Supreme Master

Michael McCusker

 suprememaster@kofc.org

Supporting our Country, Community, and Church

 With Respect and Honor

Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree

December 2024

Supreme Master's Message

The other day, I promised our Communications Director, Matt Maly, that I would work on my monthly message on my flight from Dallas to Philly and, well, I didn’t. From Philly to Hartford, I was diverted due to weather. So, I ended up with time in Providence, Rhode Island while waiting to see when or if we would get to Hartford. As such, I found this change in plans gave me ample time to sit down and write the message.

I suppose you could say it was providential!

Many things in life are providential whether or not we realize it in the moment. I thought about that the past few days while in Laredo, Texas for the Silver Rose exchange with Mexico. In 2009, as I was rising through the chairs in Council 9317 in Cordova, Tennessee, the State Program Director asked me if I would be willing to serve as the State Church Director. It seemed like one more thing on an already full plate, but after some reflection and prayer, I said “Yes.”

I immediately discovered that a program called the Silver Rose was quickly approaching, and it was my job to plan the route through Tennessee, making it available to councils and assemblies along the way. First, I learned about the program expectations. That’s when I discovered that after leaving Tennessee, the Silver Rose would continue on its way to Texas, ultimately being handed over to our Mexican brothers who, in turn, would take it to Monterey, Mexico for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. At that time, I thought about how incredible it would be to witness that exchange but quickly dispelled that thought as being beyond the realm of possibility, even telling myself “that will never happen.”

And yet, on December 11, 2024, I found myself, as a representative of the Supreme Council, standing on the International Bridge exchanging the Silver Rose with Mexico. Imagine if I had said “no” all those years ago, using my work, young family or even my council responsibilities as an excuse!

Let us be mindful that the seasons of Advent and Christmas are Seasons of “Yes.” First was Mary’s “yes” to God’s plan for salvation. Second was St. Juan Diego (though initially reluctant) giving his “yes” to our Lady’s pleas. Both yesses led them to Sainthood. Where will yours lead you?

This Christmas or maybe in the coming year, God will ask for your “yes.” At that moment, you may not realize it’s God who is asking or that you are being called to serve the Order and the Church for the greater glory of God. None of us can know in that moment what is in store for our lives when we make a gift of ourselves to a world in need.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Keep doing all the amazing things you do as Sir Knights! Only two more months to our 125th Fourth Degree Anniversary! Don’t wait! Tickets are going fast! Just say “Yes!”

Maybe, it’ll prove to be providential!

Vivat Jesus!

If you have not had a chance to participate in the transfer of the Silver Rose at the International Bridge, you have truly missed one special event. We could go on and on about this event, but we will let the pictures tell the story. This year, our Supreme Master was present for the transfer. Others presenting roses to the Mexican Delegation were Supreme Director Alfredo Vela and Texas State Deputy Ron Alonzo. Also present for the event were VSM Pat Conway and all seven Masters of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province.

Message from Liaison, Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

Faithful Navigators and Fourth Degree Leadership,

Good afternoon and Advent blessings to you and your family. I am pleased to report that our Order continues to support our Service Members, Veterans and their families. Last month is the perfect example. The month of November is nationally recognized as the Month of the Military Family and Warrior Care Month. On November 7th, we hosted our inaugural Military Council Webinar. Medal of Honor recipient Major General Retired Patrick Henry Brady was the guest speaker. You are welcome to watch the on-demand video with this link: Military Webinar with MG Brady. On Nov 12th, we had a Veterans Day Week ceremony with the presentation of the Missing Man Table and a Moral Injury presentation to our Supreme Staff. The presentation will be made available on-demand soon.   

We have launched the sale of the Missing Man Table for your events to honor the fallen or missing and to remember those who mourn their loss or await their return.  This version of the Missing Man Table has been customized for our Order. It highlights our successful effort to add “One Nation, Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, and it represents every free nation where our Order has a presence. Knights Gear now offers a Patriotic Collection of apparel and gifts and offers a 10% military discount.  

We finish this year by celebrating many military holidays. We recently celebrated Veterans Day, Marine Corps birthday and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. On Dec 13th, we celebrated the National Guard’s Birthday, and Dec 20th will be the Space Force’s birthday. These are great opportunities to recognize and show appreciation to those who have answered our Nation’s call and our Order’s pillar of patriotism. 

Next year has been named a Jubilee Year by the Holy Father. There are many events that are scheduled in support of and in appreciation of the Armed Forces. The USCCB has created a single resource which highlights all Jubilee Year events, and support for Armed Forces Police and Security Personnel Enforcement. It is a great one-stop-shop for key events, key dates, prayers and information. Please share this document with anyone who can benefit from it. 

The AMS will host a Jubilee for the Armed Forces Pilgrimage from February 5-11, 2025. We will host the 2025 Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage from May 13-19, 2025. I humbly request that you help us promote our pilgrimage to find deserving wounded warrior pilgrims.  The Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage is funded through donations to the Knights of Columbus United Charities. Please promote fundraising support for our pilgrimage. KofC Councils and Assemblies will now receive program credit for supporting the Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage.  An electronic flyer and brochure are available for your distribution. Please reach out to me directly, with your mailing address, for printed copies.  

We recently lost Major Chaplain Fr. Jim Collins stationed at Ft. Liberty (Bragg), NC. He was an integral leader to the Ft. Liberty Catholic Community and will be missed. Father Collins has an amazing and unique story titled “From the FBI to Army Chaplain.” You can read the article here.

Our relationship with the United States Archdiocese for the Military Services continues to be very strong. Service and support to our military chaplain priests is very important. Our Order has supported the AMS’s Seminarian program for many years. Catholics make up roughly 25% of the service member population in the military. The Department of Defense needs around 800 Catholic Priests to care for these service members. Currently, we only have around 230. For all of you analytical people, here are some numbers to put it into perspective. The US civilian population has 1 Catholic Priest for every 1,250 parishioners. In the Department of Defense, there are 25,000 service members per every Catholic Chaplain Priest. The good news is we are slowly growing. We currently have 35 seminarians in the AMS seminarian program. We also have seven co-sponsored priests. Attached is the poster for the 2024 AMS Seminarian class. Please pray for our seminarians and for increased chaplain priest vocations.  

Check out these additional links for more information: 

Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage website

Jubilee of the Armed Forces - Archdiocese for the Military, USA

Fraternally,

Sompaul Vorapanich

First Sergeant, US Army-Retired

Director of Warriors to Lourdes & Military Council Health

Liaison, Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

Knights of Columbus College Councils from the Naval Academy and West Point led the Catholic community in praying the Rosary during halftime of the Army-Navy game at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. Among those present was Knights of Columbus Supreme Master Michael McCusker who offered brief remarks following the prayer.

Keeping Active in All Parishes

As members of our assemblies, we can participate in a variety of programs and call outs at each Parish with a council that makes up our assembly. I know there are assemblies that serve a single council and a single Parish, but for the most part we have 3-5 councils and Parishes in each assembly.

Let’s show off as often as possible!

Reach out to each of the Grand Knights of the councils that make up your assembly and make sure you have a list of all upcoming events and offer Honor Guards where it makes sense.

As an example, our Parish is hosting a Filipino Simbang Gabi Mass on December 22^nd with our Bishop and, yes, we are requesting an Honor Guard to support our Filipino community and our Bishop.

What about regular corporate communions? Perfect for an Honor Guard!

What about at each Third-Degree Exemplification for each council? We should be at every one

of these to show the parish and our new brother Knights our support.

Look for ways to support each of our councils with Honor Guards in uniform. We are the visible arm

of the Knights of Columbus and need to be seen by everyone in the Parish to encourage, support,

and to honor our members and potential members.

Most of all, we are here to evangelize our faith and to serve God through our membership in the

Knights of Columbus. What a wonderful way to show our love for our faith and our fellow

Catholics by being in an Honor Guard for the Holy sacrifice of the Mass.

If you have any other questions on training your members, please email me at

MJPKNIGHT9282@aol.com.

Fraternally,

Michael J. Porter

PSD,FM,FVSM

4th Degree Director of Training 

(Correction: I stated in a previous newsletter that when serving as a flag bearer in an Honor

Guard that you don’t wear your sword or baldric. The correct statement is that you simply don’t

wear your sword; your baldric is always part of your uniform.)

The Fourth Degree accompanied the Carosa of the Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa of San Agustin Church during the Grand Marian Procession at Intramuros, Manila on December 1, 2024. 37 Honor Guard members led by District Master Manolo Tianzon participated in the procession. The Knights of Columbus was acknowledged by the emcee as the Carosa rolled by.

Korean and Vietnam War Census Program

The Fourth Degree will conduct a census of the membership to establish a record of service in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Following the World Wars, the Order documented war service by its members in the archives at the Blessed Michael J. McGivney Pilgrimage Center. However, similar efforts were not conducted following either the Korean or Vietnam Wars.

The Korean War commenced in 1950, making the approximate minimum age of surviving veterans 91 years old. The approximate minimum age of surviving Vietnam veterans serving from 1965-1973 is 68-76 years old. Both the Korean and Vietnam Wars marked a significant departure in how troops served and returned from war, as service was no longer for the duration. Gone were the hero’s welcome on return. Vietnam veterans returned to a hostile and divided nation, where they were often overlooked or criticized for their service.

For assemblies working in conjunction with their assigned councils in conducting the census of their membership, please use the most current form: Click Here

Where possible, documented service of deceased members needs to be recorded. Inclusion in the census shall be limited to veterans meeting the requirements established by Congress for the Korean Service Medal: You must have served from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, and were on permanent assignment or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days and performed his duty within the country of Korea. For the Vietnam Service Medals, you must have served from July 3, 1965 to March 28, 1973 and were on temporary duty for at least 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days or have served in combat with a unit directly supporting a military operation in Southeast Asia (Vietnam and the contiguous waters and airspace in Thailand, Laos, or Cambodia; or the airspace thereof) and in the direct support of military operations in Vietnam.

Certificates recognizing service will be delivered to surviving veterans via their councils. District Masters, it is recommended that you reach out to all your Faithful Navigators to collaborate with their local Grand Knights to hold a party or dinner for those veterans receiving the certificate. There should also be a Fourth Degree Honor Guard present during the certificate presentation. Let us show our appreciation to those veterans in our council who served in these two wars and to let them know that their sacrifices are not forgotten.

Ron Boyce, PSD

Fourth Degree Director of Programs

503-730-1986

Message from Fourth Degree Communications Director

I Need Your Help

All my life, I have been challenged by different people and noticing things that others were doing. You never know what will inspire you until you are inspired. If you share what your assemblies and districts are doing, you could inspire another to do the same or even improve upon an already great program. Look where our newsletter has gone over the last year and a half. If someone had told me that I would end up as the Supreme Fourth Degree Communications Director, my ninth grade English teacher and I would have had a great laugh. But I was inspired by a good friend that simply said, “I think you’re the man for the job."

This is your newsletter, so please keep sending information on events to kofc4thnews@gmail.com. The more you submit the more we can inspire our organization.

Fraternally,

Matthew Maly, PSD, FVSM

Fourth Degree Communications Director

Sir Knight Richard Metcalf, age 48, of Knoxville, TN passed away on December 6, 2024. He was the heart and soul of Knoxville Council 645 and Assembly 1083. In 2019, then Tennessee State Deputy Michael McCusker recognized Richard by making him an honorary District Deputy. Richard proudly wore the medal nearly every day for the rest of his life, long after the deep red of the ribbon had faded away. Richard, who had special needs, depended on the Supreme Master’s father, the late Jack McCusker, for rides to and from Mass and council/assembly meetings. Sir Knight Jack passed away in 2015. Afterwards, whenever the Supreme Master would visit Knoxville, Richard would always tell him “I sure miss your Dad. Jack was my best friend.”

When PGK Bert Benedict informed McCusker of Richard’s passing, he commented, “I’m glad he’s in heaven now, where your Dad can take care of him for all eternity.”



Richard was a kind soul who loved to volunteer in the community. He was a resident of Beta Homes and had been employed at Sunshine Industries for many years. He was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and is survived by his mother, Linda Sue Brown and sister, Pandora (Phillip) Madden of Johnson City, TN. He will be dearly missed.

Metcalf, center, with then State Deputy Michael McCusker (2019).

Administrative Assistant

Justyna Padilla 

justyna.padilla@kofc.org

203-752-4437

Special Projects and Associate Fourth Degree Specialist

Addie Roth 

adella.roth@kofc.org

203-752-4009