The Third Degree

Growing up, we spent several years just outside of Reno, Nevada where my dad was active in the Knights of Columbus. This organization was very mysterious to me, as it was made up of (to my 7 year old eyes) very strong, brave, and loyal men who served the Church with their whole heart and soul, but I didn't know much about what they did behind closed doors. My father helped to build the mystery about this group for me when he spent what felt like months preparing for his "third degree."

(Here's a picture of my dad. He'll probably kill me for printing a picture of him, but that's okay. All of us siblings went together a few years ago to buy him the "regalia" of the fourth degree members:)

Anyway, at the time, I didn't know anything about how Knights of Columbus moved through their degrees, but from the way my dad talked, it sounded very intense. Among other things, he had to memorize the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and, I remember very clearly, the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.

As the oldest child in the family, I remember taking it on as my special task to help my father prepare for this very important ceremony. I got all of the materials and I would quiz him each night. I couldn't believe it, but it seemed to me that I caught on to these things much more easily than he appeared to.

"Ok, Dad. Now what is the Third Sorrowful Mystery?"

He'd think carefully and then say, "The Carrying of the Cross?"

"Nope, that's the fourth!"

"Ummmmm.. Can you give me a hint?"

I'd pantomime something being placed on my head and he'd finally remember. "Oh! The Crowning with Thorns!"

Needless to say, the reverence and importance with which my father treated the degrees of the Knights of Columbus took on an epic proportion in my mind. So when my husband became Catholic and was able to join the Knights of Columbus, I was ready to return to my special role of "squire" in preparing him. However, though the degrees are apparently very meaningful and special, my husband told me that he went through no such "third degree" as my father had experienced.

I was disappointed about this and shared it with my dad the next time I saw him.  I told him of my fond memories of teaching him the sorrowful mysteries while he was "studying" for his third degree, and he laughed. "You were teaching me?" he chuckled. "Ohhhhh, that's how it was."

I still feel a little sheepish for being so easily duped as a child, but I have to admit that the gift of that time with my dad, "teaching him his faith" is still a special memory for me. Even thirty years later, I feel a special connection to the Knights of Columbus for that small way I was drawn into their fraternal bond. Dad is still an active Knight of Columbus at his parish (Grand Knight this year, actually), and I'm so grateful that our parish has its own council (#10282) here at All Saints full of strong, brave, and loyal men who serve the Church with their whole hearts and souls.