Today is the Solemnity of the Ascension of
our Lord, and well worth a meditation on the scripture reading.The Gospel reading is for Year C.
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“Thus it is written
that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead
on the third day
and that repentance,
for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in
his name
to all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of
these things.
And behold I am sending
the promise of my Father upon you;
but stay in the city
until you are clothed
with power from on high.”
Then he led them out
as far as Bethany,
raised his hands, and
blessed them.
As he blessed them he
parted from them
and was taken up to
heaven.
They did him homage
and then returned to
Jerusalem with great joy,
and they were
continually in the temple praising God.
~Lk 24:46-53
Here is a treat.Pope Leo XIV’s homily for Ascension
Thursday.This is digitally translated
from what I’m guessing was in Italian.It is a spotty computer generated audio, but well worth listening to.The actual words are streamed across the
screen.
Now some of you may
be wondering why some have the Solemnity of the Ascension on Thursday and some
on Sunday.Fr. Patrick Briscoe O.P. explains
in the first half of his homily and then provides a pastoral meditation in the
second half.
Sunday Meditation: “As he blessed
them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.."
I don’t know Phil Wickham but his song “The Ascension” is wonderful.
As in last week, the Sixth Sunday in Easter
of Year C keeps the Gospel reading in the Farewell Discourse. Here Jesus tells
the apostles of the coming Holy Spirit.This is a rather complicated passage.Notice the progression of thought.It starts with mutual love with the Father and moves to “we” will come
to dwell in those who are in that love, making a dwelling place.Then the Holy Spirit, referred to as the “Advocate,”
or, in other translations, the “Paraclete,” will guide and teach those in that
love.The Holy Spirit will bring you
peace.So who is the “we”?
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“Whoever loves me will
keep my word,
and my Father will
love him,
and we will come to
him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love
me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear
is not mine
but that of the Father
who sent me.
“I have told you this
while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy
Spirit,
whom the Father will
send in my name,
will teach you
everything
and remind you of all
that I told you.
Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives
do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts
be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I
will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that
I am going to the Father;
for the Father is
greater than I.
And now I have told
you this before it happens,
so that when it
happens you may believe.”
~Jn 14:23-29
The “we” is the Trinity!This Sunday I am going back to Fr. Tim Peters
who does a magnificent job explaining the Gospel.
I am going to Fr.
Peter Hahn of the St. Leo the Great Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the
pastoral homily.
The peace of Christ
is “the most priceless gift and treasure that you and I can have.”
Sunday Meditation: “Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you."
For the hymn, we go back to John Michael
Talbot, with his simply titled, “Peace.”There is quite long introduction to this piece before we get lyrics, so
hang in there.
Those were the first words of Pope Leo when
he came out on the balcony, “Peace be with all of you.”
Yesterday,
Thursday, May 22nd, was the Feast Day of St. Rita of Cascia.She is the patron saint of our parish, which is named after her.If you are not aware of this wonderful saint,
you should be.I’ll try to list a number
of pertinent facts.The Wikipedia entry,
linked above, has a lot of good information.The Catholic Company’s Saint of the Day entry is also very good.
She
was born in 1381, the year after my beloved St. Catherine of Siena died, near
the town of Cascia, which is in the Umbria region.Umbria is in central Italy, north of Lazio,
which is the region which Rome is in, and Tuscany, which is the region where
Florence and Siena reside.
From
very young she wanted to become a nun, but her parents needed her to marry, and
so arranged a marriage when she was twelve years old.Her husband turned out to be violent and abusive,
but she quietly prayed for him, and by her prayers and constant sweetness
converted him over to faith.They had
two sons together.
After
eighteen years of marriage, her husband was murdered.Her two sons vowed to take revenge, and she
prayed that God should take their lives rather than to fall into such sin.Within months, both sons came down with
illnesses and died.
Free
of family obligations, she joined some nuns and formed a convent.Eventually their group joined the Augustinian
Order and lived under the Rule of St. Augustine.She was an Augustinian nun for over forty
years.
She
became known as a prayerful and self-sacrificing nun, and one who meditated on
the sufferings of Christ on the cross.In
time she received a partial stigmata, an indentation of a thorn in the middle
of her brow.
Miracles
began to sprout on her prayers, and she is now known as the saint of the impossible
causes.
On
her death bed, she was asked what if anything she wanted.She asked for roses and figs from her old
family property.Unfortunately it was
winter, and not the season for either roses or figs.She told one of her sisters to go look, and
sure enough roses and figs were miraculously growing and were brought back to
her.
Roses
are special to St. Rita, and so parishes that celebrate her feast day Mass will
give out blessed red roses to the congregation.Every year at our St. Rita Church, Fr. Eugene our pastor gives out red
roses blessed during the course of the Mass.
Fr.
Eugene is fantastic at decorating the church.Let me share some photos.First
the altar with the red roses all around.
The
ones in the bucket in front of the altar are the ones that will be blessed and
distributed.The statue on the left is
St. Rita, in the black and white habit of the Augustinians.
To
the left of the altar, we had a statue of St. Rita, kneeling and looking up
toward heaven, surrounded by an arch of roses and a spread of roses before
her.
This
statue is normally in an alcove in the back of our church but was moved up for
the feast day Mass.You can see the
thorn indentation in her forehead.
Finally,
as I’ve mentioned before, Fr. Eugene is also a great collector of relics.He has three relics of St. Rita, which he situated
in from of the lectern.Two pictures,
one for an overview and one zoomed in.
In
the zoomed out photo, you can see the statue of St. Rita in the background.
I
will close this from a couple of the prayers from this Novena to St. Rita.
Glorious St Rita, you
wanted to enter the convent but your parents arranged a marriage for you. We
pray for those whose hopes have been frustrated.
Saint Rita, so humble, so
pure, so mortified, so patient and of compassionate love for thy Crucified
Jesus that thou couldst obtain from him whatsoever thou askest, on account of
which all confidently have recourse to thee, expecting, if not always relief,
at least comfort; be propitious to our petition, showing thy power with God on
behalf of thy suppliant; be lavish to us, as thou hast been in so many
wonderful cases, for the greater glory of God, for the spreading of thine own
devotion, and for the consolation of those who trust in thee.
Truth
be told, because St. Rita had a difficult husband, I appeal to her to pray for
my wife when she has to put up with me!
This is a story that happened to me in November of 2024,
and because of time I have not had the opportunity to post it.It was a heartwarming story that I wanted to
first post for Christmas, and then for Easter, but at each holiday I could not
get to it.You may have had a similar
experience to this.Nonetheless I hope
you enjoy reading it.
A
particular Thursday in mid-November—the week before Thanksgiving—was a rainy
day, and I drove to work and back in the rain.My car, a Toyota Corolla, drove fine.That night I drove over to my mother’s house, and on the return leg back
home the car stalled on startup but after a few cranks of the key it started up
and I got home.As a preface I should
say the Corolla was 16 years old with over 138,000 miles.It was up there in age, but Toyotas typically
go more than those amount of miles, and even my mechanic, Rafi who you will
meet further down, the month before said the car had a lot of life still in it.I guess he was wrong.
The
next day, Friday, the car would not start up at all.I tried, it just cranked but it would not
turn over.I called Triple A (AAA) to
either get a boost because I suspected the battery (it was four years old, and
it was the first really cold day) or get towed to my mechanic.The AAA service man charged the battery, but
it still just cranked without turning over.The AAA guy said it might be just the ignition, but he really thought it
should kick over.Finally, I had him tow
it to my mechanic.
The
mechanic finally got to my car Saturday morning and told me it had nothing to
do with the battery or the ignition, it was the fuel pump.OK, that was surprising, but it made
sense.If fuel wasn’t pumping into the
engine, it wouldn’t start.But I did
drive to and from work on Thursday with no problem.His estimate was going to be over $850 with
tax.Wow, ok, but the car wasn’t going
to be ready until Monday.
Monday
came and the mechanic said there’s something wrong.There must be a short in the electrical
system somewhere.The car won’t stay
on.What?He needed to find this short or the car was
not drivable.OK.I’m wondering where is this going.Now I’m getting panicky.I took Monday and Tuesday off from work
because I did not have any means to get there.The Wednesday before and the Friday after Thanksgiving I always take
off, so the week was accounted for, but come Monday I will need a car to get to
work.
I
checked with him on Tuesday.He said
there is something wrong with the engine.The cylinders are not giving any compression.What???This is getting ridiculous.He
now needs to do diagnostics to figure out what is going on with the
engine.What am I going to do?I still need a car.Rochelle is convinced he’s taking me for a
ride (ha, pun not intended) but I do trust him.He’s the owner, his name is Rafi, speaks with a thick Israeli accent,
and I’ve been going to his place for a long time.He used to have two shops, and for something
like 20 years I went to the other shop managed by his sister-in-law named
Gayle.Gayle was always straight with me
and honest.I had complete trust in
her.But during Covid they had to sell
one of the shops—the one Gayle ran—and do business from the one he managed
himself.Rafi is nowhere near as good a
manager as Gayle.His shop is always
hectic and chaotic.I had thought about
leaving and finding another place.I
even told him he should let Gayle run his place.He just smiled and said in his deep, staccato
Israeli voice, Gayle is good.
Once
I heard engine problems, I knew I could no longer trust this car, even if he
fixed it.All I could feel now was
chaos.The car I trusted for 16 years
was in turmoil, my available finances were not handy, and I needed to get to
work come Monday.And all week I had
been cancelling my mother’s doctor’s appointments because I didn’t have the
means to take her.And I’m racking up
this huge car repair bill for a car I will probably not drive again.I’m imagining this bill is going into thousands
of dollars.
Come
Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving, I can’t locate the owner but
the woman who answered the phone said they are still doing diagnostics.OMG, at this point I’m a wreck.I have to buy a car and will probably have to
rent one to get to work because I’m not just going to buy any car, and I just
don’t buy used cars from a bad experience I had when I first got my
license.So, I called my mutual fund
company and withdrew enough for a good down payment.I knew exactly the car I wanted.I’ve wanted a Toyota RAV4 for a couple of
years.It was going to be my next
car.I researched prices that morning.
That
afternoon when Matthew got home from school, Rochelle, Matthew, and I went to
the Toyota dealer.As it turns out, it’s
lull time for them before the after-Thanksgiving, Black Friday storm.But they have been having their Black Friday
sales all week, and no one else seems to realize it. I am hooked up with this
really nice, young salesman who happened to go to the same high school that
Matthew is going to now.We’re having a
great conversation.They are four RAV4s
on the lot, none the color I would have wanted but the silver one was
definitely acceptable.After an hour of
going over the cars, making the deal, and another hour of getting the insurance
and plates (they were ready for the big Black Friday crowd), and another half
hour of getting the car prepped, I am literally driving a new car home that day.I was stunned.In the past it has taken me weeks to get a
new car.
As
soon as I bought that car, everything settled into place.The chaos morphed into order just like
that!I could feel heavenly peace.Thanksgiving was nice, and I loved driving
the new car and figuring out all the neat gadgets new cars have now.We had gotten Rochelle a new car last year
and she has all the electronic things that are so cool.I don't have as many in my new car but still
it was great synching the phone to the car computer and listening to my
podcasts and music.
But
there was still the old car to resolve.At this point I was dumping it (donating actually) so I wanted them to
stop working.I called several times
Friday but no answer, so I figured they must have taken the holiday weekend
off.
I
called Saturday morning for the heck of it and to my surprise the woman at the
desk answered the phone.They had been
open on Friday.Why didn’t anyone answer
the phone?More chaos!I wanted to say, get Gayle to run your
place.The woman said Rafi wanted to
talk to me.Yes, I wanted to talk to him
too.He’ll call me as soon as he
can.Urgh.More delays.Now I’m thinking about how I’m going to argue against this bill.If the car wasn’t starting because of a
short, then the fuel pump was never the problem.If the fuel pump was the problem, then they
caused the short when they put it in.Where the engine problem came from, I have no idea.It ran fine last time I drove it.I was resolved I would not pay for anything
above the fuel pump replacement.
A
couple of hours later, Rafi called.He
would like to speak to me in person.I
said I’ll be right there.I have a new
car!So on the way I’m getting my
arguments together in my head.No, I am
not paying beyond replacing the fuel pump.Paying for the fuel pump would be fair but no more.I am not paying for all the diagnostics and
whatever else they did.
When
I got there, the woman at the desk tells me she’ll go get Rafi, “He wants to
talk to you.”When he came in, he shook
my hand, gave me a nice smile, and said to me to come aside where I can talk to
you in private.Oh boy, I’m thinking he
wants me away from the other customers.
He
says in his thick Israeli accent, “we never found the problem.Your engine has no compression.”
“But
how can that be, I drove home before I gave it to you?”
He
says, waving his finger, “your car cannot be driven.”
“So
what do I owe you,” I asked.
“Oh,
you owe me nothing,” he said, speaking as if he acknowledged his inability to
find the problem.
“What???But you put in a fuel pump.I owe you at least that.”
“You
owe me nothing.Consider it from God
above.We all live under the same God.”
I
was stunned.My jaw was literally
hanging open.We then discussed having
the car towed away the next week.“That’s
perfect,’ he says.He shakes my hand
again and says goodbye.
I
could not believe it.Generosity can come
from all faiths.What a good man.(He still needs Gayle to run the place for
him!)Because of him, I upped my year
end charitable donations by a thousand dollars.I didn’t want to profit from that.His generosity was convicting.That was awesome.
Some
pictures.My old Toyota Corolla, sitting
in Rafi’s parking lot.
Its
final odometer reading.
A
little short clip of the Corolla being towed away from Rafi’s shop.
I
had a lot of good years with that car.It served me well.
Finally
a couple of pictures of my new Rav4.
I
hope to get some great years out of this car.
There
are so many blessings to count in this story.There was the blessing of getting home from work in that rain with a
flawed car.I will never know exactly
what went wrong.There was the blessing
of getting that Black Friday deal on Wednesday and driving the car home that
afternoon.No way would that car have
still been there on Friday, and I would have had to fight the crowd.And of course, there was the blessing of
being relieved of the debt by Rafi, bless his soul.And there is the blessing of being able to go
to work on Monday.
I
hope that was interesting.Say a prayer
for Rafi, and if you’re on Staten Island and in need of car work, go to Rafi’s
Auto Repair.
The Gospel reading of the Fifth Sunday of
Easter in Year C returns us to the Farewell Discourse of Jesus at the Last
Supper in the Gospel of John.This is at
the beginning of the Farewell Discourse and we hear Jesus proclaim two things:
God’s Glory as it will be manifest in Him and His new commandment of love.
When Judas had left
them, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man
glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in
him,
God will also glorify
him in himself,
and God will glorify
him at once.
My children, I will be
with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new
commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you,
so you also should love one another.
This is how all will
know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for
one another.”
~Jn 13:31-33a,
34-35
Fr, Geoffrey Plant provides
an understanding of what exactly it means for God to have glory and for Jesus
to come into His glory.I like Fr.
Geoffrey’s definition of glory: the manifestation of the divine in the world.
When Jesus uses the
word “glorify” five times in two verses, one has to take notice.From “doxa”
we get the word doxology, a prayer to specifically glorify God.The most common doxology in Catholicism is
the Glory Be prayer, otherwise known as the Gloria
Patria in Latin.
And of course you
have heard the great doxology at Mass at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer:
Through Him, with Him, and in Him,
O God, almighty Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit
all glory and honor is yours,
forever and ever.
As per Fr. Geoffrey’s homily, the glory here
is an acknowledgement and manifestation of the divine.Now that has added to my understanding of the
Mass.
The pastoral sermon—a
woman cannot give a homily, and so I call it a sermon—comes from Sr. Maryam
Caritas—how fitting a name is that!—from the Society of Our Lady of the Most
Holy Trinity, otherwise known as SOLT.
As the good Sister
says, “If lived well this (“love one another as I have loved you”) encompasses
the entirety of the Ten Commandments.”Sister Maryam’s two questions: (1) How am I not lovig well? And (2) How
can I love with the love of Christ?
Sunday Meditation: “Now is the Son
of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him."
My guess is you sang this hymn at Mass today,
“They Will Know We Are Christians.” I don’t know who exactly is singing this rendition, but he does a fantastic
job.
“They Will Know We Are Christians by our love.”One of my favorite hymns.
This is the second and final post on the
questions for a survey through the Gospel of Luke Using the Ascension Press study which my Lay Dominican
Fraternity coordinated during Lent.Sessions
one through four were in Post #1, which you can find here.Post #2 contains the questions and my answers
to sessions five through eight.
Session 5:
Luke Chapters 10 – 12
1.Jesus
often prays to God the father, and in this chapter 10 of Luke we see Jesus
thanking God the Father.In what ways
can we adopt a posture of gratitude when conversing with our heavenly
Father?Why is giving thanks an
essential attitude for prayer?
My answer: Thank the Father
repeatedly during the day for all the little blessings as they happen.Gratitude is a form of praise.It’s an acknowledgement of our dependence on
Him.
2.During
the Divided Kingdom in the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, Israel took captive two
hundred thousand men from Judah (2 Chr 28:8-15).What connections can you find between this
passage and Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:29-37)?
My answer: the Samaritans in the
Old Testament (from the Northern Kingdom) were merciful to the captives from
Judah in the same way the Good Samaritan in the New Testament parable was kind to
the injured man from Judah.
3.What
are the differences in the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and the Lord’s
Prayer in Luke 11:2-4?
My answer: In Luke there is no
“our,” no “who art in heaven,” no “hallowed be thy name,” no “thy kingdom
come,” no “thy will be done,” no “on earth as it is in heaven,” and no “deliver
us from evil.They are similar in that
both address the Father, both petition for daily bread, both ask for
forgiveness as we forgive others, and both ask not to be led into temptation.
4.Jesus
is often harsher when dealing with the Pharisees and scholars of the law than
he is with the ordinary sinners who come to him as in chapter 11.What might account for this?
My answer: The Pharisees and
scholars refuse to believe in He being the Messiah.Both are conspiring to kill Him.Both are part of the established power
structure.Both are hypocrites.Both should know better.Both are missing the interior disposition of
charity, emphasizing the stickling of the law instead of the spirit of the law.
5.Consider
Jesus’ words: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Lk
12:34).Where is your heart?What do you treasure above all else?What are some ways you can turn away from the
“treasures” of the world and align your heart with the treasure of God’s
kingdom?
My answer: I consider my treasure
my God and my family.Turning to prayer
and reading scripture will help align your heart with God’s kingdom.Cultivate communion with God.
6.What
makes Jesus a source of “division’ (Lk 12:49-53)?What does this tell us about the cost of
discipleship?
My answer: Jesus is a source of
division because He is there to overturn those in power, overturn the secular
values, and refocus humanity to the Truth.Faith in Jesus requires a separation from the world and its values.One has to die to oneself.
###
Session 6:
Luke Chapters 13 – 17
1.In
an earlier chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus teaches a parable about trees and
fruit: “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good
fruit; for each tree is known by its fruit.” (Lk 6:43-44).In the parable of the barren fig tree, Jesus
tells the fate of a tree that bears no fruit (Lk 13:6-9).How are these teachings related?
My answer: While the fig tree has
not born bad fruit, it has not born good fruit either.It has born no fruit.The fig tree is given another chance with the
hope that through nurturing it can bear good fruit in the future..
2.What
does the parable of the leaven (Lk 13:20-21) tell us about the Kingdom of
God?
My answer: It tells us that on one
level the kingdom of God is intended to be here on earth, and that the faithful
through good works will be like leaven and make the kingdom rise.
3.Read
Mt 5:13; then read Lk 14:34-35.Why does
Jesus bring up the importance of salt retaining its taste?How is this a metaphor for the Christian
life?
My answer: Salt gives flavor to
food, and we Christians are to be salt improving the flavor of society.The Christian life will improve society as
salt improves the flavor of food.
4.What
does the parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:1-7) tell us about God?
My answer: A human shepherd would
not abandon the 99 sheep to go find the one lost.That is not realistic.God, on the other hand, will never give up on
any one soul, and will search Him out to the end.
5.In
the parable of the dishonest steward (Lk 16:1-13), the master commends the
dishonest steward for how he acted.What
point is Jesus trying to make here?
My answer: This is probably my
least favorite parable.It’s confusing. It appears that the steward is just trying to
sell the master’s items at a reduced rate for his own gain.What I didn’t know is that he is selling off
the master’s items eliminating his personal cut.So he is not actually robbing the
master.The master commends him for his
prudence to sell at a reduced cost.
6.After
the death of King Solomon, ten tribes of Israel rebelled and broke away, diving
the kingdom into two: the Northern Kingdom in Samaria (known as Israel) and the
Southern Kingdom near Jerusalem (known as Judah).The Samaritans of Jesus’ day were the remnant
of the breakaway group and dwelled separately from the Jews.With this context in mind, what is so
significant about Lk 17:11-19?Specifically, why ten, and why does Luke emphasize the Samaritan who
returned?
My answer: The ten echoes the lost
tribes of Israel, and in that sense all Jews.The one who returns is the Samaritan, the one who were supposedly
enemies, that is the foreigner.It is the
foreigner who is grateful, but the other nine selfishly run off.
###
Session 7:
Luke Chapters 18 – 21
1.In
what ways does the parable of the widow and the unrighteous judge (Lk 18:1-8)
reflect our relationship with God?What
are the crucial differences between the judge and God?
My answer: We need to be persistent
in our prayers as the widow is persistent in her appeals to the judge.Faith requires persistence.The judge is slothful, unrighteous, and
arbitrary; God is righteous, and acts with justice.
2.What
can we learn from Zacchaeus, a tax collector who clearly cheated people, and
his conversion upon encountering Jesus (Lk 19:1-10)?
My answer: We learn that no man is
beyond conversion if such a dishonest tax collector can come to
repentance.We learn that Jesus does not
give up on the worst sinners.
3.As
King David neared the end of his life, he took certain steps to confirm the
path of succession for his son Solomon.Compare 1 Kings 1:32-40 with Lk 19:33-40.What similarities do you notice between these
two scenes?How is this moment yet
another confirmation of Jesus’ identity?
My answer: Both Solomon and Jesus
triumphantly enter Jerusalem on a donkey/mule to a jubilant crowd praising
their kingship.This reveals Jesus as a
king and a Messiah.
4.How
does the parable of the wicked tenants (Lk 20:9-19) relate to Jesus’ conflicts
with the religious leaders of Israel?
My answer: The wicked tenants stand
for the Jewish leaders and the beloved son stands for Jesus.The ruler who stands for God will take away
the inheritance from the Jews.
5.In
Lk 20:27-40, how are the Sadducees, who don’t believe in the resurrection,
trying to trap Jesus?How does Jesus
effectively dismantle their trap?
My answer: The Sadducees are trying
to trap Jesus citing a potential situation in heaven which would be considered
polygamy.Jesus dismantles it by
stipulating that there is no marriage in heaven.
6.How
can we apply Jesus’ point about the widow’s offering (Lk 21:1-4) to our own
lives?
My answer: The widow gave to God
all that she had.That is what we are
called to do at least spiritually.
###
Session 8:
Luke Chapters 22 – 24
1.Exodus
24 recounts how God established a covenant with Israel through moses while they
were at Mount Sinai.The covenant was
sealed with a sacrifice.Compare Ex 24:5-11
with Lk 22 19-20.What similarities do
you notice between the two passages?
My answer: The covenant is sealed
with a sacrifice, the bulls in Exodus, Jesus in Luke.Both sacrifices are performed in a liturgical
setting and both hold up the elements of the sacrificed body and blood.Both sacrifices are in the presence of God.
2.Daniel
lived during the Babylonian Exile, serving in the court of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.Daniel received many prophetic and
apocalyptic visions.Compare Dn 7:13-14
with the scene of Jesus before the chief priests and scribes in Lk
22:66-70.How do they interpret Jesus’
comments to the council?How do they
parallel Daniel 7?
My answer: Jesus alludes to Himself
as the Son of Man from Daniel 7.He
refers to Himself as “the Son of Man,” which would be the Messiah.
3.Herod
Antipas, son of Herod the Great, was the tetrarch who ruled over the region of
Galilee at the time of Jesus.Herod’s
family was not ethnically Jewish; he descended from the Idumean converts to Judaism
during the time of the Maccabean revolt.With this context in mind, what is the irony behind Jesus’ confrontation
with Herod (Lk 23:6-9)?
My answer: the irony is that Herod
is not in the Davidic lineage and therefore not a true king of Judah.Jesus on the other hand is in the Davidic
line.
4.There
are three “last sayings” of Jesus on the cross in Luke’s Gospel (Lk 23:34, 43,
46).These three last sayings are not
found in the other Gospels.What do
these words spoken by Jesus from the Cross tell us about him?
My answer: They speak of mercy
((“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”), of hope ((Truly I say
to you, today you will be with me in paradise”), and of trust (“Father, into
your hands I commend my spirit”).
5.How
does the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35) mirror what
happens during the catholic Mass?
My answer: On the walk from
Jerusalem, the hidden Jesus explains how the scriptures fulfill the events at
Calvary, reflecting the Liturgy of the Word at Mass.At the table, Jesus’ breaking of the bread reflects
the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass.
6.Why
might Jesus’ ascension (Lk 24:50-51) be considered both a joyous and a
sorrowful event?
It is sorrowful because the person
of Jesus has physically left us; it is joyous because He has left us the Holy
Spirit to fill us and remains with us in the Eucharist.
###
A final note.I hope you got something out of this.While the session videos were interesting and
educational, I think what was most instructive were reading the Gospel itself,
answering these questions, and then reviewing them as a group.You can certainly do the first two on your own.
If you want to join us in our next
Bible Study in Advent, send me your email address.We haven’t decided what study to do next yet,
but I will announce it when we do.
