Eight Aspects of Fraternity

A reflection given at the General Meetings, July 8 and August 12, 2025, Knights of Columbus, Council 15659, St. Lucy Parish, Racine, WI.

Fraternity is one of the four identifying marks of the Order of the Knights of Columbus. The other three are patriotism, unity and charity. As an Order, we pledge ourselves to a particular way of life led by our Lord Jesus Christ and passed on to His Body, the Church. The aspect of fraternity for a Worthy Knight is living in a moral and spiritual state of being that actively displays a bond of shared responsibility for others, regardless of race, creed, or religion, or status, all done in service to Christ Our Lord.

“Fraternity” is a word that can be a rabbit hole of misunderstanding and misdirection. My first impression of fraternity came in 1978 from the National Lampoon movie titled Animal House. The movie depicted the Delta Tau Chi fraternity as promoting a morally and spiritually bankrupt lifestyle. The movie illustrates a case where the word “fraternity” is best understood by examining the qualities or traits of being in fraternity, rather than focusing on the individuals belonging to the Delta Tau Chi fraternity. The word “fraternity” encompasses several different aspects. What is an aspect? An aspect is a status or phase in which something appears or can be seen. Sacred Scripture presents a poignant story revealing multiple levels of fraternity. It is the account of St. Paul’s final departure from the Church of Ephesus.

“At Mietus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus: 'Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated. I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of the sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.

“When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all. They were all weeping loudly as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him, for they were deeply distressed that he said that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.” (Acts 20:28-38).

This passage exhibits a remarkable bond between St. Paul and the Church at Ephesus. Here are some of the aspects of fraternity that appear in this account:

1. St. Paul urges the presbyters to watch over themselves and the entire flock. Here, we see the aspect of watchfulness. The Knights support and aid our priests and clergy in their pastoral work by being the ears, eyes, and hands, serving as a bridge between the clergy and the laity in our role as sacramental priests, prophets, and kings through Baptism.

2. St. Paul then warns of the infamous “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” by emphasizing the importance of vigilance. Every Worthy Knight leads a unique life and engages with the community in different ways. Our sacramental participation in the life of Christ, combined with our varied experiences, helps us recognize both harmony and disorder within our Council, our parish, and our community.

3. Next, St. Paul emphasizes the importance of honoring tradition when he says, “Remember.” Memory is a unique human gift. We are to fill it with sound instruction and lived experiences. In other words, hold on to the moral and spiritual principles we’ve learned, honor them when giving witness, and let them be an outward and living sign of our faith.

4. The next aspect we hear is to admonish one another. When you see your brother or sister stray from the moral and spiritual order, gently call them aside—possibly with others present—and, with a sincere heart, help bring them back to the flock.

5. Then St. Paul explains how we should fulfill our mission as Christians: live within your means, practice humility at all times, and trust in God, who promises an inheritance to those who are poor in spirit. Work for justice and strive to be as generous as the Father is generous.

6. St. Paul reminds us to work for our daily bread and avoid being a burden to others. Examine the palms of your hands. Do not expect payment when you pray or witness to the gospel in your life. Be content with your portion. And do not fall prey to the three temptations Christ overcame in the desert: plenty, pride, and power.

7. Pray, adoring God as Almighty God and Father, worthy of all praise and glory. Pray with contrition in our hearts for wrongdoings, especially when bearing false witness. Pray, giving thanks for the blessings we receive and those which we give to others. Pray to help our beleaguered, grieving, and abandoned brothers and sisters.

To summarize, St. Paul illustrates in verses 31-35 that fraternity possesses many identifiable qualities characterizing a virtuous person. These are watchfulness and shared responsibility, vigilance, honoring tradition, admonishing one another out of love for the wayward, seeking humility in all things, living your faith without expecting reward, working for justice, and above all, praying. In other words, we are constantly called to demonstrate, as a sign of our faith, the unseen connection that unites us and helps strengthen each other’s spirits. This unseen connection leads me to my final point and the most engaging aspect of fraternity in this passage: empathy.

The last two verses of this passage highlight the unseen connection between each member of the Church of Ephesus and St. Paul. Here again is the emotional ending of that account.

Unlike sympathy, which is often seen as an emotional or intellectual connection where what affects one similarly influences the other, empathy refers to a form of action or understanding. It is shaped by our experiences and responses. It becomes a useful skill for those in ministry because it can be shared at different levels between individuals or projected onto larger communities, such as churches, prisons, and wartime naval vessels.

In his naval history account of life on the high seas during the conflict between Great Britain and Spain, author David Grann recounts the secret mission of a fleet of British ships sent to circumnavigate Cape Horn, harass the Spanish merchant fleets, and seize their gold and silver cargo. The novel “The Wager, A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder” tells a story of extreme and dire hardship in the service of His Majesty. Some of the most common perils included disease, pestilence, spoiled or rotten food, and daily encounters with death, all of which were grim parts of life in His Majesty’s navy. The cause and cure for scurvy were not yet known. Seamen were berthed in stifling, moldy, foul-smelling quarters, crammed together with others of the same rank or duties, and very likely exuded poor hygiene. Nevertheless, they became close shipmates, relying on each other to keep a sharp lookout for danger or to think and act as one in a split second. In some cases, an illiterate sailor would dictate a heartfelt letter to a loved one at home to a bunkmate who could read and write. Bonds of friendship and trust became essential for survival. In this light, empathy became a deeply felt reality when a crewman was injured, fell ill, or faced imminent death. As recorded in the logbook of the HMS Wager:

“As a sick patient fought for his life on the lonely seas far from home, his mates might visit him, holding a lantern over his vacant eyes and trying to cheer him up- or perhaps, as a chaplain on the man-of-war described it, “dropping silent tears on him, or in the most heart-rendering accents calling him.

One day on the Wager, several men emerged from the sick bay carrying a long, shrouded package. It was the dead body of one of their companions. According to tradition, a body to be buried at sea was wrapped in a hammock, along with at least one cannonball. (When the hammock was sewn together, the final thread was often stitched through the victim’s nose, to ensure he was dead.) The stiffened corpse was placed on a plank and a Union Jack was draped over it, making it seem less like a mummy. Any of the deceased’s personal effects, his clothes, his trinkets, his sea chest, were collected for auction, to raise money for his widow or other family members; even the most hardened seamen often offered exorbitant bids. “Death is at all times solemn, but never so much is at sea,” one sailor recalled. “The man is near you- at your side- you hear his voice, and in an instant he is gone, and nothing but a vacancy shows his loss…. There is always an empty berth in the forecastle, and one man wanting when the night watch is mustered. There is one less to take the wheel, and one less to lay out with you upon the yard. You miss his form and the sound of his voice, for habit had made them almost necessary to you, and each of your senses feels his loss.” End quote.

Brothers, we know the effect a pebble causes when dropped into water. It causes ripples to spread outward in concentric circles from where the stone enters the water. The ripples are there whether dropped in a puddle or an ocean. Similarly, fraternity is present wherever order and goodwill are present.

The virtue of fraternity shapes character. My family and I recently went on our annual road trip. This year’s adventure took us to the South, specifically to Radcliff, Kentucky. My wife and I wanted to see the gold bullion repository at Fort Knox. Unfortunately, we arrived just after all the free samples had been taken. It wasn’t at Fort Knox, but at the General George Patton Historical Museum, which adjoined the expansive Fort, that I read a plaque with this definition of empathy as it relates to character and leadership:

“An action or understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.”

In other words, fraternity does not exist within man-made constructs. Instead, it is embedded deep within our character, waiting for the right moment to surface. The Worthy Knight lives according to a disciplined life of practicing fraternity, unity, charity, and patriotism. The harmony of these virtues forms bonds that are invisible, timeless, immeasurable, unique, and universal. I believe God wove them into the double helix of our DNA—those visible and invisible parts of His creation that we profess in the Creed during Holy Mass. A loving and generous Father bestowed them upon us so that we might simply be, living in His image and likeness, without fanfare, without judgment, and without payment.

A strong leader living in the Order of Knighthood demonstrates those invisible connecting forces by uplifting those who are struggling. We are called to support one another in any way we can, often while we ourselves are dealing with our own burdens.

Pay attention to opportunities to follow the example of Blessed Fr. McGivney. As always, pray for wisdom and grace to do the Father's will. Then go and live in the tranquility of order and goodwill.

Vivat Jesus!

SK Paul Thomas, Lecturer, St. Lucy Council 15659, Racine, WI.

“Peace is the tranquility of order.” St. Augustine

Grann, David. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder. Doubleday, 2023, p. 52.