Bishop McKnight's motto and coat of arms

Here is a description and interpretation of Bishop W. Shawn McKnight’s episcopal motto and coat of arms:

Motto: “GRATIAS AGAMUS DOMINO”
The motto, “Gratias Agamus Domino” is taken directly from the opening dialogue of the preface at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass (“Let us give thanks to the Lord”), and is derived from Psalm 107:1 and Psalm 118:1 (“Give thanks to the Lord Who is good, Whose love endures forever”).
Bishop McKnight was raised in the stewardship way of life at his home parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Wichita, Kansas, under the leadership of Monsignor Thomas McGread, his pastor, and Bishop Eugene J. Gerber, bishop emeritus of Wichita.
These spiritual leaders promoted the active participation of the faithful in the life and mission of the Church by preaching the need to give back to God out of our gratitude, rather than giving to a need.
The Eucharist (Christ’s thanksgiving) is the source and summit of the Christian life, and it is the unifying theme of Bishop McKnight’s episcopal motto and coat of arms.

Interpretation of the Coat of Arms of Bishop McKnight
In the right side of the shield (the observer’s left, being that in the heraldic shield, one needs to consider the right and the left from the perspective of the soldier who, in ancient times, held his own shield) we find represented the Coat of Arms of the Diocese of Jefferson City: in the center of this part of the shield appears a phrygian cap, adopted since the 18th century as symbol of liberty, as in occasion of the American Revolutionary War of independence from Great Britain.
It was chosen because Jefferson City takes its name from Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and principal author of the Declaration of Independence, as well as the third President, who was a strong proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights based on freedom.
Above, there is the cross of Christ with the crescent on the left representing the Immaculate Heart of Mary and on the right the Missouri River.
In the left side there is the personal Coat of Arms of Bishop McKnight: a quail on a background red (Gules). The red color connotes the personal devotion of Bishop McKnight to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well as the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the patronal title of the Diocese of Jefferson City.
Quail are a symbol of God’s providential blessing and an Old Testament prefiguration of the Eucharist, as the Lord provided for his people in the desert with manna in the morning and quail in the evening (see Exodus 16:11-13; Numbers 11:31-32; Psalm 78:27 and Psalm 105:40).
Quail-hunting is also a favorite sport of Bishop McKnight, an activity which requires the use of pointing, flushing and retrieving hunting dogs, and through which he experiences the beauty, harmony and providence of God in nature.