Video: Boys Pray to Save Real Marriage at TFP Call to Chivalry Camp
“If you came here just to have fun and fool around, you’re at the wrong camp," said Michael Chad Shibler in his welcoming remarks at the Call to Chivalry camp held in Pennsylvania from June 10–21. "I’m not saying we aren’t going to have fun -- we're going to have plenty of fun, but it's not the primary objective: Here you will learn what it takes to be a Catholic hero!"
The boys in the crowded auditorium smiled at one another enthusiastically. It was as if a fire had been lit in their souls because they suddenly realized that it is not only possible but necessary to be a hero, fighting for the Church like Emperor Charlemagne, Knight Roland, the great St. Louis de Montfort, Henri de la Rochejaquelein or Georges Cadoudal.
Heroic Stories of Catholic France
The next ten days were a whirlwind of activity: games never before experienced, tournaments interspersed with lively skits and talks. These meetings focused on forgotten history, the inspiring episodes that modern history books ignore. The virtue and excellence achieved by noble French saints, for example, was contrasted with the bloody debauchery of the French Revolution which mercilessly killed nobles, priests, nuns and generally anyone who did not agree with the goals of the revolution.
Golden pages of history came alive with stories of the heroic resistance of the Vendeans and Chouannerie. Where else can one find such figures as Georges Cadoudal, the leader of the Chouannerie, who outsmarted the French revolutionaries with his incredible spy network which stretched from France to London.
Some of the best talks were about the importance of devotion to Our Lady and the writings of Saint Louis de Montfort. After those, camp participants were eager to carry Our Lady’s statue in the daily torch-lit rosary processions.
These meetings gave us hope; they gave us role models to imitate in the fight against the evils of our day without giving in an inch.
Give me, O Lord my God,
what is left Thee, that which no one asks of Thee.
I do not ask Thee for rest or tranquility,
either of soul or body.
I do not ask Thee for riches, for success, or for health.
So many ask Thee for these, my God,
that none must be left Thee.
Give me, Lord,
what is left Thee.
Give me what the others refuse.
I want risk and anguish;
I want fight and pain.
Give me these, my God,
once and for all.
Give me the certainty that these
will always be my portion, for I will not
always have the courage to ask them of Thee.
Give me, O Lord,
what is left Thee.
Give me what others do not want.
But also give me courage,
strength, and Faith. Amen.
Boys Pray to Save True Marriage
On June 13, camp participants traveled to Harrisburg, Penn. for a public square rosary rally in defense of the sacred institution of marriage as God made it. Their rally was one among 3,258 additional rallies sponsored by the American TFP that day across the nation in defense of true marriage between one man and one woman.
Eager to show their support for traditional marriage, campers went to a busy street in Harrisburg to pray the rosary for the urgent conversion of America. Passersby honked and cheered their support. One young lady waved her rosary from her car and shouted at the top of her lungs: “Amen! Everybody supports traditional marriage!”
When we received indecent gestures of anger, we simply prayed the rosary, sang chivalric songs, or played the bagpipes as loud as we could.
Like the knights of old, we had the honor of proclaiming what is right and will continue to remain right regardless of any Supreme Court decision.
Our present culture wants young men -- especially Catholic youth -- to be mindless, video game playing couch potatoes without zeal or a higher reason to live. However, the boys who came to this Call to Chivalry camp all share the same counter-cultural certainty: To really live one must embrace a life of heroism and sacrifice. To this lofty call they responded with a resounding "YES."
May God and Saint Michael continue to bless their noble resolutions.
To get more information about future Call to Chivalry camps:
Louisiana
Contact: Cesar Franco
Phone: 717-521-8013
Email: CFranco@TFP.org
Camp dates: July 1-9
California
Contact: Michael Chad Shibler
Phone: 717-451-0238
Email: ChivalryCA@TFP.org
Dates: July 26 to August 1
Location: Oak Glen, CA 92399
Wisconsin
Contact: Rex Teodosio
Phone: 717-903-5874
Email: RexTeodosio@TFP.org
Location: Baraboo, Wisconsin
Dates: August 12 – 16