December
Joy to the world, tis the season to be jolly and I wish you a Merry Christmas! Yes, it's that time of the season when most of us go on spending sprees, running up credit card bills to make other people happy and yes, my giving this year will most likely bring a few smiles to the people on my "nice" list and so I guess, I'm grateful and fortunate that I am able to do so but as we know, not everyone is as merry and jolly as me? As many of you are aware, recent events have brought a little damper to the holidays for some close friends and I am somewhat burdened knowing that there will be a few empty chairs this Christmas dinner for them...
On a more uplifting note, have you ever thought how amazing it is that the baby Jesus was born at midnight in Bethlehem, in piercing cold, in a field with no one around except Mary and Joseph? How would you like to have been one of the shepherds in the area to be one of the first people to see the Son of God? That would be a WOW!!! What an auspicious start for the person who would be the greatest person to walk the earth? And this didn't happen that long ago? Have you ever really thought about it? No, it didn't happen in California or Kansas and you probably don't know anyone who was around at that time but it happened...it really did! BELIEVE!!!
As always, I'm thankful for the Knights and all we do as Santa and his elves from Montebello Council 3429 made the rounds and dropped off food and filled some stockings with toys bringing tidings of comfort and joy to some needy families in the Parish. It was truly a great year for the Council. Thanks to our Grand Knight, we were everywhere and had the good fortune of having to add 10-15 new stockings under our Christmas tree this year! Welcome Brothers, now go forth and spread our good news and may 2024 bring us all good health, good fortune and much happiness!!!
November
Have you ever lost a loved one? That’s always tough and I’m sure you all have but have you ever lost someone who should have been going to her wedding instead of her funeral? Makes the loss even harder to swallow? Now add that you were with the person 10 minutes before she ran off to heaven and now one asks, “why God? Why? Why? Why?” I'm not sure if it is a blessing or a curse - on the one hand, you had the good fortune of being with her and seeing her smile one last time but you also have the burden of wondering what could you have done differently? Of course, the answer is nothing because one has to believe God always has bigger plans but man, does it hurt as she was "just right there"! Sadly, my pain is nothing compared to how her family is feeling and my prayers will always be with them but once again God, why, why, why???
November means Thanksgiving and I certainly have so many things to be thankful for including the good health of my family and after experiencing the above event and shedding so many tears, all my petty complaints in life seem so inconsequential - sure I'll probably still get annoyed when I get stuck in traffic, wish I had more money or whine when my favorite team loses but how foolish am I when I'm blessed with so much good fortune? I certainly do realize that my good fortune is not experienced by everyone and so I am thankful to be part of the Knights and for all we do to help those in need in the Parish community including delivering 12 families Thanksgiving Baskets that included turkey "with all the fixins" to put a smile on some of our neighbors for at least a day!
One never knows when it will be your last day, so will you be ready? Probably not, so think twice when it comes to doing the right thing versus the easy thing - we will always make excuses, rationalize or maybe say we did the right thing but remember God is always watching and when the time comes, He will be asking, "I was hungry, I was thirsty, I needed some clothes or some help"...where were you? Being a Knight puts you in a good place but remember, there are 24 hours in a day!
Lastly, life is very fleeting and good times can become a nightmare in a few short seconds, so give you loved ones all the hugs you can because damn, as awesome as it is in Heaven, sometimes life can really suck down here...
October
Why is it that Japan has no garbage cans and there’s no garbage in the streets and here in Los Angeles, there are garbage cans all over the place and garbage everywhere? You have the same chance of being shot by a gun in Tokyo as you do getting struck by lightning! Plus the vendors at the malls leave their shoes, bags or whatever else they are selling out all night in plain sight while here we have “idiots” walking into stores and stealing everything in sight! Now would I want to live in Japan? Of course not…the population of Catholics is 0.34% less than the number of cars on the 405 in the morning with only 3 or 4 churches in all of Tokyo and of course, no Knights of Columbus Councils but it is a nice place to visit…
Most of us know exactly where we were for 9/11 and if you’re old enough maybe when JFK was assassinated or when they landed on the moon but how many of you remember where you were in 1962 when Cardinal Roscalli was elected pope? I was 5 years old but since I didn’t go to kindergarten, I happened to be in Atlantic City, before they had casinos, with my grandparents at the Ritz Carlton Hotel when Pope John XXlll became our next Pope! Not exactly sure why I remember that - maybe because he called me to see if it was okay to use my name?
Pope John the 23rd entered the seminary at age 11 and as a young priest had a couple of good friends named Charles and Francis who later turned out to be St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis de Sales! I had friends growing up in the Bronx, who at age 11 were cursing out their mothers when they wouldn't let them have their way! Doubt they became saints? More likely they might have been on the Most Wanted List? Anyway, Pope John XXIII was responsible for the Second Vatican Council, his greatest act as Pope and was called “Good Pope John” because of his humility, simplicity and profound goodness! Not a bad role model?
I was a little annoyed when I heard we won’t be getting Star Council because Supreme didn’t receive my SP-7 by June 30th even though I sent it on June 20th - must have gotten lost in the cloud? In the scheme of things, does it really matter when the world is dealing with the horrific killings by Hamas in Israel and the pending death of Israeli soldiers and innocent Palestinians in Gaza! Keep your plaque, the Council doesn’t need anyone in Supreme telling them they are Stars because they are too busy doing great things in our Parish, school and community…Just an FYI that Supreme finally did see it our way and we will be receiving our Star Council Award - great job Brothers!
September
How many of you have ever dreamed of scoring the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl or maybe hitting a game 7 home run to win the World Series? Or perhaps making that last second jump shot that wins an NBA Championship or scoring an overtime goal to win the Stanley Cup? Probably most of us and just maybe a few of you have had this dream too…scoring the winning goal to win the World Cup? Certainly Olga Carmona did and in her case, it really came true as she scored the winning goal for Spain to win the World Cup! Not many of us know the feeling of being on “top of the world” as she was for a few hours! The jubilation, the ecstasy and the joy of celebrating the victory with your team! Wow, what a feeling! How lucky can you get or maybe in Olga’s case, "unlucky" because a short time after scoring that winning goal, she learned that her father had died! What? Did I hear that correctly? God, how could you do that to her? Her world crashed in the same amount of time it took her to kick that winning goal. How does this happen? Why does this happen? Seems rather cruel to me? I certainly have no answers and can only say that precious and few are the moments we share together - make the best of them, give an extra hug to your loved ones and "my sincere prayers are with Olga"! Now would she trade that winning goal for a chance to say goodbye to her dad? Would you? Would you do it for an uncle? What about a neighbor? Life is filled with ups and downs and it usually just doesn’t work out the way we want it to but life goes on…Olga certainly has the right to be upset but how foolish am I when I get annoyed catching all the red lights or when it takes forever to get my coffee or never being able to get a live human being on the phone anymore? Sometimes I need to check the "doom and gloom" factor in my life and go out and do something good for someone! How about you? Please consider joining the Knights of Columbus this month as we prepare for our Crib Project, acknowledge and honor our first "Family of the Month" and raise funds to support our Brother Knights helping those in need in Maui. We pray for them and we pray for you Olga too!!!
August
I don’t know how many of you stayed up late on Saturday night or maybe woke up early Sunday morning for the 2:00am FIFA World Cup match between Sweden and the USA? Not that I’m a big soccer fan but I am a very big USA guy! I don’t care too much that they all didn’t sing the National Anthem but is it too much to ask of them to at least put their hands over their hearts? Regardless, it was a good game and they played hard and probably deserved to win but sports is sports and when it came time for their best player to be a hero, she “choked”! Oh well, see you in South Africa…
If you haven’t done so yet, time and money better spent would be in going to see the Sound of Freedom! The movie is a “WOW“ on so many levels and I can’t write here what I really want to say but frankly after seeing it, how can we let this happen? What is wrong with people or maybe what is wrong with me for wondering what is wrong with people? I’m not sure and I’m not sure what I can do either, which is pretty sad commentary but God help all the Rocio’s of the world!!!
This was a tough one to write…Knights, let’s keep up the good work we do and pray that “someone” can do more! Oh and Happy Birthday Brother FS…
July
This month's musings are a little delayed, mainly because they got lost in a cloud - I'm not sure what cloud but I know I sent them somewhere and recently realized that no one received them? How do I know I sent them because I remember wishing everyone a "Happy New Year" and I made some comments about the baseball All-Star game, something along the lines that we don't need all-stars for the council to be successful but we do need everyone in the council to work as a team! I also made mention of the 4th of July and how thankful we should all be for the freedom afforded us to live our lives the way we do each and every day! Do we take that for granted? I certainly hope not?
So you might be asking if you knew what you already wrote, why did it take you so long to write it again? For some reason, I just couldn't type it out, which got me to thinking, how many times do we maybe want to pray and we know exactly what we want to say but we stand there or sit there or maybe kneel and nothing comes out of our mouth? Or maybe that hasn't happened to you but just know, if it has, you are still okay because the Man you are trying to talk to knows exactly what you want to say, maybe even before you know what you want to say and better yet, He hears you, understands you and is always there with you...in good times and in bad! Did I just say that???
Well, let me say this as the World Cup starts up in earnest...come join our team for another year of doing good for the Parish, school and community and go USA!!!
June
As we roll into June and the start of summer, a few things just happened...first, a Club Pro not only made the cut at the PGA Championship but also scored a hole in one on the final day and finished 15th against the best in the world! How many of us have dreamed of playing in the World Series, Super Bowl or NBA Finals or maybe even drinking some beer from the Stanley Cup? If you had the chance, would you step up? More importantly, Memorial Day also just passed and how much do we all have to thank the brave soldiers, who stepped up big time and paid the ultimate sacrifice, so we can all have the freedom to dream! Some of you and many Knights have stepped up and so I can't thank you enough for your service!
Montebello Council #3429 has certainly stepped it up this year with our usual giving out food baskets to needy families and our essay contest and spelling bee but we added car shows, dances and we were a big presence at the recent St. Benedict Festival.
Are there any men out there willing to step up and join us as we continue our good work for the Church, school and community and who amongst our current members is going to be willing to step up and start a new program or lend a hand to a current one and make it even better? Now is your time to fulfill that dream, make it happen...carpe diem!!!
May
A few weeks ago you may have seen the Boston Marathon or a few days later maybe the London Marathon with thousands upon thousands of runners in all shapes and sizes running through the famed neighborhoods of Hopkinton and Newton in Boston or past Big Ben and Buckingham Palace in London and while finishing the 26.2 mile race is a pretty big deal and quite an accomplishment, the journey to the finish starts long before that morning as most runners put in countless hours of training over several years - most have to run qualifying times from other marathons just to get into a lottery and if one is lucky enough, he or she gets a chance to toe the starting line with 30,000 of their best friends on that day! As someone who has been fortunate enough to run Boston, New York City and Los Angeles, it is a great feeling to finish but it is the journey along the way with its blood, sweat and tears that is most memorable!We are all on a journey, much longer than a marathon or more like a marathon of marathons and although I can't speak of how it feels to finish this race, I am hoping (fingers crossed!) that it will be exhilarating to the umpteenth degree? As Knights, we are in the Catholic marathon of life? Each day is another workout and just like in sports, there are good days and bad days! Have I helped my neighbor today or was I too busy to help that "someone" in need...right in front of my face? Did I do what's right or what's easy? Did I stand up for my religion or did I not want to get involved today? Did I make friends today or decide not to make enemies? Once again, did I do what's right or what's easy?
It's a crazy world out there today with a myriad of politically charged issues around every corner but it's also a time when family, religion, common sense and knowing right from wrong is so very important and it's up to us as Knights to be that driving force on preserving stability in our families, our Parish and in the world!
JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY...
APRIL
The days are getting longer, the flowers are blooming and I think I just heard an umpire yell, "play ball"! That's right, Spring is here and as the baseball season starts, all 30 MLB teams, including the Dodgers and Angels are feeling good about themselves, all have high expectations and have their sights set on winning the World Series in October!
As Knights and for all Catholics around the world, this is our Championship season as Jesus was just crucified and died on the cross on Good Friday and resurrected from the dead on Easter Sunday, so we can all be given the gift of eternal life and be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven! Aren't we fortunate to be part of such an awesome team? To continue our part on this winning team, we aren't being asked to hit a home run every day but rather just pitch in with a good deed here, an act of charity there and to show our love for everyone else on the team all year round. Can we put you in the game?
Join the winning players from St. Benedict Council 3429 as we host our annual Spelling Bee, prepare to help at the Special Olympics and give thanks that we were able to provide 10 food baskets for some needy families in the Parish during this Easter season. Everybody makes this team...we just need to hear from you!
March
When the calendar turns to March, most people are either getting ready for Spring, figuring out their brackets for March Madness or making plans for some corn beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day that may even include indulging in some green beer! All good things about the month of March but let us not forget that March is also Founder's Day for the Knights of Columbus. It was March 29th, 1882 when it all began as Father Michael McGivney gathered a handful of men in the church basement of St. Mary's Parish in New Haven, Connecticut to establish a new fraternal order to help men and their families under the guiding principles of charity, unity and fraternity. Who knew that 141 years later, there would be over 2 million members of the Knights of Columbus in 16,000 local councils in more than a dozen countries around the world! It is in these local councils where ordinary men donate their time and talent to perform deeds to support their church and community. Come join us this month in carrying out Father McGivney's legacy as we help support St. Joseph's Table and get ready for our St. Benedict School Essay contest.