Msgr. Xavier Mankel Pastor, Holy Ghost Catholic Church Vicar General, Diocese of Knoxville May - June
2008 My brother Knights of Columbus Council
#645: Congratulations on the honors you
received at the Awards Ceremony at the 2008 State Convention
in Nashville. I am very grateful for your assistance to and
involvement at the St. Joseph School. There is no more
deserving an entity than the parochial school serving both
of the parishes whose students attend there. I really
enjoyed the art auction. It was my very first experience
with anything like that. The gift to the school of the
painting of the Pope by Brother Richard is very much
appreciated too. Bishop James Vann Johnston, Jr. seems
very well served by the Knights of Columbus of his
Springfield - Cape Giraudeau diocese. I am also happy to see
a full slate of officers already nominated for next year
(which is almost upon us). Hopefully many of you will participate in
our Forty Hours Devotion at Holy Ghost which begins Sunday
evening, Pentecost, at 7 pm. Plan to stop in for a visit to
our Lord in the Exposed Blessed Sacrament anytime between
8:30 am and 7:30 pm on either May 12 or 13th. God will be
adored and you will be blessed. Devotedly yours in Christ, Monsignor Mankel March - April
2008 My dear brothers of K of C Council
#645: Lent is passing by and I am concerned
that Easter will find some of our members less in love with
God than when Lent began. Why? I do not see our Council
members taking advantage of the opportunities for spiritual
growth that abound in our parishes: daily Mass, Stations of
the Cross; Liturgy of the Hours; Renew: why Catholic?;
almsgiving (special collections are down rather than on the
upswing); and on and on. One wag has insulted our Catholic
organizations by suggesting that for a Knight of Columbus,
Lent is a time to hide from the Church! There are blessed
exceptions, of course, but there should be no Knight on a
spiritual vacation during Lent. My brothers, I appeal to you
to reverse this negative trend in our council and make the
coming Holy Week the most sacred one of your life so
far. God bless you and pray for me. Sincerely in Christ, Monsignor Mankel September - October
2007 Dear Fellow Knights of Columbus: Just about everywhere I go I run into
people still raving about the International Convention in
Nashville – allegedly the longest
gathering of the hierarchy ever assembled in Tennessee at
one time! A special thanks to those who attended‚ for
some it will be the once in a lifetime experience. I attended the Bishop's Ball Game Night
at the Smokies Stadium on July 3. The Mass at Holy Trinity
at 3 pm, then the picnic and ball game with concluding
fireworks were great experiences. Maybe next summer we can
piggy back on such an evening or even have our own. We are
having more and more youngsters trained as altar servers - a
nice event with which to reward them. I salute our Council officers for
2007-08. I stand behind you, not to push, but to offer
tandem assistance whenever and however I can. We had Vigil Masses of the Assumption at
Holy Ghost at 6 pm and 7:30 pm on August 14 and then went to
Louisville on the 15th for Archbishop Kurtz's
installation.Thanks to all who represented Council 645 and
the Msgr. F. D. Grady Assembly at that magnificent ceremony.
Our province is in good hands with our new metropolitan
archbishop. I beg you to become involved in two giant
Catholic undertakings: Devotedly yours in
Christ, Monsignor Mankel Chaplain 645 February - March
2007 My
brother Knights: Congratulations
on the fine beginning you are making with the new "house."
The nice renovations are rather permanent improvements and
the meetings and socials have been swell. I'm beginning to
get used to "the long drive out in the country"! My first
cousin, Jerry Duncan, a retired city of Knoxville fireman,
lives on Washington Pike near Alice Bell School so I can
always break the trip if necessary. Much
more seriously: Please get ready to have the best Lent of
your life so far when Ash Wednesday hits us on Feb. 21. The
weather man and the devil usually get together during Lent
to make the weather just awful, especially for those who are
trying to make daily Mass their number one Lenten
activity. I
am still running into people who tell me that they are going
to give up sin for Lent. No, no, no! Giving up sin is what
God asks us to do all the time. During Lent we
give up legitimate things (decent movies, desserts,
eating between meals, Wholesome TV programs, candy, etc.)
And add more good things to our daily
practices (more Bible reading, more prayer, more good deeds,
more visiting the sick, more spiritual reading, etc.) In
this way we become finer Catholics and can enjoy the Sacred
Triduum perhaps as never before. K
of C council activities are fine ways to practice virtue.
Let's get at them. Ash Wednesday is February 21. Take some
quality moments between now and then to plan your strategy
to overcome Satan, sin, and death! Devotedly
yours in Christ, Monsignor
Mankel Chaplain-Council 645 March 2006 My
brother Knights: Lent
is upon us! The older I get, the more I am convinced that
'tis folly to expect anything like a Happy Easter UNLESS we
have had a very serious Lent AND (I am just now becoming
absolutely convinced of this) we LAY OUR PLANS in advance
for Lent, this holy season will not be the holy experience
that it must be, if our Catholic life is to mature. How
many Lents do any of us have left? What
to do: Daily Mass - even if you can participate just one
or two days (6 would be best) since Mass is the summit from
which all blessings flow. This is my number one suggestion
of "to do's". What
to quit: SMOKING! This is my number one suggestion. I
can only hope that you will not only cease and desist
polluting yourself, your home, and the rest of us with
primary or secondary smoke during Lent. I hope that by
conquering Satan, sin and death during Lent, you'll continue
to live so much better after Easter by continuing to give up
the filthy weed. We
are counting on Council #645 to help with the Mardi Gras
dinner at St. Joseph's School on Saturday, February 25th.
Your help is expected and appreciated. Begin
now your journey from Ashes to Easter. Devotedly
yours in Christ, Father
Mankel Chaplain-Council 645 December/ January
2005/2006 My
brothers in Council 645: The
new Church year is underway; Christmas, New Years and
Epiphany are coming and I hope you have a splendid set of
holidays coming along. Please
pray for our Bishop that he gets sufficient help and support
to lead his fellow bishops as Chair of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for Marriage and
Family. Our sisters in the Diocesan Council of Catholic
Women and you and I can not let them outdo us in generosity,
prayer and concern [can we],
especially since so much of the work of the order is devoted
to the ministry of Family Life. Bishop
Kurtz offered the diocesan staff a homily on November 22 in
which he said he was becoming brave enough to thank God on
Thanksgiving Day for the gift of our weaknesses.
That’s an especial kind of generosity it
seems to me. Maybe as we strive to rise to such a level of
spiritual development we can think of our souls as
well-wrapped gifts to offer to the Lord on his birthday,
Christmas. And of course, the gift of our souls should fresh
and new, not worn down and sinful. My
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany prayer for each of us is that
the new-born Son of God will accept each of us as the kind
of gifts we ought to be for His sake and ours. God
bless us everyone! Devotedly
yours in Christ, Father
Mankel Chaplain-Council 645 November
2005 October
2005 September
2005 Dear
Brothers of Council #645 Thank
you for the nice turn out to begin your VIRTUS training. Not
only is this required for some of us but also in every case
is a holy thing to do. I am sure that the number of our new
teachers who were also in attendance impressed you. Keeping
God's children safe is a gospel value and our Knights can do
much to assist bishops and priests in this pastoral care of
souls. Again, I thank you. I
look forward to being with you at our second Blue Mass to be
celebrated at Holy Ghost on September 29 at 6:45 a.m. I am
sure that you know that the unusual time is scheduled as
some work shifts for our policeman and firemen overlap. The
regular 6:30 a.m. Mass at Holy Ghost that day will be
celebrated at 6 a.m.instead. The
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wear on. Please pray to Jesus
and Mary, the King and Queen of Peace that hostilities end
soon, and that our fighting forces can return home safe.
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Father Mankel
Chaplain August 2005 My Brother
Knights: May I take a few lines
to congratulate our newly elected officers of the Council
#645 of the Knights of Columbus. My personal pledge of
support accompanies these words of felicitation. May you
have a fruitful and beneficial year. I salute and endorse the
proposed plan of action (i.e., only one business meeting per
month with a format of alternate gatherings that can include
spouses, sometimes children), proved that: The August 16 meeting
will not occur at Holy Ghost. It will begin
promptly at 6:00 pm at Sacred Heart Cathedral and
will be a VIRTUS training session. All Knights of Columbus
need this training in order to be better Catholics and
better Knights. Those who must receive this training are our
Knights of Columbus Youth directors and any Knights who have
an Association with young people (e.g. prepare Knights of
Columbus breakfasts, work with young people in essay
contests, free throw events, parish picnics and festivals,
etc.). There is no charge to the individual registrant. The
entire cost is borne by the Diocese of Knoxville as part of
our bishop's Keeping Kids Safe and Protection of Children
policies/programs. Please register in advance on-line at
www.virtusonline.org; telephone registration is not
available. However, for more information you may call me at
XXX-XXX-XXXX or the diocesan Religious Education Office at
865-584-3307. I cannot overemphasize how very, very
important this gathering will be. Wouldn't it be a
magnificent display of Columbianism if, say, over half of
our council's 125 members attended? We shall have the next
meeting, a regular business meeting, at Immaculate
Conception at 7:30pm on September 6. Then, on September 20,
at 7:00 pm, we will gather at the Wallace Memorial Baptist
church on Merchant Drive for a seventy-fifth anniversary
program for St. Mary's Medical center. Our families are
invited to this one. Finally, We are all
invited to the 6:00 pm Mass, statue blessing and reception
at Sacred Heart Cathedral and Chancery on Thursday,
September 8 to thank God for the success of the GIFT
campaign in our diocese running from 2004-2008. Over 29.7
million dollars has been raised and those of you who have
not yet pledged or contributed could raise that to well
beyond $30,000,000, the vast majority of which funds remain
in our parishes. Again, i ask you to
respond unreservedly to those special, special events that
build up our council and strengthen our faith. Devotedly yours in
Christ, Father Xavier
Mankel, Chaplain,
Council #645 Nov/Dec
2004 My Brother Knights of
Columbus: I ask your good prayers
for the intentions of Pope John Paul II, our Holy Father and
the Bishop of Rome and of Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D., our
Bishop of Knoxville as they encounter each other during the
ad limina visits of the bishops of our region (Alabama,
Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky). Due to our Holy
Father's declining health, each bishop gets only a
ten-minute visit - one on one but you can be assured that it
will be long on quality if not long on time. Regarding improvements
in the manner in which we celebrate Mass beginning with the
first Sunday of Advent, be sure, first of all, that you do
go to Mass - this obligation still binds under pain of
serious sin so don't let down on your primary worship
responsibility. And once there, do what you can to continue
improvements in the manner in which you live out the ritual.
Two points have been brought to our attention by Bishop
Kurtz for implementation at this time. Sacred Silence - before
and after Mass anywhere in the Church adn during Mass at
precious spots: during the Penitential Rite, after the
Readings and homily, and after Holy Communion. During the
preparation of the gifts remain seated as the priest
(bishop) says "Pray brethren, that our sacrifice may be
acceptable to God, the almighty Father" then
stand silently, and then recite your response:
"May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the
praise and glory of his name for our good and the good of
all his Church." You might feel that these are very
small items in the overall scheme of sacred worship, and
they are, but the Church's 2000-year experience in these
matters supports the thesis that those who pay attention to
these "little pictures" will enjoy seeing the "whole
picture" with great happiness and grace. The Advent Penance Service for Holy
Ghost and Immaculate Conception will be celebrate at 7:30 pm
on Sunday, December 12, St Joseph School. Please take
advantage of this opportunity to receive the sacrament of
Penance in preparation for Christmas Have a productive
Advent, a splendid celebration of the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception, special graces during the Christmas
countdown, Dec 17-24, and a blessed and holy Christmas
2004 Let us continue to pray
for one another, Fraternally yours in
Christ, Father Xavier
Mankel, Chaplain,
Council #645 July 2004 My Dear Brother
Knights: Only a few times in teh
history of the Church of Knoxville has a Bishop or priest
looked out from the presidential chair or altar and
witnessed a sea of men and women in blue uniforms as the
major part of the congregation. Those times were, of course,
on the occasion of the funeral of a Catholic policeman or
fireman or someone very close to a police officer or
fireman. We have a distinctly
different opportunity to assemble our police, firefighters,
and others who protect us from harm around the clock as
Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz leads the worship at the 6:45 am Blue
Mass on Wednesday, September 29, at the Holy Ghost
Church. Marvelous precedents
have been established for this. The annual Red Mass has
become a regular feature of Immaculate Conception's worship
outreach as judges, lawyers, attorneys, paralegals, and
their staffs have gathered to worship God and thank Him for
His gifts of law and order and the ability to exercise
them. Knoxville's first Blue
Mass is a major project of Council 645's fraternal year.
Please do what you can to promote this celebration by your
attendance and your prayers. Breakfast will be served
downstairs following the Mass. Since there will be people at
other Masses (6 AM and 8 AM) that morning, please try not to
block others as you park. Thanks for your prayers
and kind expressions of support as I have knee replacement
surgery on September 13. Let us continue to pray for each
other. Sincerely yours in
Christ, Father
Mankel, Chaplain,
Council #645 July 2004 My Brother
Knights: Happy New Year!I do not
mean Happy Fiscal New Year (although I do wish you well as
you try to balance obligatory tithing to your parish with
options like the lottery).I mean to wish each and every one
of us a Happy New Fraternal Year in the Knights of
Columbus! I salute our new
officers and thank our brothers for having selected such a
fine slate. I keep each of you and your families in my daily
prayers. Our worthy Grand Knight
has begun the exploration of the possibility of a new
council as Holy Ghost parish reaches 100 years of age (May
27, 2007). Much debate will ensue about this I'm sure.
Several options occur to me at the moment: There
are many, many possibilities and I’m sure
that many, many hours of fruitful discussion will lead us in the
right direction. Our growth situation today is a far cry
from just a few years ago when several councils in Tennessee
were becoming extinct!Vivat Jesus! One sign of growth is
ever increasing attendance at the regular meetings.Let's try
to beat last year with each and every meeting this new
fraternal year. A final plea: please be
sure to return your Gift pledge card to your respective
parishes as soon as you can -- parish growth and K of C
growth should go hand in hand. May God grant the
increase! Fraternally yours in
Christ, Father
Mankel, Chaplain,
Council #645 November,
2003 My Brother
Knights: Our new Church year is upon
us and even if we did not have the exciting challenges
facing us as we try to implement the General Instruction of
the Roman Missal (GIRM) - and this MUST go well else we have
missed a turning point in our spiritual/liturgical lives, an
opportunity which does not come around very often - we
always have our hands and hearts full at the beginning of
any new year of grace. As I have tried to indicate
so many times these past 42 1/2 years of my priesthood: it
is one thing for the Church to lay before us a liturgical
calendar which prompts us into glory, it's quite another for
us to take that program/process and run with it. Please
don't trip over Christmas/Epiphany on your way to
Lent/Easter/Ascension/Petecost! We are so blessed in our
diocese of Knoxville to worship with manageable sized
clusters of our people. The average number at any one Mass
is well under 1,000 people per Mass (even if we don't
include in that average St. James in Sneedville whose Sunday
attendance is well under one dozen folks!) With cordial greeters,
well-trained ushers, competent ministers of music, readers,
and well-trained altar servers, our priests can preside over
a worshipping assembly with real confidence that the Lord's
work is being carried out by our people. Of course, each and every
person in the assembly (the pew Catholic) must shoulder the
responsibility attendant to his/her place and position in
all this sub-set of the divine plan. May I challenge us, one
and all, to sustain our fraternal work, our service to
others, and everything else we are about, in the devotional
and worship sides of life. And... Happy New
Year!, Father Mankel,
Chaplain September,
2003 My Brother
Knights: Since this is the beginning
of my 43rd year as a Knight of Columbus I am in somewhat of
a position to make comparisons among fraternal years. My
estimate is that this fraternal year is off to a good start
so I salute all who have brought us along this far.
Reporting can be a pain and a chore: to know that Council
645 is up-to-date in that area is most comforting. Keep up
the fine work. Our Holy Ghost study
sessions on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal
begins in the Holy Ghost parish hall on Sunday, September 14
from 2-4 PM and will continue with sessions on September 28,
October 12 and 19, and conclude on November 9. Of all
Catholics who need to know the precise theology of the Mass
and its magnificent protocol, it is we Knights of Columbus.
As beautiful and as meaningful as are our Columbian rituals,
they all pale (even the 4th degree) into insignificance in
the face of the ritual activity of the Holy Sacrifice. I'd
say that a Knight of Columbus not only needs to know the
general manner in which the sacrifice of the Mass is
offered; I feel that a Knight worthy of the name should
know, live and act out the details. Ignorance in this area of
our faith practice is inexcusable, especially since we are
so blessed to have the resources that we do for such
growth. A Knight ought to know how
to bless himself with holy water, how to genuflect, bow,
sit, kneel, and stand. A Knight ought to be comfortable in
locating the appropriate hymns, readings, and responses from
the correct sources (e.g., do you know that the Catholic
edition of the RSV Bible and the Jerusalem Bible are no
longer correct for proclamation at Mass?) And any Knight
worth his salt will see that all Catholics in his family
with whom he worships are also well grounded in the basic
details of celebration. Once this has been established and
the worshipper is comfortable then the actual fulfillment of
our obligation to assist at Mass on Sundays and other days
of precept can be a tremendously satisfying act of love and
joy by all concerned. Devotedly yours in
Christ, Father Mankel,
Chaplain August 1,
2003 My Brothers of Council
#645: As summer speeds by we have
an opportunity to celebrate the installation of officers who
serve our local councils, members, districts, and other
divisions constructed to serve our councils so
well. As a Knights of Columbus
Chaplain this annual renewal of councils gives me an
opportunity to ask myself if I am being faithful to my
appointment to this very important task as spiritual
chaplain to a council? Particularly, am I seeing to it that
every single member of the Knights of Columbus is a
"practical" or "practicing" Catholic as described by the
Supreme Council. Basically, do our Knights of Columbus
attend and participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
every Sunday and holy day of precept (obligation)? And if a
Knight does not do at least this minimum act of worship he
should resign from the Knights of Columbus until such time
as he would come back home to Sunday and holyday Mass and
return to being a practicing Catholic. There are other basic
requirements, too, that we might examine here. If married, a
Knight's marriage must be recognized as valid by the
Catholic Church even if at the time of his marriage, he was
not yet Catholic. The Catholic Church is the greatest
protector of the sacrament of Matrimony in the whole world!
If widowed or civilly divorced and having a decree of
nullity from the Catholic Church a Knight may keep company
only with those who would also be free to marry. Not to
follow these minimum standards would be to expose oneself to
an unnecessary occasion of serious sin. And, too, there is no
dispensation from genuine scandal. So if a Knight drinks too
much or uses controlled substances, he should either reform
or seek a leave of absence from his Council. While on leave
he should seek the professional help and counseling needed
to rehabilitate himself so that he can return to the Order
not only a better man, but also one better to help others in
society with these problems and illnesses! This is serious stuff and
not paying attention to these sacred matters has caused
great damage to the Church in our beloved country over the
years. Many priests who are also Knights say that they
developed bad habits simply by not following the high moral
code set by the Church (and the Knights of Columbus) to be a
practicing Catholic. Bishop Kurtz insists that
each household with at least one Catholic in it should
receive his official newspaper, The East Tennessee Catholic.
If you are not on the mailing list, please call the ETC
office at 865-584-3307 and ask to be placed on the
subscription list. This is offered at NO CHARGE to you. It
is funded by a tax on every parish in the diocese and that
tax is based on the offertory income of the parish, not on
the number of subscriptions sent to people in that parish.
Please be sure to get your bi-weekly issue of The East
Tennessee Catholic. Again congratulations to all
our new council, district, and diocesan officers. My prayer
is that Almighty God bless each and every one of us as we
take forward steps on our journey toward Him. Fraternally yours in
Christ, Father Mankel,
Chaplain Council #645 Knights of
Columbus July 1,
2003 June 1,
2003 My brother
Knights: As the magnificent season of
Easter draws to a close I invite you to use the feast of
Pentecost this year as not only the capstone of the Pascal
event but also the springboard into the Ordinary Time of the
Liturgical cycle. June 15 will be observed as the Feast of
the Most Blessed Trinity. Let us NEVER take making the Sign
of the Cross for granted. In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. These 16 words are a
fundamental profession of faith in the The Last word, Amen, is
perhaps the most important single word of the entire
exercise for it ratifies, supports, promotes, endorses, and
affirms that we truly believe that there are Three Persons
in One God and that the Second Person of this Most Blessed
Trinity, the Son, became man, lived among us, taught,
healed, suffered, died, and rose, ascended to the Father and
reigns forever as our priest, prophet, and king. Other formulae are
worthwhile for meditation but they can never replace our
tried and true Sign of the Cross. I offer them there only
for your meditation: The Sunday after that (June
22), will be the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
(Corpus Christi) with its attendant opportunity for
reviewing the beautiful new Encyclical on the most Holy
Eucharist which Pope John Paul II gave us on Holy Thursday
of this year. The Friday after that, (June
27), will be the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
with its holy implications. I have one comment:
WOW! And we call this ordinary
time! Faithfully yours in
Christ, Father Mankel,
Chaplain May 1, 2003 Dear Brothers of Council
#645: May I take a line or two to
say THANK YOU for your role in the nocturnal adoration of
the Blessed Sacrement of the Altar held at Immaculate
Conception on Palm Sunday night, concluding at noon on April
14, and for your sponsorship of the Easter egg hunt at St.
Joseph's School on Holy Saturday afternoon. I thank you in advance not
only for providing breakfast on the first Sunday of each
month following the morning Masses at Holy Ghost but also
for having as your special guests on May 4 our First Holy
Communicants and their immediate families. For some of these
children such an event will be their very first contact with
the Knights of Columbus. Please God it shall not be their
last. Let us all continue to pray
for the return to good health of our Grand Knight, Sir Two
Bears Hebert and our long-time great leader in Columbianism,
Brother Herbert "Red" Kidd. Thank you for your efforts
to promote the Divine Mercy devotions on the second Sunday
of Easter, April 27. This twenty-first century devotion is
growing and it is great to see you in the
vanguard. Thank you, too, for your
promotion of the various scapular devotions and for your
enthusiastic use of the holy Rosary, especially the new
Luminous Mysteries - 1. The Baptism of
Jesus 2. Jesus' Self-revelation at
the Wedding Feast in Cana 3. The Proclamation of the
Kingdom and the Cal to Repentance 4. The Transfiguration of
Christ 5. The Institution of the
Eucharist at the Last Supper Keep up the good
work! Fraternally yours in
Christ, Father Mankel,
Chaplain April 1,
2003 My Brother
Knights: Please read Bishop Kurtz's
message in the March 23 issue of The East Tennessee Catholic
to see his "game plan" for the introduction of the new Roman
Missal in our worship. other dioceses have been introducing
some of the improvements in a piece-meal way. I know that
some of you are impatient to implement the modifications
called for in the new Missal but I concur 100% with our
Bishop in his desire that thorough catechesis occur prior to
the implementation. Those of us old enough to remember the
"over-night" changes of some thirty years ago are still
paying the price for changing things in the Mass, our most
sacred celebration, without sufficient
explanation. The modifications which come
with the new Missal will not be as dramatic as the former
ones (changing to the vernacular, turning the altar around
to face the people, less use of black vestments, etc) -
refinements may be a better word for the new ones. In any
case I urge you to study the Mass so that you can celebrate
It very well always. It is a good idea to check ourselves on
the way we genuflect in adoration of our Lord in the
tabernacle as we approach and leave. And it is an excellent
thing, too, to examine ourselves on the manner in which we
profess our faith with the Sign of the Cross. Lent continues to offer us
many, many opportunities for grace and growth. I ask that
you plan to attend the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral at 7:30
p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, and the main celebrations during
the Triduum: Solemn Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper; The
Solemn Good Friday Litergy; and the Easter Vigil. Even if
you do not personally know a catechumen or candidate to be
received into the Church at the Vigil, the Easter experience
is best celebrated at the Vigil on April 19. Please take
advantage of these wonderful days. Fraternally yours in
Christ, Father
Mankel, March 1,
2003 My Brother
Knights: Who likes Lent? I know that
I don't. But I do try to love Lent because it's such a
golden opportunity to grow up in my faith. Our Holy Father, Pope John
Paul II has asked the people of the world to dedicate their
fasting on Ash Wednesday for "the conversion of hearts and
the long-range vision of just decisions to resolve disputes
with adequate and peaceful means." I urge each and every one
of us to do this and to make your entire Lenten fast one in
solidarity with Our Holy Father. I do this in the name of
our own good Bishop who so much desires to see peace come to
our planet and who knows that prayer and fasting and
almsgiving are the sure-fire way to bring this
about. Thank you for postponing the
Feb. 18 meeting
so that the brothers who wished could attend the sung-praise
Mission at Holy
Ghost that
night. Again, please have a
wholesome Lent and let us pray for one another. Sincerely and
fraternally yours in Christ, Father Xavier
Mankel, Chaplain February 1,
2003 My Brother
Knights: Healing the Body of Christ
is the name of the spiritual game these days. Everyone who
participates wins a prize! This wonderful call to
Reconciliation is a call from the Church through our Bishop.
Everyone worthy of the name Catholic should be involved
wholeheartedly. When the call comes to lead
a small group discussion - sign up! When the call comes to
host a small group - volunteer! When the general call comes
to form small groups - become a team player in such a
group. The first and foremost duty
and priviledge of this process is to PRAY. Use your PRAYER
FOR HEALING at least once every day until Easter, April 20.
Cards are being distributed, en masse, in both English and
Spanish. Pray that prayer. By this time next month Lent
will be upon us. Please plan to make Lent 2003 the highlight
of your spiritual life so far. For those who have lapsed
from Sunday Mass: come back home, be forced from serious sin
and wallow in God's sanctifying grace instead. Second, only to maintaining
our Catholicism by Sunday Mass (and if we do not attend
Sunday and Holy Day Masses without a serious excuse we are
no longer really Catholic) is the benefit of weekday Mass.
People who participate in Mass during the forty days of Lent
have Easters of unimaginable happiness. People who do not
take Lent seriously end up further estranged than ever from
God. Holy
Ghost Parish is
sponsering a 3 evening Mission, February 16-18, 2003, and
all area Catholics (including fallen-away) are cordially
invited 7:30-9:00 PM. On the final evening there will be an
appreciation reception in honor of the preacher of the
Mission, Father Brennan. As the year continues to fly
by, I would encourage you to attend our bi-weekly
meetings.
We need you and you need us! Sincerely and
fraternally yours in Christ, Father Xavier
Mankel, Chaplain Deccember 1,
2002 My dear Brother
Knights: Learn a lesson fro our
Separated Brothers and Sisters: The Knoxville Ministerial
Association had been on its "death march" for the past
several years due to very low attendance at meetings and a
lack of significant causes to champion. during 2002 a
wonderful turn-around has occurred - not only some new blood
but some of the old-timers have been coming back to our
meetings. Why? Is it 9-11? The stock market slump? An
increasing interest in faith development?... Whatever the
cause, the results are wonderful. Transferring this over to
our Council 645 I see potential parallels! All we need is
for some of our old-timers to return to our twice-a-month
meetings
and I feel that we shall see a "like
resurrection." I would be the first to
admit that a man can be a wonderful Knight of Columbus even
if he missed every meeting for years on end! We have such
men! But I also know that our Council would prosper and we
would be even better men as individuals if we would
generously commit some of our time and talent to the
organization's structured life of meetings, projects,
etc. There are not many Catholic
organizations in Tennessee which have survived a hundred
years. K of C Council #645 is one organization that has!
Thanks be to God and may He grant the increase! Please consider returning to
regular attendance at our meetings:
at IC on the first Tuesday of each month and at Holy Ghost
on the third Tuesday of each month - 7:30 p.m. A Grand
Knight's gift is awarded by lot at each meeting - the more
members present, the larger the gift. Please consider
returning to your Council's regular meetings. Vivat
Jesus, Father Xavier
Mankel, Chaplain November 1,
2002 My dear Brother
Knights: I am going to ease off the
hook this month by sharing with you some spectacular news.
Last week as Pope John Paul II began his 25th year as our
chief Shepherd he gave to the world a great impetus - an
expansion of the manner in which we pray the Holy Rosary -
so much a part of the daily spiritual life of any Knight of
Columbus worth his salt. I reproduce below the article about
this in the current Oct. 21, 2002 edition of the CRUX
newsletter: New Rosary
Mysteries: To expand the rosary's references to Gospel
events and underline the depth of its connection to Christ,
Pope John Paul II has asked people to add five "mysteries of
light" to the rosary meditations in his Oct 16 Apostolic
Letter "Rosarium Virginis Mariae" ("The Rosary of the Virgin
Mary") - marking the 24th anniversary of his election. He
also announced a "Year of the Rosary," dedicated to reviving
the traditional form of prayer among individuals and
families. It begins and ends in the middle of October, the
month of the rosary. Some quotes: Certainly the whole
mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the "light of
the world" (Jn 8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special
way during the years of his public life, when he proclaims
his Gospel of the Kingdom. In proposing to the Christian
community five significant moments - "luminous" mysteries -
during this phase of Christ's life, I think that the
following can be fittingly singled out: Of note: Pope called new
mysteries optional; suggested for those who recite one set
of mysteries each day of the week, they
recite: Of interest: Pope Pius V
last to set 15 mysteries in 1569 For full text of
Apostolic Letter on the Rosary see Pope John Paul II Vatican
Website: US Bishops
Publishing: The Rosary of the Virgin Mary Apostolic
Letter available as a 44-page publication (no. 5-538) from
USCCB Publishing, for $4.95 each. Also offering the
apostolic letter with two related booklets - A Rosary for
Peace and A Scriptural Rosary for Justice and Peace - at
special $9.95 price. Call 1-800-235-8722. Father Xavier
Mankel, Chaplain October 1,
2002 My dear Brother
Knights: As we anticipate our 100th
Anniversary of the founding of our Knights of Columbus
Council #645, may I suggest that Gratitude Thanks, to God be
among our thoughts. How grateful we should be for a century
of nearly uninterrupted Columbianism in downtown
Knoxville. Our council was founded when
Immaculate Conception Church was the only Catholic Church
between Chattanooga and Bristol TN. Our council has enjoyed
feast. Our council has suffered famine. Just to survive
personal global wars and internal disturbances especially
those involving the social order, is a feather in our cap.
The pontificates of Pope Leo XIII and John Paul II have many
similarities - one of them being endurance. Council 645 has
endured and now faces a second century pretty much alive and
well. A century ago we had a great bishop, the Most Rev
Thomas Joseph Sebastian Byrne, D.D., who was no doubt, an
inspiration from day one to all Knights of Columbus Councils
in his domain. And, we all have a great bishop now, the most
Rev. Joseph Edward Kurtz, D.D., who remains through his
Catholic manhood, his Catholic Priesthood, and his Catholic
Knighthood an inspiration to all of us today. We have in the person of our
founder, Father Michael McGivney, a saint to follow. It
seems to me, my brothers, that all we need to do to have a
wonderful council is to follow the spiritual leadership of
our churchmen and our teaching church. Frequent Confession
and Holy Communion are among the very best ways to do this.
Happy Anniversary! Sincerely and
Fraternally yours in Christ, Father Xavier Mankel,
V.G. Chaplain Council
#645 September 1,
2002 My Brother
Knights: I thank those of you who
participated in the Installation of Officers ceremonies at
the Council 5207 Clubhouse. A very special welcome to
Knoxville and to Holy Ghost Parish to Father John B. James
O'Neill. Father John comes to us from having served a
three-year term at St. Jude, Chattanooga, where he developed
many, many friendships. Father also served as the state
chaplain of our Order last year and endeared many to himself
as he served our brother knights so well through the state
council. I know many of you have
many, many commitments and obligations in addition to your
duties as officers and members of Council 645. However, it
was disappointing to see so few brother knights in
attendance for the installation, especially since the clergy
were so well represented. Nobody is any more heavily
scheduled on Sundays than our priests so we were
particularly embarrassed to have Father John Orr and Father
John O'Neill with us with so few others making the effort to
support by their presence the work of Columbianism in East
Tennessee. Father O'Neill and I visited
Jim Bentley and Red Kidd this week. Both are seriously ill
and I ask you to keep both of these brother Knights in your
good prayers. I still receive complaints
that there are those among us who pay dues but do not attend
Mass regularly on Sunday and the days of precept. It takes
away some of the lustre and joy of celebrating a day of
precept like the Feast of the Assumption to know that some
of the brothers slip deeper and deeper into serious sin by
missing Mass without a proportionately grave reason for
doing so. My brothers, let your light shine! Be a beacon to
backsliders and by your prayers, and good works, and EXAMPLE
lead those backsliders back to a vigorous and manly practice
of our holy faith. Once we have our membership fulfilling at
least the minimums of public worship obligations, we can
charge forward and advance the cause of Columbianism. Until
that day arrives, not much is going to happen. Jesus lives! Are all of us
living in the state of grace? Sincerely and
Fraternally yours in Christ, Father Xavier
Mankel Acting Chaplain
#645 August 1,
2002 My Brother
Knights: With these words I would
like to offer a profound THANK YOU to all who made the last
fraternal year so memorable, especially the hosting of the
2002 State Knights of Columbus Convention. Special thanks to
last year's officers. Now, we forge ahead! The
ordination of Father Mark Scholz at Holy Ghost on July 20,
2002 was greatly enhanced by the honor guard provided by the
Msgr. Francis D. Grady Assembly. The Fourth Degree is at its
best in such service. I thank you, and Bishop Kurtz and
Father Mark are grateful too. In early August Holy Ghost
will welcom as our first full-time associate Pastor, Father
John O'Neill, past state chaplain of the Tennessee State
Council. I hope that Father John will reserve time to be
available to our Council #645. I know that he will make time
to serve our individual families. Brother "Pig" Allen
introduced a profound question at our July 16 Council
meeting when he inquired about the value of recruiting,
initiating, and then leaving new Knights without further
assignment or involvement. I share Brother Allen's concern.
Let me challenge each member of our Council to live such a
strong Catholic faith life that it will be literally
fascinating to all who observe him in action, especially by
the example he gives in celebrating Sunday Mass - arriving
early to prepare hymnal, the readings, etc.; participating
fully and wholeheartedly as a special minister (usher,
greeter, reader, choir member, server) or as a member of the
worshipping Assembly in general. With the introduction of
the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal "just around
the corner" I hope that every member of our fraternity will
rise to the responsibility that both baptism and knighthood
thrust upon him when it comes to public worship in this day
and age. Devotedly and
Fraternally yours in Christ, Father Xavier
Mankel Acting
Chaplain
