Building Bridges in God’s Earthly Kingdom
Joseph L. Gubasta, Ph.D.
(Elder Council, September 2011)
Presentation Guiding Principles:
Further God’s Kingdom through personal and spiritual development, Council fellowship and service.
Encourage the men to identify and appreciate their unique giftedness plus the gifts, talents, and wisdom of their brother Knights.
Stimulate dialogue focused on ways to ensure responsible stewardship of Council time, talent, and treasure in the context of serving God, the Church (St. Gertrude Parish and larger church), and community.
Presentation:
Our task as Knights and brother’s in Christ is to build each other up in ways that help to further God’s Kingdom. How can we do this? St. Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians (5:12-22), wrote this:
- Brothers, respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and who admonish you, and show esteem for them with special love on account of their work.
- Be at peace among yourselves.
- Admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all.
- See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good [both] for each other and for all.
- Rejoice always.
- Pray without ceasing.
- In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
- Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good.
- Refrain from every evil.
Key Points:
- Respect and esteem for our spiritual leaders is good for the Order.
- Our inner peace and joy will attract other people, especially men.
- Patient endurance and kindness toward others builds relationships.
- Ongoing prayer opens our hearts to Divine guidance in all circumstances, especially in times of temptation.
Food for Thought:
In our secular society we are surrounded by “experts, professionals, and self proclaimed know-it-alls” who continuously vie for our attention, time, and money. These people appeal to our immediate and short-term physical and emotional needs, wants and desires with little or no regard for our spiritual health and eternal life. We need to identify ways and means to replace the voices of human folly with the wisdom of God.
Action:
- Do you have a spiritual advisor or mentor and do you consult with him/her routinely?
- Do you consciously pray unceasingly?
- Do you give the spiritual media equal time to that spent reading, watching, and listening to secular communications and entertainment?
Prayer:
Holy, almighty and immortal God we pray for the grace and gifts to know, love and serve you in this, your earthly kingdom, especially through our membership in the Elder Council of the K of C. We ask this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, through the influence of your Holy Spirit, and the intercession of our Blessed Mother. Amen!
