state deputy’s report · 3/6/2015 · chaplain’s message 2 first ladies message 3 membership 3...

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Inside this issue:

Chaplain’s Message 2

First Ladies Message 3

Membership 3

Program Reports 4

4th Degree Report 6

Convention Registration

7

Founders Day Mass and Dinner

8

Catholic Men’s Fellowship

9

Convention Golf Tournament

10

State Calendar 13

Around the State 11

Reflections 12

Volume 1, Issue 9 March 2015

Do you ever visit the Supreme Knights of Columbus website? Read below

Unity – None of us is as good as all of us. Members of the Knights of Columbus all know that – together – we can accomplish far more than any of us could individually. So we stick together…we support one another. That doesn’t mean that we always agree or that there is never a difference of opinion. It does mean that – as a Knight of Columbus – you can count on the support and

encouragement of your brother Knights as you work to make life better in your parish and community. It just sums up what we stand for and what we do, in simple terms. Utilize the information at hand and share it with potential members.

Guess what? We have 31 days this month to recruit and schedule so many first degrees that we can set a State Record! Who is up for it? The District Deputy’s have accepted every challenge I have suggested with zeal and courage, and knowing that the ultimate SUCCESS of every council is at stake, I’m sure they will assist any council to make their Star Council Goal THIS

MONTH! Why wait, get the recruiting out of the way and take the time to concentrate on the paperwork for Star Status! Let’s offer every Catholic Male over the age of 18 the chance of a life time, a chance to join men like you in the brotherhood of the Knights of Columbus.

As we prepare for the months ahead, I have to say that I am extremely proud to be your State Deputy, and call you all brother knights. The charity and good works I have been witness to across the State is amazing to say the least. I have visited schools that without the Knights, they would not have the ability to carry on the functions their students need. I have visited the Pregnancy centers that have Ultrasound machines from the Knights, and listened to testimony that these machines truly save lives. The veterans who benefit from our wheelchair program, and stay warm with blankets the councils and assembly’s provide. The many thank you letters received by the State Office and Councils that I have seen, give witness to the fact that your deeds do not go unnoticed. I cannot say it loudly enough, I am proud to be your brother knight. Keep up the Great

Work!

Lastly do you have your rosary and do you pray it often? Please continue to pray for all the State Officers as we continue our task of leading the State. May we always consider the Good of the State and the Good of the Order.

God Bless and Vivat Jesus

State Deputy’s Report

Stephen J. Adamczyk

State Deputy Maryland Knights of Columbus

Maryland State Council

State Chaplain’s Message Reverend Milton E. Jordan called to the simplest task: to care about other people before we take care of ourselves. What kind of people would we be if we got everything we wanted? If we never had to move outside of our own needs and desires? Jesus asks us: What good is it for us to get everything we wanted, if in the process we lose our very selves? Cherishing Each Other We've stopped snapping back, held our complaints. What if we add a small goal for ourselves every day? What if we added one positive, loving thing each day of Lent? We might hang up his clothes without complaining about it. Put the cap back on her toothpaste – with a smile. Lay out the crossword puzzle with a fresh pencil for him. Have a pot of coffee ready for her in the morning. Do some of the tiny, thoughtful things we might have done years ago, before we slipped out of the habit. It’s not spending money, it’s a change of attention. Send him an e-mail of gratitude during the day. Tuck a note into her suitcase as she departs on a trip. A call just to say how grateful I am for you in my life. Each day we ask God for the grace to love as God loves us – without limits. One final thing is patience. We have to learn to trust that eventually, with our constant loving and God's grace, our spouse will notice the difference. Under the barrage of love, our spouse will begin to soften, bark less, say Thank You more. It takes time to change the patterns and it takes time for our spouse to trust in the changes. It may take months beyond Lent, but if we believe in this, pray about it and trust in God, the changes that happen in our marriages and ourselves can be dramatic. This isn’t something for women to do for their husbands. Or husbands to do for their wives. It is what each of us as married people are called to do for each other. This is the way of life Jesus calls us to: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Re-focusing our marriage invites us to be more giving, to fight our human nature that has us focused on our own needs. We are asked to stop keeping score with the ones we love and to put their needs ahead of our own. It is then, Jesus promises, that by losing our lives for his sake, we will find real life.

Brother Knights, First, I have not been able to put items on the blog as mentioned in February’s report. However, there is work being done on the blog site and hopefully it will be operational in a week or two. Second, the following is a reflection for Lent produced by the On Line Ministries at Creighton University, the Jesuit higher education site in Omaha, NE. Since Marriage is a major issue in any family, during the Year of the Family, I suggest that you take the time to ponder some of the important thoughts in this reflection.

Looking at Marriage During Lent An Ideal Time for the Renewal of Our

Marriages Lent seems to be the ideal time to look at marriage. How does our Lent journey shape what we are called to do in marriage? A few decades ago, the word "obey" was removed from wedding vows. Instead we promised to love, honor and cherish each other. Many years later, Jesuit philosopher John Kavanaugh, S.J. lamented how much we had lost by dropping the word “obey” from wedding vows. He said that the root of the word “obey” simply means to put the needs of another ahead of our own. Obedience in this context has nothing about one dominating another - only two people pledging to put the needs of the other ahead of their own. What a wonderful idea. It seems that this is exactly what we are called to in a gospel-based marriage. Called by Jesus to be Unselfish Now during these weeks of Lent we can take some time to examine our marriage. Do we love as deeply as we had originally intended when we first made our vows? As unselfishly? Whether we’ve been married 3 years or 30, this sacred season could be the start of a renewed relationship with our spouse, shaped by our experience of Lent. We are invited by Jesus to put the needs of another ahead of our own. We can deepen our commitments in marriage and even change the dynamics within our relationships through unconditional love. In loving this way, we transform not only our spouses but more importantly, ourselves. For those of us who are parents, we have probably always put the needs of our children first – but our spouse? Yes, we care for each other, but do we put the other’s needs ahead of our own? And yet how profoundly would our marriages

change if we simply lived that vow for a while? During Lent, we can make “obey-ing” the special focus of our lives. Instead of giving up chocolate, what if each day during Lent, we asked for the grace to be more unselfish in our marriage? As a first step, what if tomorrow, before we got out of bed, we asked God to help us love our spouse more? To put the needs of this life partner of ours ahead of our own? Silencing our Disappointments This Lenten journey begins with prayer and moves into silence. We hold off on the sarcastic comment aimed at our spouse. We silence a cutting remark. We drop the correction before it comes out of our mouths. Neglect the pouting. Stop the stony silence when we are displeased. These behaviors can be long standing and not easy to change. Also, it might take a while before our spouse really trusts these efforts. We will be the ones doing the “giving” for a while. We are born selfish creatures crying out for someone to take care of our needs. The process of growing in this life seems to be learning how to become less selfish, less self-absorbed. On our good days we can do that, by loving, giving and caring for others before thinking of ourselves. But on our bad days, we look at our spouses and others and grumble about the unfairness: “Why is it always ME who has to do the giving? Why doesn’t my spouse have to care about ME first? Am I always the one who has to apologize first? Ask about the other’s day first? When is it MY turn to be taken care of?” We are called to love in marriage the way we are loved by Jesus – without figuring out what we will get out of it. “Love one another as I have loved you.” As I have loved you. In the same way Jesus loves us – without limits. And so we love our spouse who is crabby and barking. Instead of snapping a response we can ask ourselves, “What does my spouse need right now?” It’s not about giving up my dignity or rolling over to a bully. It’s about loving someone who might not be very lovable right now. We can wallow in our own self-pity and self-absorption, but it is in that moment that we are being called more deeply into Jesus’ love. We must die to our own needs and our own longing in order to find a new life in Jesus. In a profound way, we are being

My Brother Knights,

Don’t blink but almost ¾ of the year is over. Are you on your way to STAR?

This is the time my Brother Knights. The time for action. This is when we can focus on membership more than anything else. Grand Knights are wrapping up program reports and starting to realize their year is coming to an end. Deputy Grand Knights are, or at least should be, starting to prepare for their fast approaching term. So why not work on membership.

This is that chance where councils can focus on growing and restocking themselves with new members and end the year with a bang and provide excitement for next year. What Grand Knight wouldn’t want to go out on top? What Deputy Grand Knight about to become a Grand Knight would not want to have a fresh batch of newly invigorated men ready to fulfill Fr. McGivney’s dream? This is our chance, let us go out and bring those men into Our Order.

Now at the time I am writing this it

State Membership Report Bryan Adamczyk State Membership Director

Volume 1, Issue 9

is actually Mid-February. To be honest I am riding a bit of a high, as many of you may know my favorite football team the New England Patriots just won the Super Bowl. Yeah I know cue the Boos. But I point this out because in the celebration of the season the NFL Network put out a special on the Patriots as they have for all previous winners. Now something from this documentary stuck with me as I watched.

The Patriots entering the playoffs built their mindset around a Mantra that carried them through week to week. It was the same thing whether it was to play the Ravens, The Colts, and finally the Seahawks. It was something the team rallied around pushing each teammate to follow it, good or bad, the message was simple.

It was just 3 words, “Do Your Job.” That was all.

You made a bad play, ok suck it up and “Do Your Job.” You scored a touchdown ok, now do it again and “Do Your Job.” As coach Belichick put it, “If every man does their job then as a

team no one can beat you. If every does their job and gives their best you can’t lose.”

Now say what you will about deflating footballs, or trick plays, they won the Super Bowl. But this mantra didn’t come from the road to the Super Bowl. Rather it came after many of the Patriots travels with Coach Belichick to the U.S. Naval Academy where he gave that message to the Senior Class that will graduate this May and lead the best Fleet in the world. “Do Your Job”

Now think about that. IF we take this Mantra on a Knights of Columbus, and we do our jobs, how can we not win? IF we do our part taking care of families, our communities, our neighbors, our church, how can we not win? IF we do our part to stay focused and true to Fr. McGivney’s Dream, how can we not win? IF we show the world we can make a difference, how can we not win? IF a man sees the difference we make as Knights of Columbus realizing he can be a better man by standing with us, how can we not win?

My Brothers the choice is yours. The words Charity, Unity, and Fraternity are only words until they are given life in the actions of men. All I ask is stand with me and “Do Your Job!”

Vivat Jesus

First Ladies Message Kathleen Adamczyk

[email protected]

With the beginning of March and the spring forward of our clocks we may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of this long winter. I can only hope. My motto is "Keep calm and pretend you are at the beach". Speaking of the beach my ladies and I are preparing for a wonderful time for you at the beach, the Maryland State Convention that is. It should be a wonderful time. Please make sure you or your husband fills out your registration indicating if you are attending the Friday night Ladies activity. All registered Ladies over 18 are welcome to attend to be entertained and possibly win a door prize. We have been receiving some donations but more are welcome. If you plan on donating, or your auxiliary or council please send it in to Phyllis Giacalone. She is anxiously checking the mail daily for your generosity. Hope to see you down the ocean! Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. My Irish heritage is proud to celebrate this holiday!


State Program Report Jack Giacalone State Program Director

March is a month of transition and expectation as we look forward to March Madness, baseball spring training, the first day of spring on March 20, Maryland March for Life on March 9th, State basketball free throw competition on March 15 and not least of all, Founder’s Day on March 22th. The Founders Day reception and dinner following Mass, we will present our Community Service Recognition awards to the Law Enforcement

Officer, Firefighter, EMT, Catholic and CCD Teacher, Citizen and Family of the Year. Thanks to the many councils who submitted nominations. The nominees were all quite impressive and the final decisions were no easy task. Please make plans to attend and meet these outstanding individuals who serve our communities.

CHURCH

On Saturday March 14th, the Catholic Men's Fellowship of Md. will sponsor a one day Lenten Retreat "The New Evangelization as a

Way of Life" at Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore. Enjoy a prayerful, Spirit filled, life changing experience with dynamic faith filled speakers. Archbishop Lori will celebrate the closing Mass. Additional information is available www.catholicmensfellowship.com.

The Founder's Day Mass will be at 2 PM on March 22nd at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Baltimore. A reception and award presentation will be held in the church hall after the Mass. The cost per person is $20.00. Reservations for the reception are now being taken by Chairman Marvin Schuttloffel at email [email protected].

Maryland Knights in conjunction with brother

Knights from Virginia and Washington, D.C. have been serving as ushers at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. since the Order's centennial year, 1982. The usher ministry staffs all the National Shrine's Sunday, Holy Day, and pilgrimage Masses as well as concerts and other special events. The usher program is seeking brother Knights who can pledge three hours of service

a month to Our Lady's National Shrine. For more information please contact Chairman Patrick McAleer at [email protected] or 301-253-3856

CULTURE OF LIFE Plan to participate in the Maryland March for

Life, on March 9, in Annapolis, and again tell our legislators we want them to bring an end to the taking of innocent lives. Here’s the schedule:

4:30 Youth Rally with Kristan Hawkins, Students for Life

5:15 Catholic Mass (&Nondenominational Worship Service) 6:15 Assemble in St. Mary's parking lot for March 6:30 March through Annapolis (shuttle available for those unable to walk) 7:00 Rally at Lawyer's Mall (no signs with poles or sticks) 8:00 Chick-fil-A and fellowship back at St. Mary's Please register at www.marylandmarchforlife.org. Marshals are needed for the Maryland March for Life on March 9th! Volunteers to help direct traffic, collect donations, assist with

parking, etc., are needed from 3:30 till 8:30 PM. Anyone interested can contact Tom Hurd at [email protected] or (410) 263-0253.

COMMUNITY Our State Mobility Program offers gently used and new ambulatory aids and some hospital equipment to those in our communities and council that need them. This is a no cost, no time limit program. An inventory of available equipment is available on the state web site, select Program Activities, Community Programs then select State Mobility Program at the bottom. Anyone with equipment to donate or if you are

in need of equipment please contact Program Chairman Bernie Classon at 410-737-1629. Bernie will be happy to instruct you on how to process your request.

FAMILY Keep sending the Family of the Month in to

chairman Mike Clemens. Employment Assistance Chairman Joe Feakes has received many applications for employment but few from employers looking to hire. We will soon be posting to the State web site a summary of those looking for work. If you are looking to hire please take a moment to see if a Brother could fill that position. Thank you.

YOUTH State Basketball Free throw competition will be held on Saturday March 15 from 12:30 pm to 3pm at School if the Incarnation in Gambrills, Md. See the state web site for more information; select Program Activities then Youth Programs.

Volume 1, Issue 9

At the State Mid Term Meeting on January 3rd winners of the Helping Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (Tootsie Roll Program) and Christmas Card Program were recognized. The winners are: Intellectual Disabilities Program Division “D” – Total dollar amount collected 3rd - Fr. Sebastian De Rose Council #13091 – TDC $1,520 Grand Knight – Anthony Cruz

2nd - St. Francis Xavier, the Missionary Council #10957 - TDC $2,530 Grand Knight – Thomas A. Koviak Jr.

1st - Oakland Council # 1771 – TDC $2,615 Grand Knight – Michael Sanders

Division “D” – Average $ amount collected per member 3rd - Our Lady of the Angels Council #13069 – A$CPM $23.97 Grand Knight - Christopher Mamunes

2nd - St. Francis Xavier, the Missionary Council #10957 – A$CPM $36.67 Grand Knight – Thomas A. Koviak Jr.

1st - Oakland Council # 1771 –A$CPM $38.46 Grand Knight – Michael Sanders

Division “C” – Total dollar amount collected

3rd – St John the Evangelist Council #11171 – TDC $4,504.18 Grand Knight – Jeffrey Koschio

2nd - Resurrection Council #11341 – TDC $5,179.19 Grand Knight – Patrick Brim

1st – South County Council #8251 – TDC $12,005 Grand Knight – Richard Phillips

Division “C” – Average $ amount collected per member

3rd – Resurrection Council #11341 – A$CPM $37.26 Grand Knight – Patrick Brim

2nd – St John the Evangelist Council #11171 – A$CPM $59.27 Grand Knight – Jeffrey Koschio

1st – South County #8251 – A$CPM $101.74 Grand Knight – Richard Phillips

Division “B” – Total dollar amount collected

3rd – Fr Horace B. McKenna Council #11024 – TDC $4,703.14 Grand Knight – Bob Bokma

2nd - St John Francis Regis SJ Council #7914 - TDC $5,502.75 Grand Knight – Craig Judd

1st - Fr Michael J McGivney Council #7025 – TDC $6,500 Grand Knight – Michael Brug

Division “B” – Average $ amount collected per member

3rd – Immaculate Heart of Mary Council #9968 – A$CPM 24.45 Grand Knight – Anthony Spadarella

2nd - St John Francis Regis SJ Council #7914 – ACPM $25.01 Grand Knight – Craig Judd

1st - Fr Michael McGivney Council #7025 – ACPM $35.52 Grand Knight – Michael Brug

Division “A” – Total dollar amount collected

3rd – Westminster Council #1393 – TDC $4,525 Grand Knight – William Adams

2nd – Bel Air Council #4714 – TDC $6,361.74 Grand Knight – Stephen Conley

1st - Cardinal Gibbons Council #2521 – TDC $10,302.09 Grand Knight – Jerry Bannister

Division “A” – Average $ amount collected per member

3rd - Cardinal Gibbons Council #2521 – A$CPM $12.55 Grand Knight – Jerry Bannister

2nd - Westminster Council #1393 – A$CPM $13.80 Grand Knight – William Adams

1st - Bel Air Council #4714 – A$CPM $21 Grand Knight – Stephen Conley

Christmas Card Program.

3rd – Regina Coeli Council #2274 – 178 item sold Grand Knight –Michael Andrew

2nd – St Michael’s of Poplar Springs Council #10525 – 180 items sold Grand Knight – Dale Solarz

1st - Ocean City Council #9053 – 183 items sold Grand Knight – Bruce Coons

Congratulations to all of our winners!

lead a more productive life. There are organizations that specialized in assisting those veterans who have lost limbs, sight or hearing and again providing the necessary prescription to get them back into a productive civilian life. Needless to say all these organizations cannot do it alone. They need our help. As an example, let’s begin helping them from the moment they step off the plane as they return to the states. All military and DOD return to the states through BWI and then catch connecting flights to their home towns. The Welcome Home program gives each returning hero a goodie bag with snacks, candy bottle of water and cards from school age children thanking them for being a hero. We are letting them know as soon as they come home that we appreciate what they have had to do to keep us safe and free. Have your assembly do this one time and you will be surprise at how good you feel and how happy these returning military are seeing you. I am asking… no…. I am begging on behalf of these hero’s, that every assembly pick a program and support it for a full fraternal year. Faithful Captains should start researching programs that may be close to your

assembly or have a connection to a member or members of your assembly. The first of April should be your target date to announce to your assembly and implement your program of choice. We, as the patriotic order of our honored order, cannot do anything without your help. Attend your assembly meeting each month. I know, it’s hard to go out a second night for another knights meeting. Think about it this way, go to your council meeting and help shape the church and community you live and work in. Go to your assembly meeting and help your great country. We need men to bring their ideas, enthusiasm and talents to the assembly meetings so that together we can make a difference Please remember the three words I have been sharing with our order since November, Remember, Honor and Teach. Remember every soldier who has died for our freedom, honor everyone still in harm’s way protecting OUR freedom and teach the generations to follow who don’t have a clue what our freedom costs. Remember…Honor…. And Teach! With your help…….We can make a difference!!!

God Bless America! For everyone who is not or did not attend the exemplification of the Fourth Degree in Frederick Maryland, I want to share an alarming static with you. Did you know that every thirty minutes a veteran commits suicide? The alarming numbers come from the Department of Veteran Affairs. There are plenty of programs for our veterans and Congress is working to pass the Clay Hunt suicide law, which will open doorways and funds to get our veterans the support and help they need. Is that enough? Absolutely not! How many of these heroes could still be alive if the indebted people of this great nation stepped in and offered their help? We, as the patriotic principle of this honored order, need to do more to help. While most of us cannot go shoulder to shoulder with MK-17 in hand and fight with our brothers, we can support those who did and are back in this country, now needing us. There are plenty of programs in place that we can all support. Organizations such as “Make the Connection” or “Soldiers Best Friend” among others are dedicated to helping our war heroes improve in their symptoms of PTSD, adjust back into civilian life and

Knights of Columbus 4th Degree Thomas Greul PGK PFN FDD

Master, Maryland District

DO YOU SHOP ON AMAZON.COM?

The Maryland State council charity fund is registered with the AmazonSmile program. If you shop on Amazon.com, we encourage you to sign up for the AmazonSmile program and designate the Maryland State Council Charity fund as your charity. 0.5% of money spent on Amazon will be donated to the Charity Fund. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will

donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. On your first visit to AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), you need to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. We will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation. You can use your existing Amazon.com account on Amazon Smile. I encourage all of you to use this program and consider selecting the Maryland State Council Charity Fund as your

charity. By now all members of the Knights in Maryland should have received a donation envelope for the State Council Charity Fund. If you have not and wish to make a donation, check with your council. Information on the charity fund is available on the State Council Web site. Donations can be mailed to myself at the below address. Fraternally, Jim Seidleck Charity Fund Co-Director


2015 CONVENTION HOTEL RESERVATIONS

YOU CAN BOOK HOTEL RESERVATIONS FOR THE 2015 MARYLAND STATE

CONVENTION ONE OF TWO WAYS

You may call the Princess Royal Hotel Reservations at 1-800-4-ROYALE

You may also go online to their new reservations system:

https://book.b4checkin.com/princessroyale/groups.asp

Group ID – 3854

OR

YOU CAN CALL THE PRINCESS BAYSIDE LOCATED ON 48TH

STREET AT 410-723-2900

THEY HAVE ROOMS AVAILABLE AND WILL GURANTEE THE

KNIGHT’S OF COLUMBUS CONVENTION ROOM RATE

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AT THE OCEAN

Volume 1, Issue 9

Volume 1, Issue 9


Knights of Columbus

OCEAN CITY GOLF CLUB

11401 Country Club Dr.

Berlin Maryland Thursday, April 30, 2015 Four Man - Best Ball 12:30 PM Shotgun Start $80.00 per person includes: Green Fees, Cart, Hot Lunch, Prizes & Beverages on Course Any questions call Paul Weber 410-879-0558 or email [email protected]

Foursomes are limited! Reservation and

payment must be made no later than April 15th.

Send check payable to: Maryland State Council Convention Fund

Mail to: Paul Weber 2223 Larchmont Drive Fallston Md. 21047

___________________________________________________________

(please print) Name Council Telephone # or email

Team Captain _____________________________ ________ ___________ __________@_____

Player #2 _______________________________ ________ ___________ _________ @_____

Player #3 ________________________________ ________ ___________ __________ @_____

Player #4 _________________________________ ________ ___________ __________ @_____


REPORTS FROM COUNCILS, CHAPTERS ASSEMBLIES AND COLUMBIAN SQUIRES CIRCLES

Polar Bear Plunge

The annual Polar Bear Plunge hosted by all Maryland State Police to benefit Special Olympics Maryland took place at Sandy Point Beach in Annapolis on January 24, 2015. The Maryland State Knights of Columbus were asked to take responsibility for cooking, wrapping and serving hotdogs, chips and soft drinks for the Plungers, Volunteers and Police Officers as well as manning the parking lots. Planning for taking on the responsibility for the food distribution began December 10, 2014 with a conference call involving SOMD Chief Program Officer, SOMD Corporate and Community Coordinator and SOMD Volunteer Coordinator and the KofC/SOMD Chairman. A committee of Knights was formed (John Durbin, Jose Baca, Dave Wilson Sr., Rich Boehm and Jim Seidleck) to meet at SOMD Headquarters on January 12, 2015 to go over the tasks involved. The weekend of the Plunge (5) of us met at Sandy Point on Friday to set up the cookers, food and drinks for the big event on Saturday. Saturday morning we were blessed with (25) Knights and Ladies volunteering to serve food as well as other Knights taking care of the parking lots. Among our volunteers were our State Deputy and First Lady, Steve and Kathleen Adamczyk, our State Advocate, Vince Grauso and his daughter Kirsten and our Program Director Jack Giacalone and his wife Phyllis. The other hardworking Knights and Ladies came primarily from Calvert Council to work the food tent. There were other councils represented and working primarily in the parking areas. I apologize for not naming everyone but I would be at risk of missing someone. We were well represented and accomplished the tasks assigned to us in an outstanding manner. Thank you everyone.

Cooking

Serving

Wrapping

And more wrapping

Polar Bear & Poppa Bear

Volume 1, Issue 9

REFLECTIONS Lawrence P. Grayson

A Foretaste of the Future

Lent has begun and the raucous Mardi Gras carnivals for 2015 are over. These annual rites are celebrated in many countries and in dozens of cities across America. The New Orleans bacchanal, which is this nation’s largest and oldest, has been described on one website aimed at the college crowd as “the annual festival of drunken debauchery and excessively good times.”

This festivity epitomizes the hedonistic self-centeredness that permeates much of Western society. The focus is totally on me – my pleasure, my career, my advancement, my future. The attitude is carried into organizations, as major companies have begun paying valued female employees to delay childbearing in order to concentrate on their careers. Children are an impediment to corporate success.

The results – a dearth of children and demographic decline – are being experienced widely among economically-advanced.

The fertility rate in Japan, for example, is 1.4 children per couple, well below the 2.1 needed to keep the population from shrinking. By 2060, that nation’s population is projected to fall by 30 percent; for every 10 people 4 will be 65 or older while less than 1will be 14 or under.

What is happening in Japan is occurring in many other countries that are struggling with below-replacement fertility rates. Italy’s health minister recently said her nation is dying because its people do not want children. With a fertility rate of 1.4 and 40 percent of Italian couples choosing not to have children, the country as it presently exists is doomed.

Taiwan's president recently warned that his country's lack of children is a serious national security threat. In 1951, the average Taiwanese woman had seven children; today, the fertility rate is 1.1. In Britain, the fertility rate is 1.9; in Russia 1.6; in Spain 1.5; and in Germany1.4.

America is on a similar track. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in December 2014, reported that the number of births in the United States in 2013 declined 9 percent from 2007 – the last time it was at the replacement level – depressing the fertility rate to 1.86. This is lower than during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and the lowest it has been since the late 1970s when there was high unemployment, inflation, long-lines at the gas-pump and, as President Carter described it, a national loss of “confidence in the future” characterized by “paralysis and stagnation and drift.”

The low fertility rates have enormous implications for every sector of a nation’s society – the economy, social stability, health care, pensions, defense, and foreign relations, among others – regardless of the country’s political system or views. Big government, social security, national health care and other entitlement programs are not sustainable if there are not enough future taxpayers being born to fund them. The free market and the creation of new companies and industries cannot continue if labor shortages are due to a population profile that is radically skewed toward the aged. Abortion, contraception, delayed child bearing, high rates of divorce and a laxity towards marriage are depriving many nations of their next generations. How and in what form will these

countries survive?

Giving birth implies an optimistic view of the future. In his general audience on February 11, Pope Francis stated that “Children are a gift.” He asked people to “think of the many societies we know here in Europe. They are depressed societies because they don’t want children, they don’t have children.” He further said, "A society that is not surrounded by children because it considers them a problem has no future.”

The Pope blamed a "culture of well-being" for convincing married couples that a life of prosperity and indulgence, marked by travel, vacations and summer homes, is better than having children. But the lives of these couples “will end in old age in solitude, with the bitterness of bad solitude." An increasingly infertile present can quickly become a barren future. A nation without children will eventually lead to the decline of the nation.

Catholic women in America have typically borne more children than the general population. This has been attributed to Church doctrine prohibiting birth control, the family culture of immigrant populations, a strong sense of religious identity and solidarity, and the prominent place of churches and Catholic schools in Catholic communities. Starting in the late1960s, with dissent over Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae and confusion over the teachings of Vatican II, there has been a lessening of adherence to Catholic doctrine, an increase in people leaving the faith, and for many who remain less faithfulness in its practice. Today, Catholics are barely distinguishable from other religious groups in their attitudes toward contraception, abortion, marriage, religious attendance, and other moral-social indicators.

Since 1970, in spite of a 50 percent increase in the number of people who identify themselves as Catholics, there have been huge decreases in the number of children attending Catholic elementary and secondary schools, in enrollments in parish religious education programs, in Baptisms, First Communions and Catholic marriages. Further, less than half of the alleged Catholics presently attend Mass even once a month.

While secularism and individualism are fueling demographic decline, a reinvigorated faith in God is the antidote. Faith helps us realize that our lives have a purpose greater than the materialism of this temporary world, and that there is a loving, merciful but just God who will judge our actions here on earth. This prompts us to be more faithful to our religion, to our responsibilities, to our families and neighbors, and more open to life.

Let us use this Lenten period to dwell on the sacrifices Our Lord made for us, rejoice in His Easter Resurrection, and begin the rejuvenation of our Faith.


KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

STATE BULLETIN Official Publication of the


Published Monthly

10815 Stang Road

Owings Mills, MD 21117-4607

State Deputy …………Stephen J. Adamczyk

[email protected] (301) 428-3379

State Secretary ………….Stephen M. Cohen


State Treasurer ……………..Dale W. Trott


State Advocate ……………Vince Grauso


State Warden …………Christopher L. Powers


Executive Secretary …………..Romeo Gauthier


STATE BULLETIN

Editor ………………….Thomas Stevenson SR.

3419 Northwind Rd

Parkville, MD 21234

[email protected]

(410) 256-8862

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March 2015

March 2015

Mar 7 Maryland District 4th Degree Exemplification

Mar 9 Maryland March for Life

Mar 14 State Spring Meeting – Westminster, MD

Mar 15 State Basketball Shootout

Mar 21 AWD Priest’s Exemplification

Mar 22 State Founder’s Day Mass – Our Lady Queen of Peace

Volume 1, Issue 9

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state deputy’s report · 3/6/2015 · chaplain’s message 2 first ladies message 3 membership 3...

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