Greetings!
I trust that your summer has been a time of rest, relaxation and regeneration. I have spent the summer preparing for the battles that face us ahead. Many of you have joined us weekly on the steps of the State Capitol as we pray for our state and country as the election approaches. Some of you have heard I am asking others to join me in a campaign to get healthier and physically fit (Get Fit with Father Rick - click here). Hundreds of people are beginning a spiritual training using my Church Militant Field Manual book. I am asking people to get serious about their training because the time has come to be prepared! We can no longer sit and wait, watching the dark clouds approach, because they are here. I am sure I don't need to tell you just how serious the threats are - to our country, to our religious freedom, and to our families! This year at Knights of Divine Mercy is about preparing for the battle in a way we never have before. Please take a moment to read my blog posting ( click here) about our modern-day crusades:
"In all of this, I want to suggest, we have the occasion of a new Crusade-one calling for the best efforts of educated persons. Unlike the Crusades of a millennium ago, its battles will not be over land and possessions and routes of travel; rather, they will be over the ideas that shape how this and future generations will live." To this end, we have an amazing year of speakers at our monthly First Friday Night of Knights. I want to challenge you to make it a priority to be there each month to invite as many other men as you can. These will be nights to take up our shields of prayer and the graces received through the sacraments of confession and Holy Mass, to sharpen our swords of truth so we can be victorious in the battles that await us. We must, as knights and men, be ready to defend our Church and our families! No longer can we sit idly by or the enemy will surely prevail. Our first Night of Knights on September 7th, we will hear from well known blogger Fr. John Zuhlsdorf of What Does The Prayer Really Say (click here). Fr. Z, as he is better known, is a true crusader for the truth and beauty of our faith. His motto: "Save the Liturgy, Save the World" is his battle cry to promote reverent celebration of both the Ordinary Form and the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite liturgy of the Mass and the revival of the much neglected sacrament, Confession and Penance. He has travelled all over speaking and is a regular columnist for The Wanderer newspaper. Night of Knights Schedule 5:30 pm - Votive Mass of The Sacred Heart of Jesus for the intentions of the Knights and those asking for our prayers 6:00 pm - Angelus and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 6:10 - 7:00 pm - Chanted Vespers, Adoration, and opportunity for confession 7:00 pm - Chaplet of Divine Mercy 7:10 - 7:50 pm - Talk by Fr. Zuhlsdorf 8:00 pm - Benediction 8:15 pm - Meatless meal & social in the school gym. Please bring a dish to share and/or a suggested donation of $10 for the food prepared for us. Please click the link below to let us know if you can come or not. Make sure to invite at least one other man who has never attended KDM before. | 
