As Christians, our understanding of our faith is both Christocentric and Trinitarian. Our faith flows from a deep appreciation, love and connection to the living God.
Living out our faith is not just about learning the Gospel and attending Mass each Sunday, but it means journeying and walking towards Christ through the sacraments as well as expressing our forgiveness, love, compassion and understanding in action, words and deeds.
Our Order’s work is continually directed towards Catholic action, and as the lay apostolate, as Pope St. Paul VI stated in his encyclical, Apostolicam Actuositatem, we are responsible for ‘spreading the kingdom of Christ throughout the earth for the glory of God the Father, to enable all men and women to share in His saving redemption.’[1]
Within the Knights of St. Columbanus, we foster a culture calling each member to discipleship and faith obedience with Christ, we support each member to come out of their comfort zone to follow Christ.
In our faith, we bind ourselves exclusively to Christ when he calls. We must follow because ‘Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.’[2]
Knights are always called to be aware of what Christ is really asking of us, as is evident in scripture. As Brothers called to join our Order, we must acknowledge that that call of Christ is critically important and should be recognised and acted upon with an open heart. As we are all aware, the first disciple offers to follow Jesus without waiting to be called and is rebuked by Jesus being told that he did not know what he was doing as ‘no man can call himself to such a destiny’.[4]
[1] Pope St. Paul VI, Apostolicam Actuositatem, 1965.
[2] Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, p. 17.
[4] Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, p. 18.