Darlington, Wisconsin
Religious Education:
2008-09 Grade 10-11
Lesson 1: Oct 8, 2008
Organization: 15min? 7:30-7:45
Small groups set up and attendance. Handout T3 Material if we have it.
Opening Prayer: 15 minutes: 7:45-8:00
In the Name of Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
Scripture reading standing: Matthew 13: 1-23 Parable of sower, purpose, privilege of discipleship, and explanation of the parable.
All: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Review:
· We have a parable
· After the parable Jesus tells us how lucky his disciples are to hear what they hear and see what they see from Him.
· Yet, for others the story is not so lucky. Reread verse 14-15 “they have closed their eyes.”
· Explains the parable, the pitfalls that await us if we DO NOT do what God asks.
· Which seed situation are we?
Introduction:
We are going to be studying the Bible: but this is just an Introduction to the Bible. But before we begin to study the bible we have to have some idea of what it is, where it comes from, and where it fits in our Catholic Faith. Before we can do this, we have to understand some basic concepts that have become confused in our modern age of “Relativism.”
Truth:
Objective vs Subjective: 15 min. 8:00-8:15
Pick a student (1) and ask a few other students: “What is ___(1)’s___ favorite color? Likely will need to guess at it. Try to get different answers. Ask them what their favorite color is – again looking for different answers to make the point. Then ask (1). Point out that whatever other students THINK is (1)’s favorite color is not necessarily their true favorite color. (1)’s favorite color is a FACT and there is only one favorite color that is true. Favorite color in general is a subjective truth – varies with person, however, (1)’s favorite color is an objective truth because it does not depend on what other’s think only what actually is.
Another example 2+2 = 4 is an objective truth. It cannot equal 5 or 7 or whatever just because someone thinks it does. And if they try to make it that way, their math will fall apart.
Our culture today often confuses subjective truth (relativism) with objective truth.
Conclusion: Objective truth’s about God do NOT depend on what we think, but on WHAT Actually IS – so the fact that we have thousands or more ideas of who God is and what He is like, many of which conflict —cannot all be true!! Whether we know what the truth is or do not know what the truth is – it exists on its own, separate from our ideas or beliefs. The best idea then is to seek TRUTH and align our beliefs with it.
How do we know what is true objectively about who God is and what He wants of us?
Reason vs Blind Faith (perhaps also discuss faith 1. Gift of God, 2. but requires a free will action on our part to seek and accept it.)
Catechism of Catholic Church (CCC) 35-39
36 “’…the Church, holds and teaches that God…can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason.’
37 “Though human reason is…truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God…yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. … The human mind…is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites [wants] which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false [when in fact it is true] or at least [is] doubtful.” Translate and rehash this.
Example. The Donuts really look good. I want one. But they are not really good for me and I’m trying to watch my weight. But wait a minute. Donuts are made from flour which comes from wheat…right? Wheat is a plant and plants are healthy….right? What else is in them. Sugar…okay, that’s an energy source right? RIGHT. Energy is good isn’t it. Also sugar comes from the sugar cane PLANT…right? Right. What else is in it? A little butter never hurt anyone. People eat eggs for food and in moderation there’re healthy right?...RIGHT!! I’m just going to eat one, maybe two won’t hurt right?....RIGHT! After all, I deserve a donut, I’ve been so good!!
One, Two donuts down!!! And if I’m really good at rationalizing I won’t even feel anything was wrong with that reasoning. Now let’s apply that to current moral issues such as abortion, embryonic stem cell research, sex, or other issues.
(Now turn back to the Bible)
Why the Bible?
What is the Bible? 30 min. 8:15 – 8:45
·
The word of God
·
Written by humans under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit – which makes it infallible = free from error
·
Originally passed down by oral tradition until
finally written by about 100 AD, first books as early as 30 AD – New
Testament. Old Testament written earlier
but not “canonized” (= recognized as
inspired by God) until later.
1. Bible is only 1/3 of our teaching source or authority. What are the other two?
Show the 3 pillars of the Church model and what happens if you pull one pillar out.
2. Sacred Tradition – what has been done and said throughout church history (and before in Old Testament) and handed down through Apostolic succession (what does that mean?) “And [Sacred] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound, and spread it abroad by their preaching.” (CCC 81) “…Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.” (CCC 82)
3. Magesterium = Pope + the Bishops; Pope represents Peter, the Bishops represent
the Apostles. “The Magesterium is not
superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to
it. At the divine command and with the
help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with
dedication, and expounds it faithfully…” (CCC 86) ( Infallability address if question)
Summary: The Tradition gave us the Bible, and the Magesterium (or stewards of the Catholic Faith for Jesus) are the ones who carry on the Tradition.
Compare this to Protestant Churches who reject Sacred Tradition and Magisterium and are “Bible alone.”
Problems: 1. 33,000 different Protestant faiths with different interpretations of the bible.
2. Who wrote the Bible? The Church.
3. Where in the Bible does it say the Bible alone? Answer: It does NOT – not self-consistent.
Where in the Bible does it defend Sacred Tradition and the Magesterium?
1. Sacred Tradition is defended – Letter of St. Paul 2 Thessalonians 2:15 = “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.”,
Matthew 23: 2-3 = Listen to what the Pharisees tell you but do not follow their example. Sacred Tradition is Exemplified in Old Testament and Acts of the Apostles.
2. Magisterium – Matt 16: 13-19 Peter alone is given the keys, a reference to the Old Testament Jewish tradition of which Jesus was a part. Keys symbolize authority of the steward of the kingdom – that’s what the Catholic Faith holds is the Pope’s job – stewardship for Christ the King. (Read more in “We Have a Pope: 2,000 years of Preserving the Faith” from Catholic Answers.)
Why do we need an interpreter? Because one can interpret words in different ways. (We’ll see how this is done later in the year when it comes to the Eucharist.)
Activity example:
“I never said that you stole money.”
Consider the different possibilities:
(Pick two actor students and have them run through the scenerios)
FIRST PERSON: “Why did you tell them I stole the money?”
SECOND PERSON:
I never said that you stole money. (Somebody else said it.)
I never said that you stole money. (I thought it or wrote it down in a letter.)
I never said that you stole money. ( It wasn’t you, it was someone else.)
I never said that you stole money. ( You didn’t steal it, you just borrowed it...)
I never said that you stole money. ( You stole the cow.)
Which one is correct? Disagreement EVEN WITH THE SAME WORDS – what about translation differences and biases? CATHOLIC BIBLES….NAB (New American Bible translation) to be used by our class.
Need a full context, and sometimes an interpreter to clarify what is really meant. Who has the authority from God to interpret Scripture? Tradition and Magisterium – a three part entity, a trinity, like the constitutional government of the USA – Congress, Executive, and Judiciary. Only the Church’s 3 parts are protected from error by God Himself.
DVD Fr. Larry Richards; The Mass Explained; First 11 minutes and 36 seconds. http://www.thereasonforourhope.org/online_order/cart_detail.php?productID=2
Closing prayer: 8:45-9:00, 15 min.
The Greatest Commandment:
Mat
22:34-40
Mark
12 28-34
Luke
10: 25-28
Deut
6: 4-9
Leviticus
19:18
Greatest Commandment = God first, neighbor second. What does this mean about what should be at the center of our lives in general, and every day, every second?
Do we make decisions and act ALWAYS with the thought in our mind,
“What does God want me to do here?”
Do we make choices of how we spend our time, our money, our effort with God in mind?
Do we seek to know as much as possible about the being whom we are to love? Bible, Mass, other sacraments, Christian actions…..
Closing: Next week we have Special Class on Vocations. Monsigner Bartella and students from other parishes will be here.
Oct 22, we begin the T3 timeline. Bring books, bookmark, fold out map. Plan on getting a NAB (New American Bible) if you don’t already have one and bring it by first class in Nov.
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