You say ag-nus, I say ah-nyoos...

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J.M.J.

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I'm sure many of you have noticed that we've started using some Latin in Mass lately.  The title of this post is referring to the word agnus in Latin, which means "lamb" in English.  The Agnus Dei or Lamb of God is one of the parts of the Liturgy we have started to say or sing in Latin.  So, I thought I might help some of you out with a little Latin lesson.  After some internet research, I was able to find some charts of how to pronounce the Latin used in the Mass.

Ecclesiastical Latin (or Liturgical Latin) is different from the Latin you might learn in high school; it's basically Latin with an Italian accent (and a few other differences), the way Latin has been pronounced since around the 3rd and 4th centuries. It's actually pretty easy to pronounce as the rules are few and have so much in common with English and modern Italian.  Latin is, after all, where most of our English words came from!  As a general rule, just set your mouth to speak Italian, with the slightly trilled "R," and pronounce every vowel and consant you see the same way an Italian would, with few exceptions. Vowels with acute accent marks are "long vowels."

Vowel Sounds (watch the accents!):

A     like the A in "facility"  

Á     AH, like the A in "father"

E     EH, like the E in "met"  

É     AY like the AY in "may"

I      I like the I in "hit"  

Í      EE, like the I in "machine"

O    O like the O in "loss"           

Ó     O, like the O in "for"

U    U like the U in "put"  

Ú     OO, like the U in "Jude"

Y & Diphthongs 

Y EE, like Y in "family"

Æ EH, like E in "met"

EI AY, like EI in "reign"

ΠEH, like E in "met"

AU AH-oo, almost like OU in "mouse"


The consonants sound the same as in English for the most part, with the following exceptions:
 

Before e, i, ae, oe and y: 

These letters
become soft:

C CH as in "cherry"

CC TCH as in "matching"

SC SH as in "ship"

G G as in "gentle"

More tricks: 

• T + vowel and preceded 
by any letter other than S, T, X TS as in "Betsy"
(ex., "gratia" is pronounced "grah-tsee-ah," but "modestia" is pronounced "moh-des-tee-ah")
  
• TH T as in "thyme"
  
• GN NY as in canyon, or like the Spanish ñ
  
• CH K as in "Christ"
  
• X After an E or followed by a vowel, X sounds like GS, as in "exam";  Followed by a consonant, or at the end of a word, X sounds like KS, as in "tax"
• R very slightly roll the R, touching the tip of your tongue to the top and front of your palate, making almost a slight D sound, like a Scottish R
  
• V V sounds like the English "V", not like "W" as in Classical Latin
  
• H silent except for two words, where it sounds like a guttural, German "CH" or K sound as in "ich" or "key": nihil and mihi
  
• J Y, as in "young" (J is usually replaced with an I, as in "Iesus" for "Jesus")
  
• Z pronounce like "ds"
  
• Double consonants are each pronounced, but it comes off sounding like a single letter that is held just a tad longer, the same way the L's in the word "tailless" are held longer, but each pronounced so quickly they could almost be mistaken for one sound 
  


What Syllable to Accent:

• Two syllables: 
Accent the first syllable


  
• Three or more syllables: 
If the next to the last syllable has a long vowel sound, accent that syllable

If the next to the last syllable has a short vowel sound, accent the syllable before it

Often Mispronounced Words

• magnificat: mah-nyee-fee-caht
• agnus dei: ah-nyoos day-ee
• ecce: etch-ay
• excelsis: eks-chel-sis
• Nihil Obstat: Ni-khil ohb-staht
• Hostia: Oh-stee-uh
• homo: oh-moh
• dignum: di-nyoom
• justum: yoo-stoom

I hope that this may help some of you who were asking about Latin pronunciations.  What helped me learn some Latin was watching EWTN's Masses and the Papal audiences, which both use Latin frequently.  Another way I was able to pick up on some Latin was attending First Saturday Adoration, where many times Father Kirk or Father Anthony would use Latin during Exposition and Benediction.  You can also buy many books on how to speak Latin; it is a truly beautiful language.

Also, I'll include the Sign of the Cross and the Agnus Dei in Latin and English so you can practice

The Sign of the Cross / Signum Crucis
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

Lamb of God / Agnus Dei

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us. 

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us. 

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis. 

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis. 

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem.

The Beauty of the Eucharistic Prayers

Take this, all of you, and eat it;
this is my body which will be given up for you.

How many times do we hear these words at Mass and never realize the beauty of them nor do we realize the beauty of the prayers surrounding them? Too many times we simply follow along because that's what we have been taught or that's what we seem to observe others doing.

The beauty and meaning of the four main Eucharistic Prayers were what we discussed today in class. It was a wonderfully uplifting and meaningful class in my opinion. Here are a few things about each of the prayers.

Eucharistic Prayer I was originally considered the Roman Missal or Canon for probably close to 1600 years. It was also often thought to be the oldest, but that has been under debate because recently it has been thought that Eucharist Prayer II may be at least as old as Eucharistic Prayer I if not maybe even older.

Eucharistic Prayer II is the shortest prayer contained in the post-Vatican II Liturgy, but it is still just as beautiful and meaningful as the others.

Eucharistic Prayers III & IV are the newest of the four main prayers and they came directly from Vatican II.

One thing that is the EXACT same in all four prayers are the words of consecration. This is where the priest acting in persona christi concsecrates the bread and wine and it changes to the Body and Blood of Christ. These words must ALWAYS be read the same way at every Mass, which is why most (if not all) priests will look down at the Sacrementary so that it is read correctly.

This is just a small tidbit of what we discussed today, but I thought what we discussed concerning the Eucharistic prayers was wonderful.  

For some additional reading, here are some links to the Eucharistic Prayers

Eucharistic Prayer I (Roman Canon)

Eucharistic Prayer II

Eucharistic Prayer III

Eucharistic Prayer IV

Also, to find more about both the pre-Vatican II Mass (Tridentine or Traditional Latin Mass or Extraordinary Form of the Mass) as well as our current Vatican II Liturgy (Novus Ordo) Mass you can check out The Catholic Liturgical Library.

I pray everyone has a great week!

This Week's Prayer Requests & Announcements

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J.M.J.

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Hello all! Here are the prayer requests for this week:

Patsy asked that we remember her birth mother who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Mary Ann gave thanks for the healthy delivery of her granddaughter
Dave asked that we remember Stephanie as she takes her chemo treatments
And don't forget to continue to pray for Dale and his chemo treatment.

And.....some announcements....
We are allowed to bring coffee and water into the classrooms as long as we keep the lid on!
Also, keep recruiting those new members!!!
And, let's think about any social events we might want to plan for our class...possibly get-togethers this summer?
Also, if anyone is interested in being on a phone call committee in order to find missing classmates, help with any communication, etc., please email me at kds786@mac.com

Finally, some dates to take note of:
There will be NO CLASS on the following dates:
-Palm Sunday (April 5)
-Easter Sunday (April 12)
-July 1-August 9 (School's summer break)
-December 20-January 3 (School's Christmas break)

I hope everyone has a great week!!

-Kristy

Some Desktop Wallpapers

Hello everyone!  I hope you are having a good week so far.  Since this week has been Spring break for me, I've had some free time on my hands.  So...I decided to make some more computer wallpapers for your use if you want.  One is a good wallpaper for Lent, one has the Apostles Creed on it since we talked about that in class, and the other is a Eucharistic themed wallpaper since we sort of discussed that as well.  I hope you enjoy them, and I'll see you Sunday!

-Kristy

Worship & Faith in the Early Years of the Church

As always, we had a wonderful discussion in class today. Here are just a few things we discussed. Enjoy!

Do you remember the movie and book The DaVinci Code? Think about how that rocked the Church of today...this is similar to what happened hundreds of years ago during the many heresies of the Church. One of the first things we discussed was the filioque, which literally means "and the Son" in Latin. The question posed was regarding whether or not the Son existed from the beginning or was He created by the Father. This is a topic that has caused the Church many different problems throughout the centuries. It was why the Eastern Orthodox Church broke away, and it even continues today with such groups as the Jehovah's witnesses. It its also somewhat related to many protestant churches today that have broken from the Catholic Church and who do not necessarily believe in the Trinity, such as some pentecostal churches (specifically the Oneness movement). However, we as Latin Rite Catholics do accept the Trinity, and we do accept that the Trinity has always existed. This can even be proven by looking in the Bible. For example, twice in the New Testament we see examples of God speaking where all can hear Him. One of these examples is the Transfiguration of Jesus. During the Transfiguration, the apostles see Jesus transfigured and along with seeing Him, they see Moses and Elijah. Jesus was speaking to the two Old Testament figures as if He had known them for a long time, and He had. Jesus knew them because He has been here since the beginning. There is no other way to explain it. We often overlook this fact when getting into discussions on the filioque.  

We often get so involved in what we are doing during Mass or during anything dealing with our faith just trying to "get it right", that we forget why we do something.
To sum it all up, we must become intimate with our faith and believe in it and practice, as well as learn the history of it in order to fully understand it and why we believe it or practice it.
Some final thoughts....Dale suggested that we should try to pray the beautiful prayers of the Church more often. One prayer is the Confiteor...
I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault (traditionally at this point, you strike the left side of your chest with your right hand--it actually still says this in my missal),
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do;
and 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.

I think that this is one of the most beautiful prayers in the Catholic church.

Another prayer is one that is said at the beginning of Mass (I hope I've gotten this one right, Dale; I had to look it up to remember it!):

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And I would like to add one more that I think is often forgotten, one that used to be said at the end of every Mass a long time ago. The prayer to St. Michael....
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

I'm currently trying to memorize this prayer in order to say it silently to myself at the end of Mass. I think that it is also a very beautiful and useful prayer.  

I hope that this summary of today's discussion was helpful to you. We are still discussing Chapter 5 in the book, and next week we will look at the history of the Eucharistic Prayers and some more early worship and faith in the Church. Until then, everyone have a blessed week!! †

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J.M.J. 

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-Kristy

Prayer Requests, Other Business, Etc.

Hey guys!  Great class today!

We had many prayer requests this morning:  

Please keep Debbie Armour in your prayers.  I'm sure she's having a rough time right now.

Amy Fritz asked that we pray for a fried whose wife passed away.

Also, lets keep Stephanie Geibel in our prayers as she continues her chemo treament.

Mary Ann asked that we remember her daughter who is having a baby.

It was also requested that we remember Steve Perkins in our prayers as well as remembering Sacred Heart as they are hoping to get SACS accreditation.

Finally, please remember the family of Carolyn Ward and the community of Henderson in the aftermath of her tragic death.

Now, for some business...

Sister is going to allow us a 30 day trial for having coffee in the classrooms.  So let's try not to disappoint her!

Also, donations are still being accepted for Sunday School.

A reminder to all Sunday School facilitators, officers, and angels that we have a meeting on Thursday, March 19th in the Lourdes Room at 6:00 pm.

Finally, keep thinking of ways we can recruit some more members to attend Sunday School.    One idea was to have our class sponsor a breakfast in the Lourdes Room in a few weeks.  I think that is a great idea!  If you have any more ideas, please let Dave, Dale, or me know!

Thanks for a great class today; I'll be posting a discussion summary in a little while!

-Kristy

The Emperors and the Heresies

Finally, I'm getting around to post what we discussed in class this week.  I apologize about it being so late.  I've had a busy week at school since it is the week before Spring Break!  I will make sure to get the blog updated MUCH sooner next time!

Our discussion this week concerned Chapter 4 in our book.  I had posted a previous summary of Chapter 4 here.  So if you want, go back and look at that one, too.  Anyway, we had a great discussion concerning several of the Roman emperors and the heresies that followed along with them or that occurred during their reign.  We also discussed Tertullian, who was an early Christian writer who coined the term "Trinity" as well as "Old Testament" and "New Testament".

One of the emperors that was discussed was the emperor Decius (249 A.D. - 251 A.D.).  During his reign, there was a heresy known as Novatianism.  Novatianism, to put it simply, was a schism in the Church that consisted of a group of Christians who said that anyone who had renounced their faith for whatever reason could never be admitted back into the Church.  This sect was founded by Novatian, who was a former Roman priest.  You can find more about him and this heresy here.

We also discussed the emperor Constantine, who eventually made Christianity legal and the main religion of the Roman empire.  A particular heresy that occurred, however, was Arianism. Followers of this sect, created by Arius,  denied the Divinity of Jesus.  You can read more about them here.  This Arianism is not to be confused with the Aryanism that stems from the peoples that inhabited the areas of Iran, Afghanistan, and India.  Also, it is not to be confused with the term or "aryan" that was used by Hitler in Nazi German to describe the "ideal race".  The actual Aryan people looked drastically different.  The Nazi term "aryan" is where the more modern group "aryan brotherhood" gets its name.

I want to leave you with a few things we discussed to ponder over the rest of the week...

One that we discussed was the question, Do we heed the call and deepen our faith during the Lenten season?  In other words, do we listen as the Lord whispers ever so quietly and take to heart the meaning of Lent.

Also, I want to leave you with a quote from Dale...

"God creates circumstances in our lives to shatter the glass houses we live in."

Those were two great things to ponder over this week.  I hope you all have a blessed week, and I'll see you on Sunday!

-Kristy

    

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J.M.J

Announcements

Just a few announcements concerning our class & other goings on at St. Mary's...

There will be a Saturday "Sunday School" class beginning April 19th from 4:15-5:15.  It will be on the Catechism.

Also, we will not have Sunday School on the following days:

Easter Sunday, July 1st-August 9th, and December 20th-January 3rd

The summer and winter dates are because the school won't be in session.  

I would like to suggest that maybe we as a class maybe try to get together on a couple of Sundays or Saturdays during the summer just to keep caught up with each other.  Possibly we could go out to eat as a group or get together at someone's house.  Plus, I will keep the blog updated and post things, as well.  Hope you all have a great week (even though it's almost over!)

Prayer Requests for this Week

Hi, everyone!  I apologize for getting our blog updated so late!  I thought I'd post our prayer requests, etc. separate from our actutal discussions.   The following prayer requests were made Sunday during class:

Prayers for the John Casey family

Prayers for the Tim Latimer family

Prayers for Debbie Armour

Also, I'd like to add a special prayer request for the family and friends of Carolyn Ward.  Many of you may have seen on the news or in the paper about Carolyn's murder here in Henderson.  She was at Fred's in Henderson and was kidnapped and then shot and her body dumped about an hour later.  It was gang related, and the police do have three suspects in custody.  This was a terribly brutal crime that the people of Henderson just aren't used to.  Carolyn was one of the "grandmothers" who helped out at my dad's school, West Chester Elementary.  This has truly been a shock to all of us who knew Carolyn, and of course the kids at school who she spent so much time with are really having a tough time.  I just ask that you remember her family and all the people that she was able to touch here.  I also ask that you pray for the suspects as well as their fellow gang members that they have a conversion and change of heart.  They need our prayers, too.  

Catholic apologist Peter Kreeft to speak at Lambuth

I thought you all might be interested in this. Peter Kreeft, a noted Catholic apologist and author, will be speaking at Lambuth University in April. Here is the schedule of events & contact information.

Defending the Faith With Peter Kreeft, Ph.D.

Join us at Lambuth University as Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., offers his arguments for faith. Dr. Kreeft is a noted author, authority on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, professor of philosophy at Boston College and defender of the Christian faith. Dr. Kreeft is considered one of the foremost Christian Philosophers and has published nearly fifty books. Dr. Kreeft’s visit to Lambuth is sponsored by the Jane Hyde Scott Center for Christian Studies.

Friday, April 17, 5:30 p.m. – Wilder Student Union, special RSVP dinner with Dr. Kreeft. Intimate discussion of "The Culture Wars." Cost for this event is $30. Reply by April 9.

Friday, April 17, 7 p.m. – R. E. Womack Memorial Chapel, keynote lecture: "Why We Should Defend the Faith." Book signing to follow.

Saturday, April 18, 8:30 a.m. – R. E. Womack Memorial Chapel, early session lecture: "Moral Relativism" Coffee and meet and greet beginning at 8 a.m.

Saturday, April 18, 10 a.m. – late session lecture: "A Defense of Christ’s Resurrection"

There will be a question and answer session with Dr. Kreeft between lectures on Saturday. The general public is admitted free to all lectures. For more information or to make reservations, contact Steven Fonville, Chaplain, at 731-425-3340 or fonville@lambuth.edu, or mail checks payable to Lambuth University to: Lambuth University, Office of the Chaplain, Box 954, Jackson, TN 38301.

Desktop Wallpaper for Our Class

I've been wanting to do this for a while, so I finally did it!!  I made a computer desktop wallpaper for our class. You can get it by clicking on the picture's thumbnail below. I hope you like it. I'll try to make some more that have a bit more variety to them. I may even try to make some for each liturgical season for us.

Let me know what you think!

Chaplet of the Five Wounds

I don't know how many people know about this chaplet, but I thought it was a good chaplet for Lent. You can say it on regular rosary beads even though you won't use every bead.

Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus

This chaplet, approved by the Holy See August 11, 1823 (some sources say this chaplet was first approved by a decree of Pius VII dated January 22, 1822), consists of five groups of five beads -- each group representing one of the Five Wounds. The first group of beads honors the Wound on His left foot; the second, the Wound on His right foot; the third, the Wound on His left Hand; the fourth, the wound on His right Hand; and the fifth, the Wound in His Side.

While meditating on the appropriate Wound at each group, one Gloria (Glory Be) is said on each bead, and between the groups, an Ave (Hail Mary) is said in honor of Mary's sorrows. Here is a more detailed description of the chaplet:

How to pray the Chaplet of the Five Wounds

The Chaplet of the Five Wounds consists of 5 groups of 5 beads each. For each bead, pray one Glory Be... and one Hail Mary for the Blessed Virgin.

On each group of five beads, meditate on one of the Five wounds of Our Lord.

On the large beads pray,

"Eternal Father,

I offer Thee the Wounds

of Our Lord Jesus Christ

to heal the wounds of our souls.

Amen."

On the small beads pray,

"My Jesus,

pardon and mercy

through the merits of Thy Sacred Wounds.

Amen."

Meditate first on the Wound in the left foot of Our Lord,

then the Wound in the right foot,

the left hand,

the right hand,

and finally the Wound in the Sacred side of Jesus.

Constantine & the Christians

I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to class today.  We tried everything we could to get to Mass & Sunday school.  This morning, Chip tried to back the car out and it got stuck in the driveway.  He had to dig it out.  Then we tried to make it to the 12:30 Spanish Mass, but it had apparently been cancelled from what I and the others that showed up could tell.  But I still read through the chapter and I'm going to try to post a few things about it.

In Chapter 4, we learn about the persecutions of the Christians and finally the relief from that persecution due to the emperor Constantine.  The persecutions were thought to begin with the emperor Nero in A.D. 64.  He was a brutal and vicious emperor not only to Christians, but to his own pagan followers. In fact, it is Nero that is thought to be the "beast" of St. John's vision in Revelation. 

We read in Revelation:  "Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six." Rev. 13: 16-18 (RSV-CE).  Biblical scholars have narrowed it down to Nero because his name "Caesar Nero" equals the number 666 in Hebrew.  

It was in the 3rd century, however, that we see the persecution of Christians on a larger scale.  This occurred because edicts were now issued to allow the governors of the provinces to persecute them.  Several emperors throughout the next years persecuted Christians, and it was during this time we had many, many martyrs of the faith.  In a decree in February 303, the emperor Diocletian ordered all Christian places of worship and books to be destroyed.  This began what our book calls the "final agony" (p. 39) of the Church, which lasted from 303 to 312.  In 311, Galerius issued a decree that allowed Christians to resume their assemblies.

It was finally, in 312, with Constantine's victory that Christians saw the light and the persecutions began to end.  Constantine had done something that no other emperor had done...he attributed his victory to the help of the Christian God.   Constantine is thought to have had a vision where Christ appeared to him and told him to put the Savior's monogram (the Greek chi and rho) on his shields.  Constantine eventually even started to impose restrictions on pagan practices, and he began to display Christian symbols publicly.  He even allowed certain privileges to members of Christian clergy.  

Sadly, though, Constantine did not "officially" become a Christian until his death.  History tells us he was baptized on his death bed.  However, thanks to him, the Church was to change forever.  His conversion was one of the great turning points in Church history.

One part of Constantine's life and the Church history that is related to it that I find interesting is what tradition tells us about his mother, St. Helen or Helena.  St. Helen converted to Christianity at age 60 and then went on a pilgramage to the Holy Land.  Upon her arrival, St. Helen began to look for Judeo-Christian relics, specifically the True Cross and Jesus' tomb.
Once she arrived in Jerusalem, aimed at Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher, she found the site was covered by a temple to Venus built earlier by Emperor Hadrian. Helena ordered the temple torn down. It was during the dismantling that the tomb of Jesus Christ and the three wooden crosses were discovered. The True Cross of the Lord was recognized as the one which wrought a miraculous cure for the sufferer who was placed upon. On the site of her great discovery Helen built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. Then she continued building churches on every Holy site, from Jesus' birth- cave to His point of Ascension.

When she returned to Rome, she brought with her large pieces of the cross and enshrined the relics in her palace's private chapel, where they can still be seen today. In 329 Helen died with her son Constantine at her side. Her red porphyry sarcophagus is on display in the Vatican Museum. The relics of St. Helen are entombed in the church of Santa Maria, overlooking the Roman Forum . In liturgical art Helena is depicted as an empress, holding a cross. She was revered as a saint, and the veneration spread, early in the ninth century, even to Western countries. Her feast falls on August 18th.  You can find more on St. Helena here, and you can find a little bit more about the cross and the crucifix and her discoveries here.

I hope everyone has a great week!!!