Adventures in RCIA - The Bible: Things I Wonder About The Book of Sirach

Jesus son of Eleazar son of Sirach, or Yeshua ben El-azar ben Sira in his mother tongue, was a great scholar and Rabbi, and the author of the "Ecclesiasticus" or the book of Sirach. He wrote and taught in Jerusalem prior to 180 B.C. The Septaguint used a Greek translation, written by ben Sira's grandson, of  writings. The grandson wrote an introduction to the Greek rendering. The intro by ben Sira's grandson states that "You are invited to read with good will and attention. and to be indulgent in cases where, despite our diligent labor in translating, we may seem to have rendered some phrases imperfectly. For what was originally expressed in Hebrew does not have exactly the same sense when translated into another language."  The Hebrew text was totally lost to the Western world from about 400 to 1900 A.D. We have about two-thirds of the Hebrew text now, recovered from various places around the Middle East. All this I learned in an additional intro to the book by the scholars who wrote commentary in this particular annotated Bible. They also stated that the Jews never, ever considered this particular book to be canonical. Very powerful and valuable, yes. Authoritative scripture? No, never. The early Christians did, though, so depending on how much weight you give to which of those...

The intro to the book of Sirach in my New Oxford Annotated Bible, NRSV with Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical books, says that reading from start to finish is not the best way to approach Sirach. They recommend reading chapters 1 and 24 first, and then the hymn of praise to Isreal's ancestors in 44:1-49:16. The Oxford commentators said Sirach is divided into three major blocks of teaching: chapters 1 - 23, chapters 24:1 - 42:14, and chapters 42:15 - 50:24. This is such a long book, I am going to write a synopsis of at least those three parts rather than doing the whole thing in one shot. This piece is not a synopsis, but a reflection on chapters 1 and 23.

The grandson who did the translating was a teacher and scholar himself. He translated the book while living in Egypt because he felt it would be extremely helpful for "Those living abroad who wish to gain learning and are disposed to live according to the Law." He said that not only his grandfather's book, "but even the Law and the Prophecies and the rest of the books differ not a little when read in the original." I am, like most Westerners from well before Luther's time to the present, reading a translation of a translation because that is what we have to work with. Nevertheless, here goes:

Sirach 1:1 "All wisdom is from the Lord, and with Him it remains forever." This was very striking to me. I was thinking about how Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 occurs in chapters 1 and 23 in Sirach.

One of the most powerful teachings on Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 8 and 9:1-6) I ever heard explained that she was a type of Christ and/or the Holy Spirit.
Excerpts from Proverbs 8 "Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom. I am understanding, I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me... The Lord possessed me, in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there was no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. While as yet He has not made the earth, nor the hills, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He set a compass on the face of the depth, when He established the clouds above,when he strengthened the fountains of the deep. When he gave to the sea His decree that the waters should not pass His commandment, when He appointed the foundations of the Earth, then I was by Him as one brought up with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, and my delights were with the sons of men... Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors, for whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. All they that hate me love death."
In chapter 9, it continues, "Wisdom hath builded her house... She hath killed her beasts, she hath mingled her wine, she hath also furnished her table. She hath sent forth her maidens; she crieth upon
the highest places of the city, '... come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish and live, and go in the way of understanding." Sure sounds like Jesus to me.

Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that Christ became wisdom from God to us, and in context from v. 20 to 31, especially v. 26, it is mentioning God revealing His wisdom to/through those who lacked it, calling those who were simple and lacked understanding, though it puts it differently. Paul's new testament revelation on the wisdom of God speaks a lot more about of why God chose to call the foolish and simple of the world. Nevertheless, Christ is the Word, who was in the beginning with God (John 1), who was before all things and by whom all things were made (Col. 1:17). Jesus calls us who are unworthy and clueless to the banquet He prepares for us, and the one who is building the spiritual house referred to in Hebrews 3. I do believe Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 is a type of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, and/or the Holy Spirit.

Excerpts from Sirach 24 seem to go along with this: " In the presence of the Most High she opens her mouth, and in the presence of his hosts she tells her story, 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist. I dwelt in the highest heavens, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud. Alone I compassed the vault of heaven and traversed the depths of the abyss, over the waves of the sea, over all the earth, and over every people and nation I have held sway..." Yep, sounds like YHVH, like the Spirit of God and Jesus.

The problems I run into here are with translations. I wish the deuterocananical books had not been tossed out before Dr. Strong wrote his concordance. I cannot check when I see a statement in English in both books to see if the original text uses the same word or was even talking about the same thing. I really wish I could look up the word used in the original text when studying the disputed books, especially this one. The NRSV version of Proverbs 8:22 says "The lord created me in the beginning..." where the KJV I am used to says "The Lord possessed me..." I looked this word up the in the Strong's:
QANAH {kaw-naw'} Strong's Hebrew #07069 Definitions: a primitive root; to erect, i.e. create; by extension, to procure, especially by purchase (causatively, sell); by implication to own:--attain, buy(-er), teach to keep cattle, get, provoke to jealousy, possess(-or), purchase, recover, redeem, X surely, X verily.
The stuff that comes after "--" in the Strong's expositions on these words are ways this word has been translated in the (Protestant) Bible.

A word that comes from "QANAH" seems, to me, like it might illustrate what was brought to mind for those who spoke and wrote QANAH in Hebrew:
QANEH {kaw-neh'} Strong's Hebrew #07070 
Definitions: from Strong's HEBREW #7069; a reed (as erect); by resemblance a rod (especially for measuring), shaft, tube, stem, the radius (of the arm), beam (of a steelyard):--balance, bone, branch, calamus, cane, reed, X spearman, stalk.

I see this and think of where Jesus was referred to in prophecy as a branch and as a root. He is also symbolized by water, "The water of the word" and when he says he gives us water where we will never thirst again, the Water he gives us is Himself.


I am not yet certain if the deuterocanonical books are inspired and hold the same weight as the books I grew up with, but I will go ahead and read them prayerfully. My problem with Sirach, from the other parts I have read, is that he was (from what we can tell by the translations anyway) a total misogynist, but I will address that when the relevant passages actually come up. I have struggled long and hard with issues of misogyny in church and in the Bible, and if Sirach is to be taken as authoritative, then I may have to start all over.
If anyone has any thoughts on any of this, please feel free to comment below. Also if any questions come up for clarification of anything I have stated,please feel free to let me know.
Godspeed.

~Mother Star

On the Conservative Media

I do not listen to everything the "Right Wing" news tells me, nor would I ever recommend that others do so. When I was a child, my folks seemed to. Supposedly there were all these Satanic cults everywhere that were after us all. Supposedly Kellog's  brand supported abortion. Supposedly Christian rock was part of the Illuminati...

The conservative and liberal news media are both full of emotional appeals and paint people who vote against them as evil, dangerous people out to take control and take over everybody's life. "Do what we are encouraging you to do here, protect yourself and your freedom!" I am pro-life and believe homosexuality is a sin, but I am also an active environmentalist. I get emails from both "wings," and they're actually both nuts. Absolutely nuts.



I do not agree with, or follow Alex Jones and all the conspiracy theories entirely either, but at times they do make some good points.



I have an old friend who was conceived when her mother was raped. I love this dear friend of mine. She is not "a product of rape." She is a wonderful thing that came from a terrible thing. She is not what happened to her mom; she is an example of the triumph and beauty of life in, and even through, the darkest of circumstances. It definitely does devalue life to make exceptions to an abortion ban for babies like this dear friend of mine. Ditto with handicapped babies. Many conservatives are quite willing to make these unacceptable concessions. Some GOP candidates have also very stupidly stated or implied that if a woman gets pregnant, it means she is lying about being raped. It is possible to get pregnant through sexual assault. It is a very weak, or very uninformed, man/woman who will publicly accuse my friend's mother and others like her of lying, and publicly shame thousands of violent crime victims in that manner. This has turned many informed men and women against those candidates - including me.

I do not believe our founding fathers had a personal relationship with God or founded this country on divinely inspired and scriptural principles. Our founding fathers practiced slavery and genocide, and they twisted the bible to justify it as badly as any "gay Christian" or "Christian" abortion-supporter has ever twisted the bible. If the times we live in do not justify our looking the other way and keeping our mouths shut, and they don't, then our founding fathers are not justified for legal abortion either (abortion was legal btw, research this carefully. Legal abortion is not progressive, but regressive), or slavery, or the covenant breaking and genocide they practiced against the indigenous people of this continent because of the times they lived in either. If "gay Christians" and those who at least excuse abortion are not of God, neither were our founding fathers; all of these justify sin in the name of "freedom and justice for all" and abuse the Bible to do it. Our founding fathers were not divinely inspired saints doing God's will. They violated his commands endlessly, from the get-go. As a Christian, I am profoundly offended at claims associating such abominations with divine inspiration, or sort of-like "sainting" some especially wicked sinners. As an American, I am offended at not being told the straight out truth about my history and heritage. If I am not told about the blemishes in it, I cannot learn from them, nor really understand the situation I have to live in and address today.


 I self-identify as a pro-life feminist. I believe there is such a thing as "Rape Culture," and my studies of other societies, especially matriarchies, indicate that there is a link between our concept of power, our separation of sexuality from family and procreation, plus our devaluing of motherhood, and the prevalent twisting of minds that can cause folks become sexual predators. This situation pre-dates the nineteenth century feminist movement by at least hundreds of years. Problems caused by modern "feminists" are symptoms of internalized misogyny, and will not be solved by maintaining patriarchal values and social systems. When aggression and the ability to use physical force to achieve an end is valued very highly, this lends itself to all kinds of bullying and oppressive behavior, including sexual violence. With the connection of sex to family life and the circle of life, sexual violence  becomes virtually inconceivable all around the world.

I believe abortion is a symptom of misogyny and oppression, as did Susan B. Anthony and all the early American feminists who got our voting rights - and who originally fought to ban abortion in America. Abortion rarely occurs in places where women have resources and rights.  It is more prevalent in places where women have few rights and are oppressed and disrespected. It was legal here in the 19th century, before we could vote or get decent jobs. 19th century American Feminists fought to end it. The 60's feminists did not trust anyone over 30 and would not even listen to those who worked so hard to get them into those universities in the first place. They were uninformed, as is anyone who refers to the second wave, 1960's "feminism" as "the feminist movement." It existed for some 200 years prior, and did a lot of good.

Neither "wing" can genuinely be classified as "Pro-woman." When a Drag "queen" or so-called "female impersonator" goes on stage, they are degrading women along with themselves. What they are "impersonating" is not what we are, and dressing/behaving that way should not change the pronoun used to mention them. Our essence and purpose are not, and never will be, summed up in any fashion show. Their definition of "female"and "feminine" miss the mark as badly as June Cleaver did. Drag represents an oppressive, patriarchal and degrading definition of womanhood, and of the roll of women. Liberals who support drag are supporting an inherently misogynistic movement.

The conservative media/"wing" sometimes also degrades women in its own way. Some conservatives are indeed patriarchal. Saying that a man should make more money than his wife or that men have a biological instinct that makes them feel threatened or devalued if their wives make more than them. What kind of teammate pouts if someone else on his team scores more points than he does? "The whole team is going to the championship, and I did not score the winning plays. I don't want to play anymore, or I want that teammate to stop scoring so much." That's not a good attitude. If a man's emotions are devastated because his kids have better access to higher education, his family has more insurance, the house is getting paid off faster, etc., because his wife got a raise and now makes more money than he does, than he needs to check his ego at the door! The whole family benefits, and it should not matter who made the score, everybody is going to the playoffs of life, so everybody should be happy. Some conservatives still support or tolerate pig-headed and patriarchal attitudes though; if such foolish men actually divorce their wives or otherwise leave their family in a mess, the woman with the raise/promotion and the people who fought for her opportunities get at least partial blame in the conservative world sometimes. THAT does not sit well with me at all.

I also note that when Republicans want to go to war with everybody, then war is noble and necessary and brave and etc. When liberals do it, it is evil and senseless bloodshed. Liberal media does the same thing in reverse. Torture even becomes ok "if the party we usually vote for backs it up," and if not... "That just shows you how the other party is, doesn't it? They torture people.... "
I do not subscribe to any conservative news letters or "like" any of their pages. Ditto with liberal ones. I follow a lot of issues, but completely ignore anything that groups issues together in "wings" or major parties. I do"like" pages of a couple of third parties that do not even like each other though, keeping an eye out for better alternatives...

I guess what I am saying is I distrust conservative media as much as liberal media and vice versa, and strongly recommend that others do the same. I try to check facts carefully, as if all news I hear comes from pathological liars, because essentially it does.

I have no idea if this image was made by a "liberal" or a conservative, or a neither like me. I do not own the rights to it, if any are owned. I certainly appreciate the message though.


Godspeed.

~Mother Star

NEVER! GIVE! UP! - My Miracle Baby is Now Working Again!

My car was down for over a month. I thought it was junk. It is now working again. I took it to go get gas. and it rides better than it did. When the temperature is above freezing, the suspension work right on all four wheels.

An idiot drilled out one of the ends on the battery cables, and I planned to replace them.
Replacing battery cables on this car is the first job on it I have ever balked at. When I got a look at what was going on int here, they run into the main wiring harness for the whole car and are stuffed inside conduit containing many major wires and cables for important functions. I dared not try it with my novice skills. That wiring system looked like a mess and I would have had to take all the conduit off and replace it... Not happening right now.
After replacing the old and badly damaged positive battery terminal, I found that the end on the positive cable would not fit over it. Someone had drilled the negative side out and made it too big,then the positive side had a cable connector that was too small. There was not enough slack to cut the old ends of and still make new ones reach. We measured the terminal bolts and the cable-end holes and found that switching them and repainting the terminals would work. Then I realized the battery posts were different sizes and that would not work. The old terminal that I replaced fell apart, literally, and could not be used again by any means.
Replacing the cables was not an option, changing the terminals would not work, reversing the existing terminals would not work either. No going back to the old terminal. At my wits end,and I hate to say I did this, I ended up drilling out the other cable-end and making it fit on the positive side.
The car started and I took it to a gas station for some fuel and gave it some injector cleaner.
I went by St. Mary's where I used to be part of the Perpetual Adoration project there, and would go to pray.
I did not stop there to pray, but soon I will. I look forward to getting that going again.

Praise God for little steps, and big ones.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Reflections on the Film, Ragnarok (spoiler alert)

I watched this wonderful film on Netflix and just had to write about it, it was so good.
It has subtitles, and I suspect it is in Swedish. I am not compensated for endorsing any movies or any place to see them but I felt this one deserved the attention. The film,while a monster movie, has very strong emotional and relational elements. 
Here is a short review and synopsis of it.

Prologue: A Viking king and a troop of his stood at the edge of a lake at night. The tied a goat to a raft and sent it out across the water. A girl was trying to discourage him from whatever plan he had, but to no avail. She said, "Your greed will be our downfall." Moments later, there was a roar, from the eye-view of something huge rearing up, presumably out of the water, the king's frightened face tells it all. Then the screen went black.

Present day:
Sigurd is a single father of two, a widower who cannot let his wife go.
He is an archaeologist, as his late wife, Maren was. They both believed that the myth of Ragnorok was based on an actual event. They thought the markings on a burial site they found held clues to the story, but they did not have proof. All they had was some shells on the bottom of a boat that only exist much farther North than the people who made it were thought to have gone, in a place called Finnmark.
After Maren died, Sigurd had barely left his office. He continuously poured over the book of notes they had complied together.
Sigurd is introduced when he is grabbing a very fast breakfast. His son, Brage, reminded him that his daughter, Ragnhild, was singing at school at 3:30. He says "I will be there," as he ran out the door.

Ragnhild was in her early teens - the age when everything is the end of the world, and nothing is forgivable. It is usually the age when a girl most needs her mother.

Sigurd gave a presentation at work in order for their research grant to be continued, and it was a complete disaster. The donors laughed at his and his late wife's and withdrew their support for his research. Sigurd's boss advised him to apply for a tour guide position in the museum - the equivalent of a police officer being permanently assigned to the school crosswalk. A dream destroyed.

His dream in ruins, the partner who shared it in the grave, Sigurd sat in his car, still pouring over the notebook. That is, until he realized he was missing his daughter's performance.
He arrived at the school to find his daughter and son in an empty parking lot, waiting for him with sour expressions. "I had a meeting at work," Sigurd lied, "It took longer than I expected."

Sigurd's children wanted to go to Spain for vacation, he was planning on the cabin where they normally went. He said, "It has a lot of great memories," The children were not old enough to have remembered their mother that well. Ragnhild corrected him, "Memories for you, you mean."
Brage had created an account for his dad on a dating site. The kids were ready to move on, and wanted their father to move on as well.
That night, Sigurd's fellow researcher, Allan, came by with their first find from Finnmark. A stone with carvings in it. Sigurd set to work scraping away dirt and silt and found a familiar shape. They retrieved some display pieces from the museum. The pieces matched the shape carved in the rock. With both these pieces together, Sigurd realized it was a code breaker, and worked to decipher the message: "Asa erected this stone in memory of her father, the King of Vestfold, who arrogantly went to find the gods" or perhaps "Who went to find the power of the gods," They could not read the entire message, some of it had faded with time, but they could pick up "Three days march from this stone  to the bottomless lake, the Eye of Odin." The stone was a map!
Sigurd's only chance to get to Finnmark was the family vacation. Ragnhild was furious, but she agreed to come peacefully if her father would give her his computer. "Absolutely, that's a deal," he said, holding his hands as if praying to her. It seems he had a bit of a roll reversal going with his daughter. She reminded him of things, made Brage's breakfast and tucked Brage in, and evidently had to approve or disapprove of vacation plans. Sigurd seemed like he was overwhelmed by the task of raising kids alone,especially Ragnhild. He was clearly very concerned about her, and at a loss how to relate to her without his wife to help. He obviously longed to be a good father and make his children happy, but nothing he did seemed to be working.
In Finnmark, Allan introduced his assistant, Elisabeth. Brage immediately started hoping she and his dad would start dating. Lief, the guide, demanded his advance payment as soon as he got out of the truck, and was generally disagreeable and rude.
While they hiked from where the stone was found, Brage was impressed that they were walking where the Vikings walked 1000 years ago. Ragnhild was annoyed that there is no cell signal.
Part way through the three day hike, they ran into the old Iron Curtain. The cold war over, they crossed the border and constantly found abandoned military bases with bunkers, and preparations for war everywhere - fortunately.
When Elisabeth helped Ragnhild with mosquito repellent, the beginnings of bonding between the two were clear. At last they find the Eye of Odin, a lake with a round island in the middle of it. When Sigurd whispered, "Okay, Maren," before proceeding to explore the island. Lief found a gun in one of the abandoned barracks. While Elisabeth and Sigurd began to discuss deeper things, Brage found a cavern.
The whole team entered the cavern with ropes and harnesses. They found a Viking helmet, and many, many swords, jewelry and other things. Sigurd's dream was beginning to come true... Until Leif pulled that gun on the whole company, demanding the priceless items. He threw down everyone's ropes as soon as he was out of the cavern and left everyone, including the kids, at the bottom of a deep cavern with no way out.

Ragnhild found a human skull and became hysterical.
Elisabeth climbed the cavern wall without ropes, set up a new line, and they finally escaped their prison. With the raft gone and their strength spent, they determined to spend the night in the abandoned soviet bunks and build a new raft in the morning.
Allan examined the skull Raghnild found. There was a gigantic tooth lodged in it. "We have to go back down," Allan and Sigurd returned to the cavern while Elisabeth and the children slept.
They found many, many more bodies, and all had the kind of same injury. They figured they must have been killed by something long since extinct. In the water, they found a dead Soviet soldier, almost, but not fully, decayed down to bone. "He died the same way the Vikings did."
"But they died 1000 years ago... He didn't."
The creature who wiped out a viking troop and perhaps as many Soviet soldiers was not extinct. It came into the cavern and they saw it pass by as they hid!
All Sigurd could think about was his children...
Brage had taken one of the monster's eggs from the cavern. I hatched in the barracks while all this was going on. It rattled and hissed all over the dark, unfamiliar structure, terrifying the children. Elisabeth trapped it in a steel box and then secured the box in a pack with tight straps - Brage's pack.
That barracks was connected to a cable, and could be carried across the water with the cable via some mechanisms, but the cable had long ago fallen into the water. The monster heard its baby crying, and pulled that cable, dragging the whole unit toward the lake.
The children and Elisabeth were trapped inside; the door was jammed.

Allan and Sigurd came out of the woods, and saw the building headed for the lake. They got broke open and got everyone out just before it entered the water. As Sigurd collapsed to the ground, he looked up, holding his weeping son, and saw the beast destroy the barracks like a tin can. They fled.

After they crossed the lake, Allan found the baby monster in Brage's pack, and chose to smuggle it back to civilization for study without telling the others. Unfortunately, these creatures were amphibious. The team learned the hard way after crossing to the other side of the lake. It came for them in their campsite, they ran into a bunker for protection, but the monster battered the door til it was nearly broken in! Only Allan knew it was looking for its baby. They were trapped.
Ragnhild lost control, she blamed her father for everything. They all believed they were just waiting to die. Sigurd clearly felt that he had failed his children utterly and that everything was all his fault.
Ragnhild calmed down and picked up her father's treasured notebook. She asked him what the runes meant. the first time she'd ever shown interest in her father's lifelong passion.
Sigurd said very slowly that what he thought was a map had been a warning. It told of a Viking king who had brought his people to this place, and "they all died because - because he did not understand that perhaps - perhaps they should not be here." Clearly, he felt he could relate, but someone found ventilation pipes then, and a way out. As they were exiting the bunker, Sigurd found the baby monster in Allan's pack. He knew the beast would pursue them to the ends of the earth, just as he would for Ragnhild or Brage. Allan was, at that moment, attacked by the creature and killed. Because the escape hatch was open, the monster got inside.
Brage came out of hiding too soon, shouting for his father and sister. Ragnhild shushed him, pulling him into the locker where she was hiding. The monster came very close but did not attack the lockers. When they thought it had left, they came out and the monster cornered them.They both screamed hysterically for their father.
Sigurd ran as fasts her could, bringing the monster's baby. He approached the beast, screaming and waving a torch til it turned away from his children and came toward him. Bravely, he approached it, face to face. It could hear its baby crying in Sigurd's luggage and did not eat him, but growled with rage, Sigurd held out the baby monster. The adult monster stopped and stared, then slowly approached Sigurd until the baby could crawl up onto its nose. Then it slunk away with a growl, its wrath appeased. Sigurd had saved his children.

After the family rescued Elisabeth, It was finally time to go home. Despite previously saying that family did not suite her, she seemed more willing to be "part of the family" now, much to Brage's delight.

There is more action, drama and intrigue than I mentioned here, this is just the gist of it. In this film, I see a powerful tribute to fatherhood and a message of hope, humility, and of healing coming from unexpected places. I also see encouragement and the promise that single-parenting need not be the end of the world. Highly recommended.
Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Catholic Church Calender: Easter Time

In the Catholic Church, there is Easter Sunday and then there is Easter Time. It lasts for 50 days after Easter Sunday. It ends with Pentecost.

There are a great deal of flowers, like on Easter Sunday and the pulling-out-all-stops decor of Easter Sunday stay until Pentecost. There is a special dismissal chant for Easter and Pentecost.

The scripture readings in the Mass, (which are also at least some of the texts for the homilies Acts of the apostles, Revelation, and the Gospel accounts of Jesus time on earth after the Resurrection, the Ascension, and Pentecost.

The book of Revelation is interpreted very differently in the Catholic church than in Protestant churches. They do not teach that it foretells the end of the world. There is nothing frightening in it for them, for the Catholic church, Revelation is a book full of hope and there is nothing fearful in it. I have more study to do on it. I very much look forward to learning more about that, and then sharing what I learn.

Solemnities of the Octave of Easter - Every day for 8 days after Easter.

Special days in Easter Time include include:
Divine Mercy Sunday - The 2nd Sunday after Easter. It was Pope John Paul II's "special task," as he put it. St Faustina had some revelations during the time of Hitler's reign in Germany. It gave tremendous hope to the Polish Catholics who suffered in the concentration camps, one of whom later became a bishop and began the process that led to St. Faustina being made a Saint. The revelations of Divine Mercy are summed up in the statement that "Good triumphs over evil, life is stronger than death and God's love is more powerful than sin." This is revealed in Christ's cross, but St. Faustina''s very timely spiritual experience explained this in a way that made it very accessible to the understanding at a time when it was so urgently needed. It is also a message of the need for us all to forgive. During the Cold War, when John Paul II instituted this Special Day, and now when we hear of wars and rumors of wars everywhere, the Catholic church believes it is very important that those who follow Christ remember these revelations and ponder them. I agree. I really look forward eagerly to celebrating my first Divine Mercy Sunday and hearing/reading more teaching about it. I expect that it might need its own post!
The Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist. - April 25th
Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord - 40 days after Easter
Solemnity of the Feast of St. Matthais the Apostle - May 14th
Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday - 50 Days after Easter.

I see I will need to do more study of the book of Revelation, Divine Mercy Sunday, and the Octave of Easter. Those look like some pretty special and important subjects. Having been raised Pentecostal, and knowing that my pastor was raised Pentecostal, I wonder what kind of sermon I will hear on Pentecost.

If any of you see a special day or some other topic you would like me to investigate or inquire about, leave it in the comments below and I will see what I can do.

Take care and God bless.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Church Calender: The Triduum

The Triduum is the three days leading up to Easter. These are the holies days of the year on the Catholic church calender. I am really looking forward to celebrating these!

Holy Thursday:
Celebrates the Last Supper, and the gift of the Eucharist. It begins with the Mass of the Lord's Supper and ends as Good Friday Dawns.
The "Gloria" returns to the music in the Mass here, and they begin to use instruments more. there is still no "Alleluia" though.
The color for Holy Thursday is white, and the priest will wear white vestments.

The very special chant, called Pange Lingua is incorporated. It was written by Thomas Aquinas. In, English, it goes like this:

Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.
Down in adoration falling,
This great Sacrament we hail,
O'er ancient forms of worship
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith will tell us Christ is present,
When our human senses fail.
To the Everlasting Father,
And the Son who made us free
And the Spirit, God proceeding
From them Each eternally,
Be salvation, honour, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia."

If you would like to hear someone singing it, albeit in Latin, click here.

Flowers are brought back for the decor, but it has to be a simple kind of elegance. Nothing extravagant. There is a Mass commemorating the Lord's Supper, and Eucharistic adoration
later on. If people cannot make it to Adoration, then they are encouraged to light some candles and say some special prayers when they get back from Mass, and again before bedtime.

Good Friday:

The Friday before Easter. 

Alter is bare, no flowers or other decorations. Holy Water fonts are even emptied. There is only one large cross for veneration. The color for this day is Red, for the blood of Christ's sacrifice that day.

There are reflective silences during service. It is not a mass.

Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering servant, the book of Hebrews: Jesus the great high priest. John's account of the Lord's passion.

There is still no "Alleluia", but the "Gloria" is still sung. Both are usually a regular part of the Mass.

The Gloria:

"Glory to God in the highest, 

and on earth peace to people of good will.

We praise you, 

we bless you, 

we adore you, 

we glorify you, 

we give you thanks for your great glory, 

Lord God, heavenly King, 

O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, 

Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, 

you take away the sins of the world, 

    have mercy on us; 

you take away the sins of the world, 

    receive our prayer; 

you are seated at the right hand of the Father, 

    have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One, 

    you alone are the Lord, 

    you alone are the Most High, 

Jesus Christ, 

with the Holy Spirit, 

in the glory of God the Father.

Amen." 

It's not so easy to find a recording of this, because people sing it every week and if they attend daily Mass, they sing it almost every day. I have noticed, living in different places, that the "Gloria" and the"Alleluia" have somewhat different musical arrangements,but similar ones, in different parishes. 

Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday

This begins with Vigil Mass after nightfall on Holy Saturday. It ends Easter Sunday Evening.

Instrumental music returns, and the Alleluia returns. The songs are very joyful. 

There is a lot of decoration; tons of flowers, full, beautiful decorations. It is the biggest day of the year, time to pull out all the stops. The Exsultet is chanted, which is lengthy enough I will save it for another day.

There are up to seven Old Testament scripture readings, which can make for a LOOONG Mass. Some perishes, including ours, shorten this. The Old Testament readings are accounts of salvation history. The covenant with Abraham and etc.

The second reading is from the Epistles, about how if we died with Christ we will live with him.

The Gospel readings are, of course, about the Resurrection.

I am  very much looking forward to experiencing this time in the Calender first and for the first time.I expect there will be a lot more to write about, then. I hope the Lord will give me grace to convey this  in a clear and interesting way.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Church Calender: Lent

Not everybody has Lent. Non-denominational churches often don't. Pentecostals don't. I don't think Baptists do.
In fact, the only days on their church calenders are Easter (some churches call it Resurrection Sunday, and using the term Easter is frowned upon) and Christmas. However, I guess some Protestant churches have the Church calender too. No feasts of Saints and there may be other differences, but these terms and concepts are familiar to, and even observed by, some Protestants.
So, for those that don't know, Lent is a time of fasting and repentance.
It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at the start of Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday.

In the worship service, there is no "Gloria" in the Mass and no "Alleluia" no instrumental music except as needed to support singing. The theme color is mostly violet, but on the 4th Sunday, AKA Laetare Sunday, the color is rose. The Priest's vestments are always the special colors.
The environment is stark simplicity during this time. There are no flowers in the decor.
The scripture readings come from the Old testament stories of Adam and Eve, and Moses and Abraham, and David, Jesus in the desert, and the Transfiguration.

The Solemnity of St Joesph, Jesus' stepdad, is on March 19th.
The Solemnity of the Annunciation, which is when the angel told Mary she was going to have a baby, it's also where the first part of the Hail Mary Prayer mostly comes from.

In our parish, we also have a Solemnity for the Dedication of St. Patrick's Church on March 17th.
That is a local solemnity, when we thank God for our church building that we have to meet and to hold his meetings in.

The Scrutinies: There is something going on at this time called scrutinies. They are very special rites for those preparing for Baptism, and they occur on the middle three Sundays of Lent. The people preparing for baptism are called the Elect. I have already been baptized in a Baptist church, and that baptism counts as my baptism in to the Catholic church too, because both are Christian in the eyes of the Catholic church. I have no idea if I will be doing the scrutinies or not, but I might be. either way, I will have to write more on this later.
The scrutiny gospels are: the woman at the Well, the man born blind that Jesus healed, and Lazarus being raised from the dead. I thing the Elect have rites that are reminiscent of these events, and must meditate on the lessons in these stories.

Palm Sunday Scriptures are about the triumphal entry, and Jesus passion at Gethsemane