Knights of Columbus
Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver
August 1, 2026
Blessed Michael Reflected in Today’s Readings
Sometimes a particular Scripture passage may remind us of a saintly person. Of course, every passage of Scripture speaks to us of Christ, but then again, saints and those on their way to sainthood are but reflections of Christ, the “source and summit” of authentic holiness. Today’s readings remind me of Bl. Michael McGivney; they fit him to a tee!
For those of you who don’t know about Bl. Michael, he was the Connecticut parish priest who founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882. Bl. Michael is not yet a fully canonized saint but he is on his way, and for good reason. He was an ideal parish priest, a brilliant reflection of Christ’s priestly love. His life was a total gift to Christ, to the Church, and to his parishioners. He had a special love for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the outcast. And he founded the Knights to help the men of his parish embrace their faith and provide for their families, even in the event of their passing away. Today, Fr. McGivney’s holiness is reflected in the Christ-like charity of the Knights of Columbus, rendered on a scale that Fr. McGivney could not have imagined. So, let’s revisit our readings to see how they reflect Bl. Michael’s holiness and in turn, how we also can reflect his holiness.
Romans 8:35, 37-39
. . . Starting with our reading from the Letter to the Romans. Here we find St. Paul exalting in the love of Christ that is more powerful than any anguish, danger, deprivation, or persecution we might suffer. In Christ’s love, we can conquer all things “overwhelmingly” – present danger, future danger, physical danger, spiritual danger. Nothing, says St. Paul, can separate us from the love of Christ.
Fr. McGivney was a parish priest who truly knew and understood his people. He was well-acquainted with the dangers and hardships they faced. He saw the men of the parish drifting from the faith, finding companionship in the anti-Catholic secret societies of the day. He saw a rising tide of widows and orphans, made so by industrial accidents that were common in those days. He saw a Catholic community largely made of immigrants who were looked down upon by many in the wider community. He saw young people swayed by easy morals and Catholics persecuted for their faith. He saw a man convicted for murder and he accompanied him to the gallows.
In all these things, Fr. McGivney never gave in to discouragement. He didn’t complain about them or write op-eds about them. No, he faced them squarely, with the eye of a pastor filled with the love of Jesus Christ. Nothing his people faced or suffered was too much for Christ’s love. He made charity the first principle of his ministry as a parish priest, and charity the first principle of the Knights of Columbus. For he knew and ardently believed that in all things the love of Christ conquers. It is this vision, this charism, that he breathed into the Knights of Columbus and it is reflected today in the immensity of the Order’s charity.
Matthew 14:13-21
Perhaps it’s today’s Gospel from Matthew that most reminds me of Bl. Michael. For like Jesus, Bl. Michael truly was a good shepherd who looked with compassion upon his parishioners in their need. He took to heart what Jesus said to the apostles: “Give them some food yourselves.” Fr. McGivney was most resourceful in meeting the needs of his flock, even to the point of founding a mutual benefit society that flourishes to this day. But painting Bl. Michael merely as a humanitarian misses the point. He was a priest to the core, who daily took bread, blessed it, and distributed it: the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. His life was rooted in the Eucharist, as foreshadowed in today’s Gospel. Just as Jesus multiplied bread and fish to feed an enormous crowd, so too, Bl. Michael’s daily celebration of the Eucharist greatly multiplied the efficacy of his charitable work, and the charitable work of his Knights, then and now.
Isaiah 55:1-3
Which takes us to the prophecy of Isaiah in our first reading: “You who have no money, come and receive grain and eat. Come without paying, and without cost . . .” That reminds me of the generosity of Knights of Columbus during World War I. Near some of Europe’s bloodiest battlefields, the Knights opened canteens where soldiers could get away from the war, for safety and refreshment. Over the entrance to these canteens hung a sign, “Everybody welcome! Everything Free” – just as Isaiah prophesied. Bl. Michael McGivney died long before World War I, but he had set in motion a fraternal organization rooted in the charity of Christ, a fellowship that would reflect the utter generosity of God’s love, even in the midst of war.
The Upshot
After Mass, the Knights of Columbs will honor men retiring from leadership positions. These leaders absorbed Bl. Michael’s vision for the Knights and led their brother Knights to new heights of charity. In the week ahead, the Knights of Columbus 144th Convention will convene here in Denver. It will open with a Solemn Mass celebrated by Archbishop Golka, followed the Supreme Knight’s report on the immense and ongoing charity of the Order. All this, we trace back to Bl. Michael McGivney’s holiness, that is, his reflection of and participation in God’s love for the human family.
If you are a young man seeking support in living your faith or a married man seeking to be a better husband and father, please consider this an invitation to join the Knights of Columbus. But whether or not you are part of the Knights of Columbus, let Bl. Michael inspire you to share Christ’s love generously, and spur you on to help others, especially those in need, to reclaim their dignity as brothers and sisters of Christ and as the adopted children of God the Father. Bl. Michael McGivney, pray for us! Vivat Jesus!