N.B. Today is a holy day of obligation!
As far as Easter goes just about any plant or sign of life works. But of particular interest are bulb plants such as the daffodil or tulip. The bulb, when planted, is rather unremarkable. It has a shell that makes it look pretty dead actually as the skin flakes and easily falls off. It is buried in the ground and then in the spring, round about Easter (if we are lucky in northeast Ohio,) it springs gloriously to life. Of course this is an easy reference to Christ dying in the Cross, being placed in the tomb, and then rising on the third day.
This was actually a fun project to work on with the school kids. In the fall we would get a couple of bags of bulbs, a bunch of little shovels, and then head out and about the church property to tell this story and plant. When spring came about not only could we reiterate the story
of Christ, a service project saw fruition in the beautification of the Church property for Easter in which they could take pride.
Of course the Easter lily is to Easter what the poinsettia is the Christmas. There are a number of legends about the lily. One is that after Christ resurrected from the tomb wherever He walked lilies sprang up.
The palm branch may be most associated with Passion (or Palm) Sunday but it is also of interest to us at Easter. It would make much sense as part of an arrangement. You may notice that martyrs are pictured holding palm branches. The Romans used the palm branch as a sign of victory and we adopted it to show victory of the Christian over death. Both the martyrs and the resurrected Christ are shown holding palm branches as a sign of that victory.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Answers to yesterday’s quiz. It should be noted that the Scriptural references are not complete, just a starting point. I also realize some of the answers may be contested. Have at it but if you feel compelled to argue please be scholarly.
1. Scripture 1 John 5:16-17
This was actually a fun project to work on with the school kids. In the fall we would get a couple of bags of bulbs, a bunch of little shovels, and then head out and about the church property to tell this story and plant. When spring came about not only could we reiterate the story
of Christ, a service project saw fruition in the beautification of the Church property for Easter in which they could take pride.Of course the Easter lily is to Easter what the poinsettia is the Christmas. There are a number of legends about the lily. One is that after Christ resurrected from the tomb wherever He walked lilies sprang up.
The palm branch may be most associated with Passion (or Palm) Sunday but it is also of interest to us at Easter. It would make much sense as part of an arrangement. You may notice that martyrs are pictured holding palm branches. The Romans used the palm branch as a sign of victory and we adopted it to show victory of the Christian over death. Both the martyrs and the resurrected Christ are shown holding palm branches as a sign of that victory.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Answers to yesterday’s quiz. It should be noted that the Scriptural references are not complete, just a starting point. I also realize some of the answers may be contested. Have at it but if you feel compelled to argue please be scholarly.
1. Scripture 1 John 5:16-17
2. Scripture James 5:14-15
3. Tradition. The titles are not part of the actual Gospels and even if they are mentioned by name it does not say that the person is the disciple. To believe that is Tradition then.
4. Scripture MT 19:13-15 - ACTS 2:38-39 - LK 18:15-17 - I realize this one might be of particular controversy.
5. Tradition
6. Tradition - There is plenty of groundwork here to highly back up Tradition, but there is no specific explanation of the Trinity nor, like purgatory, is the word even used.
7. Tradition - See above.
8. Scripture - too many references even to begin printing them.
9. Tradition
10. Tradition
11. Scripture - Once again, the word is not used but the action is described. Acts 8:14-17.
12. Tradition
Ladies and gentlemen, we have an upset. If my answers to the controversial questions are accepted, for the first time EVER on Adam's Ale, someone (Adoro) did better than Rob on a quiz!
14 comments:
LOL....I'm not going to argue with your answers! But then again, maybe I'm biased.
Just the other day L. said some of the kids still talk about planting bulbs with you.
MJ
Darn!
You could hedge on a lot of them, but I truly missed that first one. I was sure mortal and venial sin was found only in Tradition.
I addressed it in a comment below, but overall, it seems sweet temporal viaticum, which Catholics may well need pending Holy Viaticum, if this country turns unChristian like Europe. Being sworn into office on a Jefferson "Bible" is spooky enough; being sworn into some office on a Quran ought to have woken what we say is a Christian land, and didn't. We're a melting pot, but we'd best be careful what we fashion from that molten pot.
(Carol)
Thanks for the reminder about the Holy Day. I didn't read the blog yesterday and while I was reminded at Mass Sunday, it completely slipped my mind.
:-)
rob ~ I think the reason I knew that one was because of a debate that took place on my blog and then, oddly, in other areas of my life. I had a "cheat sheet" then called "Bible Thumper" that I got through Catholic Answers, and it had the scriptural references that made it very clear that some sins caused "death" and that we can lose our salvation through sin. And those sins were listed. (The person I was debating against still didn't want to let go of "once saved always saved" even in the face of their other favorite doctrine of "Sola Scriptura". * sigh * We can only try, can't we?
I think if it weren't for that debate, though, I wouldn't have remembered.
#5 " I implore you, my child; observe heaven and earth, consider all that is in them, and acknowledge that God made them out of nothing (ex nihilo), and that mankind comes into being in the same way..." 2 Maccabees 7:28
I just looked at my answers because I'd remembered something from scripture, so, given the evidence as provided by the buffalo, Fr. V., I think we have to have you change #5 to Scripture. (I got it right! yay!)
:-)
Good job!
I concede number 5! Unfortuantely that arguement can only be used among Catholics as the Protestant Reform removed that book from their Bibles.
Fr. V. ~ Well, that's fine...we know that their removal of those books (thanks to insane Luther) renders their argument invalid considering that scripture ALSO forbids alterations! And the books were removed without authority.
But yeah...from an apologetics standpoint it does make it difficult to argue that point.
Now...if only those Protestants would see the light and become Catholic....
Chalk up another victory for those Maccabees! First Judea, now Adam's Ale...
Buffalo ~ I LOVE Maccabees...the description of martyrdom, the mother encouraging her sons as they are martyred...what an inspiration!
Hi Fr. V,
I hope you had a chance to check out my post here at http://atributetoourpriests.blogspot.com/.
Thanks for all you do! And many blessings to you!
...but FR was not a holy day of obligation in Hawai'i
i was told they celebrate only two - Christmas and Immaculate Conception
that obviously doesn't list Easter, but that is covered by it being the Lord's Day
but we got back to the mainland and home in time to attend a FR eve Mass at 7pm
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