Knights of Columbus

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super64

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Hello All,

The Knights are doing their annual membership drive and I was wondering about this group. What are your feelings on them? Good, bad or whatever? Are they supercatholics or just super social?

Thanks
Scott
 
My dh has been involved for many years now and it has been nothing but good for him. Knights of Columbus. You local council must be hosting an information evening. Go and see for yourself if this is something you are interested in. 🙂
 
The Knights are a very good organization, and the local Councils do a lot of charitable work with the community they are involved in. My grandfather is a 4th degree Knight and I have been invited to join (still thinking about it). They do not just do charitable work for Catholics. They were formed to give American Catholics social services when it was very tough for American Catholics to join unions or get basic social services. They were also formed so that American Catholics would have a fraternal organization faithful to the Church unlike the Freemasons. This is why they still provide life insurance and other types of insurance. The name came from Christopher Columbus who was celebrated as an American hero while being an Italian Catholic working for Catholic Spain. The name was considered a light jab at the Puritans who were in control of the country who wanted to marginalize Catholic immigration and the recent Catholic immigrants.
 
Are there dues? How do they organize and do things? I am in College right no and am on a rather tight budget, would it be something I could afford to do? Thanks and God bless.
 
I’m in college too (UNL), and a member of the Knights of Columbus. The dues are yearly, and only ~$25. I know it is less than $30 and more than $20 but can’t remember right off.

You can go to monthly meetings (ours are held on the first Tuesday of the month) and there you can find out what they are doing and volunteer for what you want to do.

I would highly recommend joining.
 
The Knights of Columbus is a great organization, and one I am honored to be a part of. As for them being supercatholics or super-social, it varies from council to council. If they are a council that is within a parish, and the parish is orthodox, they will likely do a lot of things that promote the Faith- within the council, in the parish, and in the community. If the parish isn’t, they probably won’t be. Some councils, I’m sorry to say, are little more than a men’s social club.

Some places have councils that aren’t affiliated with any particular parish. There’s no telling with those- it just depends on whoever happens to be in that council.
 
You may want to take a look at this thread:

Freemason Apologetics

Here a some quotes:
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BJRumph:
Here is a question for all of you ex-mason Catholics: Have you joined the KoC? Why/why not? The preist who gave me the instruction to resign my leaderships within the Lodge suggested that I should/would be interested in joining the KoC when elegible, but I am still torn for a variety of reasons. What little I have been able to find out through research says that the KoC is simply the replacement for the Lodge for Catholics, but that seems wrong somehow.
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mosher:
Yes, I suggest that you join. The only drawback for me is that the Kof C degrees are poorly put together. They teach great things but in comparison i.e., to freemasonry- Mark] of just the method (not the meat) it is seriously in need of some help. As one being accustomed to going through a degree system I found the three degrees fairly silly but that being said there message is obviously far superior.

The Knights of Columbus were not founded initially to be a counter to freemasonry. They were founded by Fr. Michael J McGivnney as a fraternal benefit society. In short the Knights were founded to provide life insurance to their members in a time where Catholics could not by life insurance and the numbers of catholic men dying was very high. Later, the knights became a counter to freemasonry and then even later because the charitable organization that they are today…
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There is more mention of KoC throughout the thread.

Mark
www.veritas-catholic.blogspot.com
 
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super64:
Hello All,

The Knights are doing their annual membership drive and I was wondering about this group. What are your feelings on them? Good, bad or whatever? Are they supercatholics or just super social?

Thanks
Scott
Click to expand...
I think that they’re great! I joined in September; will be making my 3rd degree later this month.

Blessings,
 
tee_eff_em,
If you are a practical Catholic gentleman in union with the Holy See, I highly recommend the Knights of Columbus.
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What do you exactly mean by a ‘practical’ Catholic vs. a practicing Catholic?
Some Catholics would say that the Church’s teaching on artificial-birth control isn’t “practical” or that pre-material sex being an offense isn’t very “practical”. In the mean time I will do some more research.

David Zampino
I think that they’re great! I joined in September; will be making my 3rd degree later this month.
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Can you go into more detail about the different degrees? What does ‘3rd degree’ mean? Don’t the Mason’s also have ‘degrees’

Thanks for responding.

Scott
 
I find the KoC truly a great organization. In my case I feel a different path of service than the KofC. I wish I would have put more thought into joining and moving on to 2nd and 3rd degrees. I could have saved some people from wasted time. It just isn’t my cup of tea. With that said it is a very very good organization for the right men. I just am not one of them.
 
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super64:
tee_eff_em,

What do you exactly mean by a ‘practical’ Catholic vs. a practicing Catholic?
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Good question – I’d meant to include the definition. The Knights require candidates to be ‘practical’ Catholics, precisely so they (the Knights) may define what it means.

From These Men They Call Knights:
Who May be a Member?
Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to any practical Catholic man in union with the Holy See who is not less than 18 years of age on his last birthday. A practical Catholic is one who lives up to the Commandments of God and the Precepts of the Church.
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tee
 
I’ve been a Knight for over twenty years and although I’m not active since I now spend more time with the Serra Club, I keep up with my dues and will continue to do so. I think they’re great ! Since I started it seems they’ve become alot more involved in the politics/culture of the country and I certainly believe in what they’re doing.

I would recommend it for social reasons since you would I assume want to associate with like minded people, and because they stand for the right things. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a spiritual group but like I said I’m not active at this time and don’t go to meetings.

Maybe when I have more free time and the kids are out of the house I can get back into the swing of it.
 
Been a 4th Degree Knight for a number of years now.

Highly recommend this organization.
 
I have been a Knight of Columbus for almost 40 years. Many stop at the 3rd degree as the 4th degree requires a tuxedo, chapeau, and a sword because they serve as an Honor Gaurd for various Church functions such as Eucharistic Processions, Bishops visits to the parish etc. Its usually the expense I think. The Knights often support various spiritual activities, but are usually not prone to discussing Faith and Spirituality at their meetings. They are more likely to be active in very practical ways of supporting the Faith. Sponsoring Scout units for boys, providing financial aid to seminarians, sponsoring basketball tourneys for the area’s Catholic schools, being active in supporting Right to Life Activities like Birthright, sponsoring and encouraging prayerful activities like Mass’s for deceased Knights etc., raising money for the mentally handicapped, having a Knights team for bowling, softball, etc., delivering food baskets to the local needy before Christmas, and for our Council the list goes on and on. Become a Brother Knight, I think you will find it very rewarding.
 
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rwoehmke:
I have been a Knight of Columbus for almost 40 years. Many stop at the 3rd degree as the 4th degree requires a tuxedo, chapeau, and a sword because they serve as an Honor Gaurd for various Church functions such as Eucharistic Processions, Bishops visits to the parish etc.
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Slight correction. Dress for the 4th Degree *is formal. For most this means a tuxedo, either purchased or hired for the day. Clergy wear their formal clericals; Servicemen may appear in dress uniform (there was a firefighter so attired in my class). But the chapeau, sword, and other regalia items are not required of everyone, but only for those who volunteer to join the 4th Degree Color Corps. I can’t afford the regalia yet, but when I can I expect to the Color Corps. I did purchase the tux, since I decided that it is about time I owned up to being an adult. 😛

(* At least this is true in my area, and I think throughout the US. I have heard that Assemblies in Canada and Mexico *do *require a sword. The US may have done so in the past.)

SK tee
PGK #3530
Assembly #0912
 
The K of C are considered (from something i was told) the right hand of the Church. They support the people of the parish financially, and offer a great insurance package, i joined the K of C right after my 18th bday. i plan to continue to the 4th degree as soon as i can afford the tux and accessories, i would love to be in the Honor Guard.
My rating: 5 Stars/5 Stars

SK James
2715 Bishop Grandin Council
 
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super64:
Hello All,

The Knights are doing their annual membership drive and I was wondering about this group. What are your feelings on them? Good, bad or whatever? Are they supercatholics or just super social?

Thanks
Scott
Click to expand...
the Knights here do not conduct “membership drives”, as a man must be invited to join and recommended by other Knights in his parish and approved by his pastor, that is, nominated by people who know him, can attest to his fidelity to Christian lifestyle and involvement and contributions to parish life. Since their founder is currently in the process for considering sainthood, and a miracle is being investigated, I think they are a legitimate Catholic organization. Here they are responsible for most of the organized pro-life initiatives diocesan-wide, until recently there was no diocesan-wide pro-life activity outside that organized by K of C.
 
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