

IOWA MICHAEL P. LAAKE

KANSAS MARK W. ROTH

KENTUCKY RICHARD D. ARNOLD

LOUISIANA RONNIE L. BOUDREAUX

LUZON ALONSO L. TAN

MAINE RAYMOND A. SARGENT SR.

MANITOBA GUY M. PRéCOURT

MARYLAND PETER R. DAVIO

MASSACHUSETTS MICHAEL J. BALDNER

MEXICO CENTRAL JOSE D. HERNANDEzBARBOSA

MEXICO NORTHEAST FILADELFO MEDELLíN AYALA

MEXICO NORTHWEST JULIO CéSAR DOMíNGUEz-SOTO

MEXICO SOUTH CARLOS A. CARRILLOCOLORADO

MICHIGAN THOMAS A. MARCETTI SR.

MINDANAO SOFRONIO R. CRUz

MINNESOTA RICARDO ACEVEDO

MISSISSIPPI PETER C. SUKANEK

24 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JULY 2010

S TAT E D E P U T I E S 2010-11

MISSOURI JOHN S. APPELBAUM

MONTANA RODNEY S. MCELWEE

NEBRASKA JAMES N. HAIAR

NEVADA DAVID M. RYAN

NEW BRUNSWICK YVON CARRIER

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR MAX A. SNOW

NEW HAMPSHIRE EDWARD A. MCCANN

NEW JERSEY HERBERT C. MEYER

NEW MEXICO JOSEPH W. POzzI

NEW YORK ARTHUR J. HARRIS

NORTH CAROLINA DAVID R. JONES

NORTH DAKOTA CORY J. BADINGER

NOVA SCOTIA ERROL J. O’NEIL

OHIO PAUL J. UPMAN

OKLAHOMA DAVID A. ROEWE

ONTARIO ARTHUR L. PETERS

OREGON WAYNE A. CLEMMER

PENNSYLVANIA GEORGE R. KOCH

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND DAVID P. O’BRIEN

PUERTO RICO FREDDIE SANCHEz-RIVERA

QUEBEC JEAN-MARC MOYEN

RHODE ISLAND JOHN L. MARCELLO

SASKATCHEWAN EDWARD P. GIBNEY

SOUTH CAROLINA THOMAS M. MONAHON

SOUTH DAKOTA TERRENCE L. ANDERSEN

TENNESSEE ROBERT H. ROUNSEFELL

TEXAS ANTON A. HERRETH

UTAH RAY L. LOPEz

VERMONT FLORIAN WAWRzYNIAK

VIRGINIA WILLIAM J. MCCARTHY

VISAYAS DIONISIO R. ESTEBAN JR.

WASHINGTON JOHN M. WALLACE

WEST VIRGINIA DARRELL W. CAPRAL

WISCONSIN DANIEL E. HULL

WYOMING PATRICK J. DOHERTY

JULY 2010

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 25

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K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

KNIGHTS IN ACTION

REPORTS FROM COUNCILS, ASSEMBLIES AND COLUMBIAN SQUIRES CIRCLES

tion that provides aid to members of the California National Guard. In addition, the assembly donated 2,800 Bibles and 1,500 rosaries for use by troops serving all over the world.

A GRACIOUS ROSE

Members of Pasco (Wash.) Council 1620 install siding at a parish convent that was converted to a rectory. Knights volunteered to gut, clean and remodel the convent, and donated an additional $50,000 to build an adjoining four-car garage.

PRIESTLY APPRECIATION

Father Emil J. Kapaun Council 11987 at the Sembach Air Base in Germany hosted an appreciation dinner for 10 priests who serve the area Catholic community, including three priests from Germany, one from Canada and several U.S. Army and Air Force chaplains. Each priest in attendance received a gift and a certificate of appreciation.

RELIGIOUS GOODS

With support from an area Wal-Mart store, The Four Chaplains Council 13901 in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., raised funds to purchase Bibles and rosaries for soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SHOW ME A SIGN

Leelanau Council 11664 in Lake Leelanau, Mich., supports an ongoing program to provide road-visible home identification to residents in Leelanau County. The council began providing grants to senior citizens to have city-approved signs installed after area first responders reported diffi-

26 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JULY 2010

culties in identifying home numbers and addresses from the street. To date, Knights have purchased and installed more than 5,000 signs.

PRO-LIFE BRUNCH

Our Lady of Guadalupe Council 12127 in Montgomery Village, Md., attended a pro-life brunch hosted by the Shady Grove Pregnancy Center. Nellie Gray, founder of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., provided the event’s keynote address.

Father James McCarthy Council 11316 in ChanningFoster, Mich., hosted a special collection at two local churches to benefit Gracious Rose Ministries, an area food pantry. The drive, plus a donation from Verso Paper, raised $1,625.

EAGLE SCOUT PROJECTS

Glenville Council 10013 in Schenectady, N.Y., donated funds to support an Eagle Scout project undertaken by Daniel Fernandez. Fernandez designed and built a set of portable bookcases for Immaculate Conception Church that allows religious reading material to be transported from a storage room to the

RANK AND FILE

Msgr. William Van Garsse Assembly in Victorville, Calif., donated $1,325 to the Sergeants Major Association of California, an organiza-

display area without the need to pack and unpack the racks.

Meanwhile, St. Lawrence Council 11343 in Sugarland, Texas, provided financing for Blake Hermes’ Eagle Scout project. After raising $3,000, Hermes constructed a 20-foot by 20-foot picnic pavilion with a concrete foundation for Beth-El Ministries in Stafford.

CHURCH DONATION

Grand Mère (Quebec) Council 1209 donated $25,000 to St. Paul Church. The funds are earmarked to replace the church roof and boiler.

APPRECIATION DINNER

St. Joseph Council 8417 in Waxahachie, Texas, held an appreciation dinner for area law enforcement officers, firefighters and veterans.

Knights presented each attendee with a pocket-sized copy of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Members of Pigcawayan Council 6974 in North Cotabato, Mindanao, unload castoff wood fragments that were donated by an area sawmill.

Knights collected the wood for use as fuel at San Blas Church.

SCHOOL BASH Philip Moore of Msgr. William Baldwin Council 12705 in Norwich, Conn., installs new insulation at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church in Baltic. Knights from seven area councils installed insulation in the convent’s main building, which will help the sisters save on heating and cooling costs throughout the year.

With many families short on tuition money due to the economic downturn, Father Anthony Montesinos Council 5086 in Myrtle Beach, S.C., held a benefit bash to raise scholarship funds for St. Andrew School. The event included a golf tournament, carnival, dinner and silent auction, all of which raised $32,000 for needy students.

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

the garden. Some of the funds will be used to maintain the site, while the rest was added to the council’s charitable fund.

MAINTENANCE FUND

St. James Council 11541 in Gulfport, Miss., serves breakfast every month at its parish to raise funds for maintenance at St. James Cemetery.

Cecil Saccary and Sheldon McNeil of Glace Bay (Nova Scotia) Council 1953 stand with the Girl Guides that Knights sponsored on a tour of the Miners’ Museum in Cape Breton. The girls and their chaperones toured a defunct mine and learned the role that mining played in the history of their community.

TEAM EFFORT

Manresa Council 2147 on Staten Island, N.Y., teamed with the Notre Dame Club of Staten Island to raise $3,200 for St. Peter Elementary School. Over the years, the two organizations have raised more than $30,000 for the school.

TEDDY DRIVE

St. Katharine Drexel Council 11177 in Cape Coral, Fla., held a teddy bear drive to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.

Knights donated the plush bears for distribution to children undergoing treatment for a variety of illnesses. Father Eugene Weibel Assembly in Jonesboro, Ark., also hosted a teddy bear drive to collect stuffed animals for several local agencies. Knights collected about 3,000 plush critters for distribution by nurses and doctors at four regional hospitals and by first responders at accident sites.

Active service personnel from Siskiyou County can enjoy two meals at local restaurants per month, courtesy of the council.

Siskiyou Council 2454 in Montague, Calif., launched a program titled “Meals for Our Military” that provides free meals to area soldiers.

Father J. B. Ralliere Council 9340 and Sir Knight Modesto Sanchez Circle 5332, both in Peralta, N.M., served food to the homeless and needy at the Good Shepherd Center in Albuquerque.

Knights and Squires served more than 300 meals.

CEMETERY UPKEEP

KITCHEN RENOVATION

Christ the King Council 8124 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, donated $4,000 to Christ the King School and volunteered to help renovate the school’s gymnasium kitchen. Knights host several events at the school each year, and the renovations were made to comply with current health codes.

Bishop Salpointe Council 4584, Our Lady of the Mountains Council 10799 and St. Francis of Assisi Assembly, all in Sierra Vista, Ariz., actively maintain the

Father Mark Mueller Council 9230 in Janesville, Wis., donated $500 to Kids Against Hunger, a division of the Rock County Rotary Club that assembles meals for needy members of the community.

John Jacob Raskob Council 14189 in Centreville, Md., constructed a Marian garden at Our Mother of Sorrows Church. Knights raised $14,000 by selling engraved memorial bricks for use in

Cadet Zachary Ellis of Msgr.

Cornelius George O’Keefe Council 8250 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., walks with a Dominican sister during the council’s visit to the Rosary Hill Home. Dominican sisters operate the facility for patients with terminal cancer. Knights visited with residents, served ice cream and sang several West Point songs.

Fry Pioneer Cemetery.

Knights receive assistance from area Boy Scouts in cleaning and maintaining the cemetery, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER

MARIAN GARDEN BETTER THAN RATIONS

MEALS FOR THE NEEDY

HEALTH CLINIC

Parishioners at St. Agnes Church view the personal memorabilia collection of Past Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant during a special Mass hosted by John Roe Council 3020 in Shawnee Mission, Kan. Dechant shared with the parish personal anecdotes about his life as well as a number of artifacts that included papal letters, coins and proclamations.

Holy Spirit Council 13919 in Malolos City, Luzon, held a health clinic for residents who wanted to receive a free checkup. While the exams were complimentary, Knights did collect good-will donations from 123 patients, netting more than 9,800 pesos.

FUNDING HOPE

Houghton (Iowa) Council 3905 donated the proceeds from its annual fund drive to Park Ridge and to Hope Haven, the latter of which provides housing to 16 people with disabilities.

JULY 2010

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 27

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

William Fischer (right) of St. Scholastica Council 14485 in Lecanto, Fla. presents Richard Meyer of the Daystar Life Center with a new wheelchair throughout the Order’s partnership with the Global Wheelchair Mission. Among its other outreach activities, the Daystar Life Center loans free handicapped accessible equipment to needy members of the community.

FOSTERING LIFE

Treunet Council 3611 in Anacortes, Wash., hosted a parish fundraising campaign that raised more than $6,400 for the Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative. The funds, which were forwarded to the state council, are matched by the Supreme Council to purchase an ultrasound machine for a pregnancy resource center.

Kennewick provided an honor guard for a special bilingual Mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe held at the TRAC Center in Pasco. Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane concelebrated the Mass with 12 area priests in front of approximately 3,000 people.

Bishop Skylstad is a member of Spokane Council 683.

FINDING A CURE

Sancta Familia Council 11498 in Blackwood, N.J., held a fund drive that raised $2,659 for the Delaware Valley Alzheimer’s Association.

FOOD DRIVE

Our Lady of the Lake Council 13752 in Pocono Pines, Pa., and Christ the King Council 14392 in Blakeslee co-hosted a food drive to benefit Top of the Mountain Ecumenical Food Pantry at Christ the King Family Center.

JARS OF SUPPORT

St. Francis of Assisi Circle 5301 in Kerrville, Texas, as-

GREETING HEROES

St. Joseph the Worker Council 13470 and Mary, Queen of Peace Assembly, both in Arlington, Texas, are part of a contingent of veterans, civilians and school children who regularly greet returning troops at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. About 275 soldiers, Marines and airmen arrive at the airport daily from Iraq and Afghanistan.

GUADALUPE MASS

Msgr. William J. Sweeney Assembly in Richland, Wash., and Father William A. Schmitz Assembly in

28 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JULY 2010

Al Giansanti of Abbot Francis Sadlier Council 6168 in Beverly Hills, Fla., removes the top of a lamp while preparing to paint the exterior of Our Lady of Grace Church. Knights volunteered 630 hours to paint the inside and outside of the church, including fences, trim and lampposts.

Members of Madawaska (Maine) Council 2638 guide a metal and wood crucifix into place on a 4.5-acre lot owned by the council. Knights erected the 33-foot cross after the original was blown down in a windstorm in 2006.

sisted a young mother diagnosed with cancer by raising $1,320 for her medical expenses. Squires raised the money by selling jars filled with ingredients for tortilla soup or fudge brownies.

clergy and parish staff members. More than 75 people turned out to pay tribute to local priests and parish support staff.

SUPPORT FOR SEMINARIANS

St. Michael the Archangel Council 11862 in Garland, Texas, donated a new processional cross, along with a K of C stole and chasuble, to Father Joseph Mehan, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Church.

Nativity Council 2976 in Laurel Springs, N.J., donated $1,374 to seminarian Edward Kennedy to assist with his living expenses while he pursues a vocation to the priesthood. The funds were collected during a drive at St. Lawrence Church in Lindenwold. Meanwhile, Chaska (Minn.) Council 9141 donated $1,800 to seminarian Nick Van Den Broeke, who is studying for the priesthood at St. Paul Seminary. The funds will aid Broeke with any student-related expenses.

DINNER FOR PRIESTS

Msgr. William J. Kreis Council 1231 and St. Teresa Benedicta Council 14862, both in Lawrenceburg, Ind., co-sponsored a spaghetti dinner at St. Lawrence School for area

CROSS AND VESTMENTS

HELP FOR LIFE

John B. O’Connell Council 14600 in Enfield, Conn., held a pro-life Mass and baby shower at St. Martha Church.

Knights collected several baby items as well as $780 in cash donations for the First Way Life Center.

FOOD VOLUNTEERS

Members of Immaculate Heart of Mary Council 13621 in Grand Junction, Colo., volunteered to serve food and coffee to the homeless at an area shelter. In addition, Knights donated all of the food that was served on the day they volunteered.

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

approximately $700 of which was used to replace the monitor that accompanies the center’s ultrasound unit. The remainder of the funds was used to purchase baby goods for needy mothers.

GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

Trinity Council 5825 in Monaca, Penn., donated $1,000 to the Tres Islas Orphanage in Mazatlan, Mexico, for the purchase of new mattresses and bedding.

A HOT MEAL Chief Warrant Officer 4 James McCormick (center) and Catholic soldiers serving at Joint Base Balad in Iraq display the kneelers they received from St. Edward Council 14404 in Lake Odessa, Mich. With only a concrete floor in the room used to celebrate Mass, McCormick made an appeal to purchase kneelers from a Catholic supply company. Instead, his stepfather Bob Stadel, who is a member of Council 14404, constructed the kneelers from scratch with help from fellow council members and then shipped them overseas.

Members of Brother Anthony Council 10014 in St. Albert, Alberta, cook a hot meal for the homeless twice each month and deliver the food to an area shelter. The meals serve about 150 people.

WINE FOR WELLS

COWBOY UP

San Antonio Council 786 held its annual Dallas Cowboys weekend to benefit Catholic Charities. The event, which included a raffle and saw contributions from many area businesses, raised more than $15,000.

hosted a buffet to benefit the council’s Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP) seminarian, Peter Naranjo. The event raised $500 for Naranjo’s education and $500 for the St. Francis of Assisi Church building fund.

MISSION CHURCH

BENEFIT BUFFET

St. Francis of Assisi Council 10698 in Belchertown, Mass.,

Barnabas Held Council 3371 in Nada, Texas, donated $25,000 to Father Edward

VOCATIONS TALK

St. Catharines (Ontario) Council 1394 held a wine and cheese night to benefit Wells of Hope, an organization that works to provide clean drinking water to people in Third World countries. Free-will donations totalled $1,300 while Wells of Hope founder Ted Vander Zalm and his wife, Miriam, provided information about the organization.

St. Padre Pio Circle 4992 in Henderson, Nev., sponsored a talk by Father Mark Gantley, the circle’s father prior, on priestly vocations.

LOWER LEFT: Photo courtesy of Share Your Soles UPPER LEFT: Photo by Jim McCormick

Schoellmann, a Maryknoll Missionary who is working to build a church in the Bukundi region of Africa. Located just south of the Serengeti plains, Bukundi has seen a rapid growth in its Christian population in recent years. Knights presented the funds for the new church to Father Schoellmann’s family.

DAY ON THE GREEN

Riviere du Moulin Council 13580 in Chicoutimi, Quebec, hosted its annual golf tournament, proceeds from which were added to the council’s charitable fund.

BABY MONITOR Native Americans at the Lakota Sioux Reservation in South Dakota line up to receive new shoes at a distribution sponsored

by Share Your Soles. St. Irene Council 6710 in Warrenville, Ill., collected nearly 300 pairs of gently used shoes for distribution among three shoe-related charities: Share Your Soles, Soles4Souls and the Warrenville Youth and Family Services.

Father Michael J. McGivney Council 8101 in Crescent City, Fla., held a fund drive at its parish to benefit a pregnancy resource center in Lake City. The drive raised $1,100,

Members of Fray Diego de la Cadena Council 2367 in Durango, Mexico Northwest, and their families prepare to distribute care packages in a poor community. Knights visit the community weekly to pray the rosary, spread cheer, and distribute food and clothing to needy citizens.

JULY 2010

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 29

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N QUITE A CHALLENGE!

Patrick Lahey of Krakow (Poland) Council 14000 shovels snow from outside the front of St. Joseph’s Seminary, making sure the path to the building is clear for seminarians to attend their studies and for pedestrian traffic.

Knights offer a good deal of support to the seminary, which is located in the Diocese of Sosnowiec.

TEAM TRIVIA

St. Pius X Council 10004 in Conyers, Ga., hosted a team trivia contest that raised approximately $3,000. The funds were donated to a council member to help offset his medical expenses.

Father Thomas Carmody Council 6498 in Normal, Ill., donated $1,300 to the eighthgrade class at Epiphany Catholic Grade School. The funds allowed two classes to attend the Challenger Learning Center at Heartland College. The center at Heartland is part of a network organized under the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, an organization that was founded by the families of the astronauts lost in the Challenger explosion to foster among young people an interest in mathematics, science and technology.

RELIEVING A BURDEN

John P. McNamen Council 6905 in Evergreen, Colo., constructed a Stations of the Cross on 10 acres of vacant land owned by Christ the King Church. Knights purchased all materials for the project and performed all of the labor themselves at a cost

Members of Holy Spirit Council 13919 in Malolos City, Luzon, unload stone and dirt in the backyard of Holy Spirit Church.

Knights volunteered to help fill the backyard of the church with new stone and topsoil.

of about $500. By using the vacant space, the parish was able to receive a $13,600 tax refund from Jefferson County and will not be assessed on the property in the future.

PAYING THE BILL

St. Joseph Council 9707 in Elliot Lake, Ontario, donates $400 a month to Ste. Marie Church to assist the parish in paying its monthly water bill. The council has made this monthly contribution for 15 years.

HABITUAL COOKS

Msgr. William J. Collins Council 5066 in Southbury, Conn., held a pancake breakfast that raised $1,095 for the Greater Waterbury affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.

EVERYBODY’S PLAYGROUND

TELEVISION DONATION

Mary Immaculate Council 12769 in Secaucus, N.J., and Msgr. Peter B. O’Connor Assembly in North Arlington held a veterans breakfast to purchase new televisions for the Veterans Memorial Home in Paramus. By teaming with Best Buy stores, Knights were able to purchase nine 19-inch televisions at a discounted price, which were then donated to the home.

30 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JULY 2010

Job L. Paja and Merlo Estrada of John F. Kennedy Council 6004 in Artesia, Calif., remove part of a concrete wall at Holy Family Church in preparation for planting a mediation garden. Knights, along with volunteers from Apostolado Hispana, donated funds, materials and volunteer manpower to make the necessary renovations before the garden was planted.

Father Albert Lacombe Council 8969 in Lacombe, Alberta, donated $5,000 to Everybody’s Playground, a campaign to build a play space that is accessible to children with disabilities and their caregivers. The proposed playground will be accessible to the community and to three area schools.

PRO-LIFE DONATION

Knights from in Anchorage, Alaska, and the surrounding area hosted an ecumenical service to pray for an end to abortion. At the event, Donald Lederhos of St. Patrick Council 11745 in Anchorage donated

$10,000 to Alaska Right to Life and another $5,000 to the Anchorage Pregnancy Center.

SEMINARIAN BANQUET

Father John J. Harris Council 2524 in Presque Isle, Maine, held its annual seminarian banquet to benefit men studying for the priesthood.

More than 160 people attended the event, which raised $2,400.

CALLING HOME

John Paul I Council 7165 in Woodbridge, Va., donated $500 worth of pre-paid phone cards to members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Knights also collected 400 calendars for distribution to service members at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

kofc.org exclusive See more “Knights in Action” reports and photos at www.kofc.org/ knightsinaction

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average price of a new house was $7,145; and a gallon of gasoline cost 15 cents. That was also the year that then 18-year-old Stanley Ribbik joined Thomas J. O’Neill Council 1204 in Harvard, Ill. Now 98 years old and a member of the Order for 80 years, Ribbik recently received a plaque and certificate signed by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson citing Ribbik’s long and loyal service to the Knights.

Ribbik, who is now a member of Father Emil Platte Council 5052 in Dallas, said that he first joined the Knights out of respect for the members he knew at the time. “Those fellows could talk the shirt off your back,” he said with a laugh and added that membership was a hard sell at the start of the Great Depression.

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OFFICIAL JULY 1, 2010:

To owners of Knights of Columbus insurance policies and persons responsible for payment of premiums on such policies: Notice is hereby given that in accordance with the provisions of Section 84 of the Laws of the Order, payment of insurance premiums due on a monthly basis to the Knights of Columbus by check made payable to Knights of Columbus and mailed to same at PO Box 1492, NEW HAVEN, CT 06506-1492, before the expiration of the grace period set forth in the policy. In Canada: Knights of Columbus, CASE POSTALE 935, Station d’Armes, Montréal, PQ H2Y 3J4 ALL MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOS, ARTWORK, EDITORIAL MATTER, AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES SHOULD BE MAILED TO: COLUMBIA, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-0901. REJECTED MATERIAL WILL BE RETURNED IF ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE AND RETURN POSTAGE. PURCHASED MATERIAL WILL NOT BE RETURNED. COLUMBIA (ISSN 0010-1869) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, 1 COLUMBUS PLAZA, NEW HAVEN, CT 06510-3326. PHONE: 203-752-4000, www.kofc.org.

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OPINIONS BY WRITERS ARE THEIR OWN AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENTTHEVIEWS OFTHE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.

07/10

J O I N T H E FAT H E R MCGIVNEY GUILD Please enroll me in the Father McGivney Guild:

NAME ADDRESS

O N - TA RG E T R E C RU I T I N G

found that he clicked with the Knights of Columbus because he encountered men with similar values wherever he moved for his career in the food processing industry. “We always found that underlying sense of welcome in a new community from the local Knights and their families,” he said.

For men who are considering joining the Knights, Ribbik said that it is important to consider the Order’s strong Catholic identity. “The religious component of the activities of any council kept me in touch with the spiritual life in a vital way,” he explained.

Many things have changed in the world since Ribbik joined the Order, but one thing that has remained constant in his lifetime is “the principals and values of the Knights of Columbus.” Ribbick added, “Eighty years is a long time, but Father McGivney’s ideals still prevail.”

-Reported by Rodger Cramer

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Order Announces Free Throw Winners The Order has announced the international winners for the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship. Each council is encouraged to sponsor a free throw contest for boys and girls ages 10-14. The best scorers then compete at the district and state levels before the international winners are tallied.

The winners in each category are listed below.

Age 10 Boys: Matt Roper (Creve Coeur, Mo.), Ryan M. Livingston (Bluffton, S.C.), Andrew Ferraiuolo (Colusa, Calif.) and Spencer Duryee (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) Girls: Nicole Riordan (Pleasanton, Calif.), Hailey King (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Jenna Mace (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) Age 11 Boys: Noah Allen (Milo, Maine) Girls: Heather Heiby (Celina, Ohio) Age 12 Boys: Austin Hall (Omaha, Neb.), Sam Hasting (Jefferson City, Mo.), Ben Leet (Augusta, Maine) and Jack Marszalec (St. Joseph, Mich.) Girls: Kelly Lamb (Strongsville, Ohio) and McKayla Ahlrich (Sleepy Eye, Minn.)

CITY STATE/PROVINCE ZIP/POSTAL CODE Complete this coupon and mail to: The Father McGivney Guild, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-3326 or enroll online at: www.fathermcgivney.org

Age 13 Boys: Shawn Fillenworth (Lawton, Mich.), Colton Pitko (Eureka, Kan.), Nicholas Alterio (Vinton, Va.) and Naren Paranthaman (Aurora, Ontario) Girls: Haley Thiel (Wahoo, Neb.), McKenna DeMoe (Thompson, N.D.), Kiana Peterson (Madrid, Iowa) and Lauren Burch (Seaville, N.J.) Age 14 Boys: Trevor Wiegert (Fremont, Neb.) Girls: Kennedy Henningsgard (Buxton, N.D.) For more information, visit www.kofc.org/freethrow.

JULY 2010

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 31

C O LU M B I A N I S M B Y D E G R E E S

Charity NATIVE RESIDENTS of Puro, Peru, display a banner thanking Father McDonald Council 1911 in Elmhurst, Ill., for the mission goods that the council shipped to South America. At the request of two pastors in Chicago, Council 1911 held a benefit dinner that raised $5,000 to ship clothing, medical supplies and building materials to Puro.

• St. Patrick’s Council 9300 in Caledonia, Ontario, donated $1,000 — the proceeds from its annual “Crystal Ball” — to West Haldimand General Hospital. The funds are earmarked to help purchase new hospital equipment.

Unity

Fraternity

Patriotism

JOHN JONES and Jeff Rau of Father Francis Syrianey Council 12567 in Littleton, Colo., along with Jeff ’s wife, Brook, lift a pro-life sign into place as part of a display erected by the council. For one month, Knights displayed signs and flags representing the number of lives lost to abortion. At the end of the month, the flags were taken down and mailed to members of Congress along with a brochure urging them to vote in favor of life.

• Msgr. John Eppenbrock Council 3615 in Trenton, Mich., held a pancake breakfast to raise funds in support of vocations. The event netted $1,550 for the council’s Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP).

TECHNICIANS WORK to install solar panels on the roof of the council hall owned by Sacred Heart Council 2842 in Rochelle Park, N.J. Concerned about the environment and about energy use at the hall, Knights decided to convert to solar power. The system will pay for itself in an estimated three to five years.

• Our Lady of Pompeii Council 11245 in East Haven, Conn., hosted its annual council retreat at Holy Family Monastery. The retreat was held in honor of the council’s pastor, Father James Shanley, who also attended the event.

TOM ROSCKES (right) of San Gabriel Council 6453 in Georgetown, Texas, speaks to Kimberly Munley (left) and her husband, Sgt. Matt Munley, after Council 6453 finished building two wheelchair ramps and a gazebo at the couple’s home. Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer, was shot in the leg when Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood Nov. 5, 2009. With a donation of materials from Lowes Home Improvement, Knights constructed two 12-foot ramps at the Munley residence, as well as a 10-foot gazebo.

32 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JULY 2010

KNIGHT S O F C O LUM BUS

Building a better world one council at a time Every day, Knights all over the world are given opportunities to make a difference — whether through community service, raising money or prayer.

We celebrate each and every Knight for his strength, his compassion and his dedication to building a better world.

TO

Students at a public school in Aliaga, Luzon, leaf through some of the new textbooks they received with assistance from Nuestra Senora de Salera Council 6795. In cooperation with Children International and the local government, Council 6795 facilitated the donation of 16,000 new textbooks for 29 area schools and one library.

BE FEATURED HERE , SEND YOUR COUNCIL ’ S

C OLUMBIA , 1 C OLUMBUS P LAZA , N EW

“K NIGHTS IN ACTION ” PHOTO AS WELL AS ITS DESCRIPTION TO : H AVEN, CT 06510-3326 OR E - MAIL : COLUMBIA @ KOFC. ORG.

JULY 2010

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 33

PLEASE, DO ALL YOU CAN TO ENCOURAGE PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

KEEP T HE FA I T H A L I VE

‘GOD PREPARED MY HEART TO RECEIVE MY VOCATION.’ As I look back and see the hidden seeds of my vocation as a religious, I recognize how God has placed many instruments in my life to nourish and develop the gifts of faith, hope and love in my soul.

From the time I was 7 years old, my family lived next door to the Intercessors of the Lamb Community in Omaha. It was, however, even prior to moving that my parents’ devoted spirituality provided my childhood with numerous channels of grace.

Although there were times when my youthful and teenage struggles seemed hopeless, I began, by God’s grace, to understand that true, lasting hope grows the most quickly amid suffering and trial.

With blossoming faith and hope, I took an eightday discernment retreat during which God prepared my heart to hear how I was to live out my call to holiness as a consecrated hermit.

Be not afraid! Through baptism, God has planted in every Christian soul the gift of love, which exceeds all others. Empowered by this gift, I am able to answer perfect love’s calling and say, “Be it done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:39).

SISTER MARIA ROSA Intercessors of the Lamb Omaha, Nebraska