True Freedom

Today, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan's book True Freedom: On Protecting Human Dignity and Religious Liberty is available to download at Amazon for 99¢. This short book (only 37 pages long) is an important resource in helping one learn the Church's teaching on freedom. This particularly important as the Church in the United States faces the recent attack on religious freedom.

Most of us learned when we were very young that this country was founded on a principle of religious freedom. Did anyone ever teach us what that really meant? What does this mean today, when we live under the "dictatorship of relativism"?

This is a great way to start your summer reading program. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can read the book on your computer through Amazon or on the Kindle app available on all Apple iProducts and Android phones.

For a more comprehensive review of the book go to Brandon Vogt's review.

Who are the Knights of Columbus?

For years my perception of the Knights of Columbus was skewed. When I thought of the Knights, I thought of guys getting together in the KC Hall to drink beer, play billiards, cards or dominoes. Occasionally, they would host a fish fry or spaghetti dinner. Oh yeah, they also wore Captain Crunch hats. This is the totality of the view I formed as a teen Columbian Squire. It stayed with me for nearly twenty-five years.

Shortly after our parish completed construction of our new building, a group of men formed a new Knights of Columbus chapter. Those who joined at the very beginning had an opportunity to join as Charter Members. I knew many of these men and I respected them, but I could not get passed my old perceptions, so I did not join.

Months went by and I watched as this band of brothers began to form a bond. They were visibly involved in our parish community as agents of charity. An older parishioner needed a wheel chair ramp; they built it. Someone needed a hospital bed; they bought it. The list goes on.

Eventually, because of the efforts of the chapter's first Grand Knight, and the work they were doing, I joined. I have since seen this group continue to serve the parish and our local community with true acts of charity. They aren't just a group of free "handymen." They also lead several blood drives, support pro-life causes and support several seminarians. I have come to learn that the Knights live their motto: "in service to one, in service to all." I believe this goes to the heart of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical, Deus Caritas Est.  It reminds me of the hymn that says, "they will know we are Christians by our love." See also John 13:35.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan recently wrote a much better tribute to the Knights than I could ever write.  Here is the link to his post:

The Gospel in the Digital Age: Alleluia! My Brother Knights

You should also consider reading Parish Priest: Father McGivney and American Catholicism, written about the life of Venerable Father Michael McGivney. The book is not only a biography on his life, but it is a wonderful history of the Knights of Columbus.