1 4 5 3 Knight Life APRIL - MAY 2020 110 years of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism to our community! Volume 92 Knights of Columbus Council 1453 WINDSOR ONTARIO Number 5 c/o 1520 Chandler Road, Windsor ON N8Y 4P7 Grand Knight’s Column: GK Michael Harrigan Brothers: Unfortunately, due to the current health situation our meetings have been cancelled until further notice. All necessary business will be conducted by email or phone. Watch our Website http://uknight.org/CouncilSite/?CNO=1453 for further information. Brother Ray does a great job keeping it up to date. It is that time of year when we gather to elect an executive for the new Fraternal Year. Once we resume meet- ings, we will have to elect a new executive for the 2020-2021. Most of the current executive has been on the executive for as long as I can remember. It would be nice if any of them would like to step down that they could do so with confidence that some one would step forward to assume their duties. Being on the executive is not that onerous. There are two meetings a month, both on the third Wednesday of the year. It would be refreshing to have new blood and new ideas come forward. Therefore, I encourage every mem- ber to seriously consider stepping forward and taking a more active role within the council. Over the past few years, there has only been one member not on the executive show up at the elections. Please even if you are not interested on running please still come out to the meeting and show support for those who are elected. As always, we gather after the meeting for a social get together. In closing allow me to extend to each and everyone my wishes for a Joyous, Happy and Holy Easter. May the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ be a source lf great hope for us all. May God bless everyone in these trying times and keep you all well. Yours in Charity Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism Michael Harrigan GK The question is not, “is Jesus talking to me?” but the question is “Am I listening.” Matthew Kelly (From Best Lent Ever 2020) “Live your life in a way so that the minister won’t have to lie at your funeral.” Anonymous The Executive Officers of Council 1453, and of KADEC Building Corp. wish all of our members, their families and loved ones a Very Holy and Sacred Happy Easter. May the Peace and Joy of the Risen Christ be with all of us.
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3 Knight Life
APRIL - MAY 2020
110 years of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism to our community!
Volume 92 Knights of Columbus Council 1453 WINDSOR ONTARIO Number 5
c/o 1520 Chandler Road, Windsor ON N8Y 4P7
Grand Knight’s Column: GK Michael Harrigan
Brothers:
Unfortunately, due to the current health situation our meetings have been cancelled until further notice. All necessary business will be conducted by email or phone.
Watch our Website http://uknight.org/CouncilSite/?CNO=1453 for further information. Brother Ray does a great job keeping it up to date.
It is that time of year when we gather to elect an executive for the new Fraternal Year. Once we resume meet-ings, we will have to elect a new executive for the 2020-2021.
Most of the current executive has been on the executive for as long as I can remember. It would be nice if any of them would like to step down that they could do so with confidence that some one would step forward to assume their duties.
Being on the executive is not that onerous. There are two meetings a month, both on the third Wednesday of the year. It would be refreshing to have new blood and new ideas come forward. Therefore, I encourage every mem-ber to seriously consider stepping forward and taking a more active role within the council.
Over the past few years, there has only been one member not on the executive show up at the elections. Please even if you are not interested on running please still come out to the meeting and show support for those who are elected. As always, we gather after the meeting for a social get together.
In closing allow me to extend to each and everyone my wishes for a Joyous, Happy and Holy Easter. May the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ be a source lf great hope for us all.
May God bless everyone in these trying times and keep you all well.
Yours in Charity Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism
Michael Harrigan GK
The question is not, “is Jesus talking to me?” but the question is “Am I listening.”
Matthew Kelly (From Best Lent Ever 2020)
“Live your life in a way so that the minister won’t have to lie at your funeral.” Anonymous
The Executive Officers of Council 1453, and of KADEC Building Corp. wish
all of our members, their families and loved ones a Very Holy and Sacred
Happy Easter. May the Peace and Joy of the Risen Christ be with all of us.
You can receive Knight Life in full col-our via e-mail and save the Council the cost of postage. It’s easy, let the editor know or email me at [email protected] or [email protected]. You would also receive it sooner and on your pc. Or phone me at (519) 253-5465.
From the Chancellor: Chancellor Robert Burns PGK
Greetings Brothers:
This has been an eventful Spring. Everything we planned or were planning has collapses, fallen prey to the newest plague. Mothers Day Rose Sunday, meetings, nominations, elections, ,Fish dinners, all washed out.
I wanted to introduce some new family centred KofC initiatives, but they can wait out the virus.
The Order is very high on family, and rightly so. If it were not for our families, our Council would not exist. Our Council was built on families, even now several remain members.
If we intend to rebuild our Council, the family unit would be a good starting point. I want to place before our Council a few family and parish centred options to think about to increase our profile in he community. In order to build up membership and even to revive our inactive membership, we need to have something that will interest and excite them. Supreme has new ideas I hope we can use some. Let us start the new fiscal year with a fresh idea.
A Happy ,Holy, Blessed and healthy Easter to ALL.
Be safe, God Bless all, Vivat Jesus
Bob Burns, Chancellor
Brothers:
This being our Easter publication, I want to wish all our members and all their families a Happy and Blessed Easter. Lent is almost over, spring is around the corner, everything is fresh.
Covid 19 is ruining our plans and scheduled events. Our Good Friday Fish dinner, meetings, even Masses,, can-celled.
Maybe soon we will be back to normal. I pray that we all remain safe, secure and well. Have a pleasant Spring
DGK Bert pgk
REMEMBER OUR DECEASED FAMILY
We have lost no family or friends since the last KL, that I am aware of, but let us pray for those that did.
Our prayers and sympathy to their families. Rest in Peace with God.
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INVITE SOMEONE TO JOIN US NOW !
Worthy Brothers, This month I'm sharing a message from Tom McCaffrey, VP Fraternal Mission Excellence Thank you for your significant contributions to the Church and our Order in these challenging times. You play a critical role in shepherding our councils through very important initiatives that will motivate more men to join us and live their faith in actions. Our new ceremonial and the Into the Breach video series, described below, are ex-tremely valuable tools to help you succeed in making your councils the very best they can be. Please take the time to personally familiarize yourselves with these powerful materials and then promote them within your councils. Into the Breach The Knights of Columbus has produced a 12-episode video series inspired by the Apostolic Exhor-tation, Into the Breach written by Bishop Olmsted of Phoenix. Each episode features a man’s personal story and ma-jor Catholic figures such as Dr. Scott Hahn, Father Mike Schmitz, former NFL player Matt Birk, FOCUS founder Curtis Martin and others who break down and explore the virtues of Catholic masculinity. All episodes will premi-ere on Ash Wednesday at kofc.org/intothebreach. Growth Three Tips to Engage Prospects at Council Events Encourage councils to have a welcoming presence at all events. Council members should be willing to invite parishioners who are not yet Knights to join their council. Be-low are three simple tips to make invitations at council functions more successful. 1). Develop a Plan. Membership directors should develop a plan for each council function. They should identify specific members to serve as council ambassadors at each event. Plans should be based on the type of activity. For example, at an event with food, it might be good to have KofC branded placemats, whereas at other events, you may wish to hand out the “Why Join” brochure, a KofC branded prayer card (available through Supplies Online) or CIS booklet. 2). Utilize the Online Prospect Form. Council ambassadors should keep their message simple when approaching prospects. Rather than focus on 15-minute conversations about the Knights or getting a man to complete a Form 100, he should ask for an email and enter him into the Online Prospect Form. If a man is ready to join at the event, have him sign up online (kofc.org/joinus). 3). Follow Up in a Timely Manner. A council should follow up with any interested men within 24-48 hours of an event. This follow up should include a thank you for their interest, along with an invitation to any upcoming council events. Finally, the message should mention the next steps for joining the council, including the date and time of a council’s next ceremonial. Faith in Action Work with your councils to finalize their plans for the Columbian Award (Form #SP-7). A well-balanced program calendar gets more members involved and allows your council’s Faith in Action to have a greater impact in your parish and community. For more information, visit kofc.org/faithinaction. We are in lent and lent we should give something up to bring us closer to our Lord and Saviour. It's not the time for the great slim down. I encourage you all to take an extra 5 to 10 minutes a day for some silent reflection during lent on how you can be a better Catholic Gentleman and Brother Knight. I myself will be making this extra effort. As always myself and your District Warden Bro Ray are here to help you. Fraternally yours Jesmond Tabone PGK District Deputy 39
District Report: DD Jesmond P. Tabone DD # 39
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Life Matters…
Andrew J. Despins, Knights of Columbus Insurance
March brings thoughts of spring. Daylight Savings Time means a little more sunlight into the evenings as the days become longer. The thaw after winter. For some it is welcome relief after months of frigid temperatures, howling winds and snow.
Spring also brings thoughts of spring cleaning. After being cooped up all winter, it’s traditional in many house-holds to do that deep cleaning all throughout the house. That means washing down walls and moving furniture to clean behind pieces that haven’t seen the light of day since last year’s cleaning. It means taking down and washing drapes and curtains; windows are washed inside and out. This is a time when the whole family is ex-pected to pitch in and your “Honey Do” list gets longer and longer. Spring is a time of renewal and revival.
While you’re getting rid of all the old cobwebs of winter and freshening the house, now is a great time to do some sprucing up with a fresh look at your family’s financial security.
As your Knights of Columbus Field Agent I’ve been trained to help you through that important exercise. Sit down with me for a free financial needs analysis using our Profiles+ Forecaster platform. I’ll take the time to gather in-formation from you, ask about your wants, needs and desires, and put together any recommendations to help you meet those needs.
With a wide range of products; life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance and retire-ment annuities, I can help you plan for your family’s financial security now and for many years to come. All with the safety and security of dealing with a company that shares your faith and beliefs and invests in accordance with Church teaching. Be sure to ask about the new life insurance product, the Protector NLG Universal Life. It may be a fit for your particular needs.
Get ready for spring, get your home freshened up and make sure your financial house is spruced up. It’s an easy and friendly visit from me, a brother Knight.
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CELEBRATIONS
April Birthdays April Anniversaries
May Birthdays May Anniversaries
Good of the Order Winners
Good of the order Due to lack of a quorum, none was held .February or March.
Remembering Our Ill and recovering Brothers
Please pray for PGK Bob Bezaire, Guard Bill Major, Bro. Ron Tousignant and Bro. Ro-land Turpin and Lady Lillian Valvasori and any members or family suffering but not in-cluded here. Please let me know if you or a family member is ill, thanks.
James Zacher Ray Dupuis Jean Paul Rivard Mark Meyers Gerry Soulliere Roy Renaud (PGK)Gordon Smith
Kenneth & Judy Blain Tom & Kathy Soulliere Richard & Patricia Heritz
Jose Jacob Ronald Sturba Nicholas Angell Arnold Bessette Nicholas Krayacich Paul Pardy Bob Parent Marilyn Major Richard Heritz Richard Janisse
Lohnie & Lorraine Williams Joseph Haggith & Sandy Rak Ray & Linda Dupuis Michael & Gail Harrigan
From the desk of the Financial Secretary
Dues for 2020 are now past due. Second notices
were sent out last month and some members paid
their dues. For those who have not we ask that you
please pay your dues promptly to avoid suspension.
If there are financial reasons why you cannot pay
your dues please contact the financial secretary to
Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated on the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Sunday, is a relatively new addition to the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. Celebrating the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ, as re-vealed by Christ Himself to St. Maria Faustina Kow-alska, this feast was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the day that he canonized Saint Faustina.
ELECTION COMMITTEE / 2020 At our General Meeting hopefully in May we will hold our annual election of coun-cil officers.
Listed below are the current officers:
Grand Knight – Michael Harrigan
Deputy Grand Knight – Albert Decaire, PGK
Chancellor – Robert Burns PGK
Warden – Rick Littlejohns
Treasurer – Larry Trembley
Recorder – Roy Renaud PGK
Advocate – Rene Trudell PGK
Guards (2 to elected) -- Bill Major and James Zacher
Trustee (1 to be elected for a 3 year term) J.P. Rivard
– NOMINATIONS FROM THE FLOOR AT OUR NEXT MEETING
Any other Brother Knights wishing to seek election may be nominated from the floor at the next meeting.
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Supreme Knight Anderson’s eulogy for Virgil Dechant 2/22/2020
Eulogy for Past Supreme Knight, Virgil C. Dechant Delivered by Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson
Church of the Nativity Leewood, Kansas
The best tribute to Virgil Dechant can be found in the 25th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel: “Well done good and faithful servant.”
That is how I will always remember Virgil.
A good and faithful Catholic man, husband and father who touched the lives of millions, a man who by hard work and example helped show millions more the light of faith.
Many of us have known great men over the years. But Virgil stands out: he brought together the ability and vision to lead with a concern for those utterly forgotten.
For Virgil, loving God and neighbor were not abstractions. They were a rule of life that he lived concretely every day.
It is hard to encapsulate nine decades of life in just a few minutes. It’s even harder when those nine decades were lived by Virgil Dechant.
What he accomplished was a testament to a life lived faithfully—to a great return on the talents God gave him, and to what we mean when we say “faith in action.”
I would like to focus on just a few aspects of his legacy.
Virgil did many things for the Order—growing its membership and business, and making it a key partner in major Vatican restoration projects.
But for the Order, I think his most enduring – and endearing – legacy was his success—not as a businessman—but as a Catholic man who intuitively understood what was necessary to sustain this great brotherhood of Catholic men that is the Knights of Columbus.
The first was his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary—prayerfully bringing her image to millions through our pilgrim Icon program, introducing her Rosary into the ceremonials of the Order, and giving every new member a Knights of Columbus rosary.
“Mary with her knights… what challenge can we not face?” These words inspired a generation of knights—especially those committed to defending the sanctity of human life before birth.
The second is Virgil always remembered his studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum and his time there marked him with a special rever-ence and respect for the priesthood—there was no more heartfelt expression of his leadership as a layman in our Church and devotion to its sacraments than the phrase, “In solidarity with our priests.”
And third was a change which today is taken for granted but at the time was quite revolutionary: his work to shift the Knights of Columbus from a too inward looking men’s organization to one focused increasingly on strengthening Catholic marriages and family life. He was very proud of the changes he made to include our wives in so many Knights of Columbus activities.
Virgil understood a profound truth: no knight, whether in medieval times or in our own, can be all that he can be without his fair lady by his side.
So often when I have been asked about women joining the Knights of Columbus, I wanted to say, “Would you please just look at Virgil and Ann—how they are together? Do you not see that asking Ann to become a member would actually be a step back?”
That was the example that Virgil and Ann set and together they changed the course of the Knights of Columbus.
For Virgil, like Father McGivney before him, it was all about family. He cared deeply for his own family, for the family of the Knights of Colum-bus, for the Catholic family, and for the human family.
There are so many corporate accomplishments of which Virgil was rightly proud: professionalizing our agency force, putting our insurance products on a sound actuarial basis, modernizing our investments and securing a superior level of financial strength for the Knights of Co-lumbus.
But on this day, at this hour, in this place we apply a different measure: one not bound by time or space.
We apply the measure of St. Paul.
Did he fight the good fight?
Did he keep the faith?
In Virgil we saw a man with courage to defend those with no protector; a man with compassion for the poor and suffering—and a man who was true to those to whom he had pledged faithfulness or who were entrusted to his care.
In these ways and in many others, Virgil raised a standard to which every Catholic man could aspire—a standard that today shines brightly—and one that will continue to shine for many years to come.
Today, we pray that Virgil will be one of those of which the Prophet Daniel spoke. We pray that he will shine “like the stars for ever and ev-er” (Dan. 12:3).
Virgil is now at rest in the Kansas he loved so well.
But may we be forgiven if for a moment we think of Virgil as already enjoying a homecoming—being welcomed by friends who have gone before him such as Count Enrico Galeazzi, Cardinal John O’Connor, Mother Teresa, John Paul II and by millions of others who he never knew in his lifetime, but whose lives were changed for the better because of him.
O Lord, grant Virgil—who did so much for so many—eternal rest in you.
