December 2001

The council did elect to donate to the state’s Christopher Fund for priest education at our last business meeting. We have not filled up our 31 club. Recall that I described this program to you in the October newsletter, and please reconsider being a part of it. Contact Joe Tull to do so.

Our ‘Keep Christ in Christmas’ card sales are still underway. Sales are slow. Don’t you know anyone who still sends cards? How about you? Have you found a better card to send? Contact Mark Shows if you can help with this project.

The Scouts and the Knights each parked cars on two game days and each had one rained out. The season was a huge success thanks to helpers like Brothers Mitchell and Suppiah. Congratulations to everyone who helped with this major fundraiser!

Coming up we have the December business meeting on the 13^th.

We will see that Santa visits PSR on the 16^th, and our December social meeting will be on the 28^th. Also keep in mind that we will host the Mid-Winter meeting here in Oxford on Jan 5^th.

For those of you talking to potential Knights, and those of you who are still 1^st degree, put this date on your calendar. January 12^th. That is the day that Clarksdale will have 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd degree exemplifications. Since ours was cancelled, I expect we will have a fairly large group in attendance on the 12^th.

For the Christmas Gatherin’ on the 4^th day of Christmas (28^th), babysitting will be provided at the Parish Center. The Council will provide the meat and dinnerware. The Family Committee will prepare the meat. If you are on the Church Committee, bring drinks; Community, breads; Council, desserts; and Youth, side dishs. We will dine at 6:00 at Azalea Gardens.

For their involvement in Parish Activities:

Mike and Dianne Chatelain, Family of the Month

For supporting the parking project:

Jeya Suppiah, Knight of the Month

45 abortions a day are performed on women carrying a child five months or older!

Please pray that the abortion-minded women of our area will find this ministry to get complete information, and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The K of C Insurance program is a non-profit organization and doesn’t pay dividends to shareholders, but does provide proceeds to allow the Knights of Columbus to…

Bring the Pope to the world at least three times a year by providing the uplink cost for the televising of papal ceremonies, especially at Christmas and during Holy Week — and the downlink in poor mission countries.

Won’t you consider being a part of this program?

The theme of Advent changes on December 17 when the "O" Antiphons enter the liturgy. Up to this point Advent is a meditation on the Kingship of Christ over all space and time (the liturgical color is a royal purple). When the "O" antiphons enter, the emphasis changes to remembering the birth of Jesus, the Shepherd King. The titles are taken from the Old Testament and applied to Jesus. You might want to use these as part of your daily prayer. If you use one a day it will take you right up to Christmas eve.

By the way, an antiphon is a verse, usually taken from Scripture, that is

recited or sung before and then after a psalm or canticle.

Gift giving has been the tradition of Christmas, shared by millions of people throughout our country and around the world. Each gift is given with care and forethought and the needs of the persons receiving the gifts in mind.

I have noted in my most recent newsletters that we should extend to our fellow parishioners the opportunity to become a Knight of Columbus. What better gift to give to a deserving Catholic man during December, the gift of the Knights of Columbus. The perfect Christmas gift would be to ask a man to become a "Knight before Christmas." This is a great theme for our council to use to bring in new members before Christmas.

As we approach the Christmas season we also come to the end of the first six months of our fraternal year. Since July 1, the two new Knights I mentioned last month, are now offset by four deductions in our membership numbers which gives us a minus two, at this point. Remember the goal for our Fraternal Year, which ends June 30^th, is a net of eight new Knights. Your Membership Committee needs your help to reach our council’s membership goals for the Fraternal Year. Please be sensitive to these needs.

Once again, as we do every month, a First Degree is planned for our next monthly meeting on Thursday, December 6^th. Come and join your brother Knights that evening. Remember, that attendance at monthly meetings is the best way to "keep in touch" with your council and your brother Knights.

To you and yours, a personal "Merry Christmas."

Vivat Jesus, Bob Hudson

Way back in November or December 1948 I was given a writing assignment for a class of freshman college English. Subject was to be our choice but had to have something to do with Christmas. The title of my theme was "Christmas Bah Humbug." If you recall from my Bio several months back , this was years before I made the decision to become a Catholic and long before I even became a "Church person."

Somehow, even at this stage of my life, I was bothered by how the holiday season had become more of a commercial undertaking rather than a holy one. It was more about buying things and getting things than the story of the birth of Christ. This is what I wrote about and what I continue to believe to this day.

In this day and age the merchants begin promoting "Christmas" right after Labor Day it seems. Be it Barbie dolls or Beanie Babies, every year there has to be something our kids or grandkids just can’t live without. What they truly need is to find out more about the Christ child and less about the fictional fat man in a red suit that dances to the ring of a cash register.

Having said that, please accept my most sincere wishes for a blessed Christmas for you and yours. May God be an important part of your life during 2002. I can only hope that my feeble attempt to produce a monthly newsletter has been found to have value.