Reflecting on Fr. Charlie Garza's Chaplain Report (6/22/2026)

Brother Knights, before my reflection on our Chaplain's report, I want to express my gratitude to our Chapter President for the opportunity to continue to serve as the Chapter's Spiritual Director. The end of June concludes my 7th year serving as the Chapter's Spiritual Director. I start my 8th year in July. I am also grateful to Fr. Charlie Garza for accepting my invitation to be our Chaplain. I look forward to serving with him the coming fraternal year.

Moreover, my Council 10333 had a fun time hosting the Chapter Meeting and providing the meal. Many thanks to all the Councils that have hosted a Chapter Meeting this past fraternal year and will host one this coming fraternal year. As you probably have seen in our Worthy Chapter President's email, please prayerful consider hosting a Chapter Meeting at your parish. I enjoy visiting the different parishes and meeting brother Knights from the Councils there. Thank you for all you do in support of the clergy, the Order, and the parishes.

Finally, I invite you all to visit the web-sites for Greater Austin Area Chapter Knights of Columbus, the Texas State Council, and the Supreme Council. These web-sites contain a wealth of information for all brother Knights and their families.

Now, in his Chaplain Report, Fr. Charlie talked about Seminarians. He reported that there are 26 seminarians from different parishes, in the Diocese of Austin, and that 5 seminaries are in their pastoral (or internship) year. This year, 10 seminarians accepted, which brings the total number of seminarians in the Diocese to over 55-56 seminarians.

Fr. Charlie shared with us some sobering stats, including about 10-15% of seminarians are "disowned" by their families (mostly because their parents want children and grandchildren) and about 40-50% of the seminarians experience conflicts with some members of their immediate family or extended members. Also, some seminarians are not from area so they are far from their families and friends and support system.

He encouraged the Knights to interact with the seminarians because some of the seminarians lack fathers or father figure in their lives. This serves a twofold purpose. First, the seminarians need to know the people that they will serve. Second, our interactions with the seminarians help to encourage them in their discernment and our moral support will help them overcome any discouragement that they may have. As for supporting seminarians financially, while there is a $2,000 cap reimbursement ($100 per $500) per Council, set by Supreme, individual Knights can "pass the hat" for a collection for seminarians.

In the Spiritual Director Report, I deferred to Fr. Charlie and he spoke about the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He invites us to pray this simple prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like your own. Amen.

The prayer is from Scripture, in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (11:28-30).

Fr. Charlie explains that meekness is not weakness. Meekness is special deference. For example, the Son defers, or is obedient, to Father. Recall how Jesus struggled with his own Passion during his Agony in the Garden. However, Jesus remained obedient to his Father in heaven, saying: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).

To be obedient to God takes discipline, especially when discerning things that are of God and things that are from the Evil One. Know that God asks to do simple things that are hard to do because it requires sacrifices from us. Think of this Sunday's Gospel, in which Jesus says: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:37-42). On the other hand, Satan asks us to do something easy but complex. For example, life becomes increasing complex when we live a lie.

Moreover, Fr. Charlie explains that there are two types of humility that we should be aware of. The first is other-centered and the counter to humility is pride (one of the seven deadly sins) when we believe that we are better than others, The second type is false humility in which we refuse to take compliments. The Sacred Heart of Jesus teaches us to do something hard but with humility.

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In particular, on the occasion  of America celebrating its 250th anniversary, the United States Bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Here is the web-page on the USCCB dedicated to the Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, including the homily by Supreme Chaplain, Archbishop William E. Lori. Fr. Charlie invited all brother Knights and families to pray this Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and  this Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Also, you and your family can pray the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Lastly, here is the Consecration of the U.S. to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by the Diocese of Austin. Also you all are aware, we have the traveling pilgrim icon of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. If your Council or Assembly would like to have the icon at your parish, then please reach out to Sir Knight Ricardo R., whose contact information can be found on the web-page for the pilgrim icon. Our Chaplain suggest displaying the pilgrim icon in the Adoration Chapel of your parish if the main church is not available.

Homily for Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 6/22/2026)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us another teaching that challenges us: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” In our modern, perhaps even post-Christianity society, we hear things like: “I’m not judging,” “no judgment here, “you do you,” “Love the sinner, not the sin,” etc. For many of us, who try to live according to the natural laws of God and His Commandments, and the Beatitudes and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shy away from “judging” the actions of others for fear of being labeled judgmental or worst (Homily, 6/30/2025).

I want to share this commentary from Donald DeMarco, Ph.D. that I recently read in hopes of helping us to better understand what Jesus means when he tells us to “stop judging, that you may not be judged.” Quote: “It is important that we not overextend the meaning of ‘Judge not’ to include the legitimate use of the mind in judging ideas, whether they are correct or erroneous actions, whether they are good or bad, and propositions, whether they are true or false. We need to make judgments in these matters in order to help people. [Saint Thomas Aquinas once said,] ‘The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him to truth. Sheer ignorance would be of no help to anyone. But we are neighbors to each other and inherit the solemn obligation to be of help to each other, especially on the road to salvation. We are, in fact, required to use our minds to assist others as we navigate through the various [obstacles] that life has set before us.”

The author continues, saying: “The day will come when God will judge each one of us. But who we are in the eyes of God is not someone that any one of us can know. It is in this sense that the command, ‘Do not judge’ has its decisive meaning. Jacques Maritain, in his book, “On the Use of Philosophy”, expresses the matter accurately and beautifully: ‘But we are utterly forbidden to judge the innermost heart, that inaccessible center where the person day after day weaves his own fate and ties the bonds binding him to God. When it comes to that, there is only one thing to do, and that is to trust God. And that is precisely what love for our neighbor prompts is to do.’”

Finally, today begins Religious Freedom Week with the feast day of Saint John Fisher, Bishop and Saint Thomas More, Martyrs. According to the USCCB: “Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher. . . bore witness to a deep faith in Christ and his Church. . . More and Fisher are well-known for opposing King Henry’s divorce. Ultimately, it was their refusal to sign an oath of supremacy that led them to be executed. . . It is good to love one’s country, but ultimate loyalty is due only to Christ and his kingdom. Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher show us what faithful citizenship looks like. They loved and served their country. . . But when the law of the king came into conflict with the law of Christ, they submitted to Christ. These men gave their lives for the freedom of the Church and for freedom of conscience. They bear witness to the truth that no government can make a claim on a person’s soul.”

Therefore, my sisters and brothers in Christ, may we exercise right judgment, examine our conscience, and use our religious freedom to live out our Catholic faith not only in our private lives but also in public and to serve the good of all for the greater glory of God.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062226.cfm

Homily for Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 6/15/2026)

Last week, I met with a young man who came to me about two years ago after he did something that almost cost him his marriage. His wife did not give up on him or their marriage; however, she also did not allow herself to be “passive” in her response to his actions. Rather, she supported him as he sought professional help and held him accountable, which he needed. At the end of our meeting, he said that “marriage is hard.” I told him that I completely agreed with him. Love, as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ teaches us, is an act of the will. I told him that a husband and his wife wake up every morning and renew the vows that they made with each other on their wedding day, to will the good of each other for the sake of their marital bond and their families.

I share this experience because, in today’s Gospel, Jesus “forbids even [the] proportionate retaliation” that was allowed in the Old Testament laws found in the Books of Numbers and Leviticus, such as “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In the marital relationship, this is akin to husband and wife “keeping score” - you did this so I get to do this. However, marital love is as Saint Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 13:4-8): “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

Moreover, in marriage, husband and wife are called to go the extra mile out of love for one another. This is similar to what Jesus teaches us, saying: “Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.” Additionally, in marriage, husband and wife are called to give 100% of each other and, when one of them can only give 99% or less, then the other is called to go that extra mile to make up the difference. It is as Jesus teaches us, saying: “Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow." Going back to the story of the young man that I met with last week, his wife did not turn her back on him after what he did. Rather, she went the extra mile to help him become the man and husband God intended him to be, for her, for him, for their marriage.

My sisters and brothers in Christ, as you might have discerned from what I have shared, marriage and family life help us to live out these teachings of Jesus with those who we love. We learn not to keep score. We learn to go the extra mile. We learn that we do not turn our backs on those we love. From these lessons learned in marriage and family life, we can then learn to do the same for our neighbors who we might not have as intimate a relationship with, such as our friends, our co-workers, or even strangers we encounter in our daily lives.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061526.cfm

Prayer for Father's Day (6/21/2026)

My prayer for all fathers:

Pope Francis wrote, in Patris Corde, that the “greatness of Saint Joseph is that he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus.”

Good and gracious God, our Father in heaven, we ask for your blessing upon all fathers and men who you have called to be spiritual fathers to many. Strengthen them to be tender and loving husbands to their spouses and fathers to their children. Imbue them with your wisdom that they may be men of faith, hope, and love, courageously answering your call to protect and lead their families as Saint Joseph protected your Son, Jesus, and his Mother, Mary. May they have the humility to turn to you not only in times of challenges but every day of their lives, knowing that they can entrust themselves and their families to your divine love.

We ask this through the intercession of Saint Joseph, the Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Worker, the Protector, and the Terror of Demons. Amen.

Links:

Prayer for Father's Day (6/18/2023) https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/06/prayer-for-fathers-day-6182023.html

Prayer for Father's Day (6/16/2024) https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2024/06/prayer-for-fathers-day-6162024.html

Prayer for Father's Day (6/15/2025) https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2025/06/prayer-for-fathers-day-6152025.html

"Reclaiming Faithful Fatherhood" Initiative: https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2024/05/reclaiming-faithful-fatherhood.html

Patris Corde - KC Austin Chapter - A Report of the Spiritual Director (3/23/2026) https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2026/03/patris-corde-kc-austin-chapter-report.html

Homily for Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 6/8/2026)

Yesterday, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first reading that we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy, “Moses said to the people: ‘Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments.’” Then, in today’s first reading from the First Book of Kings, we heard the Lord said to Elijah: “‘Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.’ So [Elijah]  left and did as the LORD had commanded.”

The Lord God tested Elijah to see if it was his intention to keep his commandments and Elijah did as the Lord had commanded him. This is important for us not only to understand with our minds but to live out in our hearts in the dailyness of our lives. Since Pentecost and the end of Easter, we have observed the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, which serves as a reminder to us that God is a Communion of Three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - God, and he calls us into communion with Him and with each other. Then, we observed the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, which serves as a reminder to us “that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.” That Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:14). And when he ascended into heaven, the Word of God promised to be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Jesus keeps his promise to us in the Eucharist.

After these blessed and grace-filled times in the liturgical year, we now entered fully into Ordinary Time in the life of the Church. It is like Peter, Andrew, John, and James coming down the mountain after witnessing the Transfiguration of the Lord. Or, for many of us, it is like leaving an amazing, grace-filled retreat and returning to the dailyness of life. Where do we go from here? Jesus gives us the answer in today’s Gospel, instructing us to live our lives according to his Beatitudes so that we are blessed and our lives become a blessing to others. This is the call to holiness, the call to discipleship, to which Jesus calls all of us to, saying: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

When we take this approach in our lives, then Ordinary Time is turned into a time of “ordinary holiness.” I want to leave you all with these lyrics from the hymn, “Ordinary Holiness” - “Ordinary holiness. . . In the sacred day-to-day. . . Living out the Gospel. . . In a quiet, humble way. . . We are called to be the light. . . In the shadows of the night. . . Answering the call of grace. . . Seeing Christ in every face. . . In the families we love. . . In the neighbors that we greet. . . In the broken and the lonely. . . Whom we gather with to meet. . . You have poured Your love on us. . . Given strength for every chore. . . Turning ordinary pathways. . . Into steps to Heaven's door.”

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060826.cfm

Homily for Memorial of Saint Justin, Martyr (Year A - 6/1/2026)

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’ parable of the tenants. In the parable, God is the “man [who] planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower.” We are the “tenant farmers” whom he “leased [the vineyard] to” when he “left on a journey.” In other words, we are stewards of the manifold blessings and graces that God has bestowed on us in our lives - from our families to our jobs to our gifts and talents, essentially, everything that we have, most especially, our own lives and one another. The servants in the parable represent the many prophets that we hear about throughout the Old Testament, whom the people of God put to death. 

After sending his servants, the owner of the vineyard decided to send his beloved son. This should sound familiar to us because we heard it in the Gospel yesterday on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (John 3:16-18):

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. [And here is the hinge, my sisters and brothers in Christ] Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Now, what struck me the most in the parable of the tenants is what the man said when he sent his beloved son. He said, “They will respect my son.” Unfortunately, not only did the tenant farmers not respect his son, they seized him and put him to death.

And so, my sisters and brothers in Christ, we ask ourselves this question: “Do we respect the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?” Or do we reject him like the “stone” that the builder rejected? God does not need our respect; however, we have respect, or fear, of the Lord for our own good. It is as Saint Peter wrote: the “grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” so that “through the knowledge of him” we “may come to share in the divine nature” of the Son of God who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

Saint Peter tells us how we can grow in our relationship with our Jesus Christ, namely by making “every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.” This is what Jesus teaches us in the Great Commandment, saying: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Love leads to mutual affection, to devotion, to endurance, to self-control, to knowledge, and, ultimately, to virtue that increases our faith in and relationship with God.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060126.cfm

Mary, Mother of the Church - KC Austin Chapter - A Report of the Spiritual Director (5/25/2026)

Worthy Chapter President and Brother Knights,

I bring you greetings one final time from our State Chaplain, Bishop Emeritus Mulvey (Diocese of Corpus Christi), and our Associate State Chaplain, Fr. Chen, whom I am in contact. As our Worthy Diocesan Deputy said, the Change of Power Meeting occurred recently so my time as the Assistant to the State Chaplain for the Texas State Council has concluded. It has been a blessing to serve my brother Knights in the State of Texas in this capacity these past two years.

Additionally, as our Worthy Chapter President mentioned in his report, there is the link to information on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and Consecration of the New Cathedral Altar, which will happen on June 4, 2026.

Finally, our Worthy Chapter Chaplain, Fr. Charlie Garza, cannot join us for this meeting because of obligations at Holy Trinity Seminary. However, he encouraged me to talk about Mother Mary in the Spiritual Director Report, after all,  yesterday was Pentecost so today is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. Therefore, I will reflect on this article in the "Columbia" by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori, titled "Mary's Interior Freedom."

In the article, the Supreme Chaplain asks this question: “[How] was Mary so free that she could say “yes” to the Lord’s singular plan for her life. . .?” Well, according to the Archbishop Lor, the answer is: “Mary’s complete freedom from sin. . . she was preserved from original sin by a singular grace of God, and throughout her life she committed no actual sin. . . Freedom from sin enabled Mary to assent to God’s will, but it did not preserve her from suffering. . . She endured hardship and misunderstanding. . . Because she was free from sin, Mary could assent to and bear the suffering her vocation entailed, thus fully participating in Christ’s self-offering.”

Houston, we have a problem! The Archbishop recognized that, “[unlike] the Blessed Virgin Mary, none of us is spared original sin and its effects.” However, there is hope for us, because “[we] are redeemed from sin by Christ’s death and resurrection, and we are given the grace we need to overcome sin — especially through the sacraments, including reconciliation.”

Yet, we put major obstacles in our path because “[we] may feel as though “the narrow way” to eternal life compromises our freedom. . . the Ten Commandments, the precepts of the Church and the Beatitudes can seem like a moral straitjacket rather than the path to freedom.” How many people do we know have left the Catholic Church because of the Truth that she proclaims in the world? Therefore, our challenge is this, “[conversion] of life hinges on rejecting that lie and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us.” I recently minister to a couple preparing for marriage who feels the attacks of the Evil One. They are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony in the Catholic Church and are growing closer in their relationship with God. The Evil One hates this so they now have a target on their backs.

We, too, have targets on our backs when our relationship with God deepens through prayer and spiritual growth. We walk by faith, and we turn our Mother Mary in our times of need and ask for her intercession. As the Supreme Chaplain reflects: “God’s grace works in our humanity (as it did in Mary’s) — our minds, hearts, wills and appetites. Gaining freedom from the power of sin can feel difficult, but once liberated by God’s grace, we discover that, like Mary, we are able to say “yes” to God, to our families and to those in need.”

As we heard in the Gospel, on the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, or Lord Jesus Christ, as he hung on the Cross, gave us to his Mother, saying: “Woman, behold, your son.” Let us, therefore, turn to Mary with confidence!

Here is a link to my previous report from the Chapter meeting in April: https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2026/04/reflecting-on-fr-charlie-garzas.html

Deacon Phúc’s challenges for all Knights for the month of June

• PERSONAL & FAMILY: 
• Pray the Rosary regularly. October is dedicated to the Rosary. (Brother Knights, there is a reason we receive the Holy Rosary when we become a Knight. We need our Mother to guide us on the right path in service of God and his people.)
• Do a Marian Consecration, a consecration is a “formal entrusting of your life into Mary’s hands, trusting in her to guide and protect you on your journey with her Son.” Here is a link the the "33 Days to Morning Glory" Consecration to Jesus Through Mary that I mentioned at the meeting.
• Celebrate Marian feast days. May is dedicated to Mary. 
• Read Marian books and Scriptures (Pray the Rosary, because the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary tells the story of our Lord Jesus Christ through the eyes of his Mother Mary.). 
• Visit Marian shrines and statutes (or have Marian statutes and images in your home).
• COUNCIL: See above.