Lecture No. 44 – May 2017
I am convinced that who we are, what we believe, our likes and dislikes, even how we make decisions, is all based on our previous life experiences. I grew up in western […]
I am convinced that who we are, what we believe, our likes and dislikes, even how we make decisions, is all based on our previous life experiences. I grew up in western […]
It was the evening of St. Patrick’s Day, And after arriving home from that night’s fish fry, I settled back into my easy chair to partake of a little frozen […]
They met in a grove of oak trees near the middle of their island and after hours of fasting and prayer one of their number rose. The soft breeze stirred his white […]
(Note: The following lecture wasn’t delivered at the Feb. 7 meeting because of the length of the meeting.) In 1977, Alex Haley’s “Roots” was broadcast and probably set off the current […]
My high school biology teacher was a bachelor and fresh out of Boston College. It was his first year as a teacher. Biology was our sophomore science subject. My class was pretty […]
On the Advent season Unlike possibly most of you, I did not have the advantage of a Catholic school education. Instead, I had an hour a week of what was titled “Religious […]
On Our Constitution and Election Day I know that a few of you are patiently waiting for this meeting to be over so you can go home and catch the latest […]
Prayer is an important part of our lives. As Catholics, we are taught to pray specific prayers. It starts almost at the cradle, with, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I […]
First, let me preface this presentation with the comment that it was first written two months ago. Due to the length of our past few meetings, I have not had […]
Over the years, I have come to believe that there are a few basic truths that we all share. Many years ago, I learned that “history is written by the […]
It was about 4 a.m. one morning about six weeks ago that I woke up and discovered there was a question just penetrating there – what is a Knight? I […]
At the end of his homily last Saturday evening, Father Eugene gave the congregation a homework assignment. We were asked to learn the Works of Mercy and to see how we apply […]
You can thank our worthy Chancellor for tonight’s lecture. He loaned me two books from his vast library, both of which deal with the first 50 years or so of […]
The Emblem of the Order [dropcaps] A [/dropcaps]t the conclusion of my Fourth Degree exemplification, I was presented with the emblem of the Fourth Degree. Its symbolism was explained at that time. At […]
Jubilee Year of Mercy [dropcaps] O [/dropcaps] n March 13, 2015, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, announced the coming Jubilee Year of Mercy. The next month, he restated the coming year in […]
Christmas Tree Tinsel [dropcaps] S [/dropcaps] everal years ago, my wife started her career as an elementary school music teacher. One of her first hurtles was to prepare a program for the school […]
The Fourth Degree [dropcaps] O [/dropcaps] ur Worthy Deputy Grand Knight and the Faithful Navigator of Assembly 2799 has spoken tonight about the Clergy Appreciation Dinner to take place on Thursday, […]
On Bible’s Letter of St. James [dropcaps] I [/dropcaps] don’t usually delve into theology, preferring to leave that to those better educated in the subject. But I could not pass up this […]
Little known tales of the Civil War [dropcaps] T [/dropcaps]his year marks the 150th anniversary of the end of our Civil War. The month of April 1865 saw the surrender of Gen. […]
Of Patriotic Protocol [dropcaps] E [/dropcaps]ach year, I am reminded of my duties and obligations as your Lecturer – to educate and entertain. So tonight, we shall begin with education. One of my […]
Knights and Chivalry [dropcaps] I [/dropcaps] grew up along the shore of Lake Ontario. The weather there was not always conducive to outdoor play and, therefore, I, as an only child, had to […]
Our Flag [dropcaps] E [/dropcaps]ach weekday morning at our household, the TV gets turned on, lately to check the weather so my wife can decide what to wear since she’s still […]
Pentecost [dropcaps] I [/dropcaps] am a cradle Catholic, born into an Irish Catholic tradition on both my mother’s and father’s sides. However, my parents were not wealthy. Both had to work just […]
The Loretto Chapel [dropcaps] I [/dropcaps] began collecting postage stamps when I was in elementary school after inheriting collections from my father and uncle. In 1954, the post office issued a 1 […]
Are we being all that we can be? [dropcaps]B[/dropcaps]rother Tom Greco’s story last month about the Great Texas Train Wreck brought to mind another story that begins with a railroad train. […]
The Crash At Crush (Presented by guest Lecturer Tom Greco) [dropcaps] B [/dropcaps] usiness was slow for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas (M, K & T) Railroad during the summer of […]
The Magi [dropcaps] T [/dropcaps] oday, Jan. 6, is the Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord. Epiphany is defined as the manifestation of something, in this case, the presentation of […]
Dies Natalis of Sol Invicti [dropcaps] C [/dropcaps] hristmas has always been my favorite holiday, possibly stemming from the fact that I was an only child and the holiday pretty […]
Fulfilling What The Order Asks of Us [dropcaps] G [/dropcaps] od works in strange and wondrous ways. I fell a little behind in my reading and finally got to the […]
Our Roots [dropcaps] I [/dropcaps] n 1976, Alex Haley’s much acclaimed book “Roots” was released and spurred an interest in genealogy that still grips the public. The story concerned the […]