With the Blessing of Bishop Seamus Hegarty on the 9th October 2009 twenty men made their investiture as the Knights of the Blessed Sacrament during Mass celebrated by Aux. Bishop Francis Lagan at Saint Columba’s Church, Long Tower, Derry. A Knight of the Blesssed Sacrament will be prepared and inducted for veneration and protection of the Eucharist when it is exposed on the altar. They commit to
one hour’s Adoration on a Wednesday, during which time they wear a special garment of veneration that marks him out as a protector of the Blessed Sacrament. One definition of a Knight is a man who stands for a “just cause or a special lady”. The calling to be a Knight invites men to be courageous in their faith, to show leadership in prayer, to give example to their families, to enhance their self-esteem, to claim their dignity as dutiful servants of Christ, to protect the Eucharist and to grow in love. True masculinity implies strength with gentleness, the kind of qualities that come with prayer. Society tries to immerse men in a generally superficial style of living, in a culture of obession with sports, of alcohol consumption and gambling. The church invites men to counteract this social trend, to be truly earnest about their vocation as brothers, uncles, husbands, fathers and grandfathers and to enrich their lives with prayer and the Sacraments. A very profound way of doing this is to become a Knight of the Blessed Sacrament. A Knight of the Blessed Sacrament will experience benefits that are both immediate
