Dear Brother Knights:

I would like to say a few words regarding the Gospel of March 30th, when Jesus heals a man born blind. The healing of this man is not the most important happening in this story. I would like to direct your attention how the blind man reacts to the healing by Jesus Christ. His parents are afraid of the Jewish authorities and weasel out of a situation, which could have meant trouble for them. They direct the inquisitors to their own son whom they describe as old enough to answer for himself, because the Son is forthcoming and confesses that the one who has healed him, must be a man of God.

The Pharisees and Lawyers reject the profession of the healed man and expel him out of the synagogue, which is equal to excommunication. Later on, he meets Jesus without knowing that it had been Jesus who had sent him to wash his eyes after he had put a paste on them. The Lord asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of man?” The blind man answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in Him.” Jesus replied, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is He.” The blind man answered, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped him.

This is one of the most beautiful responses of a human being to Jesus Christ. The man who received his sight showed maturity and must have had a better understanding and interpretation of the happenings around him than the officials of the Jewish religion. The once blind man knew that his sight could have only been restored by God, and so he became a follower of Jesus.

Many things in our life have been bestowed on us by God (baptism, communion, forgiveness of sins in confession etc.) so let us also be determined to confess to Christ our allegiance.

Fr. Frank Feldmann, S.A.C.
K of C Chaplain

Dear Brother Knights:

As you well know, Jesus Christ is criticizing the scribes and the Pharisees in many places in the New Testament. The spiritual sickness, which He points out to be with them, can also be incurred by each one of us. These people were arrogant and conceited, and refused to expose themselves to the God they worshipped in the temple. They gave rules to other people but never put the spirit of these rules into their own life. For instance, they did all their deeds to be seen by others for they made their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They loved to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues. They liked to be greeted with respect at the market places and to have people call them Rabbi. Working on one’s image to impress other people is actually worshipping false gods.

We are all brothers and sisters and have to foster an attitude of concern for each other and interpret oneself as recipients from the one God who loves us. Whatever office we accept is a gift from the one who rules the universe. As Jesus Christ says at another place in Holy Scripture, when you have done all you can, say, “I am only a servant of the Lord.”

To put this understanding in our daily lives makes us less nervous about the question of how we do, and how we look in the eyes of other people. The reason for this is we put all things into God’s hands and don’t need to worry.

My dear knights, I wish you a good night’s sleep!!

Fr. Frank Feldmann, SAC
K of C Chaplain

Dear Brother Knights:

I would like to direct your attention to the gospel for the Sunday of the Presentation of Our Lord. There are two very interesting people who recognize the Lord when He is presented in the temple by Mary and Joseph. Of both is said that they spent lots of time in the temple to pray and share with the people their expectation of the Messiah.

It was actually for both the most important activity in their life to be with their God. Simeon tells Mary and Joseph that a vision had told him “He would not die until he had seen the Messiah”. One can really see on Simeon what a long relationship with God can do. He is happy to see Jesus and he doesn’t care anymore whether he dies tomorrow or the day after. The presence of the Lord is more important than his life on this earth. The same we can say about Anna, the happiness about the arrival of the saviour fills her heart and soul.

God doesn’t change when it comes to His response to people who seek Him out and form their life in His presence. We have to heed the invitation of Jesus Christ when He spoke to His disciples; “Follow Me”!

Fr. Frank Feldmann, SAC
K of C Chaplain

Dear Brother Knights:

I would like to invite you to come with me to the Jordan (I will pay for it!). Jesus has just arrived and asked John to baptize him. John is a little bit flabbergasted and says to the Lord, “you should baptize me and not I baptize you”. Jesus is very kind and friendly and convinces John to go ahead with it. When he does the Holy Spirit appears in a form of a dove and a voice is heard, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” It is not only that John gets informed who Jesus really is but he knows also that his mission has ended.

We do not know how long John was witnessing for the coming Messiah and how much he got used to his job, we can only guess, that the change came suddenly. But John as always, when we hear of him and his actions, is greater than life. He has no squabbles to give the torch over to Jesus. Selflessly he witnesses to his own disciples “he must grow, and I have to diminish.” Be honest to yourself when you meditate on this sentence of John. Would you have done the same, while you had a good thing going? John is the epitome of humility. We all can learn from him, if one has the courage to try it.

Fr. Frank Feldmann, S.A.C.
Chaplain

Dear Brother Knights:

I would like to say something to you about the gospel reading of the second Sunday in Advent. Here is John the Baptist, coming out of the wilderness and is preaching to everyone who takes the time to listen. He has a message for each and every one. People who are not in charge who believe in the salvation call of God are baptized in the Jordan and confess their sins. Sins are interpreted as times in life when God was not important. They regret and are invited to have a different thought in mind when they approach God.

The Pharisees and Sadducees get a harsh greeting from the forerunner of Jesus. John names them ‘brood of vipers’ because they interpret the Holy Scripture to suit their selfinterest. He calls them to repentance, which means: to approach life with a thought they can only receive from God. Don’t rely on Abraham who is your father or on any prophet; these did their deed in time when they were living on earth. God expects of you to do likewise and get your instructions from God and not from self-indulgence.

He points out to them that the real thing is still to come, the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. This means he will plant the thought of God into each heart open to him, and will purge all their wrong doings.

There will be an evaluation by God himself, some will enter the home of God, and others will perish, because they refused to have a relationship with the Saviour.

Fr. Frank Feldmann, SAC
K of C Chaplain

Dear Brother Knights:

I would like to say a few words to the gospel of the Twenty Eighth Sunday of ordinary time. There is Jesus healing ten lepers while between Samaria and Galilee. “Master, have mercy on us.” That is the call to Jesus. Jesus immediately gives a command, “Go and show yourselves to the priest.”

As you may have realized, Jesus omits the healing process, expressed by words and sent them off to make an offering so the priest would scrutinize them and verify that they are now healed and are again ready to be among people. And sure enough, on the way they are healed, but only one of them returns to thank Jesus and he is a foreigner, namely a Samaritan. He worships Jesus and is completely taken in by the Messiah. Jesus tells him to get up and go home, and makes him aware, that his trust, made him healthy again.

We should look at our life and learn from these lepers, and have no doubt that Jesus Christ can do things for us. To be in His presence and believe that he is the Son of God and do this every day, will create an atmosphere in which we cannot but change into a better human being. In our time this includes to have every day conversations with God, go as often as we can to mass and be aware that we are surrounded by sisters and brothers who are very important to us.

Fr. Frank Feldmann, SAC
Council Chaplain

Dear Brother Knights:

When Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem visiting towns and villages, someone asks him “Lord, will only a few be saved?” Jesus answers him, “strive to enter through the narrow door; for many I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” We may ask ourselves what is this narrow door and it’s meaning? I believe Jesus Christ is talking about a life according to God’s will and like his own. The most important activity in our life is to be curious about the life of Jesus. Constantly we should be reading about Him and find out how He lived, what he talked about and what His future view of His own life was. In a very short definition I would put two little sentences to this endeavor of ours. “I came to do my Father’s will, and, into your hands I commend my spirit”.

My dear Knights, don’t ever think this is easy to implement in our life. All of us have a selfish streak and one has to compare oneself often to the Master’s life. We should pray for each other that we have enough courage and gumption to twist our life more and more to the liking of Him. It is a hurtful procedure, we may even shed tears but we should also realize after a thunderstorm the sun is shining!

Fr. Frank Feldmann, SAC
Council Chaplain

Dear Brother Knights:

I would like to have a little meditation with you, on the feast day of the Body and Blood of Christ. What Jesus Christ left behind is almost an unbelievable act of kindness and support.

Our Lord died for us on the cross, the most painful and degrading death possible. But this was not enough for the immeasurable love of God. Jesus wanted to make sure that He is always in reach and has the ability to assist us in our troublesome life. Before He left for the Mount of Olives He celebrated his first mass in the upper room. For the first time humans were eating Jesus as God and as man. This food will be support for all who take part in mass and consume it. Being present in us He helps us to overcome our sinful inclinations and ever so slowly turn us into images of God by action and thought.

Therefore, my dear Knights, we should take the opportunity to partake in this Eucharistic celebration as often as possible so that we can become the Knights we ought to be. When you have a possibility to have time for a mass on weekdays, please take this opportunity, as it is the greatest chance to grow in your Christian life.

Fr. Frank Feldmann, SAC
Chaplain.

Dear Brother Knights:

In the gospel reading of the 5th Sunday after Easter, Jesus Christ is speaking of relationships. Many things we do when we start a relationship with a person or want to make it grow, are also valid for the relationship with God. There are two very important exercises we have to make to start out a relationship and to make it grow. I call them the two pillars of relationship. First, we must spend time with the person we want to be close to, and seek times to talk and exchange thoughts. Without these two exercises no relationship will come to be. The same law exists if we want to be close to God. Without spending time with God and have meaningful conversations with Him, nothing will happen. In the gospel reading of this Sunday Jesus Christ says something more about the relationship we must entertain with God. He tells us that God will live in us, influence us and make us see the essential changes we have to make to be a good brother or sister to other human beings and Jesus Christ, and a good child to the Father. Without doubt this will give us a different look at life and the world around us. It will make us God-like people and our actions towards other humans will also become God-like.

My dear Knights, we have a job to do, and God will help us.
Fr. Frank Feldmann, SAC
Chaplain, Council 4878

Dear Brother Knights:

I would like to invite all of you to come with me into the upper room where Jesus is having the Last Supper with his disciples, knowing that in three days he will be buried after suffering the most crucial torture and death. Our Lord must have an immense love and kindness for all human beings. He had decided to leave something behind by which every human being who has turned his mind and heart to the Son of God will always be able to be in contact with our Lord more intensive than a mother can be with her child or a spouse can be to a spouse. He changes bread into his body and wine into his blood, which he offers to the apostles that He can be one with each.

At that time the apostles did not realize what great things were happening to them. We all know today that Jesus Christ wants to be one with us and so help us to live a life as He would like to see. We all can realize and read in the Acts of the Apostles that the members of the ancient church went to pray in the temple while they broke the bread in their houses. By the breaking of the bread we are recognized as members of the kingdom and are the hopefuls to Everlasting Life .

My dear brother knights, wherever mass is celebrated and you have time to go there, it should become a self-understood call to be there and celebrate with Jesus and eat and become one with Him. By doing that you will worship with Jesus the Father in heaven who planned all of this.

Fr. Frank Feldmann, SAC
Chaplain, Council 4878