Po polsku, по-русски

Monday's WSJ article on Sunday's Russian election showed this photo:

I try to translate any brief thing I see in the paper: protest banners, business signs, billboards like this one, whatever. Even if I have no success it's still a good exercise.

This one was mostly easy if you're familiar with the Russian (and/or Greek) alphabet:

1. MAPTA/ "Mart-a"/ March. The extra A must mean on or at March. I know only a dab of the case endings.

2. ВЫБОРЫ/ "vuibory"...dunno, move on.

3. ПРЕЗИДЕНТA/ Prezident-a...accusative/objective case probably, thus the final A.

4. POCCИИ/ Rossiy/ (of) Russia. Plain old Russia is РОССИЯ, Rossiya; but the genitive/possessive is POCCИИ. We have it so easy in English.

OK...back to #2...guessing purely from context, probably imperative mood, 'vote.' I sound it out again, "vuibory"...don't know that Russian word at all. But it sounds familiar: veebor? vweebor? weebor? Ha! I remember now. When I was a kid, I loved pickles (still do), and always paid attention to all the kinds of pickles at every grocery store. The Mt. Olive Pickle Co. produced the most exotically-named pickle of them all: Polski Wybor. I figured out Polski; but it wasn't 'til I was a parent that I ran into a Pole at the kiddie park who told me wybor means select, choice, as in the best. So ВЫБОРЫ isn't "vote" so much as "select." 

Heh.

Palmers

 I just flew in from Jerusalem and my arms are really tired

Hey, what kind of bird is this?  An eagle!  Close.  A hawk!  Close again.  A vulture!  Good grief no, try again...it starts with an F.  Falcon!  Yes. In particular it's a peregrine [on the board] falcon. I'll drop dead if anyone knows what peregrine means. It's a French word, and we have an English word that comes from it...guesses? No? Y'all know the Mayflower, right? Yes, the Pilgrims took it to America. Well, while the Mayflower was sailing to America a baby boy was born. On the ship? Yes. Like, on the ocean? Yes, imagine that. The Pilgrim baby boy was named Peregrine...so what word do we have in English like peregrine? Umm...Pilgrim? Yes, genius! And why'd his parents name him that? Because he was a Pilgrim? Yes. What does a pilgrim do? They go somewhere? Yes, they travel to some particular place. So why would we call this falcon a peregrine falcon? 'Cause it's going somewhere? Yes, we might also call it a pilgrim falcon; and what do we say birds do when they go somewhere each year? They migrate! Yes, do they go to different places each year? I think they go to the same place. Yes they do. So a peregrine falcon...migrates. Yes. It travels to...a particular place. Yes.

New topic: where was Jesus crucified? On a hill. Yes, in what city? Beth...Jerusalem! Yes. Well, ever since Christianity got started, people have been going to Jerusalem to see the places where Jesus did things. In the old days people had to travel on foot and by boat to get there. A person traveling from England might be gone from home for a year. Were those people just roaming around, or were they headed somewhere in particular? Somewhere in particular. Yes, which somewhere? Jerusalem. Yes, in the Holy Land. So they were like the falcons. Yes? The falcons went to Jerusalem too? No, I mean both the people and the birds had specific destinations; they didn't just start walking or flying and see where they'd wind up. So if the migrating falcons were called peregrines, what would you call people making a religious trip to Jerusalem? Umm...pilgrims? Yes, pilgrims. But I thought the Pilgrims just came to America. Yes, but those English people called themselves Pilgrims because they were on a religious journey, too. They thought of America as a New Jerusalem. But the older meaning for 'pilgrim' is a Christian going to the Old Jerusalem.

But for most Englishmen, Jerusalem was too far away; so they might make a pilgrimage to Canterbury, a city in England. St. Thomas à Beckett was the Archbishop of Canterbury, and was martyred right in the cathedral. Yes? What's an arch-bishop? It's a bishop who has a higher rank than a regular bishop. St. Thomas, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was in charge of all the Catholics in England. By the way, who is our bishop? Macaroni! Uh-uh- it's Guglielmone, you can learn to say it right. Where's he live? In Charleston. Yes, so we are in the Diocese of...Charleston. Yes. But we're also in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, which is headed up by...an...archbishop! Yes, Archbishop Gregory. So who's a bigger deal: an angel or an archangel? An Archangel! Yes, such as...Gabriel? Yes, and...Michael? Yes, good.

Anyway, people would walk to Canterbury to see where St. Thomas was killed, and pray at his shrine. Yes? What's a shrine? It's a special place, usually a chapel or building which contains the body or bones of a saint. Traveling wasn't safe back then, so pilgrims would journey in groups. There's an old set of poems about a group of those pilgrims, called the Canterbury Tales. I studied them in high school. I had to memorize the first poem about the people getting ready in the Spring to make the pilgrimage to St. Thomas' shrine. It says:

"And smale fowles maken melodye, That slepen al the night with open ye..." What's that? It's an older kind of English. It says the small birds make melody all night because it's Springtime, and they are excited. Yes? It sounds weird. Yes, but it sounded normal to the people who spoke that way. 

"Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages" Then folks long to go on pilgrimages: they are energized by Spring just like the birds. And how do Catholics call Springtime? Lent! Yes, because the Spring days...lengthen! Yes! Y'all are so smart.

"And specially, from every shires ende of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende..." Many people would plan a pilgrimage to Canterbury. But a few pilgrims might make the big trip...to...Jerusalem! Yes. The Canterbury Tales call those Holy Land pilgrims palmers: "And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes. To ferne halwes, kouthe in sondry londes/ and palmers for to seek strange shores. To distant saints, known in other lands." Why would they be called palmers?  'Cause they got palms there? Yes, genius, they'd bring back palms as souvenirs...why? Because of Palm Sunday and all. Yes. Often the palms would be formed into a particular shape...any guesses?  A cross? Yes, how did you know? 'Cause people in church make their palms into crosses.  Yes, that's a pilgrim tradition that we still observe.

Palm Sunday kicks off Holy Week, the biggest week in the Catholic year. Yes? Is it bigger than Christmas? Oh my yes. Holy Week is the last week of...Lent! Yes, and what's the Sunday after Holy Week? Easter Sunday! Yes. Even today pilgrims to the Holy Land like to be there for Holy Week because it's such an important week for Christians.

Somebody tell me about the Friday of Holy Week. It's Good Friday. So tell me about it. Jesus was crucified. Yes, but that was later; start in the morning...he had a nice chat with a Roman guy...Pontius Pilate! Yes, and...well, he said Jesus would get crucified. Yes, more or less. Then the Romans put Jesus and his cross in a jeep? No he had to carry it. Yes, more please. It was heavy and he fell down going up the hill. Yes, what hill? Umm...Calvary. Yes. What's the other name for the hill...starts with a G...Gethsemane! Good guess, but no. That's where Jesus prayed on Thursday night. Another hill that starts with a G...O...L...Golgotha! Yes. Doesn't that sound dreadful? Gol-go-tha. Anything else happen before Jesus got to the top? A lady washed his face with a rag and his picture got on it. Yes, St. Veronica. And then...he was crucified. Yes, and then...he died. Yes, and...no guesses?...they took Jesus down, and then...they buried him. Yes. Well on Good Friday especially, pilgrims, palmers in Jerusalem walk along the streets that Jesus probably walked on that first Good Friday. It's called the Way of the Cross in English; in Latin we say Via Crucis. People walk a bit, then stop, pray, and remember one of these events that happened to Jesus. Then they walk a bit more, and stop, pray and remember again. Yes? That's like in church we...stop! Don't say it yet, genius! You'll get your chance.

Now how do palmers get to Jerusalem nowadays? They fly? Yes, most of them. It takes a day or two, tops. But centuries ago, many Englishmen might not have the health or money to travel for weeks or months to Jerusalem and walk the Way of the Cross. So they might go to...Canterbury? Yes. But suppose you were too poor or old to even leave your village, but you still "longed to go on pilgrimage"- what could you do instead? OK, genius, tell us. You could go to Stations of the Cross in the church! Yes, why? Because the Stations are like where the people walk in Jerusalem! Yes! Going to Stations during Lent is a way to go on a little pilgrimage. It's not a physical pilgrimage 'cause we stay in town, but it's still...a spiritual pilgrimage! Yes!

So if you go to Stations with your parents and you get bored with all the reading, and tired of all the kneeling & genuflecting, think about palmers walking the Via Crucis in Jerusalem. Think about the pilgrims walking to Canterbury. And think about all the other Catholics around the world making a spiritual pilgrimage by attending Stations just like you.

Pitchers 11: Good Friday & All That

Board from the Feb. 29, 2012 class, Last Supper through Resurrection. I imagine this is all mostly self explanatory, except maybe:

1. Sleeping
2. Sleeping
3. Sleeping

and

1. No!
2. No!
3. No!

These indicate the apostles in Gethsemane broke their 'contract' with Jesus by falling asleep 3 times; and Peter broke his 'contract' by denying 3 times he even knew Jesus. We'll refer to these events next week when Peter orally re-contracts with Jesus 3 times during their "Lord I love you/ Feed my sheep" conversation.

Discussion of Jesus and the Good Thief was sparked by again showing the kids Rembrandt's Prodigal Son; and comparing Jesus to the Father, and St. Dismas to the repentant younger son. See how good Jesus and Dismas must have felt even while hanging on crosses? See why it's good to go to Confession? Uh-huh.

 
The Anastasis shown in my prior post was handed out after Jesus was laid in the tomb. As usual the kids plugged right into figuring out what Jesus was up to between his death on Friday and his Resurrection on Easter morning, and learned a little Greek, too. The fine art handout also has an image of Rembrandt's 1648 Supper at Emmaus, which we did not have time for. That's fine. Next week my bouncer will redistribute the Anastasis/ Emmaus sheet at the start of class, and we'll take care of Emmaus first thing.

I like this Emmaus because Jesus looks like he's not all that interested in hanging around on Earth anymore, and just wants to be in Heaven. At the end of next week's class I'll encourage the kids to take the handout home, and use it to tell their parents what they've learned.

Carpe Articulum

I read this article today: Hades-type cave looks like heaven for archaeologists.

Key bit:

"Hades, the fabled underworld of the dead in ancient Greece, wasn't the happiest place...There, departed heroes such as Achilles gathered mostly to grouse about their boredom and await the verdict of the judges of the dead. There's a reason that it later became associated with the hell of Christianity."

Tomorrow night's Wednesday Sunday School lesson plan runs from Gethsemane up to the Ascension. The kids already know about Sheol/ Hades/ Hell, including references to Enoch, Elijah, and the parable of Lazarus resting in the bosom of Abraham. Reading a few lines of this article will be a diverting lead-in for discussing this bit of the Apostles' Creed: "He descended into hell," which itself is an intro into discussing what Jesus was actually doing in "Hell" anyway. This picture is our visual aid:

That's right, it's an Anastasis. And that makes the news article all the more fun. I usually mention that Anastasia is a girl's name, but this year I'll also read this next key bit from the paper:

"But for archaeologists, a Greek cave...contains the remains of a Stone Age village..."What you see there almost cannot be described," says archaeologist Anastasia Papathanasiou of the Greek Ministry of Culture..." An actual woman named Anastasia is way more interesting than me just saying Anastasia is a girl's name; and it makes a living connection to that old Greek fresco.

This little exercise meets three ongoing class goals:

1. Connect God Stuff to Regular Stuff.

2. Connect the Past to the Present.

3. Connect the Textbook to Other Printed Stuff.

Now did God make sure this article was in my paper the day before the only class of the year in which I could use it; or was it just coincidence?

Inquiring minds wanna know.

Greenville Ephrathah 3

 L'il 'phrathah

 Plus de stuf:

1. Creative-type Sons of Ephrathah dive headsfirst into the New Evangelization & All That.

2. During the first weeks of February, local pastors from St. Mary's & Our Lady of the Rosary visited the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter which has been set up in Houston.

3. The pastor of St. Mary's was interviewed by the New York Times on the subject of married Catholic priests. Maybe next time he'll get interviewed by the paper of record, the Wall Street Journal...am I digressing?

4. Speaking of married priests, tonight at Ash Wednesday Mass, local former Episcopalian priest Jon Chalmers was thumbing ash crosses onto foreheads. So he's back from a stint in Houston, a candidate for Holy Orders, and soon to be ordained a deacon.

By the way, in case you're holding your breath until L'il 'phrathah does something fabulous- let it out. It took about 700 years for the first Ephrathah prophecy to pay off.

Pitchers 10: Physical Access

This post is linked to RAnn's Sunday Snippets 

 

Trust me, he's sick or naked or hungry or something bad

Partial board from the Feb 15, 2012 class, which covered the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt 22), the Judgement of the Nations (Matt 25) and the Last Supper (Matt 26+). I was running out of space by the time we got to the Last Supper. For some bizarre reason, the cartoon on Matt 25 is labeled B, although it was drawn before the Last Supper cartoon which is tagged A.

One of the great things about teaching 6th-grade is that the majority of the kids know these stories already. So classtime is spent on adding depth rather than laying groundwork. Every year I'm pleasantly surprised by what the children have already learned from their parents and catechists.

Cartoon B illustrates that those who want to "do something beautiful for God," as M. Teresa would say, will do things for "the least of  [Jesus'] brethren," given that Jesus isn't a carpenter you can take to lunch anymore. Jesus at left welcomes all the sheep on the right who acted in faith to help that poor wretch in the middle. The middle person in need of love & charity mediates their Corporal (you know, acting body-to-body) Acts of Mercy to Jesus; and oddly enough, mediates Jesus back to them as well. I elaborate on this with a photo book and discussion of MT (whom most kids already know), and the scabby, sick, smelly & scrawny people she loved. Then I say a bit about how her example prompted me to bring Communion to the sick for years, and tell a personal story of how Jesus once flowed back & forth between me and a dying woman. The kids remember that Elisha dropped everything when Elijah called him; as did Peter, Andrew, James & John at Jesus' call. And they learn that MT did the same on a train in India when Jesus called her.

Jesus is big on action, not talk.

Cartoon A accompanied discussion as to why the Last Supper featured Bread & Wine instead of Bread & Lamb, like a normal Passover. The kids recall that Jesus is the Lamb of God per John da Baptis' and so they eat Him through the miracle bread; and the whole "this is my Body & Blood" business explains all that weird stuff Jesus said the day after the Loaves & Fishes miracle. Then the kids remember the priest-king Melchizedek's bread & wine. I draw Melchizedek toting bread and wine;  Abraham; and Moses (in his Ark). The kids figure out that if a priest makes an offering for you, and you pay him, that the priest outranks you in religious authority. Thus Melchizedek outranks Abraham, and by extension all his descendants such as Moses, who made the Passover covenant with God. So when Jesus says "This bread is my body/ this cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood," he is using Melchizedek's bread & wine. Later on, St. Paul explains to the Hebrews how this shows Jesus is a priest like Melchizedek, and thus his new covenant outranks Moses' old covenant.

Fine Art 7, Res Ipsa 12: Rembrandt's Prodigal Son

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

Where possible, (i.e., most of the time) every Bible concept or story is connected to something the kids already know about Catholicism. For example, Jesus fasting in the desert precedes Lent; the Meeting Tent anticipates a Catholic church; the Loaves & Fishes provides a model of both Church administration and the Mass; and David's confession to Nathan, and the Prodigal Son story both foreshadow the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Last week we covered the Prodigal Son, and once again I used this painting by Rembrandt...

 

...along with the usual drawing and discussing:

 Rembrandt's Prodigal Son possesses emotional dimensions that aren't available through the printed word. The kids plug into it right away. The handout of the image has the Act of Contrition at the bottom to encourage the kids (and their parents) to go to Confession. I don't know if it works or not; all but two kids took the handout with them after class was over.

In the catechism business Hope always Springs Eternal.