Final Review, Part II: Pax tibi

CARPACCIO, Vittore. The Lion of St Mark. (detail)
1516. Tempera on canvas. Palazzo Ducale, Venice

Let's use our time wisely. It's review time. Finals are upon us. Let us redeem the time, and yet be not anxious. For St. Mark sends to you peace.

Agenda for Monday, May 12-21, 2014:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Finis coronat opvs.
1.  "The end crowns the work," meaning, finish well!
3. Read and discuss Shakespeare's Richard II & Henry V:
1. Take notes
4. Midsummer Exam
5. Midsummer Final
6. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Exam (5/13). This is an In-class Essay. Study Midsummer and notes. 
2. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/20). This project is your FINAL!
3. Be perfect.

On Martydom in the arena: Uri, vinciri, verberari, ferroque necari: On martyrdom and the arena.

Gerome, Jean-Leon. Pollice Verso. 1872. Oil on canvas. Phoenix.

That is the oath of the gladiator, the sacramentum gladiatorium. All gladiators were to pledge a chilling promise: "I will endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword." This oath, however, is ultimately selfish, only for one's own glory.
Consider the "arena" as a metaphor. The truth is that we all are in our own arena. The Christian especially is a kind of gladiator. Paul alludes to this. And it is true that many Christians have already endured being beaten, burned, or killed with the sword; we call them martyrs. In fact, some of them were in the same arenas as the gladiators. But the difference is that the Christian did not seek his own glory but rather the glory of the Father. Here is the wonderful irony. Remember what Christ said about losing your life for his sake? That "whosoever shall lose his life...shall preserve it." And what has happened? We remember the fame of the martyr more than that of the gladiator. Who is remembered more? The martyr has found life in our continued memory of their sacrifice. 


Agenda for Monday, May 5-9, 2014:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Finis coronat opvs.
1.  "The end crowns the work," meaning, finish well!
3. Read and discuss Shakespeare's Henry V:
1. Take notes
4. Work on Midsummer Projects 
5. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Exam (5/9). This is an In-class Essay. Study Midsummer and notes. 
2. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/20). This project is your FINAL!
3. Be perfect.

Easter is not over.

CARPACCIO, Vittore. The Meditation on the Passion.
1510. Oil and tempera on wood.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Some of you might be asking, "Why are we still talking about Easter. Like, it's so over already--pshaw!" But it's actually not over. We are still in Eastertide, still contemplating the significance of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection. Consider Cappricio's argument here. It is right that we continue to think on the world-history-soul-altering reality of Easter Sunday. It is the most important event in history, remember the sine qua non of Christianity. 

Agenda for Easter Monday, April 28:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Qui habet Filium habet vitam; qui non habet Filium Dei vitam non habet. 
1. "He that hath the Son, hath life. He that hath not the Son, hath not life." - 1 John 5:12
3. Continue reading and studying Midsummer:
1. Review Act V questions together.
4. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/12) 
2. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Easter Tuesday, April 29:

1. Pray
2. Grammar: Bedford 25
1. Review and disucss
3. Work on Midsummer Memorization Projects
4. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/12) 
2. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, April 30:

1. Pray
2. Read and take notes on Chesterton's Intro to Midsummer
3. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/12) 
2. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, May 1:

1. Pray
2. Read and discuss G. K. Chesterton's Intro on Midsummer
1. Take notes
3. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/12) 
2. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, May 2:

1. Pray
2. Read and discuss G. K. Chesterton's Intro on Midsummer
1. Take notes
3. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/12) 
2. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
3. Be perfect.

Christus resurrexit!

BELLINI, Giovanni. Resurrection of Christ.
1475-79. Oil on panel transferred to canvas.
Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

He has risen! The resurrection of Christ is the sine qua non of Christianity. Understand this sentence, and you will know the secret of the universe.


Agenda for Easter Monday, April 21:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Quid quaeritis viventem cum mortuis? Non est hic sed surrexit. 
1. "Why seekest thou the dead among the living? He is not here but has risen." - Luke 24:5-6
3. ITBS TESTING
4. Review HW:
1. Acts IV-V Quiz on Wednesday (4/23)
2. Midsummer Memorization Project (4/30) 
3. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
4. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz tomorrow on Bedford 25. 
5. Be perfect.

Agenda for Easter Tuesday, April 22:

1. Pray
2. ITBS TESTING
3. Review HW:
1. Acts IV-V Quiz on Wednesday (4/23)
2. Midsummer Memorization Project (4/30) 
3. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
4. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz tomorrow on Bedford 25. 
5. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, April 23:

1. Pray
2. Reading Check Quiz: Acts IV-V  
3. Finish studying Midsummer:
1. Lecture and discuss
4. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Memorization Project (4/30) 
2. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
3. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz tomorrow on Bedford 25. 
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, April 24:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Midsummer:
1. Read Act V together.
3. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Memorization Project (4/30) 
2. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
3. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz tomorrow on Bedford 25. 
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, April 25:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Midsummer:
1. Read Act V together.
3. Review HW:
1. Midsummer Memorization Project (4/30) 
2. Midsummer Essay on Friday (5/2)
3. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz tomorrow on Bedford 25. 
4. Be perfect.

Palm Sunday, Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem & Holy Week

GIOTTO di Bondone. Entry into Jerusalem. 1304-06.
Fresco. Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week and is the day on which the Church celebrates and remembers Jesus entering into Jerusalem, the "City of Peace." While the crowd lifts up shouts of "Hosanna to the Son of David!", they spread their coats on the ground, and wave palm branches, to announce the entrance of the King. There is of course tremendous irony in this scene and in the following drama that unfolds. Peter Leithart notes that the "'Your King comes" is the story of the Bible, your life story is God teaching you to rejoice at His coming, whatever it brings. You are enrolled in God’s lifelong singing school to learn the hymn of Palm Sunday: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
Typologically, this scene is the reversal of David's flight from his vain and usurping son Absalom. Jesus is the good Son, who returns to the throne of his father the same way David fled the city. This day also marks the beginning of Holy Week, which follows the initiation and fulfillment of Christ's Passion.

Agenda for Holy Monday, April 14:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: osanna Filio David benedictus qui venturus est in nomine Domini osanna in altissimis. Here it is in English: "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.." - Matthew. 21:9
3. Correct and review Grammar Quiz on Bedford 25
4. Continue reading and studying Midsummer:
1. Check and review Act II reading questions
5. Review HW:
1. Read Act V by Thursday (4/17) 
2. Acts I-III Quiz on Thursday (4/17)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Holy Tuesday, April 15:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Midsummer:
1. Check and review Act III reading questions
3. Review HW:
1. Read Act V by Thursday (4/17) 
2. Acts I-III Quiz on Thursday (4/17)
3. Midsummer Memorization Project (4/30) 
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Spy Wednesday, April 16:

1. Pray
2. Midsummer Memorization Project 
1.  Due (5/12) 
3. Continue reading and studying Midsummer:
1. Read Act V together.
4. Review HW:
1. Acts I-III Quiz on Thursday (4/17)
2. Acts IV-V Quiz Friday (4/25)
3. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/12) 
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Maundy Thursday, April 17:

1. Pray
2. Acts I-III Quiz
3. Midsummer Memorization Project: 
1. Make your choices by the next week
2. Meet with me regarding your selections
4. Continue reading and studying Midsummer:
1. Do Act IV & V reading questions
5. Review HW:
1. Acts IV-V Quiz Friday (4/25)
2. Midsummer Memorization Project (5/12)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Good Friday, April 18:

1. Pray

Ave Maria and the Faery Tale

ANGELICO, Fra. Annunciation (Cell 3).
1442. Fresco. Convento di San Marco, Florence

As we consider the Annunciation, let us think of it in light of what we are studying in Humanities 8: Faery Stories. The elements of a faery tale require journey, enchantment, encounter, moral judgment, and the happy ending. Angelico Fra depicts for us the first of these two elements in this scene, for the Annunciation to Mary is only the beginning of the story of Christ's birth, of God becoming man, of heaven kissing earth. The rest of story will play out over the next nine months until the fullness of time with Christmas. But even then the story is not over. We find in Scripture that evil Herod is eventually judged and that, in the end, Christ and the Holy Family can return from exile in Egypt to achieve the happy ending of this sub-story. 
The Annunciation, however, should give us pause, however, to consider what is happening in our own day. Allegorically, it seems that Herod has not only sent his soldiers to slay the children once again but also that the holiness of the family is driven into exile by the state's attack on marriage. Let us not overlook these things; let us not forget the fact that our Savior stands in the center of a family, an institution that has long threatened the raging heathen nations. No wonder our churches are week and barren, for we have not the imagination to conceive of "Mother Kirk" because we do not culturally acknowledge conception  as a blessing or motherhood as honorable.   

Agenda for Monday, March 31:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Ecce concipies in utero et paries filium et vocabis nomen eius Iesum. Here it is in English: "Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus." - Lucas. 1:31
3. Continue reading and studying Midsummer
1. Read Act I 
2. Finish Act I Questions .  
4. Review HW:
1. Canterbury Tales Memorization. Wednesday (4/2)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz tomorrow (4/1). 
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, April 1:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Notes: Pronoun and Noun Case Bedford 25
1. Take notes
3. Continue reading and studying Midsummer
1. Read Act I and finish your questions.  
4. Review HW:
1. Canterbury Tales Memorization. Wednesday (4/2)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz tomorrow (4/1). 
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, April 2:

1. Pray
2. Canterbury Tales Presentations!
3. Continue reading and studying Midsummer
4. Review HW:
1. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz Friday (4/4). 
2. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, April 3:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Notes on Bedford 25
3. Continue reading and studying Midsummer
1. Take notes on History and Structure of 5-Act Play
2. Read Act II together
4. Review HW:
1. Finish Act II of Midsummer
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz tomorrow (4/4). 
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, April 4:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Quiz: Bedford 25
3. Continue reading and studying Midsummer:
1.  Finish Act II reading questions
2.  Begin reading Act III together.
4. Review HW:
1. Finish reading Acts III & IV over the break. 
2. Finish Act II & III Questions (4/14)
3. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
4. Be perfect.

Vocabit nomen eius Emanuel.

ANGELICO, Fra. Annunciation. 1451-52
Tempera on wood. Museo di San Marco, Florence.

Why the Annunciation, you ask? March 25th happens to be the Feast of the Annunciation.What does this mean? Two things: (1) that life begins at conception, and without Mary's "ecce ancilla Domini fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum," we'd still be sacrificing inadequate bulls and goats, we'd still be in our sins, we'd still live in darkness, et cetera res; (2) that if we consult the astronomical record--which we can scientifically prove--we find, as Shakespeare says, "the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes." The stars in their arrangements tell a story, and it is the fulfillment of millennia of prophecy. This week is the beginning of that story.

Agenda for Monday, March 24:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: ecce ancilla Domini fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Here it is in English: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.." - Matt. 1:38
3. Read "The Magic Thread"
4. Reading Journal: Fairy Tales
5. Lecture on Faery Tales, Part I: The Shape of Faery
1. Students take notes by answering the following questions:
1. Explain the narrative structure and character types in faery tales?
2. What are some of the moral lessons taught through faery tales?
3. Why is the happy ending so important?
4. How and why are faery tales more "Christian" than tragedy?
6. Review HW:
1. Fairy Tale Quiz (3/28)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz Wednesday (3/26). 
3. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, March 25:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Notes: Pronoun and Noun Case Bedford 24
1. Take notes
3. Lecture on Faery Tales, Part II: The Shape of Faery
1. Elements of Faery: 
1. Journey
2. Enchantment
3. Encounter
4. Evil Judged (Witch Dies)
5. Happy Ending
4. Review HW:
1. Fairy Tale Quiz (3/28)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz Wednesday (3/26). 
3. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, March 26:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Quiz: Pronoun Case (Bedford 24)
3. Begin reading and studying A Midsummer Night's Dream
4. Review HW:
1. Fairy Tale Quiz (3/28)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, March 27:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Midsummer
3. Review HW:
1. Fairy Tale Quiz (3/28)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, March 28:

1. Pray
2. Fairy Tales Quiz
3. Continue reading and studying Midsummer
4. Review HW:
1. Finish Act II (4/2)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Be perfect.

 




 

St. Patrick and Week 2 of Lent

As we continue to the second week of Lent, let us consider Jesus last response to Satan. When Satan takes Jesus to a very high mountain and tempts Jesus to worship him, Jesus answers with another appropriate allusion to the Law: "It is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve" (Matthew 4:10b). Jesus isn't just drawing from the "Old Testament" at random. He is citing the very words to Israel in the wilderness. But it is not the Law of Exodus but of Deuteronomy, the "Second Law," given to the children of the generation who perished in the desert because of their sins. Jesus rebukes the devil with the words received by a New Israel, as they are about to baptized and conquer the land. 
And as it regards serving the LORD and worshiping Him only, it is right to think of St. Patrick, at fitting example of one who feared not men but God, whose own worship and obedience transformed not merely the Emerald Isle but perhaps the history of the Western world itself, perhaps even you and me. In spite of the right somber reflection of Lent, it is still right to celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick today. Happy St. Patty's Day!       

Agenda for Monday, March 17:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: scriptum est Dominum Deum tuum adorabis et illi soli servies. Here it is in English: "It is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve." - Matt. 4:10b
3. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales   
1. Finish reviewing Reading Journal: The Knight's Tale
1. How doth "The Knight's Tale" mock the classical world of Ancient Greece?
2. How doth "The Knight's Tale" mock courtly love and romance?
3. What is the moral of the story? How does this story teach virtue?
4. Review HW:
1. Study notes on "The Prologue" and "The Knight's Tale" of Canterbury Tales.  
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz Wednesday (3/19). 
3. Canterbury Tales Exam on Friday (3/21)
4. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2)
5. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, March 18:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Notes: Pronoun and Noun Case 
1. Take notes
3. Lecture on Faery Tales, Part I: The Shape of Faery
1. Students take notes by answering the following questions:
1. Explain the narrative structure and character types in faery tales?
2. What are some of the moral lessons taught through faery tales?
3. Why is the happy ending so important?
4. How and why are faery tales more "Christian" than tragedy?
2. Elements of Faery: 
1. Journey
2. Enchantment
3. Encounter
4. Evil Judged (Witch Dies)
5. Happy Ending
4. Review HW:
1. Study notes on "The Prologue" and "The Knight's Tale" of Canterbury Tales.  
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz Wednesday (3/19). 
3. Canterbury Tales Exam on Friday (3/21)
4. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2) 
5. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, March 19:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Quiz: Pronoun Case 
3. Watch "Medieval Masterpieces: Chaucer and the Beauty of Books"
4. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales
1. Review The Knight's Tale together and take notes. 
5. Review HW:
1. Study notes on "The Prologue" and "The Knight's Tale" of Canterbury Tales.  
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz Wednesday (3/26).
3. Canterbury Tales Exam on Friday (3/21)
4. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2)
5. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, March 20:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales
3. Lecture on Faery Tales, Part I: The Shape of Faery
1. Students take notes by answering the following questions:
1. Explain the narrative structure and character types in faery tales?
2. What are some of the moral lessons taught through faery tales?
3. Why is the happy ending so important?
4. How and why are faery tales more "Christian" than tragedy?
2. Elements of Faery: 
1. Journey
2. Enchantment
3. Encounter
4. Evil Judged (Witch Dies)
5. Happy Ending
4. Review HW:
1. Study notes on "The Prologue" and "The Knight's Tale" of Canterbury Tales.  
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz Wednesday (3/26). 
3. Canterbury Tales Exam on Friday (3/21)
4. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2)
5. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, March 21:

1. Pray
2. Canterbury Tales Exam
3. Review HW:
1. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz Wednesday (3/26). 
2. Canterbury Tales Memorization (4/2)
3. Be perfect.

Et ne nos inducas tentationem.

Juan De Flandes. The Temptation of Christ.
1500. Oil on panel. National Gallery of Art, WA.

"And lead us not into temptation." We pray this almost every day. But what does it mean? Consider the Lenten season we are in. Consider the fact that Christ was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by Satan. The writer of Hebrews explains one of the reasons and benefits for Christ's own temptation: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). In other words, we pray this because man is weak. We pray this because Adam (literally, "man" in Hebrew) has failed. But Christ did not. And so we also call upon Him, the author and finisher of our faith, for help.  

Agenda for Monday, March 10:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: scriptum est non temptabis Dominum Deum tuum. Here it is in English: "It is written again: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." - Matt. 4:7
3. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales   
1. Reading Check Quiz: The Knight's Tale
1. What is the "Knight's Tale" about?
2. Explain the role of "Chance" in this tale?
4. Review HW:
1. Finish reading "The Knight's Tale" of Canterbury Tale
2. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, March 11:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Notes: Pronoun and Noun Case 
1. Take notes
3. Hand back graded essays:
1. Review and discuss
2. Revisions due at Friday (3/14)
4. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales  
5. Review HW:
1. Sir Gawain Revisions (3/14)
2. Read The Knight's Tale of Canterbury Tales
3. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, March 12:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales
1. Review The Knight's Tale together and take notes. 
3. Review HW:
1. Sir Gawain Revisions (3/14)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Binder Check (3/14)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, March 13:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales
3. Reading Journal (3/13): The Knight's Tale
4. What is the setting of the Knight's story?
5. What change has Chaucer given to these characters in the Knight's tale?
6. How doth "The Knight's Tale" mock the classical world of Ancient Greece?
7. How doth "The Knight's Tale" mock courtly love and romance?
8. What is the moral of the story? How does this story teach virtue?
9. Review HW:
1. Sir Gawain Revisions (3/14)
2. Binder Check (3/14)
3. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, March 14:

1. Pray
2. Binder Check
3. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales
1.  Finish discussing and taking notes on "The Knight's Tale"
4. Review HW:
1. Study notes and reading journal on "The Knight's Tale" 
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Be perfect.

Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent

REMBRANDT. The Return of the Prodigal Son.
1669. Oil on canvas. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Today is a Ash Wednesday, which marks the day of corporate repentance for sins and the beginning of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer. Typically we would all have a black ash on our foreheads, the outward sign of our inward contrition, as in the ancient times. Consider, for instance, Rembrandt's depiction of the broken and contrite heart of the Prodigal Son, who returned in dust to his father.
Some of us who might not be familiar with the reasons for Lent, would do well to remember that the Church calendar follows the life of Christ. Christ engaged in the spiritual discipline of prayer and fasting, and we see this especially at the start of his ministry. Christ fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and resisted the temptations of the devil. He became for us the true Israel, who did not fail in the wilderness but came "out of Egypt," through baptism at the Jordan, to became the better Moses and the true Joshua who can lead us into the Promise Land of salvation. We fast because Christ himself fasted. Lent lasts for 40 days because Christ was in the wilderness for 40 days. This season of Lent prepares us for the season of Easter, and the 40 days leads to Holy Week where we enter into Christ's Passion. For more on Lent, go here.

Agenda for Monday, March 3:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: scriptum est non in pane solo vivet homo sed in omni verbo quod procedit de ore Dei. Here it is in English: "It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God." - Matthew 4:3
3. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales  
4. Review HW:
1. Finish reading the Prologue of Canterbury Tales (3/5)
2. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, March 4:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Notes: Pronoun and Noun Case 
1. Take notes
3. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales  
4. Review HW:
1. Finish reading the Prologue of Canterbury Tales (3/5)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, March 5:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales
1. Review the Pologue together and take notes. 
2. Reading Journal: the Prologue 
3. Review HW:
1. Finish reading the Prologue of Canterbury Tales (3/5)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, March 6:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales
1. Reading Journal: the Prologue 
3. Review HW:
1. Finish reading the Prologue of Canterbury Tales (3/5)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, March 7:

1. Pray
2. Continue reading and studying Canterbury Tales
1. Reading Journal: the Prologue 
3. Review HW:
1. Finish reading the Prologue of Canterbury Tales (3/5)
2. Study Grammar on Cases of Pronouns and Nouns. Quiz next week. 
3. Be perfect.

The Continence of Christ and Continence of Pagans

Continence of Scipio. Nicolas-Guy Brenet.
Oil on canvas. 1788.

One week from now week from now it will be Lent. Just as the preparatory season of Advent precedes the celebration of Christmas, so the preparatory season of Lent precedes the celebration of Easter. In light of this, we should take this weeks prior to Lent seriously, as a time to take inventory of our souls. What are the physical things we will abstain from? How shall we practice continence? What spiritual disciplines shall we focus on?
Today, consider the Continence of Scipio in contrast to the continence of Christ. Scipio refused the spoils of war and Christ refused spoils of the devil. But the tone is most likely different. Scipio's continence was probably out of contempt (resentiment?) for the Carthaginian women taken in last battle of the second Punic War. But Christ does not condemn matter. Christ's continence seems more out of love for bread that he does not accept the devil's. Christ's continence is not for its own sake but is full of worship for God the Father.

Agenda for Monday, February 24:

1. Pray
2. Finish reading the Omnibus intro to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
3. Reading Journal: Gawain & Manliness
1. What is manliness according to the Scripture? 
2. How does the Gawain poet define manliness? 
3. Compare and contrast manliness in Macbeth and Sir Gawain. 
4. Compare and contrast the story structure in in Macbeth and Sir Gawain. 
4. Review HW:
1. Study for Sir Gawain Exam Wednesday! (2/26)
2. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz tomorrow!
3. Gawain Poetry Projects! (Due 2/27)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, February 25:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Sed vinum novum in utres novos mittendum est et utraque conservantur. Et nemo bibens vetus statim vult novum dicit enim vetus melius est. Lucas V:xxxviii
1. "But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. And no man drinking old, hath presently a mind to new: for he saith, The old is better." - Luke 5:38
3. Grammar Quiz: Pronoun Reference 23-4
1. Collect, grade and discuss
4. Study for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Exam
5. Review HW:
1. Study for Sir Gawain Exam Wednesday! (2/26)
2. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz tomorrow!
3. Gawain Poetry Projects! (Due 2/27)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, February 26:

1. Pray
2. Study for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Exam
3. Review HW:
1. Study for Sir Gawain Exam Wednesday! (2/26)
2. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz tomorrow!
3. Gawain Poetry Projects! (Due 2/27)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, February 27:

1. Pray
2. Present Gawain Poetry Projects 
3. Grammar Notes on Bedford 24. 
4. Review HW:
1. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, February 28:

1. Pray
2. Begin Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regnum Britaniae 
3. Review HW:
1. Be perfect.

Christ Among the Doctors

DÜRER, Albrecht. Christ Among the Doctors.
1506. Oil on panel. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

We are in ordinary time now, but as we approach the season of Lent on the Church Calendar, we ought not neglect our preparation for Pascha. How do we this? We do this by meditating on The Life that gives life to our calendar, we are careful not to overlook the seemingly innocuous events in the Christ's life, before he enters into Jerusalem.
Last week, we celebrated not the super bowl but something much more important: the Feast of the Presentation in the Temple. After Christ was presented and when he grown as a boy, he mistakenly is left behind during a trip to Jerusalem. He is found by his frantic parents in "his father's house" and being "about his father's business." This week let us recall this strange and profound scene: as they find him, "he said to them: 'How is it that you sought me?' did you not know, that I must be about my father's business?" The boy Jesus is not without a deep sense of irony. Here, dialoging with the priest and "doctors" on theological matters, the "fairest Lord Jesus" is seen in striking contrast to the ugliness of the pharisees, who are depicted, by Durer, as monsters.

Agenda for Monday, February 17:

1. Pray
2. Latin for the Week: Momento Mori.
1. "Remember you're gonna die." An aphoristic fragment from the middle ages consistent with the Biblical wisdom to number our days. 
3. Macbeth Presentations
4. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
5. Review HW:
1. Finish Sir Gawain. Quiz Wednesday! (2/19)
2. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz tomorrow!
3. Gawain Poetry Projects! (Due 2/25)
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, February 18:

1. Pray
2. Finish Macbeth Presentations
3. Grammar Quiz: Pronoun Reference 23-1
1. Collect, grade and discuss
4. Read and discuss Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
5. Reading Journal: Gawain and Virtue
6. Review HW:
1. Finish Sir Gawain. Quiz Wednesday! (2/19)
2. Gawain Poetry Projects! (Due 2/25)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, February 19:

1. Pray
2. Reading Check Quiz: Sir Gawain to the end
1. Discuss and discuss
3. Work on Gawain Poetry Projects
4. Review HW:
1. Study Gawain Notes and Reading Journals
2. Gawain Poetry Projects! (Due 2/25)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, February 20:

1. Pray
2. Read and discuss Sir Gawain and the Green Knight! 
3. Discuss essay topics for Gawain
4. Review HW:
1. Study Gawain Notes and Reading Journals
2. Gawain Poetry Projects! (Due 2/20)
3. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, February 21:

1. Pray
2. Sir Gawain Exam
3. Discuss essay prompts
4. Review HW:
1. Study Gawain Notes and Reading Journals and prepare for essay next week!
2. Gawain Poetry Projects! (Due 2/20)
3. Be perfect.

Week The Feast of Saint Valentine

Bassano, Jacopo. St Valentine Baptizing St Lucilla.
1575. Oil on canvas. Museo Civico, Bassano del Grappa

Happy St. Valentine's Day! Here Bassano shows the influence and beneficent effect of that mysterious figure, Valentinus. He takes his name from the Latin adjective valens, meaning "strong, effective, or influential." Although there is little known about the man, we honor his martyrdom: "The feast of St. Valentine was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among those "...whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." One story, that he married Christians during a time of Roman persecution, influenced the holiday, which flourished in the days of Chaucer, during the chivalric days of the courtly love of the Middle Ages. 

Agenda for Monday, February 10:

1. Pray
2. Latin for the Week: Si vis amari ama.
1. "If you want to be loved, love." - Seneca the Elder."
3. Work on Revisions and Oral Presentations of Macbeth Essays
4. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
5. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 22-79. Quiz tomorrow! (2/11)
2. Macbeth Presentations (2/14)
3. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz next Tuesday!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, February 11:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Quiz: Pronoun Reference 23-1
3. Reading Check Quiz: Stanzas 22-79, Sir Gawain
4. Collect, grade and discuss
5. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:
6. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 80-the end. Quiz next week.  
2. Macbeth Presentations (2/14)
3. Study Grammar Notes. Quiz next week!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, February 12:

1. Pray
2. Go to Shakespeare Tavern for Much Ado About Nothing!
3. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 80-the end. Quiz next week.
2. Macbeth Presentations (2/14)
3. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz next Tuesday!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, February 13:

1. Pray
2. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
3. Work on Macbeth Presentations
4. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 80-the end. Quiz next week.
2. Macbeth Presentations (2/14)
3. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz next Tuesday!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, February 14:

1. Pray
2. Macbeth Presentations
3. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
4. Review HW:
1. Finish Sir Gawain. Quiz Tuesday! (2/18)
2. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz next Tuesday!
3. Be perfect.

Nunc Dimittis

BELLINI, Giovanni. Presentation at the Temple
1460-64. Tempera on wood. Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice.

Yesterday was the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. The Church saw fit to highlight this day of Christ's life for many reasons. For one, it underscores the reality that Christ was under "the Law", and not merely any law. Jesus lived a perfect life within the impossible constraints of the Hebraic Law.

The other reason why this episode of Christ's Presentation in the Temple is significant is the two characters that are highlighted in regards to this scene.

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace: 
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum 
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.

Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace;
Because my eyes have seen Thy salvation,
Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:
A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.

Notice, however, the grammar of the Latin, compared to that of the English. Notice the mood of the verb "dismiss." What is significant about this? Why does he state it in this manner? Such is the wisdom and profound beauty of this scene. Notice here that Rembrandt places himself within the drama. Why does he do this?

Agenda for Monday, February 3:

1. Pray
2. Latin for the Week: Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.
1. "A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." - Luke II: 29-32
3. Grammar Ex: Pronoun Reference
4. Read the Tragedy of Saul: I Sam. 9-31
1. Take notes comparing to Macbeth!
5. Begin Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
6. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 1-21. (Quiz tomorrow!)
2. Macbeth Presentations (2/12)
1. Read I Samuel
3. Study Grammar Notes. Quiz on Tuesday!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, February 4:

1. Pray
2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:
1. Read intro in Omnibus
2. Read Sir Gawain together
3. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 22-79. Quiz next week.  
2. Macbeth Presentations (2/12)
3. Study Grammar Notes. Quiz next week!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday, February 5:

1. Pray
2. Watch Macbeth
3. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 22-79. Quiz next week.
2. Macbeth Presentations(2/12)
3. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz next Tuesday!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Thursday, February 6:

1. Pray
2. Grammar Quiz: Pronoun Reference
3. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
4. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 22-79. Quiz next week.
2. Macbeth Presentations(2/12)
3. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz next Tuesday!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Friday, February 7:

1. Pray
2. Work on Revisions and Oral Presentations of Macbeth Essays
3. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
4. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 22-79. Quiz next week.
2. Macbeth Presentations(2/12)
3. Study Grammar Notes on Pronoun Reference. Quiz next Tuesday!
4. Be perfect.

Meditations on Constantine the Great, St. Helena, Apostolus Sanctus Paulus, and other things.

UNKNOWN MASTER, German
Darmstadt Altarpiece: Constantine and His Mother Helena
Venerating the True Cross.
207x 109 cm. Staatliche Museen, Berlin

Last week marked the annual celebration of a a man who is known for making some of the greatest advances in civil rights. But last week also marked the celebration of two (much, much more important) figures, whose influence have had a much greater impact not merely on American society or even Western civilization at large but also upon the entire world. The effect was an earthquake that shook every aspect of antiquity in the already fading twilight of the pagan Roman empire. It began, as all truly great things do--with a mother. And the fullness was realized in her son. The two people were Constantine the Great and his mother St. Helena. The feast day was yesterday, though few us knew or probably even cared.

Aside from Constantine, another figure whose affect on the world was even greater. You might be tempted to say of this depiction of St. Paul, "Wow, look at the existential features in this portrait, the cloven beard, the elongation of the face, limbs, and digits--as if time we stretching him gaunt and thin." But you would be wrong to say all that. For existentialism did not exist in the 17th century. This is El Greco. Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Paul.


Remember the Roman cognomen "Paulus"? It means small. Before his conversion to "Paul," we hear of a proud and zealous man named Saul, which means big. After he is confronted by the Lord, what was once "big" is now made "small," just God raises the valleys and puts down the mountains. Consider this aspect of St. Paul's life: his conversion, which is a feast day remember on Jan. 25. In the painting, note the emphasis on Saul's blindness. Note Caravaggio's use of light. Note his ability to create the "slow-motion" depiction of the event. Note the pleading of heaven: "Saule, Saule quid me persequeris." This language here is significant. Christ is establishes the doctrine of the Church as the mystical reality of Christ's body, not merely a metaphor. A reality. Not merely a "picture" of Jesus, but Jesus himself; "for as much as you have done it to the least of these, you've done it to me," says Christ.

GRECO, El. Apostle St Paul. 1610-14
Oil on canvas. Museo de El Greco, Toledo

CARAVAGGIO. The Conversion of St. Paul.
1600. Oil on cypress wood.
Odescalchi Balbi Collection, Rome.

Agenda for Monday, January 27:

1. Pray
2. Latin for the Week: Ego sum Jesus, quem tu persequeris. (Actus 9:5)
1. "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest."
3. Grammar Ex: Pronoun Reference
4. Read the Tragedy of Saul: I Sam. 9-31
5. Begin Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
6. Review HW:
1. Study Grammar Notes. Quiz on Thursday!
2. Be perfect.

Agenda for Tuesday, January 28:

1. Pray
2. Read the Tragedy of Saul: I Sam. 9-31 
3. Correct Grammar Ex. from yesterday. 
4. Hand back Macbeth Essays:
1. Review and discuss. 
2. Revise and turn in essays Friday. 
3. Oral Presentations comparing the life of Saul to Macbeth due February 12.
5. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
6. Review HW:
1. Macbeth Essay Revisions (2/3)
2. Macbeth Presentations(2/12)
3. Study Grammar Notes. Quiz on Thursday!
4. Be perfect.

Agenda for Wednesday& Thursday, January 29-30:

1. SNOW DAY!
2. Inclement Driving Conditions.

Agenda for Friday, January 31:

1. Pray
2. Work on Revisions and Oral Presentations of Macbeth Essays
3. Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight!
4. Review HW:
1. Read Sir Gawain Stanzas 1-21. (Quiz Tuesday!)
2. Macbeth Essay Revisions (2/3)
3. Macbeth Presentations(2/12)
4. Read Sir Gawain
5. Be perfect.