Knights of Columbus Austin Chapter - A Report of the Spiritual Director (1/29/2024)

Worthy Chapter President and brother Knights,

I encourage you all to read these articles in the January / February 2024 issue of the Columbia magazine:

• “The Courage of Conversion” by Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly
• “Blind Spots” by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori
• “What Do You Desire Most?” by Father John Connaughton

Here is the link to the online edition: https://issuu.com/columbia-magazine/docs/columbiajanfeb24en.

I might be preaching to the choir here because I trust that you all are Catholic gentlemen who practice their Catholic faith with fidelity; however, for us to say that we have "been there, done that" would be to:

• deny our capacity to continue to grow in our relationship with God. (It is like a couple - engaged or married - preparing to receive the Sacrament of Marriage and say that they know everything there is to know about each other. We are not the same people today that we were 5 years ago nor are we the same people 5 years from now that we are today. We change. We grow.)
• deny our continual role as "influencer" in our family and community with it comes to our Catholic faith.("Influencer" is a trendy word on social media but it can certainly apply to us because we are in positions of influence in our families, our parish community, and our society.)

We must humble ourselves and recognize that:

• our imaginations are so impoverished and our hearts are so atrophied that we cannot imagine the transcendent. We just need to look at how aesthetically sterile some of the designs and architectural works in our modern society.
• people do not find the things of God relevant or interesting, which reveals a lack of imagination on our part (cannot imagine the transcendent. Our hearts and minds do not look upward to God.).
• we have a deep longing for connection, but we attempt to satisfy it with worldly and superficial things that leave us empty. The world and what it has to offer will never satisfies the deep yearning in our soul.
• we have "blind spots" in our lives - hypocrisy - take that wooden beam out of our own eyes, Jesus tells us.

Through prayer and discernment and spending time in the Real Presence of our Lord in Adoration, we come to realize our true desire:

• the greatest aspiration of the human heart is. . . sanctity (the universal call to holiness)
• starving for fellowship, friendship, and authentic communion (God is Three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - in intimate communion and we are invited to be communion with God and with each other.)
• Christ wants to make us holy through life in the Church because the Church will shape us into saints

With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we prepare a discipline plan that includes:

• repentance and conversion (take up our Cross and come and follow Jesus) through the graces of the Sacraments
• conversion - when we think of conversion, we think of someone who was not Catholic who becomes Catholic. I was not Catholic but converted to Catholicism in 2028. However, the conversion for us Catholics is:
• a renewal and deepening of the Catholic faith that we inherited from our parents
• actively seeking a closer personal relationship with Jesus Christ
• opening ourselves to the grace of the sacraments in a way that affects our daily lives
• work on our "blind spots" - hypocrisy - so we can lead others by example
• Change is be terrifying because it requires us to look deep within ourselves but we fund the courage to change. Christ is here to help us.
• dare to pray for conversion for ourselves and those we love, to encounter our Lord Jesus Christ and be changed forever.

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

• PERSONAL & FAMILY: Attend the 12th Annual Catholic Men’s Conference themed “Spiritual Fatherhood” (February 17, 2024 at San Jose Catholic Church) https://centexcatholic.com/mens-conference and bring your son, grandson, nephew, mentee, etc.
• COUNCIL: Consider starting the Cor Initiative at your parish.

. . .

Links to previous Spiritual Director reports for 2023-2024 fraternal year:

• A Report of the Spiritual Director (11/27/2023) https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/11/knights-of-columbus-austin-chapter.html
• A Report of the Spiritual Director (10/23/2023) https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/09/cor-knights-of-columbus-initiative-part.html
• A Report of the Spiritual Director (9/25/2023) - UPDATED https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/11/k-of-c-austin-chapter-report-of.html
• 7 Things & Cor - A Report of the Spiritual Director (8/28/2023) https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/08/7-things-cor-report-of-spiritual.html
• Greatest roles of fatherhood - A Report of the Spiritual Director (6/26/2023) https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/06/greatest-roles-of-fatherhood-report-of.html