House Notes
* We have Protestants in the group and sometimes members make unintentionally derogatory comments. Differences will be explained but we don’t need to be derogatory. Please be careful of that and let’s use “non-Catholics” when making general statements.
* The notes/recaps from our meetings are posted on our Catholic Catacombs Light website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/blog.
* Remember that knowing Jesus Christ means being able to better relate to God. Check out The Chosen at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7.
* If you have questions about anything, you can email Ron at ron@hallagan.net.
Bible Study Format
Week 1: Oct 5 – Gospel for the upcoming Sunday Mass
Week 2: Sept 14 – Bible Narrative Exegesis: Noah & the Ark
Week 3: Sept 21 – Topic of Choice – Jesus’ Great Parables: The Two Lost Sons and the Prodigal Father
Week 4: Sept 28 – Open Mic – format TBD
Bible Topics Survey Results 1. Jesus’ Greatest Parables 2. Hell, Purgatory, Heaven 3. Christian Comparisons 4. Great Women in the Bible 5. Why is there suffering in the world 6. Compare World Religions 7. Revelations
The Jewish faith was the faith of Jesus and so their history is our history. If you like, I can occasionally highlight their religious holidays. Sept 6-8: Rosh Hashana – Jewish New Year when God is said to have created the world 5,782 years ago. Sept 15-16: Yom Kippur: Holiest day of the year. “Day of Atonement” commemorates the golden calf at Sinai. Week Two: Bible Narrative Exegesis Noah and the Ark 10 Min Exegesis of the Mass Opening Prayer – intentions 7:05-7:10 Lord, you promised that when two or three of us are gathered in your name, you are there, Well, we are here – multiples of 2 or 3, asking your blessings to be poured out upon those for whom we have asked for your healing tonight... – intentions – Lord, bless the world with its many troubles so that your healing presence is felt especially by those who are hurting, frightened, or meeting the end of this life. Lord, we also ask for your blessings on all of us here tonight. Bless our lives, bless our work, bless our families, bless our friends, and most of all, bless our relationship with you. We also ask you to guide us in our understanding of our Antediluvian Patriarch, Noah, and the Flood. Give us the meaning and truth that you wish for us to have from this incredible story of antiquity. And, just as we pray at the start of each Mass, we pray together: The Confiteor I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do – through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. 10 Min Mass Exegesis: 1) The Sign of the Cross 2) The Lord Be With You, And With Your Spirit 3) Confiteor 1 & 2 The Confiteor I Throughout the Old Testament, when God manifested his presence before the people, it was usually quite unexpected. They responded with a holy fear and awe, sometimes throwing themselves on the ground or covering their faces, as they acknowledge their unworthiness to stand in his presence (ex.: Gn 17:2; 28:17; Ex 3:6; 19:16). However, when people were given advance notice of God’s coming, they took time to prepare carefully for this holy encounter. For example, at Mount Sinai, Israel had three days to get ready to meet the Lord, who would come to them in thunder, lightning, and cloud and speak the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. In those days of preparation, they were instructed to consecrate themselves to the Lord and to wash their garments (Ex 19:9–19). Every time we go to Mass, we, too, are called to prepare ourselves for our sacred encounter with the Lord. Yet our meeting with God is even more profound than anyone in ancient Israel would have imagined, for we are not only near God’s presence, but we have a one-on-one encounter with Him in the Eucharist. And so, the priest invites us to “prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries” by humbly confessing our sins publicly before almighty God and the congregation. Just as the people of Israel needed to wash their garments before approaching the Lord at Sinai, so we also seek to cleanse our souls from sin before we meet God in the Mass. Indeed, washing is a biblical image for removal of sin, from Noah’s flood, to the parting of the Red Sea, to John the Baptist’s Old Covenant Baptism, to Jesus’ New Covenant Baptism. As David wrote in the Psalms: “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin…wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Ps 51:2, 7). Q: And why do we confess our sins? Because to articulate them is to make them real before you and God. Because we wish for them to be erased. Because we desire to become better humans going forward and to grow my relationship with Christ/HS/God. Q: So does saying the Confiteor grant us forgiveness? Almost. The Confiteor is our Examination of Conscience (articulating our offenses and our regret not only to God but our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ) and it is our request to be forgiven. Then, when we receive the Eucharist, we are forgiven. To complete the act of forgiveness, afterwards we pray/discuss how we will walk with God as we continually change/improve who we are.
Noah, The Flood, Aftermath – Genesis Chapters 6-9
Today’s topics/goals
· Is Noah and the Flood considered part of real history?
· What about the competing flood stories in ancient Mesopotamia?
· Was it a world-wide flood? What does modern science say about this?
· Did you know that Noah was one considered one of the five great prophets in Islam?
· Biblical stories are seldom just literal. What is the meaning of it all?
Q: Noah is an Antediluvian Patriarch. What is that?
Antediluvian Patriarch – one of the fathers of the human race, starting with Adam.
Antediluvian comes from diluvian, from which we get the word “deluge” – flood. Diluvian specifically refers to the Biblical flood, which we will be discussing today. Antediluvian – before the flood…. Postdiluvian – after the flood.
Genesis Chapters 6 – 9: Noah, The Flood, Aftermath Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and filled with violence. When the LORD saw how great the wickedness of human beings had become, and how every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, the LORD regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved. Then the LORD said: My spirit shall not remain in human beings forever, because they are only flesh. Their days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years. So the LORD said: I will wipe out from the earth the human beings I have created, from man even to beasts and creatures that crawl and birds of the air, for I regret that I made them. But Noah found favor with the LORD. Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. When God saw how corrupt the earth had become, since all mortals had corrupted their ways on earth, God said to Noah: I see that the end of all mortals has come, for the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I am going to destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood, equip the ark with various compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall build it: the length of the ark will be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Make an opening for daylight and finish the ark a cubit above it. Put the ark’s entrance on its side; you will make it with bottom, second and third decks. I, on my part, am about to bring the flood waters on the earth, to destroy all creatures under the sky in which there is the breath of life; everything on earth shall perish. I will establish my covenant with you. You shall go into the ark, you and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you. Of all living creatures you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, one male and one female, to keep them alive along with you. Of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal, and of every kind of thing that crawls on the ground, two of each will come to you that you may keep them alive. Moreover, you are to provide yourself with all the food that is to be eaten, and store it away, that it may serve as provisions for you and for them. Noah complied; he did just as God had commanded him.
Noah warned the people to repent all during the fifty+ years of building the Ark. How do you think they reacted? How would you have reacted?
Q: If God is perfect, unchangeable, and eternal, how could He regret that he had made humans?
The regret ascribed to God does not belong to him, but a reference to man’s understanding of Him. It does not presuppose any variableness in his nature or purposes. Besides, he knew in advance.
Other translations besides for the Hebrew besides “regret” are repent, to be sorry, to sigh.
Q: What is meant by “My spirit shall not remain in human beings forever, because they are only flesh. Their days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years.”
The “spirit” is from God and the spirit has been left behind, leaving only flesh that dies.
They have been given 120 years to repent.
Q: Why the beasts?
The animals were not involved in the punishment by any moral corruption that had entered them, but rather because of man’s sovereignty over the animal world they will die with him. The larger message is that God is going to return man to the beginning to start over.
Q: Is there another meaning to destroy/wipe out?
Yes, the destruction of sin. The translation “wipe out” is actually connected to the flood (the “deluge”) – as in destroying by washing away man’s wickedness/evildoing.
Also, the Ark that will carry them to a new start will be repeated when Moses is put into the basket (same word, called “ark”) in the Nile as a baby, to God’s Word (The Ten Commandments) put into the Ark of the Covenant, to Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant carrying Jesus who gives us Baptism to start over for the last time.
Q: But Noah found favor with God. Where have we heard this before?
Hebrew translation: grace. Mary.
Q: What was the covenant God mentioned: “I will establish my covenant with you.”?
At this point, it was a relationship. God was going to guide him and protect him.
Q: What about the promise that God made in Gen 3:15 – that the seed of the woman will eventually crush the head of the serpent?
It was because of Noah's obedience of faith that the faithful remnant of the "promised seed" was preserved.
Q: What theme seems to be developing alongside God’s plan for saving man?
Relationship with God (covenant) à Man reneges (goes back on his word) and chooses evil and self over God (Man falls) à God continues to offer his covenant, calls man back and warns him repeatedly à Man not only doesn’t listen but often kills the messenger à God’s protection is lifted and destruction sets in à God does not give up but finds someone else (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David…) to start over/renews covenant with Man à Return to beginning and repeat.
This cycle occurs over and over and over again. Does God give up? No, he finally promises to come here Himself. And what did we do to Him? We killed him. Should God have given up on us? Yes, but He didn’t. He turned our killing into yet another chance at a relationship with God, this time forever.
Q: How large is a cubit? How large was the Ark?
A cubit is the average length of a man’s forearm – 20”. Therefore, the Ark was to be 450 feet long x 75 feet wide x 45 feet high.
Even though this is a satisfactory explanation, I decided to investigate the Hebrew word anyway, to see if it truly meant earth and land.
Strong's Concordance is the most complete, accepted etymology for studying original (Biblical) Hebrew and Greek. In this case, we are translating Hebrew. The reason this is important is because whereas the English language has 170,000 words, Hebrew has only 33,000 words. That means that Hebrew words must have multiple meanings in order to convey the same messages or stories in English. THEN I found out that it’s Modern Hebrew that has 33,000 words. English 170,000 words Modern Hebrew 33,000 words Biblical Hebrew 7000 words
So the only way to understand Hebrew words, which can mean so many things, one needs to really look at context in which the words were used. You need to see how the word is used in many different circumstances. That is what I did here for the Hebrew word “a-res.”
Usage: Gen 6:17 I will bring flood waters to cover the earth
בָּאָ֖רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 776: Earth, land
Usage: Gen 7:17 and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.
הָאָ֑רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ) Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 776: Earth, land
Usage: Gen 7:24 The waters flooded the earth for 150 days
הָאָ֑רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ) Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 776: Earth, land
Usage: Gen 45:6 For the famine has been in the land, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
הָאָ֑רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ) Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 776: Earth, land
2 Kings 8:1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, you and your household; go and live as a foreigner wherever you can. For the LORD has decreed a seven-year famine in the land.
הָאָ֖רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ) Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 776: Earth, land
Noah chapter 8-9 To be continued
Closing Prayer
Gracious God, In the busy-ness of my day,
We sometimes forget to stop to thank you for all that is good in my life.
My blessings are many and my heart is filled with gratefulness for the gift of living,
for the ability to love and be loved, for the opportunity to see the everyday wonders of creation,
for sleep, for the sun, for water, for a mind that thinks and a body that feels.
I thank you, too, for those things in my life that are less than I would hope them to be –
things that seem challenging, unfair, or difficult.
When my heart feels stretched and empty, and tears form in my weary eyes,
still I rejoice that you are as near to me as my next breath and that in the midst of turbulence, I am growing and learning.
In the silence of my soul, I thank you most of all for your unconditional and eternal love.
Amen
Wisdom Prayer
O Divine Wisdom and eternal Word of the Father,
I humbly ask you, by your grace,
to purge all harmful and unprofitable words from my mind and lips,
so that my mouth may never open but to the benefit of others,
and to your praise and honor. Amen.
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