SPEAKER_06 0:07

Welcome to Beyond the Weekend with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey. Join us for conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love. I'm Jay Agnish and with me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney. Bishop Kevin, how you doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:23

I'm good, Jay. Happy All Hallows Eve. Yes. Happy Halloween to you. Am I allowed to say this? Sure, uh, I just prefer all Hallows Eve. Yeah. Um this um same? Uh same to you, thank you. Thanks, thanks, thanks. Um what what's going on? Uh tomorrow, um November 1st, Feast of All Saints. I wanna I forget the year now, but it's the anniversary of the ordination to priesthood of St. Pope John Paul II. Uh he was ordained a priest in uh um on All Saints Day. Um I'm trying in Rome, I'm pretty sure in Rome. Um his little book I mentioned before, Gift and Mystery, the story of his own vocation. Uh he talks about being ordained and saying his first masses, I think he might have said three masses on All Souls Day. Not sure if everyone knows that uh priests have permission to celebrate three masses. Any priest can celebrate three masses. You can celebrate three masses if you have to, and some do. Okay. Um but normally um uh uh we you wouldn't necessarily celebrate three masses in a day, but on all souls day, uh every priest has permission to celebrate three masses um uh for the proposal souls. Uh they got it from Pope, I think it was Pope Benedict that made it clear, although it's probably been a custom for a lot longer than that, yeah. Um so um this year it will this episode will come out afterwards, but um uh All Saints Day fell on a Saturday and um All Souls on a Sunday. So um uh it's you know the the All Souls is uh it's really a beautiful day um to remember all those who have gone before us in faith, and uh certainly a day to be at Mass. And it falling on a Sunday is a reminder, hopefully, for everyone, um, that uh as we do at each mass, um we pray for those who have died, but in a special way, the day after All Saints um on All Souls Day, and really through the month of November. We have a custom of praying, especially for um all the faithful departed during the month of November.

SPEAKER_06 2:18

So Yeah, one of the customs I love is uh local chur parish might um put uh photos of loved ones who've gone before us.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

Uh the cathedral has a big um remembrance uh with candles, I think, and uh and names uh of all those who have died um as uh one of our or two of our guests might be able to share with us.

SPEAKER_03 2:37

Uh yeah this year we're going with uh Jay's idea. This year they're doing pictures. Oh beautiful.

SPEAKER_06 2:44

Not my idea, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

But they're uh they're going from the candles to pictures. Okay. I can do it this year.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Um physical pictures or yeah. Physical pictures.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

It'll be uh left left side of the altar. It'll be all filled with pictures. Right.

SPEAKER_06 2:59

Well why don't I hey why don't I introduce our guests and our and our topic real quick? Uh so we're gonna be talking about the Knights of Columbus, and and with us uh the person who was just speaking is Hector Jimenez. Uh he's a membership of uh uh ethnic development leader and district deputy, a member of the Cathedral Council 17254. Sitting next to him is Jim Sweeney, State Deputy of New Jersey's.

SPEAKER_02 3:24

No relation that we're aware of. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 3:26

We're long-distant cousins. But I I hear you've been joking that he's your your cousin lately or something. So, Jim Sweeney, uh well-known knight uh who's on our our state, the state council now of Knights of Columbus, he's also a member of the Bud Lake, Father Joseph A. Cassidy Budlake Council 6100. And then we're also going to introduce uh another knight in a in a little while, but thank you for being on the show. Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_05 3:54

Joining us, this is a real honor to be here. So thank you so much. The knights are an integral part of the Patterson Diocese. Uh the bishop, from the first moment he got here, we introduced I introduced myself, and we've tried to make inroads to make sure that active through the state of New Jersey, through the United States, and internationally unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02 4:14

From that little group that Father McGivney started that had a tough time to get going until they got that second council and the rest is history, as we say. Uh but maybe we'll uh pray are still here. You go um uh as the days, weeks, and months go by so quickly, and now we're of only two months left in the Jubilee year, but uh we're gonna make the most of it. And uh so let us place ourselves in God's presence in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. As pilgrims of hope in this jubilee of hope, together with the church, we pray the Jubilee prayer. Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your Son Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your kingdom. May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the pure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when with the powers of evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, pilgrims of hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you, our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise forever. Amen. Our Lady of Hope, pray for us for Christ. Saint Joseph, pray for us, Saint John the Baptist, pray for us. Saint Pope John Paul II, pray for us. Blessed Father Michael McGivney, pray for us. All holy men and women, pray for us. Name of the Father and the Son, of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

SPEAKER_06 6:01

So did you know the Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal organization? It was founded by Father Michael McGivney, who you mentioned in 1882 with a mission of charity. The organization's goal is to help men, their families, and their parishes grow closer to Christ. The Knights of Columbus provide opportunities to live and spread the Catholic faith through a virtually boundless variety of projects.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

And if you want to hear or read a great origin story, um, I think it's Douglas Brinkley, we'll have to double check the author, I always forget, but um uh Paris Priest. Um the story of Father Michael McGivney and the foundation of the um uh Knights of Columbus, um to say it got took a while to get off its feet, is uh and uh just uh real insight into American history, um um late 1700s, early 1800s, and uh what when what year was it founded? 1882. Excuse me, um uh in the 1800s. Uh and Father McGivney was only in his 40s, I want to say, when he died.

SPEAKER_05 7:01

Father McGivney died when he was 30, I think it's 38. Right. Uh because it was August 1st that he passed away, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:08

It's America in the late 1800s, but um it's uh it's a really uh I read it for the second time when we were together for mass uh well that's the summer now that it was, but um uh but uh state deputy, is that right?

SPEAKER_05 7:21

I am state deputy of the state of New Jersey, and we are, I was just telling some of the uh hosts before that we are number one in division one of all states in the jury all jurisdictions in the order for Division I. Those are the largest states within our order. We are now number one. So that's number one in terms of membership growth. Membership growth. And it's a lot is attributable to the gentlemen sitting here. These guys recruit actively at St. John the Baptist Cathedral, but all over the state we are bringing in new membership all the time. And it's because of a lot of the interesting programs that we are providing uh to our members so that and to non-members so that they're interested in joining.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

Jim, maybe you can share and then Hector, uh, maybe just tell us uh how long you've been in of Columbus and uh what was it like getting started and a little bit about what's led from there to here.

SPEAKER_05 8:13

Yeah, it's it's been an interesting ride. I I joined because I was asked. And the reason I focused on the.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

You grew up in the diocese, did you?

SPEAKER_05 8:21

I grew up in Jersey City, actually. Next door I knew it. And then yeah, I was in the Norcarch Diocese for almost uh 24 years. And uh then we moved to Mount Olive in 1984, and that's when I joined St. Jude Parish up in Bud Lake. Uh it has been a real journey. Uh, the reason I say I joined because I was asked. Majority of the men that we speak with that say, Why aren't you a knight? They say, Because I was never asked. And that's the focus is if you ask, they will join.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

When I was vocation director, we did a study in Brooklyn with Bishop DeMarzio, and uh they asked some young people, have you ever considered uh vocation to priesthood or religious life? And the kids just said no, the number one reason was nobody ever asked me. That's me. Right? Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 9:06

And and it has been a journey. I learned early on that um one of the things I felt deeply was that I wanted to participate in my faith. In other words, I wanted to put my faith into action. Um majority of my friends would all complain how society is, how things are, but they never got involved. My goal was to get engaged, and when I got engaged, I found a council that was really vibrant. They were very active, doing all sorts of that was up at lake. Yeah, it was a phenomenal council, and they are. They were on their way back now. They they have a phenomenal council at this point as well. Um there was everything that we did. We went to pregnancy resource centers and redecorated homes for several sources. We would do cleanup and things for the elderly. Uh, we cleaned the roadside with our squires, our youth organization. Uh there was just a lot of activities. But I think the best thing that I found out was what I enjoyed most, was volunteering. In other words, you see a grand knight and you see this all the time. A grand knight will get up in front of his meeting and he'll say, We want to run a dance. And is there any volunteers to run that? Nobody puts their hand up. But I found myself saying, Yeah, I wanted to do that because what it gave you the ability is to start to bring in other people. I I guess you call this servant leadership, you know, is that you get other people motivated and interested in doing the kind of work that we do, and hence you get the next set of leaders to come along. So, what I found through my involvement was that I enjoyed bringing those people in, getting them engaged, having them start their own programs and and initiatives, and I moved on then to the next role. And I guess I moved on a lot because it's 38 years. 38 years, is that right? Um I've been a knight, and now I'm uh now I'm State Deputy. So I'm very proud of the work that I've done.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

And Hector, when did you first hear about the Knights? So when did you join and what's it been like since then?

SPEAKER_03 10:59

I joined the Knights 31 years ago this year. Um believe it or not, uh no, I'm not from New Jersey. Uh I joined in in Hawthorne. I was my first council. I'm a Brooklyn boy from your old council. Actually, I was baptized and everything in uh in Brooklyn. Um it's funny how being asked. I used to go to St. Anthony's Church in Hawthorne, and uh I'll never forget this feisty middle-aged guy comes and says to me, You want to be a knight? I'm like, What's a knight? He's like, Well, we do this, this, that, and so forth. And I'm like, okay, that's interesting. And he hit me with we are here to help our priest, help the church, and help our community. And for some reason that just rang rang a bell on me. And um not even a month later. I was a knight and I've been a knight ever since 31 years.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

And um how long have you been at the cathedral?

SPEAKER_03 12:02

I know why he's asking that. Um the cathedral, we we didn't have a council, Knights of Columbus in the cathedral. Uh Monsignor Gino Silva arrived to the cathedral, and he is a brother knight, and he knew that. Um the beauty of Father McGivney is that he understood that a priest needed laymen to be able to help him with the mission of the church. Um that connection is what has made the knights what we are today. Father Gino came in and actually reached out to this young man. He wanted a counselor of the cathedral. And I kept my mouth quiet. I didn't I had another position in the cathedral, and somebody said, Oh, by the way, Hector's a knight. And um God works in mysterious ways. Yes, he does. And uh, we were very fortunate with the help of uh with Jim and other brothers to open our first council, and that is seven years ago. That's seven. Seven years ago we opened uh and and uh we've never looked back.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

And in addition to many other um activities, um the knights are I guess everybody at the cathedral pitches in, but um uh the uh Via Cruces, right, on um Good Friday, the Knights are very involved, right?

SPEAKER_03 13:14

Yeah, um every single male member in the Via Crucis is a brother knight. Um you started as a brother, or you will end as a brother. But uh as a brother knight, and um and we have a cast of approximately uh 97, 97, 98. What is the Via Cruces, just for people who may not know? Thank you, Jay. Thank you. Um the way of the cross is a cross. We believe it's a way of the cross, but we believe before there was the written word, there was actually spoken word. And the traditions of the church were passed down generation to generation via similar things, a play, uh uh obviously, and that's what we tend to do. We do a reenactment of the last moments of of of Jesus Christ on earth and and we do the uh uh in in the Spanish community, uh uh Living Via Crucis is what we do. Um it attracts four, five thousand people um on Good Friday. On Good Friday and it's it's touching uh it's it's amazing because uh again it it's it's it's we're all brothers. And it's amazing when you see a whole bunch of men who practice for months that day and you see us all weep because hey, it hits us strong because this is what we believe in. And thank you, Bishop, for always uh having our back and always being there for us.

SPEAKER_06 14:40

So let me just, if I could, if I could rattle off some of what I was looking on the website in preparation for the the episode. And I I was surprised at some of the programs and charities that the Knights are involved with. So I'm just gonna mention a a bunch here, and then maybe you could both speak to some of the local more local ones. So Knights of Columbus charities, just the charities arm of the Knights is involved with. United in Charity, our United in Charity appeal provides support to all our initiatives. Ukraine Solidarity Fund, disaster relief, culture of life, Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids, Warriors to Lords to Lords, Vocations, persecuted Christians since 2014, Christians who have fled the religious persecution in the Middle East receive humanitarian and spirit spiritual aid. And then there's the Father McGivney Military Chaplain Scholarship. So a lot of things that you might not think about that the Knights are involved with. What are some of the things that are you're involved with locally?

SPEAKER_05 15:38

Locally, we have some of the best programs going. Um we actually are the centerpiece in New Jersey for distributions. You've probably heard of the Coats for Kids program. And um Hector and I and Monsignor Silva and his whole team got together probably five years ago and decided that we wanted to distribute the coats at at the Patterson Cathedral. I think we call it Bethlehem and Patterson. And what we do is we purchase, uh Supreme gives us the ability to double our purchase of coats. And so whatever we purchase, we get two times that. And this year we're going for about 22 to 2,500 coats to give out to children on the streets of Patterson. In addition to that, they get a toy. I'm gonna hand it over to Hector on this because this is really his baby. My part in it is to do all the upfront work with, you know, the the proposals to get the BOGO, as they call it, uh instituted, and then I do the purchases, it all gets delivered, and these guys do a lot of the heavy lifting and stuff, and then we're all there. The beauty of this is that it's the entire diocese that contributes to this. All the councils within the diocese that want to can contribute their funds to this goal, and then it goes to the cathedral, and the cathedral has this huge amount of codes to give out to the Patterson and Passaic areas. It's wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 16:59

Just before Hector takes the baton, uh, you mentioned Supreme gives permission. Uh uh that's the uh central office of the knights uh there's a very um uh established uh structure. Um uh deputies and state deputies and um and uh uh there's some uh uh uh wonderful uh ceremonies to become a knight, is the the different degrees to we don't have to go into all that right now at the moment, but um but you feel that support, right? And and that structure enables, as you just said, Jim, um councils from different parts of the of the diocese to help this particular effort, right?

SPEAKER_05 17:36

Yeah, this this this effort, we become the focal point of it, though we do encourage the other diocese to do the same. We want them to go out and to start their own kinds of drives like this. But the Supreme, what they do is they start a program, but they support you to make it even more beneficial than you expect it to be. So I could talk about things like for the um uh for aid and support after pregnancy for for moms. You it's like a walking with moms thing. RSVP for seminarians, which is a refund program that gives us more support. They keep encouraging us to do these good works by giving us benefits that we wouldn't normally have. So, like with the coats for kids, this is tremendous because the other day I bought $13,000 worth of coats, but it translated into $26,000 worth of coats. That's 80 cases, if I'm not mistaken, that we that I ordered the other day. That's wonderful. That will come to the cathedral, and we can actually share not only in just the cathedral, but in other cases where we we have that overabundance, we'll be able to share that with the other diocese as well because we got that benefit. So, yes, Supreme not only puts out these programs, but they encourage the state's participation in it and do it in very, very s financial supportive ways that we normally wouldn't have.

SPEAKER_02 19:34

And that uh take us to what it's like uh when those toys and coats start coming into the cathedral.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

Uh i it it's an amazing program. Um it's an amazing program because it serves a very specific purpose is to be able to help our children in most need. Um everybody knows obviously the diocese of Patterson. Uh we we have our struggles. Um in again, under the leadership of of Monsignor Gino, we've been able to have something called a Bethlehem Patterson. We want to make one day close to Christmas a day for the kids to be able to have fun, for the kids to be able to experience what it is to have a toy, because sadly we know that a lot don't. Um another sad point: how many kids do we see just with a little hoodie? Because they don't have a coat. Um Supreme put this program out. This young man heard about it like immediately, picked up the phone. Hey Hector, why don't we do this? I'm like, let's go for it. And and Monsignor Gino is uh is good. Once you bring him an idea, let's try it. Um this will be our fifth year. We approximately giving out 2200 coats in the cathedral, and um we believe that no child should be cold for lack of a coat if we could help it. Um it works amazing. Last year we gave out 3,600 toys. Um and last year we had Santa Claus and we had train rides and we have a couple of things. Well, those toys come from because the Knights also, which which is it's an amazing organization. So there's different councils, and we're just gonna stick with the Patterson Diocese, but all the different councils in the Patterson Diocese, through their churches, do these toy drives. Close to our date, brother Knights go to all the different churches picking up all these toys. And the grand majority of the bulk comes from there. Brings it to the cathedral. Cathedral has uh Santa's workshop. I mean, they have everything, our our wives and our and our our sisters are they're just ready and they'll repackage them, label them uh boy, girl, age, and um it's it's pretty beautiful. Um this year, uh I don't want to give anything up, we're going with a little different aspect of it. Um we want to to make it even more Christ-centered. Um you know, there's a reason you're getting a gift, and there's a reason you're getting a toy, and it's not only for the train right at the end or anything. We're going more Christ-centered with it. And again, um I I have to say that Monsignor Gino is he's a lot like Bishop. You know, there's an idea, and that idea sparkles, and uh, you know, Bishop is like, let's go for it. Fall Gino, let's go for it. And that makes our council and our brother makes it a lot easier because if we dream it, we could do it.

SPEAKER_05 22:31

Uh this one, go ahead. No, there was nothing more moving than what we used to go around after we gave out the coats and the toy. We go around and we give out the remaining two. And I'll never forget the one time that Monsignor Silva w saw this girl behind a fence and she was like crying waiting for a toy. And he handed her that toy. I'll never forget it. It was the most moving moment that you'll see. And and this is the joy that you bring to that young child at a moment of, you know, with their life may not be all that great, but this is a great moment for them that they'll always remember.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

We're gonna bring Justin in, but um uh Jay was mentioning earlier about asking some a question like uh well what if someone wants to become a knight, right?

SPEAKER_06 23:12

Yeah, yeah. So what if I was like, hey, how do I become a knight?

SPEAKER_05 23:16

Oh well, let's start. Uh here we do it. We we whip out the phone, and actually we've we've improved our process so much in signing up knights. It's almost instantaneous. We we would we would take our cell phone, we would get you to fill out a form online, and you could join. But the most important part of it is not so much the activity of getting you to join, but getting you engaged. And once we get you engaged, like in accounts like his or in mine, instantly there are. Wait, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_06 23:43

This all sounds like so so much work. I only I I work, I I want to go to the gym, I my I have a busy life.

SPEAKER_05 23:49

Can you give one hour a month? That's what most of us will tell you. The good the good recruiters will tell you that, because here's the here's the hook. That one hour a month starts off, and you get engaged, and suddenly you see that activity that you most enjoy doing, and now you're giving more of those hours to that. It may be to youth, it may be to uh doing stuff around the church, it may be to core, it may be to several different activities within that the councils offer. You said we had this plethora, the Schmorgisborg of activities. Yes, we do, and you may find that one. And suddenly you're not given just that one hour a week. You'll be excited to give that four hours a month, maybe even more than that, those some guys say that.

SPEAKER_02 24:33

And we say we say something like Catholic fraternal organization, but uh it's based in the faith. Um and it gives men and their wives and families often um uh uh an opportunity to live their Catholic faith in addition just to come being being at mass. Um but fraternal, uh uh there is a brotherhood and there's a um there's some social opportunities as well, right? Absolutely. Uh absolutely so um so as as you say, uh if if uh a a man can find that time to give an hour a month, no pressure to give more, but all of a sudden he might find himself wanting to do more.

SPEAKER_05 25:14

The social environment, and and Hector can speak more of this because his parish is incredibly good at this, they have social activities that bring their membership together that is just outstanding. And and it brings the families, the kids, everyone together at an event. And that's really what it's about. Suddenly your your friends' circle grows from a few people that live next door to you, or maybe no one, to all of a sudden having this entire parish that knows you. And it's not just about the programs, because core is a centric part of it. I I know the bishop is well versed in it because he's heard Patrick Kelly, our Supreme Knight, speak of it to all the bishops. Uh core is is is an activity, uh it's it's a faith-centric activity that we're trying to get the the councils back into.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

Or councils go ahead. I core, I think the Latin word for heart, um and I think it's uh uh Saint John Henry Newman, who was about to be declared a doctor of the church. I think it was him. We can double check, it might have been another saying, but cor od cor loquitor, heart speaking to heart. Um so um uh the knights discern that uh a lot of great things, Catholic faith and action, but do the do the brothers have an opportunity or are they comfortable with speaking about their relationship with the Lord in prayer, um uh sharing their faith uh as as uh as disciples and witnesses and um core now is that opportunity within the organization to uh study the scriptures and come together in in faith sharing groups, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 26:50

Yes, this is very close to something like what I call called a cornerstone alumni, where gentlemen get together and and the benefit of it is it's it's a reading of the scripture, maybe a few questions to get you to reflect on the scripture. And then from there, you sit as men in this day and age on how that scripture comes to life in your life. What effect does it have on you? And by doing that, it tells you, you know, it helps you to understand I'm not the only one in this. Uh the scripture, instead of just listening to it from, let's say, you know, in the church, you now have the ability to discuss it as men and say, wow, I never really thought of it that way, Jay. That's the way, that is really the way I should think about it. And it really gets men engaged in their faith. Because of one thing, we got all these programs, and sometimes we were viewed as just being a program-oriented kind of organization. We are now trying to re-establish ourselves as a faith leadership organization, and that's what COR and EFF will do that for us. Jim Borges is our leader in that in the state, and uh we'll have other leaders within our own diocese that'll do this as well.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

Great. Okay. Uh one I think um we want to get your younger brother uh knight uh Justin in. But just Hector, before you go, um uh the best thing about being a knight, and if there's uh uh a gentleman out there on the fence thinking about, well, I wonder if I should do this, what would be your uh uh minute or two pitch to say so two things. One, what what's what it for yourself, what's the best thing about being a knight? And then secondly, what would you say to someone who's thinking about it?

SPEAKER_03 28:24

Uh number one, the best thing about being a knight is camaraderie. Um we together could change anything, we could definitely change our lives, change our society, change everything. And it is a camaraderie of Catholic men, so we have that in common right off the bat. We're all Catholic men, and we all wanna uh, you know, our goal is the Lord. Um yes, we do a lot of social activities, Jay. You were talking about super social. My favorite thing is that us together as a group could both be social. We can hang out, we could go out to dinner with our wives, and we also know that we serve our church and our Lord by far. For a young man, um, and I was talking to our behind the camera uh person, Cecile, we're talking about uh, oh, I'm so busy, I have so many activities, I don't know what to do, uh, I don't have enough time. And then my a my answer to them or my question is, like I said today, and who gave you all that time and all that work? Pause. And then I'm like, doesn't he deserve at least one hour back a month?

SPEAKER_02 29:40

And who with mess during the mass I think during a month? Yeah, one hour a week at mess uh put him to work.

SPEAKER_03 29:49

And um and and it's funny because um you're a church anyway, you're a church with your children, you're a church uh helping here, you're you're cutting the grass, you're doing it, you're there already. Join the group that is our focus and our main purpose is to help our local priest and our church and our religion. That that would be my my sell to anybody who's on the fence, whether to join or not. You have you're busy, you have a lot of work. And who gave that to you? Give a load of back.

SPEAKER_02 30:21

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Thank you, Hector, for being with us.

SPEAKER_06 30:30

Okay, well, Hector, thank you for for joining us. And now we're gonna welcome Justin Carrasco, who is field agent for the Knights of Columbus and Youth Director at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and member of the Cathedral Council 17254. So welcome, Justin.

SPEAKER_00 30:45

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02 30:47

A return guest, right? Oh yes, my second time. Thank you so much for the invitation. Um the previous um was on youth ministry, was it? Yes, on youth ministry. Right, right. So um, as I asked Jim and uh Hector, maybe just share a little bit about um when you first heard of the Knights of Columbus, uh, how did you decide to become a knight? And uh since you became a knight, what's it been like uh being a knight of Columbus?

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Well, to be quite frank with you, I remember when the cathedral first announced that they were gonna have a council for the Knights of Columbus. I saw all the men who would had raised their hand, who had stood up, that wanted to participate, and I thought, I don't want to do that. You know, I had seen the Knights of Columbus, and and I've heard this through many of my own colleagues that it's just an old boys' club. Until eventually I had this big knucklehead, we call him Hector Jimenez, and he said, Hey, young man, I think you'd be a great addition to the Knights of Columbus. Never did I ever thought that someone like him would want to have little old me become a knight of Columbus. Until as of three years ago, I've been a knight and I've loved it ever since. I have had such the greatest experience becoming a knight. I've had a great group of friends, even though they're a lot older than me, but still they're my brothers. And since then, I have ingrained the knights right here on my heart. And anything that I do, I always want to promulgate the mission of the knights, especially within youth ministry. All all the kids know that as soon as they turn 18, especially the boys, that one, they can be my friend, and two, that all my friends are knights.

SPEAKER_05 32:18

Uh and um is it still the squires program for the the Supreme has has backed off a little bit on support of the squires. They've sort of tried to pass it to the parishes to run the youth programs, but we still have squires circles here in the Patterson Diocese. It's run by Tom Rowe, and he runs that organization across the different parishes. Right.

SPEAKER_02 32:41

Uh Jay described, uh mentioned that um Justin was uh not only a knight but a field agent. Uh you can uh we'll come back to that in a moment, I think, because uh uh going back to the origin story and um uh Father McGhibney uh Jim, the uh the knights also um basically have a an insurance uh that's correct wing or um that business um aspect of uh um I it's it's a reading the story of Father McGhibney, uh it was a time when if a family if a husband died, you know, the wife and the kids could be um destitute, and um and so there was this basically life insurance or um uh death benefit. Um but tell us a little bit about that aspect of the Knights from the beginning to where it is now, and then maybe Justin can tell us about as much as the field.

SPEAKER_05 33:30

You look at where the Knights of Columbus started from, uh when Father Michael McGivney was assigned to St. Mary's Church, uh, all he could see were the families that, if they lost their breadwinner, lack of a better term, the widow and the children, and we're talking families, sizable families, you know, four, six, ten kids, were suddenly thrown into the courts because a widow at that time, a woman really didn't have an occupation. And so those children were thrown to the wind and at the mercy of the courts. And the families were literally broken up, and this broke his heart. And he decided what he wanted to do was start something that would support those families when this occurred. And that's where the Knights of Columbus really got its start. It was not just an organization of faith and fraternity, but it also focused on taking care of our brothers and their families. And you would come to a meeting and you'd literally put in 50 cents, $5, $10, whatever your means were. And that built up the kitty so that should one of our brothers unfortunately, you know, meet his doom or meet his maker, what would then happen is that uh the council would then subsidize his family through some fixed number that they would give to him. And $500 in 1880s was a huge amount of money. That was a several years' salary. So, but now we've grown into an organization, as we said before, 2.1 million men, greater than that, seven over 17,000 councils, and now we're powering an insurance company that's triple A rated, it's the top of its peak, and that's who Justin works for now. So, Justin, why don't you take it from there and sort of tell us a little bit about the insurance?

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Absolutely. And so within the Knights of Columbus, I also work for the financial side of it, well, the insurance end of it. And so, all in all, what I get to do is I get to sit down, I get to protect Catholic families. That is the true bread and butter of what we do for the Knights of Columbus. Whether I'm meeting a young man and he doesn't know what retirement even sounds like, so I get to sit down and provide a little bit of financial literacy. Or whether I'm meeting a family and maybe one of their members have reached a terminal illness, I get to see, all right, how can we allocate funds to make sure that they get a proper burial and have a true Catholic funeral. Or maybe I'm meeting somebody where they just had a baby and say, like, you know, what final what financial opportunities could I provide my little boy or little girl as they start to grow up? Giving them a for real, uh giving them an honest financial leg as as they just begin their life. And so ultimately, I do it for that one Catholic brother. I do it for that one.

SPEAKER_02 36:11

How long have you been a field agent?

SPEAKER_00 36:13

I've been a field agent for a little over a year and a half now.

SPEAKER_06 36:17

So thank you for sharing the that aspect of it. I was definitely curious about it too. Thanks for asking, Bishop. Um I wonder if we could talk a little bit about I guess the kind of the relationship between the the priest and the and the knights, and um uh it's what comes to mind is maybe vocations and seminarians. I know there's uh that's one of the areas that the knights supports. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

RSVP grant, but I think Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh there's a few years ago now, but as a seminarian, we I uh I be I joined the Knights as a seminarian in Long Island, uh at the seminary in Huntington. Um uh but uh each semester the seminarian would get this, I think it was $500 check, which was in the mid-90s, uh very helpful uh to a struggling seminarian. And uh uh and and that was a way that we certainly heard uh felt the um the um uh the presence and and support of the Knights of Columbus um in a very practical way, and it still goes on, right?

SPEAKER_05 37:17

Uh right now, I mean there are so we stand in solidarity with our priests, bishops, seminarians, and and deacons. Our goal is to make sure that they know they have a friend, and uh the the bishop has seen this. Friends of the Vatican as well. Yeah, and and so well yeah, I I won't even touch on that one, but yes, we've we've helped to reduce St. Peter's uh Basilica there with the what is what is it, the canopy.

SPEAKER_02 37:41

There's a term for the uh um yes uh baldicino.

SPEAKER_05 37:45

Balapino that that's over the altar. We restored that whole thing as an organization for the Supreme Canada. For the Jubilee. The things that this Supreme and the states do is just outstanding, but it's locally what we provide, and in New Jersey is is outstanding. For instance, the Pride Nor Priest dinner is coming up in another month, November 24th, I believe it is. And this is a night where we invite all the priests in the diocese. We get almost a hundred priests to come to that dinner. And in addition, the bishop is there. There's two other bishops, Bishop Kirk Burnett and Bishop Paul Bukoski, uh, Bishop Emeritus and Metuchin, and they come there. And this is an opportunity for them to socialize without the business aspects, I'm sure. And I see how you move around in that audience, and it's just so fantastic because it gives them the ability just to socialize, break bread and have a good time. In addition to that, the knights provide support for, I'll call them young men that are maybe approaching discernment, Quo Vatis. We come up with Quovatis.

SPEAKER_02 38:46

They cook a great barbecue. Yes, we sit there and serve a day now, also the other one.

SPEAKER_05 38:51

We do both those events, and it's very exciting because we come, Quovatis, we really literally just were the cooks and the chefs and everything. And when you have teenage boys, there's nothing, there's nothing worse than trying to feed enough because you can't have enough food. But it's an outstanding event. I've had one of your burgers in the house. Yeah, yeah, it's an outstanding event. On top of that, you were saying altar service. These who's the closest person to the priest when the Eucharist is transformed. It is, it is, it is an opportunity. It's the altar servers that are standing there. These folks, these kids may not even thought about it, but being that close, you're cl you're that close to nobody else in the audience gets that opportunity. So, in our appreciation to that, we have a will we support the altar server appreciation day that the bishop reinstituted. And this is a golden opportunity. Again, we set up, we break down, we we cook for them. It's a great day. Um the RSVP program is a program that's been probably around, if it's been, you just said since the 90s. So it's been around for at least 35 years, and this is where a council can contribute to a seminarian. And we encourage all seminarians in Patterson are covered. We've done we've made sure of that, thanks to Michael Klavisek, who runs that program for us. And what it does is you give a $500 contribution, but Supreme, again, to encourage us to do this, will give us another $100 towards that seminarian to make sure he's covered. So your $500 turns into $600. And multiple councils will probably support some of the same seminarians. So they get a real bump. No, you may only got one. They may give it to a few other worlds. They can use whatever comes in. The one thing that I've learned, and and I guess this comes after 38 years, is a seminarian today is our pastor tomorrow. And so just like you remember it, they will remember it.

SPEAKER_02 40:42

And uh the Diocesan Ministries Appeal helps with that as well. So we'll be a little more commercial there for uh uh Justin, um as I asked Hector, um the best thing about being a knight, and certainly your work as a field uh agent, as you just replied, uh making it so um uh vivid, really, uh that you get to help Catholic families um uh have some security. Um but um uh in addition to that, maybe the best thing for you about being a knight, and uh if there's a young man out there who's thinking about it, what what would you say in terms of uh why they should think about filling out that application?

SPEAKER_00 41:19

Best thing about being the knight is definitely my brothers. I have enjoyed so much time becoming the knight because of the great council that I'm a part of. And many of the councils that I get to visit as a field agent, that spirit is still alive. And so I encourage every single young man or every single Catholic man to become a Knight of Columbus. Why? Because we are the greatest organization in the entire world, and I wish that every single Catholic man can get to enjoy and experience it in the same way that I have.

SPEAKER_02 41:49

Uh the greatest organization within the greatest organization in the world, right? Oh, come on now. Come on, absolutely. Right, right, right, right, right. Uh Catholic fraternal uh organization, yes. Number one in the world. Right.

SPEAKER_06 42:03

Okay. Did we miss anything?

SPEAKER_02 42:05

Um did we miss anything?

SPEAKER_05 42:07

Oh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 42:08

I have a question for you.

SPEAKER_05 42:09

Do you know uh Monsignor David Casado? Of course, yes, great Brooklyn Preacher. Can you explain bleacher preachers?

SPEAKER_02 42:18

That is for the future episode, but uh out of the archives, very good.

SPEAKER_05 42:24

Uh um I met him at the Columbia's uh Supreme Convention, and he said, okay, so here's what I want you to ask him. And I said, I'll have to save that from when I'm on speaking and beyond.

SPEAKER_02 42:34

So that was into another episode. Into the uh opportunity to uh do a little uh sports talk show. Uh so uh we'll we'll come back to that one. Oh, yeah, we I want to ask you about this.

SPEAKER_06 42:46

You know what I did want to ask? So there's uh priest chaplains, maybe you can speak to that a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 42:51

Right. Um uh uh each council has uh as a chaplain, right?

SPEAKER_05 42:55

Absolutely. We we strive to have each council have a chaplain. Some councils have a deacon in in in place because maybe the pastor's duties are are a little too much for him to give the time. A lot of times uh the pastor makes it when he can, because honestly, and the state chaplain. The state chaplain is Bishop Paul Flykowski. Bishop emeritus is Mituchin. He is a very close friend of mine. I I love the man, and and he still wants to keep coming. He'll be at our pride and our preacher.

SPEAKER_02 43:24

And we think of our neighbors in the diocese of Metuchin, we're praying for a new bishop. Bishop Checchio, who's gonna be the new Archbishop in first Co Judah, and then the Archbishop of New Orleans. Um and uh and so we pray for the Church of Mutuchin that they'll um be given a good shepherd to to be their their next bishop. So we we pray for that. But uh um the fraternity and socialization uh uh uh an annual convention, right? Um both on the intern uh national level and the state level of the United States.

SPEAKER_05 43:53

Our national, our our supreme convention will be in Colorado this year. Uh it's we're really looking forward to it. We had an outstanding attendance at DC. We had over 70 members of the New Jersey State Council.

SPEAKER_02 44:06

And May 14th to 16th, down by the shore of the state. Yes, we will be.

SPEAKER_05 44:10

15-16, I think it is. Yeah, I gotta get the right data. Yeah, we're gonna do it. This is this is a golden opportunity for the state to come together and to celebrate all the achievements that we've had. In addition to that, it gives us an opportunity to honor those councils that have uh reached such significant recognition, including the cathedral. They've done it several times. Uh, our membership will be a focus this year. I gotta give a shout out to a few people, Mike Leiden, who has led our membership team in the state. He's very centric to our program here in Patterson, as well as Hector. And and these guys are what's leading the state to what we talked about at the beginning, leading off the Division I states.

SPEAKER_02 44:47

It sounds like uh yourself and Hector are gonna have to be like Justin and be uh a repeat guest, right? Because there's still a lot of good. Oh, we can, we can, we can we can we'll look forward to a could a part two. Um this could be a series.

SPEAKER_06 44:59

That's right, that's right, that's right, that's right. Fantastic. All right, well, thank you all for being being on and for for teaching us more about the nights and uh your personal experience. But uh I'm gonna as we wind this down, Bishop. Uh what else is what else is going on? There's uh at the top of the show we were kind of discussing a few things.

SPEAKER_02 45:18

Uh last weekend was a wonderful weekend. Uh um our um um uh what was on Saturday morning? Uh it was great. Uh the Respect Life convocation. Respect Life Convocation, yes. Uh fantastic uh Lisa Renovalas and Annie Hansberger and um put together a beautiful at St. Peter the Apostle in Parsipone, the wonderful Respect Life Convo Jim was there. Um and then um this past Sunday afternoon, uh our Jubilee for Young Adults at um St. Andrew the Apostle in Clifton. I think we had over a hundred young adults and uh talk by Father Starley at the cathedral, um uh and a mass and then a nice dinner. Um great to see the vibrancy of our our young adult um uh uh brothers and sisters who are uh active in their parishes and throughout the diocese. And then um uh we had our priest convocation the week before last, which was wonderful, a great blessing. And then um a week from Monday, Monday the 10th, begins the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops annual meeting in Baltimore, semi-annual meeting. Uh and uh so we'll keep that in prayer. So you'll be heading the Baltimore. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_06 46:29

Okay. All right.

SPEAKER_02 46:30

Well, uh anything you're listening to or or reading or um tell us about the biography of Mark Twain by Ron Chernoff. Oh yeah? Yes, yeah. How about that?

SPEAKER_01 46:41

Very cool.

SPEAKER_02 46:41

Quite a character. Samuel Clemens.

SPEAKER_06 46:45

All right. Well, thank you for joining us. Please subscribe, comment, and leave a positive rating. Get to know us better by following Bishop Kevin's Instagram and beyond the beacon on social media. Read the bishop's weekly column on beaconnj.org. Get in touch if you have a question for the bishop or a podcast topic idea and discover our other podcasts. See you next time.

SPEAKER_02 47:07

Thank you, everybody. Thanks, Jim. Thanks, Hector and Justin. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks, Jim.