Knighthood for the 21st century

In the war against the “culture of death”, there are many battles that need to be fought and won. These battles, like the crusades of our past, need Catholic men—chivalrous knights—to stand on the front line and battle the forces of evil. But what does it mean to be a “Catholic knight.” TheMarch edition of Columbia, the official magazine of the Knights of Columbus, presents two articles that offer several inspiring guidelines and ideals for forging a new Catholic knighthood.

In his article, Knighthood Perfected, Amateo Seno explains Fr. McGivney’s vision for a new perfected knighthood.

“[Father McGivney had envisioned a new perfected knighthood], a vision of Knights who have forsaken all earthly lords to humbly serve the Lord of lords and the King of kings. It was a vision of Knights who would be devoted not just to any lady of the nobility, but to Our Lady, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary…These Knights would have beaten their swords into plowshares so as to work peaceably by sharing their charitable aid to those in need. They would crusade against injustices not by force, but by the power of the cross guiding their words and deeds.” -Amateo Seno

Stratford Caldecott, in his article The Universal Knight, finds in St. Joseph the very epitome of chivalry.

“As modern knights of Christ battle the culture of death and fight for the soul of the age, St. Joseph can serve as a special inspiration—the patron of a new chivalry for the 21st century…[T]he greatest paragon of chivalry, the true ‘universal knight’ in a spiritual sense, is Joseph of Nazareth. Long before chivalry was partially and imperfectly rediscovered by the soldiers and saints of the West, it was present in Joseph. In him, justice was combined with tenderness, strength and decisiveness with flexibility and openness to the will of God.” -Stratford Caldecott

The war which began in the Garden of Eden is now playing itself out in our governments and in our homes. And though we know what side wins in the end, we all have an obligation to take part in the battle. We need a troop surge of “universal knights.” A surge of Catholic men modeled after St. Joseph.

The “Catholic knight” is called to “serve the Lord of lords and the King of kings.” His devotion should rest in no mere “lady of the nobility, but to Our Lady, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.”

As Amateo explains, “The word knight itself is derived from the Old English cniht meaning youth or servant.” So, as Knights, as men, as Christians, we are His servants.

I like my days obligatory

Today (or yesterday, depending on when you read this) was a Holy Day of Obligation—one of my favorites in fact. It is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I’ve heard some people refer to such days as Holy Days of Opportunity. It’s a nice sentiment. And though they’re certainly wonderful opportunities, I like that they’re obligatory.

Jesus has never sent His angels to me to ask me to do something for Him. And even if he did, I’m no saint. Though I would like to think that I would say yes to Him like the Blessed Mother did, or Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, or St. Faustina, there is a good chance I would be too afraid. There is also a roughly 0% chance of me being asked directly by our Lord to do anything.

So I look forward to Holy Days of Obligation. I look forward to the chance to obey our Lord. I look forward to saying yes to Him. Especially on days such as today when my obligation is to celebrate His mother and ours.

Jewel sings Ave Maria

Once again, I let my love of this song take over my blog.

But, it makes sense to me. If you were God, wouldn’t you make sure that the song written for your mother was the most beautiful song ever written?

This version is by Jewel. She is currently a judge on Nashville Star, but she has had tremendous success as a pop artist and most recently, a country artist. Her version of Ave Maria is off of her Christmas album (Joy – A Holiday Collection), which ranks right up there with Kenny Rogers and Bing Crosby around Christmas time in our home.

One final note… I have posted a few versions of Ave Maria on this blog before. Most of them I posted because I thought they were unique and probably little known renditions. This version by Jewel, however, I am sharing because it is my favorite version by any artist to date.

Bobby McFerrin performs Ave Maria

Because I think the Ave Maria is the most beautiful song ever written, I will probably post more renditions of the song on this blog than any other song. But…well…I never get tired of hearing it, so I’ll never get tired of sharing it.

Here is a very unique version performed by Bobby McFerrin and his audience. Most people know Bobby McFerrin from his song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, but he has far more to offer than that. He is actually a very talented composer who also happens to possess a completely unique gift.

I hope you can take the 4 ½ minutes to enjoy it.

Chris Cornell Sings Ave Maria

It occurred to me last night, after I posted this video, that many readers of this blog might not know who Chris Cornell is. So, I thought I would fill you in.

In the 90’s he was the lead singer of one of the four original grunge bands, Soundgarden. Recently Chris headed up the band Audioslave. He has also done plenty of solo work in between and since. He is considered by many as one of the top 10 male rock vocalists of all time.

You might also remember David Cook on American Idol doing that cool version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. Well, that was actually Chris Cornell’s arrangement.

Anyways, I thought having a little background on the singer might make his singing of Ave Maria more fulfilling. I love seeing seeds of our faith finding their way into areas we might not expect.

Salve Regina Gregorian Chant

Hail, Holy Queen

Latin

Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae. Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te Suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

V. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

English

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee to we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.