The Year of St. Paul and the Year of the Priest

We celebrate this Founder’s Day of the Knights of Columbus as the Year of St. Paul begins to give way to the Year of the Priest, both precious gifts to the Church Universal from Pope Benedict XVI. In his lively preaching and relentless pastoral activity, Father McGivney imitated St. Paul whose preached Christ in season and out of season, Christ, the power and the wisdom of God! Father McGivney also imitated St. Paul in moving about the parish– not waiting for visitors but going out to see his people – and in traveling from place to place to establish and spread the Knights of Columbus.

His missionary journeys did not take him as far afield as St. Paul but they were undertaken with same earnestness of purpose. There is yet another parallel between Father McGivney and St. Paul, namely, his outreach to the wider community in New Haven and beyond. Just as Paul brought the message of Christ to the Gentiles, so too Father McGivney brought his Catholic faith into the public square. Today we must continue doing just that with renewed vigor and courage!

About to dawn upon us is the Year of the Priest and how we should rejoice in the priestly ministry of our great Founder. By every measure he was an exemplary priest, a devoted shepherd of souls, who reproduced Jesus’ sacrificial love by Word, Sacrament, and personal witness.

He championed the people he served and was far ahead of his time in stressing the calling to holiness that addressed to every member of the Church and in raising up lay leadership within the Catholic Church. The legacy of Father McGivney shines on in the devoted service of our K of C chaplains in the solidarity of the Knights of Columbus with priests, and in the prayer and work of the Knights and their families for priestly vocations. What a grace it would be if Father McGivney were to be beatified soon, a parish priest from the State of Connecticut! What encouragement to us all!