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.

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.