The Catholic Faith

Darlington, Wisconsin

 

Religious Education:  Oct 7, 2009 10th grade Holy Rosary

 

Prayer:   Our Father – Jesus taught us

Attendance:  10th grade

 

Introduction:  Mike Robiolio and Roy Krizizke

Topic:  Church History                                      When in ‘Rome,’ Do as the Roman Christians Did

 

What is History?

  • Not memorizing or reciting mere facts or dates
  • History is a story – narrative to remember – like Jesus’ parables
  • The narrative told, however, takes on a particular character depending upon the point of view from which you are looking
    • Secular view sees a series of events with no clear beginning nor end because their universe view has no beginning and end – hence can’t have a sense of where you are going.
    • Protestant view shapes events often according to an anti-Catholic agenda EXAMPLE:. Spanish Armada was evil in trying to invade poor underdog England, but do not see that it was launched to defend Catholics who were being persecuted severely in Elizabethan England
    • Catholic view as St. Augusting relates:

§         Linear progression of history

§         Beginning (Creation) and End (second coming of Christ) with a Central Main defining event (God becoming man in Jesus)

 

 

Creation---

 

Old -----Testament

 

Jesus------

Gospels

New Testament Acts & Letters

 

-Catholic- Church

Second Coming of Christ

 

§         Jesus is the Central event that allows us to make sense of the rest of history

§         History is story, then, of how God interacts with people and calls them forth as his instruments.

§         Church is founded by Christ for a mission of salvation

Ψ      Visible – earthly concrete portion

Ψ      Invisible – mystery – communion of saints

o       Holy and guided by the Holy Spirit BUT contains sinners – important when we see Bishops, Popes and others who are very bad – yet the Faith is not changed by them – it survives them intact as before

o       While the church is in history --- it transcends history.

 

Why should you study history?

1.      You are part of it – cannot dissociate yourself from it.

2.      You have to know where you are from and where you are going to know where you are.

·        If you were dropped off somewhere in the world but did not know where you were, it would be very difficult to find your way back.

·        Quote: John 8: 13-14  -- Jesus knowing where from / going

3.      Loving God requires you to use all of your talents.

Quote Luke 10: 25-28 (Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34, & Deuteronomy 6:5)  All your heart, strength, soul, and MIND (except Deuteronomy).  Loving God with you all includes using all of your faculties including your mind, not just your heart.

4.      Jesus came and went and Revelation ended

 

TWO CIRCLES of Reason and Revelation overlapping:

 

– but understanding revelation continues in time AFTER Christ – develops over time in history.  Learning Church history helps you to see how it unfolds and when old issues rise again – heresies.  What truths have been known all along, even if they seem wrong in a particular time – abortion, contraception, homosexuality, war, capital punishment.

 

Without the Church, we cannot understand REVELATION completely nor properly – improper interpretations of bible.

 

Example:  Moses / Passover  refers to Jesus / Last Supper and Eucharist

 

Example:  Road to Emaus Luke 24:13-35 refers to Mass – Liturgy of Word (breaking open and making clear the Scripture) makes sense only after the “breaking of the bread” (Eucharist).

We come to know God not only from his word (scripture) but only fully by the grace conferred by the mystery of the Sacraments (Eucharist).

 

5.  1 Peter 1:9 (first papal encyclical!) – The goal of your faith is the salvation of souls (yours and others!).  Learning Church history is PART of learning your faith.

 

Where do we begin?   MUSTARD SEED

Program Epic Audiotape and text Didache Series of Church History

12 Sessions / 16 class periods – 2-3 for special events leaving one flex class.

Show time line colors.  We’ll start where we left off 2 years ago in your T3 Timeline Class:  Session 8, Section 2 & 3 (5:50-21:23 = 15 min 33 sec)

 

Mustard Seed:

  1. Question:  What is considered the beginning event in the Catholic Church?    

Answer:  Pentecost – coming of Holy Spirit in tongues of fire to apostles and Mary.  Opposite of Babel (confused language) now all languages ---

Spoke in tongues – understood in all languages and 3,000 people baptized that day.

            Where do we find this history?   In Bible in book of Acts.

  1. 1 st Martyr (“witness”)– St. Stephen, deacon – defending his faith verbally and with his life he is stoned to death by Jewish people with Saul (to be St. Paul) watching and approving – holding their coats.   Stephen exhibits ultimate Christian behavior by publically forgiving his murderers as they are killing him.

Theme:  Persecution – all throughout church history even today, even in USA.

  1. 1 st Apostle martyr – St. James the Greater (brother of St. John), killed by Herod in Jerusalem.
  2. Apostles disperse –  Peter and Paul and all the others.  Apostles fates.

12 Apostles stories :

(1) (see web site The Twelve Apostles of the Catholic Church  http://www.12apostlesofthecatholicchurch.com/ )

            (2) Also see:  The Twelve:  The Lives of the Apostles After Calvary, C. Bernard Ruffin 1997 Our Sunday Visitor Publishing.  https://catalog.osv.com/Catalog.aspx

  1. Conversion of Saul to St. Paul (why? – worst Christian persecuter. …”Saul, why are you persecuting ME?” = The Church) with

3 missionary journeys of Paul 45-58AD with 3 effects:

    1. Spread faith
    2. Establish Churches and mentor Christian communities
    3. Writings – letters or epistles 14 of 27 books of New Testament

What to do with Gentiles?  Convert to Judaism and follow the Law? Circumcision?

 

Council of Jerusalem:

Two Sides:  St. Paul “NO” vs  St. James “Yes”

Peter decides after a vision – first example of Papal authority:

            No circumcision nor strict diet

            Yes some rules:  no false god dedication, no strangled meat, no temple prostitutes

 

Later we see Clement, 4th Pope writing to the Corinthians to stop revolting against their Bishop.  Bishop authority and supremacy of Pope all based on Apostolic Succession derived from God Himself and not the people – contrast with Protestant congregations hiring their Pastors.

 

  1. Persecution of Christians as scape goat  -- Nero’s fire of 64 AD  -- Make it illegal to be a Christian until 4th century.  Nero inherited throne of Rome in 54 AD at age of 17years (all Roman emperors who do so before age of 35 years go insane).  Romans sympathetic to Christians – Nero bringing blame back on himself.  St. Peter and St. Paul Martyred only few years later.  Quo Vadis 1800’s novel of St. Peter fleeing Rome and seeing Christ entering to be crucified again, so St. Peter turns around and goes back.
  2. Palestine – Jerusalem destroyed by Romans 70 AD.  Josephus 66AD Jews revolt.  Christians flee knowing what is coming.
  3. 80 AD Didache – writings of Apostles:  2 ways – way of life and way of death and great is the difference – imitate the life of Christ.

Didache text in English:  http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html 

About the Didache:  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04779a.htm

  1. Spread of faith:  1.  peaceful Empire, 2. Cultural unity of Latin and Greek languages, 3. religious people of all sorts of religion but important to most and rituals and worship are not foreign

 

Now lets move into the Apostolic Fathers – from Apostles lips or close in time

Steven Ray and Apostolic Fathers: (~29 min)

4:52 – 12:40  (~8min)  Introduction to Apostolic Fathers

 

18:27 – 20:26 (~2 min)  Bible alone? NOPE;  3 pillars:  Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Magesterium

 

22:01 – 42:45 (~19 min)  Two of Apostolic Fathers of 1st Century:

 

            23:00 – 34:00 St. Ignatius of Antioch

                        70 AD – 107 AD Martyr at age 70

                        7 letters of Ignatius – hx first called Christian

                        Real Presence in Eucharist upheld

                        3 levels of holy orders:  Bishop, Priest, Deacon

            34:00 – 42:45 St. Clement of Rome

Ordained by St. Peter / Paul’s fellow /  Bishop of Rome #4 ~90 AD

                        Pagan to Catholic by Peter, the Catholic to Pope by Paul

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