When September rolls around, most of us start picking up the threads of life that have been on hold during the summer. We commit ourselves anew to school, work and parish programs.

Such new beginnings always bring to mind the Servant of God Father Michael J. McGivney and his endless round of duties and activities. Social commentators claim that life in the 19th century was simpler and less hectic than the noisy rush that confronts today’s families, businesses and parishes. Yet Father McGivney carried an unusual burden for a newly ordained curate in the 1870s. His pastor, Father Murphy, though a wonderful role model, often depended on his young assistant to fill in for him because of his delicate health. Still in his early 30s, the pastor was away for months at a time, struggling to regain his strength.

As biographers Douglas Brinkley and Julie M. Fenster recount in Parish Priest (#40095, $20 US/CAN, includes shipping and handling, Knights of Columbus Promotional and Gift Department, 78 Meadow Street, New Haven, CT 06519), Father McGivney was often seen rushing about New Haven during the early years of his priesthood. He visited the sick and elderly and walked to the jail to attend to the spiritual needs of prisoners. His travels to other cities to gather information about fraternal benefit societies are well documented. He admitted that he did not have a single day off in his first year at St. Mary’s Church.

This kind of dedication to duty, when carried out for the right reason, is the stuff of holiness. Even mundane tasks are elevated when done for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Father McGivney is a great witness to the importance of making a daily offering of our lives in the Morning Offering and in the act of thanksgiving when we pray before going to bed. Father McGivney expected the true Knight of Columbus to engage in a regular pattern of daily personal prayer.

When rightly directed by daily prayer and the reception of holy Communion at Sunday Mass, doing one’s duty and faithfully carrying out the demands of one’s vocation are acts of Christian holiness. In this way we become more like Christ, who was ever faithful to the demands made on him by the Father and by all whom the Father gave to him.

The example of Father McGivney is an inspiration. He often didn’t feel well. His health, like that of his first pastor, was never robust. He didn’t get enough time off. Yet he did what was expected of him.

His frail health aside, Father McGivney had to face the trials of disappointment in others and the jealousy and suspicion of fellow priests when he dared to found a new organization for Catholic men. These tensions and inner sufferings can be as exhausting as physical ailments.

When we speak of the call to heroic virtue in the Christian life, we should focus on an individual’s dedication to the ordinary demands of life and vocation. We have a wonderful example in Father McGivney. It is no small thing to remain faithful through a lifetime. Our relationship with God in prayer is a key in making that possible. A Knight who is a man of prayer and who does his duty daily is on the way to heaven.

Dominican Father Gabriel B. O’Donnell is postulator of the cause for sainthood of Father Michael J. McGivney.