Blog Post 21

1) The three functions of the synagogue are an a meeting place, a worship space, and a learning center.

2) In the synagogue, men and women are seated in separate sections. The ark is on the Eastern wall of the synagogue. The Ten Commandments are the laws that God gave to Moses and they are above the door in a synagogue. Torah scrolls contain all of Jewish law and tradition.

3) A rabbi is a Jewish teacher. A man must complete college with completing other classes of the training of a rabbi in order to become a rabbi. Also, he must live in Israel for at least a year in order to learn the Hebrew language. A rabbi is not a clergyman because he does not have the authority to perform certain rituals. The rabbi’s job is to determine and interpret religious laws.

4) The Sabbath is observed on Saturdays as a time to devote yourself to God.

5) The Torah is all of Jewish law and tradition. The Talmud is the oral tradition that explains the teachings of the Torah.

6) Orthodox Jews follow the teachings of the Torah. 

Reform Jews believe that the Torah and their faith are always changing. 

Conservative Jews believe that Jewish laws should be able to help them relate to the current time period. 

Zionist Jews believe that all Jews should return to the Holy Land.

7) Hebrew is the historical language of the Jews.

8) Yiddish is the language of European Jews.

9) “Mazal tov” means congratulations. “Shalom” means hello, peace, and goodbye. “Mitzva” is a precept, commandment, or a good deed done because of a religious requirement.

10) Brit Milah is when baby male Jews are circumcised. Bar/Bat Mitzvah is when a Jewish boy/girl is of the age to receive the commandments. Marriage is a natural part of Jewish life because it provides security and companionship.

11) Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement. Hanukkah is the Festival of Rededication/ the Festival of Lights. Passover is when the Jews remember how G-d passed over their houses in Egypt.

12) I knew that the Sabbath was a time to devote yourself to God.

13) I learned that Yiddish is the language of European Jews.

14) Jews have a day of rest and so do we but they are on different days.

15) Men and women don't have to sit in separate sections.

blog 20

1) Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha and founded Buddhism.
2) The Four Passing Signs were an old man (sickness), a sick man (suffering), a dead man (death), and an ascetic (a way to escape the pain of the world).
3) The Middle Way is a teaching that says that the way to enlightenment is to avoid extremes.
4) Gautama gained enlightenment after resisting temptations from Mara and his daughters.
5) The Sangha is a Buddhist monastic community composed of both men and women.
6) The Three Jewels of Buddhism are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
7) Samsara, “the wheel of rebirth,” is common to both Buddhism and Hinduism cosmology.
8) The Buddha did not approve of the Hindu philosophy and the sacrificial rituals that the brahmin performed.
9) The Three Marks of Existence are no-self, impermanence, and suffering. They are related because they are symbolized by the Four Passing Signs.
10) The doctrine of anatta is the existence of the “no-self.” It is the opposite of the Hindu concept of Atman.
11) In samsara, a person’s energy is passed from one body to the next. Karma determines what type of body the energy will go to in its next life.
12) For all Buddhists: Do not take life; Do not take what is not given; Do not engage in sensuous misconduct; Do not use false speech; Do not drink intoxicants. For Buddhist monks: Do not eat after noon; Do not watch dancing of shows; Do not use garlands perfumes, or ornaments; Do not use a high or soft bed; Do not accept gold or silver.
13) Dukkha can be translated as “suffering,” “frustration,” “dislocation,” or “discomfort.”
14) Tanha is desire, thirst, or craving. Tanha leads to dukkha.
15) The Nobel Eightfold Path consists of the following teachings: Perfect Vision, Perfect Emotion, Perfect Speech, Perfect Action, Perfect Livelihood Perfect Effort, Perfect Awareness, and Perfect Meditation.
16) The Buddha serves as a reminder and example of how to become enlightened while others who become enlightened are merely following in his path.
17) An arhat is a person who has become enlightened but is still alive and has not entered into nirvana.
18) Nirvana means “blowing out.” Nirvana is the end to, or blowing out of, suffering and pain.
19) The three divisions of Buddhism are the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
20) The main focus of Theravada Buddhism is the teachings of the Buddha.
21) Mahayana means the “greater vehicle.” This implies that Mahayana Buddhism is more relatable to the majority of Buddhists than the other sects of Buddhism are.

Blog 19

Biography: Siddhartha was born into a royal family near India. As a child, he was very spoiled because his father wanted to shield him from the harsh realities of life. As he became older, he wanted to leave the palace. When he went into the real world, he was shocked to find terrible things such as sickness, suffering, and death. After coming across these hardships, Siddhartha met a religious man. This inspired him to search for the meaning behind the hardships of life. After wandering for years, he still had not found the answer to his question. He then sat under a tree and vowed to not move until he had come to an answer. After being tempted by many gods, he had finally become the Buddha, or “the enlightened.” The Threefold Way consists of of ethics, meditation, and wisdom. Ethical actions are actions that bring about good, rather than harm, to oneself and others. Meditation is a deep, internal reflection of oneself and one’s life. Wisdom is the culmination of all Buddhist efforts: to become enlightened.

The Three Jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The Buddha is important as he serves as an example of how to live one’s life and how to achieve enlightenment. Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, is important as it serves as a story of how to effectively become enlightened. The Sangha is the practice of following in the footsteps of other Buddhists who have gone before you. Additionally, it is learning from another Buddhist.

The Four Noble Truths are: 1) All existence is suffering; 2) The cause of suffering is craving; 3) The end of suffering comes with the end of craving; and 4) There is a path that leads away from suffering.

The Nobel Eightfold Path consists of the following teachings: Perfect Vision, Perfect Emotion, Perfect Speech, Perfect Action, Perfect Livelihood Perfect Effort, Perfect Awareness, and Perfect Meditation.

Mayan and Aztec culture

Location: The Mayans and Aztecs were located in Mexico and Guatemala.






Cosmology: According to Aztec cosmology, the universe is in a very delicate equilibrium. Opposing divine forces are competing for power. This equilibrium is in constant danger of being disrupted by shifting powers of the gods, of the elemental forces that influence our lifes. This struggle cannot be won by any god.

Sacred Symbols: Symbolism was a part of every day life for the people of central Mexico.  Symbols were used in writing, in keeping time and dates, in names and titles, on buildings and in artwork, and even in clothing.  It identified and explained the gods, showed social level, and foretold good and bad fortune.

Sacred Locations: Coatepec or Serpent Mountain was one of the most sacred places of Aztec mythology and religion. Some of the common features of Maya sites are the north-south orientation, the paved ceremonial plazas in the center of the pyramids with small temples on top, palace structures on lower platforms, and at least one ball court.  The commonalties within these structures have roofs decorative by masonry and plaster vertical projections whose sole purpose was aesthetic beauty and power.    

Major Gods: 

Ah Kinchil

In Maya mythology, Ah Kinchil is the sun god.

Ah Puch

In Maya mythology, Ah Puch is the god of death.

Ahau Chamahez

In Maya mythology, Ahau Chamahez was one of two gods of medicine.

Ahmakiq

In Maya mythology, Ahmakiq is a god of agriculture. He locks up the wind when it threatens to destroy the crops.

Akhushtal

In Maya mythology, Akhushtal is the goddess of childbirth.

Bacabs

In Maya mythology, the bacabs are the canopic gods. They stand at the four corners of the world supporting the heavens.

Centeotl

In Aztec mythology, Centeotl was the corn god. He was a son of Tlazolteotl and the husband of Xochiquetzal.

Chalchiuhtlicue

In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtlicue was the goddess of running water. She was the sister of Tlaloc.

Chantico

In Aztec mythology, Chantico was the goddess of hearth fires and volcanoes.

Shamanistic Practices: Shamans are specialists in the state of ecstasy, a state of vision that allows them to move freely beyond the ordinary world, beyond death, beyond the real world to deal directly with gods, ancestors, or anything within the spirit world. Shamans will perform ceremonies as a plea for assistance from that supernatural world. To the Mayan, the shamans call for rain for relief from drought that could threaten life itself. They were the do-ers or h-men could communicate the needs of the people. They were blessed with their ability to perform the rituals effectively and bring rain. The ancient Mayan, shamans were not only those individuals who could enter a portal into the other world; they were the kings of cities.

Rituals: The Mexica world was full of omens, both good and bad. One had to constantly be alert for signs and pay strict attention to daily routine and ritual. A bird singing, a stone overturned, the sound of the wind - every aspect of nature was speaking and the Aztec had to listen, intently. There was one religion and the earth was doomed. Melancholy, pessimism, and dread engulfed the Aztec mocking life itself. Human sacrifice was a religious practice characteristic of pre-Columbian Aztec civilization, as well as of other mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya and the Zapotec.

Images of Art

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Vocab Words

Cosmology- Study of origins and a religions view on the fate of the universe and how it works.
Pantheism- belief that everything composes an all-ecnompassing, immanent God, or that the universe or nature is identical with divinity.
Polytheism-the belief in or worship of more than one god.Monotheism-the doctrine or belief that there is only one God.Transcendence- beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experienceempathy- the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.Axis mundi- center of the worldrevelation- the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relatingto human existence or the worldDivination-the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.Taboo-a social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.Totem-a natural object or animal believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and adopted by it as an emblem.Trickster figure- a god, goddess ,spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behaviorVision quest- an attempt to achieve a vision of a future guardian spirit, traditionally undertaken at puberty by boys of the Plains Indian peoples, typically through fasting or self-torture.

Definitions

1. Heart- the central or innermost part of something : right in the heart of the city.
• the vital part or essence : the heart of the matter.2. Desire- a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen : [with infinitive ] a desire to work in the dirt with your bare hands.3. Reality-  the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them : he refuses to face reality | Laura waslosing touch with reality.4. Ontology-the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.5. Being-  existence : the railway brought many towns into being | the moment whenthe universe came into being.6. Religious sense-  is intrinsically connected to the hypothesis of revelation.7. 4 Truths of the "I"- I did not create myself, I am limited, I have infinite desires, and I ultimately seek my own happiness.8. Suffering-  experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant) : he'dsuffered intense pain | [ intrans. ] he'd suffered a great deal since his arrest |[as n. ] ( suffering) weapons that cause unnecessary suffering.9. Original sin-the tendency to sin innate in all human beings, held to be inheritedfrom Adam in consequence of the Fall. The concept of original sin was developed in the writings of St. Augustine.10. Church- a building used for public Christian worship : they came to church with me.11. Presbyter- an elder or minister of the Christian Church.• formal (in Presbyterian churches) an elder.• formal (in Episcopal churches) a minister of the second order, under the authority of a bishop; a priest.12. Viaticum-  the Eucharist as given to a person near or in danger of death.13.Theodicy- the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil.14. Sacrament- a religious ceremony or act of the Christian Church that is regarded asan outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual divine grace, in particular.15. History of the sick being healed by the Church – The rising of Lazarus and Jesus gives sight to the blind man.
16. Presbyters - An elder or minister of the Christian Church.
17. Who administers the sacrament? - Only priests (including bishops) can administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick
18. Who can receive the sacrament? - As soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.
19. Theodicy - The vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil.
20. Apocalyptic- Describing or prophesying the complete destruction of the world.
21. Apostolate - The office, duties, or mission of an apostle.
22. Oil of the Sick - The olive oil blessed by the bishop of a diocese for use in the sacrament of anointing of the sick.
23. Penance - Voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong.
24. Confession - An admission or acknowledgment that one has done something that one is ashamed or embarrassed about.
25. Forgiveness - To give up resentment of or claim to requital for an insult.
26. Conversion - The fact of changing one's religion or beliefs or the action of persuading someone else to change theirs.
27. Empathy - The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
28. Ten Commandments - The divine rules of conduct in the bible given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.
29. Four Dimensions of the Sacrament – The four main dimensions are contrition, confession, satisfaction/penance, and absolution.
30. Mortal Sin - An actual sin that destroys sanctifying grace and causes the supernatural death of the soul.
31. Venial Sin - An offense against God which does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace.
32. Original Sin - Either the sin committed by Adam as the head of the human race, or the sin he passed onto his posterity with which every human being, with the certain exception of Christ and his Mother, is conceived and born.
33. Personal Sin - A personal sin may be a sin of commission or a sin of omission. When we choose to do something that is prohibited, we have committed a sin of commission.
34. Declaration of Nullity - A given marriage was not valid (and therefore not binding) at the time a couple spoke their marriage vows.
35. Abortion - The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy.
36. Contraception - The deliberate use of artificial methods or other techniques to prevent pregnancy as a consequence of sexual intercourse.
37. Sterilization - The act of making an organism barren or infertile (unable to reproduce
38. Natural Family Planning - comprises the family planning methods approved by the Roman Catholic Church for both achieving and avoiding pregnancy.
39. Nuptial Blessing - The formal blessing of the newlywed couple, given at Mass after the Lord's Prayer. The priest gives the blessing with extended hands and prays for husband and wife that they may love one another, be faithful to each other, witness to others by their Christian virtue, and be blessed with children to whom they will be good parents.
40. Fidelity - Faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.
41. Divorce - The legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body: "her divorce from her first husband.
42. Polygamy - The practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time.
43. Adultery - Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse.
44. Annulment - is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void.
45. Purpose of Marriage - The purpose of marriage is to have children and create a stable home in which the child can grow and thrive.
46. Unity - Harmony or agreement between people or groups.
47. Procreation - The sexual activity of conceiving and bearing offspring.
48. Intimacy – A close or warm friendship or understanding; personal relationship.
49. Grace - In biblical language the condescension or benevolence (Greek charis) shown by God toward the human race; it is also the unmerited gift proceeding from this benevolent disposition.
50. Family - A group of persons who are related by marriage or blood and who typically include a father, mother, and children.
51. Domestic Church - It is the Christian family that lives, proclaims, and — by sharing Christ’s example from generation to generation shines like the scriptural city on a hill.
52. Matrimony as a covenant - A holy covenant between a man and a woman and their God for a lifetime.
53. Cohabitation - The state or condition of living together as husband and wife without being married.
54. Definition - Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration by water in the word (per aquam in verbo).
55. Proper Matter - The remote matter is natural and true water and the proximate matter of baptism is the ablution performed with water. The very word "baptize", as we have seen, means a washing.
56. Correct Words/Form - I baptize thee (or this person is baptized) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."
57. Designated Minister - The ordinary minister for Baptism is a priest, bishop, or deacon. In an emergency where life is at stake anyone can baptize as long as they have the desire to do God's will
58. Biblical Basis – The Incarnation and Jesus being baptized in the River Jordan.
59. RCIA - is the process through which interested adults and older children are gradually introduced to the Roman Catholic faith and way of life.
60. Rite of Baptism of Children - It should be conferred in a communal celebration in the presence of the faithful, or at least of relatives, friends, and neighbors, who are all to take an active part in the rite and are willing to raise the child in the catholic faith.
61. RCIA Process – The five stages of the RCIA Process are Inquiry, Rite of Acceptance / Catechumenate, Rite of Election, Sacrament of Initiation, and Mystagogy.
62. Cradle vs. Convert – The question that ask whether converts to the faith make better evangelists than cradle Catholics (babies).
63. Candidates -  The focus is on teaching the foundations and traditions of the Catholic Church in contrast to other Christian denominations.
64. Catechumens - This is the primary learning phase of the RCIA process.  Often times, many people simply "go through the motions" to complete this phase, but it can be a time of tremendous growth.
65. Diocese - A district under the pastoral care of a Christian bishop.
66. Vicar - In the Roman Catholic Church, is representative or deputy of a bishop.
67. Episcopal College – A church that practices or advocates the principle of the Church being government by bishops.
68. Synod of Bishops - A council or an assembly of church officials or churches; an ecclesiastical council
69. Ecumenical Council - an assembly of bishops and other ecclesiastics representative of the Christian Church throughout the world. Roman Catholic canon law states that an ecumenical council must be convened by the pope
70. Infallibility - The doctrine that the pope is incapable of error in pronouncing dogma.
71. Imprimatur - An official license by the Roman Catholic Church to print an ecclesiastical or religious book.
72. Parish - A small administrative district typically having its own church and a priest or pastor.
73. Stole - A strip of fabric used as an ecclesiastical vestment, worn over the shoulders and hanging down to the knee or below.
74. Dalmatic - A wide-sleeved over garment with slit sides worn by a deacon or prelate.
75. Seminary -  is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination asclergy or for other ministry.
76. Celibacy - Celibacy refers to a state of being unmarried and, therefore, sexually abstinent, usually in association with the role of a religious official or devotee.
77. Bishops - Bishop is the title of an ecclesiastical dignitary who possesses the fullness of the priesthood to rule a diocese as its chiefpastor, in due submission to the primacy of the pope.
78. Pope -  is at present employed solely to denote the Bishop ofRome, who, in virtue of his position as successor of St. Peter, is the chief pastor of the whole Church, the Vicar of Christ upon earth.
79. Definition - A sacrament in which the Holy Ghost is given to those already baptized in order to make them strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ.
80. Proper Matter - The imposition of hands and the chrism oil is the are the matters of this sacrament.
81. Correct Words/Form - "I sign thee with the sign of the cross and confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."
82. Designated Minister ¬– The bishop is the designated minster of this sacrament.
83. Seal - The seal is when the bishop anoints a person with chrism and says, "[Name], be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit."
84. Holy Spirit - The third person of the Trinity in which God is spiritually active in the world.
85. Fruits of the Spirit – The fruits are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
86. Gifts of the Spirit – The gifts are wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe, judgment, knowledge, courage, and reverence.
87. Pentecost - A feast of the universal Church which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, fifty days after the Resurrection of Christ.
88. Chrismation - The sacrament or mystery more commonly known in the West as confirmation.
89. Sponsor - Sponsors or godparents are present at baptism and vow to uphold the Christian education and life of the baptized.
90. Definition - The name given to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar in its twofold aspect of sacrament and Sacrifice of Mass, and in which Jesus Christ is truly present under the bread and wine.
91. Source and Summit - To say the Eucharist is the "source and summit of Christian spirituality" means at least two things. First, that Christian spirituality flows from the Eucharist as its source, the way light streams forth from the sun. And second, that Christian spirituality is supremely realized in and ordered to the Eucharist as its summit or highpoint – that to which all of our actions should ultimately be directed.
92. Transcendence - The aspect of God's nature and power which is wholly independent of (and removed from) the material universe.
93. Eucharist is a memorial – Eucharist is a memorial meal because when catholic are at mass they are remembering how Jesus gave up his life and saved us from sin and to bring Christianity into the world.
94. “Real Presence” – Expresses the belief that in the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present in what was previously just bread and wine, and not merely present in symbol,
95. Consecration - Consecration, in general, is an act by which a thing is separated from a common and profane to a sacred use, or by which a person or thing is dedicated to the service and worship of God by prayers, rites, and ceremonies.
96. Transubstantiation -  is the doctrine that, in the Eucharist, the substance of the bread and the wine used in the sacrament is changed into the substance of the Body and the Blood of Jesus.
97. Tabernacle - a tower-shaped vessel for preserving and exhibiting relics and the Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist).
98. Other Names for the Eucharist - The most common names are: the Eucharist, Holy Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Breaking of the Bread, the Eucharistic Celebration, the Memorial of the passion, death and Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Sacrifice, the Holy and Divine Liturgy, the Sacred Mysteries, the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, and Holy Communion.
99. Liturgy of the Word - In the liturgy of the word Christians come together to thank God for God’s gifts.
100. Liturgy of the Eucharist - While the liturgy of the word focused upon the table of the Lord’s word-the lectern, the Eucharistic liturgy centers upon the altar-both a place of sacrifice as well as the table from which as Christians we are fed.

Universal Call to Holiness

Msgr. Luigi Giussani states:  "[T.S. Eliot] asked himself "Has the Church failed mankind, or has mankind failed the Church?" . . . Both, both, because first and foremost it is mankind who failed the Church, because if I need something, I chase after it if it goes away. No one chased after it . . . The Church began to fail mankind, as I see it . . . because she forgot who Christ was, she did not rely on..., she was ashamed of Christ, of saying who Christ is."  I think this quote is very interesting because it points out two major concerns with the Church and mankind. The first is mankind failing the Church because "if i need something, I chase after it if it goes away." I think this quote is touching on taking things for granted. So many people often take their faith for granted and take the Church for granted as well. In the quote it says that the only reason why we chase after things we need is because it might go away. I think this is true because if something we need is always at our side we won't be very concerned about going and getting it. We do not feel that it is necessary to go out of our way to understand something that has always been around. This is the reason why mankind has failed the Church. Mankind always wants things that it can not have. As a result if mankind has always had religion and the Church then there is no reason to go out and chase after it. If all religions in the world were to end in two weeks, everyone would be chasing after religion and finding it. There is no need to do that now because it is around. Mankind takes religion and the church for granted.

      Msgr. Luigi Giussani also states that the Church has failed mankind. "The Church began to fail mankind, as I see it . . . because she forgot who Christ was, she did not rely on..., she was ashamed of Christ, of saying who Christ is." The way I see this quote is that the Church might have lost it's path somewhere along the way. The quote says that the Church forgot who Christ was, and she did not rely on (him). I think that this means that at one time the Church was pure to the cause of Jesus Christ and his mission but it has become a different meaning today. The Church did not rely on what Christ means and was ashamed of Christ. To say that the Church is ashamed of Christ is a bold statement. This means that the Church is embarrassed to recognize who Christ really is and does not want to say who Christ is. This is how the Church failed mankind. The Church is supposed to be this upstanding community who speaks and acts the truth in the footsteps of Jesus Christ but if they are ashamed of saying who Christ is, then how can they be fully devoted to the cause.