FAITH – YEAR-END REVIEW MAY 2021

Dear Brother Knights and Family Members:

God Made me to know, to love Him and to serve Him in this life and to be happy with Him in forever the next.  This fundamental truth was laid out in the very first section of the Baltimore Catechism that I was taught in my first Sunday School class.  I initially saw this as but another “rule” that I needed to follow because that’s what good Catholics do.  “Follow the commandments, do what God wants, because God is in charge.”  This is a good starting place, but it is just the first step in the development of a much deeper faith that God calls us to embrace.

Through a growing and faithful union with the Almighty, we learn the interconnectedness of faith, hope, love and forgiveness.  This reality remains at the core of who we are as persons, as Catholics and as members of the Knights of Columbus family.

I recall the words of former Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, “..membership in the Knights of Columbus is not primarily an invitation to do something.  It is an invitation to be someone.”  We are people of faith.  Living and sharing that faith is at the core of who we are.

It has been my joy to see this faith grow and manifest itself through our great order here in the state of Maine this past year.  All of us in some ways have been hidden away because of COVID-19, but knights and their families have demonstrated new ways to keep their light of faith illuminated and to let it shine for the world to see.

Mass attendance was limited; Knights checked in parishioners and sanitized pews.  Masses went virtual; Knights provided technical assistance.  Outside the box thinking included live drive-in Masses, with congregants in the church lot seeing the sacrifice of the Mass unfold on the church balcony while hearing the sound on their car radios.  Knights helped organize drive-through confessions.  One council worked within all COVID restrictions and still managed to pull off a major fundraising event for vocations.  Another council established a creative outdoor nativity display which beautifully communicated our faith for the community at large.  Knights welcomed new members with combined live and virtual exemplifications.  Prayer services were organized virtually when it was not possible to meet physically to offer petitions.  Council meetings were held both live and virtually, so our important work could continue.

It was not easy and sometimes it did not work out as well as planned.  But we Knights of Columbus persevered.  We are living up to our pledge:  Leave No Neighbor Behind.

I am enormously proud of how members of our organization have lived our faith and communicated it to others during this difficult year.  I thank the state deputy for allowing me the privilege of serving as your faith program director and thus to understand more fully how membership in the Knights of Columbus helps us fulfill our lives as children of God.  I salute every member of our order for stepping up in a particularly difficult time as we continue our journey of faith together.

Vivat Jesus!

Spike Brimmer
Faith Program Director
spike@brimmer.info
207-478-9620

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