Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart
Knights of Columbus State Deputies Meeting
June 10, 2022
New Haven, CT
Introduction
At the conclusion of this Holy Mass, many of you will be installed as State Deputies. I congratulate you on your election even as I pray that the new fraternal year will be especially fruitful and successful for each of you. As you begin this new and important responsibility in the Knights of Columbus, I would ask that we focus for a moment on our founder, Blessed Michael McGivney. In particular, I would like to call to your attention his devotion to the Sacred Heart, and invite you to view your responsibilities through that privileged lens.
As young Michael McGivney came of age and entered the seminary, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Sacred Heart of Mary was popular. Many homes, especially those of Irish-Americans, were decorated with framed prints of the images of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and it is quite likely that these images could be found in the McGivney household. Not many of Father McGivney’s letters survive, but he closes one of them, written to a priest, with the words, “Yours truly in the Sacred Heart.” When young Father McGivney accompanied Chip Smith to the gallows, Chip wore a Sacred Heart Badge, no doubt a gift of Father McGivney.
These are indications of Father McGivney’s warm devotion to the Sacred Heart, but perhaps the strongest indication was his pastoral love. As we read about and meditate on Father McGivney’s tireless pastoral labors, we can easily see that he exemplified St. John Vianney’s description of the priesthood: “The priesthood,” said the Cure of Ars, “is the love of the heart of Christ.” Father McGivney’s active priestly love flowed from the heart of Christ and it attracted the people he served to the heart of the Divine Savior, described by the Church as “an abyss of charity”, a bottomless charity.
Three Principles of the Order and the Heart of Jesus
Father McGivney drew the foundational principles of the Order from the Heart of Jesus, to whom he had such a warm devotion and to whom he, as a priest, was sacramentally configured. Yes, in the Heart of Jesus, Father McGivney found an infinite love, not only for humanity in general, but for each person individually. As he prayed the Divine Office and celebrated the Mass and the Sacraments, Father McGivney absorbed the love flowing from the heart of Christ and allowed it to transform his life from the inside out, enabling him to have that purity of heart Jesus calls us to in today’s Gospel. In moments of quiet prayer, Father McGivney listened to the voice of the Shepherd, a voice which did not blaze or shout, but whispered tenderly, as the Heart of Jesus spoke to his priestly heart. When the Holy Spirit inspired Father McGivney to found the Knights of Columbus, is it any wonder that he made charity, the charity of the Heart of Christ, the foundational principle of his new and imaginative endeavor? By his tireless pastoral love, Father McGivney drew many to the heart of Christ where they discovered their deepest desire for union with God, a love that expresses itself in the works of charity done by the Order as a whole, and by so many of our Councils and individual Knights and their families … Dear State Deputies, to be truly successful, you, like Father McGivney, must listen to the voice of the Lord in prayer, allowing his Sacred Heart to speak to your heart, so that your every relationship and endeavor will be rooted in the love of Christ. And in the spirit of Bl. Michael McGivney, you must exemplify that charity, for ultimately, it is love that enables us to give credible witness to Christ & the Gospel.
As Father McGivney grew in holiness, the Sacred Heart drew him into a beautiful union with God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. As this busy parish priest went about his endless duties, as he dealt with difficult situations and fractious personalities, his life was grounded in the unity of the One God in Three Persons. From his deep and personal relationship with Christ, he was drawn into that unity and it became the source of his ministry as a unifier – a unifier of his bustling parish and a unifier among his brother Knights. The grace flowing from the Heart of Christ made him more than a natural leader; he became a convincing witness to the unity of the God who is love. This, too, sheds light on Father McGivney’s decision to make unity one of the Order’s founding principles … Dear State Deputies, as you contemplate the year ahead, you can easily see that in various ways, you will need to be unifiers in your jurisdictions, and perhaps deal with those who might weaken the unity of the Order. Like Father McGivney, allow Sacred Heart to lead you to share more deeply in the unity of the Trinity, in the love of the One God in Three Persons. Here is the secret source of the patience and wisdom you will need not only to deal with those who may be fractious, but to engender the wholehearted cooperation of your jurisdictions.
I’ve already spoken of Father McGivney’s loving care for the needs of others, but let us reflect on the source of his care and attention to the needs of others. That source was indeed the Heart of Jesus who drew him into a living relationship with God the Father in union with the Holy Spirit. There, in the heart of the Trinity, Father McGivney discovered the self-giving love of each of the Divine Persons. There, in the heart of Christ, he experienced “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” which became the ultimate source of our principle of fraternity – our solidarity with those in need and our fellowship with one another. According to Father McGivney’s vision for our Order, we claim those who are in need as our brothers and sisters, and we look out for one another as brothers and families united in the Lord. This extends to one another’s spiritual well-being … Again, State Deputies, as you look ahead to a new year, remember that we call it a “fraternal” year – a time to build our fraternity with new members and a time to deep our fraternity by ties of faith and friendship. May you find wisdom and strength in the Heart of Christ to build fraternity in the various jurisdictions you represent and lead.
Conclusion
So, with renewed congratulations, I wish you a wonderful fraternal year and pray that you, your families, and your fellow Knights will be drawn, by the prayers of our Founder, into the Heart of Christ, the Source of our Charity, Unity, and Fraternity.
May God bless you and keep you in his love! Blessed Michael McGivney, pray for us. Vivat Jesus!