YOU JUST CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP" #35

 

FROM MY REARVIEW MIRROR TODAY, I COULD SEE IT GAINING ON ME

People have always asked me when I knew I wanted to be a priest. They are shocked when I tell them it started when I was six years old. Of course, a child that young has no idea what would be required. It was like answering, cowboy, astronaut, race car driver or circus performer. The only difference is that very few young boys, even in those days, would have answered "priest." but the idea never left me. 

Actually, nobody really asked me. It was merely an opportunity that presented itself. I was at a farmers house waiting to get a haircut. Father Henry Vessels, just ordained, was visiting his sister who was the wife of the farmer. Father Vessels, his sister and some other family members were in the kitchen playing cards. I was alone in the "haircut room" between the kitchen and the bedroom. I noticed that Father Vessels had laid his Roman collar on the bed in the next room. I sneaked in there and put it around my neck, tiptoed and looked at myself in the mirror before throwing it back as if I had committed some awful sin. 

A year later, in the second grade, Sister Mary Ancilla asked the class what we wanted to be when we grew up. I was seven years old. I remember clearly arguing in my head about whether to say what I really felt for far of being laughed at. By the time my turn came, I decided to claim my call and risk being ridiculed. I told the class that I wanted to be a "priest," in spit of the fact that some might think I was "kissing up" to Sister. 

Even the courage it took to go public was only the beginning of the rough ride ahead. Shorty after, I signed up to be an altar boy, I flunked the altar boy test (in Latin), not once, no twice but three times. This caused Sister Mary Ancilla to  throw up her hands an declare, "Ronnie, you are a good kid, but I don't think you will ever be any good around the alter!" I liked her and she liked me so she gave me a fourth chance and finally passed the test! (We were friends until she died, but I never forgot her words when I flunked my first Latin test. To "punish" her, I invited her sit in the the front row at my "First Mass" which was in English!)

I loved being a altar boy and I was the only altar boy to own his own cassock and surplice and the church. During grade school, I conducted "funerals" for various pets, had my own "altar shrine" in my bedroom and built outdoor "churches" in a few locations. I even recruited some of my sisters and neighbors to be the "congregation." I remember a conversation I had with one of the neighborhood boys when I was accepted into minor seminary. Overcome with doubt, he said this to me, "If you become a priest, I'll become a nun!" I presided at his funeral a couple of years ago, and told the story. I even added, for a touch of humor, that maybe he should have been buried in a nun's habit! 

Previously, I told the painful story of my years around getting into, surviving and graduating from minor seminary. I was more than excited to find out I would be going to St. Meinrad even though I had only visited there once. I loved it. I thrived there! I even went back to work there before retirement. I have always said that St. Thomas Seminary used the "dental approach" to seminary formation. Like a dentist looking for cavities to drill, they looked for weaknesses and flaws to expose. St. Meinrad Seminary told us the first day that they were going to help us identify our talents and strengths so that together we could make them grow and develop.  I "blossomed" under their direction and examples. 

I have been a priest now for fifty-five years. I have had a chance to pastor, write, preach, travel and develop my talents and skills in a host of ways and in a variety of places - including teaching, preaching and ministering in ten other countries. I have tried to re-create myself every few years by taking on new challenges and opportunities. I plan to keep doing it as long as I can. Summarizing how I feel about my twelve years of seminary and fifty-five years of priesthood can be summarized in the four words on my new tombstone: Simply Amazed - Forever Grateful. 

 

A SHOUT-OUT TO THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR

 

HOMILY GIVEN AT ST. JOSEPH HOME, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, 8-25-2025

We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love.

I Thessalonians 1:1-5

Thessalonica was a crossroads between the east and the west, making it crucial in making Christianity into a world religion. Trade flowed into it from the east and the west. As important as it was to Paul to preach the gospel there, in hopes that Christianity would spread in both directions making it a world religion, he only preached in their synagogue three Sabbaths which means his stay there could not have been more than three weeks in length.

Even though his time there was short, he had enjoyed tremendous success. In fact, he was so successful that the local religious leaders were so enraged and stirred up so much trouble for Paul that he had to be smuggled out, in peril of his life, escaping finally to Athens.

Paul was so curious about whether Christianity had taken root in Thessalonica that he sent Timothy there to collect information. Timothy reported that the affection for Paul was still as strong as ever and they were standing fast in their Christian faith. The reading today tells us just how much he loved them and how grateful he was to that little community for their appreciation of his ministry there and for their solid faith.

All this, gives me an opportunity to say a few things to this community about your appreciation of my ministry here and my appreciation of your solid faith and labor of love for each other.

Just last week, I got a note from Father Julius of St. Meinrad. In it, he told me that he met Sister Therese on retreat there. He told me that she told him that you “loved when I come to do ministry” here. It has had a profound effect on me, knowing that you appreciate my coming here.

In the spirit of St. Paul’s love for the new Christian community of Thessalonica, let me express my appreciation to the Little Sisters serving here and around the world and express a few sentiments to the residents who live here and in other Homes around the globe.

Sisters! I have been trying to help out here for the last several years with Masses on Mondays, Special Occasions and Confessions. I have watched you, listened to you and been inspired by you! I know that the youngest among you have been required to step up more and more to help do what more of you used to do years ago as the community ages. I realize that none of you ever “retire,” but do your best to help out until it’s time for you to go to your reward in heaven. I know, from personal experience, that some of you have come from places like Hong Kong, Kenya and the Philippines or have served the elderly in other places around the world. I salute you! I admire you! I am happy to serve you!

Residents! Being almost 82 myself, I am beginning to appreciate some of the things you have to go through in giving up your independence, moving into an institution and accepting health crises as they come along, even as you appreciate the help these places supply in your time of need. I salute you too! I admire you too! I am happy to serve you too!

Let me end this homily by repeating the words of today’s first reading.

We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love.

I Thessalonians 1:1-5

 

  

 

 

 

 

I SIMPLY CAN'T QUIT YET

Now that my St. Veronica Church project in Kenya is finished and dedicated, except for a few minor details, my attention has been drawn to a situation in Tanzania - the next country south of Kenya.  People laughed out loud when I said that St. Veronica Church will be my last project! I guess they know me by now.  It also makes a difference when you actually know something about the situation you are committed to helping! I just can't stop trying to help! 

Minor Seminarian Filbert Amos Kileo (age 14 on the right), with his mother, Jesca Maurus Nyoni, and sister, Jackline Amos Kileo, in front of the Seminary with Bishop Mhasi. (Notice the Immaculate Heart of Mary or Sacred Heart of Jesus images on the mother's skirt.) 

 

I am sponsoring young Filbert through Minor Seminary since his mother and younger sister are unable to pay for his annual tuition, room and board. The cost per seminarian is $800.00 a year for tuition, room and board.

Father John Judie, who volunteers in Tanzania mostly, told me about young Filbert's situation. He was sent home from the seminary because his single mother, Jesca, and younger sister, Jacklin, could not afford the $800.00 tuition, room and board. Since young Filbert has the same first name as Bishop Filbert Mhasi, Bishop Mhasi intervened and brought him back to the seminary and told him, "I will find the money somewhere." When I was told about it, at that price I decided to "sponsor" him through his seminary years, as long as possible, because the Archdiocese of Louisville paid for all twelve years of my seminary education when my family could not afford it at that time. Bishop Mhasi told me that his mother cried when she heard the good news. I too was age 14 when I started seminary.   I told Father Judie and Bishop Mhasi that I had one stipulation that there be no pressure on him to be ordained, even though we all hope it will happen! Going to Seminary is about discernment, not a decision to be a priest. That comes much later, especially at age 14.  There were 60 of us who started seminary in 1958 at age 14 and only 5 of us were ordained in 1970. 

When Bishop Mhasi was here this past summer, I asked about Filbert's mother, Jesca. I was told that she is a single mother with two children. Filbert's sister, Jacklin, lives with his mother in a rented one-room situation with one small bed for mother and a small couch for her daughter. Father Judy told me that because of this, young Filbert will not be able to go home since there is only one real bed in his mother's rented one room living situation. He will have to live with the local pastor when school is out. 

Young Filbert's sister, Jacklin, Bishop Mhasi (on a recent investigative visit for me to their home) and young Filbert's mother, Jesca

This situation bothered me greatly. I usually do projects that help a whole community, but this time I decided to break from that pattern and try to help just one struggling family. I asked Bishop Mhasi to investigate how much a small house would cost to build. He had an architect friend to supply me with drawings and the financial costs. When the report came with a cost of only $13,000.00 in American dollars for a new, small, simple three-bedroom house, I was hooked! I wrote back and asked him what it would cost for her to own the house, own some new furnishings and own a plot of land large enough for a small vegetable garden. I was told that that total would amount to $15,500.00. I knew then that I was hooked for sure!

I know I can't change the whole world, but I am very excited to know that I can change the life of one family drastically for such a small amount - a fully furnished house on a plot of ground where she can grow her own vegetables without her having to pay rent on a one-room living situation.  I really want her to own this house, not rent it, so she can have a better life for herself and her two kids going forward! 

I am committed to having this house built, even if I have to pay for a large part of it myself! I'll cut back wherever I can, knowing that I can do this alone if I have to!  Now that I know about this situation, I can't just "do nothing" about it. 

However, if you would like to help me out with this project, make your tax-deductible check  out to

Father John Judie Ministries - Tanzania House Project 

and send it to me for deposit. 

Rev. Ronald Knott

1271 Parkway Gardens Court #106 

Louisville, KY 40217

for questions call me at

1-502-303-4571

A REAL HOME FOR A MOTHER, DAUGHTER AND SON 

$13,000 for the new three-bedroom house

$1,200 for the land with a lot large enough for a vegetable garden

$1,300.00 for necessary furnishings

TOTAL

$15,500.00 

unless something was overlooked or prices rise 

Donations totaling $8,500.00 for this project (including my own first personal donation of $7,000.00) have already been sent for deposit. Another generous check has been promised, but has not yet been received. When we reach our goal, anything above that stated goal will be used for inevitable unforeseen "overage costs" caused by rising prices or overlooked details. 

PROJECT ALERT! 

At this point, the above goal has already been met, but it already needs to be adjusted. I estimate that we will still need @ $4,500.00 to completely finish this project. This adjustment will include a recently overlooked septic tank system and any unforeseen rises in building material costs. If no one steps forward to help, so as to get the house completed soon and before costs continue to rise, I will try my best to finish funding this project personally if that is what it takes! 

The drawings below shows what this new small house will look like when finished. If we start right away, the builder promised that he could have it ready to move into in @ two months. He is ready when the funds are ready. Bishop Mhasi has agreed to oversee this construction process personally so that it will be done without any abuse or corruption of our donations.   

Come on! Let's do this! 

 

In case you can't read the print. 

 front and back VERANDA = Porch

middle LOUNGE = Living Room

right DINING = Dining Room 

WC = Toilet/Bathroom

 

CHANGING THE WORLD THROUGH INDIVIDUAL SELF-DISCIPLINE

At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,

Yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. 

Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

I have been an optimist most of my adult life, but I would not call myself naïve. No matter how bad things may have been seen by others, I have always tried to see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. Lately, however, I am beginning to lose confidence in my own optimism. It appears that the world I have known seems to be sinking into a morass of confusion, chaos and anger in the last few years. Worst of all, there doesn’t seem to be much I can do about it no matter how much preaching I do, no matter how much writing I do, no matter how many social change organizations I join or how much positivity I try to project!

I have been praying about what I can do personally to survive without giving into that pull and being corrupted by it! That’s why my eyes landed on our second reading today and its message about the importance of personal discipline, rather than organizational change. 

At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,

Yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

Wow! As I reflected on those words, I kept coming back to an old expression that I came across several years back. It goes like this! “It is easier to put on slippers than it is to carpet the world!”  The more I thought about these words, the more I understood that it might not only be easier to put on slippers than it would be to carpet the world, but it might even be a more effective way to survive what I cannot control.

For the first time, I finally understood clearly my path forward in the years I have left. I now understand that I need to change myself and resist the pull into the chaos developing around me. You might say, I finally realized clearly that “if I can’t beat them, at least I don’t have to join them!” Yes, I have come to the conclusion that it is not only “easier to put on slippers than it is to carpet the world,” it is actually a more effective way to survive in a world I am powerless to change! I will, no doubt, continue to teach and preach and do what I can to inspire others, but I have learned at almost 82 years of age that I can be more effective in helping others if my main focus is on changing myself and teaching others to do the same by modeling good behavior rather than becoming a rabid crusader in the latest political or ecclesiastical “movement.”

In a world that had strayed from the way of Jesus, in his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul identified three things that a Christian needed to “put away” through "personal discipline:" (a) the normalization of wrong doing, (b) a lust for pleasure and (c) insatiable greed.  

These behaviors are exactly the sins of our world today as more people lose their connection to “the way of Christ” and take on “the way of the world!” Paul tells the people of Ephesus to “put away” their old behaviors so as to “put on” the new behaviors as followers of Jesus! Let me point out some pertinent examples of the old behaviors we need to “put away” and why they can only be corrected by personal discipline, as today’s second reading puts it, rather than institutional changes.

(1)         The Normalization of Doing Wrong.  “Following the herd” and “doing what everybody else is doing” is the most obvious way I can think of to “normalize wrong doing!” The normalization of wrong doing is insidiously subtle since once you start down that path, it gets easier and easier to “up your game” and “feel better about” more and more wrong doing! It can be as small as acquiring and misusing handicapped parking stickers to something as dangerous as regularly speeding, running redlights and cutting corners on everything one sets out to do; from something as small as “taking a little something from work” and petty theft to something as serious as engaging in marital infidelity; something as small as gossiping on Facebook to something as serious as accusing someone falsely of sexual abuse as personal revenge. Since it is so subtle at its beginning, normalizing wrong doing is an insidious down-hill slide with no end in sight!  God knows that fewer and fewer people are stopped simply because Scripture says that it is a sin! It requires the personal discipline to say “no!”

 

(2)         The Lust for More and More Pleasure. The drive to experience more and more pleasure and avoid as much “growth pain” as possible is obvious in our ever-expanding use of recreational drugs, our national overeating problem and our constant obsession with recreation. Without self- discipline, in face of these trends, all decency and shame evaporates and people end up not caring what they do or who sees them doing it.

 

(3)         An Insatiable Greediness.  I have noticed a steady decline in service professions and a growth in a cut-throat love of possessing in particular and hoarding in general. If you don’t believe me. Count the TV shows that glorify the extravagant homes of the rich and famous, as well as shows about hoarding among the poor. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. There are now over 735 billionaires in the United States, there are beggars in more and more intersections while credit card debt and scamming are out of control. There is even a whole TV show called “American Greed.”

The solution, I believe, begins with an intense resistance to giving into “what everybody else is doing.” Let me repeat that for emphasis. The solution begins with an intense resistance to giving into “what everybody else is doing.” These behaviors can only be eradicated one person at a time through self-discipline! They cannot be eradicated by legislation from church or state.

In short, I challenge you today to join the minority! Do not be guided by “what everybody else is doing” Choose what is “right” and choose “truth,” no matter who around you may think you are stupid, crazy and out-of-touch with reality for doing so! The bad behaviors that are infecting the world can only be eradicated one person at a time! Be that next person to resist! Be that next person to choose differently! No matter what everybody else is doing, put away your “old self” and choose to become a “new self.” If you do, you will be helping change the world for the better – one person at a time through self-discipline – the only way it can be changed!