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KOC banquet celebrates clergy and religious
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October 17, 2022
Photos by Ervey Martinez and Mary Cottingham
More than 200 people attended the 29th Annual Clergy and Religious Appreciation Banquet on Oct. 13 at the Richard Borchard Fairgrounds in Robstown. Every year the Corpus Christi Area Chapter Knights of Columbus organize the banquet, so parishioners in the Diocese of Corpus Christi can express their gratitude for the clergy and religious.
The keynote speaker for the event, Father Peter Marsalek, the General Priest Servant for the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, spoke about the people in his life who influenced him. He talked about his experiences growing up in Canada and attending a mission church for immigrants from Czechoslovakia. He spoke on the importance of receiving the Eucharist and the sacrament of the priesthood.
“I think it is fair to say that a faith community which reveres and treasures the Eucharist as its greatest gift also esteems the same to the priesthood, whose primary purpose is to make Christ’s presence tangibly experienced among his people through the Eucharist,” he said.
“It can be said that the Church is built up through sacramental communion with the Son of God. We can say not only that each of us receives Christ but also that Christ receives each of us. Through our union with Him —we also are united to one another,” Father Marsalek said.
Bishop Mulvey spoke of his experiences in Prague and communist Russia. He said maybe a deeper understanding of what Jesus meant by “the poor” would be “those who don’t have the Eucharist, those who don’t have Jesus, those who don’t have faith.”
This year Bishop Mulvey gifted the Mother Teresa Shelter of Catholic Charities with the Knights of Columbus check. Sisters of the Adoration and Blessed Sacrament, Sister Rency Moonjely and Sister Sibi Varghese received the check for their ministry to the poor and homeless. The diocesan Knights raised the money for this event.
Father James Stembler, Vicar General for the Diocese of Corpus Christi, gave the invocation, praying, “We gather this evening to celebrate and give thanks for the work of all those who have said yes to God in living the ordained life and the religious life within the Diocese of Corpus Christi. We thank them for their yes, for their willingness to walk in these paths and fulfill the ministries they are engaged in accomplishing for the good of the Church. In the twists and turns that can present themselves along their paths, give them the courage they need to continue to give a resounding yes to your call."
"For the bishop, for the priests and deacons, and for the religious within our dioceses, we thank You for their ministry, their guidance, their presence, their leadership, their trust in Your love, and we will continue to lift them up in prayer," he prayed.
"And for those of us who are clergy and religious, grant us the graces we need to be able to continue the work you put before us. In the presence of this appreciation, may we redouble our efforts to continue to lead the clergy and religious you call us to be in service to the people of God,” Father Stembler prayed.
“We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest appreciation and thanks to priests, deacons, brothers, and sisters in consecrated life who influenced the lives of those around them for the better. May God reward all of you a hundredfold for the kindness you have shown us,” said Robert Lopez, Corpus Christi Area Chapter President and Grand Knight of Council 6413 from Portland.
To download photos of this event, go to https://southtexascatholic.smugmug.com/Knights-of-Columbus-honor-Clergy-Religious.
