NIC’s Corner
· How to celebrate Oct 4th
o Start your day by baking a batch of delicious cinnamon rolls to celebrate Cinnamon Roll Day. Let the aroma fill your home and indulge in a sweet treat for breakfast.
§ Put on your favorite plaid shirt in honor of Plaidurday, embracing both comfort and style.
§ Spend the morning listening to kids’ music for Kids Music Day, whether it’s your childhood favorites or current hits that bring a smile to your face on World Smile Day.
· Head outside for a walk and appreciate nature on World Animal Day. Show love to your furry friends and consider donating to a local animal shelter.
· Take a moment to relax and appreciate the simple pleasures in life. Grab a taco for lunch to celebrate National Taco Day and pair it with a refreshing vodka drink for National Vodka Day.
o Invite a good buddy over to join in the festivities on National Good Buddy Day.
· Improve your workspace for Improve Your Office Day by decluttering and adding personal touches to create a more productive environment.
o Tune in to college radio for College Radio Day, discovering new music and supporting your local campus station.
o Thank a trucker on National Truckers Day for their hard work and dedication to keeping goods moving across the country.
· Finish the day with a feast in honor of St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day, reflecting on the importance of compassion and service to others.
Introduction to 2 Samuel[1]
Many moons ago, in a time of great
darkness, Madonna said that she was "a material girl in a
material world"… And, many moons before that, King
David was a Deuteronomistic guy in a Deutoronomistic world. That might sound
kind of complicated—but it
just means that the same editors involved in putting together the Book of
Deuteronomy also put together the group of books that includes 2 Samuel, running from the book of
Judges to 2 Kings. For the story of 2 Samuel is part of what we commonly call
the "Deuteronomistic History" and David is just one teeny part of it.
But here's the thing. When we say "history," we're using that term
pretty loosely. It's hard to tell what extent 2 Samuel (and 1 Samuel, since
they were originally one work) is hard history or legend or the exaggeration of
real events or a crazy mixture of all these. For many true believers,
naturally, it's going to be history all the way. Yet it's easy to interpret the
Biblical writers' account of David's life as being perhaps a bit whitewashed.
See, for the most part, in their eyes, David can do no wrong. But yet certain
unsavory facts about his life are too big for the authors to omit particularly
David seducing the wife (Bathsheba) of one of his generals, and then having
that general murdered.
The
authors don't attempt to justify this at all—it's way bad—and
it might make the reader see a more complicated picture of David in other
situations, like when the writers keep insisting he had nothing to do with the death of
another general, Abner.
So, if you wanted to, you could easily see the whole book as an example of
pro-David propaganda, trying to justify his legacy as God's one beloved king.
But that wouldn't really do justice to the book as a whole. It gives a pretty
thorough picture of Israelite kingship as an institution—how it works, how kings maintain
power. It's a fascinating glimpse into the way people in the ancient Near East
viewed at least some of their kings: as people both divinely guided and humanly
flawed.
In
the period of time depicted in the book, the Israelites were wrestling with the
transition from being ruled by Judges like Samuel—with God as the only true king and creator of laws—to being ruled by a human king (who
was still considered to be divinely guided).
This
was sort of like having a Supreme Court but no President (except for God). And
yeah, this could get kind of confusing and messy… But to be fair, so could being ruled by a king, as
evidenced by the reign of Saul in 1 Samuel. What 2 Samuel does, then, is to
tell the story of a king who managed to pull himself together and rule in the
right way.
Why
Should I Care?
How do you manage to seduce one of
your general's wives, orchestrate that same general's death in battle, refuse
to punish your first-born son for committing a heinous crime against his own
sister—and still wind up with a reputation
for being the greatest of all Israelite kings, and God's prize favorite?
The book of 2 Samuel may or may not
answer that question for you—but
it'll help you take a good, hard look at the life of the character who did all
of the above: King David. Of course, David did a lot besides those rather
dubious and devious actions. There's heroism, tragedy, plain bad luck, and
moments of sublime goodness in his story, as well. Also, he's a smooth
operator. Even when he's doing something wrong or questionable, David remains
totally human—flawed,
but recognizably one of us. In a way, the dark patches in David's life are what
help make him one of the very most intriguing and compelling people in the
Bible as a whole. After God and Moses, David is arguably the most important
character in the Hebrew Bible (most people would probably agree that he's the
third-most-central figure.) Even though the book has a huge and interesting
supporting cast, the Second Book of Samuel really is all about David, the
heart of the story. What King Arthur is to Great Britain, and Caesar Augustus is
to Ancient Rome,
and Luke Skywalker is to Tatooine, King David is to Israel. He's the
model hero, the best example of how to do it right (despite the serious things
he does wrong).
"We
Can Be Heroes" (to Quote David Bowie)
That's
fine, and David might be an interesting guy—but what does the book have to do with life today?
Well, since people throughout the world have been reading the Bible for a
while, it's shaped the kind of hero’s people look for and write about. Heroes
from other books and other cultures demonstrate heroism in different ways—like Odysseus in the Odyssey,
they might be crafty warriors trying to outwit the gods and make it home. Or,
like King Rama from Hindu myth, they might be gods themselves, fighting for
truth and righteousness against demonic powers. But the important thing to
remember is that David is a human—a
human who is trying to live according to a higher law, and serve his God's
purposes, sure—but a
human, nonetheless. True, Odysseus is a human, too, but his goals are also all
typically human, related to getting back to his kingdom, seeing his wife and
son, and regaining power. David's concerned with his personal power, too, but
he has to balance that with what he believes God wants. His goals are both
human and divine.
This
ends up being a pretty tricky tight rope to walk, and watching David walk it,
wavering between his own selfish ambitions and this higher cause, is part of
the value and fun of 2 Samuel. Life
actually imitates art pretty often. People mimic the heroes they see on TV or
in the movies or read about in Newsweek
or wherever (there's recently been an increase in people who are imitating
superheroes by wearing underwear over leotards and trying to hit criminals with
nun-chucks). Since David is one of the most widely read characters in the
history of the world, the story of his reign (which begins when 2 Samuel
starts) can help give us a better idea of what we actually think about heroes
and leaders—what we
expect from them, what qualities they have.
That's not just important for understanding the heroes we see depicted around us everyday—it's also a useful way to understand ourselves, to see how we measure up, and to define our own ideas of true heroism.
First Friday[1]
Mary Alacoque, a nun of the Order of the Visitation, at Parayle-Monial, France; one day, when, according to her custom during the octave of Corpus Christi, she was deeply engaged in devotions before the Blessed Sacrament, the divine Savior appeared to her, showed her His Heart burning with love, and said: “Behold this Heart, which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this sacrament of love. And what is most painful to Me is that they are hearts consecrated to Me. It is for this reason I ask thee that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be appropriated to a special feast to honor My Heart by communicating on that day and making reparation for the indignity that it has received. And I promise that My Heart shall dilate to pour out abundantly the influences of its love on all that will render it this honor or procure its being rendered.”
The
Supreme Lover[2]
The Goodness of God means that God
gives us what we need for our perfection, not what we want for our pleasure and
sometimes for our destruction. As a sculptor, He sometimes applies the chisel
to the marble of our imperfect selves and knocks off huge chunks of selfishness
that His image may better stand revealed. Like a musician, whenever He finds
the strings too loose on the violin of our personality, He tightens them even
though it hurts, that we may better reveal our hidden harmonies. As the Supreme
Lover of our soul, He does care how we act and think and speak. What father
does not want to be proud of his son?
If the father speaks with authority
now and then to his son, it is not because he is a dictator, but because he
wants him to be a worthy son. Not even progressive parents, who deny discipline
and restraint, are indifferent to the progress of their children. So long as
there is love, there is necessarily a desire for the perfecting of the beloved.
That is precisely the way God's goodness manifests itself to us. God really
loves us and, because He loves us, He is not disinterested. He no more wants
you to be unhappy than your own parents want you to be unhappy. God made you
not for His happiness, but for yours, and to ask God to be satisfied with most
of us as we really are, is to ask that God cease to love. — Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
[2]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-02-07
OCTOBER 4 Friday-Saint Francis
of Assisi, Religious
2 Samuel, Chapter 1, Verse 14
The lesson here is, do not be a
person who seeks to gain from another’s misfortune.
Cue up
the Sad Violins[2]
·
As 2 Samuel begins, Saul and Jonathan have just
died fighting the Philistines—David almost fought for the Philistines,
but ended up getting excused at the last second, and headed off to fight the
Amalekites.
·
Saul had committed suicide after seeing his
defeat was inevitable (with, as it turns out, a little help), and Jonathan was
killed in the battle.
·
A survivor from Saul's army finds David and
tells him the news. It turns out the survivor was an Amalekite who (at Saul's
request) helped Saul finish dying, giving him a fatal sword thrust, before
bringing Saul's crown and armlet to David.
·
However, David is offended that this guy had the
guts to help kill the Lord's anointed, so he has one of his own men kill the
Amalekite.
Singing the Blues
·
Then, David sings the blues. In a song, he
laments the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, singing, "How the mighty have
fallen!"
·
He hails them both, paying tribute to their
strength and good qualities, and telling the rest of Israel to weep for them in
mourning.
·
He also says that Jonathan's love for him was
"wonderful, passing the love of a woman," before repeating again,
"How the mighty have fallen."
Honor
God’s Anointed[3]
It
appears that the Amalekite was trying to get a reward for killing the enemy of
David (Saul). Everyone in the nation knew that Saul and David were at odds and
that Saul was trying to kill David. When he stumbled onto the body of Saul, he
thought that he had hit the jackpot. Instead of telling the truth about what he
found he lied to David with the hope of getting gain. David was faultless in
killing him because the man told David that he had killed the Lords anointed.
In David’s eye that was a serious crime and the man brought it on himself.
Notice and verse 14 of second Samuel he says "How wast thou not afraid to
stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lords anointed?" and in verse 16,
"And David said unto him, thy blood be on thy upon thy head; for thy mouth
hath testified against thee, saying I have slain the Lords anointed." Even
though he did not kill Saul he lied in hopes of being rewarded and he was, just
not in the way he thought though. The wages of sin are death.
Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi[4]
ST. FRANCIS was born at Assisi, in Italy, in the year 1182. His father, a rich merchant, intended him for trade, and Francis applied himself with aptness to this employment, in which, though fond of show, he exhibited, at an early day, a particular love for the poor. Agreeable and amiable, affable and kind to all, he was beloved by all around him, and the world sought to draw him to its side. But, enlightened from above, and by heavenly apparitions rendered attentive to the call he was about to receive, he followed the leadings of grace which drew him on to imitate Christ in poverty and humility. Hearing one day at Mass the words of the Gospel “Do not possess gold, or silver, or money in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff” (Matt. x. 9, 10), he began to regulate the whole manner of his life according to this precept of the Gospel, and at once began to preach penance with such evangelical poverty, and with such power, that all who heard him were moved to tears. Disinherited by his father, who was greatly displeased at his poverty and open-handedness towards the poor, he threw himself altogether upon the providence of his Father in heaven, dividing with the poor the alms he thus received. The extraordinary manner of his life soon brought around him disciples, and as the number of them increased daily, he wrote for them a rule, and then set out for Home, to procure from the Pope a confirmation of it. He came back, rejoicing in the Lord that everything at Rome had gone according to his wish, and established himself about a mile from his native city, at a small church belonging to the Benedictines, which he called Portiuncula (little portion). Here he led a life of the severest penance here he prayed day and night, and here he laid the foundation of that Order which has filled the world with the splendor of its virtues. Here in this church, dedicated to the virgin Mother of Jesus and to the holy angels, he received from Christ Himself the celebrated indulgence known throughout the whole Christian world as the Portiuncula Indulgence, for while the saint was praying there with glowing devotion, on the day of the dedication of the church, in the year 1221, the Lord appeared to him and said “Francis, ask whatever thou wilt for the salvation of the nations.” He answered: “I desire the remission of guilt and punishment, a plenary indulgence for all who shall visit this church with contrite hearts and sincerely confess their sins. The Lord replied, Go then to My representative, the Pope, and ask the indulgence in My name. “Forthwith he went to Pope Honorius III., who first, by word of mouth, and afterwards by a proper bull, confirmed to him the indulgence. The same indulgence was, at a later day, extended to all churches of the Franciscans, and by Pope Pius VII to all parish churches (at least to all in Bavaria), and may be gained on the first Sunday in August of every year. Burning with desire for the salvation of the people, St. Francis with his brethren, whom he sent out two by two to preach penance and the peace of God, labored to establish everywhere the kingdom of heaven. His love for sinners, and his ardent zeal for the salvation of souls, impelled him to visit remote parts of the world to preach the Gospel to unbelievers. For this he was rewarded by God with miraculous graces, among which there is particularly to be mentioned that which was granted him upon Mount Alverno. While he was there engaged, separated from the world, in fasting and praying for forty days, as he was accustomed to do often, the Savior appeared to him in the form of a seraph on the cross, and imprinted the five wounds of His own body on the body of St. Francis. On account of this, and for his ardent love for Jesus crucified, St. Francis received the surname of Seraph. After this event the saint lived two years in manifold bodily distress and sickness, without murmur or complaint, with perfect resignation to the will of God. Sometime before his death he caused his will to be written, in which he left to his brethren poverty as an inheritance in which they should find great treasure for heaven. As the hour of his dissolution drew nigh he had the passion of Christ read to him; he then said the one hundred and forty-first psalms, and at the words, bring my soul out of prison that I may praise Thy name, he expired happy in the Lord, October 4, 1226, in the forty-fifth year of his age. St. Francis founded three Orders, the first and proper Order of Franciscans, or the Order of Friars Minor, then the Order of Franciscan nuns, or Clares, so called from St. Clare, their first superior and lastly, that called the Third Order, for people in the world, of both sexes, who aim at perfection, but do not desire to make the vows of the cloister. This last Order, which has been approved by many Popes, particularly by Gregory IX., Innocent IV., and Nicholas IV., has spread throughout the whole world, and is becoming in our day more and more flourishing.
Prayer.
O God, Who by the merits of blessed Francis dost increase Thy Church by a new progeny, grant us by imitating him to despise earthly things, and ever to rejoice in the participation of heavenly gifts. Amen.
EPISTLE. Gal. vi. 14-18.
Brethren: God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ: by Whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And whosoever shall follow this rule, peace on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man be troublesome to me: for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body. The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
GOSPEL. Matt. xi. 25-30.
At that time Jesus answered and said: I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father: for so hath it seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered to Me by My Father. And no one knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither doth anyone know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke upon you, arid learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is sweet and My burden
· We must as is sometimes do as attributed to the sayings of St. Francis, “preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.”
This is the first premise of leadership. As leaders, especially Christian leaders, we must demonstrate the Be, Know and Do attitudes of Christ. That is we must become an “Alter Christus” or another Christ. We must BE to others as Christ would. We must KNOW spiritual principals as Christ does and we must act or DO in the world as Christ would.
This day emulate our Lord by reflecting and living the prayer of St. Francis.
The
Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord,
make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where
there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where
there is injury, pardon;
Where
there is doubt, faith;
Where
there is despair, hope;
Where
there is darkness, light;
Where
there is sadness, joy.
O
divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To
be consoled as to console,
To
be understood as to understand,
To
be loved as to love;
For
it is in giving that we receive;
It
is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It
is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
Things to Do[5]
·
Pray the Canticle of the Sun, which was written by St. Francis.
·
For more reading, see the selections from the Catholic Culture Library. This page from the Franciscan Archives contains links about St. Francis of Assisi,
including biographies, articles, writings, Orders & Societies, liturgical
texts and art.
·
Many parishes have a Blessing of animals or pets on this day. See the Prayers column for other
alternatives. St. Francis loved all of God's creatures. Find the stories of the
Wolf of Gubbio, the Sermon to the Birds, his Canticle of Creatures to see some
illustrations of his honoring God's creation.
·
St. Francis was influential on our present-day
Christmas crib or creche.
·
Although St. Francis is one of the most popular
saints of the Church, and his feast is a huge celebration in Assisi, there are
no particular foods attached to that festival. Tradition has passed on that on
his deathbed he requested Frangipane cream or Moastaccioli (almond biscotti).
Fire is a symbol of St. Francis, first of all because his heart was on fire
with love of God, but there are other stories in Little Flowers of St.
Francis that deal with fire, particularly when he prayed, the surrounding
areas would become so bright that people thought the areas were on fire. So a
flaming dessert or wine would be an appropriate ending of a wonderful feast.
One could also try some Umbrian style recipes, or just have "Italian night" at home, even just
simple spaghetti or other pasta and sauces.
·
Learn more about the Franciscan order. The Catholic Encyclopedia has a wonderful entry on St. Francis, including
his Rule. And from the Catholic Culture Library you can read a detailed summary
of the life of St. Francis and his founding of the Order of Friars Minor.
· What does poverty in our state of life mean? How can I follow the Gospels like Francis?
· Learn more about geography and history of the Umbria area, and how much Francis has impacted that area.
·
Study art and photos of Francis. Find out more
about the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. Although the earthquake in 1997
damaged the basilica, it reopened in 1999.
·
Go here for Saint Francis of Assisi, The
Writings of Saint Francis of Assisi,
translated by Fr. Paschal Robinson in 1906.
·
Read Little Flowers of St. Francis by Brother Ugolino online or purchase a copy.
This is a collection of many stories and legends of the life of St. Francis. Of
particular note is his Sermon to the Birds,
"My little sisters the birds,
ye owe much to God, your Creator, and ye ought to sing his praise at all times
and in all places, because he has given you liberty to fly about into all
places; and though ye neither spin nor sew, he has given you a twofold and a
threefold clothing for yourselves and for your offspring. Two of all your
species he sent into the Ark with Noah that you might not be lost to the world;
besides which, he feeds you, though ye neither sow nor reap. He has given you
fountains and rivers to quench your thirst, mountains and valleys in which to
take refuge, and trees in which to build your nests; so that your Creator loves
you much, having thus favoured you with such bounties. Beware, my little
sisters, of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praise to
God."
St. Francis was a great respecter
of life and viewed all creation as a gift of God; he called the animals
brothers and the moon sister moon. If we have God’s breath and love in us we
must respect and protect all creation starting with the most vulnerable of
human life.
Catechism of the Catholic
Church
Day 113
III. THE CHURCH IS THE TEMPLE
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
797 "What the soul is to
the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the
Church." "To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle,
is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body are joined one with
the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the
head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the
members." The Holy Spirit makes the Church "the temple of the
living God":
Indeed, it
is to the Church herself that the "Gift of God" has been
entrusted.... In it is in her that communion with Christ has been deposited,
that is to say: the Holy Spirit, the pledge of incorruptibility, the
strengthening of our faith and the ladder of our ascent to God.... For where
the Church is, there also is God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is, there is the
Church and every grace.
798 The Holy Spirit is
"the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the
Body." He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in
charity: by God's Word "which is able to build you up"; by
Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body; by the sacraments, which
give growth and healing to Christ's members; by "the grace of the
apostles, which holds first place among his gifts"; by the virtues,
which make us act according to what is good; finally, by the many special
graces (called "charisms"), by which he makes the faithful "fit
and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building
up of the Church."
Charisms
799 Whether extraordinary or
simple and humble, charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly
benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the good of men,
and to the needs of the world.
800 Charisms are to be accepted
with gratitude by the person who receives them and by all members of the Church
as well. They are a wonderfully rich grace for the apostolic vitality and for
the holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided they really are genuine
gifts of the Holy Spirit and are used in full conformity with authentic
promptings of this same Spirit, that is, in keeping with charity, the true
measure of all charisms.
801 It is in this sense that
discernment of charisms is always necessary. No charism is exempt from being
referred and submitted to the Church's shepherds. "Their office (is) not
indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what
is good," so that all the diverse and complementary charisms work
together "for the common good."
IN BRIEF
802 Christ Jesus "gave
himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a
people of his own" (Titus 2:14).
803 "You are a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people" (1 Pet 2:9).
804 One enters into the
People of God by faith and Baptism. "All men are called to belong to the
new People of God" (LG 13), so that, in Christ, "men may form one
family and one People of God" (AG 1).
805 The Church is the Body
of Christ. Through the Spirit and his action in the sacraments, above all the
Eucharist, Christ, who once was dead and is now risen, establishes the
community of believers as his own Body.
806 In the unity of this
Body, there is a diversity of members and functions. All members are linked to
one another, especially to those who are suffering, to the poor and persecuted.
807 The Church is this Body
of which Christ is the head: she lives from him, in him, and for him; he lives
with her and in her.
808 The Church is the Bride
of Christ: he loved her and handed himself over for her. He has purified her by
his blood and made her the fruitful mother of all God's children.
809 The Church is the Temple
of the Holy Spirit. the Spirit is the soul, as it were, of the Mystical Body,
the source of its life, of its unity in diversity, and of the riches of its
gifts and charisms.
810 "Hence the
universal Church is seen to be 'a people brought into unity from the unity of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit'" (LG 4 citing St. Cyprian, De
Dom. orat. 23: PL 4, 553).
Fitness Friday-October
Fest end on the 6th of October
Recognizing that God, the Father created man on Friday the 6th day I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and renew yourself in strength, mind, soul and heart.
German Volume
Training[6]
It's
brutally hard, but I've found it to be an effective way to pack on muscle fast!
In strength-coaching circles, this method is often called the Ten Sets Method.
Supersets and trisets allow you to perform a lot of work in a short period of
time. The rest-pause method allows you to use heavier weights, so you can
recruit the higher threshold muscle fibers, and eccentric training enables you
to overcome strength plateaus. The bottom line is that almost any training
method will work—provided you do it with intensity—at least for the few weeks
it takes for your body to adapt to it. There is, however, one training system
that stands above all the rest. It's brutally hard, but I've found it to be a
very effective way to pack on muscle fast! In strength-coaching circles, this
method is often called the Ten Sets Method. Because it has its roots in
German-speaking countries, I like to call it German Volume Training. To the
best of my knowledge, this training system originated in Germany in the
mid-'70s and was popularized by Rolf Feser, who was then the National Coach of
Weightlifting. A similar protocol was promoted by Vince Gironda in the U.S.,
but regardless of who actually invented it, it works. In Germany, the Ten Sets
Method was used in the off-season to help weightlifters gain lean body mass. It
was so efficient that lifters routinely moved up a full weight class within 12
weeks. It was the base program of Canadian weightlifter Jacques Demers, Silver
Medallist in the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Jacques was known in weightlifting
circles for his massive thighs, and he gives credit to the German method for
achieving such a spectacular level of hypertrophy. The same method was also
used by Bev Francis in her early days of bodybuilding to pack on muscle.
The program works because
it targets a group of motor units, exposing them to an extensive volume of
repeated efforts, specifically, 10 sets of a single exercise. The body adapts
to the extraordinary stress by hypertrophying the targeted fibers. To say this
program adds muscle fast is probably an understatement. Gains of 10 pounds or
more in six weeks are not uncommon, even in experienced lifters!
Goals
& Guidelines
The goal of the German
Volume Training method is to complete ten sets of ten reps with the same weight
for each exercise. You want to begin with a weight you could lift for 20 reps
to failure if you had to. For most people, on most exercises, that would represent
60% of their 1RM load. Therefore, if you can bench press 300 pounds for 1 rep,
you would use 180 pounds for this exercise.
For lifters new to this
method, I recommend using the following body-part splits:
Body-Part
Splits
·
Day 1: Chest & Back
·
Day 2: Legs & Abs
·
Day 3: Off
·
Day 4: Arms & Shoulders
·
Day 5: Off
When using this program or
any other, you should keep a detailed journal of the exact sets/reps and rest
intervals performed, and only count the repetitions completed in strict form.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite yourself in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: An Increase of the Faithful
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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