Worthy Officers, Brothers, and Sir Knights,

God is love. Simple statement of fact and faith, but what impact does that fact have on us?  

I was thinking that before there was a universe, before there was “us”, He is. He was not alone since love can only be in relationship with another; for love there must be a lover and a beloved. God the Father loves God the Son. God the Son loves God the Father. The love between them so intense God the Holy Spirit came to be. The Holy Spirit is the love of God, the breath of God. Love is will and action, the Love or Grace of God creates all that exists through the Son or Word of God.

Love must be shared. The more we love, the more love we receive. God created an entire universe; the immense size of which scientists are still discovering. And that ever expanding creation was not enough sharing. God created man in his image. He gave us a capacity to love and to share in the love of the Trinity. Best of all He gave us the freedom to choose and made Himself vulnerable to the rejection of men.  And when the chosen people did reject Him, still He loved us enough to become one of us and die on a cross rather than lose any of us. He even shares with us His body and blood, soul, and divinity to consume in the gift of the Eucharist. Why are we so stubborn in our vanity and ego?

Love cannot exist in stasis-it must be shared and acted upon. What can we do today out of love? We can pray for the Holy Spirit to move the hearts of the indifferent, to reach those opposed to the Word, and finally to empower us all to love God and all of God’s creation-to see God in our neighbor, and in the unborn.  Our Chaplain has provided guidance in this Newsletter about where to put our treasure-where our heart is, to support the effort to get out the word in opposition to Article 22. I encourage you to click on the link to an article written by Fr Tim that clearly substantiates a “no” vote on Article 22.

Blessings,

Mike

For more information about the appropriate Catholic response to Article 22, the so-called Personal Reproductive Liberty Amendment to the Vermont Constitution, please follow this link to Fr. Naples article published at the Other Paper recently.   

https://www.vtcng.com/otherpapersbvt/opinion/opinion_columns/proponents-of-prop-5-embrace-extreme-position-on-abortion/article_286a32b8-13ad-11ed-9261-7f402690acf3.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

LAST MEETING

The last Council Business Meeting was held in person and remotely on ZOOM 14 July at 7 PM. Meeting was called to order by Grand Knight Mike Bullock after scholarship presentations. Minutes were sent to all members for approval. The last Officer Meeting was held in person and on ZOOM on 4 August at 6:30 PM. Voluntary donations reduced the cost of pizza prior to both Meetings. 

  COUNCIL WEBSITE

The Website Development Team continues to work to make our website more user friendly. kofcvt.org.  

NEXT BUSINESS MEETING

Our next business meeting is 11 August at 7 PM in person and on ZOOM.  Our pizza and salad will be at 6 PM.    

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84647582239?pwd=bHF1Y3lsM0I5eFVIbHhONmR4eTMzUT09

INTO THE BREACH

This wonderful series can be found at this link: https://www.kofc.org/en/campaigns/into-the-breach.html

Last month we elected a full slate of officers, but we had two openings. Thank-you to David Bean who volunteered to be the Outside Guard. Now we have one opening for Advocate. Here is the job description. 

Advocate - The advocate acts as council parliamentarian. He should be knowledgeable in Robert's Rules of Order and Methods of Conducting a Council Meeting (#1937). He may seek legal assistance from the state advocate, should issues arise. The advocate should be able to take on additional responsibilities as the council deems necessary. Traditionally the Advocate in Council 7525 solicited and processed scholarship applications.

Once upon a time, there was a great famine (which means there wasn't enough food to go around). The people in one small village didn't have enough to eat, and definitely not enough to store away for the winter. People were afraid their families would go hungry, so they hid the small amounts of food they did have. They even hid their food from their friends and neighbors. One day a wandering soldier came into the village. He asked the different people he met about finding a place to eat and sleep for the night.

"There's not a bite to eat in the whole county," they told him. "You better keep moving on."

"Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I would like to make some stone soup to share with all of you." He pulled a big black cooking pot from his wagon. He filled it with water and built a fire under it. Then, he reached slowly into his knapsack and, while several villagers watched, he pulled a plain gray stone from a cloth bag and dropped it into the water.

By now, hearing about the magic stone, most of the villagers were surrounding the soldier and his cooking pot. As the soldier sniffed the stone soup and licked his lips, the villagers began to overcome their lack of trust.

"Ahh," the soldier said aloud to himself, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage is even better."

Soon a villager ran from his house into the village square, holding a cabbage. "I have this cabbage from my garden." he said as he held it out for the soldier.
"Fantastic!" cried the soldier. The soldier cut up the cabbage and added it to the pot. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of beef, and it was delicious."

The butcher said he thought he could find some beef scraps. As he ran back to his shop, other villagers offered bits of vegetables from their own gardens--potatoes, onions, carrots, celery. Soon the big black pot was bubbling and steaming. When the soup was ready, everyone in the village ate a bowl of soup, and it was delicious.

The villagers offered the soldier money and other treasures for the magic stone, but he refused to sell it. He had many offers for a cot to sleep on that night. The next day he traveled on his way.

(Adapted from the classic folktale from the Aarne-Thompson folktale system)

Ask: What is the moral of the story? (Hint: By working together, with everyone contributing what they can, a greater good is achieved.)

HOLY HOUR

Our twelfth consecutive First-Friday Council Holy Hour took place on 5 August 2022 from 3 - 4 PM. There were four Brothers and two parishioners present. Next Holy Hour will be 2 SEP at 3 PM at SJV.  Please join us in worship of the Blessed Sacrament and recitation of the scripture Holy Rosary.

The Council now has two Pickleball Sets; one at St John Vianney and one at St Jude. Ted recently played Pickle Ball at ST Jude and discovered that the ceiling chandelier is a very big obstruction. More to follow as he searches for another place to play. If you want to get a game together, Call Ray Michaud (233-0145) at SJV, or Ted Barrett (458-1351) at St. Jude to schedule.       

Here is the schedule of events that require a Color Guard. Let us know if you can make any of these opportunities.  

1. Brother Patrick Benner's Internment 10 AUG at 1100 at Resurrection Park Cemetery

2. TBD-services for our departed Sir Knight Jack Beatty. 

We are looking for Sir Knights to join the Color Corps. We are down to 6 with the departure of Sir Knights Dinh Dang and Doan Vu. They served us very well. We may be able to help out with the cost of the regalia. Contact WFN Dave Martin if you are interested at (802) 881-8646. 

Age Well is looking for volunteers to deliver Meals on Wheels.  For information about volunteer opportunities, please contact the Age Well Volunteer Team by calling 802-662-5249 or via  email: volunteer@agewellvt.org

10 August 1100 Internment of Dr Patrick Benner at Resurrection Park columbarium followed by light refreshments at SJV.

11 August 22 Council Business Meeting 7 PM, after pizza

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84647582239?pwd=bHF1Y3lsM0I5eFVIbHhONmR4e  TMzUT09)

12 August 1300 Shed demo at SJV. Get down and dirty with us. Safety equipment a must. Postponed!

TBD Services for the late Sir Knight Jack Beatty. Stay tuned.

17 AUG through 28 SEP 7 PM The Search Video Series. Wednesdays at St John Vianney. Film, discussion, and refreshments.

01 SEP 1830 Officer Meeting at SJV, after pizza

02 SEP 1500 1^st Friday Holy Hour at SJV

06 SEP 1900 Men’s Night at St Jude

08 SEP 1900 Business Meeting at SJV, after pizza

14 SEP 1800 Installation of District 3 Officers at SJV following 5 PM Mass14 July at 6 PM Pizza at SJV

We received a thank you from the Diocese of Burlington Vermont Catholic Community Foundation Donor Advised Fund for our recent payment of $10,000. We have now paid $80,000 of our $100,000 pledge to this great cause. 

Our Worthy Lecturer, Bernie will enlighten us about the life and virtue of St. John Vianney and sing the song, Prayer of St Francis.

01 Walden Rooney, 02 Gerard Groleau, 09 Ronald Morin, 12 David Bullock, 18 James Bergan, 21 Joseph Myers.

Please pray for the following people who are ill or in distress and their families;

Steve Shover, Dick and Sandy Stevens, Joe Donegan, Beth-Ann Prendergast, Dick Labrecque, Mariette Nadeau, a resident of the Pines who fell and broke bones that required surgery, Jeff and Kay Jarvis, Tom Gravelin, Rick Gravelin, Joan Foley, Chuck Schifilliti, Gerry Seney, Robert (Bob) Gravelin, Keith Marston, Sue Cottrell, Gary Howe and Family, Parker Yvonne Lyon (Granddaughter of Tom Gravelin) and mom and dad Ellen and Garrett, sister Clara Lynn, Amy and her mother, (22 year old woman fighting cancer at Dana-Farber), Kevin and Chad Limoge, Vickie Linton (relative of DD3), George Stevens, James Read, Richard Waite, Robert Morris, Gene Tofferi, Mike and Pam Audette, Joe Myers and Family, Jeffrey Claude Danis and family, Tom Westropp, Andrew Bolognani, PSD/PGK Don Sutton, Ray Miller, Stuart Fath, David Bullock (chemo), Harold Ponto, Wally Rooney, Bob Wilkens, Gerry Malavenda, Ed and Theresa Curtiss, the people of Ukraine and an end to the war, the Families of all of our faithfully departed brothers, friends and relatives, all clergy and religious, victims and families of COVID-19, First Responders, peace in Eastern Europe, the defeat of the "Personal Reproductive Liberty Amendment" in Vermont, and for new Members to join the Order.

Please pray for all the victims who have died in the Ukraine War and for our dear departed as follows:

Sir Knight John “Jack” Beatty, age 95, died on August 9, 2022. (Obit pending)

Sir Knight (Assembly 1148) Leonard Giles, age 87, died on July 23, 2022. (https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/obituaries/bfp039199) 

May they rest in peace. May all the faithfully departed rest in peace, Amen. And may the families be comforted by the promised resurrection.