Today I was invited to join the Knights of Columbus. I refrained. What made me refrain, to be frank, was a concern that the group may have elements in their ritual that may not be fully Christian. I would need to explore more in order to make an informed decision.
What the invitation from the K of C does elicit in me, however, is a sober recognition that Catholicism is moving in new directions.
Gone are the days when the mass was in Latin, although Pope Benedict XVI did recently allow for the Latin mass to be spoken in each diocese.
Gone also are the days when the priesthood was nearly synonymous with Catholic leadership as now in 2007 lay groups such as the Knights of Columbus, the Coming Home Network (of which I am a member) and Opus Dei are all good representations.
To be Catholic means many things. First, to be Catholic means to be fully committed to the central beliefs of the "deposit of faith," such as belief in Jesus Christ's actual physical death on a cross, actual ascent into heaven, bodily Resurrection, the filling of the Holy Spirit in each Christian, the Nicene creed, the teaching authority of the Magisterium, and of course viewing the bishop at Rome as the head of the Church as he is the direct descendant from Peter. Second, to be Catholic means to believe in transubstantiation, that is the actual mysterious yet real transformation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Third, to be Catholic is to believe in the intercessory prayers of the saints, veneration of their relics, and prayers for the lost souls in purgatory.
Sadly, and one of my life's greatest frustrations is that most "nominal" Catholics, perhaps even a statistical majority of Catholics world-wide simply do not believe in these essentials of the Catholic Faith listed above. Perhaps a majority of world-wide Catholics do believe these essentials, but in the United States of America, if one were to actually openly discuss praying to saints, and praying for one's friends who might be in purgatory, sadly most "Catholic" Americans I know would likely refer you to a mental health specialist! For American Catholicism, outside of pockets of Catholic Orthodoxy, Freud, the man who labelled ALL religion as 'delusional' is the final arbiter of truth above Scripture, the Magisterium or even basic Catholic teaching. I often pray to various saints for their intercession (e.g. St. Francis, St. Anthony de Padua, St. Padre Pio, et al). I also have prayed to Jesus Christ for the quick release of many souls in purgatory.
I guess if you allow "Freudian modern psychology" to trump one's Catholic belief then such acts would be called 'delusional . . .'
So, the choice for the United States of America will be does one label faithful Catholics as 'delusional' (e.g. I have a Catholic friend who also prays regularly for saintly intercession from the likes of St. Therese of Lisieux http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=105) OR does one show respect for someone's religious beliefs, especially as they are Constitutionally protected in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion?
As for me and my house, to quote Joshua, the successor of Moses, we will serve the LORD.
Love in Jesus Christ,
Rob J. King, Catholic for American religious Constitutional Freedoms
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8 comments:
Don't worry about the Knights of Columbus, they are as Catholic as can get.
Frank Rega www.frankrega.com
Frank,
Thank you. I might just join, but not until the Coming Home Network due to my needing to begin attending daily mass which I was going to delay until after the Conference (according to the Holy Spirit's direction . . . of course, always needing counsel, although I am a charismatic).
Thank you again. Love in Jesus, Rob King
Frank,
I did a google search and it confirmed my fear that Knights of Columbus may be congenial to masonry, a position anti-thetical to Christianity http://www.masonicinfo.com/KofC.htm
You are a prolific author and under the patronage of St. Padre Pio, any insights?
Love in Jesus Christ,
Rob
Rob
Do not swear vows and be promised to anyone other than the Lord Jesus THE Christ. One true mediator for us to God. You cannot serve two masters - My thoughts on the Knights of Columbus
We have had these discussions before and biblical precedent for, veneration of saints, Prayer to saints, purgatory, and direct apostolic ascendancy of the bishop of Rome are most questionable parts of Catholicism, in my thoughts, and most of the protestant churches.
Yes the communion of all saints I agree with, but necromancy I don't. I clearly draw the line differently from you. In revelations the dead in Christ are worshipping under the throne along with all heaven night and day as lead by the Spirit of God, those who have gone before us are praying like we but for them there is no dim mirror, they get to worship God face to face, we will all join them or be thrown in the fire, because Jesus recognises us not because saint whatever whisper in Jesus ear. Pray for the dead as you would those alive, but pray to the dead, for me crosses the line.
Transubstantiation - so in John 6 when Jesus says this is my body while handing out bread was it really? Did it become a different character? When Jesus says I am the vine we are the branches I don't expect anyone else thought that either you or I have leaves growing out our heads. Symbolic language perhaps? Its a particularly Greek thought the separation between substance and its nature and the nature transforming while substance is unchanged. I don't think that has deep roots in the Judeo heritage of Christ, I'm not the scholar, but I go with a Hellenistic- thus Roman understanding foreign to early first century Palestine.
I await a scholastic lashing
Yours in Jesus The Christ
Nick
Nick,
Veneration of the saints is not necromancy. I can see where that could happen though! In fact, whether in Africa or in the Caribbean Islands, a form of voodoo does in fact infect Orthodox Catholicism.
What I mean by the Veneration of the saints is just to acknowledge that like Hebrews 12:1-3 (and Hebrews 11 preceding), we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (saints & martyrs) who are the CHURCH along with the Church here on earth. Also, when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, many who had been "asleep" arose from the dead WITH JESUS CHRIST (according to the text).
So, no scholastic lashing, only to say that Veneration of the Saints is not the voodoo that you fear it is.
Love in Jesus Christ,
Rob
I had never heard of someone questioning the Knights of Columbus as anti-Catholic. Surprises me greatly.
Have you looked into it more since this post?
In my experience, as a member of the Knights of Columbus, is that the entire organization is geared toward helping men better embrace Catholicism, full submission and support of the Holy Father and imploring men to take care of their families.
After experiencing the ceremonies of admission into each level of the Knights, there is nothing, in my opinion, not in full accord to the teachings of the Catholic Church, as evidence of so many cardinals, bishops, and priests who are members.
The website you mentioned is the first I heard of a relationship between the Knights and Masons. Granted, with 15,000 councils throughout the world, no one individual would know exactly what each council does or how any relationship can exist.
Not only must you be a practical Catholic in union with the Holy See to join, you must remain one in order to remain in the Knights. (Practical = practicing the precepts of the Church).
I'd be interested in hearing if anything has transpired in the last few years on this topic.
CHARITY, UNITY, FRATERNITY AND PATRIOTISM
Exemplification Ex*em`pli*fi*ca"tion, n. 1. The act of showing or illustrating by example.
Knights of Columbus are committed to the exemplification of charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism, and defense of the priesthood.
The Knights of Columbus stresses that the Catholic gentlemen that make up the Knights of Columbus don’t just “talk the talk” – they must “walk the walk”. They must show by example.
Charity: Since 1992, the Knights have donated in excess of $1.1 billion to numerous charitable causes and provided over half a billion hours of volunteer service. In 2003 alone, the Knights donated over $130 million and 61 million volunteer hours to charitable causes.
Unity: The Order is consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Order is unequivocal in its loyalty to the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth. It is firmly committed to the protection of human life, from conception to natural death, and to the preservation and defense of the family. The members serve the Church and are unified in following its teachings.
Fraternity: Father McGivney’s dream over 122 years ago was for a fraternal order of brother Knights supporting brothers Knights in their temporal and spiritual needs and for giving aid to widows, orphans, the sick and the poor.
Patriotism: Since February 22, 1900, Knights of Columbus who have advanced to the Fourth Degree have cultivated the spirit of patriotism by promoting responsible citizenship and a love of and loyalty to the Knights’ respective Countries.
Certain members of the Fourth Degree serve as honor guards at civic and religious functions, thereby bringing worldwide, visible recognition to the Knights of Columbus.
I have not been the greatest example of a Knight of Columbus but I think that your understanding of them is skewed and reads like a Jack Chick tract. The Knights were encouraged in this country shortly after their founding and rise in popularity as a way to stem the tide of catholic men joining freemasonry. As Freemasonry began loosing members other similar organizations had to struggle to change their message. KOC like many others emphasized their fathfulness to the church, male issues such as fatherhood, fraternal, and support to families. It still means something to belong to the Knights. The Knights swear only to Christ and his Church. Yes they have orders or degrees that are semi secret because of the desire to create a mens organization that would compete with freemasonry on the ground. None of those degrees take a person's mind off of Christ. Your reading of the passage would preclude from being an american citizen joining the army or any organization that requires an oath or vow. Even priest make a vow to the church. This verse as always been interpreted as a vow or oath that cuts one off from the faith even by evangelical protestants.
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