Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Glorifying God with Christ and the Catholic Church

Reflection on Psalm 34: In the responsorial Psalm today (Tues 1st Wk of Lent), we hear Jesus and the Catholic Church--because it is the Body of Christ--saying, "Come, glorify the LORD with me; let us together extol His name." How is it that we glorify God with Jesus and His Church? Obedience. Paragraph 1850 of our Catechism says, "Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it." If sin is turning our hearts (minds) away from God, it is clear that we cannot glorify God while in a state of sin or apathy towards righteousness or apathy towards sin.

The Catholic Church is human. It's head is human, fully man and fully God. It's Mother is human. It's components are human. Everything about it is human. Therefore, it is only natural that it loves one another. Because it's Head is also God, it's Mother and components are also divine. Therefore, this necessitates that we love God with all our hearts, minds, soul, and strength. The three Persons of the Godhead love each other as themselves. This is evident by Jesus' actions and words, the Father's actions and words, and the actions of the Holy Spirit. Jesus shows His love of Father and neighbor, mankind, through His incarnation, passion, and death. Because He became man and loved man when humanity had turned its face and heart away from God, loved mankind when they persecuted and killed Him, it necessitates that we also must love our neighbor as ourselves, forgiving them, because they are also human and are fallen as we are. However, our least-liked commandments are those which deal with loving our neighbor as ourselves and those against pleasing ourselves.

When we can acknowledge that we do not like loving our neighbor as ourselves and do like pleasing ourselves, we have room to grow by leaps and bounds. We now can go to Christ, through a priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, repenting, confessing, and asking for forgiveness and the grace to desire to love our neighbor as He does. We cannot do this on our own. It takes grace from God. This is why St. Augustine prayed, "Lord, give what You command, and then command as You will." This is why I think the word "come" is unspoken in our responsorial psalm. We must go to Him to glorify God, and we can only go to Him if He bids us to "come," and bid He does. Look at a crucifix: He bids everyone to come.

Because Jesus bids us, His Body, the Catholic Church also says, "Come, glorify the LORD with me." The Catholic Church says "me" and not "us" because of its unity, its singleness. It is a body, with singleness of mind. It is not a group of people doing "what is right in their own eyes."

In order to "come," we must seek Christ." How do we seek Christ? One might say, prayer. That is only partially true. Christ is present in His Church. We seek Him through the Catholic Church. We must seek Him for righteousness sake, for justice sake. On the Last Day, Jesus will be our Judge, but He will be for us a judge as in the Book of Judges, to deliver us. "From all their distress God rescues the just." Jesus is the Just One; therefore, His Body, the Catholic Church, is Just. Because we are in agreement, in communion, with Christ and His Body, we are just. Our "distress" is concupiscence . When we are constantly praying for an "easy life," for things of the world, we are "babbling." God's will is to sanctify us, to make us like His Son. Therefore, when we pray, we pray the "Our Father." Because Jesus is the Head of the Church, His Father is our Father. Because we cannot hallow our Father, we ask Him to hallow His name through the Catholic Church, through us the members. We pray that His kingdom come now by making His will be done in the Church militant, on Earth, as it is in the Church triumphant and the Church suffering. We ask for our daily bread, the Eucharist, in order that we may grow into the image of His Son, our Head, forgiving and loving our neighbor as ourselves so that we will be forgiven. Because we have no confidence in the flesh, we pray that He does not turn us over to our inordinate desires, that we do not do "what is right in our own eyes," but that He deliver us from the evil one. Then we glorify God with Christ and the Catholic Church.
--Tommy Turner

Monday, February 23, 2015

Preaching to the Spirits in Prison

"Put to death in the flesh, [Christ] was brought to life in the Spirit. In [the Spirit], He also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water." [see editors note below]

In the Spirit, through Noah, our Lord preached to the spirits of mankind, trapped in the prison of sin and death through disobedience. In the fullness of time (forty years multiplied by three), the ark was finished. The ark prefigures Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Catholic Church, the Body of Christ. Noah preached repentance for 120 years. Eight--a new creation, a new day, a new life--were to be saved through the ark--the Catholic Church, the Body of Christ. God was inside the ark. He did not tell Noah to go into the ark; He told Noah to come into the ark. Jesus, today, is telling people to come in the Catholic Church. Coming entails obedience, repentance, for mankind fell through disobedience.

For forty days, the "eight" suffered. This was necessary to destroy the sinful flesh. Our Lord also, after His baptism, was driven into the desert by the Spirit for forty days. Although He had no sin, He had taken on the flesh of sinful man, becoming incarnate, becoming man; therefore, He had to be tempted in every way that we are tempted--without sinning. He had to suffer in order to redeem us; and, as stated in the epistle to the Hebrews, He was made perfect through suffering. We are the "eight," being the Body of Christ. Therefore, we must suffer in order to be made perfect. We must suffer on our Lenten journey, to die to self. Lent is the preparation for the feast of Easter. Easter is the Resurrection. In order to be resurrected, there necessitates a dying. We must suffer (putting to death sinful nature), but we do not have to suffer alone. The angels ministered unto our Lord; how much moreso does our Lord minister unto us through the Catholic Church, the entire Body, come to our aid. Our Blessed Mother, all the angels, and all the saints are assisting us, including those in purgatory and here on Earth. When the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering had finished their journey on Earth, Christ took them and placed them where they could benefit the Church more abundantly. They are not spectators, cheering us one; no, they are aiding us, loving us as themselves, loving us as the Trinity loves.

In Saturday's's Gospel reading (Feb 21, 2015), we were told that St. Matthew, leaving everything behind, got up, and followed Jesus. It did not say that he got up and followed Jesus, leaving everything behind; it has him leaving everything behind first. How is this possible? How does one leave everything behind without rising and going away?

St. Matthew had to have known of Jesus or was observing Him, perhaps from afar. If a stranger approaches someone and says, "Come, follow me," the person probably is not going to do so. He is not going to follow someone he does not know. No, St. Matthew probably knew Jesus was a holy man and that he being a hated tax collector was not worthy to be in proximity to Jesus. St. Matthew probably also knew that Jesus was hated by the religious leaders and, therefore, he himself would be persecuted by following Jesus. Jesus, "knowing" St. Matthew, commanded him, "Come, follow Me." St. Matthew had to count the cost of following Jesus. In his mind first, he had to give everything up, leave everything behind, realizing that he must in turn endure hardships in order to be worthy of such a calling. After making up his mind to leave everything behind, he then rose and followed Jesus. He desired to be like Jesus.

This is what Lent is all about. We are not just "giving something up for Lent" or just "doing something good for Lent," we are looking forward to, preparing for, our Resurrection, when we will be as our Lord is, as our Head is. First, we must "leave everything behind," and then rise, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus.

"Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my savior. Remember that Your compassion, O LORD, and Your love are from old. In Your kindness remember me, because of Your goodness, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD, thus He shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and He teaches the humble His way." How does He do this? Through the Body of Christ, the Catholic Church--through His Word and the Sacraments.

Put to death in the flesh, Christ was brought to life in the Spirit. He was raised on the third day. He also ascended to the Father. Through the Catholic Church, He preached to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient--each of us. He called us, baptizing us into Himself, by means of other humans. Let us look forward to the real Easter, when our bodies will be raised from the dead. Therefore, let us repent and prepare for that Day.
--Tommy Turner

Editor's Note: I Peter 3:1 8-22 This reading reminds us that just as Noah was saved through the ark, we are saved through baptism. Early Christians believed that those who died before the coming of Jesus awaited redemption in a shadowy existence described here as a prison. When we say in the Apostles’ Creed that Jesus “descended into hell,” we are saying that Jesus went to announce to those waiting in that “prison” that they had been saved.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Beaches, Palm Trees--and Leprosy?

Why was it necessary that God subject creation to the Fall? I love palm trees and the beach. In my mind, there is no more beautiful tree than the palm. Every part of it is useful. And the beach--what more can be said. If one has a lot on his mind, is depressed, had a rough day, a stroll on the beach, listening to the waves, wading in the waters, have such a calming, relaxing effect. It is "heavenly." Then I think of the fallen nature of creation, and I know that creation itself is groaning, awaiting the time when the children of God will be fully revealed. Although the moment on the beach is a sort of ecstasy, I realize that it is only a tiny snip-it, or foretaste, of what will be. Because of the sinfulness in me, I cannot comprehend how it is possible, but I know that it is true. I know that God gives us these little snip-its, glimpses, to increase our hope and desire for Him. If creation was not fallen, we would have nothing to look forward to: We would be in heaven now, with nothing to look forward to but death.

In today's readings, we heard a lot about lepers and leprosy. The leper realizes who and what he is. He wants, and hopes, to be clean, to rejoin society. When he sees the One whom he knows can heal him, he goes to Him, confessing. What about those who were not leprous? What went through their minds--consciously and sub-consciously? Subconsciously, were they thankful that they were not leprous, that they were "clean"? But were they clean? In Jesus' time, how did the Pharisees perceive lepers and themselves? How do we, as individual Catholics, perceive ourselves and others? Do we look at some people as "lepers" because we view their sins as worse than ours, or--even worse than that--because we cannot see our own sins, cannot see that inside we are leprous? If we could see our sins, we would go to Confession, but we are so sinful that, as the Pharisees, we cannot see our sins. We forget to compare ourselves to Christ; we, subconsciously, compare ourselves to other fallen humans. When we see humanity's fallen nature in others, it should remind us that we are also fallen, and we should pray for them and ourselves. "Avoid giving offense...just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of many, that they may be saved."

The beach and palm trees are beautiful. They are God's creation. St. Augustine compares the sea to the world. It is a good comparison. It is beautiful, yet dangerous. It is not entirely bad; there is some goodness in it. Nevertheless, it can kill you, and will kill you. I see its beauty, its magnificence, and I thank God so much for it; however, I must also be watchful. I am also thankful because I know that God controls the sea. He says to it, "You can go this far, and no farther." Then there stands the palm trees. To me, they represent the Catholic Church. They are so beautiful and majestic. Every part of it is good and useful.

May the ocean, beach, and palm tree always remind me that I am a leper, that Christ is able and willing to cleanse me if I continually come to Him. It was not necessary for Jesus to touch the leper; He could have just spoken the word. However, He wanted us to have confidence in His Body--the Catholic Church--that He He would save us and heal us by means of His Body. May the ocean, beach, and palm tree also constantly remind me that there is something more glorious awaiting us, more glorious than the eye can perceive at this time.
--Tommy Turner

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Adam and Eve "knew" only good at their creation.

Upon seeing the readings for today, my first impulse was to just skim over them: the creation account in Genesis 2 and Mark 7:14-23. Then something caught my eye: God created man before there was any grass. After God created man, "the the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed." Then "out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was at that time that "the LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it." After he placed the man in the garden, he then settled the man in the garden; he made the man "at home."

Now we come to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know that the word "knowledge" is derived from the word "know." In Scripture, "know" describes the intimate relationship between a man and a woman, e.g. Adam knew Eve. I don't think I have to go into further detail. What I want to get to: Adam and Eve "knew" only good at their creation; they only had knowledge of good. Look at "fruit" as "fruit of the Spirit." The "fruit" that they had was only good. After their disobedience of God's command, they then "knew" evil, had an intimate relationship with evil. Disobedience is evil; therefore, when they disobeyed, they bore the fruit of evil and they had to die--for disobedience is not of God, is not of His nature. It separated them from God. Now we understand why our Lord Jesus said, "...the things that come out from within are what defile." Disobedience came from inside Adam and Eve and defiled them. Satan, yes, tempted them; but the disobedience came from within and defiled them. "From within the man, from his heart" (mind) "come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile."

Upon our Baptism, we were reunited with God by and through Jesus Christ. We have eaten from the Tree of Goodness, of Righteousness; we "know" goodness, righteousness. If we enjoy sinning, then we must question our love of God. If we love sinning, we love, "know," evil. Yes, it is true that sometimes our passions overwhelm us. Although we have power over our passions, they are still very strong. We can only overpower them sometimes with fasting and prayer. If we fail, we have access to the Sacraments.

If we "know" good, have an intimate relationship with Righteous, we will be in the Garden, the Kingdom; if we "know" disobedience, have an intimate relationship with sin, evil----

This reflection is taken from Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time.  See: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021115.cfm
--Tommy Turner

Where was Adam? God shelters us by means of the Catholic Church

When Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, Holy Scripture tells us "she also gave some to her husband, who was with her." Does "with her" mean adjacent to her or in the Garden with her? Although it could be both, I would argue for the latter. We are told that "the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made." Since he was cunning, I would argue that he would wait until the woman was most vulnerable. If he missed the opportune moment, he might lose for good. He knew that the woman would be more vulnerable when the man was not present.

After being deceiving and eating the forbidden fruit, she took some of the fruit and went and found her husband. We must remember that Adam is the image of God, like Jesus. As we know, Jesus is the Second Adam. Once Adam became aware of what his wife had done, what should he have done? He should have done what Jesus did: Intercede on her behalf, doing whatever was necessary to procure her salvation, even if it included dying for her. The human race did not fall when Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, but when Adam did. Notice, Scripture does not say, "So she took some of its fruit and ate it, and her eyes were opened." No. It was after Adam ate it that Scripture states, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened."

Jesus did what the first Adam did not do: He redeemed us. Now, "blessed is he whose sin is covered. Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile." When reading the responsorial psalm, view it as the Catholic Church speaking. When it says "I," that is the Church, every individual Catholic, speaking in union. "Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, 'I confess my faults to the LORD,' and you took away the guilt of my sin." God is our shelter. He does this by the Catholic Church. What He is sheltering us from is damnation, eternal separation from Himself.

Why do I say He shelters us by means of the Catholic Church? Look at our Gospel reading from St. Mark. We know that all Jesus had to do was speak the word, and the deaf-mute would have been healed; therefore, why did He put His finger in the man's ear, spit, touch his tongue, look to heaven, and groan? Jesus was always looking forward to His Passion and Ascension and to the Church He was forming, the Catholic Church. He is telling us that His Church will be a divine body that the finger of God will be with it, that through His Church men's ears would be opened to God's word and men would hear and speak God's word, forgiving sins, interceding on behalf of the human race.

Jesus had taken the man off by himself, away from the crowd; however, after the healing, "He ordered them not to tell anyone." Who is "them"? It must have been His disciples. He told them not to tell anyone, to enforce upon them that they did not have to gloat, to brag, that others would proclaim. This was to teach them humility.

We are in the Kingdom (Garden) with the Second Adam. Although He may not be adjacent to us, we know where to find Him--in the Catholic Church--and we can go to Him when we are tempted, and we can go to Him even when we fall. We know where "Adam" is.

This is a reflection on the biblical readings from Friday February 13, 2015.  See: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021315.cfm
--Tommy Turner

TIMELINE OF THE BIBLE: AN OVERVIEW OF SALVATION HISTORY

Introduction:  How To Use This Timeline
            The idea behind this Timeline is to make it easier to grasp the narrative, or story, of  the Bible as it was written -- from the first book, Genesis, all the way to the last book, Revelation.  It is hoped that by submitting all of the books of the Bible to various groupings in outline form it will be possible to make easier the difficult tasks of approaching the great depth of the Bible and coming to grips with its seemingly overwhelming details. Taking up the Bible as if it were a pleasant novel, relaxing to read and simple to understand is a huge misconception.  It takes great scholars literally years to bring the entirety of Scripture under the control of the human mind.  So it is hoped that this Timeline will make reading the Bible itself simpler and more subject to understanding. Here then, is the explanation for how to use the Timeline.
Old Testament Narratives of the Hebrew Past
            The Bible is composed of different types of literature (or genres), and although many of the genres present writings about a past time, no literature in the Old Testament claims or presents itself to be a work of history. Ancient Hebrew writers of the earliest books of the Old Testament, which we will discuss repeatedly as a category herein (namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges), used standards to judge their source materials (mostly oral recollections of the people's past) that were vastly different from the standards that modern historians would later use. Noted Scripture scholars cannot agree on when ancient Hebrew authors started writing the Book of Genesis.  However, the common agreement is that this written record of the people's past began about 1100 - 1000 B.C.
            This written record of the earliest books of the Bible, without being modern scientific history, because of its lack of direct evidence by the authors, nonetheless presents a solid meaning to what is written, together with a critical attitude toward their writings by the authors.  These two factors place their "narrative," (or dated story) of the the earliest books of the Old Testament in the same intellectual and scholarly category, even though much earlier than, the first truly scientific history written in the 5th Century B.C. by the Greek scholar, Herodotus, nicknamed "the Father of History."  If  Herodotus was the Father of History, we can go beyond him and say that, because Herodotus' sense of "meaning" was simply impersonal, blind fate, that the "Father of Meaning" in history was instead the Jewish authors of the the earliest books of the Old Testament. This sense of meaning, embedded in the basic theme of those early books is the Jewish authors' basing the Hebrew past on the people's human interaction with Yahweh, their personal God. This essential theme of the Pentateuch shows how God was revealed in a number of central events: (1) the choice of the patriarchs, (2) the giving of a covenant, (3) the law to be obeyed, and (4) the guidance through the wilderness to a promised land.
            The narrative genres of the Old Testament present the Hebrew past from the creation of the world through the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. The timeline for this presentation of the past covers people and events dated from c.2000 B.C. in the days of Abraham up to and through 500 B.C. to 400 B.C., or in the time of the Jews' return from captivity in Babylon (see the Timeline, period number 8, below, for this "captivity"). As far as the earliest books of the Bible are concerned, while there is little direct evidence of what is written as we noted above, there is, however, a huge amount of circumstantial evidence, such as names, places, business contracts, marriage contracts and migratory patterns. Further, modern archaeology has generally confirmed the Bible's early efforts to present written history. As archaeology continues its digging into the past, we find that the more  archaeologists discover of the earliest biblical era, the more we see that a tremendous amount of historicity appears in the text of the earliest books of the Bible. The findings of the 19th - 21st century archaeologists provide the true scientific foundation of a good part of the narrative genres of the Old Testament. 
            The underlying sense of meaning in the Old Testament writers' presentation of the Hebrews' past is to tell us the readers the crucial things that happened in the past that we need to know in order to discover and know God.  The Pentateuch advances religious and theological lessons but warns us not to treat the five books like a textbook full of academic truths. In other words, the Old Testament authors did write about Israel's past in their narrative.  But the writing of history was secondary to their other purposes. In addition to the narrative portions, there are books displaying non-narrative genres of the Bible -- laws, songs, prophetic oracles, proverbs and wisdom literature.  These attest to the history of Israel only indirectly. The non-narrative texts served ritual, educational, moral and other functions in ancient Israelite society. The non-narrative authors, while mostly avoiding tales of the past,  nonetheless believed that they and their readers were essential players in the narrative of Israelite history. Therefore, the authors of non-narrative portions of the Old Testament guided the Israelites in living their personal history as God's chosen people in accordance with God's plan.  Such authors gave the people this guidance without making it sound historical as did the narrative in the the earliest books of the Old Testament.
New Testament Approaches to the Past
            The word "narrative," as used above, does not apply to the New Testament authors, as they wrote about nothing before the birth of Jesus -- which took place, incongruously, probably about 4 A.D. The New Testament authors focused on what they might have called "the eternal present," rather than  about anything that was intended as history, or even information of an earlier past epoch that existed before the earthly life of the Word made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. (The one exception to this statement are the two genealogies of Jesus, i.e., Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3: 23-38, which dwell intensely on past important figures in the Old Testament, including as far back as Genesis.) The New Testament is very much "non-narrative" when compared to the narrative portions of the Old Testament, as we have talked about them above when considering the Pentateuch.
            New Testament authors believed that the past had a religious plan and purpose, but for them that plan and purpose was completely embodied in the person of Jesus, who was the Messiah already on earth. The gospel writers could not see any purpose in writing about Jesus' life as a feature of world history -- as was characteristic of  the narrative of the people and events in Old Testament history. St. Paul wrote more historically than the gospel writers. However, he too, believed that all history had come to fruition with the life of Jesus, both during his earthly ministry, and as continuing through to the Parousia, or end-time coming again of Jesus as the glorious Lord of all history. For New Testament writers, since Jesus was the Messiah already come to earth, risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, and since he was coming again to oversee the end of history, what purpose could be served by the New Testament authors' writing a history of the rest of earthly events?
Getting Into the Timeline
            The Timeline below lists twelve time periods within which the various, respective books of the Bible are discussed under a thematic heading. Each of the twelve headings will summarize both the dates within which the books under the heading were written and the subject matters about which the respective books under the heading were written.  Below the twelve time periods and the names, dates and subject matters of the various books, will be listed the name of the great power then dominating world history. Along with the name of the great power will be a brief statement of some point of secular history taking place during the period of the great power.
            The chronology under each of the twelve time periods will move this Timeline of the Bible along, using narrative historical dates and events as discussed above. Non-narrative books, or what shall instead be designated below as "supplemental books" (to avoid the negative "non" description) will appear at the end of the remarks covering the narrative history of the respective twelve periods. The dates in which these supplemental books were written may be implicitly understood as having been written within the same time period covered for the narrative books of a given period.  For example, we will consider the history of the return of the Jews to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon and Persia during the 400's B.C. under the time period headed "Return." And since the Book of Job, while not at all related to the historical narrative of the period in general or to the Return in particular, was written during the same 400's B.C., we will include the "supplemental Book of Job" under the heading designated "Return," simply to situate it in the era of its composition.
Summary of the Set-Up of the Timeline
(1) The Twelve Time Periods and Their Dates.
(2) The Biblical Books Written During Each Time Period.
(3) The Subject Matter of Such Books.
(4) Any Supplemental (non-historical) Books Written During Each Time Period.
(5) The Leading World Power During the Time Period.
(6) A Short Point of Secular History Within the Time Period of the World Power.
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Period Number 1
I. "EARLY WORLD" (CREATION -- 2000 BC)
II. GENESIS CHAPTERS 1 - 11
III. GEN 1-3 ADAM & EVE; CREATION; GEN - 4 CAIN, ABEL, SETH,  FALL, CURSE AND PROMISE; GEN 9 NOAH FLOOD; GEN 10-11 JAPHETH, SHEM:  PEOPLE SCATTERED AT BABEL
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS: NONE
V. WORLD POWER: EGYPT.
VI.. SECULAR HISTORY: GREAT PYRAMIDS BUILT, c. 2685 B.C.; STONEHENGE CONSTRUCTED IN ENGLAND, c. 2000 B.C.
Period Number 2
I. "PATRIARCHS" (2000 B.C. -- 1700 B.C.)
II. GENESIS CHAPTERS 12 - 50.
III. GEN-12 GOD CALLS ABRAM OUT OF UR; GEN-14 MELCHIZEDEK BLESSES ABRAHAM; GEN -19 SODOM AND GOMORRAH; GEN-22 BINDING OF ISAAC; GEN-15, 17, 22 COVENANTS WITH ABRAHAM; GEN. 22 - PROMISE OF WORLDWIDE BLESSING (NEW COVENANT TO BE REALIZED UNDER AGE OF MESSIAH); GEN - 27 JACOB STEALS ISAAC'S PATERNAL BLESSING AWAY FROM ESAU; GEN 32 - JACOB WRESTLES WITH GOD, IS RENAMED "ISRAEL;" GEN - 35 TWELVE SONS OF JACOB (TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL); GEN - 37 JOSEPH SOLD INTO SLAVERY; GEN - 46 JACOB'S FAMILY MOVES TO EGYPT
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOK: NONE
V. WORLD POWER: BABYLON
VI. SECULAR HISTORY:  CODE OF KING HAMMURABI OF BABYLON, 1760 B.C.  
Period Number 3              
I. "EGYPT & EXODUS" (1700 B.C.-- 1280 B.C.)
II. EXODUS (ITS ENTIRETY: CHAPTERS 1 -- 40)
III. EX 1:1 - 15:21 THE ISRAELITES ARE SLAVES OF PHARAOH; EX 3:14 THE BURNING BUSH; EX 7-11 EGYPT'S TEN PLAGUES; EX 12 THE FIRST PASSOVER; EX 15:4 THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA; EX 16 MANNA FROM HEAVEN; EX 24 GOD'S COVENANT WITH MOSES ON MT. SINAI (AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS); EX 32 THE GOLDEN CALF; EX 29 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD; EX 25 - 39 CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE; EX 37 CONSTRUCTION OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS: LEVITICUS PRE- AND POST- ISRAEL'S ESCAPE FROM EGYPT; PRIESTS AND LAWS
V. WORLD POWER: EGYPT
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: FIRST URBAN CIVILIZATION IN CHINA, c. 1600 B.C.; GREEK LANGUAGE FIRST WRITTEN, c. 1450 B.C.
Period Number 4 
I. "DESERT WANDERINGS" (1280 -1240 B.C.)
II. NUMBERS AND DEUTERONOMY
III. NM 1 - 10 CENSUS AND PREPARATION TO LEAVE SINAI; NM 10 - 25 DEPARTURE FROM SINAI, WANDERING FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS; NM 25 - 36 PREPARATION TO ENTER THE PROMISED LAND;  DT 1, 4, 29 THREE DISCOURSES BY MOSES; DT 12 - 28 THE DEUTERONOMIC CODE; DT 34 THE DEATH OF MOSES
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOK: NONE
V. WORLD POWER: EGYPT
VI. SECULAR HISTORY:  BUILDING PROJECTS OF PHARAOHS SETI I AND RAMESES II.
Period Number 5
I. "CONQUEST & JUDGES" (1240 B.C. - 1050 B.C.)
II. JOSHUA AND JUDGES
III. JOS 1- 12 CONQUEST OF CANAAN; JOS 13 - 21 DIVISION OF THE LAND AMONG THE TWELVE TRIBES; JOS 22 - 24 RETURN OF THE TRANSJORDAN TRIBES AND JOSHUA'S FAREWELL AND DEATH; JGS 1 - 3 SITUATION IN CANAAN FOLLOWING THE ISRAELITE CONQUEST; JGS 3 - 16 STORIES OF THE JUDGES AND NAMES OF THE TWELVE JUDGES: OTHNIEL, EHUD, SHAMGAR, DEBORAH, GIDEON, TOLA, JAIR, JEPHTHAH, IBZAN, ELON, ABDON, SAMSON; JGS 17 - 21 STORIES OF THE TRIBES OF BENJAMIN AND DAN 
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOK: RUTH
V. WORLD POWER: EGYPT
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: EGYPT AT WAR AGAINST HITTITES, LIBYANS AND GREEKS;  IT BEGINS TO LOSE ITS POWER AS IT GIVES UP ITS FORMER CONTROL OVER PALESTINE (1234 - 1165 B.C.)
Period Number 6
I. "ROYAL KINGDOM" (1050 B.C. - 930 B.C.)
II.  1 & 2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS 1 - 11
III.  1 SAMUEL 1 - 7 THE LAST JUDGES, ELI AND SAMUEL; 1 SAMUEL 8 - 12 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MONARCHY; 1 SAMUEL 13 - 2 SAMUEL 2  SAUL AND DAVID; 2 SAMUEL 2 - 20 THE REIGN OF DAVID; 1 KGS 1 - 11 THE REIGN OF SOLOMON
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS: PSALMS, 1 & 2 CHRONICLES, PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES; SONG OF SONGS
V. WORLD POWER: EGYPT
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: EGYPT LOSES POWER AND PRESTIGE TO THE MESOPOTAMIAN EMPIRES, ASSYRIA, BABYLONIA, SUMER
Period Number 7
I. "DIVIDED KINGDOM" (930 B.C. - 722 B.C.)
II. 1 KINGS 12-22, 2 KINGS
III. 1 KGS. 12 JUDAH & ISRAEL TO THE TIME OF AHAB; 1 KGS. 17, 1- 22.STORIES OF THE PROPHETS; 2 KGS 1 - 17 THE KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH; 2 KGS 18 -25 THE KINGDOMS DIVIDE WITH ISRAEL HAVING 10 TRIBES WITH ITS CAPITAL IN SAMARIA AND JUDAH HAVING 2 TRIBES WITH ITS CAPITAL IN JERUSALEM; THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH AFTER 721 B.C (WHEN THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL WAS CONQUERED AND DEPORTED TO ASSYRIA.
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS:  2 CHRONICLES CONT'D; HOSEA, ISAIAH, MICAH, OBADIAH, JOEL, AMOS, JONAH, TOBIT
V. WORLD POWER: ASSYRIA
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: ASSYRIA REPLACES EGYPT AS LEADING GREAT POWER, FIRST OLYMPIC GAMES, 776 B.C., FOUNDING OF ROME, 753 B.C.
Period Number 8
I. "EXILE" (722 B.C. - 539 B.C.)
II. 2 KINGS CONT'D
III. 2 KGS 2 ELIJAH & ELISHA;. 2 KGS 18, 19 HEZEKIAH, ISAIAH, 2 KGS 21 REIGN OF MANASSEH; 2 KGS KING TIGLATH-PILESER III INVADES AND CARRIES OFF NORTHERN KINGDOM TO ASSYRIA 722 B.C.; 605, 597, 587 (all three B.C.) THREE DEPORTATIONS BY BABYLON OF JUDAH; FIRST TEMPLE DESTROYED BY BABYLON 587 B.C.; 70 YEARS EXILE OF JUDAH IN "BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY"
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS:  NAHUM; HABAKKUK; DANIEL; EZEKIEL; JUDITH; LAMENTATIONS; JEREMIAH; ZEPHANIAH; BARUCH
V. WORLD POWER: BABYLON
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: HOMER'S ILIAD AND ODYSSEY WRITTEN 722 B.C., THE BUDDHA BEGINS HIS TEACHING, 563 B.C., CONFUCIUS, 551
Period Number 9
I. "RETURN" (538 B.C. - 168 B.C.)
II. EZRA, NEHEMIAH
III. EZRA 1 -6, JUDAH'S THREE-STAGE RETURN FROM EXILE (1) 538 B.C., (2) 525 - (3) 457 B.C., 444 B.C.; THE KINGS OF PERSIA: CYRUS, 538 - 529 B.C., DARIUS I, 521 B.C. - 485 B.C., DARIUS III, 336 - 330 B.C.; EZRA 7  - 10 THE DEEDS OF EZRA; NEHEMIAH 1 - 7 THE DEEDS OF NEHEMIAH, 8 - 13; HE REBUILDS WALLS OF JERUSALEM 444 B.C; ZERUBBABEL REBUILDS TEMPLE 537 B.C.;  PROMULGATION OF THE LAW
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS:  ZECHARIAH, HAGGAI, ESTHER, MALACHI
V. WORLD POWERS: PERSIA (CYRUS); GREECE (ALEXANDER THE GREAT)
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: PLATO, 427 B.C., DEATH OF SOCRATES, 399 B.C., ARISTOTLE, 384 B.C., ALEXANDER THE GREAT 336, SEPTUAGINT BIBLE TRANSLATION WRITTEN IN ALEXANDRIA, 283 B.C., GREAT WALL OF CHINA 214 B.C.
Period Number 10
I.  MACCABEAN REVOLT 167 B.C - END OF B.C., BEGINNING OF A.D.
II. 1 MACCABEES
III. 1 MACCABEES 1, HELLENISM IN ASIA MINOR; THE MACCABEAN REVOLT; 1 MACCABEES 3 - 9, THE LEADERSHIP OF JUDAS MACCABEUS; 1 MACCABEES 9 - 12, LEADERSHIP OF JONATHAN; 1 MACCABEES 13 - 16 SIMON HIGH PRIEST AND ETHNARCH 
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS:  2 MACCABEES, WISDOM OF SOLOMON, SIRACH
V. WORLD POWER: ROME
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES, 163 B.C., DEAD SEA SCROLLS, 100 B.C., JULIUS CAESAR, 44 B.C., POMPEY CAPTURES JERUSALEM, 63 B.C., HEROD THE GREAT, 4 B.C., VIRGIL WRITES AENEID, 30 B.C.
Period Number 11      
I. MESSIANIC FULFILLMENT (1 - 33 A.D.
II. FOUR GOSPELS: MATTHEW, 80 A.D.; MARK, 69 A.D.; LUKE, 80 - 90 A.D.; JOHN 90 - 100
III. MATTHEW 1 -2, THE INFANCY NARRATIVE; MATTHEW 3 -7, PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM; MATTHEW 8 - 11, MINISTRY AND MISION IN GALILEES; MATTHEW 11 -13, OPPOSITION FROM ISRAEL; MATTHEW 13-18, JESUS, THE KINGDOM AND THE CHURCH; MATTHEW 19 - 25, MINISTRY IN JUDEA AND JERUSALEM; MATTHEW 26 - 28, THE PASSION AND RESURRECTION.
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS:  MARK, LUKE, JOHN
V. WORLD POWER: ROME
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: EMPERORS TIBERIUS 14 - 37 A.D.; CLAUDIUS 41 - 54 A.D.
Period Number 12   
I.   THE CHURCH ( 33 A.D. ----
II. ACTS
III. PAUL'S LETTERS: ROMANS, 1 & 2 CORINTHIANS; GALATIANS; EPHESIANS; PHILIPPIANS; COLOSSIANS; 1 & 2 THESSALONIANS; 1 & 2 TIMOTHY; TITUS; PHILEMON; THE CATHOLIC LETTERS: JAMES; 1 & 2 PETER; 1, 2  & 3 JOHN; JUDE; REVELATION; ACTS 80-90 A.D.
IV. SUPPLEMENTAL BOOK ACTS:  MAJOR DATES IN CHURCH HISTORY OF FIRST CENTURY A.D. WITNESS IN JERUSALEM: PENTECOST; STEPHEN MARTYRED; CHOOSING OF SEVEN DEACONS; WITNESS IN JUDEA & SAMARIA; SAUL'S CONVERSION (33/34 A.D.); CORNELIUS' VISION; PETER'S ARREST AND DELIVERANCE; WITNESS TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: PAUL'S THREE MISSIONARY JOURNEYS (45-58 A.D.); COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM (49 A.D.);  JOHN'S APOCALYPSE (BOOK OF REVELATION) 68 A.D..
V. WORLD POWER: ROME
VI. SECULAR HISTORY: DESTRUCTION BY ROME OF JERUSALEM TEMPLE (70 A.D.); NERO (54 - 68 A.D.); VESPASIAN (69 - 79 A.D.); TITUS (79 - 81 A.D.); DOMITIAN 81-96 A.D.

--Tony Gilles


Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Feast of Presentation: Why should our Lord should be presented to His Father?

The readings for 2 February are for the Presentation. Why does the Church celebrate the Presentation? What is the purpose that our Lord should be presented to His Father? One may, perhaps, respond, "To fulfill the Law." But for what purpose was the Law? Did God arbitrarily come up with some rules just for the sake of having something for us to obey? Or was there a purpose?

St. Athanasius, in the Catena Aurea, is recorded as saying, "For us, perhaps, these things were written; for as not to confer grace on Himself was He made man and circumcised in the flesh, but to make us Gods through grace, and that we might be circumcised, in the Spirit, so for our sake is He presented to the Lord, that we also might learn to present ourselves to the Lord." I think that makes perfect sense. Jesus became man in order that He may present man, being circumcised in the Spirit, through grace, to the Father through Himself.

Now, St. Athanasius had said, "...that we also might learn to present ourselves to the Lord." This is true. There will come the day that we will have to present ourselves to the Lord. Not only will we have to present ourselves to the Lord, we must "look" like Jesus Christ. How will we be able to do this? Although it is true that we must learn to present ourselves to the Lord, we have Hope. Jesus did not present Himself to the Father; His Mother, the Virgin Mary (with Joseph) presented Him. It was His Mother that presented Him at the temple. The Virgin Mary is also our Mother because Jesus made her our Mother at the cross. The Catholic Church, Christ's Body, is also our Mother. Mary and the Catholic Church will present us to the Lord. Not only will the Virgin Mary and the Catholic Church present us, but the Catholic Church is the Body of Christ; therefore, Christ Himself will sanctify us and present us.

The Virgin Mary really had no earthly reason for purification for she conceived not by man but by the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, she obeyed the Law because she was human and had need to be purified by her Son, as is the Catholic Church, His Body. Although she was without sin, she still needed a Savior, as she stated in the Magnificat. It was by reason of her Son that she was without sin; hence, she was purified by Him. The same applies to the Catholic Church. Jesus was obedient to His parents, as we are to the Catholic Church--or should be and try to be.

Oh, Lord, so wonderful, magnificent, and holy, we are so sinful; nevertheless, look not upon our sins but look upon the faith of Your Church, of which we are members, and keep us. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
--T.T.