By Junno Arocho
ANAHEIM, California, AUG. 10, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus (KofC), celebrated a Memorial Mass to close the Knights’ 130th Supreme Convention on Thursday.
The annual convention focused this year on religious liberty, with members of the KofC being encouraged to continue their work of evangelization and service. The event also gives delegates an opportunity to attend various business sessions that focus on the KofC’s service to the community.
At Wednesday’s business session, three new members were elected to the Board of Directors while five other members were re-elected to a three-year term.
The final Mass on Thursday coincided with the Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, (Edith Stein) a Carmelite nun who converted from Judaism and died in the concentration camps of Auschwitz.
Recalling the life of the German-born saint, Bishop Lori reminded the participants of the example set by St. Teresa, which is to follow Christ to the cross. “And our embrace of the Cross, together with our steadfast Christian hope, is decidedly not the defiant denial of the stoics. It is no denial of reality; it is an embrace of reality: the reality that the Son of God has descended to the depths of human suffering, and has conquered the terror of the grave, and has risen triumphant,” he said.
The Archbishop of Baltimore also reminded participants of Knights of Columbus founder Fr. Michael McGivney’s dedication to families of deceased members, saying that the Cartusian motto of “While the world turns, the Cross stands still,” was the source of his pastoral love for the dying.
“This is what brought him to numberless bedsides and gravesides: so he could bring the light and love of Christ there. It is what moved him to action to help Catholic men open themselves more fully to the grace of Christ through the active practice of the Catholic Faith, and to help extend the Church’s care for those who had been visited by tragedy,” Bishop Lori said.
“All of this shows us that, in life and in death, love and truth must always go together, because the truth is eternal, and love is stronger than death.”
The Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus concluded his homily asking the intercession of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross for all member of the fraternal organization who have died, so “that the Cross may be for them, and for us, as it was for her, the sure and certain hope of eternal life.”
— — —
On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full text of homily: www.zenit.org/article-35354?l=english
