The Knights of Saint Thomas More – a focus for lay work in the parish

By Gerald Kelberg, Grand Knight

Kraainem (04 September 2005).- The idea gained momentum. We decided we would set up a modern fraternal Order of Catholic Knights reflecting the relatively transient, international culture found at Saint Anthony’s. Our focus would be on being pro-active in the parish, involving people and getting things done.

Making a difference
Since being established at St Anthony’s in April 2001, the Knights of Saint Thomas More have been active in quite a number of projects and events around the Parish.

Our Order serves as a focus for participation in the lay work of the parish, to support our pastor, to encourage community and to grow in our catholic faith. It is not that we are especially devout; we are ordinary Catholic men who want to do something more. Many of the men who are Knights are active in the Parish in other ways too – Finance Council, Parish Council, Liturgy Support, Fayre Committee to mention but a few.

So if you were to join the Knights, what would you get out of it? You would participate more actively in your parish; enjoy good Christian fellowship with like-minded men; and get involved in activities and discussions related to our faith - and have fun.

All our Knights are busy with their careers and their families, so our demands on your time are limited to what you want to put into it. And it is not important that you will only be here for a year or two. In fact, that is all the more reason to do more with us while you are here.

Why an Order of Knights
For quite some time, a group of ordinary parishioners here at Saint Anthony’s had worked together to give form to their common ideas and aspirations within our parish. Some had been members of the Knights of Saint Columbanus in Ireland, or the Knights of Columbus in the States. Others had no experience of Catholic Knights at all but felt they could get more out of their faith by putting more into it. Then with assistance from the International Alliance of Catholic Knights (an umbrella organisation that brings together all the sixteen Orders of Catholic Knights around the world), we set up a new Order of Catholic Knights.
A number of worthy Saints were considered as patron of the Order but at an early stage, Saint Thomas More emerged as a favourite. Pope John-Paul II had recently made him the patron of Diplomats and Legislators in addition to his role as a co-patron of Europe. The heroic example Saint Thomas More gave through his loyalty to the church in the 16th century seem relevant to Catholics today, as the Church is calling upon its lay faithful to be the apostles of the 3rd Millennium.

Outreach to Zimbabwe
Fr Max Jaya OFM assisted at St Anthony’s while he was studying in Louvain, so became well known to parishioners and the Knights of St Thomas More. Since he returned to Harare, where he is the parish priest for St Patrick’s and St Matthew’s parishes, the Knights have organized a number of events and activities to raise money to support Fr Max’s parishes. These funds have gone to supporting individuals with education, but as the social and political conditions have deteriorated, more of this is now used to provide food for the many poor in the parishes. These people endure desperate hardship and terrible social injustice, so please remember them in your prayers and help the Knights to help them.

A full programme
Our monthly general meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month and are open to any men who may wish to find out more or consider joining the order. They feature guest speakers discussing current issues of interest to the wider church. In addition, there is a full programme of activities planned for the coming year including:
o Family Christmas dinner
o Wine-tasting evening
o Spiritual Retreat
o Cultural visit
o Pancake breakfasts and barbeques
In addition, we will be working on developing a “prayer garden” in the grounds of the parish.

www.catholic-knights.be
We have launched a web site in the past year. The purpose is to help people stay in touch with the Knights and things of interest to them. As well as a calendar and news of up-coming events there is a photo gallery and a “reading room” that carries articles of interest and scripts from many of our guest speakers.

Make the most of it
The Knights will be helping to run the Meet & Greet again this year and encourage all parishioners to get involved in the work of the laity at St Anthony’s. The rewards are tremendous – you get to meet a lot of great people and have a chance to really make the most of your time in Brussels.

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