The Final Trials

For the first time in St. Michael The Archangel Circle history, we had four Knights conduct their Final Trials.  As with everything at St Michael’s Blue Knights, they had to earn the rank of Sir Knight in a final visit to the Board of Review.

Before setting foot in the chapel, each knight lead and completed a service project.  The younger fifth years lead a school interior clean up.  The older knights lead an external clean up of the church in the fall and spring.  The younger boys collaborated on a write up of their service project, while the older boys created a document to give back to the Circle.  Kalen made a traditions book and Joey made a Saints game.

One other test the Knights had was an extensive knowledge test on our traditions, prayers and ceremonies.  I conducted these over the final month.  I put each knight on the hot seat…making sure the simple things of previous years were behind them.  I needed the final trial to be one of deeper thought.  The thought of a young man who would be ready to walk out the door and evangelize his neighbor.

After performing an opening ceremony on their own before the altar, each Knight went to a predesignated seat.  On the seat was a custom made set of four questions.  I made these based on previous interviews with the boys about their Blue Knight journey, challenges, enjoyments, and challenges they faced over the past five years. Over the next hour the knights sat before the Lord and prepared their answers for the Board of Review.  Truthfully for a few knights, sitting still for an hour 15 minutes at a time was the real test!

Once the time was up…the young men walked into the chamber for a board of review one last time:

Once in the chamber the questions were the capstone of five years of preparation.  Serious and focused the Knights showed us what they learned, and how they could share their knowledge with the world as disciples of Christ.   Truthfully the three Dad’s on the board were very happy with the growth of our sons, and knew they earned their graduation rank of Sir Knight.

When it was all over for the big guys…in came the younger knights ready to step into the now vacant spaces of leadership.  Eager and ready to prove themselves…they rocked the board themselves.  With pride all earned their graduation awards, and jobs with higher levels of responsibility.  It was now time to go and serve the Lord with youth and vigor!

-ehw

Good Friday Quest

Our fifth Good Friday Quest was a radical change from previous years.  This time we did not just journey and learn of the cross…we carried it with Christ. (Click here for the Good Friday Video)

We met at St. Brigid Catholic Church at 1145, and began our preparations before Our Lady reciting our Angelous.  Then we started our walk to our Regina Caeli home.  Along the way we began the stations of the cross as directed by St. Alphonsus Liguori.

We shared the load, but we all knew it was just a pittance of the weight our Lord carried to his death.  While we carried a little wood, he carried our sins and rejections of God’s wisdom.

We took our cross to the busiest intersection in Fulton County.  We had people wave, honk their horns, and offer encouragement.  It was warm, and over 3.71 miles we got a little tired.  Again we knew this was nothing compared the challenges or agony the Lord suffered.  We were not spit on or emotionally touched by knowing our mother was watching us suffer a cruel and horrendous death.

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Down into the church we went.  The cross entered in the arms of our youngest knights.  Us adults knew recent martyrs of the faith were no older than those two boys.  Boys who stood and died on an altar at the hands of gown men, because they would not renounce the Lord.  Could we too have such courage?  Did our boys listen to the stories of saints of yore each meeting?  We knew we just had to trust and ask St Micheal to be with us as we prayed in his chapel at school.

And then we finished with our traditional Knight led final station…and prayed before the tabernacle knowing our Lord’s work was finished.  In the quiet the victory would be won, but for just a moment we had to soak in the sorrow and triumph of the cross.

-ehw

Prepare the Way for Holy Week

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When you are going to walk 3.5 miles…you better make sure your banner is not going to go fall apart!  So this year my knghts rebuilt the banner before the Good Friday Quest.

It was symbolic of what we challenged each Knight to do this Lent.  Each knight received a challenging  mission from their father to accomplish over Lent.  One knight received a challenge increase his personal courage, and not cringe from going to school each morning.  Another knight was told told to increase his focus on whatever his current job was, to have discipline when his mind wants to wander.  A teen knight had his confirmation sponsor tell him told to learn to relax, and not over think things.

The church gives us seasons in its liturgical calendar for a reason.  There is no reason not to use them in the formation of Blue Knights….and so we did!

-ehw

On Building Teams and Men (Young and Old)

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The guiding principle of the Blue Knight program is to evangelize boys and their fathers.  A successful evangelization means we moved from an ignorant status of our faith, to an internalizing and applying catechesis.  So unfocused boys should be become Godly focused young men.  Fathers should take charge of their homes, and lead their families towards God through a turbulent world with greater confidence and a support network.

In our Blue Knight Circle the young boys who needed constant direction four years ago are now leaders.  We expect the two teen knights (8th Grade) to creatively merge games from three different years to allow the entire group to participate.  We expect the “tween” knights to responsibly set up, clean up, and guide the youngest by example.  Our high school mentor expectations include filling for any adult in lesson time who may be stuck in traffic.

In all things the leadership of each Blue Knight Circle also must be constantly preparing the next generation to step up, and assume control of the group as boys and adults.  It is undeniable groups need refreshment from time to time.  New leadership can mend weaknesses of one generation, and  with humility maintain what was excellent before.

What you see in these photos is this growth in process.  Two Dads getting ready to assume leadership, boys becoming “big”, and some becoming six foot tall men in the blink of an eye.  It is wonderful, and all parts of God’s plan.

-ehw

Adding to the Ranks

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On September 26 we added new Knight Recruit Thibault, our first international recruit!  It is always a joyous time to welcome a new boy into the Circle, but this was a great first for us!

The new Knights worked on the Helmet of Hope, and learned how this great virtue fights off despair in our daily lives.  The Third Years learned about a man who definitely needed lots of the gift of Hope, St Paul.  I think hope is mandatory when you know you were a survivor of four shipwrecks we know of!  Then the Fifth Years learned how the first three commands all reinforce each other, and order our reverence of God.

It is interesting to walk from one group to another, and see how the lessons change and grow from year to year.  The more we know, the more we can dive in and grow in our faith.  This program allows this if the Dads take the initiative to make it happen.  Discuss Hope in year one…and revisit those who live out the virtue for the next four!  It is a great way to build up the Lincoln logs of our internal faith!

-ehw

Guarding the Gate to Heaven

Regina Caeli Academy’s Atlanta campus put our a request for families to participate in a Eucharistic Adoration in the midst of the wild hurricane season where many of our fellow homeschooling families found their lives turned upside down.  I asked the knights if they would like to be honor guards for the evening, provided our Academy Chaplain Father Tran would allow it.  The boys enthusiastically leapt up to volunteer, and Father accepted our offer.  So on September 13th, our families trekked from almost an hour away to bring their boys to honor our Lord!

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I am convinced these boys leapt into action resulted from a repeated emphasis by our course of study, and each father’s attention, to the central natural of Eucharist in our faith.  The boys all understood this was their biggest opportunity yet to honor our Lord in our devotional lives.  To perform their duties these first, third, fifth, six and eighth graders all had to stand still for ten minutes at a time in front of the community.  They knew they were their to enhance the reverence of, not distract from adoration.

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LT Kalen ran the evening. checked on the boys, adjusted the plan, and had young SGTs step up to take charge when charge needed taking!  The younger boys all stepped up as well, and worked as buddy teams to care for each other. Overall, these boys did what they set out to do.  When I asked them if they enjoyed it, they all said they did.  When asked if it was hard they said yes.  When asked if they would do it again they again said yes.

Sounds like a win for the Blue Knights, and a big step for them learning to love and serve our Lord.

-ehw

 

Call To Arms

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Sept 17 the St. Michael the Archangel Circle opened its year by posting the colors with a new ceremony.  Color Corporal Coltrane brought in the colors under the watchful eye of SGT James.  Then with the ceremonial area set, we welcomed a new first year Knight Recruit Bennett who joined our previously inducted Private Jax.  We preformed our usual custom of calling him into the circle from his family’s side to symbolize the fact he is being called from young childhood into a long journey towards adulthood.

Our topics covered The Shield of Faith, and why Faith is such a wonderful gift of God.  Our Third Year Knights learned about the trials and adventures of St. Peter our first Pope.  The Fifth Years discussed why we have commandments as an introduction to our year long capstone course of study.  New knights made shields, Mr. Levergood found a new way to play with fire as the third years make shields, and the big guys found out they will be journaling this year.

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And what first meeting would be complete without a little Spiritual dodgeball?  The game where you use your shields to fend off sinful vices, and use an act of contrition to get out of jail?  We enjoyed watching as SGT Kevin began showing Private Bennett how to work together and cover each other’s weaknesses.  The boys also learned of the ancient Turtle formation, designed for whole units to repel projectiles like spears and arrows.

The year is off and running, and we have some really happy fathers and sons…

-ehw

The Armory is Open

Four years ago this big boy was needing me to guide his hands to make our shields.  This past August, Kalen led the charge to make the shields for the incoming Blue Knights.  Meanwhile his brother, a teen mentor and two peer knights all worked on their assignments to set up the year’s schedule of activity.

This exemplified what we wanted of our sons when we started this program.  Someplace where they could all grow in grace and knowledge…while we prayed the gift of wisdom would be granted to them! After one meeting a few weeks ago Sergeant James had to create, instruct and run the game for the night.  It was his first real solo assignment as a fifth grader NCO.  He walked out telling his mother, he felt bigger somehow after it all went off splendidly.  The truth is, he did grow that night about a full inch in his heart.

In today’s world, most activities involve lavishing our kids with easy victories or prepared activities right through college.  Not here in our Blue Knight Circle.  Here we help boys grow up, and that men are called to lead by giving of self every day of their lives.

-ehw

Coda for the 4th Year

Ready for Mass

Just in time for the end of the year, the 4th Year Knights completed the chapel.  It will be on display for a time in the school, and available for teachers to use to explain our faith through its architectural expressions.

The model church has pews, a baptismal font, confessional, altar rail, sanctuary complete with tabernacle and candles, crucifix, stained glass windows of saints and prophets, Joseph and Mary flanking the altar, a removable roof, and St. Michael the Archangel on the door (it is his chapel).  If you follow the narrow path you can walk towards heaven through the sacraments here in our little patch of heaven.

My son Kalen and I learned a great deal about woodworking, Joey did a lot of clay work (pulpit and baptismal font), Kevin and James worked on various aspects of the altar.  Us Dad’s learned a great deal ourselves about taking a project over and above what we thought it would be….

Still it was worth it, and it did help the boys remember their lessons for the year.

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The May Crowning

 

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On May 18th our Blue Knights performed their annual honor guard at the May Crowning for the Regina Caeli Academy of Atlanta.  This year was very special as our Center dedicated a grotto to a founding priest, Father Joseph Peek.  As a Blue Knight parent I truly wish he could be with us, since our Blue Knights follow his manly style of evangelization.  He loved using all the tools God gave us as men to inspire others.

A major change this year was the boys lead the ceremony. Lt Wojtkun was commander of troops, The Sergeants posted guards, the Corporals moved the colors to the rally point, and even the newest private stood as tall and still as a first grader can.  It was just another step down the road of moving each child up the ladder to being a young adult in both this organization, but also our domestic churches.

The boys took this all very seriously…and if you don’t believe me…here you go!

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It was a truly fine capstone to a terrific year of Blue Knights at Regina Caeli Academy!

-ehw