The One

When I was 12 years old or so I first played the WW2 naval wargame Bismarck, and learned about Scapa Flow, an odd patch of water in northern Scotland where the British fleet was based during the World Wars.

A couple of months ago I started reading Castles of Steel, about the the naval war in WW1. Castles spends careful time on what I call management issues, including the British decision to base the Grand Fleet in the north to directly confront the Germans, rather than keeping it at Portsmouth on England's southern coast. I had a look at Scapa Flow on Google Earth to get a sense of the place, tried to imagine maintaining and protecting fabulously complicated and expensive ships in such a desolate wash.

My wife & I were having drinks on the porch this weekend, and I was percolating on Scapa. I tend to tell her bits of stuff I read that I think she'll find interesting (or not) and figured I should give a bit of intro before just jumping into this obscure topic. I get about a dozen words out and she says, "Oh, you mean Scapa Flow; go ahead." So I ask how in the world would she know about such an obscure place? Why, because before we were married, she was doing marine archaeology doctoral work at the University of St. Andrews (Chariots of Fire) in Scotland, where Scapa is known as a great place for diving on wrecks. In fact, over one holiday her friends went to Scapa, while she opted for a warmer Mediterranean break at Rhodes.

And I'm thinking maybe 1% of Americans have ever heard of Scapa Flow. And of that 1%, 99% must be men with an interest in military history. So my wife would be 1% of 1%.

Just goes to show what very careful job God did of picking her for me.

One for Reading, One for Offering, One for Both

The April 11 class covered the Mass up through the Homily. The introductory first 30 minutes looked at some key parts of Acts 3-5:

Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer...  [Being Jews, the apostles still go to the Temple.]

2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask alms of those who entered the temple. [Who does this sound like? The blind man! Yes, or? The paralyzed man. Yes, and then? Jesus will heal him! No, Jesus is in heaven. The apostles! Well, an apostle, which one? Peter! Yes, the #1 apostle. Who was also...the first pope. Yes.]

6 But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God... 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomons, astounded. [The people are getting all cranked up like they would when Jesus did this sort of thing. And who is going to get aggravated? The Pharisees. Yes, and? The High Priest? Yes, the Temple staff.]

Acts 4:1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, annoyed [aggravated!] because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody... [That didn't take long.]

5 On the morrow their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. [There you go, all the aggravated bigshots!]

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they wondered; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. [Uh-oh...killing Jesus was supposed to fix this problem. Now it's worse!]

14 But seeing the man that had been healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. "What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is manifest to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any one in this name." 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. [So, do you think the apostles agreed to shut up about Jesus? No! Right!]

Acts 5:12 Now many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. [Back at the Temple again.]

14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and pallets, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might overshadow some of them. [I like how Peter's shadow 'overshadows' people to heal them. Tell me about some other overshadowing y'all know. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary. Yes, good. Who told her? Umm...Gabriel! Yes. Another overshadowing?  The angels' wings over the Ark? Yes, the cherubims' wings. Any more? Remember the Shekhinah? The cloud over the Tent! Yes. Now Peter mediates God's power such that he can overshadow, too.]

17 But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the common prison. [Now they are past just talking tough.]

19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, 20 "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life." [Now who else did God tell to 'Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people'? Jesus? Well, Jesus did that without being told. But who did God tell...no guesses, that's ok: Jeremiah.]

[The next day]...the captain with the officers went and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. 27 And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us." 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men." 33 When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill them. [Who are you reminded of? Jesus! Yes.] 

[After] they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. [The Temple staff is aggravated enough now that the apostles may be beaten up or thrown into prison or even killed if they keep blabbing about Jesus in the Temple or synagogues.]

All of that intro is to show the kids that the New Covenant Jewish Christians aren't going be accepted by the wider Old Covenant Jewish community, and wind up going their separate way. They were used to attending Synagogue on Saturday, where they'd read or hear Scripture, pray, sing Psalms and hymns, and listen to the Rabbi comment on the readings. On Sundays at people's houses they'd remember Easter, the Last Supper,  and Jesus' sacrifice. But that pattern has to change. 

"OK, let's draw a picture of the Temple...here's the courtyard where Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus and the Apostles would annoy the Levites. But the Christians aren't welcome there anymore; they're too annoying. And here's a Synagogue. Christians can't go there anymore either. But that's fine, they have a New Covenant and a new Lamb anyway. So what do Christians do when peoples' houses become too small for the congregation? They build a church? Yes. Here ya go. So over here are the Old Covenant buildings, and the church is...the New Covenant building. Yes. And what happens in a Catholic church is the New Covenant version of what happened the Old Covenant synagogues and the Temple. So- what happens in a Catholic church? Funerals? I mean on Sundays. Mass. Yes. The Mass combines the synagogue and the Temple. 

"What happens in a synagogue? They read and sing? Yes, and pray; and then the Rabbi...juggles? No, he talks about stuff. Yes, usually he would comment on the readings. And do we do that in church? Yes. Right, in the first half of the Mass. 

"And at the Temple? People sacrifice?  Yes, usually...a...Lamb! Yes, remind me though: what happens to the Lamb first? They kill it. Yes, then? They offer it. Yes. At Mass we don't kill the Lamb though, we just...offer it? Yes, like Jesus offered himself at...the Last Supper! Yes, good. That's the second half of the Mass.  

One for reading, one for offering, one for both.

"Now that we know the Old Covenant background, let's see how the New Covenant Mass works. Instead of using the Bible we'll discuss bits from this Missal. So what's the first thing that happens at Mass? The priest comes in! No! We sing! No! The bell rings! Yes........"

Res Ipsa Loquitur 13: Odds'n'Ends

Class on March 28 covered the end times in Revelations, mostly chapters 19-22. These are some bits from that class, not all of them strictly adhering to the lesson plan.

1. For Riparians, a short digression on Adam & Eve while handing out a few rubber vocation bracelets.

2. While discussing the Final Judgment, the subject of Purgatory came up again. That worked out well because I was only a page away from a helpful verse at the time.

3. The lesson plan ended 6 minutes early. I had this bit on palmers in reserve.

Greenville-Ephrathah 5

 Li'l 'phrathah

From St. Mary's pastor:

St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, SC will be the site of the first ordination for the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. On Wednesday 11 April 2012, Jon David Chalmers will be ordained to the diaconate and on Sunday 3 June 2012 he will be ordained to the priesthood for service in the Ordinariate. Jon has been called to Holy Orders by the Ordinary, Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson, and he will be ordained by the Most Reverend Robert E. Guglielmone, Bishop of Charleston. The diaconal ordination on April 11th is at 12 noon, and all are welcome.

3 Little Pigs & Bottled God

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

 A Gracious Plenty

Last week I was pleasantly shocked to discover that the 2011-12 catechetical year is running about 1/2 class ahead of schedule. We have 4 more classes: one on Revelations, and three on the Mass. In case you're wondering, there's no end-of-year party. The last class is a regular class, and the kids are a bit pleased with themselves that they don't need to be coddled with entertainment.

Tonight's class first recapped the transition from the Church in Acts to the present day, and how the Catholic Church maintains the visible hierarchy established in Acts. The rest of the period treats the Epistles, which kids find deadly dull. I don't blame them. After all the acting out and storytelling of the Gospels & Acts, the Epistles are dry toast. To make them bearable to the young'uns I deal in little soundbites which have particular resonance for Catholics. The extra time meant I could pick more than the usual 3 or 4 excerpts.

1.  "For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- 13 each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." [1Cor 3]

The kids figured out the Purgatory relevance, as usual. But this year I had a little epiphany. As I was writing "gold, silver, diamonds, wood, hay, straw" on the board, out of the blue I said, "Hey, who knows the Three Little Pigs?" So we started with the kids telling the story of the 3 Pigs and their houses. That intro perked them up a bit and energized the discussion.

2. "I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands." [2Tim 1:6]

Paul likens Timothy's gifts to those the Apostles received at Pentecost; and because Confirmation approaches, I take every opportunity to show that laying hands makes a difference.

3. "I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will." [Philemon 14]

I turn this short Epistle into the story of Onesimus the Runaway Slave & Paul's Intercession. The kids discuss why true charity must be freely given. I remind them that parents nevertheless require their children to act charitably with their bodies in order to train their souls in the habits of virtue.

4. "..we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." [Heb 4:14-15]

Sounds too intellectual for 12-year-olds, but we pump it up with a sketch of the Meeting Tent. The kids recall the details, especially the High Priest (a sinner) behind the veil. Remembering that God instructed Moses to build an imitation of the Sanctuary in Heaven, they see that sinless Jesus is now in that sanctuary doing the High Priest job perfectly. So the Hebrews can forget about the Temple and the Ark in Jerusalem, just as Jeremiah foretold: "...when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the LORD, they shall no more say, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD." It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; it shall not be made again."

5. "...we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us..." [Heb 12:1]

The kids tell me about the saints and angels in the "cloud," and I tell them to imagine the saints at Mass with us all around the walls of the church. We compare the Tortoise and the Hare story to Paul's encouragement to persevere in the race: you can't lay back and say you're saved. You have to keep doing good 'til the end.

6. "What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18 But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith...Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead...[James 2]

The kids well know Jesus' attention to good works. This is just some icing on the body-soul-faith-works concept that they've seen a dozen times or more this year.

7. "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence" [1Pet 3]

I tell the kids that I want them to be able to this, i.e., answer questions about being Catholic Christians without getting into arguments. I give a few examples from my own life to show it's not something to fear, but something to anticipate and prepare for. We consider the adults in RCIA class, and how many of them are now becoming Catholic because a Catholic had answered their questions.

8. "This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. 7 And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 8 There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree." [1John 5]

The kids tell me about ritual sprinkling of blood and water, and how blood and water flowed from Jesus' side. I help them to connect all that to the fusing of the Spirit, the blood of Christ's sacrifice, and the cleansing water in Baptism.

Toward the end of class there were some digressions. One child asked this question, which I hear at least once each year: "If I love my dog and can't be happy without him, will I have him in Heaven even if animals don't go to Heaven?" I did the usual cartoon of a dog and its owner, with arrows of God's goodness flowing from Heaven, through the dog, into the person. If you're in Heaven getting all of God's goodness directly from God, you don't need a dog to mediate it. You won't miss your dog.

Kids are never really satisfied with that explanation, which adults seem fine with. So I launched into this off-the-cuff analogy:

Pretend we all live in the middle of the Sahara desert. The desert is all we've ever seen. Every day you get a 2-liter bottle of water, which is enough to meet your needs. But we're going to move from the desert to a houseboat on a Great Lake, name one for me...Superior? Good, we're going to live on Lake Superior. How big is it? Well, it's real big. Yes, Lake Superior's about the size of South Carolina. It's so big that you can't see any land from the middle. For all you can tell, the water goes on forever.

How much water is in a 2-liter bottle? Umm...2-liters?  Yes. How much more water is in Lake Superior? A billion times more?  Yes, maybe even more...a billion billion! Yes, it's practically an infinite amount of water; I can't imagine water from horizon to horizon, 'cause I've only seen water in a bottle. But before we leave I get nervous. I say, "Make sure you take your water bottles!" What would you say? We won't need them anymore!  But that's how we get our water, we have to have them! But you can have all the water you want by jumping in the lake!  No, I have to have my water bottle to have the water! No you can have all you want without the bottle! It's a lake! It's made out of water!

So what's my problem? You can't imagine that much water. Yes. Well, heaven is like that. We can't imagine that much God. God is all around you and in you, like you're a fish in Lake Superior. In Heaven, God's goodness won't come to you through your dog, or your parents, or even through communion at Mass. You'll get God straight from God. Yes, what? I still want my dog in Heaven. Well...wait and see.

Class over!

By the way, the kids love it when I'm obtuse and they have to correct me.
  

The Apostles' Crab

(This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets)


Ready...set...CRAB! Yaaaah! Arrrgghhh!

Some highlights from the March 7 class, the Resurrection through Paul's commission. The Bible wants to tell the story, so I let it. All verses were already highlighted in my lecture Bible. I didn't flip back to actually read the John da Baptis' quote, that's something we covered a few months ago.  The kids just needed to hear it on the fly this time. Otherwise readings are from the last bit of Luke, the last bit of John, and Acts starting at Chapter 1. Almost no flipping back & forth. Easy.

On Easter morning Mary Magdalene didn't recognize the resurrected Jesus:

 "... she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener [?!], she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him..."

The apostles didn't recognize Jesus either:

"That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,  and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him."

and

"Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus."  Of course if I were freed from the consequences of Sin, you might not recognize me right away either.

On Easter evening, the Apostles were scared:

Who's there?

 "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them...he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive [an extra dose of] the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Jesus is establishing what sacrament? Confession? Yes, good.

Over the next 40 days, Jesus pops in and out of spacetime to visit occasionally with the apostles; they are still a bit vague about Scripture and prophecy and all that stuff. Jesus helps them out :

"O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"  And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

and

 "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures..."

 Regardless, the apostles remain unclear about the Messiah business. Still expecting a David:

"Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" Poor guys need some direction.

And they're at loose ends. Some return to their old jobs:

"Simon Peter, Thomas...the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing."

But John da Baptis' had foretold:

 "...he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Huh...that might be motivating.

Before ascending, Jesus & Peter orally re-establish Peter's contract to be the #1 person in charge of the flock:

Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."

Jesus ascends to heaven, and won't return until the Second Coming. Peter starts taking charge in Jesus' absence, figures out the apostles need to replace dead Judas:

"Peter stood up among the brethren (the company of persons was in all about a hundred and twenty), and said... "one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us--one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection."

So if an apostle dies...you make another one! Yes. Peter quotes King David to reinforce the idea that being an apostle is a kind of office:

"his bishoprick let another take."

They tentatively pick two disciples, Barsabbas and Matthias.  But the the apostles lack a certain confidence, and leave the final choice to the Holy Spirit:

"And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles." What's "casting lots"? Like rolling dice? Yes, or flipping a coin.

As soon as there are 12 apostles again, they all get yet another extra dose of the Holy Spirit:

"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues..."

The apostles were FIRED UP! like so:

 they ain't scared no more

"Hey, do you boys know what a crab pose is...what bodybuilders do? Me! Me too! Good...nobody else? Can y'all do a crab? Yes! OK y'all two get up here. Don't crab 'til I tell ya. Now after the apostles got their third dose of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, did they continue to lock themselves up and hide? No! So what did they do instead? They went everywhere & told people about Jesus! That's right...they were fearless, they went all over the place spreading the Gospel and  setting up the Church. All but John were martyred, so they were way-tough guys. Now you two are gonna show everyone how tough and fearless and motivated and fired-up the apostles were. Ready...set...CRAB! Yaaaah! Arrrgghhh! Great job! Just look at these super apostles! OK...that's enough crabbing...y'all can sit down now."

Saul the Christian-hater is personally visited by Jesus, but that doesn't prepare him to do anything. Instead he's blinded. His sight is restored by an authorized Christian doing what? Touching his eyes! Great guess, but no! Laying hands on him! Yes! Are y'all surprised? No! Smarties.

"The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." (Who said that to God in the Old Testament? Samuel! Yes! How many times? Three! Yes!)  And the Lord said to him, "...inquire...for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying, and he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized."

Saul and Barnabas are "set apart" like Samuel and Samson and John:

"Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon... Lucius of Cyrene ...and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." What sort of Catholic persons are set apart today for special work? Priests? Yes, and...nuns?  Yes, good."

The "prophets and teachers" lay hands on Saul and Barnabas:

"Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off." Hey, guess what a bishop does when he makes a man into a priest? Lays his hands on his head? Yes, good. 

Only after this laying of hands is Saul now known as Paul. He has a new name like who else? Abraham & Sarah. Yes, and ...Isaac! No, but you mean Jacob. His name was changed to...starts with an 'I' like Isaac...Israel! Yes, and...Peter! Yes, which means...rock, yes, or...stone. Yes, like the cornerstone. And in Spanish? Piedra. Yes. Pedro is the piedra.

That's it for tonight. Next week we'll see how the apostles and Paul continued to spread and organize the Church.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Now and Forever!

Greenville-Ephrathah 4: Local Music

Postlude at the close of Lenten Vespers. Music by the parish organist, Robert Lee. This recording is by the choral ensemble, Concordiae: Singers of Ecclesiastical Music, directed by parish choirmaster Arlen Clarke.

It's not very Lenten, but Vespers is on Sunday.

Evening Prayer