Knights series explores man, work, holiness

The Knights of Columbus’ latest Into the Breach video series, The Dignity of Work, is resonating powerfully with Catholic men seeking meaning in their daily labours. 

Having already surpassed four million views in English, the Supreme Office has expanded the five-part series for French audiences as the Knights continue to fuel its growing reach through complementary faith formation efforts.

For those unfamiliar, The Dignity of Work sets out to explore the Catholic vision of man’s God-given mission and the central role work plays in it, having drawn inspiration from then-Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted’s apostolic exhortation "Into the Breach." The Knights first expanded this into a video series in February 2020, with strong interest quickly leading to follow-up series The Mission of the Family and then The Dignity of Work. 

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Kyle Montgomery, the director of formation strategy at the Knights of Columbus Supreme Office, said the series speaks directly to widespread confusion about the purpose of work in modern life. 

“ I think there's a lot of confusion and contradictions concerning the meaning and purpose of work today. It takes up so much of our time, but can often be very difficult in a host of ways. This video series set out to help Catholic men understand the Catholic vision of human work, and then aid them in embracing and living this vision so that they can live integrated and meaningful and fulfilling work in their own lives,” he said. 

Through that Catholic understanding of daily work, approached as a participation in God’s plan, Montgomery teased that professional lives can form character, foster holiness and integrate with family life and leisure rather than competing against them. 

“ People obviously have different relationships with work, but whatever it is that we do, there is a real hunger among men today for a mission,” he said. “We wanted to ultimately seek to propose the truths of the Catholic faith to the questions that every man has to answer in his life, whether it's about his spirituality, marriage, family life, and then also things like work. I think this speaks directly to that.” 

While the series explores themes like God’s mission for man, work and holiness, work-life and family life, work and the world, and putting work in its place, the Knights of Columbus director shared that standout themes for him lay in work as a way of developing character that can be sanctifying when viewed as an important part of our life, but not our whole life.

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As he explained, work the way we know it, is actually necessary as a means of helping men grow in virtue when done well and for God. 

“That avoids the two extreme views of labour that we have in our culture today: one where we see it as an evil to be avoided, and the other a real embrace of workaholism at the expense of all else,” he said. 

The series is also notable for emphasizing the need for rest and leisure as part of its heavy focus on proper work-life balance. Leisure, Montgomery said, is not mere downtime, but a practice that includes the highest activities done for their own sake, whether family, art, culture, religion or something entirely unique.  

The Dignity of Work remains part of the Knights of Columbus’ broader evangelization and faith formation efforts. Montgomery shared that such efforts aim to help members, local councils and lay Catholics learn, live and grow in the faith, teasing their flagship initiative known as Cor.

“We are about  building Christ-centred brotherhood through prayer, formation and fraternity, by focusing the hearts of men on Christ and growing closer to Him. By doing so, men can grow in their faith and then go on to be better men, husbands, fathers and Catholics,” he said. 

For him, Into the Breach is another powerful tool for individual viewing, but one that is unlocked most fully in group settings with discussion and reflection, especially within the Cor initiative. 

On the back of growing interest in the Catholic faith, especially among young men, the Supreme Office remains hopeful that the Knights remain well-positioned to support men seeking to go deeper through resources like Into the Breach and their local presence in councils in parishes and communities across Canada. 

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With four million views and counting along with upwards of 350 Knights councils engaging in Cor across every Canadian province, that support looks to continue long into the future as well. 

To view The Dignity of Work in English, visit kofc.org/intothebreach.