As the season of Lent draws near, we will inevitably get asked the question, “So what are you doing for Lent this year?” Before we answer that question, we should take a moment to review what Lent is. Lent is a season of penance that last approximately 40 days. It begins on Ash Wednesday (February …
Top 10 Christmas Gifts for the Catholic Swordsman
So, you have a Catholic swordsman that you are looking to get a gift for and you are in need of ideas. You’ve come to the right spot! Sword-based western martial arts is a fairly unique thing and as such it is hard to get reliable information on equipment and training needs. This quick guide …
Full Armor of God
I have heard many people talk about the full armor of God as found in Ephesians 6:13-17: 13 Therefore take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on …
Beauty and the Martial Arts
I recently had occasion to read some excerpts from Dietrich von Hildebrand’s book Aesthetics. In this book, he speaks about the role of beauty in the formation of a person. At one point he quotes Ernest Hello in saying, “The mediocre person has only one passion, namely hatred of the beautiful,”1 which, of course, got …
Preparing for Lent
As you are most likely aware, Lent is a liturgical season in the Catholic Church that comes before Easter. Officially, it begins on Ash Wednesday (which is March 1st this year) and ends on Holy Thursday (April 13th), lasting slightly longer than 40 days. Since the date of Easter moves based on the cycles of …
Listening to God
Recently I was asked, “How do I listen to God?” which got me thinking about how and when I most clearly hear God. While we have to trust in faith that God wants to, and does, reveal Himself to us; it is not always easy to hear, understand and follow. To begin, make a point …
5 Words That Explain it All
Now that is a bold title – Five Words That Explain it All. What does that even mean? How can five words explain everything about everything? Well they can’t, but if we use the five words as tools to live by then those five words can explain our actions in every situation. Well, what are …
Without Challenges We Create No Champions
How do you build muscle? Your muscles get challenged by the weight you lift. In overcoming that challenge, those muscles get stronger. As a person trying to get in better physical condition, you must steadily increase the weight in order to maintain the challenge. Once you stop increasing the challenge, your muscles stop growing. Our …
The Physicality of Knighthood and the Theology of the Body
As part of my studies of the martial arts of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, I specifically looked at the history of knights, especially those of the Catholic Military Orders (e.g. The Knights of Saint John/Malta/Hospitaller, Teutonic Knights, etc.). In the course of that reading, I came across an article from Patrick Meehan, published at the …
Why Fellowship in Faith and Martial Arts?
We all live in community and the attitude of our fellows impact the depth of our faith as well as how we train in the martial arts. Good intentions are not enough – we must practice what we say we believe. While any collection of people (whether virtual or physical) can be called a community, …