fr. mcnelis council #1481 december 2018 ://kofc1481.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/newsletter... ·...

Grand Knight: Michael Morris — Deputy Grand Knight: Bob Dalecki — Financial Secretary: Kevin Strezo — Treasurer: Jeff Bacha

Fr. McNelis Council #1481 DECEMBER 2018 https://kofc1481.org

I hope everyone had a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. If we take time to look at our lives and see God's Blessings, we often find that we have more to be thankful for than we realize. In the spirit of helping those less fortunate we made a $150 donation to the Indiana Salva-tion Army to help provide Thanksgiving dinners to families in our com-munity. We would also like to extend a warm welcome to Br. Michael (Mickey) Johnson who recently transferred to our council.

As we prayed for All Holy Souls in Purgatory in the month of Novem-ber, our council had a beautiful Memorial Mass to honor our Brother Knights who passed away in the last year to show our support to their families. Thank you to chairman Br. Ed O'Sullivan and all Brother Knights who attended and participated in the Mass. The Greensburg Chapter of the Knights of Columbus also had a very nice Memorial Mass that was well attended by Brother Knights from across the dio-cese. Additionally, I was proud to see the nice turnout of Knights who joined together to pray the rosary for our recently departed brother, Br. Ray Stankiewicz. Work is continuing on updating our Rosary Tree and if you would like to be added please contact me via email ([email protected]).

The Football Sweeps and C.O.A.L. ticket sales have wrapped up and now we watch for the winners! Our Hoss's Cash Cow fundraiser did well for our council. Baby Bottles have been returned and through everyone's generosity we did very well with this pro-life effort to support Lifechoices of Indiana. We helped the sisters of St. Anne's home by selling and buying their lottery calendars. A hearty thank you goes out to all the chairmen of these activities, as well as everyone who helped with and donated to these wonderful causes. I ask that you please support the upcoming 4th Degree Pancake Breakfast at St. Thomas More University Parish on Sunday, 9 December after the 10a Mass. Additionally, please see the insert about KofC #1481 Council Apparel Sale located in this month’s edition of The de Sales. You can read more about these and other activities in this month’s edition. I ask that you remember the 31 December deadline for State Scholarship applications. If you are

interested in attending the Monday, 17 December Chapter Christmas Party, the deadline is Friday, 7 December. If you are interested in bringing back the tradition of our Council Christmas Party either this December or January, please contact me via email ([email protected]).

(Continued on page 2)

DECEMBER

1 Final C.O.A.L. collection due

5 Officers’ Meeting (Lodge—7p)

6 Guys Night Out w/ Clint Hurdle (KCAC—7p)

8 Immaculate Conception (Holy Day)

8 C.O.A.L. Prize Drawing

8/9 Membership Drive (STMUP—All Masses)

9 4th Degree Pancake Breakfast

(STMUP—after 10a Mass)

10 Advent Penance Service (STMUP—7p)

12 Council Meeting (Lodge—7p)

12 Advent Penance Service (CofR—7p)

13 Men’s Prayer Gathering

(St. Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA—645p)

15 Advent Penance Service (SBofC—1p)

17 Greensburg Chapter Christmas Party (Youngwood—7p)

19 Apparel Orders Due

25 Nativity of Christ (Holy Day)

31 State Scholarship Applications Due

As part of our Pro-Life programming, I would like for our Council to revive our food pantry collection in support of the St. Thomas More University Par-ish Food Pantry. Not only can this can help us to meet the programming requirements and meet eligibility for a possible rebate from Supreme councils, but it also gives us the opportunity to practice our corporal works of mercy by feeding the hungry within our Indiana community. I ask that you please bring non-perishable food items to our council meetings every 2nd Wednesday of every month. Please contact me via email ([email protected]) or phone (724.422.3905) for more details.

Br. Michael Morris

Grand Knight

Grand Knight’s Notes

Food Pantry Collection

1

2018 Calendar

2

December 2018

*KNIGHT —YEARS*

RICHARD L. RADAKOVICH—47 RUDOLPH S. BRUNO—27

THOMAS S. SUDA—27 BERNARD W. LOCKARD—24

As of today, our council’s Baby Bottle Campaign to support the LifeChoices Pregnancy Center in Indiana, PA, has raised over $6,114 so far! I would like to thank Brs. John Hardesty, Jr. and Bernie Liscik, and all my Brother Knights and parishioners at St. Thomas More University Parish, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and the Church of the Resurrection who helped by donating either time or monies to make this important Pro-Life program very successful again this year! I will announce the final amount collected in the January edition of The de Sales. SK Tom Pearson Baby Bottle Campaign Chairman

DO YOU HAVE AN ARTICLE TO

SHARE FOR The de Sales?!

PLEASE SUBMIT ARTICLES FOR THE JANUARY NEWSLETTER BY:

SATURDAY, 15 DECEMBER

Please email articles to the editor at: [email protected]

Notable Anniversaries (15+ YEARS OF SERVICE)

The PA KofC Educational Foundation, Inc. is offering 50 Grants for Catholic Education. These grants are worth $1,000.00 each, and are intended to offset tuition costs at Catholic grade school institutions. Please see the following guidelines for application consideration:

The student’s father must be a 3rd Degree Knight in good standing of a KofC Council within PA, for at least six months prior to the date of application OR

The student must be the son or daughter of a deceased 3rd Degree Knight who was a member in good standing of a KofC Council within PA at the time of death.

The student must be enrolled in grades 1 through 12 at a certified Diocesan Catholic School

The grant application is to be sent to the Educational Foundation Secretary postmarked between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2019. No applications will be accepted after the 31 March date. Each grant will be processed on a first-come-first-serve basis as applications are received by the Educational Foundation Secretary. For more information, please visit www.pakofc.us, then choose PA Programs and Student Grant. If you are interested in this grant opportunity please contact me via email ([email protected]), as applications must be signed by certain council officers.

Br. Michael Morris Grand Knight

As was announced (and edited) in the No-vember edition of The de Sales and at the November meeting, the date for the Na-tional March for Life in Washington D.C. is Friday, 18 January 2019! Please con-sider joining Brother Knights and other Pro-Life members of our Indiana Community for the 45th March for Life in peaceful protest of the Supreme Court’s infamous decision in the Roe v Wade case.

We will continue to petition Congress to protect the rights of every human life—from conception to natural death! As has been the process over the past several years, our Indiana group will be making a bus trip to the Cap-itol, but seating is limited. To reserve your seat on the bus or for further information please contact me via phone (724.465.4522)! There is a hard deadline for all reservations by Thursday, 10 January 2019 so call now!

Br. Bill Ager March for Life Chairman

Catholic School Grants

2019 March for Life

I would like to thank to those who brought items for the St. Thomas More Food Pantry collection at our Novem-ber Meeting. Please try to bring a few more items as we continue our collec-tion at every meeting throughout the fraternal year. In the spirit of Catholic giving, you can also get an angel tag from the Angel Wings Christmas trees in the church narthexes. Please consid-er helping someone have a better Christmas. Additionally, if you would like to send a Christmas greeting to our council-sponsored seminarian, David Slusarick, please email him ([email protected]).

Over the past month we have seriously considered sponsoring an Indiana Lit-tle League baseball and/or softball team. At our December meeting we plan on making this very important vote. If you haven't been to a council meeting in awhile, this would be a great oppor-tunity to rejoin us in Catholic brotherly fellowship and have your voice heard. You could be a part of something new!

If I don’t see you before our 25 Decem-mber feast day, I wish all of you and your families a Very Merry, Happy, and Blessed Christmas!


Grand Knight’s Notes

Baby Bottle Wrap-Up

I would like to thank all the Brother Knights who participated in our Council Memorial Mass on 11 November at St. Thomas More University Parish. The Mass was well attended and well served by the KofC #1481 Council. Fr. Andy Gumangan, a 3rd Degree Brother Knight, served as celebrant and many of our Brother Knights served as Eucharistic Ministers, lectors, cantor, sacristan, gift bearers, and greeters. To add a touch of tradition, several members of the Color Corps were also on hand. In brotherly solidarity we honored fallen Brother Knights from our past, especially Brs. Daniel Gromley, Donald Steckmeyer, John Hickey, and James Federline, who past away this past fraternal year. Finally, after Mass there was a reception with coffee, donuts, and plenty of fellowship! Thank you, again, for helping to make this day spe-cial for our Brother Knights and their fami-lies on Veterans Day!

Tempus Fugit. Memento Mori. Time Flies. Remember Death.

Br. Ed O’Sullivan Memorial Mass Chairman

3

Thank you to everyone who supported, helped with, bought tickets, or attended the Jack and Jill Bash fundraiser for St. Bernard School. The two baskets our Council donated were very nice and very well received. Congratulations to the winners of the KofC baskets, Karen Marshall (Music teacher at St. Bernard School) and Becky Thomas. Both win-ners are parishioners of St. Bernard Parish and were delighted with their winnings. Also, it's that time of year again to remember the true Reason for the Season. The KofC Keep Christ in Christmas poster contest is underway. We always have great participation with this contest and the students look forward to showing how they view Christmas as young Followers of Christ! St. Bernard School continues to provide quality Catholic education for their students, and everyone involved with the school appreciates the support given by our council. Br. Michael Morris School Liaison Chairman

By now you should all know the drill. All Hallows Eve has passed, you’re still filled from Thanksgiving dinner, and the celebration of the Nativity of Christ will be here in the blink of an eye. What other time of year is so busy with anticipation, preparation, and celebration?

Among all these celebrated events and activities, please also try to keep in mind our daily commitment in our ser-vice as Knights of Columbus. We should never lose sight of our mission in support of Church, family, and country. Let us remember, also, that our brotherhood sustains us and unites us, no matter the month or week or holiday season.

I ask that you mark on your calen-dar the weekend of 8-9 December when we will be conducting a membership appeal at St. Thomas More University Parish during all Masses. With Advent underway, spirits will be high. This is our op-portunity to invite and welcome

fellow Catholic gentlemen to carry that spirit of goodwill and service with them throughout the year as a brother Knight.

Our membership team will be in need of Knights to speak on behalf of our council during the Masses or to greet and answer questions from interested men (and women) fol-lowing the sacrifice of the Mass.

As I stated, this appeal will take place on Saturday, 8 December at 6p and Sunday, 9 December at the 10a and 7p Masses. In addition, our 4th Degree Assembly will be hosting their Pancake Breakfast after the 10a Mass so bring your appetite AND a prospective Brother Knight!

The right words said at the right time to the right men could mean an additional celebration soon: the Exempli-fication of the First Degree. This could be the most im-portant gift that our fellow Catholic gentlemen receive this Christmas.

Br. Chauncey Ross Membership Chairman

Sir Knights, as Faithful navigator of the 4th Degree I would like to thank our Color Corps and Master of the 4th Degree of Western District, SK Michael Lynch, for their participation and attendance at our annual Memorial Mass at St. Thomas More University Parish on 11 November. It was another beautiful and memorable event for the families of our fall-en Brother and Sir Knights.

We will be hosting our Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, 9 December, after the 10a Mass at St. Thomas More University Parish. I am in need of volunteers to prepare, serve, and clean up, especially with our newly increased menu! Please contact me ([email protected]) if you can help. All are welcome to eat breakfast!

SK Bernie Liscik

Faithful Navigator

St. Bernard School Memorial Mass Recap

Perpetuating the Knights

The 4th Degree Fr. McNelis Assembly # 968

Great job, Brothers! As of our Council meeting on Wednesday, 14 Novem-ber, we have sold and processed over 184 booklets of Chance of a Lifetime tickets! With the additional books which were picked up at the meeting, I am certain that we have surpassed

our sales from 2017 (210 booklets).

Please remember that for all the book-lets that we send to the State Council prior to Saturday, 1 December, we will receive a rebate of 25¢ per booklet. Our council purchased 200 booklets, which gives us a profit of $950 and a rebate of $50. With this being said, we will already have profitted at least $1,000 from this years C.O.A.L. ticket sales! Another great incentive from which we will hopefully benefit is the $1/booklet sales bonus for every booklet we sell past our 2017 total of 210 booklets.

Again, I thank and congratulate you on a successful C.O.A.L. campaign, my Brother Knights! Our final accounting will be published in the January edition of The de Sales. Perhaps the most important not is that the C.O.A.L. tick-et drawings will occur on Saturday, 8

December. Good luck, my Brothers!

Br. John Hardesty, Sr.

C.O.A.L. Ticket Chairman

Cash Cow Recap

4

Last month, we updated our Council’s Ro-sary Tree. The recitation of the

Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the funeral home the evening prior to burial of a Brother Knight is a long-standing tradition of councils throughout our Order. Therefore, being a prayer-ful Brother Knight on this Rosary Tree means that they will be noti-fied when a Brother Knight passes away and when we plan to pray the Rosary at the funeral home. I would like to extend my gratitude to all of those Brother Knights who have taken on the role of Rosary Captain, as these will be the indi-

viduals who will be making corre-spondence with their Rosary Tree team.

I ask that if (a) you would like to remain on this list, (b) you would like added to this list, or (c) you would like to be listed as a Rosary Captain, please contact me, if you have not done so as of yet, via email ([email protected]) or phone (724.422.3905). Though simple in nature, the compassion-ate and fraternal recitation of the Holy Rosary is always graciously appreciated by the families of our are fallen Brothers. Thank you all for your prayerful consideration of joining this taskforce!


JANUARY

1 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Holy Day)

2 Officer’s Meeting (Lodge—7p)


10 March for Life Reservations Due

12/13 Vocations Collections

(SBofC & CofR—All Masses)

14 Greensburg Chapter Meeting

(Greensburg—7p)

18 45th National March for Life

(Washington, DC)

19/20 Vocations Collections (STMUP—All Masses)

20 AFC Championship Party (Lodge—3p)

FEBRUARY



17 Pancake Breakfast

(SBofC—After 8a & 10a Masses)


(Greensburg—7p)

MARCH

6 Ash Wednesday (Holy Day)




(Slickville—7p)

30 Catholic Men’s Conference

(Greensburg Cen. Catholic, Greensburg, PA)

APRIL

1 Sibley Scholarship Application Due



12-14 Men’s Retreat

(St. Paul’s Monastery, Pittsburgh, PA)


(Jeannette—7p)

19 Good Friday (Holy Day)

21 Easter Sunday (Holy Day)

MAY


4/5 PA State KofC Convention

(King of Prussia, PA)

8 Council Meeting & Elections (Lodge—7p)

11/12 Mothers Day Carnation Campaign

(STMUP, SBofC, & CofR—All Masses)


(Manordale Valley—7p)

30 Ascension of the Lord (Holy Day)

JUNE


12 Council Meeting and Picnic (Lodge—6p)

16 Fathers Day


(Uniontown—7p)

21 Charity Golf Outing

(Meadowlane Golf Course—1p)

Rosary Tree Update

You can sync the KofC Calendar to your own Google Calendar! Follow this link:

https://goo.gl/vgf3tR

2019 At-a-Glance

I would like to thank all Brother Knights and their families who participated in the Hoss’s Cash Cow fundraiser on Sun-day, 4 November. Not only was a good meal had by all, but this is one of the easiest events for our council to host and raise funds to keep up our charitable works. This time around, a total of $431.06 was raised for our general fund! Thank you to all for helping to make this fundraiser a success!

Br. Jeff Bacha Cash Cow Chairman

C.O.A.L. Update

Brother and Sir Knights, nominations for the 2018-2019 Knight of the Year for Fr. McNelis council #1481 are now open. Each year, our council recognizes one of our brother knights for their convic-tion to the four core principles of the Knights of Columbus: Chari-ty, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. If you know of a Brother or Sir Knight within our Council who is doing exemplary work as a Catholic Gentleman and Knight of Columbus, please contact me via cell (724.422.9053) or email ([email protected]).

Br. Tom Bresnahan

Nominations Chairman

It is important for us as Catholic men to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is and what it is not. Some people think the term refers to Christ’s conception in Mary’s womb without the in-tervention of a human father; but that is the Virgin Birth. Others think the Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived "by the power of the Holy Spirit," in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was brought about by her parents Sts. Anne and Joachim, was conceived without original sin or its stain. In fact, that is what immaculate means: without stain. The essence of original sin con-sists in the deprivation of sanctifying grace, and its stain is a corrupt nature. Mary was preserved from these defects by God’s grace; from the first instant of her existence at conception she was in the state of sanctifying grace and was free from the corrupt nature original sin brings.

When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an im-plicit reference may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. St. Gabriel the Archangel said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). The phrase “full of grace” is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a character-istic quality of Mary.

The traditional translation, "full of grace," is better than the one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give something along the lines of "highly favored daughter." Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek term implies more than that and never translates to the word for daughter. The grace given to

Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind. Kechari-tomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning "to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the per-fect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, we Catholics hold, that her grace extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence.

Br. Michael D Kostick The de Sales Editor

Knight of the Year Nominations

5

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Knights of Columbus Father McNelis Council #1481 P.O. Box 224 Indiana, PA 15701

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fr. mcnelis council #1481 december 2018 ://kofc1481.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/newsletter... ·...

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