Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Knights of Columbus Austin Chapter - A Report of the Spiritual Director (5/20/2024)

Worthy Chapter President and Brother Knights,

I attended my first-ever KofC State Convention last month and my wife and I had a wonderful time. It was an amazing experience! We met so many people and got to hang out with so many wonderful brother Knights and their wives. 

I prepared two reports on my experience at the 120th State Convention: The links to both reports are below. Also, my other blog entries as Spiritual Director can be found on the KofC Austin Chapter website under the "About" ==> "Officers" menu.
As our Worthy Chapter President announced, I am excited to start my new position with KofC State Council as the Assistant to the State Chaplain Bishop Mulvey (Corpus Christi). I look forward to serving alongside His Excellency and the Associate State Chaplain Fr. Tommy Chen (Victoria). As I mentioned during the meetings, if you have ideas or topics you would like me to discuss related to how role as Catholic gentlemen, then please let me know. You can always send me ideas and suggestions to deaconphuc@gmail.com.

I want to "Thank you!" for participating in fallouts. For those who are one social media, I invite you to watch the video that is posted on the Texas State Council Facebook page. The videographer walked from the back of the ballroom to the front where the Silver Roses were and, along the way, was flanked on both sides by Sir Knights in full regalia - all 137 Sir Knights! It was a sight to behold. Also, when I participate in Diocesan Mass, like this past Saturday's Mass for the Transitional Diaconate Ordination, I love it when I process down with my brother clergy flanked on both sides by my brother Knights. The KofC brings another level of pageantry to an already majestic liturgy. I would encourage you to fall out as often as you can, family and time permitting, of course.

This past Sunday, we celebrated the great feast of Pentecost. One of the Gospel readings is Jesus appearing to the apostles in the Upper Room after his Resurrection and said to him: "Peace be with you." The question for us is, how can we foster peace in our family?

There are three (3) articles in the May 2024 issue of the Columbia magazine that I encourage you all to read with your families. Here is a link to the May issue: https://issuu.com/columbia-magazine/docs/columbiamay24en.

Article 1: "Holy Families Are Set Apart” by Mike Sweeney (excerpts):

Husband and wife are called to imitate Saint Joseph and the Blessed Mother. . . place Jesus first in our lives and in the lives of our children. . . take care of the little things so that the big things take care of themselves. . .

Do not sweat the big stuff that can overwhelm you. Rather, take care of the little stuff, especially, take care of your family first, and trust that God will handle the rest for you.

Article 2: “To Live With Joy” by Andrew and Sarah Swafford (excerpts):

. . .committed to doing the little things to build emotional unity. . . make an act of the will to connect emotionally with our spouse and children. . . choose to love Christ - and love Christ in others - even during tough times, to pray for and with each other. . .

It is not enough for us men to work and bring home "the bacon", we must engage with our spouse and children, especially emotionally. This can be challenging for us me sometimes but the Holy Spirit can help us be vulnerable with our spouse and children.

Article 3: Archbishop Lori commentary

“Keep Calm and Pray the Rosary”. . . owning a rosary is not enough. . . “Do you pray the rosary?”

We all received a Holy Rosary when we became Knights and we all carry a Rosary in our pockets at all times (or we should). However, we must pray the Holy Rosary daily and invite our families to pray with us, especially our children. Pray the Rosary together as a family.

Finally, while the rest of society is "celebrating" the deadly sin of pride, for us Catholics, June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Father's Day is also in the same month.

Below is a link to my "Reclaiming Faithful Fatherhood" Initiative that was inspired by Cor, particularly the video on "Fatherhood" from the "Into the Breach" series: https://www.kofc.org/en/campaigns/into-the-breach.html. Men, when your family ask you want you want for Father's Day, tell them you want the family to attend Mass together on Father's Day. This could be the one time that a family has gone to Mass in a long time, but we trust that the Holy Spirit will move their hearts to desire to attend Mass more often in the future. But it starts with you and its starts with an invitation.

I encourage you all to take this challenge to heart and make sure your family attends Mass together on Father's Day. Let us not store up treasure of this world that are perishable. Rather, let us store up treasures of heaven that will last for eternity, starting with the salvation of our families. Feel free to send me pictures of your families at Mass on Father's Day and I will find a way to post them.

Here is a link to my previous report from the Chapter meeting in April:
Deacon Phúc’s challenges for all Knights for the month of June




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