Sacred Scripture

Week 10

We covered the Book of Numbers in class this Friday, talking, among other things, about how the punishment for sin is getting what we asked for. Thus Israel is left to wander the wilderness after saying they didn't want to enter Canaan.

Homework for next class is to read Deut. 6, 9, 27-34 (Note chapter 6 is a new addition to the the syllabus). There is no writing assignment. 

Hope you all have a lovely break!

Week 9

Dear Families,

On Friday, we covered Leviticus. The book opens by God speaking to Moses from the Tabernacle which ties together what we had discussed in Exodus regarding the Tabernacle being the New Mt. Sinai. We looked at the 5 types of sacrifices specified noting that they can be divided into sacrifices which express communion and sacrifices which restore communion with God. 

Homework for Friday is to read Num. 9-17, 19-25, 31-36 and to write a short answer to the following question: In Numbers 31 we have the first example of the Israelite ban, that is, the devoting to destruction of entire populations. What defense of this divine order to kill entire populations can the Catholic give to the skeptic and the atheist who use this story to say that God is a genocidal maniac? 

God Bless,

Miss Russell

Week 8

Dear Families,

On Friday, We finished the Book of Exodus discussing the way the construction of The Tabernacle reflects God's coming down on Mt. Sinai and recapitulates its events. We also discussed the "Fall" at Sinai and how both this and the original Fall are ultimately partially healed through the establishment of the right Worship of God at the end of Exodus. 

For Homework please write a paragraph on the following prompt:  In Leviticus 13, the laws about leprosy are given. In our tradition, leprosy is associated with sin. Discuss how leprosy is a fitting symbol for sin. 

Please also read Leviticus 1-13, 16, 19, 27.

Week 7--Nota Bene: We will not read Leviticus for next class

Yesterday, after reviewing the midterm, we covered much of the 2nd half of Exodus in class. We noted the importance of Exodus pointing to 3 pillars within Christian life that have their origin in this book. 

1) Passover---Eucharist (central Christian Ritual)

2) 10 Commandments--Basis of Judeo-Christian Morality and Western Law

3) Birth of Faith-- Proto type of the new, everlasting Covenant btw Christ and His Church

We outlined the miracles that God works on the way to Mt. Sinai and then spent a lot of time on the forming of the Covenant (Ex. 19-24), the giving of the 10 commandments as an accompaniment to it, and the rituals surrounding it. We will finish Exodus next week.

Homework: Review Exodus Chapter 15-40 and choose one of the following 3 prompts for your short writing.

What does God mean when He says He is "jealous" in Exodus 34:14? Isn't jealously incompatible with God's perfection? 

Discuss the presence of the "cloud" in various parts of Exodus and what it means. Use at least two examples (you can go back to last week's reading, too). 

Speculate on why the Law (and God) appear so harsh in Exodus. Is this harshness incompatible with the idea of God as love? 

Week 6

Dear Families,

On Friday, Mr. Charles discussed Exodus 1-15 with the class. He started out by pointing to bigger overarching themes/similarities. The big theme of Exodus is who the Israelites serve ("Avad").  This word "avad" can mean both to work and to worship. Exodus starts out with Israel working (avad) for the Egyptians and will end with them worshiping (avad) God. The book has many similarities to Genesis. Genesis being an account of the creation of the World and Exodus being an account of the creation of God's people. 

He also touched upon the life of Moses and his imperfections, but the provident plan of God taking those into account. Of particular interest of course is the story of the burning bush and the revelation of God's name (He actually gives Moses two names.)

 I AM (Essence, Existence) and the tetragrammaton. The First name tells us what God is in Himself and the second tells us what He is in relation to us.

Also covered was the aspect of Divine combat present in the 10 plagues and talked about the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. Here is an image that outlines that: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F74Zi_wDKWOsMa4G4DHUYNBbVl5jsv_7/view?usp=sharing 

The last thing to be covered was the importance of the Passover as the preeminent type of the Eucharist. 

Homework for Friday is to read Exodus Chapter 15:22-40 and to complete the take home midterm which was emailed.

God Bless,

Miss Russell

Week 3 and 4

Dear Families,

My apologies that I never posted last week's summary. During the past two classes, we discussed Cain and Abel, the sin of Cain, the significance of going out to the plains as opposed to the Mountains, the cause of the flood, and its typological significance as well as Abraham's role as the source of Old Testament religion and the typology between Isaac and Christ. 

Homework is to read Genesis 37-50 and to finish, if you haven't yet, the paragraph on how the author of Genesis indicates that someone has done something wrong.

God Bless,

Miss Russell

Week 2

Dear Families,

On Friday, we discussed portions of Genesis 1-4. There is so much there that it was hard to know what to cover. We ended up discussing the two creation accounts, some of their differences, and what it means to take them literally. We also talked about the creation of Woman and Man and the relations implicit in the acts of their creation. The presence of the angels and the Trinity in Genesis 1 were also touched upon.

Homework is to read Genesis 5-11 and to write a paragraph on what it means that "your eyes shall be opened."

God Bless,

Miss Russell

Week 1

Dear Families,

I'm delighted that I have the opportunity this year to teach your students Sacred Scripture! I look forward to delving into the riches of Scripture with them.

On Friday, I handed out the syllabus and we discussed the unique opportunity the students have to earn a plenary indulgence while doing their scripture homework. This article by Monsignor Pope on the power of Scripture is great reminder to us all of its importance in life: http://blog.adw.org/2021/09/the-exorcistic-effect-of-the-word-of-god/

Once introductions to the class were out of the way, we considered what it is that we are actually studying, what Sacred Scripture is. Noting that it is a book of Divine Revelation written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we considered it in relation to Revelation and reviewed what we learned regarding the two sources of revelation (Tradition and Bible) last year.

As regards Scripture we said, God is the author. The Writer is the "organ of the Holy Ghost." And Scripture itself is the word of God. The catholic encyclopedia tells us that "the text was destined by God, who inspired it, for the universal Church, in order that it might be authentically recognized as His written word."

This led to a discussion on what inspiration means, how it compares to dictation, and the freedom from error that is the result of Divine Inspiration.

We finished by reviewing the 4 senses that Scripture can have:

○       Literal

■       Gen 7:17, Noahs Ark

○       Spiritual

■       Allegorical (Typological)

■       Baptism

■       Moral

■       Be willing to seperate yourself from the world

■       Anagogical (End Times)

■       God will save those who are good in the end. 

Homework for next week is to read Chapters 1-4 of Genesis. Please also pick a verse (can be longer than a single verse i.e. could be Gen 2: 5-7) from the reading and explain how you see the 4 senses in it.

God Bless,

Miss Russell