November 18, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters, warm felicitations from the Supreme Council and Grand Court.
Our Founders’ Day this year coincides with the Grand Launching of the Centenary Celebration of the Knights of Marshall. It is our prayer that the Launch of the Centenary Celebration will lead to a memorable and fulfilling climax in 2026.
On this day, we commemorate the thirteen valiant founders whose vision and dexterity enabled the creation, within the Catholic Church, of this vibrant Society- The Noble Order of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, of which we are members.
Many of our Brothers and Sisters have joined the Noble Celestial Order. Do we not have a duty to pray for all those who have given themselves body and soul?
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I invite you to help the souls in purgatory by practising “Charity”. Charity is one of the virtues most often and most strongly recommended to us in the Gospel. According to Saint thomas, it even has a greater power of satisfaction than prayer; or rather, it doubles the strength of our prayers and ensures their success. The angel said to Tobias: “Charity saves from death; it blots out sins; it
draws the soul out of darkness, makes it find favour with God and assures it of Eternal Life”.
What better way to relieve suffering souls? If we exercise charity in their name, the cries of gratitude of the poor rise up to God and triumph over everything in his sight. It is a sweet dew that falls into the flames of purgatory and tempers their ardour. The penny that gives the bread of the moment to a wretch of this world may give a delivered soul an eternal place at the Lord’s table. Let us therefore be as merciful as we can be; if we have much, let us give much; if we have little, let us give little, but let us give willingly.
Blessed is he,” cried the psalmist, “who understands the sorrow of the poor and abandoned: the Lord will deliver him on the evil day, and will help him on his bed of anguish and reward him for ever.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, if we lack goods, if we lack money, we still have spiritual charity, which does good to the soul and heart that suffer and groan. It surpasses, in the words of Saint Thomas, bodily charity, just as the spirit surpasses the body. Spiritual miseries are far more numerous and deplorable
than bodily miseries. Divine Goodness allows the merits we can obtain in this way to be passed on to
our beloved Brothers and Sisters in purgatory. So for their sake, let us care for the poor and sick! For their sake, let us watch over the dying! For their sake, let us protect the orphans! For them, let us console the widows! For their sake, let us wipe away the tears of all those who weep! In this way, our charity will lessen the sufferings of this world, which is a purgatory for the next life!
Founders’ Day is a testament to the dedication, hard work, and perseverance of all those who have been part of our society over the last ninety-seven years. It is also a moment of reflection and appreciation for the contributions of our founding fathers who have gone before us, paving the way for the Knights and
Ladies of Marshall of today.
On this feast day, we are all invited to rediscover our authentic Christian, Marshallan identity. Let us gird up our loins and shine our light in order to relieve the souls of our deceased Brothers and Sisters for the beauty of our Holy Mother, the Catholic Church. As we look back on our history, let us look to the future with renewed hope, commitment and enthusiasm.
Happy Founders’ Day!
LONG LIVE THE NOBLE ORDER OF KNIGHTS AND LADIES OF MARSHALL!
LONG LIVE OUR HOLY MOTHER, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH!
Sir Kt. Bro. Richard Ayih-Akakpo, Supreme Knight and MRL Sis. Patricia Dunenye, Grand Lady