Worthy Officers, Brothers, and Sir Knights,

On behalf of Council 7525 I thank you all for your participation in the work of the Knights of Columbus in Faith, Family, Community, and Life through prayer, donations, and support this calendar year. You will soon be asked to reflect and remember your work on a Fraternal Survey Form 1728a. The Individual Form 1728a will be mailed with your due’s reminder, and is available on our website, kofcvt.org. Please complete and return the form as soon as possible.* Even your example of a life lived as a Catholic Gentleman goes a long way towards evangelizing others.

The highlight this month has been the very successful Christmas Party for People with Special Needs. This party was well attended (30), and everyone had a good time. Many thanks to the Gravelin Brothers for the wonderful music, Fr. Naples for his skillful juggling and Santa and Rudolph for making people smile. A huge debt of thanks to Ted and Kathy Barrett for hours of planning and preparation, for Dick and Sandy Stevens for getting the food right, Dave Martin and Lucie Holcomb for set-up and guest services and a special shout out to the Winooski Council for providing the beverages. Every guest was happy to take home a photo of themselves with Santa and Rudolph taken by Kathy Barrett. Thanks, too, to Dave Martin for getting Santa to appear and to Josh Beapre, who invited Rudolph.  

During your preparation for the coming of the Lord during Advent, please consider these insights borrowed from the sermons of Bishop Robert Barron. (You can find his sermons at www.wordonfire.org) Our Advent season is about 4 weeks; the Advent of Israel was about 4 centuries! (And for the Remnant it continues). Bishop Barron credits one of his early catechists for revealing that we are preparing in Advent for three distinct arrivals in this world by Christ. The first is the historical arrival, or incarnation of God the Son as a fully human, yet still fully divine, Son of Man at Christmas. The birth, death and resurrection of Christ is often referred to as the “Fulcrum of History”. Even today, most of us measure time as either BC (before Christ), or AD (Anno Domini “in the Year of Our Lord”). Think about how fantastic this is: God became man to save us, and the world commemorates it in the calendar. We are filled with Joy!  

The second is our personal Advent prior to experiencing the incarnation of the Risen Christ in the Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist that we celebrate at every Mass. Catholics have a rich history of preparing to receive Christ at different points in life and time through the Sacraments. We are filled with Joy!

The third is the much anticipated Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. I recently learned that the first three weeks of Advent focus on the Second Coming, while the last week of Advent retells the story of the birth of Jesus through the “O Antiphons.”  We are filled with Joy!

God gave His Word and His Spirit and His Own Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist to His Church to guide us and provide nourishment so we can follow Him and become like Him. It seems like the Church, in addition to being the Bride of Christ and the Mystical Body of Christ is acting like another Noah’s Ark to save us from drowning in the rising tide of secularism. The Church also seems like the Ark of the Covenant-a Holy place to preserve, protect, and share God’s Word Incarnate in the Scriptures and Eucharist. Saint Mary as mother of God shares this distinction. We are filled with Joy.

All Christians should look forward to the second coming of Christ that will herald the end of the age, the final judgement, and the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on a new earth, with the Resurrected Christ as Sovereign King of all the resurrected believers. What I think about often is the fact that the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, decided out of love for us to forever be both fully Human and fully Devine. His choice to forever have two natures; Human and Devine, is irrevocable. In His resurrected body He still bears the marks of crucifixion. His eternal sacrifice brings us back in communion with God, elevates humanity, and makes it possible for us to share in the Devine Nature. What will it be like to take a stroll with God in the Kingdom of Heaven, as once Adam and Eve strolled with Him in the Garden of Eden? I pray we may all find out. We are filled with Joy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

*Any questions about Form 1728 should be referred to WFS Charlie Brown at (802) 578-9175 or cwbrownvt@comcast.net

HOLY HOUR

Our fourth First-Friday Council Holy Hour took place on 3 December from 10-11 AM. There were five Brothers present. During the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, members of the Council led parishioners through the Scripture Rosary Glorious Mysteries. This was followed by recitation of the Credo of Pope Pious VI and silent reflection. Please participate to show your support. The next Holy Hour will be on 7 January 2021. Time TBD.

CHRISTMAS CARDS

Our Worthy Warden, Jay Benson, has Christmas Cards for sale! These beautiful cards have the "Keep Christ in Christmas" message. As we have already paid for them, your purchase is fully vested in our charitable budget. Bring a check payable to Counicil 7525 to the next meeting and pick out a box of your favorite cards. 

LOUIS J TRONO ASSEMBLY 2106

The Assembly will meet after the Business Meeting on Thursday, 9 December at SJV and on Zoom. There are two agenda items: approval to donate $200 to a homeless veteran, and a drawing for $500 towards the purchase of Regalia for those interested in joining the active Color Corps.   

ST JOSEPH ICON

I have reserved the St Joseph Icon for two weeks in JAN (5-17) to coincide with the next Holy Hour and for Masses at our Churches. We are the first council to reserve the Icon.  More to follow.

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

09 DEC 21 1800-1900 Council 297 Hosting Dave Giuliani for Zoom talk for credit. We plan to dial in during dinner.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85761746298?pwd=L0tkWEhxbXpaaFVuQ0RYTnFpRFNHZz09

 09 DEC 21 1900-2100 Council Business Meeting after pizza at 1800 or on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84647582239?pwd=bHF1Y3lsM0I5eFVIbHhONmR4eTMzUT09)

10 DEC 21 1100 Gary Lee Hall funeral at SJV

11 DEC 21 1000 Check presentation to SB Food Shelf

11 DEC 21 1030 Creche, signs and wreath go up at SJV

TBD DEC 21 Erect Keep Christ in Christmas signs at St Jude and OLMC

04 JAN 22 1900 Men's Night at St Jude

05-17 JAN 22 St Joseph Icon for Council 7525

06 JAN 22 Officer Meeting at SJV after pizza

07 JAN 22 First Friday Holy Hour-SJV time TBD

13 JAN 22 Council Business Meeting with Bishop Coyne after pizza

13-15 MAY22 State Convention at Jay Peak

FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER

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

Christopher Haley (homeless veteran), Parker Yvonne Lyon (Granddaughter of Tom Gravelin) and mom and dad Ellen and Garrett, sister Clara Lynn, Patricia Brown, Patricia Stevens, 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, Richard Gravelin (multiple foot fractures suffered in a bad fall), Gene Tofferi, Mike and Pam Audette, Joe Myers and Family, Jeffrey Claude Danis and family, Tom Westropp, Andrew Bolognani, PSD/PGK Don Sutton, Ray & Bev Newman, Ray Miller, Stuart Fath, David Bullock (chemotherapy), Tom Gravelin, Ben & Yvonne Gravelin, Harold Ponto, Wally Rooney, PGK Bob Audette, Bob Wilkens, Gerry Malavenda, Ed and Theresa Curtiss, all clergy and religious, victims and families of COVID-19, First Responders, and for new Members to join the Order.

WORTHY LECTURER

Our Worthy Lecturer, Bernie is planning to tell us about Saint Nicholas and sing the song When you Come to the End of the Day.  

INTO THE BREACH

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

DECEMBER BIRTHDAY WISHES

2 Howard Kalter, 3 David Bissonnette, 4 James Girouard Jr., 8 Michael Fath, 9 Derek Maroot, 15 Michael Agusta, 19 David Bean and Jerry St Amour and Andre Thibault, 23 Edward Curtiss and Bernard Hemond Jr., 25 Giang Vu, 26 Don Sutton, 28 Greg Stine.

LAST RITES

Eternal rest, peace, and an everlasting vision of the face of God to the following persons. Please remember them and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Mary Tran, the Aunt of Seminarian Luan Tran.

Gary Lee Hall, member of Council 7525 for over 31 years. His funeral will be Friday, December 10 at 11 AM at Saint John Vianney Parish. The family requests all attendees wear masks at the service.

Here is a link to Gary's Obit:

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/23291523/gary-lee-hall