Get Out, Flip Over, and Twitch-up: Mettle Maker #393 and Holy Communion for 2/18/24

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #393

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: Do you have more than one method for escaping Top Saddle a.k.a. “mount?” You can’ make your attacker behave the way you’d prefer. Some guys ride high, some low, some posture up and strike, some choke, etc. So you need to have several methods that counter the specifics of how they’re riding. Watch the video above, and follow the whole series — when we’re done, there will be 10 techniques and 5 videos in all. But don’t just watch them — train them!

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness: Do you practice your proprioception and balance? Try Headstands. Proprioception is a fancy word for body awareness — specifically awareness of where your body is in space. Everybody has some degree of proprioception and balance. If not, you couldn’t walk around without falling down or pickup up a mug and take a sip of coffee. But if you want to be good at any sport, you’re going to need more than a merely functional level of proprioception and balance. And here’s another thing — proprioception and balance both fade with age. One of the ways I keep my proprioception and balance is by incorporating inversion work into my training, namely Headstands and Handstands. Start with Headstands. Work your way up until you can hold one for a full minute, and then do that every other day to build and maintain your proprioception and balance skills.

Need a free fitness coach to help develop an old-school fitness program that suits your specific needs and goals? Click here to sign up for one of our free programs!

Heritage Wildwood Outdoor Skills: Learn how to make a “twitch-up.” One of the simplest survival traps you could ever learn to make is a “twitch-up.” See photo and details on the right, courtesy of Camp Life in the Woods by William Hamilton Gibson (1881) page 45. It’s possible that there’s a trap known to man that isn’t in his book, but I have no idea what it might be!

Note that when Gibson says, “arch” he means the bent sapling.

Looking for a free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent, 2/18/24 – Father Mitch

 

Readings: Gn 9:8-15, Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 1 Pt 3:18-22, Mt 4:4b, Mk 1:12-15

 

Mark 1:12-15

 

Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels were serving him.

14 Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”

 

The symbols, ironies, and nuggets of wisdom in old myths and folktales are endlessly fascinating.  I always liked the story of King Midas who, granted a wish by the Greek god Dionysus, asks for his touch to turn anything into gold.  He becomes incredibly wealthy and loves his gift – until he accidentally touches his beloved daughter and kills her, and then starves to death because every morsel and sip turns to gold as soon as it touches his tongue. 

A fun story isn’t it?  Clever, entertaining, and with a great moral lesson about the dangers of greed.  At first glance, the story of Noah and the flood is another mythological tale, containing many moral lessons.  But taken in the greater context, and looked at through the lens of the Gospel, it’s much, much more than that.  Make no mistake: what we have in our readings today is of an entirely different character than a mere myth.  Brothers and sisters, this is no fairy tale.

In Noah’s story, water falls for 40 days and then recedes to reveal the dry land.  In the Gospel story from Mark, Christ the living water comes in baptism and then recedes for forty days into the desert, revealing the kingdom of God which Jesus proclaims is at hand.  It’s the opposite. 

In Genesis, we get a sign in the sky – a rainbow – that appears after the flood.  In the Gospel, a sign in the sky – a dove – comes before the flood of baptism.  The rainbow reveals a truth about the material world, namely that God will never again destroy it by water.  The dove, on the other hand, reveals a truth about the spiritual world – that God has sent his son to earth to save us.  Again, the Gospel story is the opposite.

In the flood story, God sent torrential rains to destroy the earth.  But in the Gospel. God sends us the waters of baptism to heal the earth and save us in heart, mind, and soul.  Again, we have the opposite. 

This is not a witty fable, a clever folktale, or an educational myth.  No, what we have here is something far more powerful, and something that is unique in recorded history.  It’s myth that is real.  The story of Noah might be mythological, but Jesus’ story is completely true.  Think about that.  Really stay with this, confront it, and experience it: Jesus came to earth and, through an outpouring of deeds, teachings, and words, lived out loud an undoing of the flood. 

Let this shock us out of our complacency.  Let it shake us up!  Let it rattle us!  Jesus dips his hand into an historical myth, pulls it into the present, and makes it real in his person.  How can we not stare and the page in complete wonder and then go reeling into the desert to follow in his footsteps this Lent.

 

Rock, Paper, Wrestler, Boxer: Mettle Maker #392 and Holy Communion for 2/11/24

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #392

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.”

This is pretty close to my training allocation at present. What’s yours, and why?

Heritage Self-Defense: What’s your training time allocation? The amount of time you spend training on each of the various physical aspects of self-defense should be proportional to their relative effectiveness. So let’s stack up some data:

  • 9 of 10 times, wrestler beats boxer. Don’t believe me? Read this great article by Mark Hatmaker.

  • Wrestlers more easily adapt to weight differences. My comparative analysis of wrestling and boxing weight classes indicates that the average wrestling weight class is 9.5 pounds vs. 7.5 for boxing. Although counterintuitive, wrestling would therefore appear to be less sensitive to size and weight disparities — and that’s a great benefit in self-defense.

  • Wrestling has produced more UFC champions than any other fighting discipline. Yes, even more than BJJ. If you compare grapplers vs. strikers, grapplers have held aloft far more UFC championship belts than strikers — by a 2-to-1 margin.

  • Grappling skills take longer to instill than striking skills, so you better get started. Almost any untrained adult male can knock you out with a punch. But the same man would have a hard time figuring out how wrestle someone into to pin or tap. It takes just months to become a competent striker, but it takes years for a boxer to become a competent wrestler. There’s never been a walk-on wrestler who was a true competitor. But examples of natural born brawlers and pro boxers who didn’t start until their 20s abound (Marciano, Norton, Willard, Firpo, etc.). Many wrestlers have become devastating strikers — Urijah Faber, Frankie Edgar, Cain Velasquez, Dan Henderson, Johny Hendricks, etc. but the reverse is rare. The only example of a striker who became a formidable grappler who comes to mind is Georges St-Pierre.

  • Wrestling builds greater and more complete strength and endurance than striking. I know this is contentious, and the debate rages on, but in my opinion wrestling is far more physically demanding and fitness rewarding than boxing. No boxing or striking coach ever got me close to throwing up. But a wrestling coach will hand you a bucket every time you show up (and the next day you will realize you have muscles and tendons you never knew you had). Strikers hit stuff. Wrestlers and grapplers lift, pull, explode, bridge, twist, squeeze, lug, spin, slam, and what-all.

  • Weapons are fun and effective, but…are increasingly banned from public spaces. Unless you’re on a camping trip or you’ve survived TEOTWAKI, your self-defense training time might be better spent on empty hand techniques.

  • American Rough and Tumble is the perfect mix of all these elements. It’s the most brutal and effective fighting art on the planet (this article puts Rough and Tumble at #3 behind Marine Corp LINE and IDF Krav Maga, but only because they are used in war). But don’t forget, LINE and Krav Maga don’t incorporate prevention, observation, awareness, and spiritual development — they key to avoiding as much trouble as possible.

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness: Are you using light dumbbells? I know I’ve talked about these before, but you need to develop some fitness intelligence about these things before you’re 50+ when you start to get tendonitis — everywhere. That’s what happens, by the way, when you hit your 50s. But light dumbbells are great for maintaining tendon health, and can help protect your shoulders and other joints. Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? Click here to sign up for one of our free programs!

Heritage Wildwood Outdoor Skills: Refresh your first aid skills. I’m not a doctor, nurse, EMT or first responder. You need to read and study a good first aid manual, and refresh yourself often. The American Red Cross First Aid Manual is available free online (click this link to view, print, or save on your computer). And I recommend taking a first aid course as soon as you are able as well. 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 picture below).

* 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.

Looking for a free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2/11/24 – Father Mitch

Readings: Lv 13:1-2, 44-46, Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11, 1 Cor 10:31—11:1, Mk 1:40-45

 

Mark 1:40-45

 

A leper came to him, begging him, kneeling down to him, and saying to him, “If you want to, you can make me clean.”

41 Being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him, and said to him, “I want to. Be made clean.” 42 When he had said this, immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was made clean. 43 He strictly warned him and immediately sent him out, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anybody, but go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”

45 But he went out, and began to proclaim it much, and to spread about the matter, so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was outside in desert places. People came to him from everywhere.

 

When we are physically unwell, we go to the doctor.  The doctor gives us a treatment plan appropriate to the ailment.  That treatment plan may involve direct interventions, such as physical therapy, medication, surgery, and so on.  But often the doctor may direct us to avoid, alter, or stop certain behaviors that affect our health.  He may counsel us about smoking cessation, lack of exercise, overeating, overindulgence in alcohol, and so forth.  In other words, the doctor will sometimes politely point out that we are more than a little responsible for our own condition.

Being sick can be something that just happens to us, like a piano falling on our heads from a second story window.  But often we stand under the piano and swing it back and forth, confident that the rope will hold, and then wonder why we get crushed.

We can’t tempt fate and then blame something outside ourselves for our condition.  Nor can we just sit there and wait to get well.  We have to engage in our health journey.  Once we've admitted we're sick, we go to the doctor and ask for help.  Then we take the remedy and change the negative behaviors that contributed to getting sick in the first place.

Let us consider leprosy as a metaphor for a spiritual ailment.  Like the leper in our Old Testament reading, we should first be willing to admit we’re spiritually sick, and willing also to set ourselves apart so that we don’t infect others with our disordered attitudes, ideas, and behaviors.  But that will only get us so far.  Next we have to be like the leper in our Gospel reading.  We must to go to Jesus and beg for help.  Then we must try to be receptive to what he says and change our behaviors – we need to try, as hard as we can, to avoid, alter, or stop the negative behaviors that adversely affect our spiritual health.

Once we’ve gotten as healthy as we can get, we should endeavor to be nurses in God’s church, which is a hospital for sinners.  As St. Paul said, we need to be good caregivers, doing “everything for the glory of God,” not seeking our own benefit “but that of the many, that they may be saved.” (1 Cor 10:31 – 11:1).

 

Escapes, Bearhug Squats, Sensory Overload, and Patience: Mettle Maker #391 and Holy Communion for 2/4/24

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #391

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: What’s your “get off the bottom” IQ? Self-defense doesn’t get much worse than it is when your attacker is in Top Saddle (a.k.a. “the Mount”). How many methods do you have to get out? One? Two? Three? Four or more? Well, if you’re serious about self-defense, I suggest having three — one for when the ride is low (near your hips), one when it’s a tad higher (up near your lower ribs), and one to use when his knees have reached your armpits (as bad as it gets!). And you should also have a few of variants of each that take into account what your attacker is up to — wrestling, restraining, or striking. Get your techniques together, put them into a logical, working chain, and drill them until the cows come home. Watch this space — a series of YouTube videos covering this topic is on the way!

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Bearhug Squats

Heritage Fitness: Are you doing your Bearhug Squats? The science is in — sandbag training works. Pick a weight appropriate to your size and fitness level. Most folks age 18 - 50 years of age of intermediate fitness level can manage about a third of their body weight at first. If you train old-school (without pain meds, creatine, and steroids, and with your goal being health, longevity, and functional fitness), put your arms around the bag, hug it to your chest, and start with 4 sets of 6 or maybe 3 sets of 8. Cap your total reps to around 25, and never push to the last rep. Stop at the next-to-last rep. Do them a couple of times a week. When you can get 2 sets of 12, add a little weight and start your progression over. Voila! If you don’t like and benefit from the Bear Hug Squat, I’ll eat my hat.

Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? Or maybe a free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for one of our free programs!

Heritage Wildwood Outdoor Skills: Some thoughts on sensory input. The human, having changed so little in the last hundred thousand years or so, is not accustomed to living in cities filled with so much input – industrial noise, cars, airplanes, and so forth – much less the modern distractions of video games, video streaming services, 24-hour news, cell phones, and so on. 

Consider the consequences of the change in our sensory input over what it once was. If you have not read John Ruskin’s The Opening of the Crystal Palace (1854) here is an excerpt with which you might begin such a consideration: 

“But it is one of the strange characters of the human mind, necessary indeed to its peace, but infinitely destructive of its power, that we never thoroughly feel the evils which are not actually set before our eyes. If, suddenly, in the midst of the enjoyments of the palate and lightnesses of heart of a London dinner-party, the walls of the chamber were parted, and through their gap, the nearest human beings who were famishing, and in misery, were borne into the midst of the company — feasting and fancy-free — if, pale with sickness, horrible in destitution, broken by despair, body by body, they were laid upon the soft carpet, one beside the chair of every guest, would only the crumbs of the dainties be cast to them — would only a passing glance, a passing thought be vouchsafed to them? Yet the actual facts, the real relations of each Dives and Lazarus, are not altered by the intervention of the house wall between the table and the sick-bed — by the few feet of ground (how few!) which are indeed all that separate the merriment from the misery.”

We are the same people we once were, evolved to live and respond to stimulus.  Our ancestors lived ten or more to a hut, responding to the needs of kin.  One of my four children lives in Japan, one in a different city, and other two across town.  A few hundred years ago, people of our station would’ve certainly lived in the same village, perhaps in the same home. Further examples of the differences in modern vs. ancient sensory input abound.

Is it possible that we’re so maladapted to the world we’ve created that we are effectively broken as a species? I’ll leave that to greater minds. At the every least, we should attempt to expose ourselves to the natural world and to stimuli asscicated with humanity — our kin, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

Looking for a free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2/4/24 – Father Mitch

 Readings: Jb 7:1-4, 6-7, Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23, Mk 1:29-39

 

Mark 1:29-39

 

Immediately, when they had come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 He came and took her by the hand and raised her up. The fever left her immediately,† and she served them.

32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by demons. 33 All the city was gathered together at the door. 34 He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.

35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there. 36 Simon and those who were with him searched for him. 37 They found him and told him, “Everyone is looking for you.”

38 He said to them, “Let’s go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason.” 39 He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.

 

 

Taken together, our readings today are a meditation on patience. The word “patience” comes from the Latin patior, which means to suffer, endure, tolerate, or put up with something.

Job is the Old Testament paradigm of patience.  Repeated trials and tribulations assail and test him, and yet he is patient.  Can he rely upon his wife for support?  No. She encourages him to be impatient! She says to him, “Do you still maintain your integrity? Curse God, and die.”  But would impatience do Job any good at all? 

First let’s inquire as to what impatience is.  When you boil it down, isn’t it just refusing to tolerate difficulties, inconveniences, and problems?  Perhaps our focus has been interrupted, our precious plans have been disrupted, or our desires have been obstructed.  Isn’t impatience just a childish tantrum because things aren’t going our way?  Like the character Veruca Salt from the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, we want it now.  But does all our impotent impatience solve anything?  Does it influence God’s plan in any way at all?  Does it do anything other than let off a little steam?  Of course not.  Impatience is an impotent emotion that not only screws up our faces, makes us say rude things, and contorts our spirit.  Impatience profits no one.

Look at old Job.  Despite his wife’s ugly remarks, and despite the fact that his three best friends tell him that he’s to blame for his own torment, he is patient.  He never curses God or renounces his faith.  And as a result, when all is said and done, God restores Job to health and multiplies his blessings two-fold. 

In our reading from 1 Corinthians, St. Paul explains how he is patient with his listeners and careful in tailoring his message to suit their needs rather than his own.  St. Paul must’ve been almost constantly tempted toward impatience.  Imagine how many times he was repeatedly asked the same tireless questions by members of the young church.  Imagine how many times he was harassed by soldiers, pestered by rabbis, confronted by scribes and Pharisees.  But being wise, he knew that impatience wins no one over – only patience and humility can do that.  By making himself small rather than proud, and by submitting himself to the Lord and his Gospel message, St. Paul, like Job, receives for his investment far more than he invests.

And finally we see in our Gospel reading from Mark the incredible patience of Jesus.  The essence of his personal character is patience.  Jesus is patient with those who persecute him, patient in his dealings with the scribes and the Pharisees, patient with sinners, patient with the suffering multitudes who followed him everywhere begging to be healed, and even patient with his apostles who are confused about his teachings, sell him for silver, and deny him three times.  He is patient even unto the cross! 

I have often heard the old adage, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”  I would venture to say that, “Patience is next to godliness” might be the better refrain.  The more patient we become, the closer we get to the Lord. 

—————————————————————

†1:31 NU omits “immediately”.

Mettle Maker #390 and Holy Communion for 1/28/24

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #390

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: What’s your “get off the bottom” IQ? Self-defense doesn’t get much worse than it is when your attacker is in Top Saddle (a.k.a. “the Mount”). How many methods do you have to get out? One? Two? Three? Four or more? Well, if you’re serious about self-defense, I suggest having three — one for when the ride is low (near your hips), one when it’s a tad higher (up near your lower ribs), and one to use when his knees have reached your armpits (as bad as it gets!). And you should also have a few of variants of each that take into account what your attacker is up to — wrestling, restraining, or striking. Get your techniques together, put them into a logical, working chain, and drill them until the cows come home. Watch this space — a series of YouTube videos covering this topic is on the way!

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness: Getting 5 servings of fruits and veggies per day? You should! I’m always looking to get 5 or more servings of fruits and veggies into my diet every day. The problem is, as I get older, raw veggies are increasingly hard to digest, and will give me heart burn. And, on top of that, my metabolism has slowed and I’ve had to to cut my caloric intake a bit. Here’s a great little low calorie delicious dessert that seems decadent but is actually super low calorie and full of fruits and veggies.

Cherries Waldorf

Somehow refreshing, satisfying, and filling, this dessert hits all of the buttons, even your satisfying your sweet tooth!

Ingredients:

1 small package Sugar Free Cherry or Raspberry Gelatin (.44 oz.)

1 cup of finely chopped celery

1 medium apple, cored and cut in small cubes

1 cup of grapes or pitted cherries, halved

Low-fat whipped cream (optional)


Make flavored gelatin per package directions and place in fridge to chill. Wait about 45 mins or until gelatin is partially thickened. Add celery, apples, and cherries/grapes. If the gelatin is too thick for the goodies to sink, push them down with the flat of a serving spoon. Serve with a dollop of whip cream. Makes 4 servings about 100 calories each.

Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? Or maybe a free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for one of our free programs!

Heritage Wildwood Outdoor Skills: Check out Les Stroud’s Wild Harvest — it’s my new favorite TV show! For the most part, television is a waste of time. I only watch TV when I’m too tired to do anything else, or if I want to entertain and/or educate myself while conditioning my shins or giving my wife a head or back rub. But there are a few TV shows that, in addition to being educational, are surpassingly beautiful and artistic. One of them is Les Stroud’s Wild Harvest. Survivorman Les Stroud gathers wild edibles and Chef Paul Rogalski prepares incredible culinary masterpieces around them. For me this is about as great as TV gets. Many episodes are available on YouTube — check out Episode 1 on the right.

Looking for a free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1/28/24 – Father Mitch

 

Readings: Dt 18:15-20, Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9, 1 Cor 7:32-35, Mk 1:21-28

 

Mark 1:21-28 World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 24 saying, “Ha! What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!”

25 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”

26 The unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching? For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” 28 The report of him went out immediately everywhere into all the region of Galilee and its surrounding area.

 

 

Forty years ago an old mentor of mine, Bob Burke, taught me something I’ve never forgotten.  He said, “Mitch, if you change someone’s perspective, you change how they think, act, feel, and believe.”  Bob was and is completely correct.  Remember that, brothers and sisters.  One more time: “If you change someone’s perspective, you change how they think, act, feel, and believe.”

Bob’s still around, by the way, north of 80 years old and long retired.  And if you called him up and asked him for business management advice, he would probably start with that nugget, specifically as it relates to negotiation.  Think about it: everything is a kind of negotiation.  Every sales transaction and every business deal is a negotiation.  One person, or one side, wants the other side to buy, sell, trade, agree and the other person or side doesn’t.  Fortunately, however, sides who are at cross purposes always agree more than they realize.  Typically, some circumstance has heightened tensions and/or shifted focus onto points of contention and disagreement.  The people at the table have lost sight of their shared goals and overlapping needs.  They have ceased to see the forest for the trees. 

What Jesus is doing in the synagogue in our reading today is causing a radical shift in perspective.  At that time, the method of teaching and preaching was to quote the law and prophets.  Everything was an appeal to what the God and his prophets said in the past.  Can you imagine how much people must’ve quoted scripture and argued about Judaism’s 613 laws?  But Jesus walks in and shifts everyone’s perspective.  He makes the written law relatable through fresh interpretations and moves discussion from the past into the present.  As Christians, this is normal for us.  Jesus’ perspective shift has become more or less permanent in us. We don’t know any different.  But at that time it was a bombshell.

And we must not take it for granted.  You see, every decision, from a corporate policy ruling all the way down to just an individual trying to decide on where to go for lunch, is a kind of negotiation.  Opposing viewpoints must be weighed and choices made.  Do we want to do business with an eye on profit, or on environmental sustainability?  Do I want to eat healthy, or do I want to pig out on the delicious, unhealthy choice?  How do we decide?  We can focus on shared goals.  We choose a lunch that’s healthy and delicious!  It’s possible to run a business that makes a profit and operates in a sustainable manner. 

And that’s what Jesus is doing with God’s message.  He says we can do both.  We can look to the laws and wisdom of the past and follow it, rely upon it, and appeal to it.  He does that often in the Gospels.  But he’s adding a new dimension.  Jesus is stepping into the synagogue and pointing to the transcendent truths above, within, and underlying the law.  He’s changing everyone’s perspective.  And, in doing so, he’s changing how they think, act, feel, and believe. 

Jesus’ new perspective chases away narrow-minded viewpoints, drives out pettiness, banishes the trivial and the insignificant, and reminds us of the ultimate goal. And it is so powerful that it can literally cast out demons!

Mettle Maker #389 and Holy Communion for 1/21/24

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #389

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: Work Hatmaker’s silver dollar test. Your weapon is no good if you can’t get it into play quickly with no telegraphing. Use Mark Hatmaker’s sliver dollar test and drill to get fast and test your speed. Works with any weapon! Put a silver dollar on the back of your hand at arm’s length. Now strike the target — heavy bag or war post — before the silver dollar touches the ground. So simple, and yet so effective.

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness and Heritage Wildwood Outdoor Skills: Fancy equipment? Who needs it! Too often we focus on the quality of our equipment. We don’t even consider doing an exercise routine, or going on a hiking, fishing, climbing, or camping trip until we have the perfect reel, pack, shoes, boat, or what-have-you.

Pollywogs and tater tots.

Take a look at the kinds of equipment people were using in the 19th and early 20th centuries (see gallery above/right). Check out especially the stalwart fellow with a skin covered canoe or coracle on his back while fishing. That guy really wants to go fish.

Maybe, if you’re obsessing about having perfect equipment, you really just don’t want to fish all that bad.

Do a little soul searching in that regard. Maybe there’s something that, in your heart of hearts, you really do want to do. Whatever that is, go out and do it.

Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? Or maybe a free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for one of our free programs!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1/21/24 – Father Mitch

 

Readings: Jon 3:1-5, 10, Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 1 Cor 7:29-31, Mk 1:14-20

 

Jonah 3:1-5

 

1 The LORD’s word came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I give you.”

3 So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD’s word. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey across. 4 Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried out, and said, “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”

5 The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least. 6 The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water; 8 but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”

10 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.

 

Mark 1:14-20

 

14 Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”

16 Passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers for men.”

18 Immediately they left their nets, and followed him.

19 Going on a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.

 

 

Life is like sailing the sea.  The storms of life arise quickly, the riptides are invisible, and the ocean depths hide monstrous beasts.  Like sunken treasure, there’s an outside chance you might get a promotion or win the lottery.  But for the most part, one minute everything is fine and the next minute your car breaks down, you get laid off, a friend passes away, or illness strikes.  There’s always something dangerous and unpredictable bubbling up from beneath the surface.

So when the Lord tells Jonah to go East and preach repentance to Nineveh, a massive city filled with the enemies of Israel, Jonah hops on a ship going in the opposite direction, West toward Tarshish.  No wonder.  Life is crazy and unpredictable enough without street preaching in strange city!  And when a storm threatens to capsize and destroy the boat and everyone on board, he hides below decks.  The crazier his life gets, the more Jonah retreats.  Isn’t this what people often do?  Avoid the real cause of our problems, ignore our faults and moral failures, and pretend everything is okay?  Don’t we often let others shoulder our responsibilities and steer the boat? 

But finally Jonah admits that his defiance of the Lord is the cause of the storm and encourages the boat’s sailors to throw him overboard, whereupon he is promptly consumed by a giant fish.  Again, this is precisely what people do.  We surrender to our faults, resign ourselves to our fates, and give up.  We say, “Oh well, I might as well just admit I’m an addict,” or “I guess I’m just destined to be unhappy,” or poor, or unfulfilled, or what-have-you.  We stop trying to change things and let ourselves be swallowed up. 

Finally Jonah repents and is vomited out on dry land.  He obeys the Lord, preaches to the people of Nineveh and they are saved through repentance.  Unfortunately, Jonah’s story ends ambiguously.  Because as soon as he starts to get on the right track, he heads for the wasteland of anger and bitterness.

But the apostles answer the Lord’s call.  They don’t go the opposite way.  If you’ve ever watched a documentary or a television show about fishermen, you understand the kind of strength and guts it takes to fish for a living.  Fishermen don’t scare easy.  They are accustomed to storms, danger, and misfortune.  So the apostles steer their own ship, and they don’t let anybody other than God navigate.  They understand that the world is unpredictable and scary and things are going to go wrong.  But they know that if seize control and listen to God, you have a navigator who will guide you to your ultimate destination! 

Nor do they go overboard and let themselves be swallowed up by their own faults and fears.  Once they sailed the literal sea and brought back actual fish for food and livelihood.  But now, guided by and obedient to the Lord, they go out into a chaotic world and, instead of fish, they reach down into the darkness and lift up sinners to God.

There are two ways to sail the seas of life.  You can, like Jonah, disregard your faults and let yourself be swallowed up by them.  You can hand off the rudder or your life to others and ignore God, be hardheaded, resentful, and bitter.  Or you can be like the apostles.  You can take charge of your existence, face your own faults and the challenges of life head on, and listen to God. 

Which is it going to be?

Mettle Maker #388 and Holy Communion

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #388

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.”

Take on Something Big

Instead of a 3-part Mettle Maker, dealing separately with Self-Defense, Fitness, Outdoor Skills and Spiritual Development , just one message: “Take on something big.”

After 13 months, the cabin is all done. I worked on it from Nov. 2022 until Dec. 2023. What was it like? What did I learn? Well, I’m going to tell you a little bit about it, but it’s going to be like reading a travel magazine instead of actually making the trip. There are no words that can stand in for experience. Language can convey propositional and procedural knowledge, but words cannot convey the participatory or perspecitval. The project took about 500 hours. I worked in all kinds of weather, from 20F to 100F, in sun and in rain, from which I learned priceless survival skills. I handled a wide variety of hand tools, from which I learned a great deal about how to carry and manipulate weapons. I lifted, pulled, lugged, and hauled all manner of blocks, logs, boards, and planks across asphalt, grass, and mud, and even up and down ladders, which did more for my fitness than a thousand Push-ups and Squats. And finally, pushing through the project to the finish was a peerless spiritual exercise.

I encourage you to take on something big. Something that really tests you in mind, body, and spirit. Check out the photo set and video. Then think of something you can do — something from which you stand to learn more than you thought. Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Looking for a free outdoor skills program? Need a fitness coach? Looking for a spiritual community? Click here to sign up for one of our free distance learning programs!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1/14/24 – Father Mitch

 

Readings: 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19, Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10, 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20, Jn 1:35-42

 

John 1:35-42  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?”

They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”

39 He said to them, “Come and see.”

They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.† 40 One of the two who heard John and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ‡). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter).§

 

 

In the Hebrew tradition, a nazarite was a religious leader who made a purity vow and, in exchange, was granted special blessings, such as the power of prophecy or the strength to defend and lead the people.  For the duration of the term, which could be for a defined period or for a lifetime (as laid out in Numbers Chapter 6), the nazarite abstained from cutting his hair, the consumption of all alcoholic drinks, and from touching, or even being in the presence, of dead bodies.  A nazarite submitted himself to the letter of the Mosaic law, setting himself apart and sacrificing his freedoms to bring wisdom, clarity, and safety to the people. There are only three nazarites mentioned in the scriptures: Samson, St. John the Baptist, and Samuel.

In our Old Testament reading, Samuel who is a nazarite youth, sleeps in the temple and hears the voice of God.  But notice that he doesn’t hear very well.  There’s some confusion.  Samuel doesn’t realize it’s God who keeps awakening him from slumber.  He thinks that it’s his mentor, Rabbi Eli, calling out to him.  Finally, Eli tells him how to listen and reply. And scripture says that, “As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground” in other words, his prophecies and counsels were always faithful to God.

Contrast Samuel’s story to our Gospel reading.  Samuel cannot see God, only hear him, and he has trouble getting the message.  You might say, he’s a little fuzzy, partially asleep perhaps, from being repeatedly awakened during the night.  But Andrew, the first apostle called, and the unnamed disciple spend the daylight hours in the home where Jesus is staying.  It isn’t night, but day, and they are wide awake. There is no darkness.  There is only light. 

Samuel’s communication with God is garbled and unclear.  But Andrew and the other disciple receive direct communications from Jesus, and the Gospel is revealed.  And here’s the biggest difference in the two stories:  Samuel has to take special vows and sleep in the temple next to the Ark of Covenant in order to communicate with God.  But Andrew and the unnamed disciple needed to take no vows whatsoever.  Even an unnamed person, a literal nobody, can get closer to God than Samuel ever got, just by following Jesus and accepting him as the Son of God.

You see, for Samuel, his sanctity is based on self-control, the particularities of his appearance, his diet, and the things with which he comes into contact.  And while it’s good to be mindful about all of that, we see through Jesus’ teaching that rules and laws must work in concert with morality.  As Jesus said in Matthew 15:11, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”  Rules, laws, self-control, abstention, and the like, while useful, can only take us so far on their own.  We must demonstrate our faith through action and follow the Lord. 

‡ 1:41 “Messiah” (Hebrew) and “Christ” (Greek) both mean “Anointed One”.

 § 1:42 “Cephas” (Aramaic) and “Peter” (Greek) both mean “Rock”.

Mettle Maker #387 and Holy Communion for the Epiphany of the Lord

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #387

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.”

At Heritage Self-Defense on Tues and Thurs nights, I always write the constitutional of the night on the concrete floor of the picnic shelter.

Heritage Self-Defense: Build self-defense movements into your fitness. Here at Heritage Self-Defense, we build martial arts into our fitness routines. It just doesn’t make sense for martial artists to spend hours doing exercises that make you good at exercises instead of doing exercises that make you good at martial arts. If you don’t know what the picture on the right is all about, watch this video.

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness: My overnight oats breakfast recipe. I’m just not a believer in protein powders and supplements unless there is a physical deficiency for which a medical professional recommends them. The average person should be able to get what they need from eating healthy food. The old timers didn’t use supplements and their feats of strength — and their accomplishments! — were legendary. Toward that end, I came up with the following breakfast recipe for getting the protein, fat, carbs, and fiber necessary to start my day right. Note: always make sure your breakfast contains at least 10 grams of fat — the minimum to forestall hunger until lunch. For convenience, I make 5 days of this at a time so I can grab a tub and go.


Cinnamon Raisin Spice Overnight Oats

1/2 cup each of quick oats, whole milk, and cottage cheese

2 tbsp of raisins

1 tsp of sugar

1/4 tsp of apple pie spice


Put oats and milk in a 1 cup container with a tight-fitting lid. Add raisins, spices, and sugar and stir. Place cottage cheese on top. Close container and store in the fridge. If regular old quick oats, whole milk from a cow, and whole fat cottage cheese freak you out, or if 16 calories of white sugar terrify you, you might have a complex. This is healthy and nutritious breakfast. Protein 24 gms, carbs 55, fat 12, fiber 5, calories 412


Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Heritage Wildwood Outdoor Skills: Learning natural navigation.

My suggestion is to use GPS only when taking long trips by car, or when you have to go somewhere on short notice without time to prepare. The rest of the time, practice navigating by engaging with the environment. It’s not easy. But the same types of indicators – sights, sounds, and so on – that you use to determine your position inside your home or workplace can be used to orient in your neighborhood, city, or state. The trick is to expand your spatial awareness to include the information necessary to orient outdoors.

Consider doing this as regularly as possible. Whenever you go for a walk in a new area of your neighborhood, or in an unexplored area of a local park, etc. By all means, make sure to have your cell phone in your pocket in case you get lost. And use your head – don’t put yourself in a position where you could easily wander into a risky part of town or into dangerous territory of some kind!

As you walk, just be in time and space. Where is the sun? Where is the moon? Are there noticeable cloud patterns? What is the wind direction? Is the grade up or down? What about sounds? Train whistles, bird sounds, dogs barking, a football game, gurgling creeks, cars at highway speeds?

It’s difficult, but I’m working it and making progress. And you can too.

Looking for a comprehensive but free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!


Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Epiphany of the Lord, 1/8/24 — Fr. 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 Catholic Edition

 

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.

 

 

Brothers and sisters, St. Paul tells us in our epistle reading (Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6) that just as the mystery of Christ and the grace of apostleship was given to him by revelation rather than through direct contact, people of non-Jewish nations are also co-partners in the promises of Christ Jesus.  Doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, you can be members of the Body of Christ, the company of all faithful people. 

Raised in a world steeped in equality and inherent human rights, it seems obvious to us that national and racial barriers cannot stand between people and God.  A true God would be the God of not just one nation, but all nations.  But it wasn’t obvious to people in Jesus’ time.  In the millennia before the birth of Christ, each nation had its own pantheon of gods and its ruler was a god-king or god-queen, a pharaoh, Caesar, or empress worshiped as a god.

Equality and human rights are new ideas, brought into the world by God himself, Jesus Christ, two thousand years ago.  They were prophesied by Isaiah to Jerusalem,

 

2 For behold, darkness will cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the LORD will arise on you,

and his glory shall be seen on you.

3 Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising.

 

Not surprising then that a king like Herod, the King of Judea appointed by the Roman Empire, would want to know where to find the newborn King.  This new King, whoever he was, would be a great threat to his power.  So when he gets wind that greatest astronomers and astrologers of the East have seen the Star of Bethlehem moving in the heavens and have come from afar to worship him, Herod lies.  He tells the Magi that he too wants to worship the Lord.  Herod’s small mind sees another king like himself.  He assumes the newborn baby is just another human god-king and he wants to eliminate a competitor.  But the Magi are wise.  They see through Herod easily.  They disobey his orders leave without telling him where the newborn King can be found.

Herod, and every despot, tyrant, and leader who thinks he or she is a god on earth should be afraid.  Because with Christ’s birth, a new star arose in the universe who is above all human kings and gods.  Not one god among many.  Not another local, regional, or even national god.  Not another emperor, empress, king or queen behaving like a god among men.  No, this is the Son of God – the creator of the universe – the true light who is the Light of the Universe.

Yes, every oppressor, every servant of Satan, who wants to subjugate, separate, wage war, and implement some evil scheme should be afraid of Christ and his church.  Because Christians don’t follow them.  We follow Christ and Christ alone.  And thanks to Christ’s message, the sanctity of human life and the idea of human rights are now universal.

Christ dissolves the barriers between nations and races by making it clear that, since we share a common father, we are all brothers and sisters. And, by being members of the same church and accepting Christ as our King, we can give up our prejudices and nationalisms and inhabit the New Jerusalem, not only now – in the metaphysical, metaphorical, and symbolic sense – but in the future when Christ returns after the final judgement, and for all eternity, now and forevermore.

 

 

† 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

Mettle Maker #386 and Holy Communion for the Feast of the Holy Family

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #386

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: Practice your Shin Box Get-ups and kicking from your knees. Watch the video on the right and make a habit of practicing your kicks not just from a standing position but from your butt, your back, and your knees. You also need to be able to go from your butt to your knees without hand involvement (just in case you have a weapon in your hand or you’re also wrestling). The trick to this is a wrestling movement called a Shin Box Get-up which — surprise! — employs the Shin Box of Folk Wrestling fame. Once on your knees, you need to able to kick from there. Everybody practices up-kicks from supine position (your back), but kicking from kneeling position is always neglected.

Here you have a movement series that’s impossible to classify as wrestling, striking, or weapons practice. Which is it? It’s all three at once! This is Rough and Tumble.

Rough and Tumble isn’t about being able to quickly and fluidly switch between rules sets or ranges. Being able to transition from boxing, to kickboxing, to grappling, to wrestling is great, as far as it goes. This is like being a cook masterful enough to design the recipes and manage the menus for four different restaurants — one specializing in French cuisine, one serving soul food, and a third serving a blend of Latin and Native American food — and spending two days a week working at each. Much respect to anyone who can do that! But a Rough and Tumbler is like a natural born Cajun cook who runs three restaurants serving the food that he prepares as naturally as your grandma bakes biscuits — without a recipe. All of the elements are there — the French, the African, Latin, and Native American — and they are perfectly harmonized. Not mixed. Not blended. Harmonized.

A Rough and Tumbler’s strikes are grabs and his holds are strikes; his grappling grips and positions set-up throws, and his throws set-up his wrestling holds and locks, which land like strikes. As with Cajun food, you might be able to spot an influence here are there, but it’s really hard to tease apart exactly which element is which.

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness and Survival Two-fer: Saddlebag Carries for Fitness and Survival.

May I suggest that, on a regular basis, you get yourself an awkward object and go for a walk.  Start with something small, like a bottle of water.  You’ll be shocked to know that just carrying a 16 oz. bottle of water in one hand, which disrupts walking mechanics by wrecking arm swing, can slow your walking speed by 15% (according to my tests).  Work your way up to heavier weights.  Try walking a mile with a gallon of water in one hand (about 9 lbs), or with a 10 - 20 lb weighted belt or an auto tire over your shoulder.  Fun facts: A gallon of water weighs about 8.3 lbs (might as well say 9 lbs, depending on the container) and the average 15” auto tire weighs about 18 lbs (about as much as 2 gals). 

Consider this scenario: While driving back from a camping trip in a remote area, your friend Fred veers to avoid hitting a deer and the pickup runs off the road into a ravine.  You are thrown from the vehicle and get up, scraped and stunned but not seriously hurt.  Standing on the steep and slope you look down and see, to your horror, that the truck plunged off a vertical cliff and is now in flames.  There is no way to get down to see if Fred made it without rappelling equipment.  You survey the area and are able to find an intact gallon of water that had been in the bed of the truck.  You estimate that you are approximately 12 miles from the nearest ranger station at the main road.  Do you have the strength to make the walk, and how long will it take? How can you even guesstimate the answers to those questions if you’ve never tried anything even remotely similar? 

Since I often walk 1 to 3 miles with awkward weights in hand, I would say that chances are good I’d be able to complete the hike in about 6 hours.  In November of 2023 I completed a 16 mile walk in 4 hours and 40 minutes with no backpack and no handheld objects – about 17.5 minutes per mile.  12 miles at that speed would take 3.5 hours.  Adding 25% due to the awkward weight increases the time to 4.375 hours.  Allowing for three 30-minute rest breaks yields a conservative estimate of 6 hours.  Hint:  Take off your belt and make a sling for the jug.  Once you get past a few pounds, gripping hands quickly go numb.

Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Looking for a comprehensive but free adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, 12/31/23 – Father Mitch

 

Readings: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14, Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17, Lk 2:22-40

 

22 When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),* 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”*

25 Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.‡ 27 He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law, 28 then he received him into his arms and blessed God, and said,

 

29 “Now you are releasing your servant, Master,

according to your word, in peace;

30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,

31 which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;

32 a light for revelation to the nations,

and the glory of your people Israel.”

 

33 Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him. 34 Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. 35 Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

36 There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, 37 and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and petitions night and day. 38 Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.

39 When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. 40 The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

 

 

An Angel of the Lord appeared to Mary and told her that she was going to give birth to a son who would be called Son of the Most High who whose kingdom would have no end. And then, despite having no relations with a man, she conceived and bore a son.  With all of that in mind, t's rather confusing to read that when they came to present their newborn son at the temple, "The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him."  Under the circumstances, how in the world can the prophecies of Simeon and Anna be the slightest bit amazing to Mary and Joseph?

Because that's just the way people are.  Elsewhere in the Gospels we read how the apostles, despite witnessing scores of miracles and hearing the words of the Master straight from his lips, seem to have difficulty understanding his teachings.  One betrays him for a handful of silver.  Another denies him three times.  I'm sorry to break it to you, but people -- me included -- are pretty dense.

We get up in the morning and drag ourselves to the coffee pot dreading the workday ahead, instead of looking at the sunrise full of hope and joy.  When the phone rings we flinch.  We wonder which one of our kids is calling for advice, which friend needs a helping hand or a small loan, or how late our boss wants us to work.  Instead of wincing at the phone, we should be overjoyed that our kids respect our opinions, thrilled that we have friends who are willing to help share our burdens in spite of our faults, and thankful that we have jobs that pay our bills and put food on our tables.

Yes, like Mary and Joseph, we’re a little dense.  We forget God’s blessings, God’s miracles, and God’s promises and we need a reminder.  When Mary and Joseph presented baby Jesus at the temple, they had the prophets Simeon and Anna to remind them.  We have the scriptures, our clergy, and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  We have the Holy Spirit, who comes to us in prayer.  When misfortune or tragedy strikes, it’s natural to take refuge in those things. 

May I suggest that, whether things are sunny or cloudy, we go a step further and take the advice of St. Paul in 2 Cor 2:14,17: “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 17 For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.”

Jesus is alive.  We are standing in his presence right now, just as Mary and Joseph were at his presentation.  The scripture says, “The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.”  If we are one with the Living Christ, we can open our hearts and minds every day and witness his presentation in our inner temples, allowing the infant Christ to grow to maturity in us so that we too may grow strong in spirit.

* 2:23 Exodus 13:2,12

* 2:24 Leviticus 12:8

‡ 2:26 “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew) both mean “Anointed One”

Holy Communion for the Nativity of the Lord

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Nativity of the Lord, 12/25/23 – Father Mitch (Evening Service)

Readings: Is 9:1-6, Ps 96: 1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13, Ti 2:11-14, Lk 2:1-14

 

Luke 2:1-14  King James Version

 

1 2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.  4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

 

In a galaxy far, far away, in a backwater town on a desert planet, an orphan farm boy finds out that he is heir to secret lineage and destined to use his latent powers to free the galaxy from the grip of the Galactic Empire.  In a cold and dusty room beneath the stairs in a nondescript house in Surrey, a young orphan boy discovers that only he can prevent the world’s enslavement to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

These are the outlines of the Star Wars and Harry Potter, the most successful entertainment franchises in history.  Writer and mythologist Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) dubbed this story type the "hero's journey." Stories in this pattern have entertained, cheered, and inspired millions.  But as popular and intense as they are, they are pale shadows and faint echoes of a different, very true heroic story.

In a palace atop Palatine Hill in the center of the capital city of the most formidable empire the world will ever know, the most powerful man on earth, the emperor Caesar Augustus, fulfills his every desire and pursues any conceivable vice with unlimited money, authority, and power at his disposal.  Meanwhile, in a backwater town called Bethlehem, a baby boy is born in a stable because there is no room in the inn.  By contrast, the newborn baby Jesus is not powerful, but utterly powerless. Wrapped up in swaddling clothes and receiving blankets, unable to do more than squirm, he is bound up to his mother and father by the bonds of love. 

The emperor commands his servants to bring him the finest foods and treats from all over the world which he eats with relish.  But the newborn baby Jesus, lying in a filthy feeding trough for animals, contentedly eats what he is given.  He is not meant to eat whatever he craves, but to be food for those who crave righteousness.  His fate is not to feed upon others, but to feed others with wisdom, to be sacrificed, to share his flesh and blood with the faithful in the form of bread and wine.

The good news of this baby hero’s birth is proclaimed where?  To shepherds in the wilderness by God’s heavenly host – to the poorest of the poor – as far away from the halls of power as you can get.  Not to kings and queens by soldiers and standard-bearers, but to humble men sleeping on the ground beneath a new star – the star of Bethlehem.  The guiding star of the Empire, and entire ancient world, was always power, domination, and conquest.  The star of good fortune rested over those who had the greatest armies, the most ruthless leaders, and greatest resources.  But not in this story.  Here a new star rises.  And it doesn’t hover over the Roman emperor, but over a defenseless child in a dirty barn.

Star Wars and Harry Potter are unbelievable fictions.  But the true story of Jesus Christ boggles the mind.  How is it possible that a helpless baby rebelled against and defeated an empire – not with spears and swords, but with Hope, Faith, and Love?  How is it possible that he forever turned the world upside down?

Because he is the Son of God. 

You can visit the pile of stones that was once the emperor's palace on Palatine Hill.  You can go and see the ruins of the Coliseum where the empire fed early Christians to the lions.  You can walk along the remnants of emperor Hadrian's wall in the United Kingdom, or see what’s left of the Heliopolis in Lebanon.  The empire and its monuments are all rubble and its emperors are dead.

But Jesus Christ lives.  His church remains, the story of his birth endures, and the uprising continues. 

Tell your children and your grandchildren.  Tell your friends.  Proclaim the good news to this suffering culture.  If you thrill to the tales of the rebel alliance fighting against the Galactic Empire, imagine how your heart will sing if you participate in the rebellion against greed, lust, materialism, and hatred.  If you cheered as Harry Potter and his friends triumphed over Voldemort, imagine how your soul will soar when you participate in the real rebellion, started two millennia ago by Jesus Christ, carried on by a rag-tag group of 12 apostles, and continuing to this very day.

We, his rebel forces, carry on the fight against evil, first in our own hearts, and then in the world. 

Mettle Maker #385 and Holy Communion for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #385

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: What should a typical training session look like? It’s very hard to train consistently, day in and day out. Some days you have a really hard time overcoming inertia and getting started. But if you have a plan laid out in advance its much easier — especially if you train early in the morning like I do and you’re a little bleary-eyed. What’s your plan? Need some ideas? Well, here at Heritage Self-Defense, our twice-weekly training sessions break down as follows:

5 - 10 minutes of mettle drills

15 minutes of skills practice

15 minutes of sparring

15 - 20 minutes constitutional

5 - 10 minutes of internal work

1 minute closing oath

-----------------

60 minutes total

Mettle drills are groups of techniques, sequences of movement, simulated fights, or flow drills that are memorized and repeated in a relaxed and fluid manner as part of the learning process.

Skills practice refers to techniques practiced in isolation, breakdowns of drills, and so forth.

Sparring is fighting in a controlled manner so as to maximize preparedness for actual self-defense while minimizing injury and trauma.

A constitutional is martial fitness routine made up of 7 different constitutional exercises (about 25 reps each).

Internal work will take the form of either contemplation, meditation, prayer or reading of sacred literature.

The closing oath is as follows: "To North, South, East and West, to our higher powers and better selves, we ask and send our blessings; that we may train with sincerity, outside the influence of evil forces, and successfully embody the Five Virtues of Heritage Self-Defense: Wonder, Sagacity, Frugality, Indomitability and Fraternity. Ex Gladio Scientia.¹ Rah!"

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness: Fitness is a walk, not a sprint. Literally! There’s no exercise better than a brisk walk. According to this article, walking counteracts the effects of weight-promoting genes, helps tame your sweet tooth (according to a pair of studies from the University of Exeter), reduces the risk of developing breast cancer, eases joint pain, and boosts immune function.

And because it doesn’t result in sharp drops in blood sugar, walking doesn’t trigger extreme hunger or binge eating the way other more intense forms of exercise can.

That’s one reason why bodybuilders both old and new are devout walkers. A 150 lb. walker can burn 266 calories per hour without generating a voracious appetite. Avoiding irresistible hunger is key for folks looking to burn off fat and keep it off, because every extra calorie is stored as fat. If you want to be lean, go for a walk. You can literally walk your buns off and still have plenty of juice for lifting weights, yard work, your day job, a night on the down, or a weekend canoe trip, martial arts training, or whatever your heart desires.

Start walking today and begin working your way up to a considerable weekly mileage total. You decide what’s right for you – the world’s your oyster. Just know that (barring any health barriers or handicaps) even the average, able-bodied human being can walk enormous distances without ill effects.

Just look at the legendary walking feats of Edward Payson Weston, probably the greatest walker of all time. His first walk of renown was occasioned by the loss of a bet on the results of the 1860 U.S. Presidential election. Weston bet against Lincoln, lost, and had to walk from Boston to Washington D.C. -- a staggering 478 miles! -- through late February rain and snow. He completed the walk in just 10 days and 10 hours. Arriving in the capital only a few hours before President-elect Lincoln’s inaugural ball, Weston was totally un-depleted and able to attend the event without issue.

I’m no Edward Payson Weston, but this old man – aged 62 – just walked 16 miles in 4 hours and 40 minutes at the 2023 Richmond Marathon. Everything was good for the first 10 miles or so, as I maintained a 16-minutes-per-mile pace. But as my strength flagged I had to slow down, and the pace trucks caught me at mile 16 and I was forced to stop. Oh well – there’s always next year!

Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Heritage Wildwood: Merry Christmas! Get a free download of the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program textbook! The textbook for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program is The Wildwood Workbook, cover picture on the left. It contains dozens of effective, real-world drills and activities that will deepen your appreciation for the natural world and prepare you for a variety of survival situations.

To download a free copy, click this link and use coupon code NM95U. Coupon good until 1/1/24.

Looking for a comprehensive adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

¹ Ex gladio scientia is Latin for “From the sword, knowledge.” This is a statement with a double-meaning, referring to both the importance of discernment (Matthew 10:34-36) and to how we learn about ourselves through martial arts study.

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, 12/24/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16,Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29.  Rom 16:25-27, Lk 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38  World English Bible Catholic Edition 

 

26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. 36 Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”‡

38 Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”

 

 

At the time when archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary, the emperor was Caesar Augustus.  Caesar Augustus was and is a notable figure even among famous emperors, not the least reason being that he is considered the origin of imperial cult.  He was the first Roman emperor to be worshipped.

His birth name was Gaius Octavius Thurinus.  His father was Gaius Octavius, a successful statesman and diplomat.  He gave the boy the third name “Thurinus” because his proudest early accomplishment was putting down a large slave uprising in Thurii.  His mother was Atia.  According to the Roman historian Suetonius,

 

The day he [Caesar Augustus] was born the conspiracy of Catiline was before the House, and Octavius came late because of his wife's confinement; then Publius Nigidius, as everyone knows, learning the reason for his tardiness and being informed also of the hour of the birth, declared that the ruler of the world had been born. (Suetonius:94:5)*

 

This was the prophecy of Caesar Augustus’ birth, ascendancy to emperor, and eventual worship.  But even before he was conceived, his mother had a revelatory experience as she worshiped the god Apollo.

 

When Atia had come in the middle of the night to the solemn service of Apollo, she had her litter set down in the temple and fell asleep, while the rest of the matrons also slept. On a sudden a serpent glided up to her and shortly went away. When she awoke, she purified herself, as if after the embraces of her husband, and at once there appeared on her body a mark in colours like a serpent, and she could never get rid of it; so that presently she ceased ever to go to the public baths. In the tenth month after that Augustus was born and was therefore regarded as the son of Apollo. Atia too, before she gave him birth, dreamed that her vitals were borne up to the stars and spread over the whole extent of land and sea, while Octavius dreamed that the sun rose from Atia's womb. (Suetonius:94:4)*

 

What sort of prophecy precedes Gabriel’s annunciation to her?  Not an isolated prediction by an occultist, astrologer, and mage like Publius Nigidius.  But rather a thousand years of prophecies, numbering over 300 by some counts, dating all the way back to the prophets Ezekiel, who wrote six centuries before, and Isaiah, who wrote two centuries even before him.

 

24 “ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances and observe my statutes, and do them. 25 They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever. David my servant will be their prince forever. (Ezekiel 37:24-25)

 

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

 

Rest assured, brothers and sisters that our Heavenly Father is the God of all things, including history itself.  The juxtapositions and contrasts between the Lord of Hosts and the lord of an empire, and between a humble mother from Nazareth and wealthy aristocrat from Rome, are not coincidental, but rather predetermined.  They are put there by God for us to see.   

The archangel Gabriel appeared, not to a wealthy aristocratic woman carried by slaves on a litter into a temple of Apollo, but to a humble virgin named Mary, living in the backwater town of Nazareth.  Our savior’s mother wasn’t impregnated in her sleep, raped by a serpent.  Mary’s destiny is revealed to her, and she humbly accepts it.  And our Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate tomorrow, is not nicknamed in honor of an act of oppression, but is instead called Immanuel, which means “God is with us.” 

  

‡ 1:37 or, “For everything spoken by God is possible.”

 * The Lives of the Twelve Caesars by C. Suetonius Tranquillus (Loeb Classical Library, 1913)

Mettle Maker #384 and Holy Communion for the Third Sunday of Advent

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #384

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.”

Jesus cleansing the temple

Heritage Self-Defense: Is it permissible for Christians to defend themselves? I am an Old Catholic priest who has been teaching martial arts for over 35 years. Despite the fact that neither my seminary, my bishop, nor my fellow church members have ever voiced concerns about a conflict between my clerical and martial pursuits, I struggled with the issue of Christian self-defense all the way through seminary right up until putting the final period on this article. I wrote it primarily for me. But I hope that it will also assist other Christians looking for a resolution to the question of Christian self-defense and serve as an adequate defense against those who think it is inappropriate for a priest to practice and teach self-defense classes.

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts with a spiritual center? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness: New science on longevity. Watch the video on the right. I’m not saying we should all be disciples of Dr. Peter Attia. His diet and fasting stuff is sometimes a little extreme. But I do think that he advocates some really good ideas and presents science-based concepts, like Zone 2 cardiovascular exercise (walking and rucking are great examples), resistance training, and so on. Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Heritage Wildwood: Merry Christmas! Get a free download of the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program textbook! The textbook for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program is The Wildwood Workbook, cover picture on the left. It contains dozens of effective, real-world drills and activities that will deepen your appreciation for the natural world and prepare you for a variety of survival situations.

To download a free copy, click this link and use coupon code NM95U. Coupon good until 1/1/24.

Looking for a comprehensive adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Sunday 12/17/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: Is 61:1-2A, 10-11, Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54, 1 Thes 5:16-24, Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

 

John 1:6-8, 19-28  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.

19 This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 He declared, and didn’t deny, but he declared, “I am not the Christ.”

21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 They said therefore to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’* as Isaiah the prophet said.”

24 The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”

26 John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don’t know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.” 28 These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

 

 

In my evangelization work I encounter people judge God and his church by a few Christians they perceive negatively.  “This or that Christian is a real stinker,” they say.  “I wouldn’t want to be associated with any God or religion that produces people like that.”  I also speak to fellow Christians who refer to themselves as Calvinists, Lutherans, Wesleyans, Thomists, and so on – Christian groups, philosophical divisions, and denominations named after fallible, mortal men.

Both of these are different quicksands in the same swamp.  It’s perfectly alright to look up to people with admirable qualities.  And it’s also good to be conscious of the faults and errors in ourselves and others.  Whether they are admirable or reprehensible, confusing people with God is a trap.  Against God, dispersions cannot be cast.  To be crystal clear, when I say that we cannot cast dispersions against God, I don’t mean that we are unable to try.  People try all the time.  What I mean is that they are attempting the impossible. 

The first Vatican Council defined God as, “the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, Almighty, Eternal, Immense, Incomprehensible, Infinite in intellect and will and in all perfection.”¹ God is perfect.  And his goodness is so great that it is indescribable.  Therefore, if what you are describing is imperfect or in any way worthy of criticism, what you’re describing isn’t God.  It’s something else.  If you’re going to point toward God, you’re going to need to point higher – all the way up to the Highest Possible Good.

For example, if someone says, “God is evil because of this or that,” this person is mistaken – either about the nature of God, or about the “this or that.”  God is infinitely perfect and indescribable.  As a technical matter, it is impossible to find imperfection in God because he is, by definition, perfect.  But it is also true that God inspires people to do good, and that whenever we turn our backs on God, evil soon follows.  How then are we to reconcile the relationship between God and his representatives? 

The way forward is embodied in St. John the Baptist.  Revered beyond all other teachers of his day, the Mandaeans and Sabeans not only admired him above all others, but tried to say he was the final prophet or even the messiah.  The Pharisees accused him of claiming the same.  But St. John was equally clear with everyone – both to those who wanted to revere him and to those who accused him of misrepresenting himself.  He declared that he was not Elijah returned, and he proclaimed, “I am not the Christ.” 

When asked who he was, he replied that he was just a lone man crying out to those in the wilderness – to everyone lost in a wasteland of aimlessness, sadness, depression, isolation, loneliness, and feelings of godforsakenness.  He was clear with everyone that he was just a man, announcing that one greater than he was coming – Jesus Christ, the Son of God, perfect, indescribable, above all criticism and reproach.

Brothers and sisters when our fellow Christians make mistakes, and our leaders stumble, don’t let that shake your belief in Jesus Christ.  When others point to the imperfect people in our midst, don’t let them use that lever to drive a wedge between you and God.  Don’t let it shake you.  Because God is perfect.  And the minute you begin to conceive of something that God is, or does, represents or stands for is imperfect, realize that the error is not in God, it is in your mistakenness.  God is perfect.  Let us worship him.

 * 1:23 Isaiah 40:3

 ¹  The Dogmatic Decrees of the Vatican Council Concerning the Catholic Faith and the Church of Christ. A.D. 1870.   https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds2.v.ii.i.html


Mettle Maker #383 and Holy Communion for the Second Sunday of Advent

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #383

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: Humility is a key martial attribute. Possession of elite fighting skills is a massive responsibility. We, as men and women seeking those skills, we have a duty to cultivate sufficient humility to balance our fighting skills. Why humility? To be humble is to be small in worth, modest and unpretentious — a humble home, a humble childhood, a humble apology. A humble man doesn’t fight because he has been insulted, because he doesn’t think he’s too great to be criticized. He’s not vulnerable to attacks against his character because he knows exactly who he is and doesn’t pretend to be something he is not. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, “The virtue of humility consists in keeping oneself within one's own bounds, not reaching out to things above one, but submitting to one's superior." (Summa Contra Gent., bk. IV, ch. LV, par. 17). Therefore a humble man doesn’t mete out violence with the presumption of godhood, becuause he submits to his superior — his God, his Higher Power. Nor does he dare to think of himself as judge, jury, and executioner. Humility is the virtue of perspective.

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness: Humble reps? Never push to the last rep, all the way to failure. What are you trying to prove? Who are you trying to impress? It’s a great idea to use a training journal to keep track of your progress (or lack thereof). You need to make sure that your training program is producing results. But pushing to failure to set a new PR (personal record) is sketchy. 90% of your injuries, your long-term wear-and-tear, and your post-training recovery discomfort (and lost training time) are going to come directly from training to failure. Train to the rep just prior to failure. Stop when you think, “I could probably get one more rep, maybe two.” You’ll be glad you did. Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Heritage Wildwood: The experiment continues… I’ve been working on my “homegrown chai” recipe for about a year now, and I’m starting to make progress. My goal is to come up with a chai recipe using plants anybody can easily grow at home. As I write this I’m drinking a blend made up primarily of nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) and marigold flowers (see pic on right). Here’s the thing — there are plenty of people with an academic knowledge of what’s edible and inedible, who’ve memorized lists of things you can and cannot eat. But there are other types of knowledge which are equally important, and you can only get those by actually growing, foraging, harvesting, processing, eating, drinking, tasting, and savoring. I highly recommend that, as part of your outdoor skills education, you engage in all four ways of knowing: propositional, perspectival, participatory, and procedural. Looking for a comprehensive adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Sunday 12/10/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: IS 40:1-5, 9-11, PS 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14, 2 PT 3:8-14, MK 1:1-8

 

Mark 1:1-8  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

1 The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

 

2 As it is written in the prophets,

“Behold,† I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you:*

3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the Lord!

Make his paths straight!’ ”*

 

4 John came baptizing‡ in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. 5 All the country of Judea and all those of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. 6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen. 8 I baptized you in§ water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”

 

 

The desert where John the Baptist lived and worked, and where Jesus was baptized, is the Judean desert outside Jerusalem (MT 3:1).  It runs eastward, all the way down to the West Bank of the Dead Sea. This is the same desert where David hid from Saul and where the caves of Qumran hid the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Few of us will ever get to visit this specific desert so rich in history.

But perhaps you’ve spent some time in another desert – the spiritual desert.  I’ve been there.  It’s not a good place.  Maybe you are there right now.  When you are in this state of spiritual desolation, you may feel abandoned by God, that you are estranged from him, or that he has withdrawn his Grace from you.  Perhaps you have some form of depression triggered by negative life events or caused by a physical or mental condition.  Perhaps you are being assaulted by the devil or his cohorts. Maybe God has placed this obstacle before you so that you can grow in faith and then go on to experience great joys and do great works.

Both saints and everyday people get turned around in the desert.  Saint John of the Cross famously called this desolation "the Dark Night of the Soul."  He said, "The fire of Divine love can so dry up the spirit and enkindle its desire for satisfying its thirst that it turns upon itself a thousand times and longs for God in a thousand ways, as the Psalmist did when he said: For Thee my soul hath thirsted; for Thee my flesh O how many ways."  Mother Theresa spent most of her long life in a spiritual wilderness, pressing ever forward with great difficulty.  Some get so completely lost in its barren dunes that they become completely separated from God, living lives of depravity, disorder, decadence, delinquency, and disaffection. 

But, Mark says, “Hey, pay attention, I’ve got some good news for everyone out there in the desert.  It’s the Gospel of the Messiah, the Savior who has come here to rescue you, and he is the Son of God.”  This gospel is not like the message given by the emperors and generals of Jesus’s day.  “Gospel” in Greek is evangélion, an evangelization.  That’s what it was called when the emperor or his generals returned from a campaign – an evangélion.  They entered the city, paraded the slaves, exotic animals, and treasure they got from their wars, proclaimed their gospel – their good news. 

But not this Jesus.  He’s not coming first to the happy and prosperous places and he’s not bringing the spoils of war.  He’s not walking the wide and beautiful, tree-lined streets.  No, no – his mission begins in the desert.  He’s coming to help the lost people first.  He’s coming to save the people who are thirsting to death – who are exhausted, dehydrated, delirious, dying for water.

“But listen up,” Mark says.  “If you want to find our way out of this desert you need to make way.”  As the Gospels say, we must “make ready the way of the Lord” and “make his paths straight.”  You can get out of this desert.  But you’re going to have to stop trying to find our own way through the wilderness and clear a path for him so he can get to you. When the emperor or his generals say “make way” he means “get out my way, I’m coming through with my horses and chariots, and if you don’t move, you’re going to get run over.”  But Jesus says something completely different.  He’s saying that you have to sweep away of the briars, obstacles, and debris of your preconceived notions, your personal desires, your self-pities, prides, and personal plans.

And if you do that, Jesus will bring into your desert the water of life, the living water.  Yes, if you make a pathway for him to enter your life, he will be there.  When he comes, ask him for a drink and he will satisfy your thirst forever.  He will give you a drink of the water that will become in you “a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:14). 

Only make away and ask, and he will make for you an oasis amid the sand. 

 † 1:2 “Behold”, from “ἰδοὺ”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

 * 1:2 Malachi 3:1

 * 1:3 Isaiah 40:3

 ‡ 1:4 or, immersing

 § 1:8 The Greek word (en) translated here as “in” could also be translated as “with” in some contexts.

Mettle Maker #382 and Holy Communion for the First Sunday of Advent

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

Mettle Maker #382

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: Here at Heritage Self-Defense, December is always Spirit Month. This the month in which we put a little extra effort into making time, despite our busy lives, to engage in the eight spiritual disciplines. This week, watch the video on the right, or read the below, and try a spiritual discipline you haven’t tried yet, or practice one you haven’t done in years!

  1. Contemplation: “Attention solely to the experience of sacredness.” Contemplation is the act of clearing away mental clutter to permit the full experience of the sacredness of being and the ultimate reality.

  2. Meditation: “Attention to a particular subject.” Meditation has the same root as words like medical and medicine. Like medicine there is an implication of correction, solution, or remedy. It is an active process often using a physical or mental tool such as a rosary.

  3. Prayer: “The offering of adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving to one’s Higher Power.” Prayer has the Latin root precari, 'to beg,' but it is much more than that. There are many forms of prayer, the primary ones being pleas for assistance and words of praise.

  4. Sacred Reading: “Reading of sacred literature.” The Latin word for read is lectio, which literally means to select or choose. Calm, purposeful reading of sacred texts with an eye toward complete understanding in all four senses – the allegorical, literal, moral, and anagogical – is essential to developing a healthy spiritual life and for the cultivation of wisdom.

  5. Ritual: “Human activities that orient individuals, groups and societies within the cosmic order and cultivate as well as manage psychological resources.” Ritual is the most important and fundamental of the eight spiritual disciplines. If we give up performing rituals, we give up our very humanity.

  6. Asceticism: “The willful practice of austerity, renunciation, and self-denial.” Passive asceticism involves giving things up and doing without. Examples include fasting, celibacy, living without modern conveniences, giving up perceived vices like entertainment, alcohol, or tobacco, dressing simply, and so forth. Active asceticism involves deliberate exposure to the uncomfortable or even painful, such as cold baths, sleeping on hard surfaces, self-flagellation or “mortification of the flesh,” etc.

  7. Service: “To provide assistance, labor, or care for others without seeking reward.” Care for “others” can be construed to pertain to individuals or groups, for specific plants, animals, or people, for generalized groups, or even for a shared community resource, such as a stream or park. Service can be organized or impromptu, and can be either one-off or recurring.

  8. Pilgrimage: “Travel to a sacred destination to pray, worship, give thanks, gain wisdom or insight, commune, or fulfil a religious obligation.” A pilgrim is a wayfarer to strange and distant lands, and his journey is called a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage may be to a specific destination, such as hallowed ground or an established shrine or holy place. Or it can be in search of something unknown, lost, missing, or forgotten – to find a wise man or woman, a blessed object, a fragment of sacred wisdom, etc.

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program.

Heritage Fitness: Try making yourself a mini obstacle course for all-around fitness. Don’t make a huge production out of it — you don’t have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to build a ninja course in your back yard. Just put something together with what you have. See the video on the left for ideas. A 3’ slice of log is great for practicing balance. A rope to swing on, a ladder to climb, a fence to vault, a rail to scramble under, two marks on the ground to jump over — it’s not hard. Get there! Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Heritage Wildwood: What is vigilance? Read this week’s homily at the bottom of the page. When you’re in the woods, paying attention, and being fully engaged in your environment, is an investment in fun, safety, and survival. Looking for a comprehensive adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the First Sunday of Advment, Sunday 12/3/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7, PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19, 1 COR 1:3-9, MK 13:33-37

Mark 13:33-37  World English Bible Catholic Edition

Jesus said to his disciples: 33 Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don’t know when the time is.

34  “It is like a man traveling to another country, having left his house and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch. 35  Watch therefore, for you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming—whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning; 36  lest, coming suddenly, he might find you sleeping. 37  What I tell you, I tell all: Watch!”

 

 

In biblical times, most people would’ve been very familiar with standing watch.  In those days overnight travel often involved staying in open air encampments and in unsavory lodgings where keeping watch would’ve been required.  Many jobs, like shepherds, messengers, and merchants, involved keeping watch all night under real threat of harm from human and wild animals.  These days, unless you are an outdoorsman, policeman, or soldier, you probably can’t fully relate to “keeping watch.” 

Vigilance, as it is commonly understood, is impossible for more than a few minutes.  This is something about which I have firsthand knowledge.  In the 1980s I was a private security officer and defensive tactics instructor, and I’ve been teaching self-defense and outdoor skills for over 30 years.  I can attest that we can only be on full alert for a short period of time.  We are easily distracted and grow tired.  Our minds wander, our attention flags. We get bored and sleepy.  And even if you could maintain vigilance for more than five minutes, you eventually find yourself paranoid, neurotic, and hypervigilant, perceiving everyone as a threat and every place as a danger zone.  Those who attempt to live this way day after day, year after year, are on a collision course with stress-related mental and physical health issues. 

Healthy vigilance is different.  If you make it a habit to fasten your seatbelt, drive defensively, and observe traffic laws, you don’t have to be paranoid about riding in a car – despite the fact that it’s the most dangerous activity in the U.S.  If you pay attention to the road instead of the radio or your cell phone, you can relax and enjoy the ride.   

When you’re in the woods at night in bear and coyote country, you turn your back to the fire so that your eyes can acclimate to the darkness.  You entertain yourself by identifying the calls of the owls and nocturnal animals.  You study the constellations and practice telling the difference between the sound of a falling leaf and a footfall. You taste the breeze with your soft palate, trying to smell the flowers that only open at night so that moths can spread their pollen.  If you engage with the wilderness you can relax and enjoy the night watch.

A wise law enforcement officer spots bad actors by being genuinely interested in human beings – not by being paranoid, but by caring.  He watches, greets, and engages with people.  He tries to empathically sense if others are relaxed or stressed, happy or sad, healthy or unwell.  If he opens himself to a fuller experience of the world, he only faces stress as a result of actual experience.  The rest of the time he can relax and enjoy his shift.

And the same is true for we Christians awaiting the return of our Lord.  Obsessing on decoding the Bible, constantly looking out for signs of the end-times or the appearance of the antichrist, is a recipe for paranoia, not vigilance.  No, the way to watch is to enter into God’s creation with the good Christian habits.  To engage.  Christ calls us into deeper relationship with him and all whom he loves.  “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.” (1 John 4:16-17)  Be like the smart driver, the shepherd on nightwatch and the caring law officer.  Engage with the world with curiosity and love, and be you’ll always be ready. 

Week 4: 6th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2023 and Holy Communion

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

6th annual Mettlecraft month is here!

What is “mettlecraft?” Mettlecraft is the art, skill, and cultivation of endurance, unflagging determination, and resolute strength of mind, body, and spirit.

This year’s Mettlecraft Month challenge is to walk a marathon or, if that’s too much, to set a personal walking record appropriate to your current health status. Post your efforts in the comments or send an email to mitch@heritageartsinc.com with your progress notes and I’ll include them here!

Week 4 UPDATE: It’s your last week to step up! Attempt your walking record and post your comments below!

Week 3 UPDATE: Walking? Maybe not. I seem to be the only one who’s really gotten into this year’s walking challenge. No big deal — every year can’t be a smash hit for everybody. So last Thursday the local Heritage Self-Defense group ran through the 2022 challenge known as #86 and got through 15 reps of each in 15:00 flat. Not too shabby!

Week 2 UPDATE: I tried to walk the Richmond Marathon on 11/11/23. Unfortunately the pace trucks caught me at the 16-mile mark (about 4:40). For those who haven’t done a marathon, the trucks that break down the course (gathering up water and medical stations, picking up trash, removing traffic barricades, etc.) follow the participants through the course. They proceed at the slowest pace speed (the equivalent of a 16-minute mile) to ensure prompt closure of the event at the 7-hour mark. Local police reopen traffic behind them. If you don’t stay on pace, you have to walk without traffic control and race support. I’m a heart attack survivor, so it would’ve been very unwise for me to continue walking without water and medical staff. Even though I didn’t finish, it was a fun event, and I’m happy that Heritage Arts raised $100 to support Sportsbackers youth fitness programs. Photo set below — click on the pics to view my comments.

Want to reminisce about Mettlecraft Months of the past? Here are some links…

5th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2022

4th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2021

3rd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2020

2nd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2019

1st Annual Mettlecraft Month 2018

Mettle Maker #381

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: Who’s the scariest villain in the movie? Who’s the most intimidating wrestler on the mat? Who’s the strongest man in the gym? The answer is the same: the dude with the biggest neck. The neck is a smart fighter’s primary target, when striking, grappling, and wrestling. A martial artist with a weak neck is at a serious disadvantage. So for years I did the Farmer Burns exercises. But as I’ve gotten older, my neck just got smaller and weaker. Frankly, I began to suspect that Martin “Farmer” Burns just naturally had a big, strong, superhuman neck, or possibly even that he didn’t actually practice the neck strengthening exercises he advocated in his correspondence course. So I went after his program assiduously, training daily, for months. All I got was neck pain. So I embarked on a quest for an effective, sensible, evidence-based, commons sense program. The result is the program in the video above. It takes about 10 minutes 3 times a week, and it added 3/8” to my neck diameter. Try out and let me know your results. Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program!

Here’s picture of this CNL as it appeared in my training log. Are you keeping a training log? No? Hmmm…

Heritage Fitness: Try the constitutional pictured on the left. 25 reps of each: Calf Raise, Genuflect (a.k.a. Rear Lunge), Back Bridge, Bicycles, A-Frame Push-ups, Side Planks, and Single Leg Raises. Look, if you can find a cheaper, faster, safer way than the calisthenics and walking combo to increase your fitness level, please let me know, because I’d like to know! Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Heritage Wildwood: How's your weather wisdom? More weather proverbs! Do you know which tidbits of old-timey weather wisdom are reliable and which are merely myths? Is a read sky at night really a sailor's delight? Do trees really show the undersides of their leaves before a storm? Last time I suggested you evaluate an excerpt from Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting For Boys (7th Edition, 1915). This week, take a look at the photo set on the right — all taken from Harper's Camping and Scouting (1911) — and do the same. Which ones are legit, and which ones are old wive’s tales? Looking for a comprehensive adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Sunday 11/26/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: Ez 34:11-12, 15-17, Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6, 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28, Mt 25:31-46

 

Matthew 25:31-46  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

Jesus said to his disciples, “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32  Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33  He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34  Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35  for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. 36  I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’

37  “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38  When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? 39  When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’

40  “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,§ you did it to me.’ 41  Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; 42  for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43  I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44  “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’

45  “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46  These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

 

 

Brothers and sisters, God is a unifier.  He wants to “seek that which was lost” to “bring back that which was driven away,” to “bind up that which was broken.”  (Ez 34:16).  He wants to join and mend.  The devil, on the other hand, is a divider.  He is diabolic.  Diabolic comes from Latin.  It literally means di-, which is “two” and abolere, “to abolish, destroy, annihilate.”  The devil wants to divide and conquer God’s flock.  And, with our willing cooperation, he’s had done a masterful job. 

Satan’s first success was the Great Schism of 1054, in which there arose between the Western and Eastern churches a two-pronged argument over the proper understanding and expression of the Nicene Creed and whether or not the bread used during Mass should be leavened or unleavened.  This is how the Devil works.  Knowing how badly we want to be right, he uses the idolatrous bait and switch.  He offered each side the opportunity to worship the subject of the dispute rather than God himself, and both sides took the bait.

The devil’s second great diabolic success was the Protestant reformation. In response to serious corruption and misdeeds, reformers from within leveled sincere, valid, and much-needed criticisms against the Western church.  But soon both sides took the devil’s bait and began to worship their positions rather than God.  And this split, by far the evil one’s greatest victory so far, was the first domino in a series of cascading, ever-toppling, still-unfolding schisms.

The evil one’s third triumph will be the destruction of the world’s largest Christian denomination, the Roman Catholic Church.  Even now, many arguments are brewing, the most contentious and petty being over whether or not the Mass should be said in Latin.  It’s approaching fever pitch.  The more the Church attempts to force all believers to perform Mass in native languages, the more traditionalists cleave to Latin.  Once again, the devil is performing his diabolic bait and switch, tempting each side to worship the words they speak rather than the Word who created the universe.

Notice brothers, and sisters how, in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says that at the Last Judgment, both sides will say the same thing: “Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison”?  In this great teaching, Jesus tells us that, in the end, both the righteous and the unrighteous are ignorant of the fact that how we love our neighbor is the measure of how we love God.

We would be wise to remember that the God’s first commandment is “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” or as Jesus restated it in the Gospel, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30). Only our King, who will come again, can judge between the quick and the dead – between those who are alive in love for him and those who are dead in their love for their own devices.

 § 25:40 The word for “brothers” here may be also correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.”

Week 3: 6th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2023 and Holy Communion

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

6th annual Mettlecraft month is here!

What is “mettlecraft?” Mettlecraft is the art, skill, and cultivation of endurance, unflagging determination, and resolute strength of mind, body, and spirit.

This year’s Mettlecraft Month challenge is to walk a marathon or, if that’s too much, to set a personal walking record appropriate to your current health status. Post your efforts in the comments or send an email to mitch@heritageartsinc.com with your progress notes and I’ll include them here!

Week 3 UPDATE: Walking? Maybe not. I seem to be the only one who’s really gotten into this year’s walking challenge. No big deal — every year can’t be a smash hit for everybody. So last Thursday the local Heritage Self-Defense group ran through the 2022 challenge known as #86 and got through 15 reps of each in 15:00 flat. Not too shabby!

Week 2 UPDATE: I tried to walk the Richmond Marathon on 11/11/23. Unfortunately the pace trucks caught me at the 16-mile mark (about 4:40). For those who haven’t done a marathon, the trucks that break down the course (gathering up water and medical stations, picking up trash, removing traffic barricades, etc.) follow the participants through the course. They proceed at the slowest pace speed (the equivalent of a 16-minute mile) to ensure prompt closure of the event at the 7-hour mark. Local police reopen traffic behind them. If you don’t stay on pace, you have to walk without traffic control and race support. I’m a heart attack survivor, so it would’ve been very unwise for me to continue walking without water and medical staff. Even though I didn’t finish, it was a fun event, and I’m happy that Heritage Arts raised $100 to support Sportsbackers youth fitness programs. Photo set below — click on the pics to view my comments.

Want to reminisce about Mettlecraft Months of the past? Here are some links…

5th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2022

4th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2021

3rd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2020

2nd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2019

1st Annual Mettlecraft Month 2018

Mettle Maker #380

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.”

Heritage Self-Defense: How's your pain tolerance? See photo on the right. Half fill a large pitcher with water and ice. Set timer for 3 mins and plunge your open hand and lower arm into it to test your pain tolerance. Do not squirm, make faces, or utter a sound. If you can’t go the full 3 mins, practice daily until you can. Note: As shown in Mythbusters episode #142, holding a hand in ice water for ≤ 3 minutes is safe for people with no precluding health issues. Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program!

Heritage Fitness: Take a shot at Self-Destruct Sequence. Zombie Squats (50), Push-ups, diamond (25), Jump Squats (100), 10-Count Bodybuilders (25), Pikes/Leg Triangles (25), Jump Squats, split (50), Push-ups, Sit-out (25), Bicycles (50 each side), Burpees (25), Twisters (25 each side), Wall Touches (100), Push-ups, hopping/clapping (25). Arman holds the club record at 21:15 , and the immortal Mark Hatmaker holds the all-time record at 21:05 (while smoking a cigar). Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Heritage Wildwood: How's your weather wisdom? D o you know which tidbits of old-timey weather wisdom are reliable and which are merely myths? Is a read sky at night really a sailor's delight? Do trees really show the undersides of their leaves before a storm? Click the picture above to enlarge and expand this excerpt from Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting For Boys (7th Edition, 1915). Which of these are reliable and which are not? Well I guess you better go investigate and find out! Looking for a comprehensive adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sunday 11/19/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31, Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 1 Thes 5:1-6, Mt 25:14-30

 

Matthew 25:14-30  World English Bible

 

14  “For it is like a man going into another country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them. 15  To one he gave five talents,‡ to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. 16  Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17  In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two. 18  But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s money.

19  “Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them. 20  He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents in addition to them.’

21  “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

22  “He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents in addition to them.’

23  “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

24  “He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow, and gathering where you didn’t scatter. 25  I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’

26  “But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter. 27  You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest. 28  Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29  For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away. 30  Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 

 

Some years ago I was a mid-level accounting manager looking to hire a file person.  I got a stack of resumes from the Virginia Employment Commission’s special placements section for handicapped people.  I asked the VEC to bring them in for interviews. 

The first few didn’t show much promise.  But then in walked Barbara.  She wasn’t very articulate, but she was a smiling bundle of enthusiasm.  It was like sitting across the table from a slice of golden sunshine.  So I decided to give her a little test.  I led her to the file room down the hall, handed her about a hundred invoices, and asked her to put them in numerical order.  Then I went back to the conference room.  I barely had enough time to sit down and exchange a sentence or two with the VEC representatives before Barbara was back.  I assumed she was confused or had a question.  But no – she was finished.

I flipped through the pile.  There were no errors I could see.  Sensing my shock at her speed and accuracy, the VEC folks explained that Barbara grasped number sequences intuitively, like colors or smells.  We all chatted a bit.  Barbara explained that her children were now in school and she was looking to enter the workforce for the first time.  She wanted to bring in some money so that her husband Charlie wouldn’t have to work so hard.  She hoped that, with her help, the could perhaps get ahead.  She said that she had been looking for a job for a very long time, but nobody had given her the time of day.  

I gave her the position on the spot.  I would’ve been a fool not to.  She was tailormade for putting papers in numerical order, and to her, this monotonous job was a golden opportunity.  She worked for me for many years.  And in time she learned to do more.  She filled in for our receptionist, greeted customers, answered calls, and so on. 

Like Barbara, we are all given certain talents.  Make no mistake – the word talent, as in a natural, in-born gift, is literally the same word as a talent, a standard weight of silver in the ancient world.  They are not, by any means, different words that happen to sound the same.  They are the same word.  A talent – a skill – is money in the bank.  Unless of course we bury it in the ground like the third servant, who takes the one talent of silver his master gives him and puts it where it cannot multiply. 

The master shuts this lazy man out, leaving him in the cold and dark.  Don’t you see?  That could’ve been Barbara.  Imagine how hard it must’ve been for an adult woman with learning disabilities, and no experience, to go out and try to find a job. God gave Barbara one talent.  Did she bury it?  No, no!  She was brave.  She took a courageous risk, and it paid off.  Not just for her and her family, but for me, my business, and everyone who got to see her smile.

We are all given talents by our creator, and we are supposed to put them to good use, not just for ourselves, but for the good of everyone – for our families, coworkers, communities, churches, and ultimately, for the greater glory of God.

‡ 25:15 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds (usually used to weigh silver unless otherwise specified)

Week 2: 6th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2023 and Holy Communion

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

6th annual Mettlecraft month is here!

What is “mettlecraft?” Mettlecraft is the art, skill, and cultivation of endurance, unflagging determination, and resolute strength of mind, body, and spirit.

This year’s Mettlecraft Month challenge is to walk a marathon or, if that’s too much, to set a personal walking record appropriate to your current health status. Post your efforts in the comments or send an email to mitch@heritageartsinc.com with your progress notes and I’ll include them here!

Week 2 UPDATE: I tried to walk the Richmond Marathon yesterday. Unfortunately the pace trucks caught me at the 16-mile mark (about 4:40). For those who haven’t done a marathon, the trucks that break down the course (gathering up water and medical stations, picking up trash, removing traffic barricades, etc.) follow the participants through the course. They proceed at the slowest pace speed (the equivalent of a 16-minute mile) to ensure prompt closure of the event at the 7-hour mark. Local police reopen traffic behind them. If you don’t stay on pace, you have to walk without traffic control and race support. I’m a heart attack survivor, so it would’ve been very unwise for me to continue walking without water and medical staff. Even though I didn’t finish, it was a fun event, and I’m happy that Heritage Arts raised $100 to support Sportsbackers youth fitness programs. Photo set below — click on the pics to view my comments.

Want to reminisce about Mettlecraft Months of the past? Here are some links…

5th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2022

4th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2021

3rd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2020

2nd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2019

1st Annual Mettlecraft Month 2018

Mettle Maker #379

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.”

Fitness — Did you ever hear of Jack LaLanne? The incredible Jack LaLanne was a fitness phenomenon, an unparalleled paragon of power, an American physical culture icon. To learn more about this remarkable man, check out his website. But if you want just a quick overview, here are just a few of his feats and firsts:

Jack Lalanne

  • 1930 AAU Wrestling Championship

  • 1936 AAU wrestling medal

  • 1955 Age 41: Swam, handcuffed, from Alcatraz to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA.

  • 1956 Age 42: Set a world record of 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes

  • 1974 Age 60: Swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf, for a second time handcuffed, this time shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat

  • 1980 Age 66: Towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida filled with 77 people for over a mile in less than 1 hour.

  • 1984 Age 70: Handcuffed and shackled, towed 70 boats with 70 people 1 ½ miles.

  • Opened the first modern, coed health spa

  • Inventor of the Hindu Jump calisthenic

  • Inventor of the first leg extension machine

  • Invented the first weight selector for cable machines

  • Conceived the design for Smitch Machine

  • First, and longest running, nationally syndicated exercise TV show (1951-1985)

  • The first to sell vitamins and exercise equipment on television

  • First to teach a revolving 2-3 week body building training program

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award

  • Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award, Y.M.C.A. Impact Award, and too many more awards to list

In his honor I put together a Jack LaLanne constitutional made up of 7 of his favorite calisthenics (based on videos of his TV show and a review of available published materials).: Push-ups, Jumping Jacks, Standing Side Leg Raises, High Steps, Knee Raises, Calf Raises, and Hindu Jumps (which he invented!). Complete 25 of each. Jack often advocated 6-8 reps sets for beginners and 10-15 reps or more for those more advanced. See the video above-left for the details.

Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Martial Arts — The Short Circling Drill is a great way to hardwire “move while you hit and hit while you move.” Get in front of your heavy bag. Throw a Jab-Cross combo as you circle, then Jab-Jab-Cross, then Jab-Jab-Jab-Cross, and finally 4 Jabs and a Cross. Then change stance and repeat back the other way. Put in three rounds. When you get done, try the constitutional above. Jack was a wrestler after all! Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program! For an intro on Heritage Art’s distance learning programs, watch the video above.

Wildwood Outdoor Skills — In a survival situation, how do you turn a scrap of cloth into cordage? I was in the middle of shooting a video on this topic when guess what popped into my YouTube feed? The video below. Here Creek Stewart (one of my favorite outdoor skills instructors) illustrates how to spiral cut a small animal skin to make cordage.

You can also cut cloth this way — see the diagram above — then reverse twist it into cordage. For a video showing how to reverse wrap cordage, click here (Creek Stewart again — he’s a powerhouse). Looking for a comprehensive adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sunday 11/12/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: Wis 6:12-16, Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 1 Thes 4:13-18, Mt 25:1-13

 

Matthew 25:1-13  World English Bible

 

Jesus said, “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3  Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, 4  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5  Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6  But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ 7  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.† 8  The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9  But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10  While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. 11  Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ 12  But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13  Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

 

 

What is a virgin?  A young woman who has not lain with a man, symbolizing a man or woman who is not promiscuous.  This is someone who is in control of his or her behavior.  Ten is the number of the Ten Commandments, what the Hebrews called “The Ten Words” or “The Ten Sayings” and ten is the number associated with malkut, the Jewish mystical concept of physical creation.

Thus we see that the ten virgins are all following the rules.  They are pure in their worldly behavior.  But self-control, although praiseworthy, faces inward.  Discipline is a type of light, but it is a containment rather than an outpouring of light.  It’s also necessary for the spirit that inspired the discipline to have an outburst.  The virgins, therefore, carry lamps so that their light can shine forth. 

This part of the parable is an echo of Matthew 5:14-16. “You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” It’s not enough for us to be in control of our behavior.  We must go into the world and shine our light into dark places, into prisons, hospitals, and churches, into the lives of disordered people, and into the structures of benighted institutions, filling them with God’s light: Goodness, Beauty, and Truth, Faith, Hope, and Love.    

In Jesus’ parable, all of the virgins fall asleep.  We are all imperfect.  We are bound to need rest, and our focus is destined to wax and wane.  But if we are wise, we will be ready with extra reserves of fuel.  We won’t, like the foolish virgins, expect others to give us some of their oil.  But what is this mysterious oil, and what is this lamp we are expected to carry?

   The oil is the understanding and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our savior who lives in us and in whom we live.  We can’t just follow the laws and be virgins.  St. Paul says in Galatians 2:19-20, “For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.”  We can’t do this ourselves.  We must be fueled by union with him.

And what is the lamp?  In Revelation 21:23 we read that the New Jerusalem, “has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it and its lamp is the Lamb.”  As we await our Savior’s return, let us hold high the light of the Christ and let it shine into every dark place.

 † 25:7 The end of the wick of an oil lamp needs to be cut off periodically to avoid having it become clogged with carbon deposits. The wick height is also adjusted so that the flame burns evenly and gives good light without producing a lot of smoke.

6th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2023 Week 1 and Holy Communion

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

6th annual Mettlecraft month is here!

During Mettlecraft month — every November — we work just a little bit harder than usual. This year’s Mettlecraft Month challenge is to walk a marathon or, if that’s too much, to set a personal walking record appropriate to your current health status. Post your efforts in the comments or send an email to mitch@heritageartsinc.com with your progress notes and I’ll include them here!

What is “mettlecraft?” Mettlecraft is the art, skill, and cultivation of endurance, unflagging determination, and resolute strength of mind, body, and spirit.

Want to reminisce about Mettlecraft Months of the past? Here are some links…

5th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2022

4th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2021

3rd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2020

2nd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2019

1st Annual Mettlecraft Month 2018

It might not be too lake to walk the Richmond Marathon with us on November 10th. SIGN UP here!

Mettle Maker #379

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.”

Fitness — Did you ever hear of a Kansas Burpee? For those who are looking for a little something extra to spice things up, try knocking out 25 Kansas Burpees. Watch the video on the left, give a go, and let me know how it went in the comments.

Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Martial Arts — try the Kansas Burpee challenge above. The diabolical Kansas Burpee comes straight from the mind of the Immortal Mark Hatmaker, the greatest old-school fighting coach on the planet. 25 of them is plenty. When you get there, let me know how you feel.

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program! For an intro on Heritage Art’s distance learning programs, watch the video above.

Wildwood Outdoor Skills — Engage yourself, and your kids, in the spirit of Fall by stamping with leaves. Last week I suggested you picking up a leaf you can’t identify and sketching it in your training journal as a way to learn about a new tree or plant. This week I’d like to suggest using leaves to stamp images into your training journal. This is another way to switch on the learning process, especially for kids and adults who aren’t particularly comfortable drawing. It’s also a great family activity. The photos above were taken out in my backyard while my wife was helping a two-year-old she nannies stamp leaves on paper. Outdoor play with natural materials has incredible benefits, including improved gross motor skills, healthy eating, eyesight, cognitive development, academic performance, self-confidence, and immune system health, as well as lessening of ADHD symptoms and stress levels.

Looking for a comprehensive adult outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the All Souls Day, Sunday 11/5/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10a, Psalm 103:8,10,13-14,15-16,17-18, Romans 8:31b-39, John 6:51-58

 

John 6:51-58  World English Bible

 

Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves. 54  He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55  For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56  He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him. 57  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will also live because of me. 58  This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

 

Across a hundred millennia, humanity has developed a myriad of theories about death – reincarnation, metempsychosis, Norse Valhalla, Greek Hades, Jewish sheol, and so forth.  In like manner, the fathers of the Christian church, starting with the apostle Paul and flowing downstream, espoused a truly unique viewpoint.

They began with the idea that nothing can move directly from pre-existence into being.  Their logic was simple.  You can’t say, “On March the 12th Fred went from being nothing to being something” because, prior to March the 12th, there was no Fred.  “Being nothing” is a contradiction.  Fred can’t move from nothingness to somethingness because there was no Fred to move.  Something cannot materialize out of nothing. 

Drawing on Aristotle and Plato’s concept of forms, the Christian church fathers – St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, and many others – elegantly solved the problem of creation in the following way.  Fred is caused.  He grew out of the material contributions of his father and mother.  Everything has a cause.  Otherwise people, objects, animals, and so on would just pop into and out of existence.  But, they posited, if we trace Fred back a bit farther, he began with a gleam in his parents’ eye.  This is a third state of being sometimes referred to as the prima materia, Latin for “first matter.”  This is the state of non-being or potential.  We all acknowledge this state when we say things like, “Fred is not living up to his potential” or when we look at a dingy dresser and see what it could be with a coat of paint.

First matter is like an object over which a sheet is draped.  If you throw a sheet over a chair, the sheet resembles a chair.  If you lay it over a bust of Edgar Allen Poe, it looks like Poe. Anyone who makes or creates anything first works in the realm of potential, conceiving a work of art, a song, a building, an invention, etc.  If there was no potential, then nothing could become.  The engine of reality would cease to run, and Being itself would cease to be.  Only God, as the first cause, can bring something out of nothing.  He brought into being potential itself, the prima materia, and this state of potential is the foundation upon which existence rests. 

In Genesis 3:21, after Adam and Eve have eaten the forbidden fruit, we read, “The LORD God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.”  Because they sinned, our first parents were given corruptible skins, bodies that deteriorate.  This is a metaphor for the fact that everything that exists in the universe now has a “corruptible skin.”  All things die, all metals oxidize and rust, all foods rot, and all suns burn out.  All things decay.¹ 

The miracle of Christian theology is at once starkly logical and filled with the beauty, hope, and love of the Holy Ghost.  St. Paul sums all this up in Romans 4:17, saying that God, “gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.”

My friends, Fred’s birth is the draping of his potential with a sheet – the receiving of his imperfect garment of skin.  Conversely, his death is his undraping.  When Fred dies, he doesn’t cease to exist – he merely goes back to the realm of potential, back to prima materia.  And there he remains, awaiting the blessed hope of the resurrection when, by the grace of God, he may realize his full potential and receive a new and incorruptible garment of glory. 

 ¹  St. Gregory of Nyssa said, “Likewise, when we have put off that dead and ugly garment that was made for us from irrational skins…we throw off every part of our irrational skin along with the removal of the garment.”  And St. Augustine said, “Adam and Eve, who were stripped of their first garment of innocence, deserved by their mortality garments of skin. For the true honor of man is to be the image and the likeness of God.”   https://catenabible.com/gn/3

A Scheme, a Sketch, and Two Paths: Mettle Maker #378 and Holy Communion for 10/29/23

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

special event for mettlecraft month in november

Walk the Richmond Marathon with us on November 10th. SIGN UP here!

Mettle Maker #378

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.”

Fitness — An entry level training plan for novices, seniors, rehabbers, and the seriously overweight. This week we got a new sign up to Heritage Self-Defense Distance Learning program who, although he used to complete triathlons, finds himself over 60 and seriously overweight. And we have another person in exactly the same boat who recently started coming out to the martial arts club here in Richmond. It’s really rather common. Work and life get in the way, the pounds go on, and then it’s hard to know where to start. You have no operating manual for the body you find yourself in — stiff, prone to tendonitis, injury, and cramps, lacking in explosiveness and endurance, slower to recover, etc. Older bodies have lower throughput and much lower fault tolerance than younger ones. If you an older person jumps in and start doing the stuff he or she used to do, injury is almost certain. Here’s a simple plan for most anybody looking for a place to start.

Entry Level Fitness Program for Novices, Seniors, Rehabbers, and the Seriously Overweight.

Note: Always see your doctor before starting a new fitness program.

1. Walk as often as you can, daily if possible. Walking is the safest form of exercise and the best way to shed pounds. By the mile, walking burns the same calories as running with far less stress on the body. Walking was the way old-time boxers made weight, and it still works. Start with a couple of blocks and work your way up slowly. Solidify your gains for 5 days — in other words, no more than one increase in time/speed/distance per 5 days.

2. Eat 3 square meals a day and one snack. Counting calories is tedious and unnecessary. Just eat 3 squares a day and a snack, each containing between 10 and 20 grams of fat (that’s 1 - 2 tbsp of butter, 2 tbsp mayo or salad dressing, etc.). Less than 10 and you'll be hungry in an hour, more than 20 is just extra calories. Eat reasonable portions. Breakfast might be a glass of 2% milk and a slice of whole wheat toast with a tbsp of butter. Lunch, might be a peanut butter sandwich and an apple. A reasonable dinner might be a piece of meat the size of your hand, a roll, two cups of veggies, and a small dessert (a square of Jell-O, a scoop of ice cream, etc.). You may drink one 8 oz. glass of 2% milk per day if desired, but other than that, drink calorie-free beverages only. For an evening snack, pick something that's bulky and low in calories. I prefer reduced fat microwave popcorn. I've eaten a bag per night for over 20 years! The only hard rule is 10 to 20 grams of fat per meal, which = 400 to 800 calories per day from fat (that’s 20% to 40% of your 2,000 calorie/day diet). Eat this way and the weight will fall off of you.

3. Begin keeping a handwritten training journal. Every time you exercise, record it in your journal. If desired, record your weight and/or measurements so that you can see your progress. If you track weight, only weigh once per week. Normal daily fluctuations are morale killers. Use a spiral notebook or, if you’re planning on signing up for our distance learning program, a 3-ring binder and looseleaf paper so that your log can be easily scanned and emailed for review.

4. If desired, do a few sessions a week of entry-level calisthenics. This is optional at this stage. Watch the video on the upper left and perform exercises 1 through 12 as often as you like, even daily if you think it’s fun. Add exercises 13, 14 & 15 if/when you think you’re ready. If and when you do so, increase your reps up to a max of 20, taking care to solidify your gains for 5 days — in other words, no more than one increase in rep count per exercise per 5 days.

Need a free fitness coach to help you build a program that suits your specific needs and goals? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Martial Arts - Sixth Annual Mettlecraft Month begins next week! Last year we the challenge was to complete the constitutional called “#86” in under 20 minutes. Maybe you missed last year, and you’d like to give it a try? If so, watch the video on the right. Anyway, this year’s challenge is a long walk. I’m going to try and walk the Richmond Marathon (see info at the top of this post if you started in the middle). But if that’s too much for you, see if you can do a half marathon, or maybe you just try to double what you normally do in a given day. If you want to engage with Mettlecraft Month 2023, you have all of November to see how long a walk you can complete. Just make sure that, whatever you do, listen to your body, stop as soon as you get any discomfort, don’t get hurt, and share your endeavors in the comments. What does walking have to do with martial arts? Well, as I said in the section above (and probably 3 times per month over the last year), walking was how old-time boxers made weight and increased their endurance. It works!

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program!

Wildwood Outdoor Skills — Fall is here. PIck up a leaf and sketch it in your training journal. PIck up a leaf you can’t identify. Get out a wild plant book, identify the leaf, and sketch in your training journal. Nothing will cement that leaf’s identity and structure into your mind better than drawing it! On the left are some of the sketches from my training journal. Looking for a comprehensive outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday 10/29/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: Ex 22:20-26, Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51, 1 Thes 1:5c-10, Mt 22:34-40

 

Matthew 22:34-40  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”

37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’* 38  This is the first and great commandment. 39  A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’* 40  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

 

 

“There are two paths, one of life and one of death, and the difference is great between the two paths. Now the path of life is this—first, thou shalt love the God who made thee, thy neighbour as thyself, and all things that thou wouldest not have done unto thee, do not thou unto another.  And the doctrine of these maxims is as follows. Bless them that curse you, and pray for your enemies.  Fast on behalf of those that persecute you; for what thank is there if ye love them that love you? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  But love them that hate you, and ye will not have an enemy. Abstain from fleshly and worldly lusts.  If any one give thee a blow on thy right cheek, turn unto him the other also, and thou shalt be perfect; if any one compel thee to go a mile, go with him two; if a man take away thy cloak, give him thy coat also; if a man take from thee what is thine, ask not for it again, for neither art thou able to do so.  Give to every one that asketh of thee, and ask not again, for the Father wishes that from his own gifts there should be given to all.

My child, fly from everything that is evil, and from everything that is like to it. Thou shalt not exalt thyself, neither shalt thou put boldness into thy soul. Thy soul shall not be joined unto the lofty, but thou shalt walk with the just and humble. Accept the things that happen to thee as good, knowing that without God nothing happens. 

Seek out day by day the favor of the saints, that thou mayest rest in their words; thou shalt not desire schism, but shalt set at peace them that contend; thou shalt not abandon the commandments of the Lord, but shalt guard that which thou hast received, neither adding thereto nor taking therefrom; thou shalt confess thy transgressions in the church, and shalt not come unto prayer with an evil conscience. This is the path of life.

But the path of death is this. First of all, it is evil and full of cursing; there are found murders, adulteries, lusts, fornication, thefts, idolatries, soothsaying, sorceries, robberies, false witnessings, hypocrisies, double-mindedness, craft, pride, malice, self-will, covetousness, filthy talking, jealousy, audacity, arrogance; there are they who persecute the good—lovers of a lie, not knowing the reward of righteousness, not cleaving to the good nor to righteous judgment, watching not for the good but for the bad, from whom meekness and patience are afar off, loving things that are vain, following after recompense, having no compassion on the needy, nor laboring for him that is in trouble, not knowing him that made them, murderers of children, corrupters of the image of God, who turn away from him that is in need, who oppress him that is in trouble, unjust judges of the poor, erring in all things. From all these, children, may ye be delivered.”

 

Brothers and sisters, the words I have just shared with you are almost two thousand years old, and they are excerpted from a short book known as the Didache, which means “the teaching,” and was written in the first century after the Resurrection.  It is considered the first book of Christian teaching.  I hope you can see how it illustrates that, since the earliest days of the church, loving God and our neighbor has been the core of Christian teaching.   

 * 22:37 Deuteronomy 6:5

Reframing: Mettle Maker #377 and Holy Communion for 10/15/23

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

special event for mettlecraft month in november

Walk the Richmond Marathon with us on November 10th. SIGN UP here!

Mettle Maker #377

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.”

Fitness — Dealing with foot pain. Foot pain is real problem for a huge percentage of the population, especially older adults. The same inability to retain fat and muscle between delicate structures of the body that causes bony hands and turkey neck among older adults also reduces the thickness in the fatty pads of the feet. This can cause subluxation of the cuboid and other issues. Add in some cholesterol reducing drugs and whammo! sore feet. Watch the video on the left for my foot health regimen. Hopefully it’ll get me through walking the Richmond Marathon in a few weeks! BY THE WAY, you get early access to our videos here. This one won’t be available to genpop for about a week. Need a free fitness coach? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

Martial Arts - Bracing, framing, and cramming — what are they, and why should I care? What if I told you that a single body mechanic could inform a plethora, a virtual cornucopia, of effective martial arts skills, from ultra-short-range striking to clinch work, to top saddle wrestling escapes? Well, watch the video on the right to get the skinny on bracing, framing, and cramming. DID YOU KNOW that you get early access to our videos here? This one won’t be available to genpop for about a week!

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program!

Wildwood Outdoor Skills — Take a fresh look at Bradford Angier’s 1956 classic. 67-years-old and still relevant, Bradford Angier’s How to Stay Alive in the Woods is a classic that should be on everyone’s outdoor skills bookshelf. Check out the table of contents on the left to get a feel for its scope. Used copies of this small but jam-packed favorite go for less than three bucks on Alibris, so there’s no excuse for not getting yourself a copy. I seriously doubt you’ll regret it. Looking for a comprehensive outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday 10/15/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: Is 25:6-10a, Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, Phil 4:12-14, 19-20, Mt 22:1-14

 

Matthew 22: 1-14  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

 Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2  “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son, 3  and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4  Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast!” ’ 5  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise; 6  and the rest grabbed his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7  When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

8  “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren’t worthy. 9  Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10  Those servants went out into the highways and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests.

11  “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing, 12  and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?’ He was speechless. 13  Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.’ 14  For many are called, but few chosen.”

 

 

"For many are called, but few are chosen."  These words reverberate to us down the two millennia since our Savior spoke them.  What is the proper interpretation?  Should we use them to think of ourselves as an elite club?  Some experts suggest that by "chosen" we should interpret "elected."  Are we "chosen" the way that certain politicians are "elected" to office?  Are we "chosen" in the same way that the best athletes are drafted onto sports teams?

To grapple with this question, we should consider first and foremost that there are only so many open seats in a government, and only so many open positions on a sports team.  To elect an official to a position is to exclude everyone else.  The same is true, let’s say, in football.  There are only so many players in the league.  Everyone else is on the sidelines.  This is the way it is with human beings and our ways.  In our games, there is always a winner and a loser.

But not so with the kingdom of God.  His realm is infinite in scope.  In John 14:2 we  hear, "In my father's house are many mansions."  God's separation of the unchosen from the chosen is not an act of exclusion or elitism because in his kingdom there is enough room for everyone.  Choosing one does not exclude another.  God sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to bring everyone to the banquet.  His love for humanity is so great, that he wants everyone to stay for the festivities.  He loves us so much, and so badly wants no one to be left out, that he gave each and every one of us the capacity to be chosen.  All we have to do is genuinely show up and participate. 

In Jesus' parable, he equates our choice to dressing appropriately for a banquet.  I'm sure you've been to events where there are people in attendance who don't even try.  The invitation says "semi-formal attire" but they show up in blue jeans and T-shirts.  Few notice or comment, not even the hosts, on a suit or a dress that’s a little out of style or a touch threadbare.  All they have to do is put in a little bit of effort.  But for these people, that’s just too much to ask.  I think that’s what Jesus is trying to get across in this parable.  We don't have to be perfect to be chosen by God -- all we have to do is sincerely try to follow him and live his ways, to genuinely attempt to give ourselves over to his saving grace.  We can't be holy as God is holy – fair enough.  But we can at least be baptized, step into the robe, and make a sincere attempt to clothe ourselves in holiness. 

In Luke 17:21 we read, "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  Inside of each of us, God has graced us with the capacity to listen to his Word, accept his teaching, and stay through the banquet to the end.  The choice is ours.   

A Higher Vantage: Mettle Maker #376 and Holy Communion for 10/8/23

Before we get into this week’s mettle maker, check out these pics from Glen Allen Day 2023. Heritage Arts’ booth was a big success. Hannah and Laura — who just earned their white bandanas in Heritage Self-Defense last week — came out and distributed hundreds of flyers and business cards to the crowd. And get a load of this — our booth was right next to Ghostbusters VA! Neat charity — they go around in costume and collect money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation (and they collect a ton too, by the way)!

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages!

...

Click here to sign up for daily motivational text messages! ...

special event for mettlecraft month in november

Walk the Richmond Marathon with us on November 10th. SIGN UP here!

Mettle Maker #376

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.”

Fitness — Take the longer view. Let’s pursue the direction given by this week’s gospel reading and think a bit about taking the long view with regard to fitness. I sometimes I long for the training sessions I used to do in the old days — the white-out calisthenics, the deep-burning weightlifting sessions, the high contact sparring bouts. But then I remind myself that it’s only by a great deal of luck and a modicum of body awareness that I’m not virtually crippled at age 62. Thank goodness I never lifted the way the CrossFitters do — I never did more than 4 sets of any exercise, never did more than five exercises per session, never did multiple sets to failure in a single session, etc. — and didn’t prolong those habits any longer than it took to sense the approach of permanent damage. As for years of high contact sparring including blows to the head, only time will tell if there is dementia in my future. Don’t be the way I used to be. Take the long view now. Start training with old-school rigor and mindset. For more details that might allow you to plan your own program, read this post. But if you need a free fitness coach to help you, we’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!

This is my forging post.

Martial Arts - Forging posts, pells, and…totem poles? I have a theory. It isn’t based on any real facts, it’s just intuition, wild speculation, and supposition after a lifetime of studying martial arts, indigenous skills, mythology, and world religions. I believe that standing poles — broadly referred to as “totem poles,” which are found in virtually every culture on earth, owe their origin to forging posts and pells used in martial arts.

Pells are standing posts used for weapon practice. Hitting a pell with either live weapons, or actual-weight dummy weapons, is absolutely essential to weapon command and mastery. Here is a great article on pells, with links to even more information, from the ARMA website.

Forging posts are used to practice unarmed strikes and other techniques and to toughen the body. Forging posts are often wrapped with rope and struck with hands, arms, feet, and legs.

A couple of years ago it occurred to me that I should put a face on my forging post. So I carved one out of cedar and screwed it on (I didn’t put one on my pell because I’m not inclined to spend an hour or two carving a face only to destroy it with knives and tomahawks).

I have a hard time believing I’m the first martial artist since the dawn of modern humans 100,000 years ago to have this idea. Read the articles below, courtesy of Wikipedia, to get a feel for the what’s going on with the various types of standing wood poles. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Most of these standing poles have spiritual nuances. But if we know anything about human psychology and anthropology, the spiritual is always practical, and always its origin to necessity. It’s a virtual certainty that the poles went up for some physically functional purpose and the rituals came second. Why would you put up a pole with a face on it? To practice your fighting techniques seems like a good bet!

Interested in American Rough and Tumble martial arts? Join the martial arts club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program!

The view from the top of Sharp Top in the Peaks of Otter

Wildwood Outdoor Skills — More on the long view. One of the first things you should do when you find yourself lost in the wilderness is get to a higher vantage point and survey your surroundings. What’s a map but a simulated view from above? Get your hands something approaching the real thing by going to the top of a high hill or rocky outcrop, or by carefully climbing a tree. From there you can spot paths or roads to lead you home, water to slake your thirst, and maybe even some game for food. Does this sound interesting? It’s actually included in this week’s homily (click here to watch and listen). Looking for a comprehensive outdoor skills program, click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!

Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.

Homily for the Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday 10/8/23 – Father Mitch

Readings: Is 5:1-7, Ps 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20, Phil 4:6-9, Mt 21:33-43

 

Matthew 21:33-43  World English Bible

 

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:

 

“Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country. 34  When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit. 35  The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36  Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they treated them the same way. 37  But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38  But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39  So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, then killed him. 40  When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

41 They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruit in its season.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

‘The stone which the builders rejected

was made the head of the corner.

This was from the Lord.

It is marvelous in our eyes’?*

43  “Therefore I tell you, God’s Kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a nation producing its fruit. 44  He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.”

 

 

Survival schools teach the importance of a good vantage point.  When lost in the woods, always seek higher ground or climb a tree if you can.  From there you may scan the horizon for paths and roads to follow home, spot water sources, and see game animals.  Modern hunters use tree stands in the same way that ancient hunters sat or stood in trees with spears and bows. Soldiers also seek the high ground to see enemies approaching from miles away.  A city on a hill is more easily defended.  The high ground is always an advantage.  Having an advantage and having a good vantage point are so tightly related that they have the same root word.  

In the Garden of Eden God placed the tree of knowledge and the tree of life.  Every tree is in some way a tree of knowledge because from its branches we gain information about our surroundings.  Every tree is a tree of life because climbing its branches yields nourishment, through spotting prey and picking fruit, and safety, by providing a superior perspective.

Some details escape us because we live in a world in which our food comes from a market and our defense is provided by police and armies.  But for ancient peoples, all of this would have been glaring.  Fruit on the ground is unhealthy to eat and could be a trap laid by enemies lurking above.  A clever enemy attacks during the harvest when defenses are down and crops are gathered, ripe for the taking.  The wise climb up into the branches of the tree or to the top of the tower, to spot the best fruit, the choicest game, and ensure safety.  All of this would have stood out to the people of the past as starkly as a plume of smoke spotted from a high hill.  Adam, Eve, and the bad tenants of the landowner’s vineyard are of the same type.  These characters are shortsighted, rapacious, taking what they want today at the expense of the longer view.  All are given a garden which they fail to tend as they have been instructed by the landowner.  Lost in the woods, they’d be dead in no time. 

Isaiah and Jesus didn’t put the tower into their stories as a mere embellishment or a nice touch of color.  A man-made garden like a vineyard calls for a man-made tree.  So, in the center of the garden, the landowner builds a tower.  The vineyard is a garden which, like Eden, is made by a loving father for the benefit of those capable of appreciating its perfection.  The servants hired to tend the vineyard never bother to ascend the tower and see the majesty of the work the landowner has built for them to tend.  Adam and Eve never climbed the tree of knowledge.  They stood on the ground and seized the fruit.  Had they first climbed up to survey Eden, they would have gained the vision and patience to wait for God’s permission to eat the fruit and there would’ve been no fall. 

Friends, let us endeavor to be as wise as the ancient Semitic people whose oral stories are recorded in the book of Genesis.  Let us endeavor to spot the details of the story that the people of Jesus’ time would’ve noticed right away.  Greed, covetousness, laziness, violence, these are the low-hanging fruits of sin and death.  Attempting to see the world from God’s higher vantage point is the way to eternal life.