Baseball season has started. Last night I was at our first practice with my oldest son Gabe. Many of the dads were there, and we were enjoying the blue cloudy sky and the freshly cut grass in the infield.
One of the fathers there began to ask about the Troops of Saint George. He was lamenting how our boys need more time outside. Yes, baseball is great. But the young men also need to be out where there are no umpires, chalk lines, or ballpark lights.
The boys need to be in the wild
Saint Thomas Aquinas spends quite a bit of time talking about how God created Adam outside of Paradise and then placed him inside Paradise (see Gen 2:15). Adam began his existence outside and then entered Paradise. Eve, on the other hand, was created within Paradise.
This shows that there is something prehistorically wild about the male.
Our boys are pampered by air conditioning, television, soft couches, and mom’s baking them goodies after school. These are not a bad things (way to go mothers!), but a young man also needs to get in the wild if he is going to be a true man among men.
Father/son camping is the perfect context for reintroducing the wild.
April 23 marks the feast of Saint George
We hope to be announcing some exciting news about our Troops of Saint George uniform. It’s been a long time coming, but we have a nice solution.
We will also be expanding the role of the Troop Captains in the year to come with a Council of Captains. This will allow Captains to volunteer for projects and join together for group consultation. We want to spread ideas – what has worked over the last several months? What has not?
So stay tuned!
Godspeed,
Taylor Marshall
