Bishop William R. Johnson Council 9487

Grand Knight's Report

Iron is sharpened by iron;
one person sharpens another.

Brothers,

Greetings and a blessed Christmas season to all. While I write this, we have just concluded the Octave of Christmas, but still can look forward to Epiphany, celebrated on January 4th and The Feast of the Baptism of our Lord on January 11th before the Christmas season is concluded. I pray that 2026 brings us all closer to Christ Jesus.

Our annual Poinsettia sale was another success, thank you to all brother Knights who helped out and especially to our PGK Tom Sixsmith who ran it. The Knights sponsored another coffee and donuts in December; these are a favorite of our beloved pastor Fr. Thomas, who likes bringing the parishioners together as a faith community. We also continued our annual “Keep Christ in Christmas” poster competition. The competition ended up being completed in two sessions, with the Knights providing hot dogs and snacks at the first session and hot chocolate and lemonade for the second. Special thanks to Brother Rich Farina for spearheading this, along with invaluable support from our PGK’s Dave Atkins and John Teeter. Thanks to all brother Knights who helped in the cooking and cleaning…

Some events to keep in mind for January: Breakfast Burrito fundraiser on January 11th, Brizio’s fundraiser on January 13, Car Wash on January 17, and Saturday recycling on January 31.

Our “Saint of the Month” for January is another one of the twelve apostles, St. Peter, our first pope. Originally named Simon, our Lord changed his name to Cephas, meaning rock in Aramaic and translated as Peter in Greek. He was an uneducated common man, a Galilean fisherman… but he was appointed by Jesus as head of his apostles and Church. According to Bishop Fulton Sheen, he is mentioned in the gospels 195 times, more than all the other eleven apostles combined (130). Jesus initially met Peter by the Sea of Galilee, where he was fishing with his partners James and John. This led to the miraculous catch of fish in Luke chapter 5. Upon witnessing the miracle Peter exclaimed, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Peter was afraid he wasn’t good enough for Jesus (none of us are!), but Jesus comforted him with the words, “Do not be afraid, henceforth you will be catching men."

Saint Peter

Peter, along with James and John, was with Jesus at the raising from the dead of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration, and the Agony in the Garden. Tradition holds that he was crucified upside-down because he deemed himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus.

May almighty God Bless and protect us and our families. Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!