A few weeks ago I participated in an extraordinary meeting of about 12 Knights of Columbus chaplains hosted in New Haven by our supreme knight. These chaplains, in a sense, represented all their brother chaplains throughout the Order. Functioning somewhat like a “focus group,” they reflected on questions such as these: What is the role of the chaplain in the Knights of Columbus? How should the chaplain participate in council meetings? How can the supreme chaplain more effectively support state and local chaplains in their mission?

These and other questions filled nearly two days with interesting discussions and led to some important results. If our wide-ranging discussions had a common thread it was this: The role of Knights of Columbus chaplains is more vital than ever and is in need of new forms of support. This “common thread” has two parts. Let me deal with each in turn.

Let me begin with the role of the priest-chaplain. The Knights of Columbus always will be an organization led by lay men. Father Michael J. McGivney could easily have been the Order’s first supreme knight. However, he chose to allow a layman, James T. Mullen, to lead the organization. For his part, Father McGivney briefly served as a secretary before devoting himself to the spiritual welfare of the Order as its chaplain. He wanted Catholic men to lead an organization that would give them a deeper sense of belonging to the Catholic Church, that would help them know and live their faith more deeply and actively, and that would offer Catholic families security in the event of the breadwinner’s premature death. In a word, he was its “parish priest” not its CEO.

It was easy to see that the chaplains gathered in New Haven had seriously reflected on Father McGivney’s role in helping Catholic men live their faith amid the challenges of the late 19th century. Today, that same role must be fulfilled amid the challenges of the 21st century. The chaplains spoke of the headwinds that hinder so many Catholic men from fully participating in the life of the Church. Unlike previous generations, many Catholics today find that the religious formation they received as youths was insufficient for the challenges of living the faith in today’s secular environment. Often, even very good and loyal Catholics, who deeply love their faith, find they suffer from significant gaps in their understanding of what the Church believes and teaches. Some find that they were never formed in the basics of prayer and spirituality. And others report that they still lack that spiritual “spark” that ignites in their hearts a burning desire for holiness of life given us by Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit.

In a word, the need for “men’s spirituality” is evident. This expresses in a new way what Father McGivney perceived so long ago — that men, in their role as husbands and fathers, need to deepen their knowledge of the faith and their life of prayer. In the process they need to strengthen their ties not only to their families but also to their family of faith, the Church. It would appear that a men’s organization with 1.7 million members is uniquely positioned to address this new manifestation of an old problem.

That said, the chaplains gathered in New Haven made it very clear that council meetings should not be turned into prayer services. These meetings should include prayer and also some period of time when the chaplain addresses the group on some point of the Church’s faith and offers an opportunity for discussion. The chaplains stressed that the faith should not be presented abstractly but in ways that the members can readily grasp and apply as they fulfill their responsibilities to their families, to their faith and to their country. These chaplains also reminded us that they and their fellow chaplains are more stretched than ever in their pastoral responsibilities because of the priest shortage. So help is needed not only for the members of the Order but also for the chaplains who may not have the time or opportunity to prepare instructions and discussion points for local council meetings.

This led to a focus in this column which you are now reading. The chaplains suggested that this page — which goes to millions of homes and rectories in various languages — is a ready-made tool for spreading the Gospel and offering instruction in the faith. That was music to my ears. Seeing that I was the willing recipient of their advice, they further suggested that I use this page to present the faith systematically — in a logical, organized way — but also in a lively, interesting way. No pressure there! But with the help of the Holy Spirit and the support of the supreme knight, I agreed that we should go in this direction by making use of the recently published United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and many other providential expressions of the Church’s faith. This will add to the wonderful work of the Order’s Catholic Information Service.

So my challenge is to “distill” these magnificent resources to a format that is truly suitable for council meetings. That is what I’ll be trying to do in this column. Of course, I will need your prayers to sustain this effort over the long haul. But I am happy to do so — for “information” about the faith is not only “factual,” it is also “formational.” And nothing makes me happier than being the Lord’s instrument in the process of faith formation.