Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

Archives for January 2012

Something for Everyone

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Many years ago, I took my first step into the world of adult catechesis. I thought I had a great idea that was sure to be a hit. Little did I know the challenges that awaited me.

In keeping with the use of media for evangelization and with the large amount of video available from great Catholic speakers, I obtained permission to show a series on our Catholic Faith.  All I had to do was put a notice in the bulletin and arrive on the designated night to push the VCR button. The tape would do the rest.  The parishioners would flock to see this series.  Each attendee would love it as much as I did and leave with a renewed knowledge and inspiration to go and make disciples. Simple, right?

The evening arrived and only a handful or so appeared.  It was a nice evening, though.  We watched the video and had a wonderful discussion.  The next week, a similar sized group attended.

So what went wrong?  Certainly it was quality material.  Was it the advertising?  Would pulpit announcements have helped?  Actually, nothing went wrong.  It was helpful to those in attendance.

As the years went by, I analyzed each event.  I tried a variety of approaches with varying results.  Until it dawned on me.  The parish does not need just one program.  It does not necessarily need large gatherings to inspire us. In fact, it is not about numbers at all. A parish needs a wide variety of activities.

Could that be why the Bishops developed the National Plan for Evangelization of the United States entitled Go and Make Disciples the way they did?  They included over 150 strategies for evangelization.  Each one can be expanded into multiple approaches.  There is truly, something for everyone in this plan.

Perhaps they lived through what I had and that is why they provided this cornucopia of choices for evangelizing a parish and community.  Could they have been “inspired”?

That is one of the reasons I think the Bishop’s plan is a formula for success.  Yes, they talk about using media.  Yes, that is one of the methods I continue to use.  However, after I began introducing others to the Bishop’s plan, I discovered that everyone can see something new and different. New ideas spring forth like a blossom in the Spring. I think that is what the Bishops had in mind.

We have refined our approach with media.  We now recognize the importance of promoting the events that we have.  We want large crowds. But if we do not get those large crowds, we will just look down the list and pick out another activity that the Holy Spirit inspires us to do.  If everyone on earth were the same, we would only need one approach.

If you are looking for a way to approach evangelization in your community, I encourage you to take a look at the USCCB plan entitled Go and Make Disciples.  If you would like tips, please email me.  I would be happy to share how we have implemented this wonderful roadmap. Happy Evangelizing!

Pitchers 9, Res Ipsa 11: Prior Knowledge

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You feed ’em!
Partial board from the Jan 25, 2012 class. Lesson plan runs from Feeding the Multitudes to the Bread of Life Discourse, to Simon’s name-change to Peter.

Now that Jesus is busy-busy with his ministry, the Gospels run thick and fast with references to the Old Testament. Loaves’n’Fishes is introduced by an edited version of 2Kings 4:42-44:

“42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “How am I to set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left.'” 44 So he set it before them. And they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.”

We also look at Matt 19:13-15 for reasons that become apparent as we get into the Loaves story:

“Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people; 14 but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.”

During Peter-gets-the-Keys, the kids barely recalled Isaiah 22, which we acted out a couple of months ago:

“I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”

Past classes needed little-to-no reminding about Isaiah 22, but this year I almost had to give them the answer, which is anathema to me. Anyway, they finally remembered the key business, but with such coaxing! But the 8 kids who came were tired; and they were guessing like monkeys, which means answering first, then thinking.

On the whole it was still a good class.

Spirituality for 2012 – part 2

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Talk about famous last words…I concluded my last post on Amazing Catechists – “Spirituality for 2012” – with the statement, “I will be publishing a follow-up to this article in a few days.”  Ummmm….that was over a month ago.  Yikes!  Obviously, I need to invest in a new watch or a new planner.  Or maybe I should learn how to use the ones I have!

I suppose I could have moved on and written about something else; I haven’t seen any indications that the masses are sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for the conclusion to my ideas about spirituality in 2012.  However, the ideas that I started kicking around in my head over a month ago are still floating around up there (which I’m interpreting as a good sign) and so I really felt like I needed to get out what I’ve been thinking.

I would certainly encourage you to familiarize yourself with my first posting prior to jumping ahead into this one.  The overarching theme for that first post can be expressed in the following statement from the former Master General of the Dominican Order, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, who once said the Christian life is one that is “moral, reflective, prayerful, and imaginative.”

The big news story in the United States, as far as the Catholic Church goes, is the recent decision by the Obama administration to demand that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans, including ones provided by employers who have a moral objection to such procedures and prescriptions (e.g. Catholic Church).  In addition to the news cycle, there is a constant stream of commentary on what the Church should do in response to it.  Admittedly, I have contributed to that stream on my own blog.

But as I keep tabs on that developing story line in the news, I come back to this post on spirituality and on looking forward in 2012 and I see a connection that I didn’t see 5 1/2 weeks ago when I wrote the first installment.  So instead of being distracted maybe it was the Holy Spirit that lead me to wait so long to write part two.  🙂

In the ongoing remarks on the USCCB and HHS, I’ve seen a lot of commentators offer potential responses the Church should take.  The two most common are: 1) the Church should just retreat in to itself and 2) the Church should just get with the times.  I would like to label these two ideas as the “Catholic Ghetto” and “assimilation,” respectively.  Additionally, I would add that both of them are dead-ends.

The idea or label, “Catholic Ghetto,” does not belong to me.  I think a good definition of it is provided here:

It is common for certain sociologist and theologians to refer to the Catholic situation of the 1940’s and 50’s as a time when the Church in America lived in a Catholic ghetto.  What this is getting at is that the Catholic population in the U.S. lived as a minority population that held together strongly by means of clearly defining itself over and against the rest of American culture.

As parishes in the United States became less nationalistic and more inclusive of a variety of ethnicities, the Catholic Ghetto largely broke apart.  For the most part, the break up of Catholic Ghettos is a good thing because in addition to the ones listed above, another of its characteristics was that Catholics “did not see themselves as called to influence the culture around them,” a view that is contrary to both scripture and the Church’s teaching.

You can still see some signs of the Catholic Ghetto mentality.  For example Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza, has tried to create a “Catholic” town in Ave Maria, Florida.  In this town, with Monaghan’s Catholic College in the center, Catholic families will live together, their children will grow up with other Catholics, marry other Catholics, and live in Ave Maria.  Monaghan’s vision is founded on the premise that Christianity, along with many academic disciplines, was kept alive in the Dark Ages in monasteries; they were small pockets of truth in an otherwise corrupt world.  At first brush this idea seems solid but as I’ll point out later, it is not without significant flaws.

The other dead-end is “assimilation,” where Catholicism just becomes like everything else and Catholics look like everyone else.  Through assimilation, Jesus can henceforth be referred to as a “good man” and Christianity can be seen by society as “good thing” but neither should be spoken too loudly.  In this way, Catholics and the faith they profess becomes invisible.  In 1994, Jonathan Sacks wrote a book called, “Will we have Jewish Grandchildren?”  In it, he reflects on how to keep the faith of Jewish antiquity alive and flourishing in future generations.  This idea is something we also need to reflect on within the Catholic community.

I think of an oak tree with its roots running deep into the ground where it draws life giving nutrients and water, the things necessary for its survival.  The trunk of the tree, its base, provides the foundation for continued growth.  But ask yourself: where do we see the greatest signs of life on a tree?  Do we see it when we look at its trunk?  No.  It is when we look at its tips, where new leaves sprout each spring.  We see the greatest signs of life, growth, and vitality at its extreme ends.  But all parts, from the massive trunk to the smallest buds sprouting at the tips of the highest branch, are 100% oak tree.

The tree is a familiar metaphor for the Body of Christ, the Church.  The ground represents God where the tree trunk (i.e. the Church) is firmly planted.  It is the ground (God) that feeds the oak tree (Church) all it needs to survive.  From the trunk, branches (individual Catholics) grow, reaching out in an endless amount of directions, always springing forth with new signs of life and vitality.  This metaphor shows us God’s plan.

God has promised to provide everything we need, but we can’t get it when we are not connected to the tree trunk; we can’t just be a branch suspended in the air (cf. Jn 15:5).  Nor can we be a branch just laying on the ground, cut away from the tree.  When that happens, the tree is weakened and the direction that particular branch was growing out towards will not be reached.  The fallen away branch just lays on the ground and eventually dies.  It is possible, indeed it is necessary, for the tree branches (Catholics) to be 100% Catholic and reaching out to a world that is not the same as itself.

The unity within Catholicism of God, the Church, and its people, is an earthly example of the the most perfect unity, that of The Blessed Trinity.  The doctrine of the Trinity is what Christianity has that no other religion does and we can demonstrate it by living our lives, firmly grounded in the Church.  In fact, I would submit the doctrine of the Trinity may be the most important aspect of a spirituality for 2012 and beyond.

During the Enlightenment, man developed a deep seated resentment towards doctrine, especially Catholic doctrine.  Nicholas Lash wrote in his book, Believing Three Ways in One God:

The Enlightenment left us with what we might call a crisis of docility. Unless we have the courage to work things out for ourselves, to take as true only that which we have personally attained or, perhaps, invented, then meanings and values, descriptions and instructions, imposed by other people, feeding other people’s power, will inhibit and enslave us, bind us into fables and falsehoods from the past. Even God’s truth, perhaps especially God’s truth, is no exception to this rule. Only slaves and children should be teachable, or docile.

But the ancient doctrine of the Trinity, regardless of what those enlightened individuals might believe, may be the most exciting thing we have to offer as Catholics.  However, it will only be exciting if it is in contact with something outside of itself.  Keeping it locked up, like in a Catholic Ghetto, will strip the doctrine of all its power and vitality.

The doctrine of the Trinity is often held up as something remote and obscure.  I would submit that it only becomes remote and obscure in its presentation, not in its actuality.  The best way Catholics can communicate the truths encapsulated in the doctrine of the Trinity is to communicate their faith in the doctrine through conversation.  It is the personal aspect of taking time to talk with people that will resonate with others.

This should make perfect sense to us!  After all, what is the Trinity but the eternal, equal, living conversation between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?  Additionally, we see the Trinity made real for us in the person of Jesus, who, among many other things, is a man of conversation.  Take a look at him through the eyes of John.

  • Jesus’ conversations when calling his disciples (Jn 1:29-51)
  • The conversation with Nicodemus who came to talk to Jesus at night (Jn 3)
  • The conversation with the Samaritan Woman at the well (Jn 4:4-42)
  • The Bread of Life Discourse (Jn 6:22-71)
  • The conversation with the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8:1-11)
  • The conversation with the man born blind (Jn 9)
  • Last Supper discourses (Jn 14)
  • Jesus’ conversation with Pilate (Jn 18:28-40)
  • Jesus’ conversation with Thomas (Jn 20:24-29)

There are a couple of keys to understanding these passages and to ultimately discerning our own response to challenges in our time.  Jesus was constantly in conversation with people and not just his disciples, but he was reaching out to people that were outside his “comfort zone” or outside convention (e.g. conversation with the Samaritan woman).  We continually see Jesus in contact with “the other” and offering them the love and peace of his father.  This is what the Catholic Ghetto can not do.  It betrays the openness to the other that is so obvious in the Gospel.

Secondly, true conversation, the type that has the potential to be life-changing, is open, mutually respectful, and loving.  We don’t see Jesus talking down to people nor do we witness him talking about people; rather, he spoke to them.  The story of the man born blind really illustrates that point.

Third, everyone that hears the conversation is converted.  Converted to what and to what degree can not necessarily be determine and in the grand scheme of things, it is not that important that we know.  A good conversation will take you to unfamiliar ground and lead you in unexpected directions.  Through them, all will grow in grace.  We are not in charge of that grace; at best, we can only hope to be channels of it.

We never know who may be touched by our conversations.  It may be the person we are most directly involved in speaking with is the least moved, but the person who merely overheard it is changed for ever.  Jesus held many conversations in crowds, big and small, and we read in the scriptures how people would “murmur” among themselves while Jesus spoke.  They were being touched by what Jesus had to say and they weren’t even in the conversation.

Our thinking is mostly dualistic: white/black, up/down, left/right, Republican/Democrat, Catholic/Protestant, etc.  It is these oppositions that help give us our identity.  But this dualism, does not allow for openness or for love.  Instead we should allow ourselves to be swept up in a Trinitarian love that opens up possibilities for going places beyond these simplistic, either/or distinctions.  We can be immersed in the love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  This love is not introverted; it can not be kept in a ghetto.  Indeed, it is the Holy Spirit that pushes us to be in contact with people and situations that are beyond ourselves.  It is so alive, so bursting forth with vitality that it can not be made to look like everything else (i.e. assimilated).

The doctrine of the Trinity is the most exciting thing we have to offer others.  It is what should guide our spirituality in 2012 and beyond.  It is the doctrine behind the words of the God who says: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5)

 

I am indebted to Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP who has helped me see these things in a new, fresh way.

Snips & Snails & Kunarion Tales

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Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough

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During the Jan. 18 class on Jesus’ intercessory miracles (Cana, Jairus’ daughter, the Centurion’s servant, etc.), a student asked about the miracle where Jesus calls a woman a dog. I gave an off-the-cuff answer I wasn’t satisfied with, said I’d come back next week with something better.

Here’s the story from Matt 15: 21-28:

“And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28* Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.”

Because she’s a pagan Canaanite it’s no surprise that she’s indirectly compared to a dog. And not in a nice, faithful Fido way, but like this: “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.” But as we’ll see, sometimes a dog is not a dog.

Here’s how it worked in class:

“Hey, daughter, remember last week you asked about the woman that Jesus called a dog. That’s a great story I’ve never covered in class before, but let’s look at it now before we get into the lesson plan.

Here we go: “And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.” The story starts with Jesus getting out of Judea for a while because he had been aggravating the scribes and Pharisees. Sidon is also where Elijah fled to after he aggravated King Ahab. You may remember he stayed in Zarephath. Tell me about it. He made food for the woman! Yes, her flour and oil didn’t run out; why? Cause she was nice to him! Yes; God favored her with miracles because of her charity, even though she was a…pagan! Yes. And remember Jesus aggravated people at the synagogue in Nazareth when he reminded them about Elijah working miracles for the pagan widow in Zarephath instead of helping Chosen People during the drought.

“And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying after us.” They don’t want a pagan woman hanging around. But Jesus says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Who are these lost sheep? Jews! Yes. But is Jesus telling her he won’t help? No. Right. He’s just saying that helping her isn’t his job. At the wedding in Cana what did Mary tell Jesus? They have no wine. Yes, and Jesus said…why is that my problem? Yes, and...my time has not yet come. Yes, good. Is Jesus saying he won’t help? No. Right. He’s not being mean or uncooperative in either case…I think he’s just giving people a chance to show their faith more clearly for the benefit of the people around them.

“But [the Canaanite woman] came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” Is she giving up? No! Right. But Jesus said, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Who are the children? Well…people’s kids? Umm, that’s not a bad guess; the children are God’s sons and daughters…his family…the Jews! Yes. And the dogs? Pagans! Yes, like…the woman! Yes. If we say “throw it to the dogs” or “work like a dog” or “live like a dog” is it good? No it’s bad. Yes, we don’t mean a happy family dog, a pet. We mean a rough dog, one that has a hard life. As Jesus said on another occasion: “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.” Yikes! So Jesus says the kids get the bread, not “the dogs.”

Do y’all know what swine are? Pigs? Yes, just checking. Pigs and dogs were unclean, like pagans.

The word dog shows up 41 times in the English Bible; pretty often. And what language was the New Testament written in? Greek! Yes. The Greek word for dog is kuon [on the board] (κυων). Almost every time an English Bible says dog, the Greeks say kuon. But when Jesus says “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” the Greek word is kunarion [on the board] (κυναριον). Now in English if we want to call a dog [otb], we’d say, “here, dog.” But if it were a little dog, we’d say…here, doggie! Yes, doggie [otb]. To add an -ie or a -y does what to an English word? It makes it little! Yes. Well in Greek, -arion does the same thing. So if kuon means…dog, yes, then kunarion means…doggie!  Yes. Can it mean puppy? Yes, puppy is ok too. We might also say lapdog. What’s that? A little dog that sits on your lap? Yes. Hey somebody dígame, cómo se llama “dog” en español? Perro [otb]. Yes. Some Spanish Bibles say perrillo [otb] in this story, what that mean? Puppy! Yes. the -illo suffix means…little! Yes.

So what Jesus says to the woman is, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the doggies, the pups.” I think the apostles expected Jesus to refer to the woman as a kuon, a dog. That was a common way for Jews to describe pagans. But instead, Jesus says “doggie,” which is kind of affectionate; how you’d call a pet. Maybe he was smiling a little bit as he spoke. Jesus is showing the apostles that even though he was sent to the Jews, he can include “all peoples” in his work, as Isaiah used to say.

Now, has Jesus rejected the woman this time? I don’t think so. Right. The woman now says, “even the doggies eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” What’s she mean? That she just wants a little bit of help? Yes. She’s not a greedy dog, but a harmless little…puppy!  Yes, who’s happy to have what the children leave behind. She knows “the Master” will give them more food than they can eat. And how many times has she asked Jesus for a little help? Umm…three times!  So…it’s a contract! Good thinking; in this case it’s not so much a contract as it is her firm demonstration of faith. How many times do you think she’s willing to ask Jesus to heal her daughter? As many times as it takes! Yes, but three times is enough. And Jesus says, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. I bet the apostles were thinking, “Wow, this is like when Elijah fled to Sidon and brought the pagan widow’s dead son back to life.”

Tell me: did the Canaanite woman’s daughter have faith? We don’t know. Jairus’ daughter? Don’t know! Centurion’s servant? Don’t know! Paralyzed man? Don’t know! The wedding party at Cana? Don’t know! Right. Jesus did those people a favor because other people of faith asked for them. What’s that called? Intercession! Yes. And remind me who intercedes when a baby is baptized? The parents! And does Jesus do the parents a favor? Yes! Right!

Y’all are smart children!

For those who must know: Greek kuon κυων is related to the Latin canis via the Indo-European stem kwon. And a quick tour of other Bibles show the “dogs” to be cagnolini (Italian), cachorrinhos (Portuguese), petits chiens (French), små hunder (Norwegian), and щенята (Ukranian): not dogs, but doggies.

Dread is Not Gonna Happen Today

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It isn’t often that I dread going to the CCD office; my job there is often more creative play than work. I feel guilty for accepting a paycheck. Well, maybe just a little. 😉

But there are days we all open one eye hesitantly to the morning sunbeam, feel the weight as our husband sits on the bed’s edge to tie his shoes, hear him tell us that a thunderstorm should be passing through by evening, hear the door tell him goodbye, and welcome to our mind CCD classes entering the Twilight Zone.

The image I had this morning was one of thunderclouds racing overhead, rain and thunder orchestrating a symphany about the churchgrounds, tornadoes dancing on the wings, buckets of water pouring off the CCD building’s awning, and me held hostage in a building with 200 students.

I was wishing it was Thursday instead of Wednesday so I could chunk the covers back over my head, grateful for the serendipity of thunderstorms on the day following hump day.

Wasn’t gonna happen today.

True to this orchestration, teachers began calling in their notice for the day. I began calling substitutes to the rescue.

Then I did the best thing ever. I hit the dreaded day with two feet on the floor and a fresh pot of coffee on its heels. Then, enamored by that pot of fresh coffee, I put a batch of laundry to wash, balanced the checkbook, seasoned creamed chicken in crockpot, and went over lesson plans for the day.

Out the door I (with a fresh cup of coffee), headed to the office to print teacher’s papers and student lesson sheets.  Teachers and parents called about the storm. Parents called not wanting to get out of their houses. Can you blame them?

What would we do about the meeting and 1st penance practice supposed to happen in the church? What about the Baptism presentation scheduled for the Atrium? What about the 4th graders’ scavenger hunt in the church? What about the prayer garden walk for the older students?

What about…???

Bump. Bump. Bump. I mentally filed all these thoughts into the following weeks and left to get some lunch then take a breather at home.

I called the neighboring churches to see what they had decided. They were continuing with classes as scheduled.

My ten-year-old whipped up a bowl of French vanilla pudding and brought me a bowl.

Sweetness in the face of dread.

A peek at Facebook.

The visionary behind this wonderful webcorner, (Thanks, Lisa 🙂 ) left a 3-minute soul walk that promised to give me 24-hours (or maybe just the next 5-hours?) of peace. And it did.

Through Scripture comes the words of Christ: “Do Not Be Afraid!” and I realized I wasn’t troubled at all this day. I got out of bed this morning and did what had to be done, knowing God’s grace would sustain me. Peace was with me the whole day.

I love having a job that is more a calling than a job.

I love having a calling where God is my boss.

I can rest in peace over any decision, any choice, any plan that is made by my human weakness because I know that God is in charge of this job.

Gotta love a job that gives you peace.

{Update: Catechism classes went very well tonight. Very well. God’s Grace!}

Pitchers 8, Res Ipsa 10: Tebow & Tassels

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…and zap! Jesus’ power flowed through his body to his cloak to the tassel to the woman…
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Edited recap of the January 18, 2012 class.

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This bit by Joyce Donahue motivated me to work Tebowing into Wednesday Night Sunday School: “Hey I gotta question for y’all. Don’t answer, just raise your hand: who knows how to Tebow…y’all come up here. Nobody else knows? That’s OK. You two, when I count to three, do it…1, 2, 3, TEBOW!” And the two sporting boys execute perfect, simultaneous Tebows, rivaling the Master.

“None of y’all know what this is? Oh yeah, that’s the football player who prays all the time! Right, they’re praying. If you’re gonna pray for just a few seconds it’s simpler to get down and up on one knee instead of two. When do we do that in a Catholic Church? When do we Tebow? No…I mean when do we go down on one knee instead of two. Genuflecting! Umm, yes, that’s what we call it. But when do you do it? When you’re about to sit down. Yes. Have any of y’all been to a church that isn’t Catholic? Me…me too. OK, do y’all genuflect in those churches? No. Anybody know why not? ‘Cause they don’t have a tabernacle! Yes, genius, like so…altar…tabernacle.

Hey, what’s a tavern? A bar! Yes, a place to have a beer, but it comes from this word, taberna, which means house in Latin. Our word tabernacle comes from the Latin word tabernaculum, which means little house. So…tell me something. It’s Jesus’ house! Yes, so when Jesus is in his house...we genuflect. Yes. Tell me a day that we don’t genuflect. Christmas! No! Easter! No! Stop guessing like monkeys! Good Friday! Yes, why? Cause Jesus isn’t in his house. So where is he? On the cross. Yes. Usually on Good Friday we kneel to venerate the crucifix. It’s a bit more intense than a genuflection. By the way, what’s that mean: to genuflect? Bow down! Close…pray! Also close…if something is flexible it can...bend! Yes, so if -flect- means bend, then…it means bend your knee! Yes. Genua is Latin for…knee! Yes. The G-N is related to the K-N from before there was English or Latin; “-kn-” and “-gn-” sounds are very close to each other. Yes? Why don’t we say the k? Well, we stopped saying those k’s centuries ago, but we used to say them. Germans still do, they say “k’nee.” That sounds weird. Yes, but it sounds normal to Germans. Historically speaking, people were genuflecting long before Jesus was born…why? For an emperor! Yes, or…a king! Yes, people genuflected before people who had authority over them. We still do that when Jesus is in his little house.”

The lesson plan includes discussing and acting out miracles, many of them intercessory. Some people, including the pagan Centurion (who commands how many men? 100! Yes!) and the pagan Canaanite woman, are ok with miracles-at-a-distance. But Jairus wants Jesus to come to his house, the Paralytic’s friends dropped him through the roof onto Jesus’ head, and the Woman with the Hemorrhage tries to grab Jesus. Maybe they lack the faith of the pagan Roman; but then again, maybe they intuit something important about Jesus’ body. “Yes? What’s intuit? To know something or figure it out without knowing exactly why.”

“OK, let’s draw…the Gingerbread Man! Uh-huh, which shows we are a…body’n’soul!  Yes. Now over here to the left let’s draw…another Gingerbread Man! Yes, but this one is Jesus…here’s a J. Jesus also has a…body’n’soul. Yes. He’s like us in that he’s both stuff’n’spirit; ’cause our bodies are just…stuff! Yes, like…dirt! Yes.

Now tell me what this is…a soul...yes. But let’s say spirit in this case. And this is…another spirit! Yes. So? So what? Well, what’s odd about these spirits? They don’t have bodies. Yes. So? They’re angels! Ooh, great guess honorary son, but no. They’re God! Genius, yes, but what flavors? God the Father and the Holy Spirit! Yes. Do y’all get that? No? Explain it, please. Jesus has a body but they don’t.  Yes, and those three persons make…the Trinity. Yes, exactly so, one God, three Persons.

Now before Jesus, which Person could you have a relationship with? The Father? Yes (arrow). How? By praying & stuff. Yes, spirit-to-spirit. And how does it work with the Holy Spirit? Umm, spirits, too? Yes. But I thought the Holy Spirit was a dove. That’s a good question. The Holy Spirit may appear as a dove but isn’t one. Like angels: did Gabriel appear to Mary? Yes. Are angels made with bodies? No. Right.

Now tell me about people having an encounter with Jesus instead of the Father or Holy Spirit. It would be with both parts. Yes…stuff”n’spirit. Because the people and Jesus all were stuff”n’spirit,  they wanted to have not just a spiritual encounter, but..a physical encounter! (two arrows) Yes, genius! So they naturally wanted Jesus to touch them, or their friends, or their children. They wanted the whole deal. Yes? But the soldier didn’t. Yes. Partly because he was a commander and used to knowing things would be done if he said so. But he still went to talk to Jesus. He saw him and heard him and smelled him even if he didn’t grab a hold of him. Eww, gross! Hey now, people don’t necessarily stink. Y’all know I’m married; am I married to my wife just soul-to-soul? No, both parts! Yes. Well, when I go home tonight she’ll be sitting at her desk, and I’ll come hug her and smell her neck. If she were out of town I couldn’t do that. I’d miss the physical encounter with her and how nice she smells. So people would want to have that full encounter with Jesus…just like I want to have with my wife.

But after Jesus went to Heaven he still left us with ways to have a physical encounter with him through stuff; what are those ways? Sacraments? Yes, genius! Tell us the stuff. Water? Yes in…baptism. Yes, more stuff please. Bread & wine? Yes. How about confession? Is the priest the stuff? Yes, good. So we are spirit’n’stuff; Jesus is also…spirit’n’stuff; yes, and Sacraments are…spirit’n’stuff. Yes, all similar but not exactly the same. We’ll learn more about this stuff business later this year.”

Class finished with a discussion of Jairus’ daughter and the Woman with a Hemorrhage. You may notice that in answering a question on the fly, I conflated the Samaritan woman with the Canaanite woman. I’ll sort that out next week.

Review – The Church and New Media, by Brandon Vogt

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The Church and New MediaBrandon Vogt’s got everybody talking about how new media can serve as a tool for evangelization, catechesis, and inspiration. His book, The Church and the New Media, is a conversation featuring the voices of various online personalities who bring diverse perspectives to the discussion of how the rapid changes in media and technology provide a golden opportunity for the Church.

The authors who have contributed to the book discuss the impact of new media on the individual, the parish, the diocesan, and even a global level, with a wealth of practical recommendations and suggestions for online resources included in each chapter.

The book starts with a discussion of Catholic blogging and the various forms it may take. We may associate faith-based blogging with apologetics, but Fr. Dwight Longenecker argues, “I am not convinced that many souls are won by argument…the apologetics on my blog are woven into a much bigger picture of Catholicism. I want the reader to glimpse the power and the glory of the Catholic Church, but I also want them to glimpse the humanity and humor of being Catholic.” Jennifer Fulwiler echoes this idea in the story of her conversion when she writes, “What impacted me the most…was simply getting a glimpse into Catholic life.” These and other stories in the book point to the need for us to remember that the Internet is an open community where anyone may drop by. Honesty, grace, and charity should prevail in online interactions – and you can never know who might be reading without ever leaving a comment.

Later chapters include a very thorough discussion by Matthew Warner on the role of new media in the parish – this chapter alone is worth the price of the book, as it’s perfect preparation for a parish council meeting to discuss the need for a better website. There’s also a fascinating overview of the many innovative ways in which the Archdiocese of Boston has reached out to the greater community through every form of media imaginable – podcasting, radio, Internet, television, Facebook, Twitter…the list goes on.

Vogt concludes with a frank examination of the many challenges that our constantly-connected society faces – greater narcissism, superficial and relativistic conversations, the difficulty of putting down the smartphones and making time for contemplative prayer. His positive suggestions and outlook are complemented by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who reminds us that “the Church’s major challenge today is not that of educating her members about the real dangers of new technology – these are now self-evident – but rather of choosing to use it for the good, and learning to use it well. My hope and expectation is that this book will give the Church courage and wisdom to embrace New Media as one of the premier gifts of God to evangelists of our day.”

This book would appeal to readers on all points of the technology-using spectrum, from seasoned bloggers looking for new resources to folks who just opened a Facebook account and aren’t sure what to do next. It should be required reading for parish priests who want to engage their parishioners beyond just weekend Mass and to take advantage of truly building up the Church. And because 100% of the royalties from the book will be used to establish school computer labs throughout the Archdiocese of Mombasa, Kenya, you’re making a difference the moment you choose to buy a copy – or three.

You can purchase this book here.

I wrote this review of The Church and the New Media for the free Catholic Book review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source forBaptism Gifts and Catholic DVDs.

Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

American Heroes

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I posted this  at my blog in October…didn’t think was very catechetical…but what the heck.

It’s American Hero Day at Smaller Manhattans.

Yulia Tymoshenko/ Юлія Тимошенко, former prime minister of Ukraine/ Украина (see, Cyrillic isn’t so tough) recently co-wrote an interesting opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. You don’t have to read it.  Actually I was more struck by the article’s title than the content: Letter from a Kiev Jail, which is where Tymoshenko is these days. Of course the title borrows from Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, written in 1963. So this got me thinking again about King’s letter, which I read for the first time about 35 years ago.

King and his memorial in Washington, DC are in the news, and I’ve been hearing snatches of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on the radio, and quotes in print.  “I Have a Dream” is inspiring- no wonder it gets such attention. But I find the Letter to be much more compelling: when I think of King, I think Birmingham, not DC. In fact, the pith of the Dream comes from the Letter.  Part of what makes the Letter better is that, unlike the lovely Dream speech which is a sermon being preached to the choir (which is not a criticism), King wrote his letter to a group of clergymen who did not share his “urgency of now.”1 So it’s direct, thorough, and not very charming; but no less eloquent than the Dream speech.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail takes about 20 minutes to read. If you haven’t read it before, you may be surprised by its sweep and depth, and the people who influenced King’s thinking. Reading it again today reminds me that like the prophets of antiquity, people may still be chosen by God to accomplish a single great and necessary thing.

If you aren’t inclined to read the whole letter right now, that’s ok. Here is a critical paragraph from the middle:

“We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you go forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness” then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.”

And here is that same paragraph paraphrased in the Dream speech:

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” 2

 American Hero

I love “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”  It’s a perfect song, especially with the prologue 3 that didn’t make it into the Wizard of Oz.  In 2001 it was voted the best song of the 20th century, and I agree that it is.  I don’t know if there’s been a similar vote for prose, but I can’t think of any more significant than this letter, written by one of my heroes.

Speaking of heroes, here’s another one.  Even though he isn’t mentioned in King’s Letter or Dream, the influence is there. Here’s a bit from one of his speeches:

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?  I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim.  To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.  There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.  Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.”

Yeah, that’s ummm…William Wilberforce?  Mr. Bleeding Kansas, John Brown?  Harriet Beecher Stowe?  Nope.  That’s the escaped slave, orator, author, agitator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Douglass’ words don’t roll off the tongue as easily as King’s but he was speaking in a more formal age.

You may recall how rudely the prophet Jeremiah scolded the Temple personnel 2,600 years ago:

“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?  Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of thieves in your eyes?  Behold, I myself have seen it, says the LORD.  Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.  And now, because you have done all these things, says the LORD, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore 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.  And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim.”

You can hear all of Jeremiah’s righteous anger and indignation in Douglass.  I imagine that Douglass was also well aware of Jeremiah even as he spoke on that 4th of July.

 American Hero

The older I get, the more I’m grateful that these two men dedicated their lives to cleansing my dear country, America, of this great sin.  Thank y’all both.  I know you can hear me.

1. I love King’s phrase “the urgency of now.”  And I like to hear it in two songs by Smashing Pumpkins: Tonight, Tonight; and 1979.

2. It always pays to look at the wider context of any Bible quote; King surely expected his Bible-literate listeners to do so.  That bit is from Amos 5: “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon.  23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.  24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.   25 “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?  26 You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves; 27 therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.”

Years later, when Jeremiah laid into the Temple staff, he may have been thinking of Amos a tiny bit.

3. When all the world is a hopeless jumble
And the raindrops tumble all around
Heaven opens a magic lane
When all the clouds darken up the skyway
There’s a rainbow highway to be found
Leading from your window pane
To a place behind the sun
Just a step beyond the rain

Somewhere over the rainbow….

Rediscovering Sunday as the Day of Joy

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Sometimes, the joy busters of life get the better of me. But not lately.When I delve into the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I really get a sense of the joie de vivre of Catholic life. Something that has had a real and  practical application for my life is finding the joy of Sundays. After all, Sunday was the day that Jesus was raised from the death… and in so many ways, a thoughtful observance of Sunday can breathe life back into the other days of the week for me.

Tucked in the middle of a longer summary about Sundays, I came across this tiny, yet powerful phrase: the day of joy. I was immediately struck by how often I have revered Sunday as an obligation and a day of rest, but have not always consciously entered into it as a day of joy, save for major feast days.  As it turns out, that is just one aspect of a bigger idea that describes Christian joy as proper to Sundays.

Let’s look at the full text of CCC 1193:

Sunday, the “Lord’s Day,” is the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist because it is the day of the Resurrection. It is the pre-eminent day of the liturgical assembly, the day of the Christian family, and the day of joy and rest from work. [Emphasis mine.]

Let’s break that down by looking at how joy might be better nurtured in our Sundays.

There are four elements that characterize the celebration of the Lord’s day: the celebration of Mass, the day of Christian family, the day of joy, and rest from work.

For Catholics, the first element of attending Mass on Sundays is obvious.  It’s not only a Precept of the Church (see CCC 2041) but it also follows the Third Commandment to “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Ex. 20:8.)

Sunday Eucharist is the great tradition handed down to us from the Apostles. There we gather for the handing on of the Word of God and for the sharing in Holy Communion.  It is there that “the whole community of the faithful encounters the risen Lord who invites them to his banquet.” (CCC 1166).

We go to meet the Lord!  To prepare to attend Mass on Sunday with the appropriate joy, it helps me to visualize my personal meeting with Jesus. Recall the resurrection accounts of Mary Magdalene and the Apostles upon meeting the Risen Jesus for the first time since Good Friday.  What joy must have flooded their souls!  The One Whom they longed for is now right in their midst!

How might I prepare to meet Christ in the Eucharist?  Like I would meet my beloved one, by preparing with loving anticipation. When my thoughts long for this meeting, when I finally encounter “Him” – who invites me to “his banquet” – well, that’s deep, sweet, joy!

The second element of Sunday is the experience of Christian family. St. John Chrysostom (4th century bishop and Doctor of Church) had this to say about Mass attendance:

You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.

Not only is Sunday Mass a precious meeting with the Lord, it is “something more”: a coming together in unity with the other members of our local church.  This aids our understanding of “the day of the Christian family”. It not only refers to our nuclear families, but it also extends to the family of God into which we are baptized.  We have a responsibility to them as well.  Our participation in Sunday worship is “a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church.”  (CCC 2182).

In an age when the idea of “Christian family” is under attack, Sundays are an opportunity to renew our commitment to that ideal. In our own homes, we can work toward not only worshipping together, but also praying together at times outside of Mass, and learning and sharing the faith together.  The old adage that “the family that prays together stays together” is of great value.

Yet, as mentioned, we are also to embrace the family of God at large beyond our household.  We cannot live the Christian life in a vacuum, cocooning away from the larger Body of Christ. We must maintain contact and connection… “a testimony of belonging.”  Making friendly connections and getting involved in parish life makes what we do on Sundays more fruitful.

This brings us to the third element of Sunday as a day of joy. To further explore this idea, a search of the Catechism brings us to CCC 2185:

On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health. [Emphasis mine.]

Our joy is tied up in worship and in merciful service and in relaxation! We’ve already covered the idea of worship at Mass, and we’ll take up the question of relaxation next. But take note: here we see Sunday recommended for works of mercy.  Now, when was the last time you heard that? (Need a refresher on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy? See CCC 2447.)

For many Christians, works of mercy may already be incorporated into weekly activities. But, for those with demanding familial and professional schedules, Sundays seems to be held out as a day to find time for such joy. I wonder what our world would be like if more of us, myself included, intentionally performed a work of mercy each Sunday, or a few Sundays a month?

The fourth element is the day of rest…  harkening from the model of God who entered into rest after six days of Creation. (Gen. 2:2.)

In CCC 2184 and 2194, we read that the institution of Sunday rest helps all “to be allowed sufficient rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.”

What a gift rest is!  What joy we have when we truly enter it in meaningful ways!

Unfortunately, despite all the so-called conveniences and advances of modern society, there exists acute pressure to make Sunday just another day of the week to work, shop, exercise, pay bills, etc., and, in general, to catch up!

But when we follow the Lord’s ways, we find joy.  It takes deliberate action to try to live this way.  Sunday observances become a necessary discipline of disciples of Jesus. Such discipline brings joy.

As we approach this Sunday, may we enjoy a day of grace and rest, and may we joyfully sing with the psalmist:

“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps. 118: 24.)

 

The article was adapted for Amazing Catechists from a previous series that the author created and featured on CatholicExchange.com. 

 

Dog Miracles

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Remind me please, who’s this? A king! Yeah, which one? Herod! Try again. David! No, good guess. Solomon! Yes…who’s this queen…she was taking a bath- Bathsheba! Yes- Solomon’s wife? No, his Mom! Yes, this sort of queen is called…she’s his mom…Queen Mother! Yes. Who’s this? The guy who wanted something!
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The Jan 11, 2012 class ran from Jesus completing 40 days in the desert through the Healing of the Paralytic. A few points:
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1. I attended a Rick Santorum event last weekend. I described what his advance team did to prepare the way for him, and compared their work to John the Baptist’s. Like John, once Santorum arrived, the advance team faded into the background. This leads into John 1:35 “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.” John is letting go of his followers and directing them to Jesus.

Then from John 3: “Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were baptized.”  John continues to baptize, and Jesus baptizes in the company of his disciples.

“25 Now a discussion arose between John’s disciples and a Jew over purifying. 26 And they came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptizing, and all are going to him.”  Why is John ok with his ministry winding down?

“27 John answered, “I am not the Christ/ Anointed/ Mashiah, but I have been sent before him.” I get three volunteers up to the front, and we act this next bit out as I read, “29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full.” Once the best man has given the groom the ring, he’s done, and all attention goes to the wedding couple. The best man is ok with that.

“30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” Remember, the daylight decreases after John’s birthday on June 24; and daylight increases after Jesus’ birthday on December 25. Are those really their birthdays? I think so; if not, they are very close. Calendars aren’t perfect. But I believe God coordinated their birthdays with the natural cycle of the Sun. You know: we say Jesus is the Light of the World, like…the Sun! Yes.

A mere two paragraphs later in John 4: “Now when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples, he left Judea and departed again to Galilee.”  A big deal in our class, this passage shows that Jesus has already stopped baptizing. He has handed that authority over to his disciples. That is, Jesus is starting to set up his Church. If you want Christ’s baptism, you get it through his intermediaries.

2.  The kids explain the top picture and the idea of intercession, which leads into the Wedding at Cana. They can tell the whole story and I just have to direct the discussion and read only a couple of lines from John 2. I add a J(esus) & M(ary) over Solomon and Bathsheba. The kids explain how both Mary and Bathsheba interceded; but like all intercessors they didn’t demand, they just asked. We connect the abundance of wine to the abundance of Peter’s catch after he meets Jesus.

Then I read, “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 the kids figure out the wine had alcohol in it (In the Bible Belt this datum matters).

And, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” Oh well, even a dog could taste and see that water went in and wine came out. People will always believe what they see with their own two eyes (well, most of the time). People love visible miracles…they don’t require much faith.

3. Between John the Baptist making a fuss over him, and this wine miracle, people are getting fired-up about Jesus. He visits the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4), and reads from Isaiah; then: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The men puff up with pride at the local boy made good: “And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Good times a-comin’ for the Sons of Abraham! But I read this bit: “I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” The kids remind me that both the widow and Naaman were pagans who did God’s will. Jesus means that being a Son of Abraham is no guarantee of receiving God’s blessings: in fact, sometimes the whole lot of Chosen People are left out. Maybe everyone in the synagogue should get busy repenting and doing good works as John the Baptist told the know-it-alls at the Jordan.

Then, “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away.” Jesus has barely started his ministry and his own people find him so aggravating that one minute everybody loves Jesus, and the next minute they are ready to kill him. As he said, “no prophet is acceptable in his own country.” Just like Elijah, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, he says things people don’t want to hear. It’s a dangerous habit.

4. With five volunteers we act out the Healing of the Paralytic. This story is thematically very dense, but one thread that’s emphasized is that the Paralytic’s friends intercede for his healing. Also, Jesus pairs a dog miracle, one that even a dog can perceive (Imagine if the paralytic had a dog all these years…he’d freak out when his master started walking around.) with an invisible miracle, forgiving sin. If the crowd sees Jesus do A, can they take on faith he also did B? Apparently so.

Class ends two minutes late. If the kids are engaged in the material they won’t look at the clock.

Some observations:

Reading aloud is done in short bits, and each bit is always followed by questions and discussion.

Old info illuminates new info. Secular info illuminates religious info.

Old Testament bits such as Zarephath and Naaman have to be taught earlier so the kids can figure out the point of what Jesus is saying when he refers to them now.

Physical variety: reading, questions, answers, discussion, acting, drawing.

No dead time.

P.S. Here’s a terrific post by a priest on Catechesis.