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What’s the weekly mettle maker?
Training tips and educational info in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? Mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”
Mettle maker #434: Mettlecraft Month 2024 FINAL
Mettlecraft Month is officially a wrap. That was fun and different — now it’s time to get back to our usual routine — with one important caveat. December is Spirit Month. We are going to do something really fun and different for Spirit Month — a volunteer or service project, a group outing or activity, something that is spirit-filled. Watch this space to play along.
Anyway, to wrap up Mettlecraft month we decided to play with the log — see video above-right. Try it at home! If you don’t have a few buddies and big ol’ log to use, just do the exercises solo with a 40 lb sandbag — that’s roughly what 1/3th of our little log weighs in at.
Log Exercises
Log Presses (25 - over and back = 1)
Log Squats (25)
Log Clean & Press (25)
Log Curls (25)
Log Push-ups (25)
Log Sit-ups (25)
Log March (1/2 mile+)
If this week’s mettle maker was fun, consider signing up for a totally free mind-body-spirit program that incorporates self-defense, fitness, outdoor skills, and spiritual development — sign up for our free Rough ‘n’ Tumble Distance Learning Program!
Holy Eucharist is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy Eucharist, CLICK HERE.
Homily for the First Sunday of Advent 12/1/24 – Father Mitch
Readings: Jer 33:14-16, Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14, 1 Thes 3:12—4:2, Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 World English Bible
Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; 26 men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”
34 “So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly. 35 For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth. 36 Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, and every night he would go out and spend the night on the mountain that is called Olivet. 38 All the people came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus tells us to always be vigilant for his return and the preceding tribulations. But what does vigilance mean? Does it mean thinking, talking, and obsessing about it in a neurotic manner?
No. What he wants us to do is something entirely the opposite of constantly thinking, talking, and obsessing. This is harder for us to grasp than it must have been for his listeners two thousand years ago, because their lives were far more participatory. The propositional and intellectual had not yet consumed their worldview. Crime of all kinds was more prevalent; and since there were no phone alerts, news websites, or even newspapers, they had to be familiar with the people in their community, attuned to strange faces, acquainted with prominent citizens, and so on. Fishing, hunting, and shepherding flocks were common jobs, all of which require long periods of sitting or standing in peaceful attentiveness. Every manufacturing task was manual and repetitive, which requires focus without tension.
Intellect actually stands in the way of success in these lines of work. Good policemen and soldiers will tell you that the way to stay ahead of crime and violence is to be connected with, and attentive to, people, settings, communities, and situations. Good hunters and fishermen will advise you to relax and use all of your senses to tune into the woods and the water. The modern word for this way of being is “mindfulness,” which is really an awful term, because it seems to imply that the mind should be full, which is actually opposed to the meaning. Better words would be attentiveness, receptiveness, and contemplativeness.
If we walk in the world in this way, we won’t feel the need to scan the news headlines looking for signs of the end times. If we put our effort into being the sort of Christians we should be – loving our neighbors as ourselves and worshipping God – we’ll less likely to be distracted by this or that scandal, and less likely to be manipulated into outrage by the news stories that each new day inevitably brings. Listen to what Jesus says. He tells us to be careful or else our hearts will be bogged down by the day-to-day, our senses dulled by drunkenness, and our attention ensnared and entrapped in one of the common lusts of daily life – money, sex, power, creature comforts, and so on. Listen to what St. Paul advises in our epistle reading: we must strengthen our hearts, abound in love for one another and for all, and strive to be blameless and holy.
If we follow these instructions, there’s no edginess, no anticipation, and no anxiety. If we realize that all we need to do is be what we are called to be, we can relax in the peace of Christ. If we are loving brothers and sisters in Christ and all will be well, come what may.