eCatechist

15. What was a festive meal or banquet like?

The Greco-Roman festive meal or banquet was first of all a social event and not merely a time to eat. The meal consisted of two parts: the first was the eating part or supper (Greek deipnon), followed by leisurely drinking and social time together (Greek, symposion) which most often included a variety of entertainment.

            The Greek word deipnon, is usually translated “banquet,” “feast,” “supper” or “meal” (meaning especially the main evening meal) and identified the main meal of the day. It was eaten after the day’s work was finished. It was a more leisurely meal at which family members and guests could relax and talk into the evening. Paul calls the eucharist “The Lord’s Supper” (Greek, kyriakon deipnon, 1 Cor 11:20).

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.

How to Save the Catholic Church by Professor Ernie Collamati

 

Between Allah & Jesus by Peter Kreeft

Book of the Week for September 25, 2011

The 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 25, 2011

Story and You

The Little Ones Septemper 25, 2011

For permission to print, copy and use with your children in a faith formation class or Sunday bulletin, contact Jim Burrows at www.jimburrowsartist.com

14. How did divisions arise in the community?

 That the whole church could meet together only occasionally might account for the development of the four competing groups within the Corinthian community pledging their loyalty to “Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter) and Christ” (1 Cor 1:12).

            The four factions were most probably aligned with the wealthy patrons in whose households they met. While Paul was with them, he was the undisputed “father in Christ” (1 Cor 4:15) of the whole Christian community. But when he left without naming a successor to run the whole community, the wealthy patrons were free to jockey with one another for leadership and had their groups support them. In his letter, Paul reminds them that deeper than their divisions, their contrasting moral attitudes based on “strong” and “weak” consciences and their opposing ideas about their diverse spiritual gifts is their shared unity in Christ, expressed in their eucharist.

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.

13. How many people could gather in a wealthy person’s house?

Archeologists have not found many houses in Corinth that could fit fifty people. Houses were usually rather small since many activities were carried on in public places like the market, business buildings (basilicas) or temples. Only the very wealthy might have room enough to cram fifty people into a house. So most probably the community met in smaller groups in houses and the “whole church” (1 Cor 14:23; Rom. 16:23) met only infrequently at one of the largest houses.

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.

Be a Strong Witness by Julianne Donlon Stanz (Advice for Catechists)

As Pope Paul VI stated, “modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41).

We live in a time where people will not tolerate a ‘do as I say and not as I do’ attitude about the faith. Children are particularly perceptive in their questioning and they have an innate sense of truth. This becomes particularly evident in their questioning in the classroom!

The best advice that I could give to any catechist is to be a strong witness to the faith and to be open to the children who will guide and inspire you as a catechist on your journey of faith. It is a reciprocal relationship - you will likely learn as much about your faith as a catechist as the children will learn from you. Sometimes the greatest lessons that we can learn come from watching and being like children. Their persistence, trust and fearlessness are lessons that we all can learn from in our faith lives.

As adults we often wear masks to hide how we are truly feeling from the world. We develop calloused hands and hearts as we experience disappointment, loss and regret. Sometimes as adults we forget to thank God for all of the blessings in our life and only become more prayerful when we are on our knees anguished and tortured. The challenge is to regain that sense of reliance and dependence on God when we struggle so much to be “in control” of our lives.

May your journey of faith be child-like but not childish as you reach out to all those who are struggling and hurting. Be like a child in your encouragement of those who need your help, offer a smile, a loving presence, a sense of Christ in your classroom. Reach out with humility, trust and love to all whom you encounter. Blessings on your catechetical year!

Julianne Donlon Stanz is Director of Adult Faith Formation and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Green Bay WI.

What's New About the Mass

What's New about the Mass
Maureen A. Kelly

Based in part on Paul Turner's Understanding the Revised Mass Texts, Second Edition, this resource explains the changes in the Mass texts at a very simple level so that children who have already learned the parts of the Mass, the prayers and responses, and have received First Holy Communion will understand the changes in the texts and be able to respond at Mass.
 
This book includes:
the new prayers and responses
explanations of the words
the parts of the Mass and their meaning
glossary
activities

What's New about the Mass may be used with children in third through seventh grades in Catholic schools, parish religious education sessions, or in the home.

978-1-56854-936-1
Order code: WNM
1–24 copies: $1.50 each
25–49 copies: $1.25 each
50 or more: $1 each

For more information and to order, contact Liturgy Training Publications

 

Words in Essence - New Translation of the Roman Missal

The new translation of the Roman Missal is now being introduced at Masses in the English-speaking world, after much discussion in recent months about the thinking behind the translation and its finer details. Musician and liturgist, Frances Novillo takes an extended look at the new translation, placing it in its historical context, explaining the principles that informed the translators and reviewing the changes that have been made to the text.  Readhttp://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110905_1.htm

From Thinking Faith

12. Who were the wealthy patrons?

Among the wealthy patrons in Corinth whose households probably became the location of small weekly church meetings of 8-15 members, there are three whom Paul baptized: Stephanas, the first one baptized in Corinth and who offered devoted service to the community (1 Cor 16:15, 17); Crispus the former synagogue official; and Gaius, who had a house that was large enough to host Paul and a great gathering of all the smaller household communities in Corinth (“the whole church,” Rom 16:24). Other converts of higher social status who might have had houses are Erastus, the city treasurer (Rom 16:24), and Phoebe who acted as the deacon for the community in Cenchreae (Rom 16:1), the eastern port city on the Aegean Sea about seven miles from Corinth.

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 4, 2011

I friend of mine, the mother of two young adults, once said this:  I think my kids love to watch “Friends” because the characters in that television show openly confront each other (hilariously, of course) and don’t have any hidden resentments.  But in real life nobody really relates that way, and so my kids leave all kinds of things unsaid, even with each other.  They were so much closer when they were kids, before they learned to hide their feelings.

It’s true, isn’t it?  The challenges of social interactions are so great that many conversations never happen, and decades-long resentments are never voiced, which means true intimacy is never approached.

Jesus knows a thing or two about intimacy, and gives us this bold suggestion: just open your mouth and say what’s on your mind.  Now, this is very risky.  Chances are great that the person whom you want to be closer to, but can’t because of whatever it is that’s bothering you, will listen respectfully, thank you for your “feedback”, and then check you off their list of their most intimate friends because they are inwardly seething.

And that’s where God’s words to Cain, sick with jealousy of his brother Abel, come in handy: Why are you angry? If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it (Gen. 4:7).

At moments of great grace, sin crouches at the door.  Honesty is agonizing, but no great marriage or community ever thrived without it.

Have you ever had the grace to let a friend tell you their honest feelings about you?

Kathy McGovern ©2011 www.thestoryandyou.com

11. Where did Christians meet to celebrate the eucharist?

In Paul’s time, and for the first three centuries of its existence, Christianity was not recognized by the Roman government as a legal religion, so it had no public meeting place like the Jewish synagogue. Its weekly gatherings were held in households. So the conversion of wealthy patrons (the name for the head of a household) was necessary because they had houses in which the Christian communities could meet each week for their eucharistic meals. So we find the phrase “the church in the house of…” (1 Cor 16:19, Rom 16:5, Philemon 2, Col 4:15). Moreover, these patrons had leisure time to devote to the community’s concerns and money to help support Paul and the other members of his missionary team.

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.