Reflecting on Fr. Charlie Garza's Chaplain Report (4/27/2026)

In his Chaplain Report, Fr. Charlie invited the Knights to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit, which starts on Friday, May 15th, and ends the eve of Pentecost, which is on May 24th, in 2026. It is the most ancient of novenas and the only novena that was established by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In the Acts of the Apostle, "[while][ meeting with them, [Jesus] enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for 'the promise of the Father* about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.'” (1:4-5). This period of prayerfully waiting is what we experience when we pray any novena. Moreover, the Novena to the Holy Spirit is the only officially recognized novena by the Catholic Church.

The two Novenas that Fr. Charlie suggested can be found at PrayMoreNovenas.com and also at EWTN. Here is the link to the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts at the EWTN webpage. As the title would suggest, this novena focuses on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Our Chaplain recommends this particularly Novena to ask God for the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Additionally, here is the link to the Novena to the Holy Spirit at PrayMoreNovenas.com: https://www.praymorenovenas.com/novena-to-the-holy-spirit. As our Chaplain mentioned, this version of the novena focuses on the fruits of the Holy Spirit, Moreover, a few years ago, I recorded this Novena on my Podbean podcast and links to the podcasts are below.

Click on the links below to listen to the podcast of the Novena and pray along.

Day 1: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-1-with-dcn-phuc/

Day 2: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-2-with-dcn-phuc/

Day 3: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-3-with-dcn-phuc/

Day 4: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-4-with-dcn-phuc/

Day 5: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-5-with-dcn-phuc/

Day 6: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-6-with-dcn-phuc/

Day 7: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-7-with-dcn-phuc/

Day 8: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-8-with-dcn-phuc/

Day 9: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-day-9-with-dcn-phuc/

[In case you are interested, click this link to listen to Dcn. Phúc’s Homily for Pentecost (5/31/2020)]

Also, I invite you to the Pentecost Sunday - Vigil Mass at Saint Albert the Great Catholic Church on Saturday, May 23rd, at 6:00 P.M.

. . .

Here is my Spiritual Director Report that I shared as a supplemental to Fr. Charlie's Chaplain Report:

 

Greetings from State Chaplain Bishop Mulvey and Associate State Chaplain Fr. Tommy Chen.

In his remarks at the State Banquet on Saturday evening and the Memorial Mass on Sunday morning, encouraged brother Knights to participate in Cor to grow in our faith and be the faith leaders for our families and parishes and the Order.

On Scripture, Bishop Mulvey said that the words of Jesus in the Gospel, and all words of Sacred Scriptures, should neither be "mottos" that keep in our heads nor words that reside in our hearts but words that move us to action.

He said that Bible studies and lectio divina (e.g., Men of the Word) are fine; however, he challenged us to practice putting the words of Jesus into action, to live the words of Jesus in our lives.

The example Bishop Mulvey used is John 13:1 - "He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end."

I want to thank our Worthy Chapter Chaplain, Fr. Charlie Garza. When he was pastor at St. Albert the Great, he was instrumental in implementing Cor with and for Council 10333. Fr. Charlie recognized that our brother Knights needed Cor and he is grateful that Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly is pushing the Cor initiative so hard throughout the Order.

Just to give you an idea of how much Fr. Charlie believed in Cor, not only did he help implement Cor, he also taught most of the "Into the Breach" sessions until he had to leave to be the Spiritual Director at Holy Trinity Seminary. By the grace of God, I am doing my best to fill his "big shoes" as I lead my brother Knights in Council 10333, and men from the parish, through the "Men of the Word" series.

Brother Knights, I was appointed by past Diocesan Deputy and Chapter President, Victor Medina, to be the Diocesan Director of Evangelization & Faith Formation (EFF), which if I am not mistaken, our Worthy Diocesan Deputy and Chapter Vice President Mike has asked me to continue in this role during our conversations at the State Convention this past weekend.

Reach out to me about Cor if you do not have the Cor initiative at your parish already. Cor is as simple as prayer, formation, and fraternity.

Finally, I am grateful for the prayer and support of my brother Knights during my two-year term as the Assistant to the State Chaplain, His Excellency, Wm. Michael Mulvey, Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Corpus Christi. Vivat Jesus!