At Holy Cross Church’s 10 o’clock Mass on April 23, three
Boy Scouts from parish-sponsored Troop 9 were awarded the Ad Altare Dei medal.
As the
Scouts heard in their first class, the words ad altare Dei mean “to the altar of God.” That comes from Psalm 43, which priest and
altar boy used to pray together as the old Mass started with the so-called “prayers
at the foot of the altar.” The priest
began, Introibo ad altare Dei; and the server responded, Ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam:
“I will go in to the altar of God. To God who gives joy to my youth.”
According
to the Catholic Committee on Scouting, “The purpose of the Ad Altare Dei
program is to help Catholic Scouts develop a fully Christian way of life in the
faith community. The program is
organized in chapters based on the seven Sacraments. The seven Sacraments are a primary means
toward spiritual growth. This was the
very first religious emblem program of any faith officially recognized by the
Boy Scouts of America.”
To earn
the AAD award, Anthony Frasca Jr., Kaleb Leininger, and Jack Williamson worked
from September until March, meeting almost every Monday nite for classwork,
in-depth discussions, and enactments about the seven sacraments. They learned to practice a lot of patience
with each other (and of course with their instructors). They had homework every week. They had to do service projects. They had to interview people, including
(worst of all!) their parents. It’s a
very challenging program, and Anthony, Kaleb, and Jack worked really hard to
complete it. Their parents were very
supportive and encouraging, for which the Scouts and their emblem counselors are
grateful.
Those emblem counselors were your humble blogger, who
doubles as Troop 9’s chaplain, and Linda Atherton, chairman of the Catholic
Committee on Scouting for the Peoria Diocese. Mrs. Atherton presented the
medals to the Scouts, and Anthony Frasca Sr., Assistant Scoutmaster, gave them
their AAD cards.
By a
happy coincidence, the awards were given on April 23, St. George’s Day. It was the first available Sunday after the
Scouts passed their boards of review on April 1 and the necessary paperwork was
completed (because April 9 was Palm Sunday and April 16 was Easter).
No comments:
Post a Comment