Depending on the situation, I describe myself as is indicated on my various business cards – and I have a handful, to be sure. But of all my titles, including Templar Knight, I do not yet have a card for this one: alien. I am an alien among the people of planet Earth. I had my suspicions at first – but now I am certain of it. Not an illegal alien, to be sure. Just a garden variety alien, as I am about to fully disclose. I also openly confess to being a really geeky alien as well, frequently…
The Convent and Investiture of the Priory of The Temple Church with the Commandery of the Holy Trinity 28 February – 2 March 2025 The Temple Church C&I commenced with the Prior’s Reception and Dinner on Friday, 28 February, at Sonny’s BBQ Restaurant in Titusville, Florida. There were 34 attendees. Grand Chancellor, H.E. COL Chev. Fredrick Kienle, PhD, GCTJ, accompanied by his wife Laura, was present for the weekend events. The reception included dining, a review of the weekend by the Prior, and raffles to benefit The Temple Church Priory Scholarship Fund. Following the reception, there was continued fellowship around…
“I see dead people” was the key line from a spectacularly well written and produced 2008 movie titled The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan. (Spoiler alert) In case you missed it, the 8-year-old boy protagonist, Cole Sear played by Haley Joel Osment, would occasionally see and interact with the dead. And a startling fact about Cole’s sixth sense was carefully hidden from viewers until the breathtaking reveal at the conclusion of the story. But, as movie-goers, we were quite skillfully kept blissfully unaware of the detail through director Shyamalan’s skills, bound up as we are every day…
I remember, as if it were yesterday, standing at my school bus stop adjacent to my small Oklahoma country High School and watching the Seniors climb aboard their buses. Their High School days were almost over, and then they could leave for the “real world” where life truly begins! In but a blink, I was there also – a High School Senior, leaving my school bus for the very last time, headed to the University where the “real world” would commence. Very soon thereafter, I came to understand that here I had to learn discipline and work so that…
Is it even possible for anyone today to accurately claim the title of “Authentic 21st-Century Templar”? The answer to that very essential question is wholly conditional. If the individual making the claim to be a 21st-century Templar does so while repudiating the core of the original Templar’s ethos, then the answer is unambiguously clear: they are a wannabee, perhaps – or possibly a well-meaning service club member at best. But certainly not an authentic Templar! Dressing up as a Templar in a costume once in a while is one thing – but living the life of a Templar Knight…
When I was a young man, I traveled in typical circles with other young men, of course. And, as is common among such youth, we touted a mutual response for when threatened with a beating by the local tyrant-tormenter. The reply to his taunt of “I’m going to whip your a**!” invariably promised to be… “Yeah, sure. You and whose army?!” Blustering bravado in a taunt-for-taunt reflex is a foundational stone on the path to becoming a real man on another day somewhere down the road of time. Eventually, though, you realize that fists lead to pain, and that pain…
In what years I have remaining, I have narrowed my road down to one of two fates. I am totally committed either to living out my remaining years on Mars (which is my second choice) – or – my primary desire is to live out my remaining years in an undersea colony on the ocean floor at 24 fathoms. I have turned it over to my Creator to choose which of those final destinations He has already decided for me. But I can say with all authentic honesty that it will be one or the other. How do I state…
The great Nobel Laureate, American Physicist Richard Feynman, said very bluntly, “It is not possible to understand the magnetic effects of materials in any honest way from the point of view of classical physics. Such magnetic effects are a completely quantum-mechanical phenomenon. All other explanations to try and explain them in terms of classical physics are phony.” (Lecture 34 – Magnetism of Matter, Caltech.) That is exactly why most people can look at a lowly magnet on my refrigerator door and not see the astonishing miracle taking place right before their eyes. A single one-inch magnet holding up a two-ounce…
One of the reasons Holy Scripture is so relevant is that its core subjects have not changed even one single whit. Prime Subject One: “For I the Lord do not change”( Malachi 3:6), and “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Prime Subject Two: While it is true that today we have electricity, computers, automobiles, and rocket ships, all those who use these have not changed since we were run out of the Garden because of our deepest nature, which always leads to error and death. None of that has changed since the forbidden fruit…
_______________________________________________ A wonderful time of fun, fellowship, and fabulous food was shared by all who attended the Priory Holiday Celebration at Dixie Crossroads on 28 December! And we’re starting the new year off with the Priory bi-annual Spiritual Retreat sponsored by the Commandery of The Holy Trinity and led by Rev. Glenn Galtere this Saturday, 11 January, at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seaton Catholic Church in Port St. Lucie. The Temple Church Spring 2025 Convent & Investiture You certainly don’t want to miss the upcoming Temple Church Spring 2025 Convent & Investiture (C&I) 28 February – 2 March 2025! It is…