WATCH: A glimpse inside The Troops of St. George, a Catholic alternative to the Boy Scouts

A few months back, I posted on the growth of the Troops of St. George, a Catholic alternative to the Boy Scouts.

The organization has just produced a series of short videos about the apostolate.

One includes an overview of the group:

Another features the perspective of fathers:

A visit to the group’s website reveals the following information:

The Troops of Saint George (TSG) is a fraternal Catholic nonprofit apostolate for priests, men, and young men looking for a life of adventure coupled with virtue. Initially founded in 2013 by Catholic author and professor Dr. Taylor Marshall, we have become a collection of troops that do the following:

•  experience reverent and beautiful Masses on mountaintop vistas
•  pray the Rosary with other men around fire pits in the freezing cold
•  catch a Fish Friday meal by fly fishing for trout
•  go to confession with our priests while kneeling on moss in the woods
•  teach our sons archery, rockclimbing, marksmanship, fishing, survival skills…and Catholic virtues
•  foster a love for the priesthood and a reverence for the sacrament of Matrimony
•  support our local parish, our priests, our bishops, and community by being available for works of mercy and service

Once you experience TSG you will see how we are able to transform not only individual men, but entire parishes. Please sign up to receive our Starter Packet.

Mission Statement:

“The Troops of Saint George apostolate aims to use the outdoors as our canvas and the sacraments as our path to light the way for the formation of Holy Catholic men and boys. Whether called to the vocation of the priesthood, the religious life, or that of Holy fatherhood, our fathers and sons will take a prayerful pilgrimage together to fulfill Christ’s desire for them to grow in virtue and in their Holy Catholic faith as they journey toward heaven.”

The Troops of Saint George salute their officers, the flag, banners of the saints and Our Lady, and crucifixes with the “Trinitarian Salute” – three fingers of the right hand (index, middle, ring) out, and with the pinky and thumb joined signifying that the divine nature of Christ is joined to His human nature: fully God and fully man as taught at the Catholic Council of Chalcedon in AD 431.

The cadets usually carry a compass with them. Even when they do not, they should be able to find East. Like the early Christians, the Troops of Saint George pray facing the East in response to Gospel according to Saint Matthew 24:27:

“For as lightning cometh out of the east, and appears even into the west: so shall the coming of the Son of man be.”

The Church believed that Christ’s Second Coming would be revealed “from the east to the west.” The rising sun was an image of the Resurrected Christ.

So at times of prayer (for example, at the Angelus at noon), the Captain or one of the boys should shout “ad orientem” and the men and boys should turn to face East, unless there is already a suitable image or crucifix erected nearby.

Clearly, this ain’t the BSA.

It has a sharply-defined “traditional” Catholic bent, and the Mass celebrated in the videos appears to be the Extraordinary Form.  It won’t be for everybody. But it clearly has a devoted following that is embracing this approach to the scout experience.