Masses, Retreats, and Days of Reflection

The Association holds Masses—from the magnificent Investiture Mass held in Washington, D.C. to the smaller, monthly Masses held throughout the country. There are also Masses to celebrate, for instance, the Feast of St. John the Baptist or the Sanctity of Life or Masses held in memory of deceased members in November or in honor of the sick on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The hope is that our Knights and Dames will be celebrating the Mass, in robes, saying the same prayers at roughly the same time all over the country.

Each year, hundreds of Knights, Dames, and candidates attend one of the weekend retreats held in various membership cities or the Day of Reflection—an annual mini-retreat. There are four weekend retreats and each includes daily Mass, opportunities for confession, presentations by the retreat director, and time set aside both for silent reflection and fellowship.

The Federal Association initiated the Day of Reflection series in 1999 at the Washington Theological Union. Typically this day-long “retreat” takes place surrounding the Day of Formation for candidates—since many members already are in town. There is a theme or topic selected to encourage members to think about and be able to respond to the complex questions of modernity and apply the precepts of their Catholic faith to such problems. Past topics have included: Spirituality in the Workplace, Marriage—a Call to Spiritual Growth, Social Justice and the Order of Malta, and The Order of Malta and Service to the Sick and the Poor.