Greetings Brothers,
Welcome to the May edition of the Cross and Compass. I hope this newsletter finds you and your family doing well. It is hard to believe we are in May already. The season is almost over and many of our Brother’s are packing up and heading north for the summer. To those leaving, I wish you safe travels. We will see you when you come back next fall. We finished the season strong with our last Parish Breakfast of the year and we had our monthly food drive. Both events were extremely successful and I want to thank everyone who helped out making these a success. To the brother’s who have been cooking all year, it is a time to rest. You can put up the spatulas for a couple months, but don’t get too much rest as we are back to work in October. THANK YOU KITCHEN TEAM!!!
True story… I was invited to play in a charity golf outing several weeks back. I was actually very nervous to say yes as I hadn’t played golf since 2009 when I was diagnosed with cancer. I quit playing something I absolutely loved. I had not hit a ball in over 16 years so I thought if I’m going to play, I’m going to need to go practice. I went over to the driving range last week to hit a bucket of balls. While I was heading to the practice area I ran into one of our brother’s, Joe Pustizzi. After we said hello to one another, Joe asked if I wanted him to take a quick look at my swing. I accepted his offer but I warned him this was only my second bucket of balls in 16 years. He said let me take a look. I must admit, I hit some (MANY) of the worst shots of my life. It was like picking up the game all over again (why did I think it would all come back?). Joe watched me hit some balls and he said I needed to change my grip, and get my balance right. He said it isn’t going to feel natural at first, but if you keep doing it, it will become a habit. His advice actually worked, and I started to hit the balls better. Then I got thinking on a higher level, what Joe was teaching me really is like our relationship with God. We all need tweaks and adjustments sometimes in order to get better. This is exactly what I believe God does to all of us. At first it doesn’t feel natural, and it is usually quite uncomfortable. But once you keep repeating, it all becomes second nature. I for one don’t like change, and I’m probably not the only one that doesn’t like it, but if we really want to live out our lives the way God wants us to, we all have to be receptive to some coaching and making some tweaks and adjustments. Joe teaching me that day also made me think about all of our members. We all have different gifts and talents and when we all combine these together we become a powerful Council. We can all learn from each other, and we all can help each other become better men, better Catholics, better husbands and fathers as we have a wealth of experience and knowledge in our membership. Joe, thank you for the lesson, you taught me something. Let us all help each other out, and let us all be open to change.
Lastly, as we enter the beautiful month of May, a time traditionally dedicated to honoring our Blessed Mother, I invite each of you to reflect on her example of humility, courage, and unwavering faith. Let us strive to model these virtues in our service to the Church, our families, and our community. I also encourage all of us to deepen our devotion to Mary this month. Maybe consider praying the rosary daily, individually or with your family, and offering our intentions for Pope Francis, peace in our world and strength in our brotherhood.
I look forward to seeing you at Mass or our next meeting on May 14. We begin with the Rosary at 5:30, followed by dinner and our meeting.
Vivat Jesus!
Fraternally your brother,
Rick Kuertz, Grand Knight 