Faith Review

On Saturday, February 15, we will host a major degree ceremony.  I was looking over Brother Peter’s latest roster and counted 75 first degree knights who are eligible, if they have paid their 2014 dues to take part in that ceremony.  I noticed that most of them are not here tonight.  As your Retention Director I would like to point out that, as previously stated by Brother Dover, most of our attrition comes from Knights who have not progressed beyond the First Degree.

I was fortunate enough to stumble into a Humanities 204 section taught by Dr. Bosworth while attending OSU.  The course was required for graduation but I didn’t know just how lucky I was to end up in Dr. Bosworth’s section.  About a thousand students took that course each semester.  About 970 spent two hours a week in a class room lecture, reading excerpts from the assigned classical texts, The Iliad, by Homer, a selection of Greek plays, and The Aeneid by Virgil as well as attending an hour “lab” a week in the classroom auditorium watching a slide show about ancient history after the obligatory “pop quiz” over last week’s lab.  Dr. Bosworth spent two class periods in the first six weeks that dealt with the course material.  The first was when he read excerpts of the Iliad from his favorite translation, explaining how the text we were using was grossly deficient.  The second hour was spent going over the answers to our first six weeks test that was coming up the next Tuesday.  If you spent your time wisely, stayed awake and took good notes during that hour you had at least a “B”.  While 970 students were memorizing what was on Achilles’ shield our class was learning what Homer had to say about honor.

When you became first degree knights you were given a booklet, “These Men They Call Knights”.  You were advised by the Grand Knight to study the booklet and to educate yourselves about the Knights and our faith.  No one expects you to become a full-fledged theologian but you should be able to answer simple questions about your faith.

I scrounged up my copy of “These Men They Call Knights” and have come up with a few questions we all should know the answers to.

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q1: How many commandments were given to Moses?” active=””]Ten.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q2: The first three commandments deal with what?” active=””]Our relationship with God.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q3:  The fourth commandment instructs us to do what?” active=””]Honor your Father and your Mother.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q4: The next six commandments, sometimes referred to as the ‘shalt nots’, instruct us about what?” active=””]How to conduct ourselves in our society.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q5: What did Jesus say was the “Greatest Commandment?”” active=””]‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q6: Jesus gave us the sacraments to help us live a Christian life.  What is a sacrament?  Careful, not what are the sacraments but what is a sacrament?” active=””]A sacrament is a sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q7: How many sacraments are there?” active=””]Seven.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q8: Name the seven sacraments.” active=””]1. Baptism
2. Reconciliation
3. Holy Eucharist
4. Confirmation
5. Matrimony
6. Holy Orders
7. Anointing of the Sick[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q9. A few of the sacraments may be received more than once while the others are a once in a life time experience.  How many may be received more than once and which ones are they?” active=””]Four sacraments may be received more than once:
1. Reconciliation
2. Holy Eucharist
3. Matrimony
4. Anointing of the Sick[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q10: Under normal circumstance the sacrament of Baptism is performed by a member of the clergy. Can anyone else perform this rite and if so when?” active=””]Any Catholic may perform a baptism if the person to be baptized is in eminent danger of death.  If the person is still alive when a member of the clergy arrives the sacrament can be repeated.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q11: Seven appears to be a magic number.  The church has instituted guess how many Precepts?” active=””]Seven.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q12: Can you tell us what they are?” active=””]1. To attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
2. To fast and abstain from meat on appointed days.
3. To confess one’s sins at least once a year.
4. To receive Holy Eucharist during the Easter time.
5. To contribute to the support of the Church
6. To observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage.
7. To join in the missionary spirit and apostolate of the Church.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q13: Pentecost is the ________ of the Church.” active=””]Birthday[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q14: In the creed we repeat each mass we say we believe in a “catholic and apostolic” Church.  What does that mean?” active=””]Catholic = Universal.
Apostolic = Founded by the Apostles.[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q15: Would you believe there are ______ Capital Sins?” active=””]Seven[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q16:  The Capital Sins are:” active=””]1. Pride
2. Covetousness
3. Lust
4. Anger
5. Gluttony
6. Envy
7. Sloth[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q17: The Holy Spirit has given us ______ gifts.” active=””]Seven[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q18: The gifts of the Holy Spirit are:” active=””]1. Wisdom
2. Understanding
3. Counsel
4. Fortitude
5. Knowledge
6. Piety
7. Fear of the Lord[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q19:  When you became a knight you were given a rosary.  How many sets of Mysteries are there and how are they titled?” active=””]Four sets of five each:
1. Joyful Mysteries
2. Sorrowful Mysteries
3. Glorious Mysteries
4. Luminous Mysteries[/toggle]

[toggle type=”white” title=”Q20:  In what year and where were the Knights of Columbus founded?” active=””]In the spring of 1882 at St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven, CT.[/toggle]