House Notes
1. We have Protestants in the group and sometimes members make unintentionally derogatory comments. Of course, differences must be explained but please be thoughtful and let’s use “non-Catholics” when making generalized statements.
2. The notes/recaps from our meetings are posted on our Catholic Catacombs Light website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/blog.
3. Remember that knowing Jesus Christ means being able to better relate to God. Check out The Chosen at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7.
4. If you have questions about anything, you can email Ron at ron@hallagan.net.
Bible Study Format
Week 1: Oct 5 – Weekly Gospel Reading
Week 2: Sept 14 – Bible Narrative Exegesis from Genesis to Revelations: Noah & the Ark, Tower of Babel
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
Tonight
10 Min Exegesis of the Mass
Open Mic
Opening Prayer 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.
The Jewish faith was the faith of Jesus and so Jewish history is our history. It is useful to see the religious holidays they still celebrate.
Sept 20-27: Sukkot: Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths). 7 days of “living in booths” to commemorate when God provided sukkah
(booths) for them to live in the wilderness. One of the three biblically-mandated pilgrimage festivals (not since AD70).
Nov 28-Dec 6: Chanukah
10 Minute Journeys through the Mass: “The Source and Summit of Christian Life” – CCC #1324-27 9:10-9:20
1) The Sign of the Cross – we invite the Holy Trinity into ourselves and into our gathered community.
2) The Lord Be With You, And With Your Spirit – Jesus and the Holy Spirit are specifically interacting in the Mass, especially to bring the presence (incarnation) of Jesus into the Eucharist so we can receive Him personally.
3) Confiteor – in our preparation for our encounter with God, we confess our sins to Him and to each other.
The Confiteor (continued)
Last week, we discussed why we confess our sins not only to God but to one another: because when we sin, we don’t just sin against God, we hurt other; and the hurt that we cause often ripples beyond just another person; either because the offended person – whether you knew them or not – often carries the effects of their encounter with you into their own lives and encounters. And if there were others who witnessed your offense or selfishness, they will do the same. Surely you know that negative experiences travel much further and wider than positive ones. Why?
Because negativism is cheap and it’s easy – and there is no ownership; whereas being positive and good takes effort. Negativism is the way of Satan – he owns you and you don’t even have to think. Being negative makes the ego feel big, and the ego likes that because a) being negative towards others/other things raises you up because it knocks them down; b) there is no ownership, no responsibility. Power for nothing, can’t beat that! Except that the power is the apple, it’s a lie. The psychology of Satan exceeds all man’s best machinations.
So, when we seek forgiveness, it isn’t just between us and God, it’s between us and all others.
This week: (1) in my thoughts, (2) in my words, (3) in what I have done, and (4) in what I have failed to do.
The Confiteor now challenges us to consider seriously four areas in which we may have fallen into sin: “In my thoughts, in my words, in what I have done, and what I have failed to do.” In case you are interested, these serve as an excellent examination of conscience.
Q: Which of these four encompass what most of us commonly think sin is?
The third one – in what we have done. We tend to think of sin as the harmful actions we have taken, which could include lying, cheating, coveting, stealing, condemning, dishonoring parents, dishonoring neighbors, or dishonoring God. Our “actions” are the most obvious of our offenses because we acted them out for the world to see. Like a ripple-effect in the world’s pond, our actions don’t stop when we shut our mouths; in fact, they change the world. Everything human do – small or large, change our world, because we are part of the world. However, there’s good news: our good actions – small and large – also change the world. We just need to develop better habits.
As for examining one’s conscience, the Ten Commandments are often used for this category.
Q: Which of these lead to all the others? We don’t think about this one as much as we should, but it is important because it is the root of the others.
The first one – in my thoughts. Our thoughts are lead to the other three – what we say, what we do, and what we fail to do. The greatest power a human being has is the ability to control and direct his/her thoughts. Unmanaged thoughts are dangerous. Have you ever brooded over some small thing someone did to you? Have you noticed how you can get angrier and angrier, and you can’t seem to let it go? Unmanaged thoughts will do that to us. The reality of this unfolding, growing anger usually far outweighs the crime; if a truly harmful intention was even there to begin with!
Have you ever heard of the “Demons of Discord”? These fallen angels want us to stay in the 6th Day and they are so good, they have a name – the demons of discord. They are very successful wielding control of us. https://spiritualdirection.com/2021/09/09/exorcist-diary-the-demons-of-discord
How do the Demons of Discord do this?
By feeding us high thoughts of injustice. Whatever has bothered us, the essence is that we were possibly treated unfairly; or we were misjudged; or we deserve more; or we got caught doing something embarrassing and so we feel a desperate need to justify ourselves; or, we see someone we like/love being fawned over by some other man or woman and we begin to imagine unsavory things; or or or! This is what fallen human minds do! Do you think our 6th Day buddies (the fallen angels/devils/demons) don’t see this? Do you think they don’t know what an opportunity this is for them to take you down? All they have to do is start feeding your desperate feelings with conspiracies and, oh, yes, the injustice of it all! And we, who have been given control over our thoughts, stand by and allow those bad images start rolling in! Read The Screwtape Letter by CS Lewis – they demons have so many tools at their disposal – and they’re all based on injustice! (The best lies are based on some truth, right? – like (false) justice!) These demon clowns will overflow you with feelings of justification while slowly fueling your anger, your resentments, your jealousies, your envy, and, all too often, depression.
How can we manage our thoughts?
Paul has the right idea when he reminds us to guard our thoughts, and try to keep them focused on what is good. He says this precisely because we have the power to do so, and we give up our humanity when we don’t (sloth)!
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil 4:8).
To apply Paul’s thinking, here is an immediate way to take control: change the subject. And the best way to do this is with the assistance from God and the Community of Saints. For example, next time you are thinking bad thougts about someone or something that happened, think of Mary and then say the Hail Mary. Watch what happens – it works. Every time negative thoughts start taking over, think of Mary and say her prayer! It doesn’t need to be the Hail Mary – it can be the Glory Be, the Our Father, or any prayer you like. But give your mind over to it. I find something easy to repeat is good because then I can do other things while I am saying that prayer in the background. It changes you.
Okay, it’s OPEN MIC time!
We will limit discussions to 5 minutes on a topic and each person should limit their dialogue to 1 minute. The 5 minutes for a topic can be extended by the group if it chooses. Everyone should have at least one question to ask the group. You were to either come prepared with your question, or you could send it to me, and I would make sure to have your question addressed. I could also combine like questions ahead of time. Question #1 from Gina and John We often reflect back on images of the way God was (or how God was perceived) during the times prior to Christ…. and many explanations of the Old Testament language about a seemingly harsher view of God are often couched in the terms, “…well, those were primitive times and primitive people….” Who’s to say that at some point in the future one might look back on the times of Jesus (till even today) and think, “Oh, those were primitive times and primitive people….” There was good discussion about this and I did not record it! I can only tell you what I added because I know I am guilty of saying “primitive times, primitive people.” I can think of two reasons for this: 1) They were in primitive times – much of it during the iron and bronze ages. They were agricultural and warring communities, and survival of the fittest – against the elements and neighboring tribes – was the rule of the day. God dealing with them in 1000-2000BC would surely be in wildly different terms. “Primitive times/primitive people” refers to the culture that the Word of God was being written about and written to. It’s not going to look right under light of modern day sensibilities. But this doesn’t mean that God was different. God is the same then and the same now. As studiers of the Bible, we have to dig a little to understand the times and context of the writings, that’s all. 2) After saying all the above, I will now give you a reason that God WOULD change, but in our perception only. The coming of Christ brought us the Holy Spirit, which means we can now commune with the Trinity in ways our Old Testament ancestors couldn’t. So that in itself takes our understanding of God to another level – which describes most of Jesus’ human life on earth. The truth of God and Jesus Christ has not changed and will not change. Our understanding may continue to grow, and for sure a thousand years from now they will surely see new interpretations we didn’t. But the truth is eternal and doesn’t change; it’s like a diamond, and how we comprehend the truth are like the many sides of the diamond. Question from Taylor: Is there a difference between honesty and truth? Hint: all truth is honest, but not all honesty is truth. We had a good discussion on this. Truth speaks to the complete story, event, thought. Being honest can be selective. Of course, to some degree it’s semantics since one can speak “half-truths” or be “completely honest.” But even lawyers know see the separation the way we are describing them. Lawyers will often admit: they don’t have to tell the truth, but they do want to make sure they have spoken honestly. This is not to say that honesty is bad policy! Honesty is a necessary and excellent first step towards a life of truth! Question from Christina: Can you explain the differences between these prayers?
1. Lectio Divina 2. Charismatic Prayer 3. Cenacles of Divine Mercy 4. Rosary 5. Eucharistic Adoration 6. Ignatian Prayer
These are merely snapshots:
1. Lectio Divina (“divine reading”) is an ancient prayer form of meditation centered on liturgical prayer that began in the early monastic communities (monks and nuns). Monk come from the word “monos” meaning alone (and nun is a form of monk in Latin). They began long before communities of monks/nuns formed, called “monasteries” and “convents.” You could trace also this type of single, separate, prayer life to John the Baptist, the Essenes, and back to the Prophet Elijah. The idea of this prayer involves 4 steps:
a) Lectio: take a small section or passage and read it slowly. You might see yourself/place yourself in the story.
b) Meditatio: ruminate/reflect upon what was read. Ancient monks call this deep, unhurried thinking.
c) Contemplatio: characterized by openness of the heart. Hold the word without thought. Let God have the space.
d) Oratio: prayer/conversation with God about what you read.
2) Charismatic Prayer – comes from the word “charism” referring to a gift from the Holy Spirit. It typically involves prayer meetings outside of Mass that feature prophecy, faith healing, and glossolalia (speaking in an unknown language); often uplifted hands during songs and audible praying in tongues.
3) Cenacles of Divine Mercy – “Cenacle” is a small prayer group and is as old as the Church itself. A chaplet of Divine Mercy – chaplet is made up of beads, and a rosary is often used.
4) Rosary – 5 decades of Hail Marys, Our Fathers, and Glory Bes said using a chaplet.
5) Eucharistic Adoration – the Blessed Sacrament of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is displayed to enable prayer and adoration in His presence.
6) Ignatian Prayer – is intended to be imaginative, reflective, and personal. St. Ignatius Loyola encouraged people to develop an intimate relationship with a God who loves them and desires the best for them. Ignatius Loyola trusted human desires. He believed that our deepest desire is to return God’s love. He believed that feelings of joy and sorrow, peace and distress, were important indicators of the path toward fruitful decisions and deeper union with God. At the heart of Ignatian prayer are the Daily Examen, Contemplation, and the Spiritual Exercises.
· The Daily Examen is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of one’s day in order to detect God’s presence and discern his direction for us. The Examen is an ancient practice that can help us see God’s hand at work in our whole experience. See card below.
· Ignatian Contemplation is prayer with Scripture. It is meeting God through story. The prayer develops as you “live into” a Scripture story with all your senses and imagination. You become a participant in the story, and you continue in the story in your heart, mind, imagination, spirit and body after the reading ends.
· The Spiritual Exercises are a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices developed by Ignatius to help people deepen their relationship with God. For centuries the Exercises were most commonly given as a “long retreat” of about 30 days in solitude and silence. In recent years, there has been a renewed emphasis on the Spiritual Exercises as a program for laypeople. The most common way of going through the Exercises now is a “retreat in daily life,” which involves a month long program of daily prayer and meetings with a spiritual director.
Closing Prayer
Lord, bless the world which always seems to be falling apart.
Help us stop the hatred and heal us.
In the face of the appearance of Good losing, we pray thee
Double down on Your blessings to everyone in positions of authority throughout the world
So that Your light of servant leadership shines brightly in their hearts.
Also bless our adversaries, Lord, so they, too, may see your light.
And as for the unfolding of a seemingly fearful future, we ourselves will proceed with Your equanimity
And the joy of knowing that Your love and goodness have already won –
And that We might also be a beacon to other boats.
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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