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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 #437: The Stoicism of Mount Carmel
No stoicism? No martial arts. There are going to be bumps and bruises, discomforts, requirements to be quiet and not complain, and so on, or else you’re just doing interpretive dance. When stoicism comes out of the martial arts, other innovations with questionable fighting relevance rush in to replace it, like musical forms. Not coincidentally, this runs parallel to other types of “modern art.” This is why, in 2024, paintings don’t look like anything, public buildings resemble bunkers or pillboxes, and most pop music is just vacuous lyrics over beats. Always beware of forces that are deconstructing rather than a constructing — people, ideas, and pursuits which pull things apart rather than pull them together.
Creative pursuits, ideas, and insights have to be structured within a sensible interpretive framework in order be constructive. Would you rather go and watch dancers move as whimsically inspired by orchestras playing random sounds? Or would you prefer to go and see The Nutcracker?
When the martial arts are unmoored from their stoic anchor they go adrift.
When it comes to stoicism, one of my favorite expressions comes from St. John of the Cross’s The Ascent of Mount Carmel. (p. 58-59, paragraph numberings removed):.
That thou mayest have pleasure in everything, seek pleasure in nothing.
That thou mayest know everything, seek to know nothing.
That thou mayest possess all things, seek to possess nothing.
That thou mayest be everything, seek to be nothing.
That thou mayest attain to that in which thou hast no pleasure, thou must walk there where thou hast no pleasure.
That thou mayest attain to that which thou knowest not, thou must go through that which thou knowest not.
That thou mayest attain to that which thou possessest not, thou must go through that which thou possessest not.
That thou mayest attain to that which thou art not, thou must go through that which thou art not.
When thou dwellest upon anything, thou hast ceased to cast thyself upon the All.
Because in order to arrive from all to the All, thou hast to deny thyself wholly in all.
And when thou comest to attain the All, thou must keep it without desiring anything.
Because if thou wilt keep anything with the All, thou hast not thy treasure simply in God.
In detachment the spirit finds quiet and repose, for coveting nothing, nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the centre of its own humility; for as soon as it covets anything it is immediately fatigued thereby.
One more thing: December is Spirit Month, during which we always engage in some kind of special activity related one of the eight spiritual disciplines. This year we’re embodying service by donating money, food, and time to FeedMore, an esteemed Virginia charity providing food to folks who are hungry. Click here to make a donation.
If you haven’t done so already, 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 Fourth Sunday of Advent 12/22/24 – Father Mitch
Readings: Mi 5:1-4a, Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19, Heb 10:5-10, Lk 1:39-45
Luke 1:39-45 World English Bible
Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
This is a charming story, a happy tale of a kind that often surrounds the pregnancies of women. It is one of those popular "isn't that so sweet?" stories that get shared and passed down, told and retold. Every family has them. In our family, we often tell the story of my wife's severe morning sickness when carrying our youngest child. For most of her pregnancy the only food she could keep down was watermelon! There were times when half of our fridge was taken up by watermelon! And so, you can imagine the people in Mary's extended family saying, "Remember that time when Aunt Mary and Aunt Liz were both pregnant? And when they got together, John leaped in Liz's womb as if greeting his unborn cousin Jesus?"
The fact that this story is touching and relatable is what makes it memorable, but this is not what makes it of the highest value. Its homespun reality, the fact that we can see our own grandmothers, mothers, and aunts in these two characters, makes it heartwarming. This may explain why it was told, retold, and remembered long enough to be written down. But what makes it of ultimate relevance – worthy of being placed at the very forefront of the biblical stories – is something entirely different. This isn’t just Elizabeth’s baby leaping as if her child is greeting Mary’s. Elizabeth herself leaps up and, speaking like a prophetess, proclaims the truth of Christ. What makes this story precious – not precious as in cute, but precious as in a diamond or a pearl – is that it reveals what always happens whenever we allow our Lord and God, like an embryo, to take root and grow within.
The Blessed Virgin Mary says to the angel of the Lord, "let it be to me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). When we allow the Holy Ghost permission to fertilize our hearts, and give Jesus Christ a place to dwell and grow in the very core of our being, we take on a kind of glow, like pregnant women often do. Carrying the light of Christ within us, letting that light shine wherever we go, we start to change.
Listen to a mother speak about her relationship with her child. Ask her how carrying her baby profoundly altered the way she sees the world. Now imagine how carrying the Son of God, growing closer to him than any other human being who ever lived, must've profoundly changed the Blessed Virgin Mary. And ask yourself: "How might I be transformed by carrying within me – starting right now! – the spirit of Christ?" If we do this, I guarantee that something will stir within everyone we meet, just as the unborn John the Baptist leapt inside his mother Elizabeth. If we carry Jesus Christ within us, the divine spark placed in each and every person by our Lord and God will leap for joy when we come near. And those people will stand up and proclaim, as Elizabeth did, the good news.
St. Paul says in Gal 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Let us all nurture within ourselves God's Word, his only begotten Son. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of all those we meet, that a seed within them might resonate and stir. Let us carry within us the life that is the light of men (John 1:4-5) – the Holy Light of Christ that shines in the darkness and which the darkness cannot overcome.