In the year 1882, when Irish Catholic immigrants were an unwelcome minority in the northeastern Unisted States, Fr Michael J McGivney saw first hand the devastating effects on a Catholic family when a husband and father was injured or died on the job. He formed the Knights of Columbus first and foremost as a mutual aid society to ensure no Catholic family would be left destitute by the loss of their breadwinner.
Today the Knights of Columbus are a worldwide Catholic fraternity dedicated to protecting and strengthening Catholic families, supporting Catholic parishes and dioceses, and promoting the Catholic faith within our secular society. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has also cooperated with other Christian communities in those areas where we share common cause such as protecting innocent life, feeding the hungry, and welcoming strangers.
Our own Council here at Ascension Catholic Church is no exception. Here we work joyfully with those who share our faith in Christ even as they remain separated from us 500 years after the Protestant Reformation began in Western Europe. These local evangelical Christian partners include the prolife Bastrop Pregnancy Resource Center and Primera Baptist Church with its amazing program of distributing vast amounts of food to needy families in our community.
At the same time, we are aware that our non-Catholic brothers and sisters do not share with us the fullness of our Catholic Faith. Consequently, even as we work together with our separated brothers and sisters to put our common faith into practice, we maintain our distinctive Catholic witness to our community and the world!
Our own Council here at Ascension Catholic Church is no exception. Here we work joyfully with those who share our faith in Christ even as they remain separated from us 500 years after the Protestant Reformation began in Western Europe. These local evangelical Christian partners include the prolife Bastrop Pregnancy Resource Center and Primera Baptist Church with its amazing program of distributing vast amounts of food to needy families in our community.
At the same time, we are aware that our non-Catholic brothers and sisters do not share with us the fullness of our Catholic Faith. Consequently, even as we work together with our separated brothers and sisters to put our common faith into practice, we maintain our distinctive Catholic witness to our community and the world!
Vivat Jesus!
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