Reflecting on the Relic of Blessed Michael J. McGivney (1/11/2025)

I am still unpacking the day spent with the Relic of Blessed McGivney. So many graces and blessings flowed forth. I am overwhelmed with God's love and Blessed McGivney's intercession. And, yes, I noticed the sunlight shining on the Relic during Holy Hour and Veneration. It was heavenly!

As I prayed and touched my KC Rosary (the one that got 17 years ago when I went through the First Degree Exemplification at Sacred Heart), I prayed for Blessed McGivney's intercession so that my heart can be conformed to Christ's Sacred Heart and that I transform into the husband, Catholic man, and brother Knight that Jesus needs me to be for his Church for the glory of God and the good of the Order.

It was so inspiring to see so many of the faithful venerate the Relic, touching their rosaries, Fourth Degree swords, and other sacramentals to the Relic. So many prayed before the Relic and left their prayer intentions in the box. Many wept as they prayed. It was so moving. The Church is alive and the faithful are devoted to our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy men and women, saints of God!

Many thanks for making our first Relic of Blessed Michael J. McGivney on Jan. 11, 2025 just a wonderful and blessed event. I have many to thank so please hold your applauses until the end. :)

Fr. Charlie for his blessings, prayers, and guidance.

GK Patrick & Deputy GK Greg for their leadership in helping me plan this event and wherever needed.

Art & George S. for coordinating the Fourth Degree SK, including District Master Blake, for the Fallout. Here is a video of the Fallout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDhVHF-r2jA&t=13s.

Andy R., John I., Patrick, David "Webby", Marcos, Art for leading us in the Holy Rosary during Holy Hour, and Anthony R. for getting the materials together.

Arnold, who did an excellent job as the thurifer for Holy Hour and an adult altar server at Mass.

GK Patrick for holding down the fort during Veneration while many of us participated in the C.U.F., including reading excerpts of materials about Blessed McGivney.

Edward J. for running the livestream with the help of George K.

George S., Andy R., Art, Patrick, John I., John P., Greg M., and Joseph C. for participating in the fallout.

Donovan G. for the tables with KC materials. 

Mike M. for being the liaison between our Council and State Deputy Ron Alonzo and Diocesan Deputy Victor Medina, and being there for our new Knights, including our Music Coordinator Ben Batalla.

Sr. Kelly and my wife, Theresa, for helping me with set-up for Holy Hour, Veneration, and Mass, as well as Deacon David for his part in the planning.

District Deputy Mike and his C.U.F. (Charity, Unity, and Fraternity) team for a job well done bringing in 12 new brother Knights into the Order.

Diocesan Deputy Victor ad his wife, Lady Melisa, for bringing the Relic to Saint Albert the Great, escorted by four members of the Knights on Bikes. Lady Melisa took great pictures of the event.

Of course, State Deputy Ron for his tireless effort to bring the Relic of Blessed McGivney to the  various Dioceses in Texas. (We missed First Lady Margo.)

If I am missing anyone, then please forgive me. It was truly a team effort to make this Relic event so reverent and successful.

Blessed Michael J. McGivney, pray for us and for our families.

Photo of the prayer intention box next to the Relic of Blessed Michael J. McGivney.

Photo of State Deputy Ron, holding the Relic, with Fourth Degree Sir Knights next to the clergy (Msgr. Brooks, Dcn. Phúc, and Dcn. Edward) after Mass.

Also, photo of the twelve (12) new brother Knights after the C.U.F.

Photo of State Deputy Ron presenting a copy of Blessed Michael J. McGivney "Apostle of the Young" to Diocesan Deputy Victor and Assistant to the State Chaplain, Deacon Phúc.

Here are some feedback from the Relic event:

. . .

"After speaking with Brother Knights, we agree, that those that participated, were touched very deeply within our heart and soul. The Holy Hour Prayer was powerful, the words within that prayer were very gripping. and the men that lead the prayer were exceptional. Joseph and I were discussing how the Sunlight was shining on the Altar and the Blessed Sacrament during the Holy Hour. The clear skies were open for the Light of God to shine into our Parish for the Relic of the Blessed McGivney Event."

. . .

"While streaming the Rosary, I noticed the sun starting to engulf the relic. I tried the two other cameras to limit the “brightness” to no avail. Then it dawned on me, don’t do anything. My thought was that this was a great sign, as if “something great will come of this event!” The power of GOD shining down! Also, I mentioned that one of my sisters was one of the number who streamed the Rosary. Talking with her yesterday, she and her husband were out on their  farm, building fence at the time and praying with  us. Those who say, “they couldn’t tune in” or “don’t have time!” One only needs to make “time” for GOD!"

. . .

Homily for Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time (Year C - 1/13/2025)

Good morning. Last Monday, I shared that Pope St. Pius X observed that “the distinguishing mark of Antichrist [is man] raising himself above all that is called God.” This leads to “apostasy from God” and “the total repudiation (or rejection) of the Christian faith.” I also shared that our response to the “spirit of the antichrist” is by turning away from sin and returning to God. The Catechism states that the “movement of return to God, called conversion and repentance, entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, and the first purpose of sinning no more in the future” (CCC 1490).

Pope Francis said that repentance ”arises entirely from an awareness of our wretchedness in the face of God’s infinite love, his boundless mercy. . . The more we feel his tenderness, the more we desire to be in full communion with him and the more the ugliness of evil in our life becomes apparent to us. . .” (3/8/2024). Once again, the Catechism states that the “process of conversion and repentance was described by Jesus in the parable of the prodigal son, the center of which is the merciful father. . . Only the heart of Christ Who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way” (1439).

For this reason, the Holy Father reminds us to “remember that God never tires of forgiving us, and on our part, let us never tire of asking for forgiveness.” (Pope Francis, 3/8/2024). And so, like the prodigal son, we turn away from a life of sin and return to God by keeping God’s commandments. We attend Mass and receive the Eucharist regularly. We go to Confession. This is what Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel when he says to us, “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Simon and his brother Andrew, along with James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, did this when Jesus called them, saying,  “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They left behind their old ways of life and followed Christ.

Like them, our conversion and repentance happen when we leave behind our old ways of life and come and follow him to a new life in Christ. However, like them, it is not a one-time conversion and repentance for us but rather a daily, ongoing turning away from sin and temptations and returning to God. We know this from the Gospel accounts of the times that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was doing, when “their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:52), and how they abandoned our Lord during his Passion. Yet, except for Judas Iscariot, they remained Jesus’ apostles and, because they repented and believed in the Gospel, Christ tasked them to continue his mission to go forth and make disciples of all nations. And so it is for us, this ongoing conversion and repentance that started with our own Baptism and continues each and every day of our lives when we choose to say “Yes” to Jesus and come and follow him.

Homily for Monday after Epiphany (Year C - 1/6/2025)

Good morning. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill (5:17). Not only did Jesus fulfill the law as he promised, he also gave us the greatest commandment: “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” (22:37-38). Jesus then added, “The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (22:39).

These are the same commandments that Saint John the Evangelist spoke of in today’s first reading: “And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them. . .” Love of another is secondary to the greatest commandment, which is to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. . .” and to “believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ.”

This is how we know that the Spirit of God is in another but, most importantly, that the Spirit of God is in us: “. . .every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.” How are we to understand the “antichrist”? Perhaps this insight from St. Hippolytus can help us better understand: “the deceiver seeks to like himself in all things to the Son of God. Christ is the lion, so the Antichrist is also a lion; Christ is a king, so Antichrist is also a king. The Saviour was manifested as a lamb (John 1:29); so he too, in like manner, will appear as a lamb, although within he is a wolf”. . . “resulting in Christians having doubts about their holy Catholic faith.”

Pope St. Pius X observed that “the distinguishing mark of Antichrist [is man] raising himself above all that is called God,” leading to a terrible sickness in society that is “apostasy from God.” Moreover, in 1976, in Philadelphia for the Eucharistic Congress, then-Cardinal Wojtyla, St. John Paul II warned: “We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced. . . We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, between the gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist.”

How are we to respond to the “spirit of the antichrist”? The answer, my sisters and brothers in Christ, is by turning away from sin and temptation and keeping the commandments of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by coming to Mass and receiving our Lord in the Eucharist, and by frequent reception of the Sacraments. Jesus is the “great light” that “has arisen” to dispel the darkness. Jesus comes to us proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15; Matthew 4:17).

Homily for Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious (Year C - 1/4/2025)

Good morning. A few days ago, we ushered in the new year. We reflected on everything that we experienced in 2024 (the good and the bad) and look forward with hope to 2025. Many of us might even have new year’s resolutions that we are working to accomplish as we continue to navigate our way in the new year. Whatever it may be, in our own way, we are searching for something in 2025. In a way, we are like John the Baptist and his two disciples who were waiting for the Messiah. So, when Jesus walked by as they were standing there and watching him, they knew that they had found the Messiah, because John the Baptist made this proclamation about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”

Jesus comes to us, not only in today’s Gospel but in our hearts right here and right now, at the start of the new year, and asks us, “What are you looking for?” No matter what our answers may be - for me, it continues to be exercise more until I actually exercise more - Jesus’ answer to us will always be the same: “Come, and you will see.” In the mystery of the Incarnation, Christ humbled himself and took on our humanity that we can share in his divinity. In other words, “Come, and you will see” is an invitation to us to take part in Jesus’ divine life. When we participate in the divine life of our Lord and our God, we will see what we have been searching for, what we have been longing for the most in our lives: our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ himself. Only Jesus can fulfill our hearts’ deepest longings with the love that we desire most because He is what we hope for in our lives. However, we will only know this by knowing Him. We know Jesus through faith that is rooted in a robust spiritual life built on prayer, the “source and summit” of which is the Eucharist in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

This is what today’s saint realized about her newfound Catholic faith. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, whose memorial we celebrate today, is the patron saint of Catholic schools, educators/teachers, loss of parents, and widows. Reared a staunch Episcopalian, Elizabeth learned the value of prayer, Scripture and a nightly examination of conscience. At 19, she married a wealthy businessman and they had five children before his business failed and he died of tuberculosis. While in Italy with her dying husband, Elizabeth witnessed Catholicity in action through family friends. Three basic points led her to become a Catholic: belief in the Real Presence, devotion to the Blessed Mother and conviction that the Catholic Church led back to the apostles and to Christ. Elizabeth became a Catholic in March 1805. At 30, she was widowed and penniless, so to support her five small children, she opened the first American parish school, in Baltimore, and established the first American Catholic orphanage. Mother Seton, as she was known, also founded the first American religious community for women, the Sisters of Charity.

All this she did in the span of 46 years while raising her five children (from Franciscan Media) because the divine life of Jesus flowed in her veins and permeated every part of her being, mind, spirit, body, and soul. Whatever your new year’s resolutions might be this year, be sure to invite Jesus into your life. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will make all the difference in your life if you accept his invitation to “Come, and you will see.”