My Dear Brothers and Sisters, November is here again and going by tradition we need to commemorate the Founding Fathers of our cherished Noble Order with Masses and a message from the Supreme Knight.
By this tradition, I have chosen to give a brief of the genesis of the Noble Order, present an overview of the happenings through the yesteryears, the efforts made by our Founding Fathers and the persistence of consecutive successors that have sustained the establishment of the Noble Order in the face of great opposition even within the Church.
The story goes that when the Founding Fathers decided to form the Noble Order in 1926, they encountered great opposition from both the clergy and the laity of the Catholic Community in Sekondi where they worshiped. But even in that hostile and difficult atmosphere and circumstances in which they found themselves, they remained serene, persisted in their faith, contemplated the will of God and His providence and today we are all beneficiaries of their persistence. In so doing I hope we can draw some lessons to strengthen our own faith. With good, sound healthy-mindedness and positive mental attitude our forbearers had been able to move our Noble Order forward spiritually and materially.
Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ chooses the one He loves and does so gratuitously that they can know Him more, Love Him more and serve Him more. In Genesis 1:24-26 God created male and female in His image and likeness, so we belong to Him only. It is incumbent on us therefore to imitate His only begotten Son, Jesus, Who epitomises kindness, Love and Humility. By the law of attraction we members of the Noble Order, belonging to the Catholic faith had associated to continue with the lofty and noble ideals of our forbearers spiritually and materially. For these reasons attempts are being made to explain the rituals to show their biblical origin, their relevance and significance aimed at making members grow more spiritually, appreciate and understand that the rituals are indeed based on the Catholic doctrines and teachings and mystical in nature. Members are therefore required to be well-versed in the Catholic teachings so that we can confidently stand to defend the Holy Mother the Catholic Church in the current circumstances/challenges where members of the Church are moving out to other later Saints, Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches. Since we can give what we have, we can evangelise only when we have in-depth understanding and full grasp of our Catholic faith.
Having developed in spirituality we shall be driven to materially give shelter, food and clothe to less fortunate ones. We need to provide these interventions in auspicious circumstances. In this respect, Constituent Adult Councils and Regional Councils are entreated to digest, assimilate and implement the Strategic Plan Document. Grand Knights and Regional Grand Knights are thus to braze up themselves in good position to become effective implementers of the Strategic Plan which include ensuring that all members of the Noble Order pool resources to raise funds towards the Marshallan Business Centre Project as a monument for the Centenary Celebration of the Noble Order and also to make it a matter of priority and urgency at the Adult and the Regional levels to construct their Temples, starting with the acquisition of Land for the Projects so that meetings at classrooms will be a thing of the past. These activities are necessary to take the Noble Order to another visible level coupled with the expansion of the activities of our NGO, the Marshallan Relief and Development Services (MARADES), which gives more branding and exposure of the Noble Order. Our forbearers would be gratified to know that the solid foundation that had been laid continues to solidify and grow from strength to strength. Those firms up the faith of the Noble Order enshrined in its motto: Unity, Charity, Fraternity and Service. This faith had been lived, shared and handed down till today by our memorable forbearers, to enable us open wide our hearts and minds, to live a life that is dynamic and exciting.
It is required of the current crop of members of the Noble Order to work assiduously to let the faith in God bear fruit as in the parable of the talents in Mt 25:14-30 so that others who see us may come to appreciate the beauty of our Noble Order and want to be part of us. What is expected of us is to tenaciously hold on to the beliefs and ideals of the Founding Fathers, nourish them and see them flourish. The future of the Church and our cherished Noble Society depends on what we are capable of doing today.
On this occasion of our Founders’ Day, I salute our Founding Fathers; I salute you my Brothers and Sisters of the Marshallan Fraternity/Sorority. I pray that we will continue to emulate the ideals and beliefs of our Founders. I wish you a Happy Feast, God’s abundant Blessings and persistence in your faith.
In conclusion, let us pray that the Good Lord will in His endless mercy give rest to all Marshallans and family members who have gone before us. Amen.
Fraternally Yours,
SIR KT. BRO. JOSEPH EKOW PAINTSIL
SUPREME KNIGHT