Guest Writer's Day 3 Eagle Project

Ike, me, and Bill before the beginning of the volunteer work day.

On the morning of day 3, it was very cold, even snowing at times, and I was glad to have two coats on. Animals as Natural Therapy (ANT) had its volunteer work day and I led the group in the barn. Troop 3 had a camp out that weekend, which is why there was only one Troop 3 scout there. I had 10 volunteers who matched, polished and moved boots and cleaned horse brushing gear for 2.5 hours. Ike and Bill are the brothers who built the meeting room and tack room. They are retired dairy farmers and are dedicated volunteers at the farm.

A volunteer works on cleaning the contents of a tack box

Here I am showing Christian how to polish boots correctly.

 We had to polish all the boots, which took about 20 hours of work. Almost every person there commented on the shelves, saying how nice they looked. 

Mom paints fresh numbers on the back of the boots.

 My mom and another lady painted new numbers on the back of the boots. They got to talking about religion, and it turned out that the lady was the leader of a Mormon young adults' group, which had come out to ANT to volunteer that Saturday.

Christian and me in front of the partially filled boot shelves.

Day 2 of My Eagle Project (guest writer)

Okay, I lied. The much anticipated second post is coming out not an hour after I said it would be tomorrow.

As one can see, I do not like stopping to have my picture taken.

Putting up the second boot shelf

Cutting wood for the boot shelves

The completed shelves. The two narrow boards attached to the shelf (in the right of the picture) are to keep the boots from falling off the shelves.

Judah and me in front of the shelves

 The main activity of day 2 was  putting up shelves for the leather boots. We first measured 15 inches from the concrete floor and then put up the first bracket. Next a 2x6x10 board was put on the bracket and the usual process of making the board level was undertaken. once the board was level we put the second and third brackets up. Two 46 inch boards were cut and drilled into the wall below the 2x6x10, and then the 2x6x10 was drilled into them. Then a second 2x6x10 was attached to the bracket. We repeated this process for the other three shelves. The second and third shelves had to be taken down after the fourth was nearly complete because they weren't level. After all this was complete, we started building the shelves for the rubber boots. The three of them were built in the same manner as the other shelves.

The shelf for drink mix and such things is put up.

 Underneath this shelf we put a coat rack. To put this shelf up we screwed two boards into the studs and then used Grandpa's impact driller to place the shelf on the wall.

Enoch, me, Judah and Grandpa Cliff after a good day of work.

 I would like to especially thank Grandpa for the expert help he gave me on this project.

Joseph's Eagle Project Day One... Guest Writer!!!

I am going over the plans for the rooms with Sonja

We see the overcrowded tack room as Sonja explains what is to be done with some equipment.

For the first day of real work on my project, I met with Sonja, the owner of Animals as Natural Therapy. Let it be noted that in 2010 I did volunteer work for this farm for a service requirement for a merit badge. For my project, I am outfitting the interior of a new meeting room/horse tack room. In the above pictures, we see Sonja explaining what is to be done with the new rooms. All this, and more, in the next installment tomorrow.

The old boot racks. As we see, the racks are too small, so there are many pairs of boots laying in front of the racks.

A view of me in the meeting room's window.

Take This Seriously {Sunday Tradition}

Father Joseph invites the parents of soon-to-be-baptized children to state their intentions before blessing their children and entering the Chruch for the great celebration of rebirth through water and the Holy Spirit on Easter Morning.

This weekend our little local parish welcomed a visiting priest, Father Treacy, who celebrated the Masses for Father Joseph as he was away at a conference with the local Newman Catholic Campus Ministry crew.  Nearing 100 years of age, this holy priest, through a thick Irish accent, preached plainly, forcefully, and with great love, about a matter that can cause the congregation to squirm in the pews: the sacrilege of receiving Jesus in Holy Communion if one is not properly disposed.   Father Tracy taught the Biblical truth that if anyone holding a grudge or hating any other person should come forward to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, that person is committing a sacrilege (a grave offense against God). 

God's mercy knows no bounds, and anyone who humbly and honestly confesses his sins and amends his life can be returned to the state of grace required for properly receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. 

Just over 100 years after Jesus' Resurrection, a bold Christian named Justin also preached fearlessly about the proper reception of Jesus in Holy Communion at Mass:

From the first apology in defense of the Christians by Saint Justin, martyr (written A.D. 151)  The celebration of the Eucharist

No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.

We do not consume the Eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen.” The Eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.

The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.
We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your consideration.

St. Justin's description of the Holy Mass, written in A.D. 155, very accurately describes the Holy Mass celebrated in our Catholic Church today.  If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself!

Treasured Gift {Good Friday}

 

"If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. Sacrifice a lamb without blemish, commanded Moses, and sprinkle its blood on your doors. If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.

If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it."

~From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop (AD 344-407)

Holy Thursday {Do WHAT in memory of You, Jesus?}

Now we leave Lent and enter the Sacred Triduum liturgy which begins with Holy Thursday's Mass of the Lord's Last Supper and concludes with the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection.  On Holy Thursday, Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Mass and the priesthood.  Although it's not a holy day of obligation, we wouldn't miss this Mass for the world.  Let me try to put this into perspective:

 TRIDUUM

{Jesus' Passion, Death and Resurrection} = the culmination of the entire liturgical year

Followed by 8 days of celebrating the Resurrection {Octave of Easter}

Followed by 50 days of Easter Season leading us to Pentecost!

You might ask: Why not just skip ahead to the joy of the Resurrection at Easter?  Buy some candy, fill some cute little baskets and get ready to party!  But let's get real: what sense does the Resurrection make without the Crucifixion?  And what sense does the Crucifixion make without the Last Supper?

Dr. Scott Hahn is a shining star, but Jesus' True Presence, veiled in the Holy Tabernacle, is exponentially brighter!

I recently had the pleasure of attending a few lectures on the Eucharist given by Dr. Scott Hahn, a former Catholic-basher, and successful protestant pastor, whose quest for Biblical truth led him to the place he LEAST expected to find it.  Dr. Hahn himself says that a Catholic was the "last thing on earth I ever planned to be."   And: "I would have been in the hospital with broken ribs from my laughter..." at the idea of becoming Catholic.

I was inspired to hear Dr. Hahn:

The Eucharist is the key that unlocks the Gospel."

The devout Jews witnessing Jesus' crucifixion would not have called it a sacrifice, they would have called it an execution. 

In order to make sense of the events of Friday, one must to go back to Thursday...


Jesus' Jewish apostles were very familiar with the Passover ritual.  Clearly, Jesus stepped outside the box when he broke with the established and well known tradition and instituted the New Covenant (New Testament).

Jesus gave clear instructions: "DO this in memory of me..."

Jesus did not say 'write this in memory of me.'
Jesus did not say 'read this in memory of me.'

The New Testament was a sacrament LONG before it became known as a document~ according to the document! 

The New Testament (collected books of the Bible) never refers to itself as such, rather when the apostles and followers of Jesus referred to the "New Testament," they were speaking of the Eucharist!

Food for thought on this Holy Thursday!

More Scott Hahn on YouTube

Holy Week or Hell Week?

God truly gives us freedom to choose.

Life or death. 

Good or evil.

Each day.

Each minute of each day.

We either choose to follow God, or we choose to reject Him and follow His adversary, the enemy.

Choose well, friends!