Mettle Maker #343 and Holy Communion for 2/19/23

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #343

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-Defense: Next week is wrestling week. Are you prepped and ready to wrestle anytime and anywhere by doing your MBF© (“Martial Base Fitness”)? Look, wrestling has a rather narrow fitness requirement. But if you’re doing your daily MBF© you shouldn’t have a problem maintaining a fitness base that supports all your martial endeavors. How do you implement MBF? Sounds like you should sign up for the 100% free Heritage Self-Defense Distance Learning Program! Click here — did mention it’s 100% free because we’re a 501(c)(3) charity?

Fitness: For the one millionth time: are you finishing every strength-training session with a loaded carry?

“Finish every strength-training session with a loaded carry.” ~Dan John

Must be true because I put it in quotation marks, right? No, it’s true because Dan John is the Shōgun of Strength, the Field Marshall of Force, and the Praetor of Power. I took his advice years ago. And although I do feel the effects of aging, I feel like my “stone” strength — being rooted to the ground and able to hold your position while standing — is better than ever. When you’re done with your strength-training session, throw in some carries: Farmer’s Walks, Bear Hug Carries, Suitcase Carries, Shoulder Carries, or Waiter Carries. For best results, follow Old School training rules. And for fun, check out the video on the right — this is me doing a bodyweight Farmer’s Walk. Need help designing a training program? Click here — we can help.

Wildwood: Need some recommendations for nature appreciation and survival books? Here’s my bookshelf — go gitcha some! Have you gotten my book yet? It’s called the Wildwood Workbook, and it’s the textbook for the Heritage Arts Wildwood program. Click here to sign up — it’s totally free!

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2/19/23 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Lv 19:1-2, 17-18, Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13, 1 Cor 3:16-23, Mt 5:38-48

Mt 5:38-48  World English Bible Catholic Edition

38  “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’✡ 39  But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40  If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. 41  Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42  Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

43  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor ✡ and hate your enemy.’‡ 44  But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45  that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47  If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors§ do the same? 48  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Friends, the words “be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect” can be daunting, and especially to those struggling with their faith the way I remember doing years ago.  Back then, these words hit me like a hammer.  I thought, “This is impossible.  Nobody can be perfect!  I quit.” 

But Jesus isn’t saying that we need to be perfect in our execution, but rather in our orientation.  He knows that, despite trying our best to be Christ-like, we’re fallen beings in a fallen world who have no hope of attaining perfection until the end of days.  Let me suggest that what Jesus is saying is that we need to be perfect in our standpoint with respect to the world.

And so, for a little help with this, let’s turn to today’s epistle reading from 1 Corinthians.  It really is an ideal pairing because it so effectively helps us understand the Jesus’ command “to be perfect.”  St. Paul says,

For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.”✡ 20  And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.”✡ 21  Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22  whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, 23  and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

All things, St. Paul says, belong to us because we belong to nothing less than God.  You might say that, because we are not possessed by ideologies, political parties, and cults of personality, we suppose that our leaders should serve us rather than the reverse.  Because we do not belong to the world – we aren’t slaves to our desires for food, sex, fame, money, and power – the world is ours.  Because we are not slaves to the negative actions of others – not controlled by vengeful thoughts – our actions are ours.  Because our lives belong to Christ, we don’t fear death.  And this means that our present and future lives belong to us.  All this and more is ours because we abide in Christ and he in us (John 15:4).   

Let us then adopt a perfect standpoint with respect to the world, and “be perfect, just as our heavenly Father is perfect.”

---

✡ 1 Cor 3:19 Job 5:13

✡ 1 Cor 3:20 Psalm 94:11

✡Mt 5:38 Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21

✡ Mt 5:43 Leviticus 19:18

‡ Mt 5:43 not in the Bible, but see Qumran Manual of Discipline Ix, 21-26

§ Mt 5:47 NU reads “Gentiles” instead of “tax collectors”.

Mettle Maker #342 and Holy Communion for 2/12/23

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #342

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-Defense: Next week is grappling week. Let’s do a grappling-specific constitutional. Here are your seven exercises. See if you can get 25 reps of each in 15 minutes: BKF, GUP, DDU, SPL, SHT, SDF, and RSQ. Wait — you don’t know what those abbreviations stand for? Well, if you’re doing Heritage Self-Defense, you should be using the Constitutional Sheet which contains all of the abbreviations, and if you need to see them demonstrated, you should reference the video above/right. Looking for a comprehensive, mind-body-spirit self-defense training course? Click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Self-Defense Distance Learning Program.

Fitness: Fat burning zones: true or false? Well, both! Sometimes the facts stand in the way of the greater truth! Yes, it’s true that activities that put you in the “fat-burning range” (about 50% - 60% of max heart rate) do indeed burn more fat than more strenuous activities as a percentage of total calories burned. But more strenuous activities burn more calories over all, which means that even though the fat percentage burned per minute is lower, if the training sessions are of equal time, the total fat burned for the more strenuous training session is still greater. If getting lean (either to look good or for athletic performance) is the issue, the biggest bang for your time and effort is in the kitchen. Also to be considered is the wear and tear on your body — making sure that your fat cutting doesn’t affect your overall training program. Need help designing a training program? Click here — we can help.

Wildwood: Do you know your first-aid basics? Here’s short recap from the Wildwood Workbook, the textbook for this program. Click here to sign up — it’s totally free!

First Aid Recap

 I’m not a doctor, nurse, EMT, and this is not a substitute for a good first aid manual or first aid class. The American Red Cross provides both for free — the first aid manual is available free here (click this link to view, print, or save on your computer).  In the meantime, here are the first aid bullet points when someone is hurt. 

* Stay calm.  You’re no good if you’re flustered.

* Assess danger.  Ensure the area is safe for yourself and the injured person.

* Check for a response.  Ask his or her name.  Squeeze hands and shoulders.

* If non-responsive, call 9-1-1 if you can.

* Place victim on his or her side in Recovery Position, upper leg bent, lower leg straight (see illustration).

* Remember ABC -- Airway, Breathing and Circulation -- in that order.

* Establish open airways.  Make sure nothing is stopping up nose or mouth.  If so, clear them. 

* Check breathing.  Look and listen for 10 seconds.  Administer the Heimlich maneuver to a choking adult.  If an infant or toddler is choking, place them face down on a decline with head lower than feet and carefully pat them on the back.

* If person is not choking but breathing is still not normal, start CPR if you know how.  If you don’t, learn.

* If breathing is OK, check for bleeding.  Apply direct pressure to open wounds.

* Assess for signs of shock: weakness, rapid heart rate, fast breathing, sweating, and confusion.  If you believe the person is going into shock, cover them with whatever you have to get them warm, and elevate feet about 12 inches.  Keep them talking if they are conscious.   Speak soothingly and keep them calm.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2/12/23 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Sir 15:15-20, Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34, 1 Cor 2:6-10, Mt 5:17-37

Matthew 5:17-37  World English Bible Catholic Edition

17  “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18  For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter† or one tiny pen stroke‡ shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. 19  Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20  For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

21  “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’✡ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22  But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause § will be in danger of the judgment. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ * will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.†

23  “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, 24  leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25  Agree with your adversary quickly while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. 26  Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there until you have paid the last penny.‡

27  “You have heard that it was said, § ‘You shall not commit adultery;’✡ 28  but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29  If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.* 30  If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.†

31  “It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’✡ 32  but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

33  “Again you have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’✡ 34  but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; 35  nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36  Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black. 37  But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.

The expression “the spirit of the law” is widely used by Christians and non-Christians alike, and I believe today’s gospel reading is its origin.  We are all well aware of the problem.  We know that we must have laws and rules.  Without them we’d be crippled by the chaos of contention, confusion, and conflict.  But for every set of rules there will always be people who specialize in exploiting the gaps between the rules in order take advantage, rather than attempting to sincerely adhere to them.

We all know what this looks like.  In sports, when one team is ahead, it’s perfectly legal to run out the clock.  But it’s not in the true spirit of competition to win a basketball game by dribbling, passing, and playing keep-away; nor is it in the true spirit of sport for a quarterback to take a knee to prevent the other team from having any opportunity to get a turnover and score a last-second touchdown. 

Lawyers are another great example.  “What’s the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a law office?  Nothing – they’re both filled up with dirt-bags.” We laugh at the joke because it diffuses the tension and discomfort we feel when attorneys twist, manipulate, and take advantage of the rules — because we’re well aware how profoundly dangerous it is for them to do so.  Miscarriages of justice are the result – the guilty go free, the innocent are punished, and the only winner is the attorney, who happily banks his fees.

It's good that we appreciate the true intent of laws and rules, and that we push back against perversions and exploitations of them.  That’s great, as far as it goes.  But Jesus tells us in today’s reading, that we need to go far, far deeper than that.  He wants us to embody the spirit of the law – the Holy Spirit.  He wants us to keep God’s laws inherently, by naturally embodying the characteristics that conform to the laws.  He’s looking for fundamental change through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

We are far too weak and faulty to do this by sheer force of will.  If we’re to have any hope of being absent of anger, we need the Holy Spirit.  If we’re going rid ourselves of the lust of our eyes, we need the Holy Spirit.  If we’re to be completely faithful in our obligations, we need the Holy Spirit.  Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may descend upon us as it descended upon Christ and in turn upon the disciples at Pentecost, and that, to the highest degree possible in keeping with our human nature, we might personify the consciousness of Christ. 

---

‡5:18 or, serif

✡5:21 Exodus 20:13

§5:22 NU omits “without a cause”.

*5:22 “Raca” is an Aramaic insult, related to the word for “empty” and conveying the idea of empty-headedness.

†5:22 or, Hell

‡5:26 literally, kodrantes. A kodrantes was a small copper coin worth about 2 lepta (widow’s mites)—not enough to buy very much of anything.

§5:27 TR adds “to the ancients”.

✡5:27 Exodus 20:14

*5:29 or, Hell

†5:30 or, Hell

✡5:31 Deuteronomy 24:1

✡5:33 Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21; Ecclesiastes 5:4

Mettle Maker #341 and Holy Communion for 2/5/23

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #341

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-Defense: Next week is striking week. Let’s focus on power. I almost never share material that isn’t original to our programs. But the video on the right, by Bas Rutten, is really good, and it works for self-defense — all you have to do is (a) disregard the “change-up” material that pertains to sports, and (b) use only techniques that are street-ready (knuckle punch to the neck, heart, or solar plexus rather than the face, etc.). Looking for a comprehensive self-defense training course? Click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Self-Defense Distance Learning Program.

Fitness and Wildwood combo: Take a hike. My son and I reserved a campsite once. When we got there. we found out that the nearest water source was labeled contaminated, and we had to hike all our water a half-mile one-way. We didn’t have backpacks with us, so we had to hand-carry it, and it was miserable. Fitness lesson learned. I know what you’re thinking. “I’d be fine, how hard could it be?” You’re wrong. The the reality is, even carrying a heavy backpack is harder than you think. A hike with a 30 lb. backpack or with an 8 lb. gallon of water in each hand, can be a real problem if you’re unprepared. Last week I showed you now to make sandbags. Make some. Put one in a backpack and get started. Work your way up. And make sure that your fitness regimen contains heavy carries of various kinds to make sure that you can carry awkward weights in your hands, not just weights evenly distributed via shoulder straps. Want more fitness and outdoor skills material? Click here to sign up for one of our free programs.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2/5/23 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 58:7-10, Ps 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 1 Cor 2:1-5, Mt 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13-16  World English Bible

13  “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.

14  You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 15  Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. 16  Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Our relationship with salt and light is much different today than it was two millennia ago.  We take salt and light for granted.  These days, we are told to watch our salt intake.  The doctor wants us to keep it below 2,300 mg a day, but the average American takes in around 3,400, almost 50% more than recommended.  We get too much salt! 

But in Jesus’ time, salt was a precious commodity, sometimes used as international currency.  Every major city in the ancient world was built near a liberal salt source.  Solnitsata in Bulgaria is the oldest town in Europe, and it was built around a salt mine.  Salt was the only reliable means of preserving food in those days.  Every army ran on salt rations, which is the origin of the phrase, “earning your salt.”  The word salary comes from the Latin salarium which means “related to salt.”  There was little processed food in those days, and getting enough salt was far more difficult – especially when you consider that a typical, pre-industrial manual laborer burns up to three-and-a-half times as many calories as we modern folks do!  Lack of salt causes headaches, weakness, muscle aches and cramps, and in extreme cases, death.

What about light?  Light pollution is one of reasons that modern people don’t get enough rest.  Street lights, headlights, flashlights, flood lights and garden footlights make the outdoor environment awash with light.  Cellphones, tablets, and TV screens do the same indoors.  Almost every appliance has some kind of glowing clock, display, or led light on it.  The power lights on my cable box and digital router are so bright I can practically read by them. 

But light was an expensive resource in Jesus’ day.  The average person used the cheapest fats and oils to power lamps, which meant that for common people, lamps were smelly, smoky, and hard to keep going.  Only the wealthy could afford to burn the good stuff, and could enjoy clear, odor-free, consistent illumination.  And gathering and cutting wood was hard work.  Who would want to waste it on bonfires?

Okay.  So now, as modern disciples, let’s hear Jesus’ words with the same ears with which the disciples heard them all those years ago.  We are the salt of the earth.  We bring the words, the teaching, the messages that make the world function.  We are the salt that keeps laborers producing good works.  We ensure that the shepherds of men will not tire of leading their flocks, that soldiers fighting in the war against evil will not falter, and that political and social bodies will not seize up, cramp, and stumble.  We are the salt that preserves God’s wisdom and allows it to be feed the world’s hungry millions!

Jesus wants us to be the essential element of the culture, to be the substance that energizes its essential functions.  He wants us to illuminate the society from within, the way a lamp brightens a home and the way a city’s bonfires make it visible from afar.  To all of those wayfarers wandering in the darkness of confusion and ignorance, depression and anxiety, hopelessness and nihilism, he wants us to be a beacon.

Mettle Maker #340 and Holy Communion for 1/29/23

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #340

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Do the Pen Experiment!

Self-Defense: It’s a 5-week month, so next week’s focus is self-defense and prevention. Are you aware of relationship tension, and how bad actors use it to get victims where they want them? Try this simple exercise. Take a pen, go a friend or associate, and ask if they’re willing to help you with an experiment. Hold out the pen, but don’t say anything. They will take it. Then ask them, “Did you want the pen?” “No,” they’ll say. “Did you need it?” Again, they’ll say “No.” They’ll take it because it’s natural to do so. Then tell them, “Okay, let’s try something else. I’m going to offer you the pen. This time, no matter what I say, don’t take it.” This time, hold out the pen and shake it a little. Say things like, “C’mon, take it. Just take it. Seriously, really, take it!” About 50% of people with will take the pen even though you specifically told them not to do so! This is what thieves, con artists, rapists, and killers do. They use your natural instincts, and the power of relationship tension, against you. They’ll pretend to be hurt and ask for help or flash a flyer about a lost dog. Everybody wants to help! Or they’ll promise not to hurt you if you just take them to the ATM or lay face down on the ground. Everybody wants to think the best about others! The problem is, of course, they are probably lying. They’re probably not going to take you to the ATM, but instead they’re taking you to the basement of their home in the country for a few days of what their corrupted minds think is fun. Or, once you’re face down on the pavement, they’re going to shoot you in the back of the head. What are you supposed to do? Well, you need to know P.R.A.: What’s P.R.A.? Sounds like you need a comprehensive self-defense training course! Click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Self-Defense Distance Learning Program.

Fitness: How to make sandbags. A giant bag full of sand is most certainly going to split and rain sand all over you training area. The smarter plan is to make a bunch of 5 and 10 lb. bags and toss them into a sturdy bag. This will hold up better and allow you to adjust weight easily. To make your bags, cut a square of tarp or other sturdy material about 30” x 30” and pour the sand into the middle. Use extra heavy (4 mil. or more) contractor grade garbage bags for best results. Then gather up the ends, and zip tie shut using pliers. Trim off the excess material and snip off the zip tie. Make sure that you carefully snip off the zip tie flush with the end of the closure so that no sharp edges remain – they will cut the bag or any adjacent bags if you leave them on. Then cruise the yard sale circuit or head to the thrift store for some small to medium canvas bags. Old backpacks are my favorite, but small athletic bags, camera bags, and old tool bags can work too. Cut off the straps and throw them anyway. Now go train! See photo set above-left. Need more training tips? Check out Martial Grit: Real Fighting Fitness on a Budget or click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Fitness Distance Learning Program.

Outdoor skills: Do you know how to signal for help? Certain visual signals are universal, and are very useful if you are trapped onboard a ship, inside a building in a flood, hiding in a car or cave in a snow storm, etc.

1. Smoke: smoke is a classic distress signal, especially aboard ship. If you can safely build a fire do so. If fire materials are limited, have a fire match-ready in the event that you hear or see an approaching search party. On a ship, or on the roof of a building, try to find a sturdy a metal container such as a bucket or barrel. Elevate it from the deck, floor, roof, etc. well away from other flammable surfaces. Punch a few small holes in the side of the can – not the bottom! – to admit air.

2. Inverted flag: flying or otherwise displaying a flag upside down is a universally understood signal.

3. Triangles: many motorists are familiar with the classic red reflective triangle in emergency kits, and mountaineers are trained to display three objects equidistant from one another to signal for help. Place three objects – the larger, more colorful, and/or highly reflective the better – in a perfect triangle to indicate that you’re in trouble.

4. SOS: A vintage classic, SOS has been the international signal for distress by Morse Code for over a hundred years. You can spell out the letters “SOS” in paint, stones, etc., or even mimic the Morse Code SOS with a car horn, fog horn, a flashlight, lantern, etc. Signal SOS with three short signals, followed by three long signals, then three short again.

Interested in a free outdoor skills distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1/29/23 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Zep 2:3; 3:12-13, Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10, 1 Cor 1:26-31, Mt 5:1-12a

Matthew 5:1-12a  World English Bible Catholic Edition

1  Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2  He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.✡

4  Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.✡

5  Blessed are the gentle,

for they shall inherit the earth.*✡

6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be filled.

7  Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain mercy.

8  Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

9  Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called children of God.

10  Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

11  “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12  Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.

These are the opening lines of the most incredible speech ever delivered by a spiritual teacher in all of history – the speech that establishes the foundation of Christianity itself.  These influential words have shaped and inspired billions of people down the two millennia since they were spoken, both Christians and non-Christians, like religious pluralist liberator Mahatma Gandhi and agnostic author of Brave New World Aldous Huxley.

To deliver these words, Jesus chooses a mountain, yet he sits eye-to-eye.  Fully God and fully man, he speaks at once as God, from a high place, but as a man, on our level.  The scripture says, “he opened his mouth and taught them.”  The Bible is sparse, not rambling.  Every word matters.  So what’s important about him opening his mouth?  Doesn’t everyone open their mouth to speak?  Are we expecting Jesus to be a ventriloquist?  No, he opened his mouth to speak.  He didn’t just repeat the words of other prophets.  He spoke as one who has authority, not like a scribe reading the words of the ancient prophets (Mt 7:29).

And what does he say?  Using a similar verbal format, but changing the message, Jesus turns the message of the previous prophets inside out.  He subverts the old rhetoric.  We know what the old messages sound like, especially from Proverbs and Psalms. 

·       “Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all our produce, then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be overflowing with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10).

·       “Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners” (Psalm 1:1). 

·       “Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn’t impute iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1-2).

Jesus offers a new perspective.  Yes, sometimes things go well when we think and act in accord with God’s commandments.  Yes, sometimes God answers our prayers.  But when things don’t go the way we want, despite our prayers and despite playing by the rules to the best of our ability, Jesus wants us to take heart and know that we are still blessed.

God is not a far-off God, an uncaring and legalistic God, or a merely a God of covenants.  He is a God who sympathizes with our feelings of sadness and mourning, with our feelings of injustice and unfairness.  This is why he comes down to earth as Immanuel, which means “God is with us” (Isaiah 7:14, Mt 1:29). 

On a high mountain he sits down with us, looks us in the eye, and opens his mouth.

———————————————————————————————

✡5:3 Isaiah 57:15; 66:2

✡5:4 Isaiah 61:2; 66:10,13

*5:5 or, land.

✡5:5 Psalm 37:11

Mettle Maker #339 and Holy Communion for 1/22/23

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #339

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-Defense: This is the fourth week of the month, which means our focus is weapons — so try this on for size. Set a timer for 2:00 rounds, no breaks, and get after the following weapon command and mastery session. Round 1, standing strikes vs. heavy bag with max power. Round 2, sit-up and strike the bag from the ground. Round 3, Push-ups with weapon in hand, Round 4, Get-ups with weapon hand switch between each, and Round 5, grounded strikes from your back, all-in (that is, kicks and punches included). Repeat until you’ve had enough. If at any time during the session you drop your weapon or touch yourself with the business end, there is a 50 Push-up penalty. Walking stick not your weapon of choice? Sub in your pet mock weapon — wooden tomahawk, escrima stick, wooden knife, etc. Want more practical martial arts instruction? Click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Self-Defense Distance Learning Program.

140 calories of food. Two slices of wheat bread = 140 calories. 2 eggs = 140 calories, 2 nectarines = 140 calories. 1.4 tbsp of butter = 140 calories, and 2 ounces of lean roast beef = 140 calories.

Fitness: Let’s talk about diet and weight loss. Talking about diet can be like talking about politics: no matter what you say you’re guaranteed to make half of your audience angry! Well, I’m going to tell it to you straight despite the risks. Diet affects your long term health in numerous ways. Eating too much salt can spike your blood pressure, too much sugar can lead to insulin resistance, not taking in enough fiber isn’t good for colon heath, not getting enough Vitamin C can give you scurvy, and so forth. But in terms of how much weight you lose or gain based on your metabolic demands, 2,000 calories a day of pure fast food is no different than 2,000 calories of grade-A, organic, gourmet food. When trying to lose weight, calorie count is far more important than your exercise routine. Many people think they’re going to lose weight if they eat “healthier” (whatever that is) but the reality is, a 1,000 calorie salad has the same impact on weight as a 1,000 calorie bacon cheeseburger. By all means try to make informed, intelligent decisions regarding diet and long-term health. But, if you’re trying to lose weight, ya gotta watch the calories first and foremost. Want to learn more about diet and weight loss? Looking for help with a weight loss or fitness program? Click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Fitness Distance Learning Program.

Outdoor skills: Pay attention to your environment. You never know what you’re going to encounter. Many times I’ve been camping with people who said things like, “Why are you hanging your food? There are no bears in these woods.” Two which I reply something like, “Then I wonder where that giant pile of scat filled with fur and berries came from?” You might assume, if for example you live east of the Mississippi, that you’re not going to encounter a mountain lion while hiking. But, as reported in the NYT, “numerous cougar sightings were reported east of the Mississippi River last fall, encounters that have become more frequent in recent years. A trail camera glimpsed one in northern Minnesota, for instance, while authorities captured another in Springfield, Ill., after it had made its way there from Nebraska. Yet another was fatally struck by a car on I-88 west of Chicago.” Pay attention! Interested in a free outdoor skills distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1/22/23 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 8:23—9:3, Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14, 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17, Mt 4:12-23

Matthew 4:12-23  World English Bible Catholic Edition

12  Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. 13  Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14  that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles,

16  the people who sat in darkness saw a great light;

to those who sat in the region and shadow of death,

to them light has dawned.”✡

17  From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

18  Walking by the sea of Galilee, he† saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19  He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”

20  They immediately left their nets and followed him. 21  Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them. 22  They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.

23  Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24  The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them. 25  Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

You know, I have four kids, all grown up now and living on their own.  But when things go wrong, when they are deeply saddened, they come home.  Sometimes for a day, sometimes for a week.  They need that security.  They need to regroup. And that’s what Jesus did.  When St. John the Baptist is arrested and thrown into the Black Fortress of Machaerus, Jesus goes home to Nazareth. 

But you know, after they regroup – after they eat some home cooking and get some fatherly and motherly advice from my wife and I – my kids realize they have to go back to their lives, back to their jobs and their lives, back out into the crazy world and continue the adventures that are their lives.  And so, Jesus leaves home and goes to Capernaum, a bustling city of the gentiles sitting right on a trade route, modern and eclectic, on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. And there he starts his mission in earnest, finding his first disciples.

Did this literally happen?  I believe it did.  But I also believe that this is a metaphorical story.  As St. Paul says in today’s epistle reading, we must be careful about getting so wrapped up “human eloquence” – that is, human literal interpretations and the people who offer them to us – that we lose sight of the Cross and empty the Gospel of its deeper meaning.

So, I think this section of Matthew is a philosophical lesson as well.  It’s about how we think, and solve, and fix problems.  When we get shocking, unexpected news – like Jesus findout his beloved cousin has been thrown in prison – it shatters our worldview.  We don’t know what to think or do anymore.  So we retreat to the familiar – we go home to familiar places, familiar ideas, and familiar solutions.  But in the end, in order to solve a new problem, we need new information and a fresh perspective.  We can’t stay home.  Literally, like going to Capernaum of the gentiles, or to a new intellectual place, like a reading a new book, talking to new people, considering new perspectives. We have to swim in a different sea of ideas.

The Gospels repeatedly refer to the lake adjacent to Capernaum as the “Sea of Galilee.”  But it’s not a sea.  It’s a big lake.  It’s fresh water.  The gospel writers weren’t stupid, they knew what it was.  They called a “sea” on purpose.  Because “sea” is a bigger word, a richer word.  We cannot see into the depths of the sea.  There can be good and bad in the depths – there can be a great catch, or a sea monster.  The weather changes rapidly on the sea.  We might have a pleasant day of sailing, or we might be shipwrecked. We could have a pleasant swim, or we could drown.

And so, along the edge of the sea – walking on the edge of the safe and familiar and dangerous and mysterious – Jesus finds and calls his first apostles.  Jesus himself is on the cutting edge, breathing new and fresh ways of seeing and thinking into the old ways of the Hebrews.  And from there he goes on to heal the sick and cast out demons.

Like Jesus, we can’t stay home when things go wrong.  We must have the courage to go to new places and cast our nets into the seas of discovery and innovation for fresh perspectives.  And, if we carefully integrate what we draw up with our familiar, time-tested wisdom, we too have the hope of solving great problems and making new and very important friends.

✡ 4:16 Isaiah 9:1-2

† 4:18 TR reads “Jesus” instead of “he” 

Mettle Maker #338 and Holy Communion for 1/15/23

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #338

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-Defense: Get out your floor bag and do a wrestling conditioner. Set a timer for 10- 20 minutes and run through repeated cycles of the following: Knee inserts and Toe Extracts, Clocks, Back Bridges, Bottom Scissors (to failure), and Rolling Pins (for for body toughening). If none of this makes sense, sounds like you need a martial arts training program. Click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Self-Defense Distance Learning Program.

Me after a three0mile tire run a few years back.

Fitness: Try an old-school fitness run. Fun fact about the old-timers: they most ran short distances, and they mostly did them sprint/walk style. This is because running has limited value outside the sport of running itself, which is why I never run for more than a mile or so these days. For general fitness, I recommend running shorter distances and, if you need more intensity, I suggest focusing on sprints or addiong a fun “old school” wrinkle. One of my favorites is a “Rocky run” — that is, punch the air the entire time you’re running. I also like Apache runs, Prisoner runs, Tire runs, and so on. Want to learn more? Click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Fitness Distance Learning Program.

Outdoor skills: In the words of the great Yogi Berra, “You can observe a lot by watching.” Click here to read about Ben Bacon, the furniture conservator who saw something in cave paintings that no anthropologist, archaeologist, or art historian was previously able to see. “A London furniture conservator has been credited with a crucial discovery that has helped understand why Ice Age hunter-gatherers drew cave paintings. Ben Bacon analysed 20,000-year-old markings on the drawings, concluding they could refer to a lunar calendar. It led to a specialist team proving early Europeans made notes about the timing of animals' reproductive cycles.”

Interested in a free outdoor skills distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1/15/23 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 49:3, 5-6, Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10, 1 Cor 1:1-3, Jn 1:29-34

Today’s epistle reading from 1 Corinthians is a little hard to understand, depending on the translation.  Paul says,

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ* through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2  to the assembly of God which is at Corinth—those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours: 3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And once you figure it out, it seems so mundane.  You think, “Oh, I get it.  But it’s just the salutation of a letter – what are we supposed to learn from this?”  Well, rest assured, like most everything Saint Paul says, his simple greeting to fellow Christians in Corinth is jam-packed with meaning.  Let lay it out for you. 

Paul makes it clear that the message he is sending isn’t coming him alone, but also from his brother in Christ, Sosthenes.  And, furthermore, he emphasizes that he and Sosthenes are joined together in holiness with those he’s addressing who are in Corinth, as well as with everyone who calls on the name of Christ.  The very next thing Paul says to them is,

“Now I beg you, brothers and sisters, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Let this be a warning to us also my friends.  We must always and everywhere be witnesses of Christ in our thoughts, desires, actions, and beliefs – in our words and in our hearts – or else our message will not get through clearly.  And you may ask, “What’s the message?”

We are the message. 

Our words?  Yes.  But also our demeanor, our choices, our attitude, our body language -- all of it.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a cold shoulder worth?  How many volumes does a betrayal speak?  One callous comment is a trumpet blast, each insensitivity is a volcanic eruption.

In my evangelism work, I can’t tell you how often I hear comments like,

·       “I left my church because the people there were jerks.”

·       “Christians are all judgmental prudes and nitwits.”

·       “Christians think they’re perfect and everybody else is going to hell.”

·       “You priests and pastors are just leeches on society.”

These statements are far from true.  But it’s a fact that every misbegotten word, inappropriate comment, and cutting glance falls like a domino, and leads we know not where. We are wise if we remember the words of James 1:26,

“If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”

---

† 1:14 The phrase “only born” is from the Greek word “μονογενους”, which is sometimes translated “only begotten” or “one and only.”

*1:1 “Christ” means “Anointed One.”

---

 * 2:1 The word for “wise men” (magoi) can also mean teachers, scientists, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, or sorcerers.

 ✡ 2:6 Micah 5:2

Starry Wisdom: Mettle Maker #337 and Holy Communion for the Epiphany of the Lord

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #337

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Fitness and Self-Defense: Navigating your way toward your fitness goals. The other day I decided to do some Thrusters. I hadn’t done them since August, and I wanted just to check-in and see how much I had or hadn’t lost. Turns out I had lost lots. I had to step down about 25%. But I didn’t care that much because, as it happens, Thrusters aren’t really indicative of pure strength. Some exercises just need to be performed with a high degree of regularity in order to stay proficient. Like Thrusters, that can be owing to skill perishability or flexibility requirements rather than pure strength. I know this because my Military Press and Squat are relatively unchanged.

The problem with hyperfocus on the same exercises is that it makes us prone to repetitive use injuries, tendonitis, and increased cortisol production (especially if we go too hard, rely on PEDs, don’t take adequate time off, and so forth) all of which are bad. What we have to do is find the right balance. between regularity and variation. The keys to this, as we see them in the Heritage Arts family, are MBF© (“Martial Base Fitness”), twice weekly Constitutionals, and old school training modalities (increased frequency, reduced impact, and solidified gains). This is they way everyone trained before drugs and surgery became SOP.

Want help designing a sensible and healthy training program to suit your specific goals? Click here to sign up for the 100% free Heritage Fitness Distance Learning Program.

Outdoor skills: Finding direction at night. Obviously you could learn to tell directions by stars or by constellations like Orion. But what if, depending on the weather or where you are, light pollution or clouds makes the stars hard to see? Use the moon instead. The full moon always rises very near sunset, and it rises about a hour later each day until, at the new moon, it rises at sunrise (which means you can’t see it). The moon rises in the east just like the sun. Watch it come up and find east. Or, if you get lost at night and you didn’t see it rise. have a seat and mark the moon against a prominent tree or landmark. Wait an hour and check it again. Connect the dots and find east. See the photos below for three methods of finding direction at night. Interested in a free outdoor skills distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Epiphany of the Lord, 1/8/23 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 60:1-6, Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13., Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6, Mt 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12  World English Bible

1  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men* from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” 3  When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4  Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born. 5  They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah,

are in no way least among the princes of Judah;

for out of you shall come a governor

who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’ ”✡

7  Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. 8  He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

9  They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. 10  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 

11  They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

In the ancient world, there was no grand plan.  For the Greeks, the Romans, the shamans of Asia, the Slavic pagans, the druids, the Celts and the Vikings – all of the world’s ancient cultures – there was no time as we know it today.  They looked up into the heavens, and they saw repeating patterns of stars.  They saw recurring seasons.  Every year was just like the last.  They assumed that every year in the past had been like the present one, and every year in the future would be the same. 

Each individual historian kept time independently.  This one marked the time since the reign of a certain monarch, another by the number of seasons since this or that war, or the number of years since the foundation of a given empire.  It wasn’t until Christianity burst onto the scene this all changed.  The years began to be marked as before Christ or after Christ – BC and AD. 

But even after Judeo-Christian culture began to mark universal time, scientists – and this is not a coincidence! – scientists picked up the pagan banner of steady-state time.  Scientists and pagan unbelievers were united in their disbelief.  Cosmologists – these are the astronomers who study the origin of the universe and the formation of its galaxies, solar systems, suns, planets, and moons – were just like the pagans of the ancient world.  They thought that the universe had always been, and it would always be, the same.  That is, until a physicist and cosmologist by the name of Fr. Georges Lemaître – a Roman Catholic priest – rocked the scientific establishment.  Lemaître’s “Big Bang Theory” is now taught in every school in the world.  The universe came to be at a particular point in time.  And at a particular point in time, it will cease to be.

Judeo-Christians knew this all along of course.  We know that God is the source and establisher of creation.  We read in Gen 1:14, Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall serve as signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” 

We know that God created the universe and put into place the stars and planets and established the very laws of physics that scientists use to prove and disprove their theories. 

We know that the greatest scientists and astronomers of Jesus’ day – pagans from Babylon known as the magi – used their scientific methods to determine that something incredible had happened: the King of the Jews and the Savior of the world had been born.

We knew then, and we know now, what everyone in the world must surely know just by looking at the date: that time begins and ends with God, and human time is measured by the birth of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray, brothers and sisters, that the world’s pagans, skeptics, and idolators of materialism, come to embrace the greater truth of Christ embedded in the science which they hold true.  Let us pray they each have their individual epiphanies: that they journey westward bearing their gifts, and kneel before the King of the Universe who is Christ the Lord.    

---

 * 2:1 The word for “wise men” (magoi) can also mean teachers, scientists, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, or sorcerers.

 ✡ 2:6 Micah 5:2

Multispective: Mettle Maker #336 and Holy Communion

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #336

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

ONE METTLE DRILL FOR ALL PROGRMS: JOURNAL REVIEW. It's that time of the year again -- time for your yearly journal review. You don't have to read every entry unless you want to -- It's your call -- but something more than a mere skim is needed in order to really glean any cognitive insight. That insight can be be introspective, extrospective, retrospective, or prospective. It breaks down like this: how do you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been? How do you know who are and who you want to be if you don’t know who you’ve been in the last year? You need the perspective a journal review provides. You should know that journaling is the cornerstone of all Heritage Arts programs — so get there! Interested in a free fitness, martial arts, or outdoor skills distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Circumcision and Naming of Christ, Jan. 1st, 2023 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Num 6:22-end, Ps 8, Gal 4:4-7, Lk 2:15-21

Luke 2:15-21  World English Bible

When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16  They came with haste and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough. 17  When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. 18  All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. 19  But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. 20  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

21  When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

God, the ground of all being, the source and establisher of creation, has no gender.  Isn’t it strange then, that he refers to himself as Father (Ex 4:22-23 for example) and we call him Father?  And that he decides to enter into his creation as a male?  Why does God approach us as a male rather than female?  And why has the circumcision of infant Jesus been deemed important enough to warrant a feast day?

We cannot know the mind of God, but we can suspect that God came as a man for a very pragmatic and practical reason: positive, healthy father figures are central to strong communities and societies.  Boys are particularly vulnerable.  Ninety percent of all crime is committed by males, and almost ninety percent of them are fatherless.  How many men and boys have chosen to be better fathers and better sons by emulating the divine scheme?  But this issue cuts across sexes.  More than 4 out of 5 youths in prison come from fatherless homes, and fatherless children are six times more likely to life in poverty and to commit criminal acts.  It’s impossible to know how many fatherless girls and boys have taken comfort in knowing they had a father in heaven, or how much pain and suffering have been alleviated by God’s simple choice to present himself as a Father to the world.

Like all Hebrew boys, the Son of God came to be circumcised and named.  And for a human male to have the foreskin of his penis cut off is a huge and humbling step, literally and symbolically.  In this ritual, ego and masculinity are literally trimmed down to size.  But this too cuts across the sexes.  Deuteronomy 30:6 reads, “The LORD, your God, will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you will love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart and your whole being, in order that you may live.” And we read in Jeremiah 4:3-4, “For to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, thus says the LORD: Till your untilled ground, and do not sow among thorns. Be circumcised for the LORD, remove the foreskins of your hearts, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Or else my anger will break out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of your evil deeds.”

This is why St. Paul says in Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.”  The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, sets an eternal example of the circumcision of the heart, humbling himself to enter into our humanity.

In Genesis, God begins creation on the first day of existence itself by declaring “let there be light.” He completes his creation in six days, and on the seventh he rests.  God’s only Son, the Light of the World, is born on Christmas, the dawning of the first day of a new creation.  On the eighth day, his Son accepts his circumcision.  This is the historical event dated 1/1/1 – the first day, of the first month, in the first year – the event that resets the clock of all humanity and begins our every new year in Christ.

 .

Joy to the World: Mettle Maker #335 and Christmas Holy Communion

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #335

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Fitness and Self-Defense Combo — A practical HIIT training session called “Very Bad Karma” from The Calisthenics Codex. Set a timer for somewhere between 10 and 30 minutes, and adjust the intensity as well to suit your fitness level and training goals. Your exercises are Dragon Flags (substitute Sit-ups if needed), Push-ups, Squats, and Jumping Jacks (martial artists substitute kicks, either vs. air or heavy bag). Set your rep count at ¼ the SSM of each exercise, and see how many circuits you can complete in the time allotted. I completed 5 sets of 4 Dragon Flags, 8 Push-ups, 16 Squats, and 100 kicks in 30 minutes. The video on the right demonstrates the same idea with four different exercises. Interested in a free fitness or martial arts distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Wildwood — Practice your stalking. If you don’t have to regularly stalk to hunt your food or to evade human predators, you should set aside time for regular stalking practice.. “Hunt” for animal photos by stalking real animals in your back yard or the local park. Or, to focus on just the physical aspects of stalking, practice your stalking step for 100 yards. Go very, very slowly and make every step as silent as possible. If it takes you less than 7 minutes to cover 100 yards, you’re going way too fast. Aim for 8 - 10 minutes and keep your knees bent the entire time. Extra credit: Do the exercise on a flight of stairs. Try to avoid making any sound at all, and avoid touching the handrails or walls as much as possible. Make three total circuits (three times up and three times down) and make sure it takes you at least 4 minutes or you’re going too fast. This will prepare you for hills and uneven terrain. See video on the left. Want more nature appreciation and survival instruction? Click here to sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), Dec. 25th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 52:7-10, Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6., Heb 1:1-6, John 1:1-5, 9-14

John 1:1-5, 9-14  World English Bible

1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  The same was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. 4  In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome* it.

9  The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.

10  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. 11  He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. 12  But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name: 13  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14  The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born† Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Today we celebrate the day that angels appeared to shepherds in the hill country and said,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11 KJV)

And today, like those shepherds – metaphorically at least! – we move toward the spiritual City of David where this child is to be found, lying in a feeding trough for animals.  Here we partake of the spiritual food which is Christ the Lord.   We are those shepherds.  And just like they did after they found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus as the angel promised, we proclaim the good news far and wide, to friends, our neighbors, and our families. 

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. (Luke 1: 16-18 KJV)

As shepherds, as witnesses of the transforming power of the miracle of the Incarnation, we have good tidings of great joy to share.  And this news is desperately needed.  Poll after poll, survey after survey, shows that most people outside our faith have one of two views of Christianity.  They see it as either a system of mostly political rules and morals they don’t agree with, or as just another club or activity selling them spiritual fulfillment as a product.  It’s up to us to let them know that Christianity is not a political party or a product.  We are not competing with their backpacking club.  This is not an organic gardening or Yoga class.  For people who feel like they do, Christmas may seem like just another drain on their attention, just another excuse for someone to sell them something, just another chore or grab for their pocketbook.

It’s up to us to proclaim through our words and actions that Christmas is a holiday like no other, because Jesus is a figure like no other.  He is not merely a wise, mortal teacher like Buddha or Plato who lived a long time ago and who encouraged morality, ethics and good manners.  No, no – he is the Son of God, true light from true light, true God from true God.  He came, not to show us how to be kind and nice, like a really, really, good kindergarten teacher.  He came to show us how to fundamentally remake ourselves in the image of God.

Let everyone know, my fellow shepherds, that Jesus came bringing salvation – liberation from the slavery of selfishness and evil; deliverance from the emptiness and pointlessness of modern life; alleviation of the pain associated with separation from God; and the possibility of never-ending blissful union with him in the life to come.

Let the world know that the Son of God entered his creation so that we might partake of his divine nature.  So that, by entering into communion with the Son of God, we might ourselves become sons of God in turn.  As St. Athanasius said, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.”

Merry Christmas to all!

—————————————————————-

*1:5 The word translated “overcome” (κατέλαβεν) can also be translated “comprehended.” It refers to getting a grip on an enemy to defeat him.

†1:14 The phrase “only born” is from the Greek word “μονογενους”, which is sometimes translated “only begotten” or “one and only”.

Mettle Maker #334 and Holy Communion for Third Sunday of Advent

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #334

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Fitness — Common sense fitness? How many times could you push a shovel into the dirt without taking a break? 100 times? How many times could you carry an 80 lb. bag of concrete the 50 yards from the truck to the jobsite before taking a break? 5 times? Remember the old school adage: “If you can’t do it every day, you can’t do it.” Bottom line: practical movements with real-world applications ought to be the bread-and-butter of any fitness routine, and you should approach your sets and reps in a common-sense fashion. Real life isn’t an Olympic competition you peak for,. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Self-Defense — How’s your Shoulder Shrug to Arm Drag? Some folks decry this maneuver because they say nobody will stand still for it (see video on the right). But that hasn’t stopped this maneuver from working ten times at every wrestling meet in North America since 1971. Of course people don’t stand still! For Pete’s sake, you might not pull off the whole thing from A to Z, but you may well at least break free with the shrug and have a chance to scram. Look, the position will not “hold” the same way it does in a training video. Isn’t that obvious to anyone who has ever sparred? Don’t be a silly goose. Practice it! Interested in a structured self-defense program? Sign up for our free distance learning program.

Wildwood — Know your seeds. Maples aren’t the only trees whose seeds are fashioned like wings. Take a look at the photo set below. These are the very tiny seeds of the Crepe Myrle (Lagerstroemia indica). They fall in winter, and seem to be increasingly popular as a food source for birds., but they aren’t edible by humans. Maple keys are though, and they’re yummy! See video on the left. Want more nature appreciation and survival instruction? Click here to sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 18th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 7:10-14, Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, Rom 1:1-7, Mt 1:18-24

Matthew 1:18-24  World English Bible

18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19  Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly. 20  But when he thought about these things, behold,§ an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21  She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus,* for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

22  Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child,

and shall give birth to a son.

They shall call his name Immanuel,”

which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”✡

24  Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; 25  and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.

How does our Lord enter into his creation?  After all, God is not a being in the world, not some kind of sky fairy, not a being living somewhere in the universe.  He’s not a super powerful alien vacationing in Maui or hiding in a distant galaxy. As the uncaused cause existence itself, we cannot find him in the material world.  We cannot open a book, rifle the pages, and expect the author to fall out like a pressed flower.

So I ask again: how does God enter into his creation?  Does he smash his way in like an intruder?  Does he enter by war, patricide, and retribution the way that the Greco-Roman gods did?  Is he born of a giant, like Odin?

No.  Our Lord enters by faith.  Mary is visited by the archangel Gabriel and told her destiny is to be the Mother of God.  Does she say, “Please, no!  My husband and his family will never believe this really happened, and he’ll divorce me!”  No, she says instead, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38).  What does Joseph do and say when the archangel Gabriel appears to him?  Does he reject the news?  Does he allow pride and doubt interfere with his belief?  No.  He believes.  He has faith in his bride’s fidelity, faith in the angel, and most importantly, faith in God!

And when does the Lord enter his creation?  Does he show up, like the old pagan gods did, at some point in the misty, shady, prehistoric past?  No indeed!  It’s no coincidence that the world clock reset to zero at the birth of Jesus, and that we number the years according to his birth.  Jesus is born during history.  There are no eyewitness accounts to the myths of the old gods.  Jesus’ mother and father are alive into his adulthood, even into his ministry.  At the time his story is recorded, there are living observers to the events in his childhood.  The Lord enters his creation, not just mythically, but literally.  In the here and now.

How appropriate it is that we should find Psalm 24 paired with this passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew.  Because Psalm 24, my favorite, describes exactly that is going on in the arrival of the infant Jesus. 

Faith is the door, the gateway, through which the Lord enters his creation. He does not make a mere symbolic, philosophical entry– it is symbolic and philosophical for sure! – but he also enters as a literal fact in time, in and through the actual choices of two humble people named Mary and Joseph.   Our hearts and minds reel with the thought of it!  It’s so spectacular, so shocking, so extraordinary!  Through the gate of their true love and true faith, the Lord enters his creation to save us all.

 ———————————————————————————————————

 §1:20 “Behold”, from “ἰδοὺ”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

 *1:21 “Jesus” means “Salvation”.

 ✡1:23 Isaiah 7:14

See, Hear, Speak: Mettle Maker #333 and Holy Communion for Third Sunday of Advent

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #333

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Fitness — Give the exercises in the video on the right a try. Three sets is all you need if you aim for perfect form. Do Pull-ups (max 3 x 8), Dragon Flags (max 3 x 8), and Stone Lifts (max of 3 x 3). If you don’t have stones (who does besides me?!?) substitute sandbag lifts or deadlifts. Don’t go to failure — stop on the rep just prior to technique breakdown. In other words, when you feel like, “I could do a couple more reps, but my technique might not be perfect.” Most injuries happen when form breaks down. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Self-Defense — How’s your Standing Arm Triangle? If you don’t a Standing Arm Triangle, get one. It’s so easy, once you get the knack of it. Start by watching the YouTube short on the right — the one with the horrible thumbnail! — then find yourself a partner and get to work. Interested in a structured self-defense program? Sign up for our free distance learning program.

Wildwood — Are you blind, deaf, and mute? How important is it to pay attention to what you see, hear, and say — not just when you’re in a survival situation, but all the time? Paying attention is the investment, and dividends are more fun and better odds. Examples, you ask? What if rain is coming and and you have little food and water? Well, if you were paying attention earlier in the day when that woodpecker was knocking, or that woodpecker feather was right there on the ground (see picture below), you could go straight to that standing dead tree around which all that great firewood was piled up. Otherwise, you might have to wander all over creation, waste energy, get soaked, etc. etc. Want more? Listen to today’s homily on a related topic (see below). Want even more? Click here to sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

A picture of my son Robert , taken when were standing on the top of Mount Rogers, the highest point in Virginia. On the right, a feather from a southern yellow-shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus auratus) — a type of woodpecker.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 11th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 35:1-6a, 10, Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10, Jas 5:7-10, Mt 11:2-11

Matthew 11:2-11  World English Bible  Catholic Edition

2  Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3  and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?”

4  Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5  the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,✡ the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.✡ 6  Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”

7  As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8  But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9  But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. 10  For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’✡ 11  Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.

The blind, deaf, and mute are everywhere.  You, or I, may be one of them from time to time or from moment to moment.  Blind to the suffering of others.  Unable to see a way through the fog of life, deaf to the cries of those who are suffering, unable to make out the pleas for help coming from our loved ones, or from the depths of our own souls for that matter.  Unable to speak our minds, incapable of properly expressing our thoughts.  Literally or figuratively, we have all been, or are now, blind, deaf, and mute.

Maybe you can’t see past your bills or your health issues.  Maybe you can’t see a future beyond your addiction, your physical disability, or your grief.  Remember though, Jesus sympathizes.  He has been there.  How hard was it for him to see past the blood in his eyes that ran down from the crown of thorns on his brow?  Pray to him.  Ask him, “Lord, how did you bear this kind of misery?  Show me the way.  Shine a light on my dark path.”  He will be there.

Maybe you can’t hear the Word of God over the racket of cell phones, TikTok, social media, pop culture, and fashion.  Maybe you’re tone deaf and you don’t even realize it.  Pray to Lord.  Say, “What are my spouse and children calling out for?  Love?  Attention?  Engagement?  What’s my boss or mentor asking of me that I’m not paying attention to?  What am I ignoring?  Lord, what is your plan for my life?”  The Lord will answer.  He’s been there.  How hard was it to hear over the pounding of the nails into his hands and feet on the cross?  And when he answers you, listen.  Take action.  You might even have a happier family, build stronger friendships, get a raise, or find your true calling!

It's also easy to be mute in this world – hard to bend your knee in prayer sometimes, Hard to be a proper witness of the Gospel, hard to find the right words when topics is awkward.  Perhaps you need to have a serious talk with a loved one but, out you’ve been holding your tongue out of fear that one of you will get angry.  Do you need to have a talk with your boss, or a difficult employee?  Is there a confession you need to make to your guidance counselor, therapist, priest, or to the police?  Ask the Lord to be your intermediary.  Pray for him to take your hand and fill your mouth with perfect, polite, patient, and measured words. 

Remember, the Lord has been there too, standing before Pilate in the crosshairs, under threat of death.  He knows.  He understands.  He will help.  And with his help, you will find your voice.  You may even sing!

Mettlecraft Month Recap, Mettle Maker #332, and Holy Communion for Second Sunday of Advent

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #332

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month is a wrap! For the full and complete wrap up go here for details. But the short version of the story is that we achieved success — all members of the Heritage Arts family faced the challenge, and at least one of us was able to beat it! It isn’t a contest. Mettlecraft Month is about facing down a tough challenge, both as a group and as individuals, and personal growth through self-assessment. Huzzah!

Fitness — Give the exercises in the video on the right a try. Three sets is all you need if you aim for perfect form. Do Pull-ups (max 3 x 8), Dragon Flags (max 3 x 8), and Stone Lifts (max of 3 x 3). If you don’t have stones (who does besides me?!?) substitute sandbag lifts or deadlifts. Don’t go to failure — stop on the rep just prior to technique breakdown. In other words, when you feel like, “I could do a couple more reps, but my technique might not be perfect.” Most injuries happen when form breaks down. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Self-Defense — have you read about Richard Fierro? He’s the army vet who swung into action and tackled the Club Q gunman. He said, “Listen, the little bouquet of flowers I got from a lady that I hadn't met and I lived next door to for 15 years, how about everybody this Thanksgiving, you know, find that hero around their table and do an action for somebody next to them? I think that will resonate. The people here, they're going to get supported. People are going to send them the things they need and they should. But how about we just, you know, make a hero at the dinner table for Thanksgiving.” Read or listen to the entire article here. Interested in learning self-defense? Sign up for one of our free distance learning program.

Wildwood —John the Baptist, survival expert. Seriously, this guy makes Bear Grylls, Cody Lundin, Les Stroud, and all the rest look like suburban softies. Read my homily for today (see below) and you’ll see what I mean. Looking for an outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Second Day of Advent, Dec. 4th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 11:1-10, Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17, Rom 15:4-9, Mt 3:1-12

Matthew 3:1-12  World English Bible Catholic Edition

1  In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” 3  For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

make the way of the Lord ready!

Make his paths straight!”✡

4  Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5  Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. 6  They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! 9  Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10  Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

11 “I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.* 12  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”

✡ 3:3 Isaiah 40:3

 Surviving in the desert alone makes even the most hardened survival experts quake in their boots.  The level of precision, calmness, discipline, and wisdom that it takes for to survive alone in the desert – the most desolate environment on earth – is staggering.  The landscape is dizzyingly desolate.  There are no landmarks you can use to find your way.  And getting lost is doubly dangerous there, because nourishment and water are both incredibly scarce.  Every step you take, every calorie of energy you burn and teaspoon of water you lose through perspiration, could be the difference between life and death.  I once spent several days at a survival school in the high deserts of Utah.  There were three dozen people in the camp and several survival instructors there.  Even so, I felt raw, exposed, and in real danger. 

 So what kind of man is this John the Baptist, this prophet wearing skins of camel hide, surviving on locusts and honey?  He’s wearing camel hide because the camel, one of the most resilient desert animals in the world, has died in the sand.  But John has survived.  He has skinned that camel and fashioned its hide into a garment to protect him from the stings of bees so that he can eat honey from the comb.  He is tough – tougher than anyone you and I ever met by far and away. 

Not just physically tough, but mentally tough.  In the desert there is no wood for campfires.  I’m a survival teacher, as many of you know, and I can tell you firsthand that the first time you spend a night alone in the middle of nowhere without a campfire, the darkness of the nighttime world collapses in on you.  Every sound makes you jump.  You cannot relax.  If you are in the woods, all you can do is obsess about an approaching bear you cannot see, or think about the silent, deadly ticks you cannot feel or see that are drinking your blood.  When you are in the desert, all you do is think about are the snakes and scorpions that are crawling up around you to steal your warmth.

But, once you acclimate and overcome your fears, you get to see and experience things others have not.  You get to watch the moon rising slow and clear, illuminating the world around you.  Sitting still in a moonlit clearing without a fire, I have had fox walk right up to me, nose to nose, and give me a curious sniff.  In the desert, at night, far away from the lights of the city, you get a view of the sky you can get nowhere else.  The first night I spent in the desert, I lay on my back and looked upward.  The depth of the perspective was so breathtaking that it triggered my fear of heights.  I felt as though I was going to fall upward into a limitless heaven filled with stars.

Again – who is John the Baptist?  He’s tough, resilient, careful, precise, wise, and completely unafraid.  He makes puny, pampered people like you and me – and the city folks who come out into the desert to be baptized! – look like mere babes in diapers.  And guess what?  Jesus, just as John did, went into the desert.  For forty days and forty nights, he confronted his human fears, fought the devil, and returned home alive. 

So, when these men speak, people listen.  When John the Baptist tells you that you need to take a hard look at yourself and get yourself straightened out, you respectfully shut your mouth and listen.  That this why the people of their day listened to these men, and it is why we should listen to them as well.  Because they speak as those who have authority, not as the scribes and Pharisees (Mark 1:22).  They have braved the dangers few of us will ever face, and seen the sights few of us will ever see.

The Waters: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #331

What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”

Mettle Maker #331

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month is about to wrap up. But there’s still time take a run at the challenge — go here for details — and to get a picture of yourself posted here! Here’s a shot of James after putting up a blistering time of just 13:28!

Fitness — Is there too such a thing as too much water? According to a recent study widely reported in the news, Bruce Lee died from cerebral oedema caused by his body’s inability to clear excess water. Most sources state that drinking about 3 liters of fluids per day is sufficient for most people under normal conditions. That’s total fluid intake — most doctors no longer advise drinking eight glasses of water in addition to other liquids. You don’t need to force yourself to drink additional water if your urine is clear and you don’t feel thirsty. But if you’re drinking that much water and aren’t urinating at least six times per day, something could be wrong. For more details read this informative Mayo Clinic article. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Self-Defense — Are you drowning in techniques? How many techniques do you really need? You are not a shark. If you insist on patrolling the oceans of martial arts trying to snag new techniques, you just might drown in them. How many do you need? Well, you need enough new techniques to keep you from getting bored, but no more new material you can train regularly. You should be spending the vast majority of your time training and drilling the foundational skills and methods. And when you find something better, jettison the old skill and replace it with a new one (or a new-and-improved version of the old one). Want some help sorting this out? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

Wildwood — Water is life. No water? No life. In a survival situation, without water you’re dead in about three days. What if you find yourself stranded with no water bottle? What could you make to hold water? Well, I doubt you’ll be able to find a gourd and enough beeswax or paraffin to make a water bottle and finish it properly. But maybe, if you learned the skills, you could apply them to other materials. Could you, let’s say, make a water bag from the knotted leg of your cotton pants and an unscented paraffin survival candle? Watch the video below to learn more. Want to learn more? Sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the First Day of Advent, Nov. 27th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 2:1-5, Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Rom 13:11-14, Mt 24:37-44

Matthew 24:37-44  World English Bible Catholic Edition

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38  For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, 39  and they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40  Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. 41  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. 42  Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. 43  But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44  Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Brothers and sisters, there’s not a geologist in the world who won’t tell you that floods swept the world after the last glacial period ended.  That’s why virtually every culture on earth has a flood myth.  Many of the world’s plants, animals, and people were wiped out by real floods in the distant past.  So: did the biblical flood of Noah really happen?  Sure.  Maybe the particulars aren’t exact, like the precise dimensions of the ark.  No 300-cubit-long replica – that’s over 500 feet! – of the ark has every successfully floated.  That’s because it is a fact of science that the practical size limit of a ship, due to the material limits of spliced wooden beams, is about half that.  So what?  The message is 100% true.  The biblical flood happened.  And there will be more literal floods in the future, both large and small.  They’re in the news every day.

But the flood was a spiritual flood too.  Noah, a righteous man, was surrounded on every side by corruption, lawlessness, and immorality.  He and his family were at very real risk of drowning in the waters of chaos and iniquity.  But he sheltered his family from all of that.  He showed them right from wrong.  He explained to them the structure of the universe, taught them about God’s creation, educated them about how God is the foundation of culture, morality, and science.  Doesn’t the story say that Noah build an impossibly large boat and brought into it pairs of every animal species and the seeds of every plant?  What a metaphor!  No one could do what Noah did without being an expert in every field – in construction, science, law, education, and parenting.

Here's the thing though: Jesus Christ is just like Noah, only better.  Our Lord does this over and over again.  The story of every biblical patriarch, from Adam down to David, is the story of an imperfect predecessor of Jesus Christ.  Adam is the first man, but Jesus is first perfect Man. Moses is a great high priest, but Jesus is the perfect high priest.  David is a great king, but Jesus Christ is a perfect King.

  So yes, Jesus Christ is the perfect Noah.  His knowledge of science and law is perfect because he is the creator of the universe and the architect of both existence and goodness.  He has built for us an ark in the form of a church into which we can bring our families and our extended church families.  In it we preserve our knowledge, our wisdom, and our faith against the flood of chaos and corruption threatening to drown the world around us.

Yes indeed, Jesus Christ is the perfect Noah.  He teaches us how to build our bodies, minds, and spirits into arks that can ride on the waves of decadence and evil and withstand the torrential rains of selfishness and ignorance that are always and forever falling around us. 

Let us strive, as the children of Noah and Jesus Christ, to make ourselves and our churches into arks that can withstand the eternal floods of this world.

Rulership: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #330

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #330

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

What’s your ruler? Do you keep a training journal? Do you keep track of your performance numbers? Set goals and develop plans to hit them? Do you have a training program, regimen, process, or system? Or do you just amble along, doing whatever you feel like doing on a given training day? You should consider that, without a training program and a tracking method, you have no ruler.

If you don’t “rule” yourself — if you don’t have a “ruler” — your only ruler is chaos itself.

Take control. This applies no matter what you’re looking to achieve.

Fitness and Self-Defense: Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month (go here for details) is two-thirds of the way through. But there’s still time to get in there and take your own measure. You don’t have to try and set the fastest time ever — just doing half of it is a step in the right direction. Maybe, like Arman, you smash it your first try. Or maybe it takes you three months. Or maybe you never get there. Ya gotta start somewhere! The challenge is to complete Constitutional #86 with perfect form in under 20 minutes: 25 Wrestler’s Bridges, 100 yards of Bear Walks, 25 Bodybuilders, 25 Shots, 25 Clocks, 25 Get-ups and 25 Drop Duck-unders.

Interested in a free martial arts or fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Wildwood — The above info applies to you too. Make a list of the skills you think you need or want to have under your belt, and start trying to get there. How will you acquire them? What will your text books be? Do you keep a training log? A wild plant book? Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

SPEAKING OF RULERS….

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King — the day we acknowledge Jesus Christ as the King of the Universe. For more information, watch Holy Communion for today or read the homily.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Nov. 20th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: 2 Sm 5:1-3, Ps 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, Col 1:12-20, Lk 23:35-43

Luke 23:35-43  World English Bible Catholic Edition

The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”

36  The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, 37  and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

38  An inscription was also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

39  One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”

40  But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42  He said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

43  Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The first criminal says, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”  This man, a true materialist, was speaking only of bodies on crosses at that time and in that place.  Today as then, there are billions of materialists like this.  The equivalent person in the modern world is the atheist who says something like, “Jesus never saved anyone.  If he wanted to save people, he would’ve come to Earth with antibiotics, electricity, and modern plumbing.”

The materialist Jews of Christ’s day wanted a warrior king to come and bring peace to Israel by liberating them from the oppression of Rome.  The materialist of today wants peace through technology and government authority.  As ever, the materialist is blind to the universal, metaphysical, healing power of Peace. 

St. Paul said that Christ is, “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:12-20) and “all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:19-20).

What is this Peace that comes through acknowledging Christ as King? This is the Peace of acceptance that comes from faith and saves us from fear, anxiety, worry, and suffering.  This is the Peace which is the absence of vengeful thoughts and actions that comes from understanding that judgement is in God’s hands.  This is the Peace that comes when we understand that God loves us so much that he came to earth and entered into our state of suffering right beside us.  His is the Peace that is the harmony existing between and among all those who understand that, as children of God, we are all brothers and sisters by blood – the blood of the cross.

The poor materialist on the cross who asked Christ to save his physical body from the immediate suffering of crucifixion could not see the potential in Christ’s sacrifice, just as the modern-day materialist is blind to the billions of lives saved by the Peace of Christ – saved from war, saved from privation, starvation, and hardship by Christian charity, saved from self-harm and suicide, and indeed, saved from the death that lasts forever.

Christ is King, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).Let us praise Him and rejoice in his saving Peace.

Mythbusting Anti-Christianity

This post was on Heritage Arts founder Robert Mitchell’s old blog years ago. We thought you might appreciate the content, so we copied it over here.

IF YOU DON’T LIKE TO READ, WATCH THE CHRISTIANITY FOR DOUBTERS VIDEO SERIES

This is a nice place to start for people who don’t like to read stuff.  Or you can try to find you question below.

(A) GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. There is a 99.99% chance that you are not the first person in history to attack Christianity with the question, issue or method you are currently using. Christianity has successfully defended attacks by very smart people for over 2,000 years. This field of study is known as Christian Apology or Apologetics, and the Library of Congress lists over 5,000 books under this subject heading. Start by reading some of the previous scholarship. If you have a scientific, hyper-rational bent, I recommend William Lane Craig’s book Reasonable Faith. If you prefer a more light-hearted, literary approach, you must start with C. S. Lewis. He’s the most famous and popular Christian apologist — an atheist intellectual who converted to Christianity and wrote about why.

2. “Why do we need religion? Why can’t people just be good because it’s the right thing to do?” Because people aren’t all that good, and it’s very hard to make them. About 40,000 years ago humans starting working on ritual systems to solve this problem. These evolved into religions. Religions are not superstitions — they are sociological technologies. For more on this topic start by reading Supernatural Selection by Matt Rossano. The religion that changed the the world most dramatically in ways that have never been equaled is Christianity. Read Dominion by Tom Holland for more details.

3. “If God is good, why is there evil in the universe?” This is called the problem of evil. There are lots of answers to this question. I like the free will defense. In a nutshell, all of the evil in the world is either caused by nature (storms, bacteria, viruses, physics, wild animals, etc.) or by human beings (lust, pride, greed, envy, hatred, etc.) not by God. God wants every living thing to be good, each of its own free will — for all of creation to sing together with the heavenly chorus. And we will, at the end of time.

4. “If God created the universe, what created God?” The universe was created out of the initial singularity by the Big Bang. Before that, there was no space-time, no matter, and no energy — that’s a scientific fact. Therefore the creator of the universe is timeless and immaterial. If you say it’s possible for things to exist without a cause, then you are a believer in magic. This is the Kalam Cosmological Argument.

5. “How is Christianity any better than the silly myths that came before it?” The myths that preceded Christianity were low-resolution pictures of the truth that was coming, kind of like the way the icon of a disc on the desktop of your computer is a low-res representation of the hard drive in your computer. C. S. Lewis deals with this beautifully.

6. “What makes you think you’re so smart?” I don’t. But I do understand what it’s like to be confused about religion. I spent most of my adult life as a religionaut and spiritual seeker before finally re-embracing Christianity. I used to believe most of the anti-Christian myths myself. This allows me to be calm, polite, and measured. Anyway, I’m not that smart. I’m just a guy who made lots of mistakes, wasted a lot of time, and now wants to be a simple priest and alleviate suffering.

7. “If God is real, why doesn’t He stop ______?” Fill in the blank with your choice of horrible tragedy, natural disaster or crime, such as death by hurricane or clergy sexual abuse. God is not responsible for human acts of evil resulting from free will, nor is He responsible for acts of nature. If people had no agency and there was no nature, the universe would be a giant depressing clockwork — static, rhythm-less and dead. Thank God it isn’t. Also see #3 above.

(B) GENERAL CHRISTIANITY MYTHS

1. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not crazy-talk. There are a number of perfectly good, reasonable, fact-based arguments to be made for the truth of the resurrection. The video on the right is one of my favorites. It’s for high schoolers, which means even I can follow it.

2. Christianity is not at odds with science, nor has science disproved Christianity. A humble Friar named Roger Bacon pioneered the scientific method, a Belgian priest named Father George Lemaître was the originator of the Big Bang Theory, and Father Gregor Mendel was the world’s first geneticist. One of the top biologists in the world is a Christian by the name of Francis Collins. He led the Human Genome Project and now directs the National Institutes of Health. He was a close friend of the late celebrity atheist Christopher Hitchens who called him “one of the greatest living Americans” and said “one of the most devout believers he had ever met.” In 2006, Collins wrote the best-selling book The Language of God in which he tells his journey from atheism to Christian belief, showing that science is not in conflict with the Bible, but actually enhances faith. He started a foundation called BioLogos. Watch this awesome video.

3. Religions do not cause wars. Religion has been a factor in less than 7 percent of all wars and in less than 2 percent of all people killed in warfare. Consult the Correlates of War Project for data and statistical support.

4. Miracles aren’t made up by crazy people. Things we can’t explain happen all the time. Ask anybody you know and you’ll get dozens of examples of spontaneous healing, freak events, and other improbable “coincidences.” If one in a million of them is “real,” there have been millions of miracles. C. S. Lewis wrote a book called Miracles that I highly recommend.

5. “It’s impossible for somebody to be raised from the dead, so Christianity is obviously made up.” Obviously it’s impossible, which is what makes it a miracle. That’s why a religion sprang up around this one guy named Jesus who rose from the grave after three days. You should know that nobody attacked Christianity in its infancy by contesting the empty tomb — not even Jewish or Roman authorities — which is why many modern atheist historians do not. And you should ask yourself why hundreds of people claimed to be witnesses to the risen Christ and were willing to be crucified and die rather than deny what they saw. It’s also useful to note that the gospels don’t make it 100% clear what happened. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus just disappears from the tomb and that’s it. In other Gospels he appears but the apostles don’t recognize him at first. What happened or didn’t happen isn’t all that clear. Most Christians understand that and are okay with it.

6. “God is your invisible friend or a flying spaghetti monster.” Billions of Christian believers over the last 2,000 years have not attested to the reality of a flying spaghetti monster. Would you convict someone of a crime based on eyewitness testimony? Then why not believe billions of witnesses of Christ? This is called the “argument from reason” and lots of really smart people seem to like it and/or have a hard time refuting it.

7. Christians are not blind automatons. The word “Israel” means either “God struggles” or “to struggle with God.” Either way, Christianity is a conversation between God and humanity spelled out in 73 volumes.

8. Christianity doesn’t owe its popularity to forced conversions. Isolated cases occurred. But, for the most part, people dropped pagan religions like a hot potato and picked up Christianity instead. And the world is better for it. Start here.

9. Just because some Christians don’t practice what they preach doesn’t mean that Christianity stinks. Don’t make a short list of radical, stupid, and/or evil Christians and say “see, Christianity stinks.” This is the dumbest thing I ever heard. All doctors aren’t perfect, but we don’t give up on medicine do we?

10. Christianity isn’t some childish belief system you can outline on a 3″ x 5″ index card and then poke holes in. Christianity has been developed by the the greatest minds of the last 2,000+ years. The Bible is a library of books that is completely unique for having been compiled by means of a multi-generational collaboration by thousands of authors across several millennia. Its 73 books are complex, universally relevant, inspirational and interconnected to a degree you cannot possibly imagine.

References:

• The Correlates of War Project — the world’s largest database of war data

• The Encyclopedia of Wars (1997)

• The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics. All anti-Christians should start here. A reformed atheists and great writer — nobody explains Christianity better.

• Jordan B. Peterson videos. If you don’t want to read books but you insist on being anti-Christian watch as many videos as you can on this video channel.

• Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Vandals brought the Roman Empire to its knees. And then they converted to Christianity. These were some of the most terrifying, brutal, powerful tribes ever known. Were they converted by force? Were the Vikings? The Celts? The native tribes of the British Isles? The mere thought of it is absurd. My people are Scottish by name and blood, and we are pretty hard-headed. Try converting me by force and see what you get.

• See Bible link below.

(C) ANTI-CATHOLIC MYTHS

General Anti-Catholic Myths

1. The Roman Catholic Church isn’t a parasitic organization that hordes wealth. The RCC is the largest non-government provider of health care services in the world, operating 18,000 clinics, 16,000 homes for the elderly and those with special needs, and 5,500 hospitals — managing 26% of the world’s health care facilities.

2. Popes and priests are not rich fat-cats who gallivant around the world living large. Catholic clergy take vows of poverty. The Pope doesn’t get a salary at all, and priests may earn a small salary which averages about $40,000/year (paid mostly in room and board). Many priests subsist on room, board, healthcare, and a small stipend of around $250/month.

Catholic Sexual Abuse Myths

1. Public school teachers are more than 100 times more likely to abuse minors than Catholic clergy.

2. Catholic clergy aren’t more likely to abuse children than other clergy, nor have they been more likely to do so than men in general, or even more likely than public school teachers.

3. Clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church can’t be blamed on celibacy, homosexuality, or on all-male clergy.

4. Almost all of clergy sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church occurred during the 1960s and 70s.

5. Most clergy sex offenders aren’t pedophiles in the popular sense — most offenses were against post-pubescent teens, not young children.

References:

• Catholic Church and Health Care at Wikipedia

• Search Google for average priest salary

• Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature

• Six Myths About Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, Pyschology Today (online, March 24, 2010)

• THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS BY CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND DEACONS IN THE UNITED STATES 1950-2002 (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Feb. 2004)

(D) CHRISTIAN BELIEF MYTHS

Before we even get going, I want to point out that most Christians are not anti-science.   In fact, many sensible Christians have a much more practical, common sense relationship with science than some atheists.  See the bit about Francis Collins above.   

Anyway, there are 2.4 billion Christians on the planet, belonging to hundreds of wildly divergent denominations. It is virtually impossible to make sweeping statements about what Christians do and do not believe.

1. All Christians do not believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell.

2. Furthermore, Christians do not agree on the definitions of certain key words, such as “salvation,” “heaven” “hell,” and so on.

3. All Christians are not Bible literalists who believe Earth is only 6,000 years old, flat and other silly things.

4. Christians are not generally motivated by fear of hell or promise of heaven. Salvation is achieved through some combination of either grace (a free gift from God) and/or works (doing good stuff in the world).

5. All Christians are not fundamentalists.

6. All Christians are not opposed to science.

7. Most Christians do not hate gays.

8. Christians do not despise the world and live for the next life to the detriment of this one. Despising the world is actually a pretty heretical belief in the eyes of most Christians. Probably the most famous Bible quote of all time is, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NRSV)

References

• “Incorporeal things are not in place after a manner known and familiar to us, in which way we say that bodies are properly in place; but they are in place after a manner befitting spiritual substances, a manner that cannot be fully manifest to us.” [St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Supplement, Q69, a1, reply 1 written 1265–1274] 750 years ago, one of the greatest theologians in history plainly said that heaven, hell, purgatory, and so on are not physical places we can comprehend.

• List of Catholic clergy who made important contributions to science

• Pope John Paul II discusses HEAVEN, HELL AND PURGATORY

• List of Christian denominations by number of members (Wikipedia)

• Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors: United Methodist Church reaches out to people of all classes, colors and sexual orientations

(E) BIBLE MYTHS

View fullsize

A page from the Catholic study Bible concerning divergent perspectives on the Bible

1. This is a page from the introduction to my Catholic study Bible which explains the difference between fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist interpretation of scripture (right)

   Most Christians — especially members of the clergy — don’t believe the Bible was magically written by God. Or even that it was written by the people two whom the individual books are attributed for that matter. That’s because…

2. The Bible is not just “some old book.” The Bible is a library of 73 books, and it is an incredible feat. Somehow, thousands of authors, editors and scribes, working in different times across millennia, managed to bring together this library of books in such a way that the disparate volumes form a cohesive narrative structure. See the diagram below. The Bible makes something like Wikipedia look like a tri-fold pamphlet. You might even say that it’s a miracle.

3. The Bible doesn’t promote violence, or misogyny, or any of that. It contains stories with controversial themes — kind of the same way that a documentary about drug addiction might show drug use without promoting it. And it contains all of the outdated ideas that we’ve improved upon too. The great thing about Christianity is that its definition of “good” has evolved over time because Christians have generally tried to be humble. God is the highest possible good, and beyond our comprehension. As our vision gets better, “God” and “good” get better!

4. People who study the Bible and think it’s important are not uneducated and/or backward. Most of the smartest people and greatest scientists of past and present were and are Christians. See references in previous section.

5. Biblical laws were not and are not backward and draconian, nor are they evidence that Christianity is outdated and backward. The Hebrews were the first culture in the Ancient Near East to abolish physical punishment for property crimes, the first to establish a single code for all social stratum, the first to do away with divine kings, and so on. Compare the law of the Hebrews to those of their neighbors and you will see that the Hebrews’ are far more progressive. The philosophy that gave birth to those laws allows for the laws to be updated — see #2 above.

6. Just because the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) contradict each other doesn’t mean that the Bible is a nest of lies. It’s perfectly logical to think that four different eyewitness accounts might be a little different (q.v. J. Warner Wallace). The founders of the early Christian churches were aware of the contradictions — they just didn’t care all that much. Apparently they were wiser and more open-minded that most people are nowadays.

7. Biblical laws, rules and customs cannot be taken out of context and used to prove points. The Bible is a library of 73 books written across millennia that document the centuries-long struggle of Jews and Christians to figure out exactly what the laws and rules should be. Of course there are contradictions. Copernicus and Ptolemy contradict each other regarding the correct model of the solar system, but we don’t claim that Astronomy itself is invalid. Also, it’s useful to note that the book of Proverbs is not a book of religious laws. It is called Proverbs because, as it happens, it is a book of proverbs, the ancient Hebrew equivalent of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Why do uneducated people insist on attacking Biblical material without any sense of appropriateness or context? “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” ~Proverbs 26:11

References:

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible – Prof. Christine Hayes (RLST 145 — Yale Open Courses website)

Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature — Prof. Dale Martin (RLST 152 – Yale Open Courses website). [Note: If you think it’s important, which it isn’t, but you might think it is if you believe in common myths about Christianity, Prof. Martin is gay.)

The Hebrew Bible — Rabbi Shaye Cohen (Harvard 2013)

The Bible is the first hyperlinked document. Click graph below for an overview or click here for the creator’s blog and the details.

Graph of the Bible’s 63,000 Cross-references:

Click the picture to read the article about the Bible’s over 63,000 cross-references.

When? Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #329

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #329

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-defense and fitness: If not now, when? Have you always planned on participating in Mettlecraft Month each year, but never got your act together and actually did it? Well, no time like the present. If not now, when? If you’re new around here, November marks our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month — go here for details! The challenge is to complete Constitutional #86 with perfect form in under 20 minutes: 25 Wrestler’s Bridges, 100 yards of Bear Walks, 25 Bodybuilders, 25 Shots, 25 Clocks, 25 Get-ups and 25 Drop Duck-unders. Last Thursday at the club, me, Morgan, and Jack came in at 21:28 (my personal record is 20:43). Distance learning grad Arman crushed it a mind-boggling 13:11 . Clearly we all have some work to do if we’re going to catch Arman! Please play along — give it a try and share your pics, vids, numbers, and experiences — we will post them here! Interested in a free martial arts or fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Wildwood — Gathering your nuts for winter - part 4 (and a water bottle teaser). If not for acorns, the indigenous people of Virginia would’ve probably starved to death. But you can’t eat acorns in their unprocessed state. After soaking the crushed nuts in repeated changes of water for four days, I put them in the dehydrator for 8 hours at 100 F to dry and then ground them to flour (see picture lower left). How do you cook with it? Coming soon: a crossover cooking video on the Two Riders channel. Coming up: how to make a water bottle from a gourd (picture of my gourd drying on lower right). Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

NOTE: Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening on Sundays. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 13th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Mal 3:19-20a, Ps 98:5-6, 7-8, 9, 2 Thes 3:7-12, Lk 21:5-19

Luke 21:5-19  World English Bible Catholic Edition

As some were talking about the temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts, he said, 6  “As for these things which you see, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down.”

7  They asked him, “Teacher, so when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are about to happen?”

8  He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he†,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore don’t follow them. 9  When you hear of wars and disturbances, don’t be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won’t come immediately.”

10  Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11  There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12  But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13  It will turn out as a testimony for you. 14  Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15  for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict. 16  You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will cause some of you to be put to death. 17  You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake. 18  And not a hair of your head will perish.

19  “By your endurance you will win your lives.”

Like the disciples in today's reading, we are always asking, “When?  When, Lord, are you going to come in judgment and wipe away the old and establish a new heaven and a new Earth?”   Many have there been, and many even now, who incessantly pour over the Bible searching for symbolic meanings and historical clues – and even apply mathematical formulas and obscure numerological fortune telling methods! – to try and discern when the end of days will come.  Still more relentlessly search the Bible for proof that the prophetic words of Jesus are speaking of events in the past, such as the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the fall of the Roman Empire, World War Two, and so on. Those who look solely to the future or solely to the past are wide of the mark.  They deeply underestimate the power of the Word and its prevailing place at the center of reality.  Listen to the words of Revelation 4:6b-8.

In the middle of the throne, and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. 7  The first creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8  The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy* is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!”

“Who was, who is and is to come!”  The eyes of the angels are in front, behind and within because they must penetrate all times and all places.  Make no mistake, Jesus answered the disciples the way he did in today’s reading, mixing the symbolic and the literal together, for a reason.  When he spoke of the temple stones being cast down, was he speaking of his crucifixion? Yes. Was he speaking of the Temple of Jerusalem being destroyed? Yes.  Was he telling us to be mindful of our own death?  Yes!  It's not either/or – it is all three.  Were his apocalyptic words about the fall of Babylon?  The fall of Rome?  The possible collapse of the United States?  World War I, World War II, the present war in Ukraine, or the possibility of World War III?  Yes!  He was speaking about all of this.

Jesus spoke, will speak, and is speaking right now, directly to everyone in all places in all times.  In Rev 13:8, he is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”  Our minds strain with the weight of it, but he died on a cross before the universe was made because he is not bound by the chains of time.

Jesus is the Truth that speaks to all people, in all places, and in all times!  The words he spoke to the disciples in today’s reading are eternally relevant!  Whenever war, famine, and destruction break into our lives, as they always do, we mustn’t be afraid or allow ourselves to be led astray by false teachers.  We will be betrayed by governments, employers, neighbors, friends, even family and loved ones.  There is always a coming persecution, because those who behave morally and ethically are always attacked and peer-pressured by misguided souls who resent those they label as “do-gooders.”  Betrayal, hatred, and slander are a persistent threat to anyone with a moral, ethical compass.  We will always be hated by somebody because of Christ's name.

But here's the good news: the son of man is always “coming in a cloud with great glory.” (Luke 21:27).  When the newly-converted soul sees the truth of Christ for the first time, he has come. When we conquer moments of fear and despair through prayer, he has come. Have no fear.  Do not prepare your defense before beforehand.  Christ came in the past, Christ is here now, and Christ will come in the future to any person who seeks his face.  Not a hair on the head of one who follows him will be destroyed forever.

Because ours is the blessed hope of a new life in the world to come.

Brothers in Torment: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #328

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #328

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-defense and fitness combo — POW Run. In case you haven’t heard, our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month started last week — go here for details! — and the challenge is to complete Constitutional #86 in under 20 minutes. Give that a shot it if tickles your fancy. Or, if you prefer, complete a POW run, as follows: Put your hands behind your head, interlace your fingers, and keep them there until you complete your run. Beginners try to cover 1/2 mile, intermediate 1 mile, advanced players 2 miles. Trust me, it’s an eye-opener and a real gut-check.

Central to this week’s the video and this week’s homily…

…is the story of Major Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr., one of America’s greatest heroes. Watch either the video above, or the homily below, to get the low-down on Mr. Thompson.

Interested in a free martial arts or fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Crushed acorn nuts in the dehydrator after soaking

Wildwood — Gathering your nuts for winter - part 3. As mentioned in previous posts, if it hadn’t been for acorns, the indigenous people of Virginia would’ve probably starved to death. But you can’t eat acorns in their unprocessed state. After soaking the crushed nuts in repeated changes of water for four days, I put them in the dehydrator for 8 hours at 100 F to dry. When they were quite dry, I put them in the blender and ground them to flour. How do you cook with it? Well, keep your eye on the YouTube channel for updates — coming soon there will be a crossover video series. My video will fully explain processing and the Two Riders channel will be making a cooking video. Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 6th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: 2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14, Ps 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15, 2 Thes 2:16-3:5, Lk 20:27-38

At 7:30 AM on the 16th of March, 1968 the soldiers of Company C, first Battalion, 20th Infantry, U.S. Army marched into My Lai, Vietnam and started killing everything that was walking, crawling, running, or growing – women, children, animals, and crops.  It was hard work.  It was hot.  So after a few hours they took a break.  While they sat in the shade and had some water and some rations, did anybody desert?  Did anybody call HQ and report the tragedy?  Nope.  When they were rested up, they went back and started killing some more.

When we are tested, brothers and sisters, it might not be as easy as it was for the brothers in today’s Old Testament reading.  At least the bad guys were on the other side.  What if your brothers aren’t being tortured beside you?  What if they are the ones doing the torturing?  What if they’re the ones telling you to break God’s rules?

Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jr., aged just 25 years, a recon helicopter pilot, was flying air support when he noticed movement in a ditch full of civilian bodies.  He assumed they were victims of enemy forces.  He landed the ‘copter and began to look for help rescuing survivors.  One soldier told him he would only “help them out of their misery.”  Another told him he was “just following orders.”  He observed one of them shoot an unarmed woman at point blank range.  Shocked, confused, and infuriated, Thompson radioed headquarters and reported what he witnessed. 

Spotting a group of women, children, and old men in a bunker, Thompson landed his helicopter between them and approaching U.S. soldiers.  Risking court martial and the real danger of friendly fire, he told his crew to fire on anyone who attacked the innocents while he was attempting rescue.  Fortunately, that did not happen and a dozen innocents were flown to safety.  They continued rescuing more civilians, including a 4-year-old girl they found unharmed, buried beneath the dead bodies of her fellow villagers. 

Eventually a cease fire was ordered, but not until between 350 and 500 unarmed women, children, and elderly had been butchered.  Then came the cover-up.  Thompson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, but the citation was filled with lies to hide the atrocities.  So he threw it in the trash. 

Friends, we don’t do the right thing for the recognition of men – we do what’s right to please God.  God is steadfast.  Men are fickle.  So I’m sure you can predict what happened when the truth came out.  Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr., former Boy Scout, devoted Episcopalian, and one of America’s greatest heroes, was called a traitor by the media.  Members of congress suggested he be court-martialed.  He received death threats.  Dead animals were left on his doorstep.

Eventually, after a four-year investigation, over 200 U.S. personnel were charged with crimes and/or court-martialed.  Thompson faded from the public eye.  After 20 years in the Army, he retired and became a private pilot.  In 1998, 30 years to the day after the massacre, he and his courageous crew, Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, were awarded the U.S.  Army's highest award for bravery outside combat – the Soldier's Medal.

After great tribulation, Thompson’s story ended well.  But there’s no assurance the same will be true when impossible moral choices are forced on us.  We may well perish like the seven brothers.  All we can do is try and prepare ourselves to stand our ground and remember that, even if things don’t end well in this world, God is with us, and there is hope of life in the world to come. 

All Souls' Day: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #327

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #327

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-defense and fitness combo — Prep for Mettlecraft Month 2022. Our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month starts next week — go here for details! Watch the video on the right, learn the exercises, get your equipment together (the only thing you really need is a pair of gloves and some kind of pad for your head — I use a stadium seat cushion), and start thinking about your training regimen. You are probably not going to waltz through this year’s challenge by training once or twice a week. I recommend doing at 25% to 50% of this constitutional an additional 3 days per week for a total of 5 ‘touches’ per week on the exercises. I call this method MBF© or Martial Base Fitness ©. Get there. For more on MBF © and for formal martial arts programming, check out our free programs here.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Wildwood — Gathering your nuts for winter - part 2. As I mentioned last week, if it hadn’t been for acorns, the indigenous people of Virginia would’ve probably starved to death. But you can’t eat acorns in their unprocessed state. Yesterday I started processing a couple of cups of acorn meat (photo set at the right). Watch the YouTube channel for updates — coming soon there will be a crossover video series. My video will explain processing and the Two Riders channel will be making a cooking video. Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Feast of All Souls (Observed) Sunday, Oct. 30th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Rv 7:2-4, 9-14, 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6, 1 Jn 3:1-3, Mt 5:1-12a

Matthew 5:1-12a  World English Bible

1  Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2  He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

4  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5  Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

7  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

8  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

10  Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

11  “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12  Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.

Pawpaw, my maternal grandfather, was a pilot in WWII. He earned enough medals to fill a cigar box, one of which was a Distinguished Flying Cross for acts of heroism, bravery, and extraordinary gallantry under enemy fire. He was a great American and a fine grandfather.

My fondest memory of him dates back to when I was about twelve. My teenage uncle and I went off to explore Rattlesnake Creek and we didn’t come back for lunch as we had promised. When we finally emerged from the woods, eight hours late and after dark, we found our entire family and two police officers standing in the yard illuminated by flashing red lights, discussing the need to call out the dogs. They converged on us, hopping mad. But Pawpaw stood between of us and the crowd with outstretched arms. He wouldn’t let anyone get near us. "Boys will be boys," he told them, then turned to us and said, “You two, go wash up and get ready for bed." And that was the end of it. No tongue-lashing, no punishment. He knew we knew better and would never do it again.

I also remember him taking me to McDonald's when I was about eight years old. After we ate, he put me on his lap so that I could drive his cherished Buick around the parking lot. I remember him giving me my first big-boy haircut. I remember him teaching me how to properly shine a pair of shoes before church. I recall him making everyone root beer floats after Sunday dinner. And I remember, in the summer of 1980, when he died from a heart attack.

I mourned his loss, but some did not. Because, I regret to say, there was more to this man than warm memories. PawPaw returned from the war with what we now call PTSD. He got little sympathy and support from the community and armed forces and struggled alone. He was given to fits of depression, rage, and violence. I heard from relatives chilling tales of cold malice and wicked vengeance, some from my mother. She had borne the brunt of his most cruel abuses. But I never witnessed any of that firsthand. And so, while I mourned his loss, others did not.

There are those who will tell you that the right place for him is Hell. But I pray for him. I beg our Heavenly Father to find it in his heart to deliver him to heaven for the man he was when he was at his best rather than sending him to hell for his sins. Pray with me, brothers and sisters, for my grandfather and for all departed souls. For our heroes and departed loved ones, yes; but also for the baptized and the unbaptized, for those who died in repentance and those who died before they saw the light. I assure you, my friends, the good and the evil are often one and the same, like opposing sides of the same coin, and they desperately need our prayers.

We have all made mistakes and errors, and no man’s fate is certain. Just as we would appreciate the prayers of our loved ones, let us then obey our Lord Jesus’ instruction to do for others what we would have them do for us (Matt. 7:12). Let us pray together the prayer of Our Lady of Fatima: "Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy.”

Humility: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #326

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettlecraft Month 2022 is coming 11/1/22!

"Die before you Die. There is no chance after." (C. S. Lewis)

Soon it will be November and time for our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month at Heritage Self-Defense! This year’s challenge is a delightful little constitutional called “#86.” What’s a constitutional, you ask? It’s 7 calisthenics exercises done consecutively. And why is this one called #86? What are the exercises? Get real! This is just a teaser! Watch this bog for more info!

Mettle Maker #326

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-defense and fitness combo — 5 minutes of Bear Walks. Set a timer for 5 minutes and Bear Walk as far as you can. You should be able to get about 200 yards in that period of time. This kind of functional strength and fitness will serve you well (especially when wrestling). I always tell people, if you don’t know what to do for fitness, do Push-ups, Squats, or Bear Walks. Get there.

Want more fitness and more martial arts programming? Check out our free programs here.

Acorns waiting to be processed…

Wildwood — Gathering your nuts for winter. If it hadn’t been for acorns, the indigenous people of Virginia would’ve probably starved to death. According to the early writers, and confirmed by Helen Rountree in her book The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture, by the time settlers came to Virginia in 1607, the state was so overhunted that there wasn’t a deer east of the fall line. “The Powhatans,” she writes on p.87, “solved the problem of hunted-out territory from year-to-year by organizing large-scale hunts near the fall line in winter, after the crops were in and the thanksgiving festivities had concluded.” To eat acorns, the tannins must be removed by boiling or leaching. Some tribes boiled de-shelled acorns and skimmed off the oil, which they would use much the way we use butter today, or as an emollient. The nut meats would be dried, ground into meal, and eaten like grits. Some tribes put the nutmeats into baskets, which they submerged in streams to leach out the tannins. We’ll be putting together a video of acorn processing and cooking — watch the YouTube channel for updates! Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

Homily for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 9th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Sir 35:12-14, 16-18, Ps 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23, 2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18, Lk 18:9-14

Luke 18:9-14  World English Bible

9  He also spoke this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others: 10  “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11  The Pharisee stood and prayed by himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12  I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13  But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  These immortal words of prayer from today’s Gospel reading, echo up and down the centuries.  In the Orthodox tradition, this is often called the “Jesus Prayer,” it is believed to be the unceasing prayer encouraged by St. Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (“Pray without ceasing”).  It central to the ascetic Orthodox practice of both monks and lay people known as hesychasm or “stillness.” 

It is also esteemed in the Roman Catholic Church.  According to Catechism 2667.

“This simple invocation of faith developed in the tradition of prayer under many forms in East and West. the most usual formulation, transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is the invocation, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners." It combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 with the cry of the publican and the blind men begging for light.18 By it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior's mercy.”

The Jesus Prayer also shows up in the Anglican Rosary, and is sometimes called “The Sinner’s Prayer” by Evangelical Christians.

Why is it that these words have had such far-reaching, and long-lasting impact?  What is it about this story – about the contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collector – that’s so important?  Perhaps it is because self-righteousness is so toxic and because humility, its opposite, is so powerful.  Self-righteousness is toxic to our souls.  When we begin to think that we’ve arrived, that we have no more work to do, our growth stops. When we begin to think that we are better than our neighbors, this is the slippery slope that begins with condescension and eventually ends in spite and hatred – the opposite of loving one’s neighbor.

Self-righteousness is also poisonous to the spreading of our faith to the spiritually starved who are in want.  The foremost complaint I hear about Christians in the course of my evangelization work is that Christians are self-righteous jerks.  They say that we Christians think we have all the answers.  They say that we think we are saved and everyone else is damned, and nobody wants to spend time holier-than-thou braggarts.  It’s one thing to harm our own growth and development, but poisoning the well of evangelization compounds the sin.

Humility – the opposite of self-righteousness – has the opposite effect.  Humility is the fuel of the way of Christ that accelerates our own development and improves our evangelization efforts.  This is why, when we say the Confiteor and confess our sins, that we rap our breasts with our knuckles as the tax collector beats his breast and beg for mercy.  This confession and prayer for mercy is merely the beginning.

5th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2022

Final Update! 12/4/22

View fullsize

The watch shows Morgan’s time, not mine — she crushed it!

Well it’s official — this old man is finally over the hill. I beat the challenge (my final time on Tues of last week was 18:47), but I was next-to-last on the list of times. It’s not a competition — true enough — but I had hoped to keep up with the kids for a few more years. Anyway, the good news is, my youngest daughter Morgan crushed the challenge with a time of 15:21! The final times were Arman (13:11), James (13:28), Morgan (15:21), Mitch (18:47), and Jack (21:28). If Jack hadn’t gotten sick, he certainly would’ve put up a top time, I’m sure of it. Oh well — there’s always next year Jack!

UPDATE! 11/27/22

View fullsize

View fullsize

Last week I put up my best time yet (18:48) and Heritage Arts patron James put up a superlative time of 13:28 — just 17 seconds behind Arman! Can you believe these guys? What are they made out of anyway? A big round of applause for these guys, how about it!?!

UPDATE! 11/13/22

Last Thursday the club here in Richmond, VA put up a time of 21:28, while distance learning graduate Arman put up a mind-boggling time of 13:11. Looks like we all have some training to do if we’re going to catch Arman! Who’s going to get it done? Will it be you?

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

UPDATE! 10/25/22

This year’s challenge is to finish Constitutional #86 in 20- minutes or less with good form. Exercises have been announced!

1. Wrestler’s Bridge (25)

2. Bear Walks (100 yards)

3. 10-Count Bodybuilders (25)

4. Shots (25)

5. Clocks (25)

6. Get-ups (25)

7. Duck-unders (25)

See video below (goes live at midnight 10/24)

10/17/22

"Die before you Die. There is no chance after." (C. S. Lewis)

Soon it will be November and time for our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month at Heritage Self-Defense! Want to play along with us? You can participate at home or at your club. Share your times in the comments here, email them to me at mitch@heritageartsinc.com or share them via social media!

This year’s challenge is a delightful little constitutional called “#86.” What’s a constitutional, you ask? It’s 7 calisthenics exercises done consecutively. And why is this one called #86? Well, the number 86 has several relevant meanings.

• “86” is slang for something that’s been given up on or trashed, as in, “The mission has been 86’d.” You’ll want to give up about 2/3 of the way through this one and, by the end, you should be feeling pretty much trashed.

• Once a upon a time, “86!” was shop code for “Shut up everybody, the boss is coming!” or “Stop cussin’, there’s a lady on the floor!” If this constitutional doesn’t make you shut your pie hole, we’ll eat your hat, and our hat too, for dessert.

What are the exercises? Please! Did you think we were going to give them to you early so that you can ease your way in? Fuhgettaboutit!

Check back regularly for updates. In the meantime, here are some links to previous Mettlecraft Months so you can reminisce and/or get a feel for what the future holds…

4th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2021

3rd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2020

2nd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2019

1st Annual Mettlecraft Month 2018

---

What is mettlecraft? Mettlecraft is the cultivation of fighting aspect, physical endurance, unflagging determination, and resolute strength of body, mind and spirit. In short, it is the relentless pursuit of indomitability, the fourth virtue of Heritage Self-Defense. It’s a mash-up of two words used in the old-time way:

\Met"tle\, n. [E. metal, used in a tropical sense in allusion to the temper of the metal of a sword blade. See {Metal}.] Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.

 \Craft\ (kr[.a]ft), n. [AS. cr[ae]ft strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, from the root of E. cramp.] 1. Strength; might; secret power. [Obs.]