It is Saturday afternoon in the parish hall at St. Raphael’s Medford, ten middle school kids and a few adults are desperately trying to defend their castle as a horde of monsters attack. Unfortunately, the monsters were successful this time but the sting of defeat was softened by some brownies and cake.

This is a typical scene from a Boston Knights meeting.

The Knights, the Communion and Liberation experience for middle school kids, started in Boston last September. Over the past few years our community has grown to include many families, and now many of the oldest kids in the families are in middle school. There was a desire among a few of the families for the experience of the Knights to begin in Boston. So, a Zoom call was arranged with Fr. Roberto, who leads the Knights in Washington D.C., to describe to us their experience.

After the call, many families were excited to start but the question remaining was who would lead or guide the kids. Over the course of the summer, as I would have conversations with families, each time, each family would ask me if I would take care of the kids. To be honest, I had no strong desire to be responsible for the Knights, but at the same time I felt as each person asked me that it was really an invitation from Another. As a result, I have experienced this not as my own project but really as a participation in the work of Another.

I am also discovering that this experience is overflowing to the parents who are being struck by the experience of the children. One of the parents recently told me, "I am grateful that my daughter has a place to go to that is hers only – without her siblings or parents! She is excited to go to the Knights and enjoys being together with the other kids and adults. I am moved to watch other adults take their free time on Saturdays and spend it with my child in a beautiful way – playing board games, talking, going on outings and eating snacks! It reminds me of when I was fifteen years old and I was struck by the fact that a couple of teachers would want to spend Friday night with me in a beautiful way. That awakened in me the question of why the people in CL were fascinating and why did they care for me? I hope this will be the beginning of a beautiful journey for my daughter starting with the Knights experience."

Our Knights meetings are very simple; we begin each meeting with a Memorare and a game together. After the game we have a more serious moment, where we discuss the life of a saint or talk about how life is going. We usually end the meeting with a snack that has been prepared by one of the kids.

My experience with the Knights these past few months has been a verification of the School of Community work on the phrase “God is all in all”. Every step of the way has really been guided by God, from the enthusiastic response of my pastor in letting us use the parish hall for our meetings, to some of the kids inviting their classmates to come, and the kids preparing a Lesson and Carols service for Christmas. As we read in the School of Community: “...Being reveals itself in as much as it is at work in our present: it is, if it is at work before our eyes” (To Give One’s Life for the Work of Another, 43).

Andre, Boston, MA