Saturday, January 23, 2010

OUR GOAL

The aim of a Knight of the Altar, and indeed all persons, is to go to heaven and be with God our Father - in other words, to become a Saint. However, God wants us to be saints not only after our earthly life, but rather precisely here on earth, by doing our ordinary activities in the best way that we can. For a Knight, "ordinary activities" include, among others, prayer, study, work, recreation, relationship with our family and friends, and services done in the church as a member of the Knights of the Altar Organization.

The "Norms of Piety" are basic prayers and good habits through which we relate ourselves to God and to others, and form ourselves to become better persons. Through these norms, which have always been recommended to us by our Mother the Church, a Knight can live a life of intimate union with God, the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, his guardian angel, and the other angels and saints in heaven. This rich interior life will surely overflow into a better relationship with others, bringing them closer to God, and thus making us true apostles of Christ in our own little way, without doing extra-ordinary deeds nor calling the attention of others, but rather by living our most ordinary life according to God's will at all times.

These norms are not chains which limit the freedom of a Knight, but rather a guide to help him set the pace of his relationship with God. They are general considerations which a Knight can suit to his personal situation, in an orderly way but with flexibility. By gradually learning these norms, a Knight can live them all within a few weeks or a few months (each one according to his circumstances).

"The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest" (Mt.9,37-38). A Knight of the Altar, through baptism, is a laborer in God's field. Many are called to become priests, and a Knight should seriously consider in his prayer whether God has given him this great gift of vocation to the priesthood. He should constantly ask God to make His will known to him, and be always ready to follow Him if He calls him to be a priest.

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