Worthy Officers, Brothers, and Sir Knights,

This past Friday we conducted the 2021 Anchor Award Banquet and presented the coveted Anchor Award to our beloved Chaplain, Fr. Timothy Naples. Many thanks to the Anchor Award Planning Committee, and to Don Sutton (Table Flowers), Tom Gravelin (Delta Contract, Reception), Brad Chenette (A-V System, Reception), Jay Benson (Set-up, reserved seating, flags, Council Banner), Richard Gravelin (RSVP), Ray Michaud (Program), PSD, PDM Dominic DiCicco (MC), SD Steve Shover (Printing, Anchor Award), PSD Tom Herbst (Pledge), Deb Couture (Keynote Speaker).

What follows is an excerpt from my comments at this event.

We will begin with scripture, the Word.

Luke 10: 25-28

25 On one occasion a lawyer stood up to pose him this problem: 
"Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?" 26 Jesus answered him:
"What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
27 He replied:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind;
And your neighbor as yourself."
28 Jesus said, "You have answered correctly. Do this
and you shall live."

We all want to live, and so we all wisely seek to follow these commandments. 
But some of us follow them in an extraordinary way. It is those individuals that 
the Anchor Award was created to celebrate; people we can admire, seek to 
emulate, those who inspire us to join them.

We are talking about people who make great contributions to make this a better world by applying leadership to mitigate injustice. The more wide-spread and egregious the injustice, the more these individual efforts at correction become public, conspicuous in their passion and devotion; contagious. They attract both allies and opponents who are threatened by change.

Blessed Father Michael McGivney was one of those leaders. As a priest his vocation demonstrated his great love for God, and he saw Christ in his neighbor while seeking to be Christ to his neighbors.

What was the great social injustice of his time? In addition to the general persecution of Catholics, the only jobs open to Catholic Immigrants were low paying and dangerous; mining. These jobs carried with them great hardship and a short life expectancy. When a breadwinner died his family was left destitute. Why was Fr McGivney a man for his time? Because he worked tirelessly to address this injustice. His most enduring and successful response was the founding of our Order; The Knights of Columbus in 1882. The Order, by promoting fraternity, charity and unity increased the faith of Catholics, and gave them hope and a safety net against disaster and pre- mature death. There are now over 14 million Knights across the globe. The K of C supports families to this day. The Patriotic 4^th Degree has made us better citizens, too.

Like Michael McGivney, Timothy Naples answered God’s call to a priestly vocation. Like Fr. McGivney he serves many flocks and works tirelessly in the service of parishioners and non-believers alike. He sees Christ in his neighbor and acts as Christ to his neighbor. What is the social injustice of our time? The millions of babies killed with impunity since Roe v Wade became the law of the land. We live in a time of wide-spread licentiousness; a society where individualism is our god, we can seek our own good, as we imagine it, without regard to the harm that may be done to others. We do not need to wear a mask, get a vaccine, obey the speed limit, respect the law, have the baby, discuss ideas. This attitude has shaken our support even of our founding documents; life itself is no longer an inalienable right bestowed by our Creator. We cannot see others, different from ourselves in any way, as neighbors, only infringements of our personal freedoms.

We have deluded ourselves into thinking that freedom no longer requires responsibility, that our choices no longer have consequences. Since Roe v Wade abortion as a legal choice has been conflated as a moral license conferring individual sovereignty. Vulnerable women facing a crisis pregnancy have been exploited by profiteers, and other members of society.

Why is Fr. Naples a man for our time? Because he has applied leadership to mitigate this great calamity through his Vermont Knights for Life Initiative, his 50 Rosaries for Life Campaign, and his support and promotion of a Mobile Ultrasound Clinic for Vermont’s underserved communities. Seeing an ultrasound of the developing child in the womb empowers mothers to make an informed decision about the continuity of life. Ultrasound is a window through which a mother can witness the humanity of her unborn child. To see this “other” as a gift from God to be welcomed and nurtured. The staff who administer the ultrasound show compassion, understanding, and witness; the mother realizes she is not alone.