For families with school or college-age children, it's time for another year. Summer vacation is over, though occasional warm days still occur. For those with grown children, the school year still affects their lives, from lower speeds in school zones to the sounds of children playing at recess. Our oldest grandchild (and only grandson) begins First Grade in far-off Minnesota, while his younger sister (age four) and two girl cousins (ages 2 1/2 and 1), closer to home, await the challenge of Kindergarten; of course the cousins have no idea what is in store.
Whether it be the changes of seasons or the arrival of another year, time rolls on. What about our lives? For husbands and fathers (and grandfathers, too) time seems to move so fast.As we try to provide for our families, sometimes we may lose sight of what our lives are all about. We have such great hopes for our children and grandchildren -- success in school and, ultimately life. But, for Catholic fathers, the hope is even more profound: that each child "catch" the reality and truth of the faith and carry it with them throughout their lives. Our hope and our prayer need to be made real in every conscious moment, so that we fulfill the promise made at their baptisms: to teach them to love God and neighbor.
For the single, never-married man, for whom wife and family may be in the future, there may be different calls, faint at first, but maybe still insistent... to celibacy and maybe even the priesthood or religious life.
For the widower, there is the memory of that beloved wife, and the hope to someday join her and all who have gone before, in the light of Christ's presence at the end of time.
As the challenges of a new year and a new season present themselves, let us, each Knight, renew our own commitment to fulfilling the vocation God has called us to, through virtue, service, love, faith, and prayer.
KC Council 12392 Knights Talk September 2010
