Dew Drop In

This post links to Convert Journal

Here’s a favorite bit from Isaiah 45:

“I am the LORD, there is no other.

I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I, the LORD, do all these things.

Let justice descend, you heavens, like dew from above,
like gentle rain let the clouds drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
let righteousness spring up with them!
I, the LORD, have created this.”

I like occasions when Scripture refers to rain or dew: I imagine both precipitations would figure prominently in the imagination of anyone living in an arid land.  And I’m guessing, but I bet anytime a prophet figuratively referred to rain or dew, his hearers would reflect on this bit of Exodus:

“Then the LORD said to Moses: I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion…”

And I love the way the bread came down: not in a torrent, but lightly, softly-

“In the morning a layer of dew lay all about the camp,

and when the layer of dew had gone up, fine flakes were on the surface of the wilderness, fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.

On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?” for they did not know what it was. But Moses told them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”

It’s especially relevant for Catholics, because Eucharistic Prayer #2 riffs elegantly on that bit of Exodus:

“You are indeed Holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness.
Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them
like the dewfall, so that they may become for us
the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In Exodus, first came the dew. When the dew went up, the miracle bread was present. And at Mass we pray for a similar miracle: that the Holy Spirit will, dew-like, cover our offerings; and shortly after, there will be miracle bread to eat.

Stay fired-up about Jesus and his Church.

Summapalooza 2015 Class 12: Liturgy of the Eucharist

Scroll down at the link.

Summapalooza 2015 Class 11: Liturgy of the Word

 Scroll down at the link.

Summapalooza

Y'all get fired up about my free lecture series this summer! The world is invited! Come and See!

Glory Cloud

This post links to Sunday Snippets

This year so far is the best year I've had catechizing 6th grade, which is saying a lot, since even the worst year (which I clearly remember) was still a good year. It takes a couple of months for the children to adjust to how class works, but lately we've become quite the little family, laughing, learning, anticipating, finishing each other's sentences. It's like sitting around the dinner table and the topic of lively conversation is always Jesus and his Church. The last two classes were like group flow-states, if that's possible. The kids believe in themselves, partly because they know I believe in them and love them like my own children. Every Wednesday night we hit the ground running, and they are fearless thinkers, knowing that even a fabulously wrong answer can still be a good answer.

Last class we were discussing this Annunciation, and how aspects of both Church and Temple are present in the building.

 Panel from the Isenheim Altarpiece

The kids can relate new stuff to old stuff on the fly, and one of them asked if there had been a Shekhinah cloud over the Temple, as there had been over the Meeting Tent. "Huh...maybe as long as it contained the Ark; y'all may remember that the Ark was gone by the time Mary was born. But there's a Glory Cloud in the painting. I see it! Yes! And in the cloud? The dove, the Holy Spirit! Yes! But is it overshadowing the Ark? No, Mary! Yes, because...Jesus is in her? Yes, as of that very moment when both Holy Spirit and Glory Cloud overshadow her. Yes, what? Is there a Shekhinah in church? Uhh...never thought about it. I guess not. Well, maybe it's there but we can't see it because of sin (being blinded or veiled by sin is a standard idea). Wow, you could be right! There's all sorts of glory and saints and angels at Mass with us, so I wouldn't be surprised if the whole church (arms waving around) might be lit like the sun with God's presence. It might be like visions Isaiah and Daniel had (they know them). Wow. We'll get to some of that later this year." And then we continued to discuss the painting.

I know this vignette is a small thing, but for that weekly hour of class we hover on the cusp of Heaven. This is my life. As the song says, God Has Been So Good to Me.

Res Ipsa Loquitur 17: Whole Lotta Eatin' Goin' On

A few minutes from the Bible about eating at this episode of Source and Summit.

Res Ipsa Loquitur 16: Mass Density

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

James Tissot Strikes Again

Six minutes on a Scripturally-packed part of the Mass, in this podcast at Source and Summit; and a winsome conversion story by host Marvin Max.

Pitchers 19

Second Board, January 22, 2014

1. Loaves & Fishes just like in prior years. Jesus gives thanks to the Father and effects a food miracle. Grumpy apostles mediate between Jesus and the people.

2. Plan of church shows same relationships: Father>Jesus>food miracle>ministers>people.

3. Triangle shows divine power flows through Jesus; then it's mediated through a small group of authorized agents to everyone else. It's a lateral hierarchy; but hierarchies are usually laid out vertically. So...

4. Triangle rotates to become Mount Sinai. (The kids already know how the Old Covenant works.) We see the same pattern in blue as described in Exodus: Israelites at the bottom, Levites halfway up, Moses in the Shekhinah cloud at the top connecting with YHWH on behalf of the others.

5. Same hierarchical pattern in blue is fulfilled and perfected in the Church in green: the faithful, the ministerial priesthood, Jesus at the top connects to the Father per Hebrews & Revelation.

It'd be virtually impossible to discuss these connections with 12-year-olds with words alone. But with a few pictures, the kids don't just learn, they think and draw conclusions.

Epiclesis

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets and Convert Journal

 Size doesn't matter

Up until I was eight years old I belonged to St. Francis de Sales parish in Houma, La., whose church is a lovely Gothic revival structure completed in 1938. My Catholic imagination was well-nurtured by its elegant proportions; the Bible stories vividly presented in the stained glass windows; and a dove whose wings overshadowed the crucifix, tabernacle and altar.  The dove was painted on the green underside of a gracefully arched canopy which was cantilevered from the wall just above the crucifix.

Of course I knew the dove represented the Holy Spirit. But the canopy made the point, not the bird. It emphasized and protected Jesus on the cross; and also in his little house, the Tabernacle. It was clear to a kid: what's under the canopy is more worthy of attention and protection than what's not under it. I didn't understand until decades later that the canopy was yet another expression of Biblical-liturgical overshadowing; and that the little canopy was properly called a baldacchino.

At Mass, I'm frequently reminded of that green canopy during the Epiclesis:

Roman Missal 3rd Edition, Eucharistic Prayer II:  "Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ."

Roman Missal 2nd Edition, Eucharistic Prayer II: "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ."

I remember the canopy not so much because of the words, but because of the gesture which accompanies those words:

Is the priest making a little canopy over the gifts? I think it's implicit in the gesture. More specifically, I think he's overshadowing the gifts. I know, the prayer doesn't say that. I'm conflating "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts..." with this bit of Luke 1: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." That is, at the moment of Mary's overshadowing, God became physically present in her womb. And at the Epiclesis, God becomes physically present in the accidents of bread and wine. So I like the overshadowing gesture; and if I had been in charge of the New Translation, that bit would be something like "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy; and let your power overshadow them, that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ." But I can't find any Mass in Latin that mentions overshadowing even once; so it'd be going beyond the Latin to include any explicit mention of it.

But Christianity is bigger than the Latin Church. And the Eastern Christians usually embrace mystery with an enthusiasm that often escapes the rational West. Are any of them explicit about overshadowing in their Divine Liturgies?

At least one is, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In the opening prayer of its Divine Liturgy we hear, "How awful is this day and how marvellous this hour wherein the Holy Spirit will descend from heaven and overshadow and hallow this sacrifice. In quietness and in fear, arise and pray that the peace of God be with me and with all of you." I like that.

And at the epiclesis the priest says, "We pray thee and beseech thee Lord, that thou wouldest send the Holy Spirit and power upon this bread and upon this cup." I think the couplet of 'Holy Spirit and power' alludes to Luke 1 as well, but a bit more explicitly than the Latin Masses do.

So in April of next year, when we are discussing the Epiclesis in Catechism class, I'll make the same gesture as the priest. And then I'll get the kids to figure out what it means, and connect it to other overshadowings they're already familiar with. Time permitting, I'll draw the old canopy at St. Francis and a baldacchino; and have the children tell me how they relate to the priest's overshadowing hands.

This material is also covered in this short audio file.

Transformation vs. Multiplication

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets and Convert Journal

Y'all know the Cana miracle, right?

 1 On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. 3 When the wine was almost gone, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They are almost out of wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now a stone jar was standing there, able to hold twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, "Pour the last of the wine into the jar." Then He said, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. 9 When the steward of the feast tasted the wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." And they distributed it to those who were seated; as much as they wanted.  And when they had drunk their fill, there was wine left over.

OK-  I'm teasing: that's not how the miracle goes, although my version might seem plausible. Typically somebody doesn't have enough bread, or water, or flour, or oil; and a little bit miraculously goes a long way. But unlike other food miracles in the Bible, Cana's miracle is about transformation, not multiplication, and thus more impressive: making wine out of water is more remarkable than say, Elisha making twenty loaves of bread feed a hundred men.

Why does this matter? Because by miraculously transforming water into wine, Jesus sets a precedent for His invisible transformation of wine into blood. That is, a dog miracle* prepares us for a faith miracle.

Audio based on the above text here.



*And what's a dog miracle? It's one that can be accepted with little-to-no faith. For example, at Cana even a dog could have tasted and seen that water went in and wine came out. People will easily believe what they perceive with their own two eyes or other bodily senses (well, most of the time: John 9) . People love visible miracles, such as making the paralyzed walk...they don't require much faith. It's the invisible ones, like forgiving sins, that are tough.

I Never Noticed This Either #2

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets , Convert Journal, and Amazing Catechists

 

Supper at Emmaus by Rembrandt

Last night I attended a mission at Our Lady of the Rosary in Greenville, SC. The speaker was Michael Cumbie, whose faith journey is not the usual; I was pleasantly surprised by both the plot and the content of his 90-minute presentation (the 2nd of 3).

One of the Bible stories he covered was the Road to Emmaus, per Luke 24. I'm editing a bit:

"That very day two of them were going to Emmaus and talking about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding?" 18 Cleopas answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened?"  "What things?"  "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, and how our chief priests and rulers crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive." 25 And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

In catechism class I always thump on that last line. It reminds us that the disciples were average guys; and unlike scribes and Pharisees, didn't have wads of Scripture committed to memory. They didn't spend their workdays thinking about Isaiah; they thought about, oh, catching fish. Nor would it be obvious to even an expert that golly, Jesus sure has fulfilled an awful lotta Scripture on this, the very first Easter Sunday! So Jesus had to explain it all from God's viewpoint as they were walking; and he probably needed every minute of the journey to do so.

"So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, 29 but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. 30* When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight."

And I jump on that as well, and y'all are familiar with  it. The bread-breaking is a big deal, because that's the moment Jesus was recognized, not merely seen. In other words, anyone can see, but does everyone understand what they are seeing? Of course this alludes to Mass, and the necessity of not just seeing what things may look like, like, you know, bread; but recognizing what they are.

But Cumbie also pointed out that not only was Jesus recognized when he broke bread, but that he was not recognized during hours of Scripturally enlightening the two disciples about himself. And the two disciples seem surprised at that: "They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" Yeah....wouldn't that have been the time for recognition? Nope. They knew Jesus when he broke bread; not when he showed them how all Scripture had been fulfilled in himself. Huh.

I never noticed. But boy howdy am I using it in catechism class when we cover this passage in March. I expect to Go Negative, like so:

"Later on Easter Sunday, Jesus ran into a couple of sad disciples. Why would they be sad? 'Cause they thought Jesus was dead. Yes. Let's listen to Luke's Gospel: "That very day two of them were going to Emmaus and talking about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking, Jesus himself drew near and went with them." But y'all just said Jesus was dead. He's alive again, it's Easter! Oh, oh yeah, that's right. "But their eyes were kept from recognizing him." Who kept them from recognizing Jesus? Umm, I guess Jesus did. Yes, why? I don't know. That's ok, let's see if you can figure it out. Then Jesus said, "What is this conversation which you are holding?" 18 Cleopas answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened?"  "What things?"  "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, and how our chief priests and rulers crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive." Who are they telling Jesus about? They're telling him about himself! Yes! Do they know who he is yet? No! Right! And Jesus said, O foolish men, y'all don't understand all the stuff the prophets predicted! Prophets like who? Isaiah! Yes. But are these guys Bible experts? No! Right, they need a little help: "And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Now once Jesus explained everything to them, did they recognize him? Yes! No! Trick Question! Jesus walked with them most of the day explaining how he fulfilled all those prophecies, but they still didn't know who he was!

"So they drew near to the village to which they were going. The disciples said, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them.  When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight."

"So tell me about it. They knew he was Jesus. Yes of course, but tell me how they knew. Jesus let them see. Yes, but why did Jesus let them see now? Why didn't he do it when they were having Bible Study all day [going negative]? OK, hard question? Y'all listen again and tell me why he waited:  "he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes-" It's like at Mass! Yes; what's like at Mass? That's what we say at Mass. Yes, what the priests says. So try again: why didn't he do it when they were having Bible Study all day? He wanted to wait until the bread stuff. Yes, good. Now can y'all recognize Jesus in the Bible? Yes. And can you recognize him at Mass? Yes. But which one of those ways is Jesus emphasizing in the story? Mass! Yes! And even the disciples are surprised: "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" See, even they notice that Jesus didn't let them recognize him until he "blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to them."

The Bible never runs out of Catholic ideas.

Bible + Mass = 2 Hours

Had a great day yesterday at a high-school youth group retreat. Two 1-hour sessions evangelizing teens through the subject of Sacrifice/ Worship History. I know what I can cover in 30 hours...how about 2 hours?

Rough outline:

Genesis: quick account of Creation. No sacrifice in Eden. Worship apparently a matter of obeying a few commandments: be fruitful and multiply; don't eat meat; don't eat the fruit. Of course, the notion of "worship" is a poor description of hanging out with God 24/7 in a sin-free world.

After the Fall, Abel and Cain are offering sacrifice; in Abel's case, killing and offering sacrifice. Why are they offering sacrifices? What do Cain and Abel offer? Why does it matter?

Noah and a new covenant. What is an ark? Why is it ok to eat meat now?

Abraham and a new covenant. Abraham arrives in Canaan, builds an altar, offers a thanksgiving sacrifice. What's with the altar? Why bother with one? The Greek word for giving-thanks is Eucharisteo. Why does that matter?

Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and the sacrifice of only-begotten Isaac. Why isn't everyone more upset? Why on a mountain? God provides a ram- why?

Baby Moses and his ark; Moses, Pharaoh, Passover. Family elders sacrificed the lambs whose blood was sprinkled and whose flesh was eaten. Why was blood used to mark Hebrew houses? Why did the lambs have to be eaten?

Moses and a new covenant. In the wilderness Moses offers slain bulls to the LORD, sprinkles half of the blood on the altar, half on the people. Why? What kind of offering is this?

Starving in the wilderness, Israelites complain that in Egypt they had plenty of bread, and "fleshpots" to eat meat from. God provides miracle bread and flesh in the form of manna and quail.

The Golden Calf.  Elders are no longer fit to handle their families' sacrifices. From now on, only Levite priests will do this (elder-presbyteros-priest). Established rituals for confessing sin, making atonement, and obtaining forgiveness. But will this get a forgiven sinner into Heaven? Why not?

Other rituals involve sprinkling of blood and water mixed together to provide cleansing (e.g.,of leprosy) and atonement.

God instructs Moses to provide him with a tent so he may dwell among his people. God's earthly home is patterned on his heavenly home. It's very glamorous. He also instructs Moses to build an ark. Plan of Meeting Tent and Ark of the Covenant, and how they work.

After crossing the Jordan, the Israelites settle down. The Tent resides in Shiloh. Due to Israel's sins, the Ark is captured in battle. Later Israel gets the Ark back, but God never dwells again in desolate Shiloh.

King Saul isn't working out. Samuel is sent by the LORD to anoint one of Jesse's sons as Saul's replacement. He journeys to little Bethlehem, and surprisingly pours the oil on the youngest and least significant of the lot: David.

King David captures Jerusalem, brings the ark into the city. He plans to build the LORD a permanent house, as the Israelites are no longer nomads. But David's serious sins involving Bathsheba make him unworthy to do so. David repents of his sins and receives forgiveness. Yet their firstborn is taken by God as atonement.

David writes the Psalms which become standards for prayer and worship, both sung and spoken. David's son Solomon builds the Temple, whose plan is based on the Meeting Tent, which was based on the pattern in heaven. Israel glorifies God by building a glorious house in which he'll dwell among his people.

Israel now has a stable system for sacrifice and worship. The Temple is mainly for sacrifice because God dwells there; and at synagogues the faithful sing hymns, pray, listen to the Scriptures be read aloud, sing Psalms, and listen to commentary on the Scripture readings.

After Solomon, the kingdom fractures into Samaria and Judea. Henceforth, a succession of bigger enemies conquer them or require tribute. Babylon destroys the Temple and takes the captive nation away to Mesopotamia. Years later they return, and rebuild the Temple.

Elijah scolds King Ahab and his pagan wife Jezebel for allowing the people to worship false gods. Elijah flees for his safety into the wilderness. A raven supplies Elijah with miracle bread and flesh.

The people yearn for a savior to restore the  Kingdom. They want another David, an Anointed One. They use an old Egyptian word for this person upon whom oil is ritually poured: Msha > Mashiah > Messiah. Or in Greek, the Chrismated One: the Christ.

Isaiah has a vision of the heavenly worship:  "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." Ya ever heard that before?

God chooses Isaiah to speak for him. Isaiah says to straighten up: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain."

Because to tell the truth, God is fed up with hard-hearted people going through the motions: "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of he-goats. Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me." Uh-oh.

The people want another David, but Isaiah prophesies otherwise: "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse...he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked." What's this "Messiah" gonna do- kiss his enemies to death?

And the Messiah won't provide for just the Chosen Ones: "On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things full of marrow, of wine well-refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces..."

And everybody knows messiahs aren't meek- what Isaiah's problem? "He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench...many were astonished at him-- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men-- so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him.' Remind me about sprinkling, please.

And messiahs are popular: "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Wrong again, Isaiah.

And messiahs aren't sacrifices, either: "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed."

And Isaiah, messiahs don't die like little lambs: "...the LORD has laid on him the sin of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth."

Poor Isaiah- so confused.

The Chosen People continually backslide, and are chastised by prophets for their worship of false gods and the sacrifice of their firstborn to them. Jeremiah reminds them that God may abandon the Temple as surely as he abandoned Shiloh: "Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are delivered!'--only to go on doing all these abominations? I will do to the house which is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh." Uh-oh. Tell me what eventually happened to the Temple? Who did it?

Jeremiah also prophesies a New Covenant: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

But it sounds like the ark's days are numbered regardless: "Return, O faithless children, says the LORD; for I am your master; I will bring you to Zion. 'And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And 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."

Ezekiel riffs on Jeremiah: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh...And you shall be my people, and I will be your God." If law is put in your heart instead of on stone, what's it based on? And remind me again about sprinkling, please.

Malachi scolds the people for their half-hearted offerings: "When you offer blind, lame or sick animals, is that not evil? I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand."

Malachi predicts that someday the temple might not be needed either:  "For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering."  That can't be right: there's no such thing as a truly "pure" offering; and sacrifices and incense can only be offered in the Temple, not "in every place from the rising of the sun to its setting."

Micah, having something nice to say, expects the Messiah to come from David's hometown: "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days."

God's upset. The people are upset. When are they gonna get their Messiah?

Jesus is born in li'l old Bethlehem. When he and Jesus are grown up, the famous bug-eater John the Baptist quotes Isaiah to get people fired-up: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

John makes a fuss over Jesus in front of everybody: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Does God need a lamb? Does God need to offer sacrifice to himself? If Jesus is a lamb, whom is the lamb for? Can a single lamb atone for "the sin of the world?" Like Isaiah, John must be confused. Probably too much sun.

Jesus begins to lay a foundation for a new way to offer sacrifice and to glorify God.

At the wedding at Cana, he transforms water into a whole lot of wine. That's not the usual food miracle; say, like Elisha multiplying twenty loaves of bread into enough bread to feed a hundred men.

Jesus later feeds thousands by multiplying a very few loaves and fish. Everyone says, "Wow, Jesus is cooler than Elisha." [I draw the story on the board and we discuss: it works like Mass.]  When the people chase Jesus down the next day, instead of another tummyfull of free bread, they get an earful of nonsense: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh...he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life...For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." But hey: Bread and Flesh- where have you heard of that before? Could Jesus actually, you know, mean something?

Y'all know about the Last Supper. Tell me: what do they eat and drink? Where have you seen that combo before? What do you typically eat at a Passover meal? Where is the lamb at this meal? What did Jesus say? What was offered? What was sacrificed? When? By whom? Bread, wine, flesh, blood, Lamb: how do they fit together? Tell me when you first heard of those elements today. Jesus also said "...this is my blood of the covenant"...what covenant? Who prophesied about it?

Jesus is crucified. When the soldier jabs Jesus with his spear, what comes out? Yes. Where is this from in the Old Testament? What does the water do? What does the blood do? In the movie The Passion, the soldier is sprinkled by the blood and water. Remind me yet again about sprinkling, please. Tell me how Jesus fulfilled some of the prophecies you've heard.

Jesus resurrects, visits a few people, then ascends into the clouds. The Holy Spirit fires-up the men Jesus put in charge of the Kingdom of Heaven, and they go about setting up the Church. There are many new Christians; and they still go to synagogue and Temple, while remembering the Last Supper on Resurrection Day, Sunday. Eventually they're driven away from Temple and Synagogue.  The Christians create churches, which combine both the synagogue and Temple functions: what we call the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

[I draw a church plan under the Meeting Tent plan: they are very similar. The church plan is simply the Meeting Tent updated to New Covenant standards.]

Y'all look at this and compare the two. Altar? Incense? Offering? Washbowl? Levite priests? People? Bread? Ark? New Covenant ark? Candles? Cherubim? Any sprinkling? Tell me about it. Which building does God physically abide in? How about the high priest? Uh-oh, there isn't one in a church. Or is there?

Back when the Church was very young, some Jewish Christians were worried about whether they should still eat Kosher food, go to the Temple to offer sacrifices, that sort of thing. In the Letter to the Hebrews we learn that they didn't have to visit the Temple anymore, because the offering in church connects directly to Heaven through Jesus: "...we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God... a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek." Tell me about Melchizedek...what did he offer? And Jesus?

So Jesus is the high priest; not in an earthly copy of what's in heaven, but "a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord."

Look at the plans again. Where's the high priest in a church? Right- Jesus is in heaven, not the church. And we can't see Jesus, just like you couldn't see the high priest in the Holy of Holies in the Meeting Tent. The veil that blocks our view is sin.

So what's going in Heaven that Mass connects to? Revelations tells us a bit [I draw]: "a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clad in white garments...And round the throne are four living creatures, each of them with six wings, and day and night they never cease to sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" ...the twenty-four elders fall down and worship him, singing...I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense." Look at the picture: who's on the throne? Who's the Lamb? Why is he bloody? How is this like Mass so far?

[Now I draw below all that an altar and priest on Earth] What's this? What did we bring up at the Offertory? Who's this? What's he do? Then what happens? At Mass we hear: "command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high." Tell me how Mass connects to Heaven at this point. What do we eat and drink? Where did it come from? How did it get here?

Y'all remember Malachi said "in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering."  What's the pure offering? And how is it offered "in every place"? And how is it offered "from the rising of the sun to its setting"?

And Jeremiah said, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD...shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; it shall not be made again." Tell me about that. What do we have instead of the ark? Which is better? Why?

Many of the means to glorify God, to worship him, and to offer him sacrifice have been gathered together in Mass, going all the way back to Abel, Melchizedek, Abraham, and Moses. But because Jesus participates with us as a perfect offering and a perfect high priest, the Mass is much more powerful. 

The Mass will continue until the Second Coming, when the old Heaven and Earth are swept away. The saved will be bodily resurrected, and live in the New Jerusalem with God forever, sort of how Adam and Eve lived with God in the first place.

Catholic Teachers' Conference

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

Loaves and Fishes excerpt from one of my sessions from last March. This sketch goes with the content:

Fine Art 10: St. Apollinare in Classe

My parish included this mosaic in today's Corpus Christi missalette:

It's located in St. Apollinare in Classe, Italy. Classe is near Ravenna, which has some spectacular mosaics, including these two which I already use in Catechism class to discuss Abel, Abraham and Melchizedek as they show up in Genesis:

Two scenes from Abraham's life

 

Abel and Melichizedek

They're both in San Vitale, which was consecrated in A.D. 546. St. Apollinare was consecrated in A.D. 549, so it's no surprise that the art is similar.

Anyway, per this older post I use these mosaics in September to lay the groundwork for discussing this line from the Mass in April:

"Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim."

But next year I'll use the St. Apollinare mosaic to discuss the Mass instead of using the two San Vitale mosaics twice in the same year. I'll point out that the mosaic of all 3 men and their offerings together around a common altar directly illustrates that line in the Mass. It shows that early on the liturgy was explicitly connecting their sacrifices to the sacrifice re-presented at Mass. Like a lot of things in Catechism class, I can always tell this to the kids. But when they can see it for themselves they learn better.

********************************************************

By the way I checked online for the oldest extant text of a Mass, and found the Gelasian Sacramentary from about A.D. 750. It says:

"...et accepta habere, sicuti accepta habere dignatus es munera pueri tui iusti Abel, et sacrificium patriarchae nostri Abrahae, et quod tibi obtulit summus sacerdos tuus Melchisedech, sanctum sacrificium, immaculatam hostiam."

In English:

"...and accept, just as you deigned to accept the offering of your just servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our patriarch Abraham, and that which your highest priest Melchisedech offered you, a holy sacrifice, a unstained offering." (thanks to Steve Perkins)

I Never Noticed This Either

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

 The beggar cried out, "Lord, I have not tasted food in three days."

 And Jesus saith to him, "Don't worry- it still tastes the same."

This is a follow-up to an earlier post; same subject, different angle.

It just occurred to me today: when Jesus worked miracles, did he ever partake of the benefits? I culled a list of a few dozen- didn't find a single case where he did. Which makes sense: why would God do something miraculous for Himself? In particular, consider the food miracles:

1. Water into Wine: He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from..."

2. Miraculous Catch of Fish: "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them."

3. Jesus Feeds Multitudes: "Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten."

4. Another Miraculous Catch of Fish: Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish...When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish [already] lying on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish."  

On the other hand, I don't think Jesus ever met a meal He didn't like:

"...the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?"

 "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners..."

 "And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat."

"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have."...And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, "What else ya got?" Just kidding.

 And: "Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?"

Yet per the prior post, Jesus eats the passover meal with the apostles only until He says, "This is my Body...this is my Blood... Take, eat...Drink of it, all of you." Looking at Jesus' miracles in general, and food miracles in particular, it makes sense that this was also a food miracle, although one not like the rest. That is, by not partaking of the food, Jesus shows that his words had effected a miracle; but one that requires we see it through faith, not through sight.

Pitchers 16: Revelations 4 & 5

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

Partial whiteboard from April 17, the second of three classes on the Mass:

Bits I read (not all at once!) while I draw and we discuss the continuity between the worship in Heaven and on Earth:

"At once I was in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! 3 And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald. Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clad in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads. From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God;  and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:  the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.  And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" I don't have time to draw everything; the goal is to draw enough.

 "And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints..." 

This was about 1/3 of the whole board, so figure 20 minutes of classtime on this developing image while talking about Mass, the Heavenly Worship, incense, harps, singing, elders-presbyters-priests, the Paschal Lamb, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Holy Holy Holy, the 4 Evangelists and their attributes (Angel, Lion, Bull and Eagle); reading relevant bits of Eucharistic Prayer #1 from the Missalette; and of course, the Holy Tornado.  I draw something like this every year, but the content and execution varies with my interaction with the kids. I'm posting this to emphasize how drawing can organize information in a way that's easy to refer to as the discussion proceeds, and much more effectively than just writing words on the board. When it's done, it's an ensemble of concepts; not merely a listing of them.

Smart Kids 2

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets 

not even half done

Last Wednesday was the first of three Mass classes. Early on, I guided the kids in figuring out that in the word Liturgy (Leitourgia), '-urgy' means work, as in energy. There's no good way to have them figure out that lit means people, so I just gave them that datum (which rarely happens). Then they conclude that lit-urgy is people-work (more or less). And like in the Loaves and Fishes miracle, at Mass the people do their work, and Jesus does the God work.

Later when discussing the Offertory, I asked if it'd be ok for us to bring up wheat and grape juice instead of bread and wine. Usually someone is quick to say bread and wine was used by Jesus or Melchizedek, so that's what we use. But this year for the first time, a child said, "If it's just wheat and grapes then we haven't done all our work." What a genius! Typically they don't figure out the 'work' aspect until we discuss these bits:

 "...through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands/ it will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands/ it will become our spiritual drink."

And by the way, that's the new translation, which as usual I prefer to the the prior one for catechetical reasons. In the old trans we have: "this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made." In the new, it's: "the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands" This is better in class because using the word work directly corresponds to the meaning of Lit-urgy, people-work. I wonder if the translators did this with deliberate reference to the etymology of Liturgy? Regardless, it makes for clearer teaching.

***********************************

For those who must know, the Catechism says:

1069 The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work" or a "service in the name of/on behalf of the people." In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in "the work of God."

Harvest by Mykola Pymonenko

I Never Noticed

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

I just noticed in Palm Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke, that at the Last Supper Jesus didn't eat or drink after the words of Consecration:

"And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. 15* And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16* for I tell you I shall not eat it * until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17* And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; 18* for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19* And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

Nor in Matthew: 

  "When it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples... Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; 28* for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

Nor in Mark:

"And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." 23* And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24* And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, * which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."  

Having thought about this for several minutes (!), I believe this points to Transubstantiation. If Jesus were speaking symbolically when he said "This is my body...this is my blood," then why not share in the eating and drinking along with the Apostles? If nothing else, it would clarify that this bread and wine were no different from any they had consumed earlier in the evening; lest anyone erroneously suppose Jesus was speaking literally on this night, and also the day after the Loaves and Fishes miracle (John 6). 

On the other hand, if Jesus had indeed transformed the elements into his own flesh and blood, then it would be appropriate that he not partake in consuming himself.

Res Ipsa Loquitur: Mass Model

 

No, not a mass model...

 

...a Mass model.

About 8 minutes of class time. Yes it's bedlam, but you can hear the kids thinking and learning. Multiply this 8 minutes by 7, and you get a sense of how much content is covered in 55 minutes of teaching, and at what depth.

I Already Know About the Bible

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets 

 ...and they followed the North Star to Baby Jesus' igloo.

I remember the time one of my kids came up to me after class looking serious.

"Hey, Stratopops? Hey, what? I...I want to be moved to 7th grade. Oh yeah? Why's that? I'm in 7th grade in school, but I went to a Christian school last year, so this year I got put in your 6th grade class. Besides, I already know what you're teaching. Oh...what am I teaching that you already know? The Bible, we learned it in Christian school. Hey, that's great, you have a head start. So you already know what Melchizedek has to do with Mass? Well, we didn't learn about Mass. Oh. How about Melchizedek, you already knew about him before we covered him a couple of weeks ago? No we didn't have that. Oh. How about Isaac and Abraham? I know about them. Do you know what they have to do with Mass? No, we didn't talk about Mass! Oh yeah, that's right. How about Manoah and the angel? What? You know, Manoah, Samson's daddy, and the angel? Y'all didn't cover them I guess. Umm, no. Or how that angel is part of Mass? Uh-uh.

How about Passover? Yes! And what does Passover have to do with Mass? I don't know. That's ok, we'll cover that later. And Moses and the bread and flesh in the desert? Yes! And how that fits in with Mass? We didn't have that. Oh..how about sprinkling blood on the people, and mixing it with water and all that? We didn't have that. Huh...we were learning about the Meeting Tent last week, didja know about it? Yes! Good! Do you already know how a Catholic Church is like the Tent? Huh? Never mind, we'll get to that next week. Look, it's ok with me if you move to 7th grade, it's not my call anyway. But there's a whole lot about the Bible and Mass and being Catholic that we'll learn this year that you wouldn't get in Christian school, and because you already know a lot of Bible stuff it'll be interesting for you. So I think you oughta stay in my class."

So- did this child stay in my class? Umm...I don't remember.