Brother Knights:

As we walk with Jesus on His last journey on this earth and relive the brutal treatment we gave Him, it is good to consider the crude justice, inhuman conduct, the suffering in the garden, on the cross, His death, and the astonishing resurrection. We know He did this for us to restore the life we lost because of sin. Our concerns in these few weeks is to give attention to what we can do to unite with Christ so we can share the benefits won by His passion and death.  Do I offer Mass with Him regularly?  Is there any kind of discipline in my life?  Does my life show that I love God above all things and my neighbors as myself?  Are there things or ideas in my life that do not belong?   Knights, Lent is a time to change for the better.

As social creatures we share the company and dependency upon others.  The person is principle, the subject of all social interactions.  Real human society requires justice or right order of values.  Where sin has disrupted the social climate, we are called to conversion of hearts and to reliance on the grace of God for social change.  We are conceived with the greatest good of the individuals and for the common good.  Common good is found in those political communities which depend and promote the good of their communities.  Some of the lapses of our social system is to legitimize disordered desires so common to our world, the low regard for human life, and the corruption of the sacrament we call marriage.   In an ordered society we promote rights of infants and marriages in a union between a man and a woman.  That simply is the order of social creatures.  A social fact that is not always being applied is that we are entitled to the fruits of our labor, but are also expected to acknowledge that some in our society are severely handicapped, lacking the means or the opportunities to enjoy much of their world's gifts.  We are encouraged and sometimes obliged to show generosity, kindness, and sharing of our blessings. 

One of the qualities that you, Brother Knights, continuously and in remarkable ways, show me is how deeply you put into action the principles of the social order.  The time and energy you volunteer, the many causes you always promote, the good you do for those among us who are often in great need is your fulfillment of the social concerns.  As humans, of course, we are far from perfect, but the Abbot Pennings Council is remarkable for what you do and how pleasantly you do it. 

So Sir Knights, as members of society we are committed to the material and spiritual gift of each other.  As members of the community of faith, we are committed to a strong communication with God and to encourage others to the same.  The common good and here and hereafter is our concern. 

Keep up your impressive place in the social order here, and the life and grace Jesus gave each of us from the cross.  We are really members of the social order on earth and of the place Jesus gives us in the kingdom of God. 

God Bless you.

Father Don