St. Anthony's Catholic Church

RE Classes cancelled this evening for grades 6-11 due to inclement weather.

·        During this first session the book, The Lamb‘s Supper was handed out and we watched the first session in T3 Revelation: the Lion and the Lamb, presented by Mark Hart.

·        The Book of Revelations is often the most feared, talked about, misunderstood, and misinterpreted book in the Bible. Yet Jesus’ first words to John in Rev 1:17 are, “Fear not.”

·        As Catholics, we have 2000 years of history in understanding this book.  There are still areas that remain a mystery, however through the eyes and mind of the Church the book of Revelation can be revealing.

·        One of the first things to understand is Revelations is written in apocalyptic literature (sometimes this book is also called Apocalypse). This form of literature uses symbols to communicate a specific idea. It was needed during times of persecution.  Daniel used this type of literature during the Babylonian exile.  Historically it was commonly used from 200BC-100AD. 

·        The key to understanding the book of Revelations is to realize John is witnessing a heavenly liturgy: The Mass is the key to understanding Revelations and Revelations is the key to understanding the Mass.

·        John, the beloved disciple, is the author of Revelations.  He probably wrote it around the 60AD range; sometime before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem which happened in 70AD.

·        There are some who try and interpret this book by saying it was a completely past event that John wrote about.  Others try to make it into a prophetic vision of future events.  The Catholic understanding is to say some of what John says refers to past events, some events will occur at the end of the age, and some of what he says is describing how Christ comes into our presence NOW. (in Greek Parousia means presence; and Jesus is present at every Mass in the Eucharist)

·        Chapters 1 – 11, in the book of Revelations, are revealing the groom.  Chapters 12-22 reveal the bride. (The Greek word apokalypsis means unveiling)

·        We read Revelations 1:9-20 where we find Jesus clothed as the high priest holding the seven churches in His hand.  He identifies Himself as the Alpha and the Omega (He is true God) and that he died (He is true Man) but is alive forevermore.

·        Chapters 2 – 3 are addressed to those 7churches.  Jesus is encouraging and/or challenging each.

·        Then in chapter 4 John is brought into a door in heaven to see the 24 elders (representing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles – the old and new) and the four living creatures (the four evangelists: Matthew – human, Mark – Lion, Luke – ox, and John – eagle) all surrounding the throne of God and singing; “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord GodAlmighty, who was and is and is to come!”

·        In chapter 5 there is weeping because no one is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals. Until one of the elders tells John not to weep because the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered. The next thing John sees is a Lamb standing as though it had been slain.  Let’s stop and think about this.  We went from a conquering Lion to a Lamb –STANDING as though slain (all the animals I’ve seen slain are lying down)Christianity is full of paradoxes (Jn 11:25 “He who believes in me, though hedie…shall live.” Mt 16:25 “Whoever loses their life will find it.” Lk 9:48 Ifyou wish to be the greatest, you must become the least.”) Power is through sacrifice and love. 

·        The following are some of the symbols and their respective meaning: The numbers one = primacy, greatness, God himself; two =two witnesses needed to judge a crime; four = cosmos, creation, creatures; six= imperfection; seven = completeness, covenant; ten = shortness, incompleteness, limitation; 1,000 = long time, but still a finite time; 144,000= 12x12x1,000 are all God’s people in union with Him.  The colors white = victory, purity, dignity; black = death, disaster, distress; red = bloodshed, violence; green = impending death; purple/scarlet = immorality. Some other symbols include crowns =authority; eyes, full of = all-seeing, all-knowing; horns = power; jewels =unique, rare, precious; Key of David = Power to open or shut God’s kingdom; right hand = power, authority;  seals,trumpets, bowls = Liturgical images used to call for repentance, to announce and dispense judgment; spirits = angels; thunder = God’s voice.

·       Session 8 finished our Bible timeline with the periods of the Messianic Fulfillment (gold as the gift from the Magi found in the gospel of Luke) and The Church (white as thespotless bride of Christ found in the book of Acts)

·       The whole Bible is Christocentric – it is about Jesus

·       In the Catechism of the Catholic Church 115-117 we are told there are two distinct “senses” inscripture: literal and spiritual. Spiritual is subdivided into allegorical (how it connects to Jesus); moral (teaching us how to act), and anagogical (how it points to the future).

·       In the book of Matthew we begin with the genealogy of Jesus mentioning 4 “shady” ladies on his family tree.  This points to the eventual inclusion of Gentiles in the family of God

·       Jesus was a Jew; fully God and fully man, this is called the hypostatic union.  He fulfills all righteousness. He relives the life of Israel and reconstitutes it.  (He obeys where they failed)

·       In theTransfiguration of Jesus, Moses and Elijah are seen speaking with Jesus.  As Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt, now Jesus anticipates his Exodus that will bring the whole world out of the slavery of sin. 

·       In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a new law

·       John the Baptist calls Jesus the “lamb of God” – reminding us of the lamb Abraham and Isaac were looking for and the Passover lamb needed to stop the last plague (which was death to first born son). Both Jesus and the Passover lamb were killed at 3 PM, neither had their bones broken, both were inspected prior to being killed. Jesus, in chasing out the money changers in the temple who helped provide the pilgrims with their sacrificial lamb, was indicating he would be taking on the role of the sacrificial lamb.

·       Jesus takes onthe curses of Adam from Gen 3:17-19 as he sweats in his Passion, is crowned with thorns, and dies. Jesus does what Adam would not do.  Adam exercised his will for self. Jesus gave his will over to the divine will - “Thy will be done”

·       The Way of theCross is love poured out.  We are called to pick up the cross and follow him. Our suffering, united to Christ; “filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church” Col 1:24. Jesus makes room in his sufferings for ours so we can learn how to love.

·       Jesus’ kingdom has some of the same elements as the Davidic Kingdom: A queen mother, Mary (Kings2:19) who is an intercessor; a prime minister, Pope, (Isaiah 22) who holds the keys of the kingdom (our first Pope is Peter, see Mt 16:19).

·       Jesus’ Resurrection is saying to all mankind: See, you can trust God!!!

·       We now have access to the tree of life (which was guarded by an angel in the Garden of Eden) when we partake in the Eucharist

·       The book of Acts focuses on the early Church.  It isdivided into three main sections:

o  Acts 1:1 – 8:3 which is their witness in Jerusalem

o  Acts 8:4 – 12:25 which is their witness in Judea and Samaria

o  Acts 13:1 – 28:31 which is their witness to the ends of the world

·       We continue to witness the Good News to the world – What stories will be written about you?  Are you Christ in the world?  Do you trust God?

·       Session 7 covered the Return of the Israelites (just the southern Kingdom of Judah returned) to Jerusalem. The color is yellow to depict brighter days and is found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.  This session also covered The Maccabean Revolt, whose color is orange for the fire in the oil lamps in the purified temple and is covered in I Maccabees.

·       The prophet Jeremiah had predicted that they would be exiled for 70 years and the prophet Isaiah predicted Cyrus, the King of Persia, would allow them to come back.

·       Just as there were three deportations, there are now three returns:

o  538 BC Zerubbabel leads the first return and the priority is to rebuild the temple

o  525-457 BC Ezra the scribe returns with this group to teach the people the law

o  444 BC Nehemiah is allowed to return and rebuild the walls around Jerusalem

·       There are major obstacles these returned exiles must face: problems from without in the form of the Samaritans who had been living in their land; and problems from within where the people were spending more time on rebuilding their own homes and interests rather than the temple, the walls, and their spiritual identity.  These concerns are found in Haggai, Zechariah,and Malachi. (Jesus faces some of these same obstacles as he builds His temple out of living stones.  We, as the living stones, struggle with our sinfulness and are not always cooperative with our builder)

·       The Maccabean Revolt took place within the time of history shortly after Alexander the Great

·       Alexander was a great military leader who conquered and Hellenized the known world (Western Civilization). With a common language and culture, the people were united.

·       The problem for the Israelites occurred after Alexander died, leaving his generals in control.  The Ptolemies weren’t so bad; however the Seleucids, under the leadership of Antiochus Epiphanes (which means god made manifest) desecrated the Temple and forced the people to give up their Jewish faith.  As an example, the price for circumcising one’s child was death.

·       In one particular situation, soldiers arrived in Modein and found the upstanding family of Mattathias Maccabeus.  They tried persuading Mattahias and his sons to break the law of the Covenant as an example to the people.  He refused, and when another Jew came forward to offer the unholy sacrifice, Mattathias killed him for his unfaithfulness to God.  

·       Many people followed and revolted against the tyranny, thus began the Maccabean Revolt.  Others fell into sin and allowed theirr eligious Traditions to be taken away from them.  Today, in our own culture, there are situations where the secular world is calling us away from our Catholic faith.  As Americans we are free to stay, BUT in some situations we are expected to change our internal faith. Are wegoing to change and allow our Traditions to be taken from us? An example Jeff Cavins used is our current debate on what defines a marriage. Our culture would like us to ignore what we believe.

·       In the year 164BC, the temple was purified.  Only one vial of oil was found to light the lamps, and miraculously it lasted eight days.  This event is remembered by the Jewish people in the celebration of Hanukah

·       Rome then becomes the world power.  Greeks had brought a unified language, and Romans will build roads connecting the empire. The fullness of time for the long awaited Messiah is just about here…

·       Session 6 covered the Divided Kingdom, which was a black period in Jewish history; and the Exile where they were singing the “blues”.  I Kings Chapters 12-22 and all of II Kings are the books to read in the Bible.

·        Solomon, the son of David, took 7 years to build the Temple in Jerusalem.  He then took 13 years to build his own house. This gives us a clue as to where his heart is wandering towards.

·       Solomon allowed the influence of his many wives to turn his heart from God

·       God had the prophet, Ahijah, tell Jeroboam he would rule over 10 tribes of Israel.  Jeroboam then fled to Egypt until Solomon died

·       Solomon’s son,Rehoboam, was given council from his father’s advisors and then by his younger friends.  The elders advised Rehoboam to lighten the load on the people and be a gentler ruler. The young men advised him to put heavier burdens on the people and be harsher. 

·       Rehoboam took the advice of his friends and in I Kings 12:16 we are told the Kingdom split.

·       This is a key point to keep in mind: We now have Rehoboam to the south with the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, they will be called JUDAH; and Jeroboam to the north with the rest of the Tribes, they will be called ISRAEL.  The split happens in 930 BC.

·       With Jerusalem and the Temple located in Judah, Jeroboam felt the need to provide his people in Israel with someplace to worship.  He set up two golden calves in his Kingdom and encouraged the people to worship there. Israel will continually have idolatrous kings.

·       During these periods, the supplemental books contain the majority of the prophets.  Each prophet spoke to a particular audience.  For example Elijah, Elisha, Amos and Hosea spoke to Israel in the north; whereas Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk spoke to Judah in the South.  Daniel and Ezekiel spoke to those in exile;

·       Side note: Hosea was instructed to marry the prostitute Gomer, who God compared to the Israelite people.  The message being to see God as a husband.

·       Jonah and Nahum spoke to Assyria.  The city Jonah warned of impending destruction was Ninevah. They repented and were saved, yet 40 years later they were destroyed.  This is the “sign of Jonah” Jesus mentioned; Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed 40 years later.

·       For a little over 200 years they had a Divided Kingdom until in 722 BC Assyria took over Israel and scattered the 10 Tribes.  Judah in the South had a few good rulers and were spared –for now

·        Interestingly, they remnant of Israel in the north became mixed with 5 foreign nations. They were known as the Samaritans. Jump forward to Jesus meeting the Samarita nwoman at the well and asking her bring to him her husband.  She says she has none and Jesus tells her she has 5 husbands. This points to Hosea’s message of God as husband.

·       The Babylonians became the world power and conquered Judah. There were three different deportations (mostly of the richer people)and the last king of Judah, Zekekiah, was forced to watch his sons killed and then have his eyes plucked out. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and the people marched to Babylon, where Abraham originally came from.

·       Daniel foresaw 5 successive kingdoms: Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and then the Messianic

·       They will remainin exile for 70 years until the prophesy of Isaiah comes to fruition and a king named Cyrus allows them to go home…

·       Session five covered the Conquest and Judges found in the books of Joshua and Judges.  The color for this period is green, like the green hills of Canaan.  Session five also covered the Royal Kingdom time period. This is found in the books of I and II Samuel, and the first 11 chapters of  I  Kings and the color is purple for royalty.

·       The Israelites are now all set to enter the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. 

·       The Canaanites worshiped Baal, who was believed to be in charge of the water.  Just as God used the 10 plagues to show His strength over the Egyptian gods, so too here God has the Israelites cross the Jordan River during the full spring flood time to show His power over Baal. 

·       The people ofJ ericho knew the God of the Israelites had dried up the Jordan River so His people could cross into the land, and they were afraid.  This allowed the two spies Joshua had sent into the city of Jericho to get help from Rahab when the authorities were looking for them.

·       The walls of Jericho miraculously tumbled down after the Israelites spent days marching around the city with the Ark of the Covenant and on the final day shouting loudly, as God had commanded. Only Rahab and her family were spared. (Many people are shocked and confused by the directive of God to kill so wantonly.  Keep in mind the Israelite people had just come from a 400 year stay in a pagan culture with the last 40 years slowly learning to put their trust in God.  They were not yet strong enough to resist the temptation that a pagan nation would have over them.  This is clearly seen because they don’t endup completely removing the pagan influence and they are constantly falling intosin.  Fr. Matt compared it to an alcoholic who thinks, “I’ll just have one drink”; or a person trying to quit smoking just having one cigarette.  Also,in a spiritual sense this can also be understood to mean that even the little sins we allow in our lives need to be eradicated.  St John of the Cross comments, “The lesson here is that all objects living in the soul- whether they be many or few, largeor small – must die in order that the soul enter divine union, and it must bear no desire for them but remain detached as though they were nonexistent to it,and it to them.” (Ascent of Mount Carmel, Bk1, ch11, paragraph

·       The land was divided amongst the 12 tribes of Israel and each tribe moved into their area.

·       The last directive by Moses to TEACH YOUR CHILDREN was not followed and the generations that came after moved into a cycle of: (1) Silence, where they allowed themselvesto be influenced by evil; (2) Sin, where they would follow the example of that influence; (3) Servitude, where they were chained by their sin (or actually conquered by a foreign nation); (4) Supplication, where they called on God to help them; (5)Salvation, where a Judge was raised and they were freed from their sin (or the foreign nation was conquered).

·       We moved into the Royal Kingdom with Samuel being called by God. He anointed Saul as the first King of Israel. Saul united the 12 tribes under his leadership, but sinned against God.

·       David wasanointed as King and eventually expanded the Kingdom.  God made a covenant with David and we will now have ONE HOLY KINGDOM under his son Solomon (ultimately the promise is fulfilled in Jesus). The promise given to Abraham concerning land and a royal kingdom are fulfilled.

·       Solomon had many wives who brought their foreign influence, which persuaded Solomon to commit idolatry.  This will be the last time all 12 (original) tribes are united under one leader as we move into the Divided Kingdom next week…

·       Session four covered the books of Exodus, which is within the red period of Egypt & Exodus; and the book of Numbers, which is within the tan period of the DesertWanderings.

·       We left off with Joseph and his brothers and their families in Egypt during a time a famine.

·       Now 400 years later there is a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph and the Israelite people, who have greatly multiplied, are enslaved,. (That name, Israelite, comes from when God changed Jacob’s name to Israel after wrestling with him)

·       The Pharaoh has even decided that all Israelite male babies must be thrown in the Nile River.

·       Moses was saved and spent 40 years living in Pharaoh’s court and then after killing an Egyptian, who was mistreating one of his people, spent 40 years in the wilderness.

·       Now at the age of 80 he is called by God, through a burning bush, to help his people escape Egypt.  (We are never too old to do God’swill)

·       God has now shared His name with His people – I AM WHO I AM or Yahweh

·       Using the 10 plagues, God shows His people and the Egyptians that He is stronger than their deities, such as the Nile (Hapi) and frogs (Heka) and flies (Khepfi) and the sun (Amon-Re)

·       The last plague was the death of the first-born son.  The Israelites would be spared that sorrow if they sacrificed a lamb (that had been watched to make sure it had no defects), then sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their doorposts with a hyssop branch, roasted the lamb, and then ate the lamb.  The Lord would pass over the door thus marked and the first born would be saved.

·       The Pharaoh finally allowed the Israelites to leave and the people of the land gave them gold, livestock, and other supplies for their journey

·       Pharaoh’s heart again hardened and he pursued the Israelites only to have his men, the chariots and their horses drowned in the Red Sea.

·       It was easier to take the Israelites out of Egypt than to take Egypt out of the Israelites.

·       Remember the question God asks through the generations: Will you trust me?

·       God allows for special provisions as they travel in the desert: They receive manna (What is it? or bread from heaven) and their clothes do not rot.  God wants them to completely trust Him.

·       While Moses is on the mountain for 40 days and nights, Aaron is making an idolatrous golden calf with the gold from the Israelite people – They have already broken the Covenant.

·       When a Covenant with God is broken who will die? God or the Israelites?

·       From this moment on the priesthood would only be for those from the tribe of Levi – specifically from the line of Aaron (because he later slew those who were planning to abandon Moses)

·       At the edge of the Promised Land the 12 spies come back and 10 caution them not to go into the land.  Joshua and Caleb encourage the people to trust in God – they would be the only ones over the age of 20 to later enter the Promised Land.  (Even Moses is denied this since he hit the rock twice to get water instead offollowing God’s command to only speak to the rock)

·       Moses’ parting words of advice: TEACH YOUR CHILDREN– the key to living in a hostile culture that worships idols and sacrifices their children is to TEACH YOUR CHILDREN.

·       Now the peoplewill wander in the desert for 40 years and slowly take turns dying. Their children would be the ones to enter at the end of those 40 years…

·       Session three covered the Patriarchs.  The color is burgundy to remind us of the blood covenant God made with Abraham. This covers the years 2000-1700 BC and is found in Genesis chapters 12-50.

·       Abram was from Ur, the land of the Chaldeans (modern day Iraq)

·       God asked him to move about 1000 miles away - going from Mesopotamia, through Canaan, and even down to the north of Egypt.

·       Remember from session II the question posed: Will I exercise my will for myself or for God? We see Abram’s response was a trusting “yes” to God’s will.

·       In Gen 12:1-3 Godmade three promises to Abram

o  Land

o  Great Nation (Name will be great – a Royal Dynasty)

o  World wide blessing (All families of the world will be blessed)

·       Throughout chapters 15-22 we heard about God’s covenant with Abraham (In chapter 17 God changed Abram’s name to Abraham = “father of a multitude of nations”)

·       The problem Abraham had was he had no children – Again the question arose: Will he trust God?

·       In chapter 15 Abraham pointed out this problem to God. God told Abraham to go outside (in broad daylight) and count the stars –if he could. 

·       Abraham believed in God’s promise (even though he couldn’t see how it would be fulfilled)

·       The sign of the covenant with God would be circumcision. Abraham immediately followed God’s instructions.  There would be ONE HOLY TRIBE

·       Abraham and Sarah both laugh when they each are told Sarah would bear a son.  God told Abraham his son’s name would be Isaac (which means laughter)

·       Abraham must again trust God when he is told to take his son, Isaac, to Moriah to sacrifice him.

·       In chapter 22,while on the mountain, Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the sacrifice was and Abraham responded, “God will provide himself the lamb” (Keep this in mind when we get to Jesus on cavalry – the same place Abraham and Isaac were)

·       God stopped Abraham and provided a ram in the thicket to sacrifice (still looking for the lamb)

·       The promise was passed on to Isaac.  His son, Jacob, in turn stole the promise (his name Jacob means supplanter) and due to thehostility of his brother Esau, Jacob left to visit Uncle Laban

·       Jacob got “Jacobed”and ended up marrying Leah, the older sister of his promised love, Rachael.  He married both sisters and had 12 sons. Joseph was the elder of the two Rachael had and so Jacob loved him best – much to the anger of the other older brothers.

·       Joseph ended up in Egypt after being sold by those brothers. Yet, through his trust in God, he managed to be second in command to the Pharaoh. This put him in a unique position to help his family when the 7 years of famine hit the land. Joseph is the picture of forgiveness.

·       In chapter 38 there is a sudden turn to Judah (the fourth son of Leah and Jacob). He is the one the blood line follows to Jesus. (Jesus as the Lion of Judah)

·       We are now in the land of Egypt where the Israelites will be for 400 years…

Hi everyone,

For tonight (Thurs, Jan 28) our adult faith enrichment session has been relocated from Jim's Red Brick Inn to St. Anthony's Church.  Come in through the Parish Center (office) door, and we'll be there!

Join us for a day trip UP to Marquette Mountain for some skiing/boarding.  All of our Religious Education students who have maintained perfect attendance this year will receive special discounts.  Contact Becky Aderman at the parish office for more details and to sign up.