Working, Resting ,And!

Order	Content of each lesson	Scripture
1	Self introduction, Catholic Church, the Parish	Mt 11,28-30
2	Introduction of one's self-experience of God	Is 43,1-7
3	Exodus-God is within human history	Ex 3,6-15
4	Ten commandment - the way to God	Ex 19,4-6; 20,1-17
5	Creation1-God created the world through the word	Gn 1,1-2,4a
6	Creation2-God created us in his image.	Gn 2,4b-9,15.-25
7	Human Sin (original and actual)	Gn 2,5-17; 3,4-24
8	Prophet-preaching the word of God at that time and place	2Sa 12, 1-15
9 *	Changing the idea of God and life, to a correct one. How God has been with us in our lives.	Gn 4,1-5.8-11a Ps 139,1-18.23-24
10	God is beyond the thought and experience of human beings.	Qo 1, 2; 3,1-22
11	Suffering that brings salvation	Job 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 38, 40, 42
12	Annunciation-foretelling the birth of the savior, humility	Lk 1,26-37
13	The birth in poverty of the savior-shepherd; the wise men	Lk 2,1-16; Mt 2,1-12
14	Youth of Jesus-walking the human's way; the gospel of labor	Lk 2,41-52
15	Baptism-following the will of God	Jn 1,29-34
16	Temptations-arguments concerning the method of salvation	Mt 4,1-11
17	The mission of the Savior-preaching the good news to the poor	Lk 4,16-22
18	Conversion-being changed by the love of God-new birth	Lk 19,11-10
19	Jesus, the lord of life-Showing the beginnings of the kingdom of God through the miracles	Lk 18,15-17; Mk 56,38-43; Jn 5,1-9
20	The Beatitudes (Real happiness)	Mt 5,3-12
21	The priority of the kingdom of God; The building of it.	Mt 6,25-34; Mk 4,30-
22	God's endless and merciful love	Lk 15,11-32
23	The call as a disciple and apostle to serve others * The lay apostleship	Mk 1,16-18; 3,13-19 Mt 20, 26b-28
24	The bread of life	Exo 16,4.31.35; Lk 9,12-17;Jn 6,5-66
25	The Lord!-ruling over nature and saving us.	Mt 14, 22-33
26	The Lord's Prayer	Mt 6, 7-15
27	Jesus, the resurrection and the life	Jn 11,3-44
28	The background of the passion-profession of the identity and faith	Mt 16,13-23
29	The sacrifice for the salvation of human - The Last Supper	Ex 12,1-27; 1Co 11,23-26; Lk 23,34.46
30	The passion and the death of the Lord	Lk 22,39-23,54
31	The Lord was risen again	Mt 28,1-10
32	The Lord appeared to the disciples	Lk 24,13-35
33	Ascension of the Lord, everlasting faith	Acts 1,7-11
34	The Pentecost and the Church	Ac 2,1-13.36.41b-47
35	The Triune God	1Jn 4,7-21
35	The history of the world Catholic Church	Lk 22,34-36
37	The history of the Indian Catholic Church
38	Sacrament 1	Jn 13,34-35
39	Sacrament 2 - the seven sacraments
40	Sacrament 3 - the sacramental lives : acting of the love	Lk 10,25-37
41	Holy Mary	Jn 1,43-46; 2,1-11
42	The liturgical lives	Ac 2,46-47a
43	The principal of the Social doctrine -The social doctrine of the Church	Rerum Novarum
44	The view of labor of the Catholic Church	Laborem Exercens
*	The family lives
*	The relationship with the nature	Ro 8,19-25
Addendum1	The common prayer
Addendum2	Mass
Addendum3	Confession-the reconciliation sacrament
Addendum4 *	The retreat for Baptism The one who lead me-My life in the view of the gospel	Jn 13,4-8.12.15 Ps 8
Addendum5	Test
Addendum6	Baptism
Addendum7	The Cannon
Addendum8	The Lay apostolic Association-Y.C.W. C.W.M.)*

Working,

Resting,

And!

The History of Salvation of the World 1

God, the Father

in the Old Testament

Lesson 1 Who am I?

KEY POINT Seeing each other (Greeting and Introduction)

LEARNING Introduction of the Indian Catholic Church and parish

1. The Catholic Church is the community of the men/women who believe that God is love; that God loves them so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus who died on a Cross to save them. These men/women want to live this faith.

2. The Indian Catholic Church is composed of :

3. dioceses, parishes and bishops (cardinals Rev. bishops ), priests , brothers and sisters believers .

4. Now the local ordinary of my diocese is (Rev.) Bishop

5. I am in The Indian Catholic Diocese of ______________________________________ ; parish of _______________________________________________________. This is located (Address) __________________________________________________________________

This parish was established

Patron of this parish is St.

(His/Her feast day is

6. The Pastor of My parish is Fr. ____________________ (☏__________________),

assistant priests are ____________________ (☏_______________),

____________________ (☏ _______________),

WORD Come to me (Mt 11,28-30)

11 ²⁸Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. ³⁰For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.

SHARING Let's greet each other!

My name is

(My christian name is ____________________________.)

My nickname is

I was born on .

I work in ____________________ office or factory and do

My grandfather's name (and christian name), age and job is

My grandmother's name (and christian name), age and job is

My father's name (and christian name), age and job is

My mother's name (and christian name) is, age and job is

I live in (Address)

I live with (Family)

(My telephone number is ____________________________ )

I like

My favorite food is

I don't like

I want to do

My best friend is

The ones who help me most are

The motives from which I come to Church are

I read the word above and remember that

A question is the expression of interest. Please question me without any hesitation on anything you want to know.

NEXT

We will meet day hour minute every week and share our lives in the light of the words of scripture. we will search out what way the Lord wants to lead us in our lives.

If you will be absent or late for any meeting, please inform (call) me before hand.

If you are in course for Baptism, you should participate in the Mass every Sunday (the day of the Lord). The Mass times are as follows;

Mass

AM

PM

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

(Anticipated Sunday Mass)

PRAYER The Sign of Cross

"In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

GLOSSARY

Father God Yahweh

Son Our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Son of the Father.

The Holy Spirit the spirit of the Father, the spirit of the risen Christ.

Matthew the name of the author of the first Gospel, ie. the Good News which describes the words, acts and love of Jesus.

Diocese regional and administrative basic unit of Church

Parish a community within a diocese of the Church

Mission Station a group unit and a building in which priest is not yet resident and smaller than a parish

Patron an ancestor (saint or blessed man/woman) of faith whom an individual or group respect and ask to protect him/her or or them. As for an individual his patron's name is his christian name or Baptismal name. The word can also mean "Patron Saint" or "Patron angel".

Priest clergy, sacerdos

Brother/Sister religious man/woman of Catholic Church

Lay(man) believer who is not a priest or sister.

Mass Sacrifice and Feast which remembers and reacts to Christ's death on the Cross and the resurrection of Jesus to save mankind.

Catechumens one who is preparing for Baptism and to be a believer in Christ.

Baptism ceremony in which the catechumen is reborn in the Lord. (cf. the Sacrament)

Preach explain the faith and encourage its belief and practice.

Missionary one who preaches the faith in a country which is still non-christian.

Martyr one who was killed in defense of his/her beliefs

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Lesson 2 I am!

KEY POINT Examining how God was always with me during the happy and sad moments of my life until now. Try to feel God's love.

WORD You are honored and I love you (Isa 43,1-7)

43 ¹But now, thus says

the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel,

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you will

not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

³For I am the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I have given Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in your place.

⁴Since you are precious in My sight,

(Since) you are honored and I love you,

I will give (other) men in your place

and (other) peoples in exchange for your life.

⁵Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

And gather you from the west.

⁶I will say to the north,

'Give (them) up!'

And to the south,

'Do not hold {them} back.'

Bring My sons from afar,

And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

⁷Everyone who is called by My name,

And whom I have created for My glory,

Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."

SHARING Introducing yourself, and your experience of God

1. Is there any word of the scripture which interests you? What (things or happenings) do you remember from your past?

2. What are your happy or sad moments?

(When, Where, Who was with you? Let's share those!)

3. Is there any unusual event in which you felt God was with me?

4. The special thing which You want to tell us about yourself.

PRAYER The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

NEXT "You receive as much as you share!"

Let's share continuously.

Let's listen to the presentation of our companions and feel how God is with them in their lives.

GLOSSARY

Isaiah name of a prophet, The prophet is not a fortuneteller but a man of God who preached his word at that time and that place.

The Lord's Prayer prayer which was taught by Jesus.

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Lesson 3 I have surely seen

the affliction of My people

KEY POINT God saves us by being with us. He does not ignore our difficulties and sufferings. He sees, hears and knows all. So He gives us hope and power and saves us.

LEARNING The Exodus － first meeting in which Israel knew God as their Lord and believed in Him.

1. The history of the Patriarchs － God is with us and comes into our lives.

Joseph-one among the 12 sons of Jacob-is sold into Egypt because his elder brothers hate him. Joseph interpreted a dream of the king of Egypt and as a result became premier. There came a drought in Israel; his elder brothers came to Egypt in search of food. They met their younger brother Joseph again and were reconciled with each other. And Israel emigrated to Egypt and lived there happily, working hard.

2. The Exodus - Passover

Long times passed after that, and the Israelites became numerous because God blessed them. Then Egypt made the Israelites their slaves and gave them a hard time. The Israelites who lived as slaves were persecuted and so asked God to help them. God had seen the humiliation of Israel in Egypt and He heard their cry when they were cruelly treated by their taskmasters. He knew their suffering. He gave hope to Israel. God came down to free them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a beautiful, spacious land (Canaan), a land flowing with milk and honey.

3. God, Yaweh showed Himself to Moses to inform Him that His name was, "The One who said of Himself 'I AM WHO I AM.'"

"It is I(I am!)" (Don't be afraid of me.) - Jesus says this when He comforted the disciples in the New Testament. (Jn 6, 20 reference)

4. God, Yaweh, gave the power and ministry of liberating the Israelites from king Pharaoh of Egypt to Moses and his cousin Aron (representative of Moses). Pharao did not accept the demand of Moses. God punished Egypt by sending 10 disasters, including the killing of the firstborn of animals and men/women. (Passover - GLOSSARY reference) And then Egyptians allowed the Israelite to go the desert and to adore God.

5. But Egyptians followed them to dominate the Israelites again. (You can see in the Egyptians' selfish mind, (not of the community,) the tendency for the evil in you.) The Israelites had to choose between "to die into the Red sea for freedom" or "to live as slaves of Egyptians again." Then Israelite chose the freedom of God by throwing themselves into the Red Sea but God saved Israel by dividing the Red Sea into two parts so that the Israelites escaped from the Egyptians by walking across on dry land.

WORD Escaping from the slavery in Egypt (Ex 3,6-15)

3 ⁶God said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. ⁷And the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. ⁸So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ⁹And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." ¹¹But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" ¹²And He said, "Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain." ¹³Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" ¹⁴And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" ¹⁵And God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations."

SHARING

1. What did God do when He saw the suffering of his people?

2. What hope did God give the suffering people?

3. What is the name of God who appeared to Moses and the people of Israel?

4. Can you feel the calling of the Lord when you see your fellows who are suffering?

SEE

1. What are those things that make my life difficult, sad?

1) in my home or dormitory :

2) in my factory, office or working place :

3) in society, among friends and fellows :

JUDGE

1. Does God know our difficulties?

2. What kind of hope will God give me?

1) in my home or dormitory :

2) in my factory, office or working place :

3) in society, among friends and fellows :

ACT Let's each resolve one easy way of realizing, in response to God's call, the hope that God has given us.

NEXT Let's think what we shall fix in our mind and keep to the end of our lives.

PRAYER Let's thank God one by one!

GLOSSARY

Moses The meaning of Moses 'being saved from the water'. He was Hebrew intended to be a son-in-law of the princess of Egypt and so he was saved from the order which the king of Egypt gave to kill all the male Hebrew, children at birth. Afterwards, he came to know he was a Hebrew and kill an Egyptian who persecuted his tribe. To escape being discovered, Moses fled to 'Midian' and became a shepherd of the chief of the tribe of 'Reuel'. His wife is 'Zipporah' and his son is 'Gershom'. (Ex 1, 2 chapter reference).

Pharao the king of Egypt (whose power oppressed men/women in O.T.)

Abraham Ancestor of faith in the history of Israel. His name was changed from 'Abram' to 'Abraham' and was called by God, to be the father of a multitude of nations. (Gn 17 reference - His wife 'Sarai' to 'Sarah').

Isaac the son of Abraham when he was 100 years old. (Gn 21, 22, 24 reference). Isac's wife is 'Rebekah'.

Jacob the son of 'Isac', the younger brother of 'Esau'. He gave bread and lentil stew and to buy the birthright. (Gn 25,19 the following) His wife is 'Rachel'.

Joseph Jacob's wife, Rachel conceived and bore him a son and said, "God has taken away my reproach." He is the 11th son of 12 sons of Jacob. 12 is the sign of the 12 tribes of Israel. He was loved by Jacob his father but his brothers hated him and he was sold and taken into Egypt where he became the prime minister. (Gn 29, 30, 37-50 reference).

Festival of Israel

1. Passover - A Festival which commemorates the passing over of the angel of death. When God, Yahweh, sent the 10th punishment on the Egyptians, that is, the killing of the firstborn, He didn't kill the Israelites, but passed over them on seeing the blood of the lamb on the lintel and two doorposts. So Israel was saved. It would be called the 'Pascal mystery' in the New Testament when Jesus died to save mankind and rose again. (Exo 12,1-14)

2. Feast of unleavened bread - Festival which is remembering how the Israelites came out suddenly from Egypt. They had no time to make leavened bread that would not spoil on their journey. (Ex 12, 15-20; 12, 34 reference).

3. Pentecost - Festival which is remembering Israel's first harvest in Canaan. A feast of thanksgiving to God. This festival would be changed in Church to remembering the Holy Spirits coming upon the apostles.

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Lesson 4 If you will indeed obey

My voice and keep My covenant

KEY POINT The commandment (TORAH - the way) which God gave us to keep is that of love itself. And the way of love is just the perfection and salvation of each man/woman.

LEARNING Ten Commandments － Covenant with God; the way to God

God did not lead Israel to the promised Canaan immediately on liberation from Egypt. He educated and proved "Who it was who liberated them?", "What shall the saved people do and how shall they live?" "How do they live not as slaves again?" He gave them Ten commandments to be kept.

The key contents of the Ten commandments (or regulations) are "firstly love God who suffered with us and saved us, and secondly love your neighbors by the same love with which God has loved us."

1. I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me. (God who is the basis of all human dignity and equality)

1) Idolatry : Thinking that anything giving material benefits is more important than loving and following God and His will. And acting accordingly - such as money, power, safety, success, joy, beauty, health, happiness etc. Though necessary up to a point these can become idols that change our life if we cling, to them.)

* Because God saved us we should adore God. Because God saved us we should not be dominated by others and try to dominate others. Set God and the will of God first in our lives.

2) Thinking oneself more important than God and His commandments. (eg - hating a person just because he disagrees with me. Doing what I want rather than what God wants.)

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.

Using the name or God in an oath or promise when we are telling a lie for our own benefit. ie. making God a liar. Living in the name of the Christ means manifesting Christ in our lives. (eg - "If I tell a lie, I swear by the name of God.")

3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day.

1) Lord's day (Sunday) is the day of remembering God. We thank God on this day for helping us to live well during the past week; and celebrate the Mass and pray to God to help us live joyful and good lives in the coming week.

2)This day is also for rest.

3)We should visit and greet and help our grandparents and parents and neighbors and poor friends on this day.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

My parents give me the word of God. And they feed me in God's place. Therefore I, a son/daughter of God, should respect my parents, who represent God, and I should love and listen carefully to what they say to me. obedience, respect and love.

And parents should show the model of faith and good lives to their children.

5. You shall not kill.

God made man. And man was made in the image of God. Therefore I should love everybody. If I hate and speak against anyone, it will be the same as hating and speaking against God. Though someone thinks differently or disagrees with me, I should not hate or ignore or speak evil against them. I should respect them.

And not helping neighbors is the same as pretending not to know God. And doing injustice and immorality for one's benefit causes hunger and a vicious circle of poverty and structured evil. So that is the same as indirect killing.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

To protect the marriage lives of one man to one woman in society, and to share personal love rather than use sexuality solely for pleasure. Not to ignore the right of humans and the dignity of life. Not to kill the infant conceived out of wedlock or from lust. And to bear the fruit of true love by trying to wait one's time.

Don't be angry because my friend likes someone else more than me. Let's love each other. And in the future when I will marry, I should know that God asks me to be faithful to my wife or husband.

7. You shall not steal.

God gives us freedom and other things which are necessary for us. So If anyone takes another's possessions without telling him/her or does not give him/her what is his/hers, it is the same as ignoring and snatching the freedom and love of God.

This commandment is not only to prohibit the buying and selling of a man/woman and kidnapping which are caused by one's desire and violate personal rights and private freedom but also to restrict the right of possession - or proprietorship (except the right to life). This occurs on a sabbatical, which is every seventh year. The land must be left fallow. A jubilee. year on which is the fiftieth year, man must be free of any possessions and domination. This is a rule to give life to the poor and injured again. - Lev 25,1-53 reference)

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Do not damage anyone by telling a lie for my own benefits or protection. Do not blame someone else for what is my fault. Because man/woman is an image of God.

9. 10. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Even though I have difficulties, I should thank God and I should respect and love my grandfather and grandmother, parents, and brothers and sisters who live with me, friends and neighbors, too. Remember all I really need is the blessing and love of God. I should not want what other people have. I should be happy with and thank God for the relations, friends and things that I have already. "God, please care for and love my father and my mother!"

Remember what is necessary for me is not fulfilling my own desire but the blessing and love of God and controling myself and personal growth.

And try to cast out the devil in you and me but don't hate others.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks to God at every moment. This is the will of God, your vocation as Christians." (1Thess 5,16-18) When we walk the way of the Ten Commandments remembering, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven", then the individual and the community are both living out God's will.

WORD Ten Commandment (Ex 19,4-6; 20,1-17)

19 ⁴"You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and {how} I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. ⁵Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; ⁶and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel."

20 ¹Then God spoke all these words, saying, ²"I am the \Lord\ your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ³You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁵You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; (in it) you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the \Lord\ your God gives you.

¹³You shall not murder.

¹⁴You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵You shall not steal.

¹⁶You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

¹⁷You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

SHARING

1. Why did not God lead Israel directly to Canaan but through the Sinai desert?

2. What will Israel be if they listen to the word of God and follow the commandment of God?

3. What is the key content of the Ten Commandments?

4. Is there any word of the scripture which especially interests you?

SEE Which one of the ten commandments is ignored by me or by society? Let's share with explanation and by examples.

JUDGE Why is this? And What shall we do?

ACT Let's promise to do what I can do for setting this right.

NEXT What is it that gives life or death?

PRAYER Let's each pray to thank God one by one!"

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Lesson 5 God saw that it was good

KEY POINT God, The Creator, created through the Word.

LEARNING Creation of everything in the world 1 － God created the world through the Word.

1. "God said, 'Let there be …….' it happened just as he said." － God created everything from nothing through the "Word."

2. God created everything in this world to share life.

3. The Bible is not intended to show how the world was made. This is the work of scientists and historians. The Bible is the truth of faith revealing who made the world.

The account of creation is different in Genesis chapter 1 verse 9 to chapter 2 verse 4a (creating by the word) from that in Genesis chapter 2 verse 4b to verse 25. (creation forming man of dust from the ground, and breathing into his nostrils the breath of life) This is written not to correct the difference, but to show that the bible is intended to teach not the method of creation but its cause.

4. Revelation of Genesis － The key content of Genesis.

1) God is the Creator. - God created everything seperately each other and to suit the aim of them through the word of God, "Let there be ……"

2) Everything which was created is good. Whenever God saw what He created, He said, "It was good." Therefore all that God created are good and has good aims and directions.

3) Man/Woman is also the creation of God. When God created man/woman He gave them His image to rule over according to the will of God. So even though it is not complete man/woman should remember and review the mind, thoughts and love of God to rule over himself and the world.

4) The thing which is created good should be used good. Everything ise of God and we have only the propriety of control during the time we live on this earth. Therefore, when man/woman rules over he/she should seek and judge always the will of God and follow the aim and will which He created.

5) The world is ruled over by God. God rules over this world. Therefore man/woman cannot assign blame because the world is not fulfilled according to his/her will. Because the lord of the world is not man./woman but God. Of course, everything which happens in this world will be fulfilled according to the will of God.

5. Writers of the Bible emphasize "God is most high god" through Genesis.

Genesis says gods who were adored by Egyptians and Babylonians and who had dominated the Israelites, are only creations which were created by Our God.

In this revelation is attached the profession of faith, "Even though the power and the tribes who have the power are seen to rule over the word, it is never thus! The one who rules over the world is God. He chooses the weakest tribe to show his glory. So whoever sees Israel, the weak tribe, live well and be strong shall say, "Yaweh is true god!"

WORD God created the world (Gn 1,1-2,4a)

1 ¹In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ²And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

³Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

⁴And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

⁶Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." ⁷And God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. ⁸And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. ¹⁰And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

¹¹Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed,( and) fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth"; and it was so. ¹²And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

¹⁴Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; ¹⁵and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth ";and it was so. ¹⁶And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; (He made) the stars also. ¹⁷And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

²⁰Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens." ²¹And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. ²²And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." ²³And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

²⁴Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so. ²⁵And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

²⁶Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." ²⁷And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

²⁹Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, (I have given) every green plant for food ";and it was so. ³¹And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2 ¹Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. ²And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. ⁴This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created,

SHARING

1. Who created the world we are living in?

2. Who is the Lord of the world?

3. What did God say after He created the world?

4. What is best among God's creation?

5 Why is man best?

6. What is the job/work (role) God gave man?

7. What did God do on the seventh day after creating the world?

8. Is there any word of the scripture account which struck you?

SEE

1. What is your job/occupation? Do you feel pride in your work, as God did, when you look back on it?

2. What is it that gives life today to the world that God made?

And, on the other hand, let's share what kills life today.

JUDGE What does God say when he sees this situation?

ACT How can you participate in giving life to the world?

What can you do to work and live more meaningfully?

Let's act as if there is something we can do along these lines.

NEXT Who are you? And why were you born?

PRAYER Let's thank God, one by one!

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

A child questioned.

"Why are you angry?"

"Well, none of my plans come to fulfillment."

"Oh! How about buying the world! Buy the world."

"What?! Are you crazy? Don't say that."

"Crazy me? Who is crazy? It is common sense that since you did not make the world everything will not turn out to your liking."

"……"

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Lesson 6 Let Us make man in Our image

KEY POINT God put His image (thought, mind, love) into man/woman. And God made us to rule over the world. And He calls us continuously to make and save the world with Him.

LEARNING Creation 2 － God created us in His image, according to His likeness.

1. God created man/woman to be in harmony with the world.

1) Man/woman should be in harmony with God, who is the Lord of life. To be in such harmony is to thank God and follow His word.

2) Man/woman should harmonize their body and spirit to become fully human. "For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'" (2Co 6,16)

3) Man/woman should harmonize with their neighbors. When God created man/woman, He did not intend him/her to be alone but to live with and help each other. A neighbor is a gift of God. So we should accept with joy that God gave neighbors. Let's confess with humility that it is through my neighbors that my weakness is revealed and that it is through them that God's grace comes to me.

4) Man/woman should harmonize with all creatures. So, in using nature you should use it according to God's plan.

2. God calls us as companions and helpers in the creation and salvation of the world.

People marry and bear children through the mutual love of husband and wife. They continue the creation of God by making new things by their hard work. So we must be helpers of God, the Creator. And through the love for our neighbor we will be a helper who lets the love of God be shown in this earth. When Jesus will come again on the last day, our efforts will be complete and we will live in 'New Heaven and New Earth.'

WORD God created man/woman (Gn 2,4b-9.15-25)

2 ^4bIn the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ⁵Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth; and there was no man to cultivate the ground. ⁶But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. ⁷Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

⁸And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁵Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."

¹⁸Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." ¹⁹And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought (them) to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. ²⁰And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. ²¹So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. ²²And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." ²⁴For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. How should you live in the world God created?

1) Relation with God -

2) Relation with yourself -

3) Relation with the neighbor -

4) Relation with nature -

SEE

1. When God created man He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Do you live actively by receiving the spirit of God?

2. Do you love, know, and take care of your neighbors and things around you?

3. What type of partner would you like to meet?

JUDGE Why don't you live actively and satisfyingly?

ACT How must you change to live joyfully and to help your neighbors to do the same?

NEXT What must you do if you want to be a better person from now on?

PRAYER Let's thank God one by one!

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Lesson 7 Where are you?

KEY POINT Man/Woman can live as a man/woman only if he/she is with God. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and refused his love, They lost full humanity. This was a sin and a punishment.

LEARNING Sin － the breaking of good relations with God, fellow man/woman, nature and oneself.

1. Sin and Death

1) The first human sin was that of pride.

The serpent tempted Eve, "You will be as God if you will eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil even though you are created by God" Adam and Eve were proud. (They wanted to be as God.) They wanted to think perfectly, to have and to rule over everything as God does.

Therefore they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil on the temptation of the serpent. But they did not have the power and right to rule over everything completely like God. Rather they came to know shame (being naked). At that time they knew to disobey the Will of God, was sinful. And they were afraid so they hid themselves and ran far from God.

2) imputation of responsibility － 'excuse'

God questioned, their answers, "Not because of me but you", not in fault but the tempter's (ie. Satan).

3) punishment as a result of sin － deprivation of harmony

God punished man, woman and the serpent. The serpent which tempted Adam and Eve must henceforth go on its belly and eat dust until it dies. The woman's pain will greatly multiply in childbirth, In pain she shall bring forth children; Yet her desire shall be for her husband, and he shall rule over her." The man shall eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of his brow he shall eat bread, till he return to the earth, because from it he was taken; For he is dust, And to dust he must return.

In punishment to Adam, Gad cast out from Eden Adam and Eve and condemned them to a life of toil and suffering ending in death.

But God forgave the man/woman because He is merciful.

Though Adam and Eve were free to eat and live anywhere in the garden of Eden, they were not free anymore. They must now work hard in order to eat. Work is not naturally something joyful but it can be changed to be so for the purpose of salvation.

2. The result of sin

1) Sin breaks the harmony with God.

- Meet God with fear and trembling

- Hide from God.

- Leave God.

2) Sin breaks the harmony with fellow man/woman and nature.

- Eve (human being) blamed and cursed the serpent (nature).

- Adam (human being) blamed and cursed Eve (fellow human being).

3) Sin breaks the harmony within human beings themselves.

- Human beings, Adam and Eve, lost the happiness which they had.

- Human being must now work hard in order to live.

- Human being lost his life (killed himself).

3. The Original Sin - the social nature of man and his solidarity in original sin

1) This first sin of Adam and Eve is called the Original Sin

2) The result of this original sin (No. 2 above) is inherited. Everyone from birth lives in this world which was punished and he himself is punished too.

3) The social nature of man and his solidarity in sin － Human beings tempt and are tempted by each other in society. They are harmed themselves and they harm others. So if one sins and is in the power of the devil, all around him are harmed by the evil influence of it. (eg. quarrels between a husband and wife quarrels with young children who leave home; and quarrels between a sick person and his/her sad family)

4. The infinite love and hope of God

Man was separated from God by sin but he did not cease to love him. Rather he gave mercy to him all the more. (clothing with garments of leather instead of leaf)

And God promised to send a savior to man. "He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."(verse 15) In this verse we can see how man can be saved from sin and the power of the devil, by waiting for the savior, a descendant of woman. God gave the Good News to man like this. This first good news is called 'the Original Gospel.'

* Remarks : Cain and Abel － Selfish, jealous (Gn 4,1-16)

the ark of Noah － the story of deluge (Gn 6,5-8)

the tower of Babel － collective selfishness (Gn 11,1-9)

WORD Man/Woman refuse the word of God (The Original Sin － pride, Gn 2,15-17; 3,4-24)

2 ¹⁵Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."

3 ⁴And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! ⁵"For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." ⁶When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make (one) wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

⁸And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" ¹⁰And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." ¹¹And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" ¹²And the man said, "The woman whom Thou gavest (to be) with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." ¹³Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." ¹⁴And the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly shall you go, And dust shall you eat All the days of your life; ¹⁵And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." ¹⁶To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall bring forth children; Yet your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." ¹⁷Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. ¹⁸Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the field; ¹⁹By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

²⁰Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all (the) living. ²¹And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. ²²Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" - ²³therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. Why did Adam disobey the command of God by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?

3. What happened to Adam after he ate the forbidden fruit?

4. Why did Adam hide from God?

5. What was Adam's answer to God's question: "Why did you eat?"

6. Why did God not kill Adam who disobeyed his word?

SEE . Let's review why we disobey the word of parents or commit other sins even though we know in our hearts we should not act thus? (the pang of conscience)

1) What sin?

2) Why did we do it?

3) What was the result?

4) What influence had it on our lives?

JUDGE

1. What is the most difficult temptation to get rid of?

2. Why were you so tempted? What was it in me that wanted to give the temptation?

ACT

1. What must you do to avoid this temptation in the future and so not sin again?

2. What must you do so that work will become not a source of punishment, ('a punishment as a result of sin') but a source of joy and pride?

NEXT What will God say when he sees our lives today?

PRAYER Let's thank God one by one!

GLOSSARY

Sin Sin is committed when one knowingly and willingly does something wrong.

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Lesson 8 You are that man

KEY POINT The prophets were those who preached without any hesitation or fear of "What will God say in their situation 'now and here'?" Prophets preached the word of God in full, for their own times and in their own situation. They preached to the people about the justice and love of God even in danger of their own lives.

LEARNING Prophet － one who preaches the word of God in his own time and in his own situation.

1. A prophet prophesies. Then his/her prophesy is not foretelling the future. In the scripture prophesy is to preach the word of God to the people at 'that period and that place.'

2. In the Old Testament 'king' is the representative of peoples' lives at that time. So a prophet's blame of the king is also a blame of the people.

3. Firstly when prophets were chosen by God, all of them hesitated because they, themselves were weak and unrighteous. But they received the call of God, because it was God's will. Because of their blaming of kings and people, many of them were hated and killed by the leaders and people at that time. But God gave them power and strength so that they were enabled to continue to fulfill their prophetic ministry.

4. Those who believe in God should always ask "What does God want?", "How should we live according to the word of God?" and "What shouldn't we do?" in the times in which they themselves live. This is the prophetic ministry.

When nobody says anything about the unjust society, the Church should speak out on behalf of the people. This is not interfering in politics. Silence in such circumstances is to approve of injustice.

WORD The prophet Nathan blamed David, the king. (2Sa 12,1-15)

12 ¹Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said,

"There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. ²The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. ³But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him. ⁴Now a traveler came to the rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

⁵Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. ⁶And he must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion." ⁷Nathan then said to David,

"You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸I also gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if {that had been} too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! ⁹Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ¹⁰Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' ¹¹Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes, and give {them} to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹²Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.'"

¹³Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴"However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die." ¹⁵So Nathan went to his house. Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, so that he was {very} sick.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which you struck you?

2. How should the lives of others have changed for the sake of the pleasure of one man, David?

Why should not the joy of David be a joy to others?

Why could not David's momentary pleasure continue afterwards?

SEE What will God say as he sees your life, the life of your companions or the social situation? Let's talk as if you were a prophet.

JUDGE

1. What should you change in your life so that God sees it is as good and more meaningful? (What is the ideal life for me?)

2. Are there any obstacles preventing you from attaining your ideal type of personal and social life? What are these obstacles? Which can you remove and which can you not remove?

ACT What should you do if you want to follow the will of God?

NEXT Who is the God you know? What do you want from Him?

PRAYER Let's thank God one by one!

GLOSSARY

David Some wisemen see him as the first official king of Israel. He is the youngest son among the 8 sons of his father, 'Jesse'. He was anointed and ordained as a king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. He was a musician in the palace of king 'Saul'. He became a general by slaying 'Goliath', the general of Buleset, with a stone. He married 'Michal', a daughter of Saul. (1Sa 16-18 reference).

Because of Saul's jealousy David fled to another part of the country as an exile but he became a king by following the will of God. (2Sa 2). David became a king to unite Judah and Israel and he ruled over it well.

After David sent his army to conquer the kings, he saw 'Bathsheba', the wife of 'Uriah' (who was a soldier), taking a bath in the yard of her house beyond the palace and he slept with her because of sexual desire. Then he called Uriah and wanted him to sleep with his wife but Uriah didn't because he should be clean in battle. So David wrote a letter to Joab, "Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die." After the death of Uriah he took Bathsheba as one of his wives. (2Sa 11)

'Sololmon' who was born of Bathsheba will be a future king.

Nathan A prophet in David's time.

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Lesson 9 Am I my brother's keeper?

KEY POINT The Israelites lived a new life in a new world after their liberation from Egypt. Whenever they experienced God, who was with them, in a new way, they again professed their belief in God.

When the child is a baby he/she thinks that parents, as parents, must be with him/her, and buy and give whatever he/she asks. But growing slowly he/she can see a new face of his/her parents. Like this, the relation of God to us is similar to that of the relation of parents to children, when they change from being protectors to companions.

LEARNING Changing ones idea of God and of life as one matures - right awareness and life of faith.

1. God, Liberator － Immanuel (God who is with us.)

Israel, a small nomadic tribe, had lived always under the threat of stronger tribes. Israel could not overcome these dangers alone. But whenever God was with them they always overcame these. Therefore Israel felt God was the one to liberate them and always to be with them whenever they faced these sufferings and difficulties.

2. God, Creator, Supervisor and Savior

Israel came to know that the God who liberated them from Egypt would save them. The God who will save them created them and governs the world.

3. The God, of Mercy who knows the conditions of the poor and their oppression.

On the other hand, other tribes who saw the weakest tribe win always came to know Israel's God, ie. 'God, Winner' and 'God of War.' And when Israel immigrated to Canaan they said their god is 'judge righteous' and questioned, the other tribes "Who is your god?"

Is the basis of righteousness, the same for their society, culture and customs, or not? Does it benefit them or not? Israel reviewed their past slavery in Egypt, and they came to know that 'the righteousness of God is to have mercy on the weak and poor without any fees or conditions.

Therefore Israel professed more deeply their faith in, "Our God is righteous and just but also He looks upon the hungry, poor and weak."

*Cf. : God, the King of Israel, the Lord of armies, The ark of the covenant.

4. Changes in the life of a believer according to changes of the concept of God

Cain (After being in Canaan)

Abel (Traditional lives of Israel)

culture

Agriculture, private working place, private income, private possession

nomadism, common workplace, common income, common possession, common sharing

the view of God

God who is just (the righteous judge)

God who is just but does not ignore the poor and the weak.

type of lives of the believing

I live by my income. － "Am I my brother's (the poor) keeper?"

I should share and take care of neighbors from my income － the orphan, the widow, the old, the sick and travelers

	Cain (After being in Canaan)	Abel (Traditional lives of Israel)
culture	Agriculture, private working place, private income, private possession	nomadism, common workplace, common income, common possession, common sharing
the view of God	God who is just (the righteous judge)	God who is just but does not ignore the poor and the weak.
type of lives of the believing	I live by my income. － "Am I my brother's (the poor) keeper?"	I should share and take care of neighbors from my income － the orphan, the widow, the old, the sick and travelers

WORD God is righteous, merciful and helps the poor (Gn 4,1-5.8-11)

4¹Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with (the help of) the Lord."²And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.³So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.⁴And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;⁵but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.⁸And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

⁹Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" ¹⁰And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground. ¹¹And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. Let's share the story of 'Cain and Abel.'

SEE Who is 'my God'? And have I lived according this view of God?

JUDGE What is the difference between my previous God and the God whom I have now learned about?

ACT How should I live and what should I ask of God if my God is to be the true God?

NEXT How has God been with me in my life till now?

Read 'the profile' of the next chapter, '* Let's review' and prepare to present yours.

PRAYER Let's thank God one by one!

GLOSSARY

Seth Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, (she said,) "God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel; for Cain killed him." And to Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enoch. Then (men) began to call upon the name of the Lord. (Gn 4, 25-26).

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

Two men quarreled and afterwards prayed to God separately.

"God, make him (his company, his country) repent (in this point) and be a new man"

Which of the two's prayer will God grant?

If the joy of one is based on the sadness of the other, what will God want to say?

Does God exist to fulfill the greed of men/women?

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*Let's review

－ "I have lived as this!"

KEY POINT Let's review how God has been in our past lives?

WORD (Ps 139,1-18.23-24)

139¹O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known (me.)

²Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up;

Thou dost understand my thought from afar.

³Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down,

And art intimately acquainted with all my ways.

⁴Even before there is a word on my tongue,

Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all.

⁵Thou hast enclosed me behind and before,

And laid Thy hand upon me.

⁶(Such) knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is (too) high, I cannot attain to it.

⁷Where can I go from Thy Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Thy presence?

⁸If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there.

⁹If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

¹⁰Even there Thy hand will lead me,

And Thy right hand will lay hold of me.

¹¹If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,

And the light around me will be night,"

¹²Even the darkness is not dark to Thee,

And the night is as bright as the day.

Darkness and light are alike (to Thee.)

¹³For Thou didst form my inward parts;

Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb.

¹⁴I will give thanks to Thee,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Thy works,

And my soul knows it very well.

¹⁵My frame was not hidden from Thee,

When I was made in secret,

(And) skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Thy book they were all written,

The days that were ordained (for me),

When as yet there was not one of them.

¹⁷How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.

When I awake, I am still with Thee.

²³Search me, O God,

and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

²⁴And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

LEARNING Individual report 1 - How God has been in your life!

I was born on November 24th, 1965 at Kyoungju in Chungcheong-do. I was the eldest son and had two brothers and one sister. My parents were farmers, and we children went to school without difficulty, relatively. However, we were poor. Poverty made me depressed. Because we had only a little farmland, we became more and more poor. My father was very harassed, so he drank away his care and often quarreled with my mother and the neighbors. My father died when I was in the third year of high school. I thought that the cause of his death was his hard life, drink and trouble with me. My dream was to become an entertainer, but this disappointed my father. I was completely shocked by my father's death.

On graduating from high school, I went to Seoul and began to work in a small factory making clothes. The working hours there were very long, usually from 4 am to 11 or 12 pm, and I was very tired. But in those days I thought that the working conditions were normal and I had no idea of how to protest against the situation.

After 8 months of factory work, I got a job in a paper goods store and became a paperhanger. I was charmed by the process of changing a dirty room to a clean one through my own efforts. As God says "That's good." after he created the world, I felt satisfaction after papering walls and ceilings. I thought that I engaged myself in the creative activities of God. In the early days I lived at my boss' house. Soon I lived alone. I received a salary of 120,000 won.

By the way, I met a skilled paperhanger named Mr. Jin, who worked with a team. He suggested that I work with him. I hesitated because I felt responsible to my boss. He was a great help to me in my training of papering. It looked like I intended to satisfy my selfishness.

One day, my boss found fault with my work. He was very biased and never heard my explanation in full. I did my best in performing my duty, but my boss looked down on me because I was his employee and a worker. I was very upset and decided to leave.

After that, I worked with Mr. Jin. At first I learned much better skills from him, and the pay was better than in previously job. As time passed, Mr. Jin began to treat me badly, but I was patient and worked hard.

I have been in YCW since 1988. YCW members are proud of their jobs, and they know God loves them. They thank God and confide in one another. Working with them, I got to be self-confident in my job. Jesus was a worker, too. He worked as a carpenter and lived with the poor.

Of course, there were many difficulties when I act as a YCW member. First of all, because YCW had many activities, I had not much time to be with my family, so my mother was often angry with me. I often had to miss the meetings. But I could surmount many difficulties with the help of the retreats. I have sworn to be a fighter of YCW.

We say that prayer itself is life. However, do we always believe in God? Do we experience Jesus Christ suffering on the cross? Although we are very busy, we should have the time to pray and talk with God.

Now, looking over my past time, I know that God leads me and I am in his good graces. I hear the call of God to engage in his work, and I have to respond to it. I decide to be a pillar working for the liberation of people, especially the workers. I believe that God is with us. And I will keep prayer and faith in God in my mind as weapons, a shield in fighting for the realization of the Kingdom of God.

SHARING

1. Let's share our past lives.

2. Listening to the profile of each other, meditate how God has protected and taken care of the life of each of us.

3. "If you are God," you have the mind of God and encourage each other.

4. You can share any word of God in psalm 139 which interests you.

NEXT God who surpasses human experience and the human in the Providence of God.

PRAYER Let's thank God one by one in prayer!

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Lesson 10 All is vanity

KEY POINT The human person in real life situations, has many experiences, trials, feelings, etc. From these come his ideas of life and the would around him. But beyond all these is the God, the lord of all who gives that life as a gift.

LEARNING The result of human experience - the Will of God

1. The human person has his own individual thoughts.

The human person has lived his own life. Reviewing one's past life, even though it is not perfect in every case makes one realize that he has power, wisdom, wealth and happiness which is outwardly visible. Also he thinks that by his own efforts he can increase these qualities and improve his lot.

2. All is vanity.

However as he looks at the world from this point of view, he finally comes to realize that "All is vanity." Whenever man faces the reality of his own limitations then he realizes that all is vanity. Every moment of life convinces him that study, work, living, even the knowledge of God - all these - are vanity.

3. Luck and the providence of God

Therefore certain people say, "live as you are!" or "live properly!" And the other people impute life and its problems to luck because they could not solve them according to the principle of "crime and punishment" (cause and effect) But if a person has faith in the providence of God then he/she can see that all is not vanity.

4. God who draws man/woman

God is above thoughts and experiences. Even though He is beyond our control and knowledge completely, He still shows Himself, and lead us along the road to human happiness. So we can take away the uncertainty, the atrophy and the fear of an uncertain future and lean on and give ourselves to God and live. Our life is the gift of God. We are in His providence.

WORD All is vanity (Ecc 1,2-3; 3,1-22)

1 ²"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."³What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

3¹There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven -²A time to give birth, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.³A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up.⁴A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.⁵A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing.⁶A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep, and a time to throw away.⁷A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; A time to be silent, and a time to speak.⁸A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace.⁹What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? ¹⁰I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. ¹¹He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. ¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime; ¹³moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor - it is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has {so} worked that men should fear Him. ¹⁵That which is has been already, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.

¹⁶Furthermore, I have seen under the sun {that} in the place of justice there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. ¹⁷I said to myself, "God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man," for a time for every matter and for every deed is there.

¹⁸I said to myself concerning the sons of men, "God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts." ¹⁹For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. ²¹Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? ²²And I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. Were there any problems which you couldn't solve in your past life?

SEE Reviewing your life until now, do you feel in what direction and through what way God led you?

JUDGE How does God see you in this moment? And how, what direction does God lead you?

ACT If you feel how God is leading you, even though it is not very clear, let's share how you can respond to His leading.

NEXT Why do good people suffer?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 11 Let the day perish on

which I was to be born

KEY POINT The suffering of man/woman is not a punishment caused by his/her sin but the mystery of man/woman himself/herself. Rather man/woman can come to salvation by accepting and participating in this suffering.

LEARNING Human suffering and salvation

1. The principle "reward for good; punishment for evil" is no longer accepted today. Israel thought they would receive blessings and be saved if they obeyed the command of God. But it was not so. Rather those who kept the commandments well suffered and those who did not were often prosperous in this world, as they ridiculed the former. How did this come about? Why did these unjust situations happen?

2. "Crime and punishment" principle does not apply. - Man had thought his suffering was the result of his sin. Israel had so thought until the period of Jesus. When the disciples saw a man blind from birth they questioned Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" (Jn 9,2) In a similar situation, we too ask that same question. But Jesus answered, "(It was) neither (that) this man sinned, nor his parents; but (it was) in order that the works of God might be displayed in him." (verse 3) In this answer we can see that the traditional principle "crime-punishment/good-reward" no longer holds.

3. Sacred Scripture is a great book about 'suffering.' Let us quote from the books of the Old Testament a few examples of situations which bear the signs of suffering, and above all moral suffering: the danger of death, the death of one's own children and, especially, the death of the firstborn and only son; and then too: the lack of offspring. nostalgia for the homeland, persecution and hostility of the environment, mockery and scorn of the one who suffers, loneliness and abandonment; and again: the remorse of conscience, the difficulty of understanding why the wicked prosper and the just suffer, the unfaithfulness and ingratitude of friends and neighbours; and finally: the misfortunes of one's own nation. It can be said that man suffers whenever he experiences any kind of evil. In the vocabulary of the Old Testament, suffering and evil are identified with each other. Thus it defined as "evil" everything that was suffering. But the Catholic Church defines man as good in his essence. (From now on refer to Apostolic Letter 'SALVIFICI DOLORIS')

4. Human suffering raises the question : "Why?" For man does not put this question to the world, even though it is from the world that suffering often comes to him, but he puts it to God as the Creator and Lord of the world. The Old Testament shows us human suffering as a punishment inflicted by God for human sins. And the human sins demand punishment, because men/women expect that the sinner suffer because of his/her sin. But we can see through Job how God, who is good, does not cause the suffering but simply permits it. (The Lord allowed Satan to test Job with suffering to demonstrate Job's righteousness. - Job 1,12; 2,6). Thus suffering Job prefigures the suffering Jesus (ie. the Passion).

5. Salvation means liberation from evil, and for this reason it is closely bound up with the problem of suffering. Thus Christ who came to overcome the evil of the world, is the Savior who bears the suffering instead of us. "Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him." (Isa 53,4c.d.6c.d.) Thus, suffering is opening up to Christ; accepting suffering is accepting Christ. Those who believe in Christ overcome death and rise again because through their own sufferings they share in the passion and death of Christ which brought salvation to the whole world. And all those who suffer have been called once and for all to become sharers "in Christ's sufferings" (1Pet 4,13), just as all have been called to "complete" with their own suffering "what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" (Gol 1,24 - the St. Paul's view of suffering). (At one and the same time Christ by his sufferings has taught man to do good and also to do good to those who suffer. In this double aspect he has completely revealed the meaning of suffering.)

6. The world of human suffering unceasingly calls forth, so to speak, another world: the world of human love; and in a certain sense man owes to suffering that unselfish love which stirs in his heart. Whenever confronted by human suffering, every individual must feel as if called personally to bear witness to love in the midst of suffering, and "stop" at the suffering of one's neighbor, have "compassion" for that sufferer, and give some help. This is just to complete with one's own suffering what is lacking in Christ's sufferings.

WORD Job's suffering(Job 1,8-12.20-22; 2,4-10; 3,1-3.11.20.25.26; 4,1.7; 6,1.2.24.25; 7,7.18; 38,1.2; 40,7.8; 42,1-3)

1⁸And the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."⁹Then Satan answered the Lord, "Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰Hast Thou not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹But put forth Thy hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse Thee to Thy face." ¹²Then the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

²⁰Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. ²¹And he said, #"Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

²²Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

2⁴And Satan answered the Lord and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.⁵"However, put forth Thy hand, now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse Thee to Thy face."⁶So the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life."⁷Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.⁸And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.⁹Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!" ¹⁰But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

3¹Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his {birth.}²And Job said,³"Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night {which} said, 'A boy is conceived.' ¹¹Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? ²⁰Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul; ²⁵For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me. ²⁶I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes."

4¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,⁷"Remember now, who {ever} perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?"

6¹Then Job answered,²"Oh that my vexation were actually weighed, And laid in the balances together with my iniquity! ²⁴Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have erred. ²⁵How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?"

7⁷"Remember that my life is {but} breath, My eye will not again see good. ¹⁸That Thou dost examine him every morning, And try him every moment?"

38¹Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,²"Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?

40⁷Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me.⁸Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?"

42¹Then Job answered the Lord, and said,²"I know that Thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.³Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

SHARING Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

SEE What suffering are you in?

JUDGE Why do you think you are in suffering?

ACT What shall you do to overcome this suffering?

NEXT The History of Salvation of the World 2 Our Lord, Jesus Christ in the New Testament

－ God became a man for us.

PRAYER Let's thank God one by one!

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Working,

Resting,

And!

The History of Salvation of the World 2

Our Lord, Jesus Christ

in the New Testament

Lesson 12 Be it done to me

according to your word

KEY POINT How does God save the world? And who does God select as His helper?

LEARNING Annunciation － foretelling of the birth of the Savior, 'humble and obedient'

1. God wanted to send His only Son as a man saves the world. And He needed the womb of a woman for this purpose.

2. God's human helper:

God sent an angel to the virgin Mary, who told her she would bear 'the Son of God' and Mary responded humbly to the call of God. This response of Mary began the history of salvation of the world. The angel said to Mary who was afraid "Do not be afraid, Mary. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary responded in faith, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word."

* This faith of Mary is the same as Abraham's who left the place where he lived and went to the place which God led him to; and it is the same faith as the church has today. (Gn 12,1-4) The fathers of the early Church called Mary who obeyed the word of God 'the second Eve' or 'new Eve' to contrast her with Eve who did not obey the word of God. They also called Christ the "New Adam." (Ro 5,12-21)

3. Sometimes God's grace is a practical blessing to man and relieves his pains and sufferings. But the opposite can also occur (ie grace brings trials and misunderstandings) for the Good of the community (the custom of the time demanded that a pregnant virgin be stoned.)

Therefore those who believe in God and want to do His Will should search for that will and try to discover God's intention even through abnormal happenings.)

WORD The birth of Jesus foretold (Lk 1,26-38)

1 ²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸And coming in, he said to her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord (is) with you." ²⁹But she was greatly troubled at (this) statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. ³⁰And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³²He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end." ³⁴And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" ³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. ³⁶And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God." ³⁸And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

* Remarks - In second reading make a couple with a man/woman beside, one is the role of the angel, 'Gabriel' and the other 'Mary', read twice and listen directly like as the voice of God.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. How did Mary become pregnant?

3. What did Mary say when receiving humbly the Will of God?

SEE What do the people want me to do?

JUDGE

1. What are your worries between 'what you want to do' and 'what you should do' (what the others want me to do ) Complete the following "Worry Chart" and let's discuss our worries

Worry Chart

Things

positive

negative

Things which you want to do.

Things which you should do.

2. God said through the angel to Mary, "You will be the mother of the savior." Then What will the angel say to you when you find yourself in situation no. 1 above?

ACT Let's pray that we will fulfill to the best of our ability our promise to apply God's word to our life situations.

NEXT What is the symbol of the savior?

PRAYER The Hail Mary

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb

－ "Hail, favored one! The Lord (is) with you." (Lk 1,28 - Angel's greeting to Holy Mary)

Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God,

- "Blessed among women (are) you, and blessed (is) the fruit of your womb!" (Lk 1,42 - the song which Elizabeth sang for the visitation of Holy Mary)

pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

－ the song of the Church to Holy Mary who is to be the mother of God

Amen.

"Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word."

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Lesson 13 It's a sign which is a baby wrapped in cloths,

lying in a manger

KEY POINT Jesus was born as a poor and weak baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger to give joy especially to those who are poor and in difficulties.

LEARNING The saviour's manifestation to the magi and shepherds was through being born poor and weak.

1. The savior came as a a poor and weak baby who renounced the power of God.

2. The savior who was born was just the One who was prophesied by the prophets.

1) (To the serpent which is the symbol of the temptation and evil) "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush your head, And you shall be bruised by his heel." (Gn 3,15)

2) "The Virgin is with child and bears a son and calls his name Immanuel."(Isaiah 7,14)

3) "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. For he comes forth from of old, beyond any known time." (Micah 5,1a; Mt 2,5)

3. The savior showed himself firstly to the poor.

- shepherds : poor men who were despised, suspected and considered as sinners at that time

- Wise men : those who have the spirit of the poor in heart, who saw the star, and recognized the birth of the savior. The pagans (who were considered excluded from salvation at that time)

4. Even though Jesus was God, He gave up all divine power and became a human being. So he became poor. This is just a sign of the love of God for man/woman.

5. The gifts which the wise men present to Jesus.

1) Gold - the gift which is given only to a King; the gift which was given Jesus the King of heaven and earth.

2) Frankincense - the sign of adoration; the gift which is given only to God.

3) Myrrh - the precious gift which is used in death and burial; the gift which was a preparation for the death of Jesus.

WORD The birth of Jesus (Lk 2,1-16)

2 ¹Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. ²This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ⁶And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And in the same region there were (some) shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; ¹¹for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this (will be) a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger." ¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

¹⁵And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds (began) saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." ¹⁶And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

The visit of magi (Mt 2,1-12)

2 ¹Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ²"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him." ³And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he (began) to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, ⁶'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

⁷Then Herod secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the time the star appeared. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and make careful search for the Child; and when you have found (Him,) report to me, that I too may come and worship Him." ⁹And having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. ¹⁰And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned (by God) in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. Why was Jesus born in poverty, lying in a manger (The feeding place of a horse) not in a hotel or the king's palace?

3. Why did Jesus come as the weakest baby not a miracle worker, a general or a king?

SEE The magi knew of the birth of Jesus by seeing the star.

1) Which star (aim, direction or position) do you follow?

2) What do you do today that shows you Jesus?

JUDGE There are people who think that a comfortable life is a sign of blessing and salvation. In this view how can you find the face of the savior in an infant Jesus who came into the word in poverty and weakness?

ACT What gift do you give the infant Jesus who is born into this world for us?

NEXT How did the infant Jesus who became a man grow up?

PRAYER Contemplative prayer

Now, let's close our eyes and imagine. See the night sky. There you seek the big star which will light the way to Jesus. You go for a long time, the star is hidden and you don't know how to go. Let's go to Herod and question the way we must go. Imagine the face of Herod in front of you. See in Herod the devil who tempts those who want to live a good life. And see Jesus who conquers the dark devil. See the star which the Lord lights for us and follow with the magi.

It is dark but there is a light coming from the stable where Jesus was born. Go into the stable, say hello to Mary and Joseph.

"We came to congratulate you on the birth of Jesus!"

Now, Let's follow Mary and Joseph and see the infant Jesus. The infant Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Jesus is laughing and says to me.

"Ah! You Came."

Now, say hello to Jesus, and tell him anything you want to say.

(Write below what you want to say to Jesus.)

"Jesus!

Goodbye and see you again! I'll come back soon!"

Stay and feel comfortable in the warm eyes of the Lord who sees us, and offer him your heart as a gift before departing.

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT Let's draw the stable where Jesus was born. And draw also the warm eyes of the infant Jesus, seeing us and laughing.

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Lesson 14 Did you not know that

I had to be in My Father's house?

KEY POINT Jesus Himself walked 'the way every man should walk'. As Jesus was growing up He obeyed his parents in childhood, worked as a carpenter following His father, Joseph, until he was 30 years old and was a member of the Holy Family.

LEARNING The childhood of Jesus - Walking the human road, the Gospel of Work

1. Jesus who wanted to be with the Father. "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's (house)?" (verse 49)

2. But Jesus gave up His own will and respected and obeyed with humble and gentle disposition the human living conditions of his state (His parent in the ground) in the will of the Father. So He followed the will of God, the Father, which was to be in a family and thus established the "Holy Family."

3. Preaching 'the Gospel of work' － The son of God, Savior, Jesus Himself worked.

1) the sacredness and dignity of work - its foundation.

(1) the sacredness of work - Human toil is not a suffering or a punishment intended only for the lowly but a holy thing which continues the creation of God. Jesus shows this by working Himself.

(2) the dignity of work - By working Himself, Jesus dignified work because the man who worked possessed the image (thought, love, mind and spirit) of God.

2) Being a helper who continues the creation of God through the work.

3) Forming a family through work.

4) Earning a living through work

5) Serving society through work

6) Fulfilling oneself through work - Self-commitment, Self- completion

7) Creating the 'New Heaven and the New Earth' through hard work.

WORD Jesus' childhood (Lk 2,41-52)

2 ⁴¹And His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴²And when He became twelve, they went up (there) according to the custom of the Feast; ⁴³and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. And His parents were unaware of it, ⁴⁴but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they (began) looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. ⁴⁶And it came about that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸And when they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You." ⁴⁹And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's (house?") ⁵⁰And they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.

⁵¹And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all (these) things in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. What is the meaning of what Jesus said, "Do you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Where do you seek Jesus?

SEE

1. Do you or your fellow factory/office-workers feel the value of work? If not, why not?

2. What are the reasons you don't feel the value and sacredness of work as you should?

3. What will society be like if it continues as it is?

JUDGE What will God say to this society and to this way of working?

ACT What shall you do to work joyfully and fruitfully?

NEXT How do you prepare for meeting the Lord?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 15 This is My beloved Son,

in whom I am well-pleased

KEY POINT The free choice of Jesus in fulfilling the Will of the Father and the response and the blessing of the Father

LEARNING the Lord was Baptized - the start of His public life

1. Fulfilling the will of the Father - At 30 years of age, when the time was come, Jesus went to John and was baptized though sinless Himself. So Jesus chose the Father's will freely and the Father approved of Jesus' choice and blessed Him. Therefore Jesus confirmed His unity with God. ("This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.")

2. Conversion is "to repent of wrongs, be sorry for them and return to God" and "to know, love God and live according to the will of God"

* Remarks - May you meet 'the God who is full of mercy' and 'who is love itself'. Examples of the unusual experiences of God are as follows ;

1) God is the norm of "good." : "Live a good life."

2) God watches and judges : "If you sin again that will be really serious."

3) God is not felt : I feel nothing. (even when one cannot concentrate and is distracted or not paying attention there are times when he/she still thinks of God.)

* Good response : "You are wonderful!" "I love you!" "You are pretty!"

3. The Baptism of John and the Church's Sacrament of Baptism.

Baptism is a ceremony of washing with water and can be thought of in connection with the Jewish custom of purifications, in OT which was washing the body before doing any sacred work. The Baptism of John was a kind of conversion. So it was the preparation for meeting the Lord.

Sacrament of the Baptism is the ceremony by which we are saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus and by which we become a new child of God. This is the Sacrament of dying to one's sin and being reborn in the Lord. This means it is a change of the person whereby he/she rejects the values of this world and takes on the values of Jesus.

WORD Baptism of Jesus (Mt 3,1-4.8.13-17)

3 ¹Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ²"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." ³For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

'Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!'"

⁴Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair, and a leather belt about his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁸"Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance;

¹³Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan (coming) to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" ¹⁵But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit (it) at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him. ¹⁶And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, (and) coming upon Him, ¹⁷and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying,

"This is My beloved Son,

in whom I am well-pleased."

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. The voice from heaven when Jesus was baptized said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." What will God say when you are baptized and receive Holy Communion?

SEE You must believe in Jesus to receive Baptism and Communion. How can you show that you are serious in your conversion? Talk to each other about this.

JUDGE Sometimes even though I did no wrong a dispute occurred and I suffered. As I meditate on John baptizing Jesus, what was God telling us through this incident, where I was innocent?

ACT What must you do if you want to be a child loved by the Lord?

NEXT What must we do to make the world a good place in which to live?

PRAYER Let's pray to thank God one by one

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Lesson 16 Man shall live on every word

that proceeds out of the mouth of God

KEY POINT The method of salvation of God and of man/woman

LEARNING The 3 temptations － Tension between God's saving plan and man's individual desires.

1. 'Bread' and 'Word' - Even though man/woman must to eat the bread (needs must be fulfilled.). There are needs other than eating, filling, having material goods for one's condition, these are the need for friendship, love, faith, concession, forgiveness etc.

In other words we should live according to the instructions which God has given us and walk the way he has shown us. So clinging to material goods only is a temptation.

But it is not enough to relieve a person's physical hunger only, we must also relieve his spiritual hunger.

2. "falling down from the temple…" - if a person throws himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, his body naturally will be broken and he will die. But those who follow the devils suggestion to refuse to accept the human condition want to enjoy super human power. This is also putting God to the test.

However, love cannot be acquired by some astonishing show. Neither can faith be acquired if there is doubt.

3. "worship me…" - This involves man's/woman's abandoning his/her human dignity, values and the truth, in order to realize his/her sinful human ambitions. This happens in the case of acting unjustly, taking bribes or compromising moral behaviour.

To serve God only is to follow the will of God and His righteousness. - ie. maintaining human dignity and acting as a christian should.

4. The devil continued : "If you are the Son of God…" The devil wanted to upset Jesus's purpose in coming into the world and subjecting himself fully to the human condition. He (devil) points out an easy and a false way to Jesus. But by overcoming the temptations of the devil, Jesus showed that if anyone who is tempted relies strongly on God's love and help, he can completely overcome any temptation.

If we endeavor to be led by the Holy Spirit always, we can see whether something is temptation or not. Even though we fall into temptation we should come to the Lord again. Let's pray always and ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we can recognize temptation and reject it.

WORD The temptation of Jesus (Mt 4,1-11)

4 ¹Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. ³And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." ⁴But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" ⁵Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and 'On (their) hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'" 7Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" ⁸Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; ⁹and he said to Him, "All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me." ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" ¹¹Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and (began) to minister to Him.

SHARING Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

SEE

1. Among the above 3 temptations which one concerns you most. In what sense is it a real temptation for you?

2. Why do you face temptation?

3. If you go along with the temptation what will be the result?

JUDGE What does God want you to do at such a time?

ACT Abiding in God's love, try to put into practice all that you are capable of doing to get rid of the temptation

NEXT

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 17 The Lord's Spirit is upon Me,

to preach the gospel to the poor

KEY POINT Jesus started His public life after His baptism. From this time Jesus taught by living Himself the way to God. This way is the Good News (the Gospel), "It mean's to accept the Gospel (the word of the Lord) and to be liberated from one's sin and the bonds of society (ie. social evil, structured evil, necessary evil - the Original sin) by choosing God freely."

LEARNING The ministry of the savior - preaching the Good News to the poor

1. Jesus is the One who is the son of God, received the Holy Spirit and came among us.

2. to preach the gospel to the poor - Even though Jesus was of the same essence as God, He chose the human living conditions - being hungry, needing sleep and being tired like us. That is, He gave up all the divine privileges and rights and became poor. This poverty is reflective of the love of God which gives up all. So one who accepts and believes in the Lord who became poor and renounced riches, is already rich because he has set out on the road Jesus travelled. (reference in Mt chapter 5 Beatitudes)

3. to proclaim release to the captives - Jesus restored to those burdened by the sins of this world, the image of God and the freedom and happiness which God gave man at creation.

4. recovery of sight to the blind - Jesus showed men/women the road they should travel; He shone God's light on those who had gone astray; He enabled the blind not just to see physical light but also the light of God.

5. to set free those who are downtrodden - Jesus enabled humanity which was oppressed by the evil social system and environmental control to liberate itself and live in the freedom that comes from believing in Christ, and following his teachings.

6. the favorable year of the Lord - God is with us here today. So the word of the Lord is fulfilled in those who believe in Him.

WORD The ministry of Jesus (Lk 4,16-19.21)

4 ¹⁶Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. ¹⁷And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He anointed Me

to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent Me to proclaim

release to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set free those who are downtrodden,

¹⁹To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

²¹And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

SHARING Jesus came to Nazareth and entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read the book of the prophet Isaiah and said to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Then let's think together and share how we can fulfill this word in our lives.

1. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me." Doses the Holy Spirit who led Jesus to the poor lead you to Jesus? Do you feel Jesus is with you?

2. "He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor."

1) Do you feel the call of Jesus to bring the good news to the poor today?

2) Have you any friend who needs something at the moment? Who is he (she)?

3) What shall you do for him (her)?

3. "He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives"

1) Do you have any friend who has something he is afraid someone might steal. Because of this fear is he/she a prisoner of the toy or object? Who is he (she)?

2) What shall you do for him (her)?

4. "recovery of sight to the blind"

1) Is there any friend who is blind with greed and cannot see Jesus or his neighbor? Who is he (she)?

2) What shall you do for him (her)?

5. "To set free those who are downtrodden"

1) Is there any friend who is oppressed? Who is he (she)?

2) What shall you do for him (her)?

6. "To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord"

1) How does one proclaim the favorable year of the Lord?

2) How can you do this?

NEXT What will happens to sinners and rich men? Will they be excluded from salvation?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 18 Zaccheus, hurry, come down,

for today I must stay at your house

KEY POINT The new life of conversion and salvation which is born in God's great love.

LEARNING Conversion - being changed and reborn by the love of the Lord.

1. God loves humanity and saves it. So salvation is achieved not by "how well one keep the law" (from a legalistic point of view), but by the unconditional love of God (the rebirth of Zaccheus by the visiting of Jesus).

According to the legalistic mind of the Jews, a person was saved by keeping the law. So men make the regulations for keeping God's law. Then, as times went on, there was a tendency to keep only the letter of the law but not the spirit.

In certain cases this tendency became an obstacle and elements of structured evil supposedly based on the law, began to creep into the system. For example, if a thief or a prostitute is to be saved they should do penance and atone. Then they should buy an offering for the sacrifice of atonement with clean money, according to the regulation at that time. But they could not do this because they had stolen money only etc. So they could not perform the sacrifice and so stayed eternally sinners according to the legalistic interpretation of the then law of God.

The poor didn't know the law well and couldn't keep it easily. Ultimately, according to the regulations of the law, the poor and those who didn't know the law easily became sinners, and those who met them and lived with them became sinners also. So they were isolated by the religion and society of the day. So those who were judged as sinners by society had no hope for salvation again in Judaism and its Legalistic system.

2. Human (Zaccheus) was changed when he felt and experienced the love of God. Jesus forgives and saves man/woman even though he/she has sinned much, provided he/she wants to come to Jesus. The human person, having received this love, will give up his/her way of thinking and living up to now and live newly in the Lord again. This is the 'conversion.'

3. Jesus came to call the lost - Jesus came to seek men/women whom society regards as sinners and who are not cared for by anyone. So they await upon God who alone will help them.

WORD Zaccheus listens to the words of Jesus and is converted. (Lk 19,1-10)

19¹And He entered and was passing through Jericho.²And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; and he was a chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich.³And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.⁴And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.⁵And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."⁶And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly.⁷And when they saw it, they all (began) to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."⁸And Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."⁹And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

SHARING Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

SEE Are there men/women like 'Zaccheus' in this Gospel whom you ignore? Who are they? Why are they ignored? What do these people do?

JUDGE

1. How does God see these men/women?

2. Jesus said the house of Zaccheus was saved. What did Zaccheus decide to do so that he was saved by Jesus? And how did Zaccheus carry out this decision?

ACT Zaccheus climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus because he was small in stature. Do you see Jesus? If not, what can you do to see Him?

NEXT When will the kingdom of God, which the Lord preached, come?

PRAYER Let's pray God one by one!

GLOSSARY

tax-gatherer In Jesus' days (because the people were poor), the tax collector paid peoples' tax to Rome from his own money first. He later collected the tax from them at a high rate of interest. The people judged him a sinner and hated him because of this.

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Lesson 19 Talitha Kum

KEY POINT Jesus showed the kingdom of God's love through the miracles.

LEARNING Jesus who is Lord － the founding of the kingdom of God through the miracles

Jesus, through this miracles, showed us that "He is the lord of life" that God loves humanity. And by these miracles we can recognize the start of the kingdom of God through Jesus 'here and now.' Jesus showed the truth of His word through the miracles

* Remarks - the words of Jesus － Lesson 15 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor." (Lk 4,16-21)

1. The kingdom of God is given to the pure who are like children. Believing and putting into practice the words of God is the way to accepting the Kingdom.

2. Jesus is the Lord who raised the daughter of the synagogue official, Jairus, to life although she was dead. Through this miracle he made it possible for the people to praise God.

3. Jesus did not force belief through the miracles. He wanted people to follow him not because he worked miracles, but because he was the saviour. (Mk 5,43a)

4. Healing of the sick is not just to do a good act or act superstitiously. It is the word of God.

* If sick person should go to the hospital, the healer is not a doctor but God. A doctor simply helps to heal the sick person; the healer is God. Because life is of God. (Cf. Lesson 4)

5. Seeing these miracles we can know the kingdom of God has come in the 'here and now' in which we are living. Although not yet complete, the kingdom which has already been established, will be fully realized in time.

WORD Jesus bless children (Lk 18,15-17)

18 ¹⁵They were bringing even their babies to Him so that He might touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they (began) rebuking them. ¹⁶But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it (at all.)"

'Talitha kum' (Mk 5, 38-43)

5 ³⁸And they came to the house of the synagogue official; and Jesus beheld a commotion, and (people) loudly weeping and wailing. ³⁹And entering in, He said to them, "Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep." ⁴⁰And they (began) laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child's father and mother and His own companions, and entered (the room) where the child was. ⁴¹And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, "Talitha kum!" (which translated means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"). ⁴²And immediately the girl rose and (began) to walk; for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. ⁴³And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this; and He said that (something) should be given her to eat.

Paralytic at the pool of Bethesda (Jn 5,1-10)

5 ¹After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ²Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep (gate) a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. ³In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; ⁴for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] ⁵And a certain man was there, who had been thirty-eight years in his sickness. ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time (in that condition,) He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" ⁷The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me."⁸Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up your pallet, and walk." ⁹And immediately the man became well, and took up his pallet and (began) to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.

¹⁰Therefore the Jews were saying to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet."

SHARING

1. What did Jesus tell us to do in order to enter the kingdom of God?

2. How were the dead girl and the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda healed?

3. What did Jews say to the man at the pool of Bethesda who who was cured, took up his pallet and walked?

4. What thoughts and feelings do have on hearing the above the miracle stories? Let's share together.

SEE Did you ever feel God is with us (or God is being.) Or Were there 'strange and mysterious' accidents in your lives which you couldn't understand by natural intelligence or common sense?

JUDGE Do you believe in God? Do you accept the kingdom of God? If not, why do you hesitate? For example; Jews didn't accept because of a legalistic understanding of the Sabbath, "Never work on the Sabbath!" Became an idol for them not the command of a loving God. Why can you not accept God and his Kingdom?

ACT What will you do to believe more deeply in God and live more fully in Him? What can I do?

NEXT What is true happiness?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 20 Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

KEY POINT What is the true happiness?

LEARNING The Beatitudes

1. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

1) Those in poverty - These are the poor, the suffering, those who are in unhappy situations and are considered capable only of help from God. In general people hate the poor and consider them unfortunates being punished or cursed by God. However, happy are those poor who, in their poverty recognize themselves as lacking and weak and share themselves and their compassion with each other. These people build the kingdom of God.

2) Those who voluntarily choose poverty - How happy are those who choose with their own free will the poverty which others want to avoid and who regard their time, capabilities and possessions as the gifts to them from God, not only for themselves, but for all and who want to share these gifts with others. These are they who rely totally on God and try to follow his will. They are happy and live already in the kingdom of God.

2. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted"

Comforted will those be who do no wrong but mourn together with those who are suffering and in trouble. Those who repent and mourn together "under the Cross of Christ" that they didn't help neighbors or hindered happiness and salvation of others by not confronting injustice and selfishness will be comforted by the Lord.

On the other hand, those who did nothing to relieve the sufferings of others or did nothing to comfort them will not receive sympathy themselves.

3. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth"

Those who are kind, always welcoming, have mercy on and give comfort to their fellows, are patient and forgiving of will be happy. Those who have "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (the fruits of the spirit - Gal 5,22 ) and come together around Jesus, the humble servant, will inherit the kingdom of God because they believed in God, the Creator and the Lord of the world.

4. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied"

Those who hate lies, do no evil although they be hated for not doing so and do not solve a problem by evil means are happy. (for example - those who instead of proposing an abortion, help a mother or try to get her baby adopted.)

Militants for love who "faithfully bring forth justice. And will not be disheartened or crushed, until they have established justice in the earth." (Isa 42,3-4) are happy. They show the justice of God and God will fulfill their thirst because they "thirsted" for God. (Jn 19,28)

5. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy"

Those who forgive the sinner and respect the dignity of people who sinned, and who are merciful are happy.

Jesus saw the people who killed Him and said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Lk 23,34) and asked forgiveness of God for them. And He said to another sinner who repented of his sins on the Cross, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." (Lk 23,43) Those who receive this mercy of the Lord are they who keep the commandment, "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Mt 6,14) are happy.

6. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"

There are people who are unhappy because they are afraid lest their sins be revealed. Also those who, for their own benefit, dissemble and so cannot be believed.

"Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in his depths. In a wonderful manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God and neighbor." (The Church in the modern world no. 16 in the documents of Vatican Ⅱ)

7. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God"

Those who try to reconcile people, to promote unity and peace in the world. Also those who renounce vengeance, occupy themselves in doing justice and are convinced that there is no peace unless God gives it and who pray, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace!" like St. Frances of Assisi will be lovely sons of God. "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Lk 2,14)

8. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

Those are happy who help those excluded by society and befriend them; those who, though they be dishonored, or even killed because they tried to establish discipline and order. Because they are the 'anonymous Christians' of the kingdom of God. The glory of the resurrection awaits those who, following on the footsteps of Jesus, are modern day prophets of God's word and live righteous lives.

* "Blessed are you when (men) cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you"

These are they who are misunderstood, hated and avoided by the people. For obeying the word of Jesus or practising the 8 beatitudes above.

The 8 beatitudes above are just the way of Jesus, the promise of hope for the kingdom of God, the new heaven and the new earth. So the beatitudes are the happiness which Jesus gave to the world. ie. the road Jesus walked.

We can find the desire for this happiness expressed in the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer which the Lord prayed is the prayer to "do the will of the Father, on earth as it is in heaven", and to lead us from temptations and evils, by coming to the Lord and being in happiness with Him. (Mt 6,7-15)

WORD The Beatitudes (Mt 5,3-12)

5 ³Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are you when (men) cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. ¹²Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

SHARING Jesus says: happiness is to accept the conditions that one is living in now rather than strive after economical and social success and the value of social position which people of the world desire; happiness is also to seek the will of God and live by it. Furthermore He sees more deeply the happiness of the one who is concerned for his neighbor in difficulties, and suffering rather than himself/herself. What is the basis of your considered happiness?

SEE

1. Let's share with the person beside you what you have experienced of the above 8 beatitudes.

2. When was I most happy? Why was it so? What happened?

3. Did you make others happy? When? Where? What did you do?

4. Let's compare "the things I do for others" and "the things others do for me." Which is the better? Why?

JUDGE Which among the eight beatitudes above is most important for you? Why does it interest you? (You can answer easily if you consider the opposite eg. the poor - Why are the rich unhappy? They have no friends. They live confined in their house or car.)

ACT Which of the 8 beatitudes above do you wish to possess? What method shall you take to have it?

NEXT What is the first most important requirement for your life?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 21 Seek first His kingdom

and His righteousness

KEY POINT We should choose the will of God in our lives first.

LEARNING The priority of the kingdom of God and its establishment (founding).

1. "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness"

* "What would Jesus do in this situation?" Or "What does Jesus want you to do in this case?" By asking yourself, these questions seek the will of God and build the kingdom of God.

Here, Let's see an example

In capitalistic society, a chief of enterprise employs the worker, pays wages and the worker receive wages for his work done.

In this case, "The Capital (money) is most important"; it takes precedence over the worker (ie economic determinism); wages are the cost of production. So the entrepreneur wants to make more money by reducing wages (which is thought as a expense) as much as possible. And the entrepreneur is the Lord.

On the contrary, those who think that "Work is prior to capital" (laborism) consider wages as 'the price of the work which the worker gives the entrepreneur. So the worker wants more money for his work. And he thinks the lord of the enterprise is the worker because he has worked, to develop the enterprise.

Well, how shall the christian live in these opposing ideologies?

The christian sees wages as cost and price. In addition they are seen as the cost of living according to the scripture, "By the sweat of your brow You shall eat bread" (Gn 3,19c) That is, wages are seen as things necessary for living as a human being, whether as a worker or a chief who is working. Also through labour man contributes to the welfare of society and his labour guarantees its future.

Therefore the basis of decision as to wages is "How many numbers in his/her family? How many are sick, how many need education or protection?" and "How much does he/she need as a man/woman?". So these consideration are prior to and better than the kind of job/work or position or the profits of the enterprise. And the lord of enterprise is God.

Because when God was creating the world, "To all men/women (not to one man/woman) ie to the human community was given nature as a source of food and to be ruled over." (Cf. Gn 1,26-30)

Nowadays the above Catholic teaching permeates the system of wages and several allowances system of the social welfare state.

2. Therefore 'the kingdom of God' that is 'the kingdom where the Lord is God, which God created and gave us to rule over should see the fulfillment of God's creating purpose.' Let's write this in our heart, and endeavor to live accordingly. So we must form a human community of God's love through observing the proper relations between neighbor and nature.

3. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of men/women who believe in Jesus as the Lord, receive the word of the Lord as the Good News and live sincerely and continuously though there be persecution, confusions and troubles.

Someone has said, "Will the world be changed if oneself is changed? The system should be changed." Or "I know the word of Jesus is good but nobody wants to change so if I change alone then I will suffer, lived in trouble." But the method not only of changing the world but also of saving it is none other than the method of the Lord. We can verify this from human history.

Though others see this as not important and foolish, when we start to write in our hearts and put into practice the small and easy word of the Lord (which is possible) we can build the kingdom of God like the smallest mustard seed which becomes a large tree where we can the kingdom of God which we can live joyfully and happy. Because there would be the Lord with us.

WORD The priority of the kingdom of God (Mt 6,25-34)

6 ²⁵For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, (as to) what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, (as to) what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and (yet) your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a (single) cubit to his life's span? ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. ³⁰But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is (alive) today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, (will He) not much more (do so for) you, O men of little faith? ³¹Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' ³²For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. (Each) day has enough trouble of its own.

The parable of the mustard seed (Mk 4,30-32)

4 ³⁰And Jesus said, "How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? ³¹(It is) like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, ³²yet when it is sown, grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade."

SHARING Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

SEE

1. We forget Jesus easily in our daily lives. We similarly often pass over much without paying attention. What things do we easily forget to do?

2. What are the troubles which enslave us nowadays? Are these troubles a hindrance to your living with the Lord?

And why are these troubles as a hindrance? (What basic values do you have?)

3. One can't go alone into the kingdom of God.. Who is the one that I do not want to go into the kingdom of God with me? And Why?

JUDGE What does these words of the Lord, "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you" demand of you? (What does the Lord want you to change?) Let's share concrete examples from your everyday lives.

ACT The word of Jesus can be like a small mustard seed which is easily forgotten and ignored. If we remember the word of Jesus and put it into practice we can go into the kingdom of God. Let's write the words of Jesus that I can put into practice now by connecting them with the reality of 'JUDGE 2' above.

NEXT Did the joy which arose from my possessions ultimately cause you a feeling of isolation and unhappiness?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 22 Son of mine was dead, and has come to life again

KEY POINT The basis of our happiness is God.

LEARNING The endless and merciful love of God

1. Someone questioned; "Why does God intervene in human freedom?" And "the basis of dignity and freedom comes from humanity itself. Happiness is to seek and do what one wants. So we should be liberated from the intervention of God."

Is this really so?

If one man and one woman love each other, can they then decide the sex of their baby? They can say only after the baby was born, "It is a son" or "a daughter."

And if the basis of humanity is the human being, then whether a parent strikes their child or forces them to earn money, or don't give them food, or even kills them such behaviour is no problem.

2. And is the happiness which I have today also the happiness of others who live at the same time? Can you be happy if your happiness your position is based on others unhappiness?

And does the your happiness of today cause unhappiness to you tomorrow?

If so that is 'selfishness' or 'inhumanity'.

3. Man/woman is not happy when he/she rejects God and wants to do his/her own will. Only when he/she is in God and with God is happiness possible. In Genesis chapter 2, 3, even though the first man and woman (Adam and Eve) wanted to do (to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil) their own will (to be same as God) they felt shame and lost happiness they had until that time (by being expelled from the paradise) rather than achieving the happiness which they wanted.

4. Therefore, although we may have had grievous sins, if we wish to return to Him. He always receives us. Do not be disheartened and give up your life because you are discouraged and a shamed of yourself. We should emphasize the love of God who waits for us like this so that we can return to Him with faith and confidence and live in the happiness of God again.

* Remarks - Please note in the following scripture passage concerning 'the love of the Father and the joy of the Father' how the Father rather than disinterest on partiality towards its elder son, stresses the fact of the Father's love and the happiness of living with the Father.

WORD Son who was dead, has come to life again － God's love (Lk 15,11-32)

15 ¹¹A certain man had two sons; ¹²and the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me." And he divided his wealth between them. ¹³"And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. ¹⁴Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶And he was longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving (anything) to him. ¹⁷But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ¹⁸I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."' ²⁰And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion (for him,) and ran and embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son." ²²But the father said to his slaves, "Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; ²³and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴for this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found." And they began to be merry.

²⁵Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶And he summoned one of the servants and (began) inquiring what these things might be. ²⁷And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' ²⁸But he became angry, and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and (began) entreating him. ²⁹But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you, and I have never neglected a command of yours; and (yet) you have never given me a kid, that I might be merry with my friends; ³⁰but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him.' ³¹And he said to him, ("My) child, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³²But we had to be merry and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and (has begun) to live, and (was) lost and has been found."

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. We can understand God's love from the father in this Gospel. Listening to these words of Jesus, what do you think and feel about God?

SEE

1. Did you ever have the feeling that you wanted to leave home and live alone and do as you pleased, like the younger son in this Gospel? When? What happened?

Or in, what way do you admit to yourself, "I am just the younger son who left God, the Creator and return to Him"?

2. Did you ever have the feeling of the elder son? Let's share together.

3. If we will are far from God, He will wait for us patiently like the father in this Gospel until we return to Him. Did you ever feel this love of God through others or in the bottom of your heart?

JUDGE

1. The younger son wanted to live alone and do as he pleased. But he could not live as he thought and planned. What is the reason?

And how about his family? (please judge connection with your case)

2. "(My) child, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours." God gave to each one of us his precious life, joy, love, peace, gentle, reconciliation, forgiveness etc. Do you accept your life as the gifts of God and live accordingly? And do you accept as gifts, not only the good but also the suffering, mourning, sadness?

3. What relation do you have with your neighbors? Are you a gift for your neighbor? Or on the other hand, do you ask your neighbor or expect him be a gift for you?

ACT What shall you do live order to live in God's love?

NEXT If you believe in the Lord you can hear the call of the Lord. Why does the Lord call you? What does the Lord want you?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 1

Man is a gift.

It is hatred and death to love oneself.

When love is directed towards others, this is the beginning of life.

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 2

* Let's picture in your mind 'the father awaiting the younger son's return home' or 'the father welcoming the younger son' or 'the father pleading with the elder son', and dwell in this love for a while.

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Lesson 23 Follow me!

KEY POINT The call to discipleship and the serving apostolate.

LEARNING vocation and response － the lay apostleship

1. Jesus is calling the disciples as 'the fishers of men.'

2. Jesus called the disciples

1) to be with Him

2) to send them out to preach

3) to give them authority to drive out demons.

So He asks them to save people.

3. If anyone wishes to come after the Lord,

1) let him deny himself,

2) and take up his cross daily,

3) and follow the Lord and the way of the Lord.

4. Jesus came to love, to die on behalf of the people, and to serve them rather than to be served by them. So the apostles must live a life of service just as Jesus did.

WORD Twelves Apostles (Mk 1,16-18)

1 ¹⁶And as He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." ¹⁸And they immediately left the nets and followed Him.

(Mk 3,13-19)

3 ¹³And He went up to the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. ¹⁴And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach, ¹⁵and to have authority to cast out the demons. ¹⁶And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), ¹⁷and James, the (son) of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder"); ¹⁸and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the (son) of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; ¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Following Jesus (Lk 9,23-25)

9 ²³If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. ²⁵For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

One who serve will become great. (Mt 20, 26b-28)

20 ²⁶Jesus said, "whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. My Baptism is the sign of my belief in the love of Jesus and my will to be a disciple. So that sign is my response to Jesus' calling of 'follow me!' Why did Jesus call the apostles?

SEE What must you renounce following Jesus? What is your cross? Let's share the anxieties that arose in our hearts as we studied the christian doctrine.

JUDGE The disciples whom Jesus called were fishermen. So Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." What will the Lord say to you when the Lord calls you? How can you lead the people to the Lord through your work/role?

ACT In order to lead people to God, who are the people I must serve? How can I serve them in actual practice? By what means? Let's promise to take the easiest means among these and put it to practise so that we can review and shame the results next week.

NEXT What is the most necessary food for your living?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 24 I am the bread of Life

KEY POINT Jesus gives his body to be our food.

LEARNING the bread of life

1. God Yahweh fed the Jews who escaped from the slavery in Egypt to adore God in desert. The Jews by eating this food 'manna', came to know God more deeply and to Him adore as the Lord more fully.

2. Jesus seeing that a great multitude was coming to Him, thought, "I must give them bread." He is the Lord who possessed the merciful love of God.

3. The Lord who fed 5,000 persons with the five barley loves and two fish which one lad had, receives our little effort and sincerity with joy, and fulfills his work through them. So we shouldn't be ashamed or give up like Philip. Rather we should, offer our little effort and ask the Lord to increase and multiply it.

4. And those who share the food of Jesus are ourselves. God entrusts the poor, to us, and asks that care for them, and beseech Jesus on their behalf.

5. Lord intend this food for those who do not come to Him. So we can share what the Lord has given us with our neighbors more and more. Because the Lord fills to us again and again.

6. The Lord gives Himself (life, word, body) as the food of our lives and the offering for forgiveness of our sin to save us,

7. By eating this delicious, nourishing food of the Lord (the Blessed Sacrament) as our true food. We become the people of God and we receive the power to live eternally.

WORD God Himself feed the Israel (Ex 16,4.31.35)

16⁴The Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. ³¹And the house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. ³⁵And the sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

the miracles for five thousand persons (Jn 6,5-15)

6⁵Jesus therefore lifting up His eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to Him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?"⁶And this He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.⁷Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little."⁸One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him,⁹"There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?" ¹⁰Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹Jesus therefore took the loaves; and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹²And when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost." ¹³And so they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴When therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, "This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world." ¹⁵Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

The Bread of Life (Jn 6,54-58.66)

6 ⁵⁴"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. ⁵⁸This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever."

⁶⁶As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. The lad in this scripture gave his five barley loaves and two fish which he needed for food to the Lord. How do you feel about this?

SEE What do you to wish offer to the Lord in your society today?

JUDGE

1. Why do you feel called to do this? To what degree are you moved to act?

2. Do you feel the call of the Lord through this scripture?

3. What does Jesus want you to do? Let's examine the word of the Lord in the scripture.

ACT What shall you do together with the Lord?

NEXT The Lord who gives you life!

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

"There is no more to do. I have done all that I can do. But it is not enough. This is the end."

"Not so! There is thing more for you to do. Ask the Lord! He will be with you and show Himself."

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Lesson 25 Take courage, it is I;

do not be afraid

KEY POINT Jesus is the Lord of the world and of our life.

LEARNING Oh, Lord! － The Lord who rules over nature and saves us.

1. The boat which the disciples rode in was in danger when they were far away from the Lord. Even though they tried everything they couldn't escape this danger. But they were saved from this danger when the Lord was with them.

1) Danger is present when one is far from the Lord.

2) The Lord well knows our dangers/troubles.

3) The disciples wanting to solve their problem by themselves, didn't seek the Lord, and so thought the coming Lord was a 'ghost' and didn't welcome Him.

4) The disciples were saved when they accepted Jesus as the Lord.

5) Danger disappeared the moment the disciples are with the Lord.

2. "It is I; (do not be afraid)"

This expression is the way God reveals Himself to his people. God used this expression when He taught His name to Moses, "It's I (ԥԣԯ ԥԩԬԩ)" (God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Ex 3,14)

3. The boat in the scripture represents the 'Church' which is 'the meeting place of those who believe in the Lord'

Sometimes, even though believing in the Lord and gathering in His name, troubles/temptations is occur because we do not accept the Lord fully and rightly as either individuals (me) or a group (Church). But let's learn to follow the Lord even though we can see Him at such times only dimly.

Even though we fall into the water like Peter, we should seek the Lord again. Seek the Lord, don't be discouraged, or disheartened or give up. The Lord knows all our difficulties, and comes to save us. See and accept the Lord.

WORD Jesus walks on the water (Mt 14,22-33)

14 ²²Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. ²³And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. ²⁴But the boat was already many stadia away from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. ²⁵And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." ²⁸And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." ²⁹And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" ³¹And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" ³²And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!"

SHARING Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

SEE

1. "When Jesus got into the boat, the wind stopped." Have you ever solved your problems by being with the Lord?"

2. Did you ever ignore the appeal or the word of the Lord which is arose in your mind? What was the result of this?

JUDGE What does "being with the Lord" mean?

ACT Let's accept the lord in my own private work and in that of my community. Let's invite the Lord to be with me and to save me.

NEXT What and how shall you pray to the Lord?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

* Contemplative Prayer

Let's meditate and contemplate on the words above in some calm and quiet place, and experience the Lord who holds our hands and saves us.

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Lesson 26 Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven

KEY POINT Learning the Will and the love of Jesus through the Lord's Prayer which Jesus taught, we should forgive and love others for the love of Jesus who forgave us and so live be happily.

LEARNING We see God Our Father, the world in which we live and our neighbors all together. Herein we should pay attention to the things which we ask of God and which God asks of us at the same time. This is just the way of life, which leads to eternal life.

The world which Jesus lived in was a world dominated by the Rome an empire. So Jews wanted a savior to come (Lesson 28 reference). Therefore they didn't accept Jesus even though he taught the true human values and the way to life and performed miracles. Rather they saw Jesus as a obstacle to the expectations and so started a movement to get rid of Him.

In this miserable world, the Lord prayed God the Father. "Thy will be done Father, forgive and save them; for they do not know what they are doing."

* The Lord's Prayer

(reference in the Lord's Prayer written by Leonard Boff)

1. "Our Father who art in heaven" - If God were on earth men/women would want to control Him as they wished. So it is written "in Heaven" because God cannot be controled by anyone. Whenever things are hard and difficult, though He who can not be controlled is in heaven, at the same time He Our Father is with us and cares for us.

(* May "All of the world recognize and praise the Father as God." - In order to change a world that uses others for its private or public benefit, all men/women should believe in and praise God.. This phrase is a cry of hope and the prayer of puting into the practice, our christian convictions)

2. "Hallowed be Thy name" (holy be your name) - Knowing God's name is knowing God Himself. (Ex. 3 chapter reference) This phrase asks that God and the God's Will be clearly known and done in society. Today God also shows himself to those who call upon Him. So His name is glorified in their hearts. (Jn 17,3-5 reference)

3. "Thy kingdom come" - The kingdom of God is not a place or an area but God being with, his people being known and ruling over them. Therefore this is a petition that God may rule this world and show His capability in us and in this world and also it asks that we live rightly. And it also foretells the last judgement because the kingdom of the Father will come in the end although men/women may refuse it.

4. "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" - This is a pledge that offers oneself to God to bravely overcome the temptations of hopelessness, hatred and revenge. For the more men/women believe in the power of God's love and have a conviction of the mercy of God, the more can they overcome their own weakness and human evil. (Mt 26,38-44)

5. "Give us this day our daily bread" - Give daily food today to those who are hungry because of lack of food. And give your word and the bread of live to those in the world who desire the word of eternal truth. By these foods we live, as children of God and are enabled to share with our neighbors eternal food in the kingdom of God.

6. "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" - Lord, don't return evil for evil and do forgive us!

"Lord, forgive the evil of those who afflicted me when your judge them on the last day. Make me never do evil to others and forgive my wrongs which I have done by sometimes ignoring and passing by those who asked me for help or consolation."

7. "do not lead us into temptation" - In the uncertain future life which is unknown, may man/woman, privately and in groups, live not according to the body (Gal 5,19-20) but according to the spirit (Gal 5,22-23).

"Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." (James 1,14)

"Do not lead us to the temptation whereby we want to blame and revenge those who have afflicted us."

8. "but deliver us from evil" - Deliver us from 'the situation of sin' which is called 'the sin of the world' (structured evil).

9. "Amen" - Come to us and enable us to say, "Amen." (So be it.)

WORD The Lord's Prayer (Mt 6,7-15).

6 ⁷And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. ⁹Pray, then, in this way:

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.

¹⁰Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.

¹²And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³And do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

[For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.]

¹⁴For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

SHARING

1. Is there any word among the Lord's prayer which you?

2. Let's call the name "God!" or "Jesus!". What did you think or feel as you called Him?

3. Did you ever pray to God thinking he was the only One who could help you? If so, when and why?

4. What did Jesus say we have to do if we want to be forgiven our wrongs by God our Father?

SEE

1. Jesus asked 'Give us this day our daily bread' for the hungry in the world. Is there anyone who is hungry among the people you know?

2. Did you ever feel, "we are really one family" when you ate together as a family in your home? If not, why not? (this question concerns food and the common table.)

3. Is there anyone whom you should forgive now?

4. Although we don't want to, we sometimes sin through habit without awareness of doing wrong. If we sin we fall into the control of the devil and are separated from God. What are the habitual wrongs that you want to change?

5. If the devil dominates you, you will be slow to reconcile and change although you want to reconcile and change. Did you ever experience this? When? Now? If now, how can you meet God again and live happily? Think about this and share your thoughts with your friends.

JUDGE

1. What is the will of God for you today?

2. Why did the Lord tell us to forgive the faults of others

ACT Let's pray the Lord's Prayer often. Let's pray the Lord's Prayer in difficult situations. And seek the will of the Lord and respond to His call and pray that the kingdom of the Lord may come.

NEXT The Lord, the author and the lord of the life who overcame the power of the death and enabled the dead to rise again.

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 27 I am the resurrection, the life

KEY POINT Jesus, the Lord of our life.

LEARNING Jesus, the resurrection and the life

1. Suffering is for showing the glory of God. Suffering is not a result of sin or a punishment, but the providence of God which manifests the glory of God.

In Jn chapter 9 verse 3, the disciples asked Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" Jesus answered, "(It was) neither (that) this man sinned, nor his parents; but (it was) in order that the works of God might be displayed in him."

So suffering is a moment of the grace of the coming of God. It completes what is lacking in Christ's afflictions with one's own suffering. (Gol 1,24)

2. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in preparation for His own resurrection. We can see a spiritual meaning in 'the resurrection of Lazarus'. The resurrection means not only rising again physically but also changing the person and becoming a new body. Faith enables a person to forsake an evil way of life; to accept the life of grace and subsequently to live the new life of resurrection.

WORD Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (Jn 11,3-4.17.21-27.34-44)

11 ³The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." ⁴But when Jesus heard it, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

¹⁷So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. ²¹Martha therefore said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²"Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." ²³Jesus said to her, "Your brother shall rise again." ²⁴Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." ²⁵Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" ²⁷She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, (even) He who comes into the world."

³⁴and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." ³⁵Jesus wept. ³⁶And so the Jews were saying, "Behold how He loved him!" ³⁷But some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have kept this man also from dying?"

³⁸Jesus therefore again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been (dead) four days." ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" ⁴¹And so they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou heardest Me. ⁴²And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me." ⁴³And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." ⁴⁴He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. Reading this Gospel, let's share the words of Jesus in verses 25-26.

SEE

1. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies." Will you live by receiving the life of the Lord again? And are there men/women around you who have faith and live this new life?

2. Jesus saw Lazarus who came out the tomb and said, "Unbind him, and let him go." Do you find thing which should be loosed in your life or the life of any friend?

JUDGE

1. In verse 37 Martha said to Jesus, "Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, (even) He who comes into the world." Do you believe this, too?

2. In verse 39 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been (dead) four days." Are there any fixed habits or character defects which are difficult to change in your life? Can you change these by accepting the Lord?

ACT What efforts will you exert to follow the way which the Lord has shown you by light of His grace?

NEXT Who is Jesus and why should he have died?

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

GLOSSARY

Martha and Mary the sisters of Lazarus who lived in the village of Bethany.

In Lk chapter 10 verse from 38 to 42, Martha who was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up (to Jesus,) asked the Lord "Lord, do You not care that my sister (Maria who moreover was listening to the Lord's word, seated at His feet)h as left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but (only) a few things are necessary, really (only) one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." So He emphasize the listening the will and the word of the Lord (the study of the scripture and meditative and contemplative prayer) is more important as much as the act.

Some scholar see 'the woman caught in adultery' in John chapter 8 verse from 1 to 11 as Mary. And Mary took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. Jesus therefore said, "Let her alone, in order that she may do it for the day of My burial."

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Lesson 28 Who do you say that I am?

KEY POINT In the profession of faith concerning Jesus, let us try to discover the historical background of His death and His identity.

LEARNING the background of passion - the profession of the identity, profession of faith

1. The identity of Jesus Christ - "Whom do peoples say I am?"

1) "John the Baptist" - He condemned powerfully the sins (eg the invalid marriage of Herod) of the people at that time and preached conversion and return again to God. He brought the word of God to the Jews.

The people knew him as a man of God who taught, "How can we serve God in this present age?

2) "Elijah" - He was the prophet who proved the absolute superiority of God to king Ahab and to the people who believed in the gods and culture of the pagans, following the lead the queen, Jezebel. In the farming culture He compared the Baals, who are the gods that give good crops, to Yahweh who is the only God and the Lord, whom the people should believe in and who asks them to walk the way of true faith. He was the man who did not die and went up the heaven so the people expected him to come down again and save them in the name of God.

Elijah. was the prophet who make the people choose to walk the way of true faith instead of choosing a God who gives material goods.

3) "one of the former prophets" - It seems to mean 'Moses.' Moses is the prophet who liberated the Hebrews from the slavery of Egypt. He was a man of God who saw God face to face. At the last day he was expected to come to save Israel in the name of God.

They thought Jesus was this prophet and expected Him to liberate them from the domination of Rome as Moses liberated their ancestors from the domination of Egypt. This was caused by the expectation of a political Messiah.

2. The Christ, the Son of the living God

1) 'the living God' - God knows the suffering of marginal humans. He suffers with us because of his love, hears all of the wishes and desires of people and is living with and breathing in us.

* Examples of errors and disinterestedness about God.

－ God is happy Himself in heaven, He doesn't relate with human suffering of and He only is holy One.

－ God created the world and doesn't intervene in the history of the human race.

2) The etymology and the meaning of the word "Christ"

'Christ' means "the King who is anointed with oil, blessed and appointed king" in Greek. This word is translated 'Messiah' in the Old Testament. The meaning and the content can be explained as 'the savior.' (the Lord who will save the world.)

From ancient times kings, priests or prophets were blessed by anointing with oil. This gave them power and the help of God to rule and lead the people. So the word of 'the One who was anointed with oil' means the God who saves the people.

In Jesus day He whom the people called 'the Messiah' in Hebrew and 'the Christ' in Greek was "the One who is sent by God to save the people."

Therefore christians receive the Holy Spirit when they are baptized and are apostles of Christ.

3. God the Father who gives faith and the Lord who builds His Church upon a rock.

In verse 17, Jesus said, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal (this) to you, but My Father who is in heaven." By these words, we know that God teaches and leads us to believe in Him.

And verse 18, "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it." By these words, we know that the Lord built the Church, centered on the disciples and entrusted the Church to Peter, their leader.

In verse 19, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." By these words, we know that the Lord gave the right to forgive human's sin (the right of absolution of Confession) to the priest's community that is descended from the apostles.

4. Though Jesus is the savior who fed fully the 5,000 persons by a miracle, he saved mankind not by the miracles but by enduring the passion and death.

5. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection.

1) Christ had to bear the hate and sins of the people, and give his life to redeem them by His passion.

2) Christ prophesies that He will overcome death, the fate of all flesh, rise again and ascend into heaven.

6. The cause of the death of Jesus

1) Jesus did not fulfill the desires of the people who wanted him to liberate them from Rome and to lead them to a world which is full of material goods. Rather He went among the men/women who were judged to be sinners and outcasts from their religion and society. So He upset the values and the order of their religion and society.

2) By cleansing the temple (Mt 21,12) Jesus showed how wrong the religious leaders were in allowing buying and selling of goods in it. He also said, "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10,30) "I am the way, the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father but through me. If you know me, you will know the Father also." (Jn 14,6-7a) So He was accused as a blasphemer who challenged the words and acts of the religious leaders of his day.

3) The disciples also expected Jesus to be a king in this political sense and so when He was persecuted they abandoned Him.

WORD Peter's confession of faith (Mt 16,13-20)

16 ¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He (began) asking His disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" ¹⁴And they said, "Some (say) John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." ¹⁵He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" ¹⁶And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." ¹⁷And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal (this) to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." ²⁰Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

First prophecy of Jesus' passion (Mt 16,21-23)

16 ²¹From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. ²²And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid( it,) Lord! This shall never happen to You." ²³But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. What is the meaning of 'Christ'?

3. In verse 22, Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid (it,) Lord! This shall never happen to You." Let's share any feelings this saying of Peter arouses in you.

SEE

1. Who is Jesus for me, and what do I want of Jesus? Let's think of my situation in the light of the following examples;

* eg : He will probably give many gifts! - Jesus is like Santa Clause (?)

He will probably give me much money! - Jesus is the bank chief (?)

2. Why did Jesus, the savior suffer? Let's share what you expect from Jesus.

JUDGE

1. Peter, the representative of all christians, was the rock upon which the Lord built His church. In the light of this fact, what does the Lord expect from you?

2. Is what your wish from the Lord in accord with His will? Does your desires come from the Lord? Or, from yourself?

ACT In order to protect my faith in the fact that God has joyfully entrusted His Church to me, what must I do?

NEXT The feast of the Last Supper, and the Mass which is the sacrifice on the Cross repeated.

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

GLOSSARY

The hierarchy This body consists of Cardinals, Bishops and Priests. In the same manner as Peter, the first Pope, and the eleven other Apostles, these are consecrated by anointing with oil and the imposition of hands and they are responsible for the pastoral activities of the Church.

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Lesson 29 Take me whom will be given up for you.

Do this in memory of me

KEY POINT God's plan of salvation shows the relationship between the Old Testament and New Testament (ie. the Church:) sacrifices. Jesus Himself became a sacrificial offering to save the people. Celebrating Mass everyday we remember and re-enact the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

LEARNING the sacrifice for saving the mankind - The Last Supper

The Last Supper

the sacrifice on the Cross

Mass

Who accepts the sacrifice (Receiver)

God the Father

God the Father

God the Father

Thing which is offered in sacrifice (Offering)

the life of Jesus (Body) which is symbolized by the bread and the wine.

the life of Jesus (Body)

the life of Jesus (Body) which is symbolized by the bread and the wine.

Who offers the sacrifice (Offerer)

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ

Priest (the representative of Jesus)

	The Last Supper	the sacrifice on the Cross	Mass
Who accepts the sacrifice (Receiver)	God the Father	God the Father	God the Father
Thing which is offered in sacrifice (Offering)	the life of Jesus (Body) which is symbolized by the bread and the wine.	the life of Jesus (Body)	the life of Jesus (Body) which is symbolized by the bread and the wine.
Who offers the sacrifice (Offerer)	Jesus Christ	Jesus Christ	Priest (the representative of Jesus)

1. The sacrifice of Old testament - Passover (Pasch)

God accepted a lamb as an offering to save Israel.

2. The Last Supper and the Eucharist - Jesus gave the bread and the wine as a sign of his body and blood to be eaten by the disciples and to institute the Eucharist. This Last Supper is the prefiguring of the sacrifice on Cross. The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity between God and man. Therefore we receive the Lord through this sacrament; are united to God (the Lord), and our neighbors and also the world, and are sent as another Blessed Sacrament to save the world and to be a seed of wheat witnessing to Christ.

3. The sacrifice on the Cross - Jesus Himself offered his life to save mankind. This is the obedience of man in following the Will of the Father and at the same time it is a sacrifice to God to save mankind. And Jesus is full of the love which forgives and asks forgiveness from the Father for the men/women who did not understand or receive Him

4. Mass - Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross through consecration of the bread and the wine according to the formula of the Last Supper. Therefore the sacrifice is offered again to save mankind whenever Mass it celebrated.

5. Living the Eucharist - Though we live in the world, rather than belonging to the world we should belong to God and put his words into practice. Our everyday lives should be like a Mass, ie an offering to God of our work/our desk can be our altar; our sweat and effort can be our offering. This is to live Eucharistic lives. (At washup time, the sink can be our altar; the water and our efforts can be our offering.)

* Through Jesus' passion the Sacrament which saves mankind then becomes another Eucharist. which is our own lives

WORD Passover (Paschal - Ex 12,21-27)

12 ^21b"Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover (lamb.) ²²And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. ^23cThen the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite (your firstborn and you.)"

The Last Supper - establishing the Eucharist (Mt 26,20-28)

26 ²⁰Now when evening had come, He was reclining (at the table) with the twelve disciples. ²¹And as they were eating, He said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me." ²²And being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?" ²³And He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. ²⁴The Son of Man (is to) go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." ²⁵And Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "You have said (it) yourself." ²⁶And while they were eating, Jesus took (some) bread, and after a blessing, He broke (it) and gave (it) to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." ²⁷And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave (it) to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

MASS

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT IT:

THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT:

THIS IS THE CUP OF MY BLOOD,

THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT

IT WILL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR ALL MEN

SO THAT SINS MAY BE FORGIVEN

DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. What is the name of the event in which the destroyer passed over and did not to kill Israel's firstborn?

3. In 12th and 13th verse in 15th chapter of the Gospel according to John, Jesus said, after the last supper "This is my commandment: ( ) one another as I have ( ) you. There is no greater ( ) than to give one's life for his friends." What is the word in brackets?

4. Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the Last Supper. What does the bread and the wine become after they are consecrated?

5. Who celebrates the Mass? To whom is it offered to? What is offered?

SEE Judas betrayed Jesus. Did you ever reject, ignore or doubt Jesus? Or did you betray Jesus by ignoring the call of Jesus (which is expressed) in those who are in suffering?

JUDGE Why didn't people believe in Jesus, the Savior, the son of God? How about you?

ACT Jesus said, "As often as you eat (my body) and drink (my blood,) do this in remembrance of Me." What shall you do after meeting Jesus by eating the Blessed Eucharist?

NEXT the Lord's Passion, Death and Burial

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

GLOSSARY

Passover (Paschal) Feast Festival which is remembering the angel of death "passing over" the houses with the blood of the lamb on the door. When God, Yahweh, inflicted the 10th punishment on the Egyptians that is the killing of the firstborn, He didn't kill the Israelite but passed over them on seeing the blood of the lamb on the lintel and two doorposts. So Israelite were saved and so they immigrated Canaan.

Integrating the Passover Feast with The Last Supper (Jn 19,36 reference) in NT, it is called Pascal mystery which means that Jesus saved mankind from the dead through 'the Eucharist' and 'the sacrifice on the Cross.'

Paschal lamb the sheep which they killed to offer at Passover Feast. It is a custom which applies the blood of the sheep to the lintel and doorposts to separate the Israelite from the Egyptians when God, Yahweh inflicted the 10th punishment on the Egyptians. Jesus is considered as the Passover lamb because Jesus was hanging on the Cross about 3 o'clock pm before the day of Passover which was to prepare the Passover Feast and to kill the lamb of Passover. So Jesus is called 'the Lamb of God'

The body of Christ the Blessed Sacrament (the body of Jesus; the consecrated bread made from flour without yeast). By receiving the Blessed Sacrament the faithful are united with the Lord in sacramental union and receive the strength to win the war of spirit against evil. This is the true spiritual bread.

The blood of Christ the consecrated blood of Christ made from wine which is naturally fermented.) This is the true spiritual wine.

Mass This comes from the words, "The case is decided. Go home" in a court of justice indicating that the "case" is over. The deacon at the conclusion of the Mass says in Latin "ite, misssa est" ie the celebration of the sacrifice (ie of the Mass) is ended. It is from this word "Missa", meaning dismissal, that we get our word Mass. The Church through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, makes present again the work of Redemption, which is most걁 effected through His death and Resurrection.

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Lesson 30 Father, forgive them

KEY POINT Jesus bore the sins of mankind instead of mankind itself by dying on the Cross. The Lord saved through his sacrifice on the Cross.

LEARNING The Lord's Passion and death - A sacrifice of reparation/atonement.

1. Jesus who was betrayed

Even though Jesus came to save the world, the world didn't recognize Him, rather they betrayed, hated and abandoned Him.

1) By the disciples - all of them including of course 'Judas' abandoned and denied Jesus and ran away.

2) By the leaders of the people - Even though they affirmed that they couldn't bow or surrender to anyone else because God is the only king of Jews, still they said, "We have no king but Caesar." (Jn 19,15c) and used this as a pretext to get rid of Jesus.

3) By the people - they wanted a political Messiah and so they did not accept Jesus who came to save them as their king.

4) By the authorities - Pilate, the representative of a foreign of nation, and the wise men kept silent in the face of this death too.

2. Jesus who was jeered.

Even though the Son of God, Jesus, who was humbly born as a baby in a stable without any privileges, was jeered by the people, as He foretold, "(Blessed are you when) men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely(, on account of Me)." (Mt 5,11) He walked His way with joy. And suffering insults and shame is really the most humble way that believers in God can prove that they are genuinely christian.

3. the sacrifice of the Cross

1) Jesus the human person who asked the mercy of God - the sacrifice of the just man

(Pilate, the pagan judge said:) "Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt worthy of death" (Lk 23,22a). Likewise "the centurion when he saw what had happened, began praising God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent." (verse 47). Jesus who was sinless pleaded: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (verse 34).

2) The Savior who forgave the sins of mankind and saved them - forgave by His blood.

When Jesus said at the Last Supper, "this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins." (Mt 26,27c.28). And already He had said that the sacrifice on the Cross is for the forgiveness of sins and the work of redemption.

And in Gethsmane "He (began) to pray that, if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. (Mt 14,36) He went on saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt." (Mk 14,35b.36). But in the end He accepted the will of God which was to save the human race through His Passion.

And so He fulfilled the will of God, forgave the sins of mankind and saved them through His Passion and death. ("Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." - Lk 23,43 reference)

WORD Jesus was betrayed by Judahs, suffered and died (Lk 22,39-23,54-56)

22 ³⁹And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. ⁴²"Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done."

⁴⁵And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, ⁴⁶and said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."

⁴⁷While He was still speaking, behold, a multitude (came,) and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"

⁵⁴And having arrested Him, they led Him (away,) and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. ⁵⁹One man (began) to insist (thirdly), saying, "Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too." ⁶⁰But Peter said (thirdly), "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, a cock crowed. ⁶¹And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three times."

⁶³And the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him, and beating Him, ⁶⁴and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, "Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?" ⁶⁵And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.

⁶⁶And when it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council (chamber,) saying, ⁶⁷"If You are the Christ, tell us." But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸and if I ask a question, you will not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." ⁷⁰And they all said, "Are You the Son of God, then?" And He said to them, "Yes, I am." ⁷¹And they said, "What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

23 ¹Then the whole body of them arose and brought Him before Pilate. ²And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."

²²Pilate said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt (demanding) death; I will therefore punish Him and release Him." ²³But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices (began) to prevail.

³²And two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him. ³³And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. ³⁴But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. ³⁵And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One." ³⁶And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, ³⁷and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!" ³⁸Now there was also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

³⁹And one of the criminals who were hanged (there) was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" ⁴⁰But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." ⁴²And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" ⁴³And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

⁴⁴And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit." And having said this, He breathed His last.

(*Stop reading and meditate on the death of the Lord in silence.)

⁴⁷Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he (began) praising God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent." ⁴⁸And all the multitudes who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, (began) to return, beating their breasts. ⁴⁹And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee, were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

⁵⁰And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man ⁵¹(he had not consented to their plan and action), (a man) from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; ⁵²this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. ⁵⁴And it was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed after, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶And they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

(*Meditate on the Lord's death for our salvation in silence.)

SHARING

1. Are there any feelings or words which came into your mind after reading this passage of scripture?

2. What did Jesus pray for on behalf of those who wanted to kill Him as he was being crucified?

3. Reviewing the word of the centurion: "Certainly this man was innocent." How can you connect the death of the just man who is falsely charged and who had no privileges in today's world with the death of the Lord? And how can you say that the death of the Lord saved mankind?

SEE Let's try to feel the Lord who died for you. (You can express this feeling with a word or in a few sentences)

JUDGE Do you believe that our salvation today (living, christian life) is the gift of the Lord?

ACT Whenever the priest proclaims "the mystery of faith" in daily Mass we respond "Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again." In the light of this response, how will you show forth the death of the Lord in your lives?

PRAYER the fourth song of 'the servant of Yahweh' (Isa 52,13-53,12)

52 ¹³Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up, and greatly exalted. ¹⁴Just as many were astonished at you, {My people,} So His appearance was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men. ¹⁵Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.

53¹Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the \Lord\ been revealed?²For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no {stately} form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.³He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.⁴Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.⁵But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being {fell} upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.⁶All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the \Lord\ has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.⁷He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.⁸By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke {was due?}⁹His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. ¹⁰But the \Lord\ was pleased To crush Him, putting {Him} to grief; If He would render Himself {as} a guilt offering, He will see {His} offspring, He will prolong {His} days, And the good pleasure of the \Lord\ will prosper in His hand.

¹¹As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see {it} and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. ¹²Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.

NEXT The resurrection of Christ

GLOSSARY

INRI This means I(J)esus Nazareus Rex I(J)oudaeorum.; ie, the name of Jesus' accusation which was written on the Cross by the Roman governor. The Jews, who claimed that they worshipped the only true God and considered Jesus an impostor, could not accept this wording (reference in Jn 19,21 - they regarded Jesus as a blasphemer because he claimed to do God and so the chief priests said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; but that 'He said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written.")

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Lesson 31 Peace be with you

KEY POINT Jesus overcame death which is caused by sin and rose again. As we believe in the resurrection of Jesus, we become His witnesses to preach the Gospel to the ends of this world and we prepare to meet Him when he comes again.

LEARNING The risen Lord:

Jesus rose again. The resurrection is a light which is called life. Like the morning sun lighting up a dark room and making a new day, the resurrection is the event which throws the light of life on death.

And just as we can not forget the love of a mother in our past lives, even though the love seems lost and dead, still it never died but is alive yet. Jesus, who is Love was killed by men, but by accepting death He fulfilled the will of God. Jesus loved the Father, followed the will of the Father, loved men and endured their hatred. But Jesus overcame the power of death by this love. The evil people thought that by killing Him they could get rid of Him, but the Lord, by overcoming death and rising again, became our Lord.

The first greeting was "Peace be with you." Being loved and accepting that love is to be at peace. "Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and (that) your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." (Jn 15,9b-12)

Let's go and be witnesses to the resurrection!

1. The first proof of the resurrection is the empty tomb.

2. Jesus rose and appeared first to the women. Although a woman could not be a legal witness at that time, still Jesus sent these women as his witnesses to the disciples.

WORD The Resurrection (Mt 28,1-10)

28 ¹Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first (day) of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. ²And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. ³And his appearance was like lightning, and his garment as white as snow; ⁴and the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. ⁵And the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. ⁶He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. ⁷And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you." ⁸And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. ⁹And behold, Jesus met them and said them, "Peace." And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they shall see Me."

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. After how many days did Jesus resurrect from the dead?

3. Will we ascend like Jesus after we die?

SEE Are you at peace these days?

JUDGE How does the resurrection of Jesus give new life to you?

ACT Let's witness to the resurrection of Jesus by a life of concrete and active love from the bottom of our hearts. Let's preach the Good News of the resurrection. When, how, what shall we be born anew?

PRAYER Let's pray 'the Apostles' Creed' loudly together.

I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth,

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, Our Lord.

(All bow during these two lines:)

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

NEXT The appearance of the risen Christ

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 1

The master questioned his disciples.

"When will a new day come?"

Disciples answered.

"If the sun will rise in the morning…", "If the earth does one revolution…", "If time is no more…"

The master said,

"The new day will come when you can see the people outside your window as brothers and sisters."

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 2 Pray a prayer of

Let's offer congratulations, and thanks to Jesus, who overcame death and rose again.

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Lesson 32 Stay with us

KEY POINT By appearing to the disciples, the risen Christ proved He had risen again and that He was alive again to show His love.

LEARNING the Lord who appeared to his disciples - Appearance

Jesus rose again not with a body which will decay and disappear but with 'the new body' which is integrated with the spirit and will live eternally.

By appearing in a changed new body, the disciples could not recognize the Lord even though they saw Him. But they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.

By showing Himself to be alive and not dead just as He had foretold, He Himself became the 'Good News' (the Gospel). The Lord who is the Good News, gives assurance of the hope for new life, eternal life, not only to the disciples but to all mankind.

WORD On the road for Emmaus (Lk 24,13-35)

24 ¹³And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place. ¹⁵And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and (began) traveling with them. ¹⁶But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷And He said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?" ¹⁹And He said to them, "What things?" And they said to Him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. ²¹But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²²But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. ²⁴"And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see."

²⁵And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" ²⁷And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. ²⁸And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He would go farther. ²⁹And they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is (getting) toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." And He went in to stay with them. ³⁰And it came about that when He had reclined (at the table) with them, He took the bread and blessed (it,) and breaking (it,) He (began) giving (it) to them. ³¹And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³²And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"

³³And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, ³⁴saying, "The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon." ³⁵And they (began) to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. "They urged Him, saying 'Stay with us, for it is (getting) toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.'" Did you ever invite a neighbor who was in difficulties into your home just as the disciples invited Jesus into their residence?

3. By what chance did the disciples recognize the Lord?

SEE Jesus chided the disciples "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" Do you believe in the Lord who comes to us as the Good News? Do you live this belief in your daily lives?

JUDGE Jesus spent the whole evening with the disciples so that they could eventually recognize Him? Why does the Lord love us like this?

ACT Let's participate in Mass and meet the Lord in the Eucharist. (If you are yet catechumen or are in sin you can't go to Holy Communion) Let's accept the Lord from the bottom of our hearts and be soaked in the love of the Lord.

And let's go into the world and meet the Lord. Let's open our two eyes and find and meet the Lord who is coming as a new One to us among the people.

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 33 Men of Galilee, why do you?

KEY POINT The Lord (Jesus) By His passion and sacrifice of the Cross, received from His Father all power in heaven and on earth and so became our true Lord. And the Lord who ascended will return to save us.

LEARNING The Lord who ascended and the belief in the Last Day.

1. The Risen Lord really is our savior and Lord. Only the Lord received from God the Father the true power which was capable of saving us.

"Let's adore the Lord who is the Lord of heaven and earth!"

2. Risen Christ appeared to disciples during 40 days and ascended.

3. We receive the Holy Spirit, the spirit of the risen Christ and live as witnesses of the Lord by preaching the Lord to the ends of the earth.

4. The assumption of Holy Mary and the belief in the Last Day

The Lord called Holy Mary who is the model of faith into heaven. Following Mary we, who believe in the Lord, will also ascend. So death is not the end but the gate to new life and the start of another life.

The kingdom of God is already in process but not completed yet. As an example from daily living, we see and meet the Lord but it is only for a moment. And our joy is followed by sadness and doubt. "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1Cor 13,12-13)

So my death today is love, and this love will be the moment of salvation, when the Lord calls us from this earth. The Lord came to save us and will save us in the future. The Last Day is not for judgement but salvation. Let's live not just to keep the commandments, but let's receive the power of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of the risen Christ and witness to 'the risen Christ.'

WORD Ministry of disciples and the Ascending of Jesus (Mt 28,18-20)

28 ¹⁸Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

(Act 1,8-11)

1 ⁸You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." ⁹And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; ¹¹and they also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. How many days after his resurrection did Jesus ascend to heaven?

3. The Lord said, "teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." What did the Lord command us to do?

4. Who did He say will come and make the disciples be Jesus' witnesses to the ends of the world?

SEE "They were gazing intently into the sky." Did you ever get lost in discouragement and fear?

JUDGE Do you believe that the Lord is the One who saved us from this discouragement and fear? And can you confess that the Lord is the only One who will fulfill wholly your needs and weaknesses?

ACT The Lord said on the mountain in Galilee, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." By what method will you witness the risen Christ?

NEXT Salvation history part 3 The Holy Spirit in the Church

－ When the Spirit comes we will be!

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

GLOSSARY The old theological expressions of the Last Day

The Last Day 'the Day of salvation' and 'the Day of judgement'; It can be the day of joy or also the day of sadness.

General Judgement the judgement of all mankind on the Last Day.

Particular Judgement the personal and individual judgement after one's death

Heaven the place which the good go after their death

Hell the place where the evil doers go after their death

Purgatory the place where those who sinned little go for cleansing after their death.

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

God says, "My favorite faith is hope."

Hope is the smallest of all things drawing all together.

Though faith sees things which are,

Hope sees things which will be.

Though Love loves things which are,

Hope loves things which will be.

Though Faith loves things which are in eternity and in time,

Hope is loving things which will be,

For example, in the future, in eternity…

Hope sees things which are not yet but will be.

Hope loves things which are not yet and will be.

- in time in the future and eternity (Ch. Pegi)

Working,

Resting,

And!

The History of Salvation of the World 3

The Holy Spirit

in the Church

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Lesson 34 God has made Him both Lord and Christ

- this Jesus whom you crucified

KEY POINT When the Holy Spirit comes, We will be one, and be Church.

LEARNING Pentecost and Church

The one who enables us to know Jesus and the Father is the Holy Spirit who is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit who is the spirit of the risen Christ, reveals the Lord to us more deeply, and He renews the Church.

So the Holy Spirit enables believers to be changed, to preach God and to continue the mission of Jesus. In this way He is with us in the Mass (breaking the bread), in our preaching and in our building up the christian community.

Recalling the early christian community (Acts 2,43-47) let's try to establish in our own lives this community-way of living.

1. Pentecost and the Coming of the Holy Spirit - At Pentecost, which was a memorial of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, of their immigration to Canaan and of the first Pascal meal there, the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles to found the Church Community.

The disciples, who thought they would be killed by the Jews, were shaking with fear and they thought also there was no one who believed in the resurrection of Jesus. Then, after the ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came upon them to make them fully apostles so that they were able to preach bravely the resurrection of Jesus and to build up the Community of the Church.

2. Building the Community of the Church - The disciples 'became the apostles' by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And those who were continually 'devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching' (after their Baptism) and 'to fellowship', 'to the breaking of bread', 'to prayer' and 'to the sharing with neighbor' established the christian community. In this scripture 'the breaking of bread' means the Mass.

3. The Holy Spirit who is with the Church.

The Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the Apostles, established the communities of the Church. He was, is, and will be with the Church and lead it for all time.

4. The signs of the Spirit in the church/community

- Galatians 5,22-23 the fruits of Spirit (private)

- Acts 2,43-47 the common life (Church - community)

WORD 'Pentecost' and the Early Church (Act 2,1-4.36.41b-47)

2 ¹And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

³⁶"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ - this Jesus whom you crucified." ^41bthere were added that day about three thousand souls. ⁴²And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

⁴³And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; ⁴⁵and they (began) selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. ⁴⁶And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those (believers) who were being saved.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. When did the Holy Spirit come upon the disciples?

3. How did Peter address the people?

"Let

4. What did those, who accepted Peter's preaching and were baptized, do?

5. Fill in the correct words in parenthesis in the following sentences and read them aloud.

"Now all the believers lived ( ) and ( ) all their belongings They would sell their property and all they had and distribute the proceeds to others according to their ( ). Each day they met together in the ( ) area; they broke ( ) in their homes; they shared their food with great joy and simplicity of heart; they praised ( ) and won the people's favor.

SEE

1. The Holy Spirit makes us one. Do you ever feel the joy of unity?

2. Did you ever feel the movement of the Holy Spirit? Did a desire for God ever suddenly arise within you?

JUDGE Do you believe that the Lord is alive and acts even in spite of the structed evil and injustice of the world?

ACT Let's express our petitions and ask the Lord, the Holy Spirit, to come into us and lead us according to the will of God.

NEXT Let's think who God, who is the object of our faith, is.

PRAYER

Let's read aloud the following sentences and pray.

◎ "Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful"

⊙ "and kindle in them the fire of your love."

◎ "Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created."

⊙ "And you will renew the face of the earth."

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT We too have received the Holy Spirit. We know who God is and feel that He loves us. Let's write a prayer asking God to give us the strength and courage to share His love with others and to spread the Good News.

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Lesson 35 God is love

KEY POINT The goal of our faith is to participate in the mystery of the Trinity.

LEARNING God who is the Trinity

1. God, Trinity - The Father bore the Son. The Holy Spirit was born in the love of the Father and the Son for each other. And in God, the three persons always love each other and so are united in One God. And this love of God has been extended to us, humans.

The Father gives all power to the Son; the Son uses this according to the will of the Father, returning all glory to Him; the Spirit connects both persons. The Holy Spirit also connects us to the Lord. And so we receive the love of God, Trinity. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit we, in turn, should extend this love to our neighbours.

2. The first person is the Father, Yahweh, the Lord who created, loved and saved the world with His love. We can call the Father as 'Abba!', 'Father!' because Jesus has made us His brothers.

3. The second person is the only Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ who bore our sins, by sacrificing Himself on the Cross to give us the grace of the salvation.

4. The third person is the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God, who leads us to know God fully, and be united to Him, with our neighbors and with the world.

5. We love each other with the power of faith, which is believing in God and participating in the mystery of the Trinity with glory and joy. So though we should adore God and correct injustices according to the will of God, we should not hate unjust people but try to lead them to the triune God.

* The mystery of the Trinity is 'a mystery of our faith' which is not easy to explain or understand. Let's look at the mystery of love of the Triune God, who comes as a sign of unity and merciful love and let's participate in that love.

For example :

eg 1. - a candle +- Fire - the Father - Love itself

+- Light - the Son - Grace and Revelation

+- heat - the Holy Spirit - Communion and Unity

eg 2. unity of my intellect, will, and action.

WORD God is love (1Jn 4,7-21)

4 ⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son (to be) the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. ¹³By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son (to be) the Savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.

God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. ¹⁹We love, because He first loved us. ²⁰If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

SHARING

1. Is there any word of the scripture which struck you?

2. The Father always sees the Son and the Son always sees the Father also. As the two see each other as one heart of ( ) like this, so the ( ) overflows like a river. The ( ) which overflows like a river is the ( ) who makes the Father and the Son united in One. Insert the correct words in the parenthsis.

SEE The Triune God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, always love each other, and are united in one God. Have you ever felt as one with all the members of your united family? Have you ever felt the opposite? When?

JUDGE The Triune, God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, always talk to each other and share all their belongings with each other; and so are united in One. Did you unite with family by sharing your thoughts and your activities with each other? When do you feel your family is united? (fellows at factory/office, associations, village neighbors…)

ACT Deep faith means participation in 'the mystery of the unity of the triune God'. How will you participate in the mystery of the Trinity?

NEXT Look at the history of Church which is the assembly of all the believers. Even though christians are weak and even commit sin let's show how the Lord, in spite of these failings, works with His Church and draws its members to Himself.

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

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Lesson 36 The blood of martyrs is the seed of christians

KEY POINT How would the Lord be with and lead the Church which is the assembly of men/women?

LEARNING The history of whole (world) Church

1. Church of the Apostles' period

- Cf. Lesson 32. and "Acts of the apostles"

2. The Post-Apostolic Period of Persecution and Religious Freedom:

1) After the death of the apostles who lived with the Lord and learned from Him, the Christian community started to record the preaching of the apostles as "the New Testament" for believers. This community spread out and established other christian communities in the Roman empire.

2) But soon christians began to be persecuted in the countries that believed the king was god. Especially the cruel and inhumane persecution and death of christians was continued until 313 AD in Rome. When the Emperor Constantine converted to christianity and in His "edict of milan" gave the right of free choice of religion. By then Catholicism had become the national religion of the Roman empire which dominated many countries. In this way the Church became not just a free missionary activity but a political power as well.

3) Believers considered death by persecution as means of complete unity with Christ. But when the persecution ceased, they sought this unity with Christ in religious life. In this period there were heretics which confused and doubted the difference between the divinity and humanity of Christ, and regarding the Trinity and the nature of Justification (those sinners pardoned by the death of Christ must be judged by those who are sinless).

3. Church of the Middle age

1) By the middle ages almost all of Europe was christianized. At the same time regional Churches were connected with the political entity, 'the Holy Roman Empire'. In the middle ages the one ideology, 'Christian doctrine' dominated politics, economics, society, culture etc. Next the rise of Islam and domination the Holy Land and capture of Jerusalem caused the rise of 'the crusades' where the christian countries of Europe went to war to recapture the 'Holy places'. But it was not a war of religion. Rather it was struggle for hegemony, for human political and economic power under the pretext of religion.

2) In this period, there arose various 'religious societies', such as, hermits, mendicants, pilgrims etc. who sought unity with Christ through contemplative prayer. But the mendicants' societies emphasized only the passion and sufferings of Christ. They ignored the joy and happiness of 'life in the Lord.'

On the other hand ordinary people could not easily follow the spirit and lives of the clergy and religious who devoted themselves to contemplative prayer, penance and reading the Scriptures (written in Latin) in their own languages. Therefore it was regretable that lay believers who endeavored to follow saints who were familiar to them, were hindered from reading the scriptures and following 'the Jesus of the Scriptures.'

3) But nevertheless the Middle ages saw the establishment and development of the basic ideas and cultures of modern times by the Church laws, professional education in the universities including the study of theology and philosophy, sacred music, and sacred art and crafts.

4. Church of Modern times

1) As mentioned above, the Church was involved in the political world. This hindered her showing the true light of the Gospel to the world. The Church also became involved in financial matters. It was given material goods including the large tracts of land etc by countries and governments. Therefore it was seen as contradicting "the lord's love which gave up all to serving humanity."

Many efforts to reform these secular abuses in the Church were frustrated, by the pride and greed of the reformers themselves. This caused divisions and sects in the christian religion. (ie Anglican Church - Church law forbids remarriage. The king of England wanted to remarry and so he declared himself the superior of the church in England and so separated England from the Catholic Church Protestantism - Martin Luther endeavored to renew the church but his lifestyle and teachings were not in accord and so he supported the lords who wanted to become independent of the Holy Roman Empire and separated from the traditional Church.) The causes of these divisions are many but they are the result of a decline in that faith which depends on the Lord's infinite love and forgiveness. Worldliness was also the root of the division of Christianity.

2) These trials made the Church more concerned with the situation by starting to renew itself internally and do missionary work again and so discover the essence of the Church once more.

With the growth of international trade after the crusades and the coming of the 'Industrial Revolution.' Workers and the urban poor were exploited. But the Church did not respond according to the Gospel to their cries for redress and both Church and society failed in their duties. At that time 'atheism', 'the Enlightment' and 'Communism.'

In these confused times for the Church the Lord showed His power through the miraculous, appearances of His Blessed Mother (Lourdes, Fatima). And led His Church to new life in light of the Gospel. And by the martyrdom of missionaries in the World WarsⅠ·Ⅱ the Church was active in the world. And the Church showed other ways of witnessing to the Lord through Vatican CouncilⅡ's Teachings.

3) In Modern times the Church is involved in the social apostolate through the work of 'the society of Vincent de Paul' and 'Young Christian Worker' These members endeavor to witness to the Lord among workers and the poor who are exploited and are in difficulties. Vincentians give the poor workers not only the word and prayer but also the goods which are necessary for living and YCWs shows the poor workers themselves how to evangelize their own lives and working conditions. These two groups ('charity' and 'justice') are not opposed to each other or superior and inferior to one another. They are two wheels of the same carriage which is called the Church.

WORD Be on guard (Lk 21,34-36)

21 ³⁴Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap; ³⁵for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. ³⁶But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

SHARING Though the Church is the gathering of christians who have sinned, the Lord is with and in His Church and takes care of Her. As you review the history of the Church what thoughts and feelings arise in you?

SEE How can you be with the Lord as you go through life?

JUDGE Do you want to be with the Lord?

Do you want to receive the love of the Lord?

Do you want to be led wholly by the Lord?

ACT The Lord said, "Be always on the watch, and pray." (Lk 21,36) Remembering this, what must we do to be with the Lord, to receive his love and to be led completely by Him?

NEXT The history of the Korean Catholic Church

PRAYER "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1Co 1,25)

GLOSSARY

"The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Christian." the words of Tertullian. They mean that though the world persecute and kill the christians, new christians and a more vigorous Church will arise from their sacrifice.

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Lesson 37 The history of the Korean Catholic Church

KEY POINT How did God establish and lead the Church in this land?

LEARNING The history of the Korean Catholic Church-Korean Catholic Church was acquired by laymen themselves.

1. Korean Catholic Church was not proclaimed by missionary but established by laymen’s seeking themselves.

Korean Catholic Church was sought and believed by the South Scholars who were studied the truth in later of Lee’s dynasty. They had studied the foundation theory of Confucianism, Sung Confucianism, in 1977, and started Catholic which was called as the Western Theory with ‘Lee, Byuk’.

2. Korean Catholic Church had already the faith community before the missionary.

In this seminar, they had studied with the book, ‘Chonjusileui’, of Fr. Matthew Rici who preached in China. These books was written as a complementary to Confuicianism.

They had prayed regularly during study. And they wrote a poem to explain easily for the general person. After Lee, Seunghoon was baptized firstly as a Peter in China in 1784 and he returned and baptized many persons in Korea.

3. Korean Catholic Church has a baptized believer before the missionary.

Korean Catholic Church was established by baptism of Lee, Seunghoon. And they gathered in ‘Myoungreiband’-Myoungdondg Cathedral presently and share their faith.

Because they didn’t know exactly about the Catholic, they made a hierarchy, Fake Hierarchy, themselves, and said the Mass and celebrated the Confession and the Sacraments. But they acknowledged it was false, and tried to take a missionary.

4. Korean Catholic Church had already a martyr before the missionary.

There were martyrs by persecuting for the faith in the Korean Catholic Church before a missionary. Paul Youn, Jichoong and James Kwon, Sangyoun wanted funeral according to the Catholic style but their families and government put them to death, so they martyred.

5. Korean Catholic Church was persecuted fourth big times.

Korean Catholic Church was persecuted fourth big times. Fr. Ju, Moonmo and virgin couple Lee, Lugalda etc 300 believers in 1801 and Korean first chairman of layman, ‘Paul Chong, Hasang’ and Bishop ‘Lawrence Imbert’ etc 150 believers in 1841, Korean first priest, ‘Andrew Kim, Taegon’ etc in 1846, and Bishop ‘Simeon Berneux’ and ‘Chang, Jugi’ who is the lord of first seminary building, ‘Hwang, Seokdu’ etc many believer martyred in 1866~1873. 103 believers among these martyrs were established as saints by Pope John Paul 2 in 1984.

6. Politicians of later in Lee dynasty protected their political power to punish Catholic believers as sinners and killed them.

For politicians argued against other politician and took and strengthened political power, they killed other politician to punish a Catholics.

Lee Dynasty separated strictly persons as a man, woman, elder, younger, and high, middle, low class. Because Catholics called each other brothers and sisters except God is only one Father, they were assumed the group to destroy the society, so they were excluded.

Because the Mission Societies of Church didn’t understand exactly Oriental Culture and customs, they misunderstood a offering to the ascendant as a idolatry and protected it, so the persecution was strengthened(But now it is recognized).

7. Korean Catholics made a faith town, ‘Kyowoochon’, and shared and helped each other during persecution times.

Although strong persecution, Catholics martyred God actively with die.

By the way, Korean Catholic Church made a faith town, ‘Kyowoochon’, and gathered and continued to proclaim during persecution period. French missionary, Dallet, wrote those times living, “There was no man who died by hungry because they shared food each other even though they were deprived of their all properties and rights and run away” in the History of Korean Catholic Church.

8. Acquiring the right for free choice of religion(☞there is no item in Children).

After continuous persecution, Korean Catholic Church acquired the freedom of religion by the contract between Korea and French in 1886. Until now, Korean Catholic Church have thought ‘what Jesus wants us to do’ and responded the change of society. Let’s lead our church fix and follow the Lord’s will through our strong faith and love for Lord.

WORDChun-Ju-Gong-Gyoung-Ga(Psalm of adoration for God by Lee, Byuk) 천주공경가('이벽' 지음)
어와세상 벗님네야 이내말씀 들어보소 Hello, everyone, listen my word 집안에는 어른있고 나라에는 임금있네 There is an elder in home and a king in country 내몸에는 영혼있고 하늘에는 천주있네 There is a soul in my body and the God in heaven 부모에게 효도하고 임금에는 충성하네 Filial to parent and loyal to king 삼강오륜 지켜가자 천주공경 으뜸일세 The best is adoration to God in the three fundamental principles and the five moral disciplines in human relations, ‘SAM-GANG-O-RYUN’. 이내몸은 죽어져도 영혼남아 무궁하리 Being eternal my soul even though my body died 인륜도덕 천주공경 영혼불멸 모르면은 Doing not know the humanity and morality and the adoration to God and the immortal of soul 살아서는 목석이요 죽어서는 지옥이라 Being is trees and stones and dying is hell 천주있다 알고서도 불사공경 하지마소 Although knowing existence of God, do not hold a Buddhist service 알고서도 아니하면 죄만점점 쌓인다네 Unless do although knowing, sinning more and more 죄짓고서 두려운자 천주없다 시비마소 Fearing by sin, don’t say there is no God 아비없는 자식봤나 양지없는 음지있나 No son who has no father and no shady spot which is no sunny spot 임금용안 못뵈었다 나라백성 아니런가 Although doing not see the face of king, it is sure people of his country 천당지옥 가보았나 세상사람 시비마소 Don’t argue whether you have been go in paradise and hell or not 있는천당 모른선비 천당없다 어이아노 How can scholar who do not know that paradise is exiting know that paradise is not existing(If scholar who do not know that paradise is existing, how he can know that paradise is not existing) 시비마소 천주공경 믿어보고 깨달으면 Doing not argue the adoration to God, and believing in and acknowledging 영원무궁 영광일세 it’s a glory in eternal

SHARING Let's share your feeling after reading the history of the Indian Catholic Church.

SEE Do you ever testify yourself or see those who testify to faith in the Lord by their lives? What feeling do you have of this?

JUDGE Martyrs believe the best way of unity with the Lord is the testimony of dying. So they do not fear death, rather they are happy in dying because they expect to meet the Lord. How do you testify to the Lord in your lives?

ACT What do you have to do now according to your sharing in 'JUDGE'.?

PRAYER "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him." (Jn 12,24-26)

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Lesson 38 Men will know that you are My disciples,

if you have love for one another

KEY POINT Jesus Christ who is the Sacrament of God, and the Church which is the Sacrament of Jesus Christ.

LEARNING The Sacraments Ⅰ

The Sacraments are the moments when the Lord comes to us. The Sacraments are signs (symbols, marks, indications) of the grace God gives us. So we meet God through the Sacraments.

1. The concept of Sacrament.

A Sacrament is a sign in which the risen Christ shows us His love. And it confers grace (life). - "Sacrament is the sign whereby we can see the love of God who is unseen."

eg - If we see one who wears a Roman collar we know he is a priest. A Roman collar is the external sign of the priest

2. Jesus shows us God by his words and acts. So Jesus is the Sacrament of God. That is, the figure of Jesus who came among us as a man, who loved, wept, was hungry and suffered, is the sign of the love by which God forgives man. And Jesus is the source of all the sacraments, so we call Him, 'The Original Sacrament'.

3. The Church, through the Sacraments, makes God known to the believers and through their Sacramental lives gives witness to Him.

4. The Church continues the ministry of Jesus. By this, people can see the death and the resurrection of Jesus. So the Church is the sacrament of Jesus.

- The Church, the sacrament of Jesus, is the Sacrament which teaches and shows the unity between God and the world.

5. Sacramentals

These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments: they signify effects, particularly of a spiritual kind, which are obtained through the Church's intercession. (Liturgy No. 60)

These are the devotional actions that ask 'consecration' or 'benediction' (or 'exorcism') by offering oneself and all that is around one to God.

eg - Bishops or Priests who are so recognized by the magisterial right of the Church, ask the grace of God through the consecration of man/woman and the blessing of things (cross, statues, rosary, car) or places (chapel, house, factory, office, machine) We should receive the Sacramentals in a spirit of faith and reverence, not as things which are superstitions

6. Then, the Sacraments are for whom?

Jesus spoke about God to all who could see and hear. So Jesus is a Sacrament for all humanity.

The Church is also the Sacrament for all, whether they are Christian or not. If the Church shall live according to the teachings of Jesus, the Church reflects the light of Jesus to all, because Jesus was the Sacrament of God and a life and a light to the world.

But the seven Sacraments are the Sacraments for believers, who believe in God through the Church. Because non Catholics don't know well the meaning of the Seven Sacraments the seven Sacraments and Sacramentals are for the Christian community.

People should be able to find the meaning of the Sacraments through the lives of the believers who have received the seven Sacraments (the Sacramental lives). That is, people see the person of God through the lives of the believers. So the believer who has received the Sacraments is the temple of the Lord which emits the fragrance of Christ. He/she is also the Lord's apostle and missionary.

WORD A new commandment (Jn 13,34-35)

13 ³⁴A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

SHARING Because the 12 disciples lived with Jesus they came to know God through Him. And while they were alive, after Jesus ascended, they preached Him.. Then how do you learn to know Jesus and through whom?

SEE Did you ever feel the Lord is living among us? Let's share if you ever felt so through the example of others, even though it is not through your personal experience.

JUDGE The Church shows Jesus to the people. So it is the Sacrament of Jesus. Then the Church is not just a building or chapel. If this is true, what is our basic meaning, and what is the distinctive feature, of 'Church'?

ACT If we all believe in Jesus, then our assembly is the Church. How will you show Jesus to others?

NEXT the seven Sacraments.

PRAYER Let's pray to God one by one!

GLOSSARY

Roman collar a plastic band which is worn on the neck of the clergy-shirts of Roman Catholic clergy

Teaching Office The right and responsibility which the Church has of preaching and teaching the faith according to Jesus.

Liturgy Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium). Vatican Ⅱ is the 21st general council of the Catholic Church which was held from 1958-1965. It updated the structure and teaching of the Church for the modern world. The documents of Vatican Ⅱ 4 Constitutions (The Church - Lumen Gentium; Revelation - Dei Verbum; Liturgy - Sacrosanctum Concilium; The Church Today - Gaudium et Spes) and 9 decrees (Communications - Inter Mirifica; Ecumenism - Unitatis Redintegratio; Eastern Churches - Orientalium Ecclesiarum; Bishops - Christus Dominus; Priestly Formation - Optatam Totius; Religious Life - Perfectae Caritatis; Laity - Apostolicam Actuositatem; Priests - Presbyterorum Ordinis; Missions -Ad Gentes) and 3 declarations (Education - Gravissimum Educationis; Non-christians - Nostra Aetate; Religious Freedom - Dignitatis Humanae)

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 1 The Potato of Hankook

"Hankook! Did you ever see Jesus?"

"No!"

"How can you believe Jesus if you cannot see Him?"

"Well, would you believe if you could see Him?"

And next morning Hankook took the potato which pushed out new shouts and gave it to his companion, saying:

Look, companion! I saw this potato last winter before it pushed out new shoots. and it seemed dead. Then, when I see these green and pretty new shoots, I know this potato has been alive all along and can live a new life. Therefore though you can not see Jesus with your eyes now, it does not mean Jesus is not there. Like the new shoots of this potato, Jesus is waiting for the spring of your heart when you will open your mind to His presence."

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 2

"I believe in Jesus, not the Church." - Mahatma Gandhi

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Lesson 39 Unless one is born again,

he cannot see the kingdom of God

KEY POINT The Church shows the Lord to the believers through the seven Sacraments. We who receive the Sacraments represent the Lord through our Sacramental lives. And when we receive the Sacraments, we grasp their meaning in our minds and are changed to live with the Lord from the bottom of our hearts.

LEARNING Sacrament Ⅱ - the Seven (7) Sacraments

1. Baptism

1) WORD - "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (Jn 3,5)

2) LEARNING - As the Lord bore the sins of mankind and sacrificed Himself on the Cross, died and rose again, we shall die to our sins and rise again in the Lord through Baptism. That is, we renounce the worldy values and life-style, and are changed to be reborn as completely new persons.

And we become children of God and members of the believing community.

In this Sacrament we accept with joy, life, love, neighbors, nature, etc., as gifts given to us by God. We also receive the grace of putting the Lord first in our lives.

2. Confirmation

1) WORD - "For the Holy spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John (began) laying their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." (Act 8,16-17)

2) LEARNING - Receiving the power to witness to the Lord, just as the martyrs bravely accepted death and were martyred joyfully. So becoming an apostle who will witness to the Lord and the Gospel is the effect of this Sacrament.

3. The Eucharist

1) WORD - "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (Jn 6,54)

2) LEARNING - By receiving the Eucharist, we are united to the Lord and acquire the food necessary for our christian lives. Holy Communion really makes us one with the Lord, with believers and with the world to which we should preach the Gospel. And we shall be as another Blessed Sacrament to the world.

* When you will receive the Blessed Sacrament, you should prepare properly beforehand in body and mind. (the Eucharistic fast should be observed and you should be free from grave sin.)

4. The Sacrament of Penance (Confession)

1) WORD - "If you forgive the sins of any, (their sins) have been forgiven them; if you retain the (sins) of any, they have been retained." (Jn 20,23)

2) LEARNING - This is the Sacrament of reconciliation by which we regain the state of grace which we lost by refusing to love God, our neighbor or ourselves Through this Sacrament, we are forgiven our sins and become the friends of the Lord again. And In this Sacrament, we are empowered to forgive those who sin against us.

5. Holy Orders

1) WORD - "Jesus said to Peter the third time, 'Simon, (son) of John, do you love Me?' Peter said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Tend My sheep.'" (Jn 21,17) "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it." (Mt 16,18b)

2) LEARNING - This is the Sacrament by which a priest is ordained to love the people of God and lead them to the Lord. This will be received by the one who loves the Lord only, offers his body and soul to Him, wants to live the life of an apostle as a representative of the Lord, and who has completed the regular course for seminarians.

6. Matrimony

1) WORD - "Consequently, they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." (Mt 19,6)

2) LEARNING - "Married Christians, in virtue of the sacrament of matrimony, signify and share in the mystery of that unity and fruitful love which exists between Christ and his Church; (Eph 5,32) they help each other to attain holiness in their married life and in the rearing and education of their children; and they have their own special gift among the people of God (1cor 7,7; Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Vatican Ⅱ no. 11)" (Introduction no. 1 of the rite of marriage)

Through the Sacrament of Matrimony they will come to be a true Holy Family like that of Jesus, Mary, Joseph of Nazareth and be the light and salt of the world. Apostle Paul compared matrimony to the love of the Lord for His Church. "But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be subject to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;" (Ep 5,24-25)

7. The anointing of the sick (Extreme Unction)

1) WORD - "The apostles were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them." (Mk 6,13)

2) LEARNING - This is the Sacrament in which the Lord comes to those in danger of death with deep love, and encourages them with His consolation to face death with courage and hope.

And this is received not just for healing but for participating in the sufferings of Christ by which he saved the world. For this reason, this Sacrament is an integrating and uniting force for loving Jesus more and more.

The baby is born.

Baptism

He/She becomes a child of God. He/She can call God, "Abba!" "Father!"

The baby grows drinking the milk of his/her mother.

The Eucharist

He/She is united with Jesus. (Communion) He/She receives the power and the joy from Jesus.

The child may totter and fall but as he/she begins to walk he/she becomes stronger.

Confirmation

He/She can witness to Jesus anytime and anywhere in the world.

As a younger brother/sister is born. The child becomes angry, jealous and unhappy.

Confession
(♣Penance,
Reconciliation)

He/She is reconciled with Jesus, with neighbors and with oneself; and can live happily and joyfully again.

The child is reared and can get married

Matrimony

He/She makes a Holy Family with Jesus' blessing.

The boy who loves Jesus and everybody can be ordained a priest.

Holy Orders

He can be a representative of Jesus.
He can consecrate the Holy Body and the Holy Blood of Jesus and share these with the believers.

The child may become sick.
(Extreme Unction)

The Anointing of the sick

He/She participates in Jesus' suffering to save the world by his own suffering.
(He will meet Jesus in the kingdom of God.)

The baby is born.	Baptism	He/She becomes a child of God. He/She can call God, "Abba!" "Father!"
The baby grows drinking the milk of his/her mother.	The Eucharist	He/She is united with Jesus. (Communion) He/She receives the power and the joy from Jesus.
The child may totter and fall but as he/she begins to walk he/she becomes stronger.	Confirmation	He/She can witness to Jesus anytime and anywhere in the world.
As a younger brother/sister is born. The child becomes angry, jealous and unhappy.	Confession (♣Penance, Reconciliation)	He/She is reconciled with Jesus, with neighbors and with oneself; and can live happily and joyfully again.
The child is reared and can get married	Matrimony	He/She makes a Holy Family with Jesus' blessing.
The boy who loves Jesus and everybody can be ordained a priest.	Holy Orders	He can be a representative of Jesus. He can consecrate the Holy Body and the Holy Blood of Jesus and share these with the believers.
The child may become sick. (Extreme Unction)	The Anointing of the sick	He/She participates in Jesus' suffering to save the world by his own suffering. (He will meet Jesus in the kingdom of God.)