St Paul Session #4

Session 4 was held on Tuesday, July 22 from 7:15 to 9:00 pm. Fr. Sebastian presided. There was a GREAT turnout; 16 round tables with 5-8 people per table.

Anita started the gathering by noting that the Pope’s message from World Youth Week in Australia was—make time for personal prayer!

Fr. Sebastian remarked that today was the feast of Mary Magdalene and she shows us that there is always a possibility of change—change for the better.

Fr. Sebastian provided a copy of his notes (attached, see p. 13-17) that were presented as a series of overhead slides.


Fr. Covered the first part of 2 Corinthians; Chapters 1-9.15. St. Paul was a tremendous example of conversion to Christ and we will be hearing more about this over the 9 weeks.

For 2 Corinthians we need to understand the background—why Paul wrote the 2nd letter. Paul formed the Church in Corinth and later sent Timothy to teach there. But Timothy reported that there were lots of problems in the Church. So, Paul went back himself and he was humiliated and rejected by the people. He went back to Athens and wrote a letter to the people instead of making another trip. He expressed his emotions in a tearful manner. Titus took the letter and the people were very moved. In fact they sent Paul money to help the Church in Jerusalem. Paul responded in another letter to their generosity. Thus, 2 Corinthians is made up of a number of letters from different times.

There are three main parts to the letter;
I. Crisis, chapters 1-7
II. Theology of Sharing, Chapters 8-9
III. Response to challenges to Paul’s authority, Chapter 10-13

Parts I and II are covered today and part III will be covered next week by the Msgr.

Apollo preached the philosophy of Plato—wisdom and freedom. His followers were called the Spirit People. They emphasized the Glorified Christ. Later St Paul showed the people that you cannot separate the Glorified Christ from the Crucified Christ—they must go together.

In these early days the center of the Church moved form Jerusalem to Antioch and then finally to Rome.

The Jewish Christians of the time (Judaizers) came from Antioch and emphasized the Mosaic Law. In contrast though this, Paul taught conversion to the gentiles, and not rituals. A representative sent from the Church in Antioch (a Judaizer) came to Corinth and questioned Paul’s authority to teach-he did not have a letter of introduction from a Church, and he was not teaching per the Mosaic laws.

Paul’s response to this challenge included:
Smart Diplomacy
Crisis Management
& Forgiveness

Any community has ACTORS = the performers (get things done)

And REACTORS they need to move up

In a typical community of family you find;
1. Leaders
2. Contributors—all can contribute their gifts
3. Sleepers—indifferent or passive
4. Critics—ok only if constructive
All members of the community should strive to be #1 or #2.

St Paul explained a Theology of Ministry;
God is the source of authority, not another Church via a letter of recommendation. In Paul’s case Jesus asked him to preach (on the road to Damascus), he founded the Church of Corinth, and the people of Corinth are thus his recommendation letter.
Appreciation of the Superior Status or Quality of Christian Ministry;
The New Covenant which is written on our hearts leads to glory and freedom
While the Old Covenant which is being renewed is written in stone and is external leading to death
A Christian community is based on love for one another, not on rituals.
Paul’s ministry is the extension of Jesus’ ministry.

St Paul said that suffering/sacrifice and life are inseparable (starting with birth)—
Jesus created new Life (in the New Covenant) by his suffering
A minister must also be willing to sacrifice
Leading to Apostleship

Note that all religions except 2 (Buddhism and Janusism) believe in resurrection in some manner.

Resurrection of the body leads to a continuity from mortal to risen
A transformation
To view a person as a Spirit, a New Creation

We are HOLY by participating in the mission of Jesus; reconciliation.

Part II covers the interdependence/connection of the various churches throughout the world, especially with respect to money
Bounty shared among the various churches
Will lift up others and give them Life

The Year of St Paul Session #3

Session 3 was held on Tuesday, July 15 from 7:15 to 9:00 pm. Fr. Sebastian presided. Fr Dennis was called away on family business. There was a GREAT turnout of over 100 parishioners. The hall was filled! Extra tables had to be set up!

Fr. Sebastian provided a copy of his notes (attached, P. 7-12) that were presented as a series of overhead slides.


Fr. Covered the second part of 1 Corinthians; Chapter 7-16. In this part Paul is responding to problems that threatened the UNITY of the Church in Corinth.

Five important areas are covered that relate to a credible Christian life (see the notes), for each area the problem/issue is stated and Paul’s answer is provided.

For 1—Marriage, Celibacy, and Divorce Paul is very much influenced by PAROUSIA—the end of time or the second coming. In these days men could divorce women but women could not divorce men! The new Christians believed that baptism was a rebirth & provided freedom so there was a tendency to “kick the men out of the house” by many of the women. Paul advised them to live out their baptism in this world and treat marriage as a partnership and sacrament not as a contract as the Romans viewed it. Paul also invoked the Pauline Privilege; divorce is ok if the non-believer party in the marriage PREVENTS the believer from practicing his/her faith. Paul also advised that parousia is imminent and all should stay in their present state; married, single, divorced, widowed, etc.

The celibate life is not easy and not for everyone; all should pray for the celibate men and women to give them strength.

For 2—The question of eating meat that had been offered to idols—which was a scandal in the community. Paul advised to hurt none of the Christians and to avoid sin in all its forms, giving up any “privileges” to avoid offense to brothers and sisters.

For 3—The issue of women’s headdress and the length of the hair. It is NOT about subordination. Conventional appearance shows respect and decency. Customs such as these can change but the customs must be respected. Paul was against short hair based on the interpretation of the 2nd Chapter of Genesis; man came from God and woman came from man. So when a woman does not cover her head she shows disrespect to God—trying to be like God. Also in Genesis chapter 6 angels are tempted by women who do not cover their heads; so this should be avoided. Today we need to be respectful and wear appropriate dress when we come to mass. Remember that Christ is present in the Eucharist and we should dress for him at least as well as we would dress for a meeting with the Pope!

On this issue of discrimination in the celebration of the Lord’s supper; The rich people often gathered before mass to share a meal but the poor were only invited to the “reception”. Paul recommended an examination of conscience in such matters and the promotion of communion and conversion within the whole community. The washing of the feet by Jesus was symbolic of cleaning up and getting back on the path of Christ before receiving the Eucharist.

For 4—The Sharing of Gifts and talents; The church consists of one body made up of many parts that cooperate. The body is incomplete without all the parts.

St. Paul Session #2

Session 2 was held on Tuesday, July 8 from 7:15 to 9:00 pm. Fr. Sebastian presided. There was a GREAT turnout of over 100 parishioners. The hall was filled!

Fr. Sebastian provided a copy of his notes (attached, p. 1-6) that were presented as a series of overhead slides.

Father covered the Letter to the Philippians and the first part of the First Letter to the Corinthians.
Father described the context and situations of Paul’s early writings; the problems that the young Church was facing.

Philippi the city was name after King Phillip II. It was a Roman city located in Macedonia. Both Italy and Turkey wanted the region of Macedonia. The first European Church was founded there by Paul in AD48.

Paul did not live there but kept in contact via letters. Philippians is a combination of 3 letters written at different times.

Corinth was the primary Greek city after the decline of Athens for jobs, business, etc. It was a pagan city with both Roman and Greek cultures. Due to its prominence, many other peoples moved there and it had a diversity of cultures. Dualism was popular with the Corinthians; Sprit and Body as separate where the spirit/soul is important and the body is not. Body and morals are not important.

People in Corinth practiced a mix of religions (picked and chose what they liked). The main problem in the Christian community there was division; Paul’s preaching vs. Apollo’ preaching. The people were following the preacher instead of following Jesus Christ. The letter of Paul seeks to resolve this difference.

There is too much “me” in our present culture. We must go back to Jesus message of sharing, community, and helping one another (one body of the Church of Jesus Christ). Paul’s letter to Corinth is thus very relevant in our current time.

Blogging the St Paul Lectures - #1

Michael Sedlar attended the first of St Denis's lecture series on the letters of St Paul, and took copious notes for the rest of us to look at. Thanks, Mike!

Here are Mike's notes:
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Session 1 was held on Tuesday, July 1 from 7:15 to 9:00 pm. Msgr. Jim presided.

There was a GREAT turnout of over 100 parishoners. Babysitting and refreshments were provided.

Msgr. Jim provided several references including:
1. Session Schedule. Identifies the topics for each of the 9 sessions in the series.
2. Notes for Session 1 which details what was covered in this first session.
3. "To Whom it May Concern; Letters from Paul" by William Parker
4. "Editorial--In Pursuit of Paul" from Our Sunday Visitor with St Paul crossword puzzle
5. "Introducing St. Paul the Apostle, His Life and Mission" from St Anthony Messenger
6. Prayer to St. Paul

Msgr. described the Life of the Early Church and the life of Paul by guiding us through the Acts of the Apostles which is the second book of the New Testament that was written by Luke. See the Notes attachment for details.

Paul was responsible for spreading the Word to most of the major cities of the Roman Empire. Peter and Paul both worked miracles in these early days of the Church. Thirteen letters in the Bible are credited to St. Paul. Of these 7 were most likely written by Paul, 3 were written by disciples and 3 were written by someone who knew Paul. The book of Hebrews was also most likely written by someone who knew Paul.

Luke wrote Acts to "Theophilus" which is constructed from the Greek words Theos (meaning God) and Philos (meaning love).

Msgr. also provided some suggestions for the Year of St Paul:
1. work the St Paul crossword puzzle
2. read and study all thirteen of Paul's letters
3. read a book on Paul
4. make a pilgrimage to the old world or to a Church named after Paul
5. pray to St Paul (use the official prayer)
6. earn indulgences

Msgr. also discussed the First Letter to the Thessolonians. See the notes for details.

The next Session will be on Tuesday July 08 hosted by Fr. Sebastian.

Retreats: Your Experiences?

The annual men's retreat at Mater Dolorosa Retreat House earlier this month was a tremendous experience, as usual. A "silent" retreat, there are plenty of excellent lectures, and plenty of excellent food, but it all takes place in a very quiet and reflective environment. This kind of environment is very conducive to conversing with God, and the vast and beautiful grounds of Mater Dolorosa only make this even more powerful.

If you've never participated in a retreat with St Denis before, I'd strongly encourage you to take advantage of the next opportunity.

If you have participated in a retreat before, we'd like to hear about your experience. Please tell us about it in the "comments" section here in this post.

Michael Kellogg

Fr Sebastian Bible Study - Session 3

Here are the notes from the 11/15/07 bible study lecture by Father Sebastian, which took place tonight in Potthoff Hall.

The hall is getting slightly more full each week. There were maybe 10 free seats tonight.


To understand a biblical story or incident, we need to know several things:

• The context of the story
• The challenges of the time
• The intentions of the author
• The relevance for us today

If we read the bible without this knowledge, we may get the wrong messages.

"THE FALL"

"After God create Man, God rested. After God created Woman, neither God nor Man rested." (LOL)

Why do we suffer? What is the source of sin?

The second creation story (see notes on previous session for both creation stories) was written in the 9th or 10th century B.C., a period of prosperity. Some religions tried at the time to explain sin. Some said it was due to dualism, which in this case refers to a "good" power in the universe versus a "bad" power.

In the story of Gilgamesh, an evil ancient Sumerian king, a pagan god tried several times to kill Gilgamesh but he always succeeded in escaping. One time, a man/god came down to him and Gilgamesh asked the man/god to give him something to make him live forever. He was given an apple, which he took home. While at home taking a shower, a snake snuck into his home and stole the apple and ate it, acquiring eternal life. There were also other stories popular at the time, wherein snakes had supernatural powers. This was a common belief.
THIS IS THE CONTEXT FOR THE CREATION STORY

The prophet/author, therefore, needed to convey that snakes did not have supernatural powers; and that sin comes from our wrong choices, not from a snake.

The Sins of Adam and Eve:

• Decision without the knowledge and wisdom of the creator
• Overstepped their limits
• Disobedience
• Listening to the wrong sources

The effects of these sins:

• Feelings of insecurity
• Original sin is not limited to them
• Inability to restore (back to the way it was)

The Effects of Original Sin

According to the Bible:

• Loss of Grace
• Loss of inner harmony
• Suffering
• Death

According to St Augustine:

• Death of the body
• Wounds of human nature:
  • Ignorance
  • Malice
  • Weakness
  • Disorder in our passion and emotion

We do not commit original sin; we inherit it. We commit actual sin. Baptism restores our friendship with God.

Any time there is order and it gets disrupted, there is suffering.

CAIN & ABEL

Focus of the story: Sin against one another

Cain had a desire for domination
Cain could have controlled his anger

Cain represents oppressors
Abel represents the oppressed

Message: There are always these 2 groups. As long as the two groups exist (as in today), the Kingdom of God is only a distant possibility.

Even though God punished Cain (Gen 4:11), he also protected him when he threatened to punish "sevenfold" anyone who killed Cain (Gen 4:15). So who was God referring to?

We need to approach the bible more with faith than with reason to get the right messages.

THE COVENANT WITH NOAH

Sin: There is a chain reaction; it never stops

"The growth of sin and the regret of God"

"The sons of God had relations with the daughters of Man" (Gen 6:1-5) - What does this mean?

Sons of God	Daughters of Man
Seth	Cain
Seth's son Enosh	Cain's son Enoch
Seth invoked the name of God (Gen 4:26)	Cain named a city after Enoch
10th Generation: Noah (Gen 5:29)	7th Generation: Lamech - polygamy (Gen 4:19)

---------------------------
mutual attraction

polygamy - sin institutionalized

END OF NOTES (m kellogg)

Father Sebastian's Bible Study

Father Sebastian has begun hosting a bible study lecture on the first and third Thursdays of every month, with plans to continue through about June 2008. Here is a brief synopsis of the first two sessions.

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What is the Bible?

• The Word of God - To communicate we use words
• A record of human experience of God's revelation

Without the light of God, we see things differently.

When Adam was with God, he spoke of Eve in beautiful language. Later, when he had lost the light of God, he called her, "that woman you gave me."

We respond the way we perceive, so God's light is critical. Without it, we stumble around and make a mess of things.

In his time, Jesus was the light. Today, the Church is the light. "Lumen Gentium" = "Light of the nations". "Our light must shine before others."

Covenant = Unconditional surrender. "The opposite of covenant is prostitution."

In the Bible, God makes 6 covenants (these describe his relationship with humanity):

1. Adam - besides himself, Adam represents humanity
2. Noah - Noah had children who had families, so Noah represents a household
3. Abraham - represents tribes
4. Moses - represents nation (10 commandments = constitution)
5. David - Kingdom with military power
6. Jesus - International with spiritual, not military, power

The bible is made up of 73 books: 27 in the New Testament and 46 in the Old Testament. There was a breakdown described of each of these categories which cannot be duplicated here.

Genesis = "The Beginning" - 50 chapters: 1-11 "Pre-history"; 12-50 "Patriarchal history". 4 authors at 4 different times. For example, in Chapter 1 God is referred to as "God", "God", "God". Yet in Chapter 2 he is always referred to as "Lord God".

In 480 B.C., the Babylonians defeated Israel. This meant that the God of Babylon, Marduch, had beaten the God of Israel. At this time, a priest arrived whose job it was to restore the identity of Israel and to convert the Babylonians to save them. This was a big job, since the perception was that if a nation was defeated, the victor nation's god had in effect beaten the losing nation's god. So to communicate Israeli beliefs effectively, the priest/author needed to use imagery, language, and stories familiar to the Babylonians.

----- End of session 1

The Creation Stories (2)

"Creation" means "Bringing order out of chaos". The "first creation story," Genesis Ch 1, was written by the above-mentioned priest/author in the 2nd century B.C.

Fr Sebastian described a pyramid that mirrors Genesis and our understanding of God's creation. There are 5 levels in the pyramid:

• The bottom level is labeled "Chaos" with the note In The Beginning off to the side. This is where it all begins.
• Level 4 is labeled "Vegetative" with the note Senses, as we first learn to use our senses.
• Level 3 is labeled "Animal" with the note Instincts, as we learn to use our instincts next
• Level 2 is labeled "Human" with the note Logic & Reason, as we learn to use these next, and this is what separates us from animals.
• The peak of the pyramid is labeled "Christ" and the note is Faith, as this is the final step in our development.

We are expected to use all of the traits in those notes as images of God. The extent to which we do so constitutes our Growth and the lack of use of these God-given abilities constitutes Moral Degradation. Also notice that the order of the pyramid matches the order in which Genesis recounts God's creation of the world.

Chapter 1, the "first Creation story", tells a story of separations: Day from Night; Earth from Sky; Darkness from Light; etc.

In the first creation story, God is Transcendant and Omnipotent; One Supreme God; Creation was an effortless task; Creation was from nothingness; Everything else (stars, sun) was "creatures". These ideas all were in sharp contrast to the understanding of how the Babylonian God, Marduch, created the universe, but described such that Babylonians could understand.

Similarly, "Man" was made in God's image. This is likened to kings of that period creating statues of themselves and placing them throughout their kingdom so that subjects could view them and feel connected to the king. In the same way, we are images, or representatives, of God. We are not God, just images. God placed limits on Man.

"The purpose of creation was to serve God"

Man and Woman were equal parties - neither was superior nor inferior.

God said "very good" about all his creations. This means: God did not create evil. Everything God creates is good.

The 2nd Creation story (Genesis 2) was written about the 10th century B.C., the time of Solomon, to communicate Israeli beliefs to worshipers of "Baal". The culture there had an agricultural background and worshipped Baal (as "father God") and Earth (as "mother God"). They believed that for them to receive bountiful harvests and healthy land, Baal must have sexual relations with Earth. High Baal priests had the same with virgins, which they believed encouraged Baal. This was the understanding of women's purpose then: procreation. Notice that Solomon had 600 wives.

The author of Genesis 2, then, needed to enlighten them in these areas. Woman is equal to Man. The author used imagery that communicated to an agricultural culture: Notice the description of the earth is different between Genesis 1 and 2 (due to the cultures they were communicating in). In Genesis 1, the world is covered in oceans, full of life, and God creates Man last of all. In Genesis 2, Man is discussed first, and the world is largely barren, save for the 4 rivers God creates to nourish the land.

"Adam" comes from "Adamah," which means Earth: Man is basically from Earth. His beginning and end is Adamah. He is like any other animal. His role is to see God's face on earth and transform it to a paradise. The message? "It is not Baal doing this. It is us."

Purpose of Man: Transform the earth. Man has the breath of God and is here to live, not die. His existence depends on god, and he names other creatures (which symbolizes his stature above them). He is in charge of the garden.

----- End of session 2 (notes by M Kellogg)

Please feel encouraged to add your comments and discussion to this weblog, to continue and enhance our study. And by all means, attend future sessions. The next lecture is November 15th, 7:30 pm at Potthoff Hall. Refreshments and study sheets are provided. All are welcome.