| SPARK |
| 2004 |
| March |
Lenten Lamentations: Seeking God’s Mercy
By Marilyn Espaillat
In Hebrew Tradition, the Book of Lamentations is the fifth book of the Writings. In the English
version, it is found after the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. The people of Israel had left the
salvation of Moses’ Ten Commandments and of Solomon’s Temple far behind. The corrupt kings
and the sluggish people had broken the covenants of God for hundreds of years. God sent
prophets to warn the people, but they kept turning to other Gods. They refused to listen because of
the stubbornness of their hearts. They were helpless when the Babylonians invaded and
Jerusalem was destroyed. The book of Lamentations reveals the terrible conditions which
prevailed after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. It expresses the laments of an
individual, a people, and God.
While Lamentations speaks of God’s anger, it still demonstrates the hope that God will be merciful
to his chosen people. These laments are not irrational grief; they are actually firm acts of faith in
Yahweh’s power, mercy, and justice. The author of Lamentations acknowledges that God is
righteous in actions towards them. Israel confesses its sinfulness and expresses its faith in
Yahweh’s power to restore them.
Lamentations includes five chapters or laments. The first four chapters are built in poetic form
using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and are therefore written in acrostic form. This is a form of
poetry as familiar to Hebrews as English rhyming verse is to us. Chapters one, two, and four have
twenty-two verses, the same number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter three, the acrostic
style is in three parts, with three verses to each letter of the alphabet; it has a total of 66 verses. The
fifth chapter is different in that it is not acrostic, but it is made of twenty-two verses.
One scholar believes that the lament in Chapter One was composed soon after the Babylonian
defeat of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is described as a widow calling for someone to help, but finds no
one coming to her side to comfort her. The cause of real grief is the spiritual terror of God as the
enemy. Jerusalem has been unfaithful and she knows it. She admits her sins.
The author gives a vivid and detailed description from the viewpoint of an eyewitness of the event.
The catastrophe was not an action of a heartless God against innocent people. Jerusalem brought
on her own destruction because of her own sin. The sin of disobedience brings destruction and
God’s judgment.
The destruction of the Temple, as described in Chapter Two, causes Israel to agonize and cry for
mercy. The Babylonian takeover results in more citizens being deported and Jerusalem becoming
a province of Babylon. The fall is a consequence of Jerusalem’s infidelity to the omnipotent God,
whose anger is manifested in the Babylonian armies. The people of Jerusalem feel abandoned and
isolated from God.
Chapter Three expresses the poet’s personal experience of suffering, but also his hope. Jeremiah
devotes himself to Yahweh on his own behalf and that of the nation. He prays for interventions.
Jeremiah reveals a very profound insight. We have to stop and examine our lives. We have to take
responsibility for our actions by finding where we have made our mistakes, and correcting them.
Chapter Four is another lament. It is a remembrance of the experience of being taken over and its
effect upon the various type of citizens. This chapter expresses the erratic situation of Jerusalem at
the time of the invasion.
Chapter Five expresses a plea for divine mercy and a petition for restoration. Also, we can see an
echo of the situation in chapter one, repeating a fatherless widow. In the New American translation,
the end of chapter five reads, “Help us to repent!” The Jews repeat this verse at the end of chapter
five, so that the book of Lamentation ends on a hopeful note.
The significance of the destruction of the Temple is dramatic. Initially, the tent where the Ark of the
Covenant was placed was the meeting place between God and the people of Israel. The Temple
became the center of worship for the people of Israel. Losing the Temple during the destruction
meant losing what tied them to God. The Jews read the book of Lamentation every year in the
middle of July, on the anniversary of the day when the Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C.
One approach to interpreting the book of Lamentations is that it is God’s words to Humanity. A
person who reads the Bible as just a major piece of literature may not see the scriptures as God
speaking to us now. I believe that the scriptures are human and divine documents that witness the
power of God to save when we are in the depths of despair and resentment. The book is there as a
reminder to us. If you choose to be disobedient, you will face the consequences. Salvation has
been achieved at the price of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. It remains only for us to lament our past
misdeeds, and learn to act obediently in the future.
Editorial note. This article was adapted from a research paper which Marilyn wrote in her college
studies in Old Testament Survey. She wishes to thank Father Hilario Guajardo, Pastor of the
McGregor Parish, for his help in the article.
P.S. Lamentations is not very long. Why not read it sometime during Lent?
By Marilyn Espaillat
In Hebrew Tradition, the Book of Lamentations is the fifth book of the Writings. In the English
version, it is found after the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. The people of Israel had left the
salvation of Moses’ Ten Commandments and of Solomon’s Temple far behind. The corrupt kings
and the sluggish people had broken the covenants of God for hundreds of years. God sent
prophets to warn the people, but they kept turning to other Gods. They refused to listen because of
the stubbornness of their hearts. They were helpless when the Babylonians invaded and
Jerusalem was destroyed. The book of Lamentations reveals the terrible conditions which
prevailed after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. It expresses the laments of an
individual, a people, and God.
While Lamentations speaks of God’s anger, it still demonstrates the hope that God will be merciful
to his chosen people. These laments are not irrational grief; they are actually firm acts of faith in
Yahweh’s power, mercy, and justice. The author of Lamentations acknowledges that God is
righteous in actions towards them. Israel confesses its sinfulness and expresses its faith in
Yahweh’s power to restore them.
Lamentations includes five chapters or laments. The first four chapters are built in poetic form
using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and are therefore written in acrostic form. This is a form of
poetry as familiar to Hebrews as English rhyming verse is to us. Chapters one, two, and four have
twenty-two verses, the same number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter three, the acrostic
style is in three parts, with three verses to each letter of the alphabet; it has a total of 66 verses. The
fifth chapter is different in that it is not acrostic, but it is made of twenty-two verses.
One scholar believes that the lament in Chapter One was composed soon after the Babylonian
defeat of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is described as a widow calling for someone to help, but finds no
one coming to her side to comfort her. The cause of real grief is the spiritual terror of God as the
enemy. Jerusalem has been unfaithful and she knows it. She admits her sins.
The author gives a vivid and detailed description from the viewpoint of an eyewitness of the event.
The catastrophe was not an action of a heartless God against innocent people. Jerusalem brought
on her own destruction because of her own sin. The sin of disobedience brings destruction and
God’s judgment.
The destruction of the Temple, as described in Chapter Two, causes Israel to agonize and cry for
mercy. The Babylonian takeover results in more citizens being deported and Jerusalem becoming
a province of Babylon. The fall is a consequence of Jerusalem’s infidelity to the omnipotent God,
whose anger is manifested in the Babylonian armies. The people of Jerusalem feel abandoned and
isolated from God.
Chapter Three expresses the poet’s personal experience of suffering, but also his hope. Jeremiah
devotes himself to Yahweh on his own behalf and that of the nation. He prays for interventions.
Jeremiah reveals a very profound insight. We have to stop and examine our lives. We have to take
responsibility for our actions by finding where we have made our mistakes, and correcting them.
Chapter Four is another lament. It is a remembrance of the experience of being taken over and its
effect upon the various type of citizens. This chapter expresses the erratic situation of Jerusalem at
the time of the invasion.
Chapter Five expresses a plea for divine mercy and a petition for restoration. Also, we can see an
echo of the situation in chapter one, repeating a fatherless widow. In the New American translation,
the end of chapter five reads, “Help us to repent!” The Jews repeat this verse at the end of chapter
five, so that the book of Lamentation ends on a hopeful note.
The significance of the destruction of the Temple is dramatic. Initially, the tent where the Ark of the
Covenant was placed was the meeting place between God and the people of Israel. The Temple
became the center of worship for the people of Israel. Losing the Temple during the destruction
meant losing what tied them to God. The Jews read the book of Lamentation every year in the
middle of July, on the anniversary of the day when the Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C.
One approach to interpreting the book of Lamentations is that it is God’s words to Humanity. A
person who reads the Bible as just a major piece of literature may not see the scriptures as God
speaking to us now. I believe that the scriptures are human and divine documents that witness the
power of God to save when we are in the depths of despair and resentment. The book is there as a
reminder to us. If you choose to be disobedient, you will face the consequences. Salvation has
been achieved at the price of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. It remains only for us to lament our past
misdeeds, and learn to act obediently in the future.
Editorial note. This article was adapted from a research paper which Marilyn wrote in her college
studies in Old Testament Survey. She wishes to thank Father Hilario Guajardo, Pastor of the
McGregor Parish, for his help in the article.
P.S. Lamentations is not very long. Why not read it sometime during Lent?
Naomh P’adraig
by Jim Barnes
Some of you may have been thrown by the title. I was. It’s Gaelic for Saint Patrick, and March 17th
will be the annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. It has come to be known as a day to celebrate
Ireland. However, before St. Patrick, Ireland was a somewhat barbaric place, and pagan to boot.
St. Patrick was born sometime between 372 and 390.
He went to Ireland as a missionary, and there he tried to teach the people about the Holy Trinity.
They could not understand until he picked up a Shamrock (clover) from the ground and explained
that even though it has three leaves, it has only one stem, making it one Shamrock. The folk
immediately understood the concept of the unity of parts making the whole.
The trinity is also explained by St. Athanasius:
“We adore one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in one God without confusing the Persons or
dividing the substance of God. The Person of the Father is different from the Person of the Son, and
both are different from the Person of the Holy Spirit. But the divinity of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit is one and the same in equal glory and coeternal majesty.
“What the Father is, that the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is. The Father is uncreated, the Son is
uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy
Spirit immeasurable.The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. Nevertheless,
there are not three eternal, immeasurable, uncreated beings, but one uncreated, immeasurable,
eternal Being.
“The Father is omnipotent, the Son omnipotent, the Holy Spirit omnipotent. But still, there are not
three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent Being.
“Thus the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And nevertheless, not three gods, but one God.”
There is also a Legend that St. Patrick drove out the snakes from Ireland. Whether or not he did, the
concept bears some examination.
Throughout history, the snake has been a favorite symbol for evil. In the book of Genesis, the evil
entity which leads Eve to disobey God’s commandment concerning the “fruit of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil” is depicted as a serpent. Serpent is an even stronger image. Who
thinks of a “serpent” when faced with a common garter snake? Who says, “Look it’s a Blue Racer
serpent!” So, indeed, a serpent is an evil being in our minds, our legends, our folklore.
So, what do these two stories of St. Patrick have to do with each other?
The concept of the Trinity is one of the major mysteries of our Faith and is also one of the many
doctrines which set us apart from many other Christian churches. Indeed, it frequently comes under
attack from some fundamentalists who would tell us that the Trinity can’t exist as we see it because
Jesus separated himself from God the Father, and from God the Holy Spirit: “And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always ..”
These are examples of arguments against the Trinity which I have had addressed to me.
The late Bishop Fulton Sheen warns us that the devil often comes as the “angel of light” promising
knowledge and enlightenment. This is the same approach used by the “serpent” against Eve. He
convinced her that knowledge is a good thing and that surely God didn’t mean for his creations to
remain ignorant!
I believe that it is a real possibility that Satan influences people to use the Word of God selectively to
confuse us. He will assist those whom he can manipulate in selecting the passages of scripture
which, when taken out of context, can handily be used to cast at least that initial shadow of doubt.
During this season of Lent, and while we celebrate, each in our own way, the feast day of St. Patrick,
Patron Saint of the Emerald Isle, let’s all try to find time to increase our formation. Ask the Holy
Spirit, one person of the Trinity, to enlighten us and to prepare us to help the “spiritually challenged”
of our race to understand the majesty of God in three Persons. Perhaps if we “throw the book at
him” we too, can bruise the serpent's head.
by Jim Barnes
Some of you may have been thrown by the title. I was. It’s Gaelic for Saint Patrick, and March 17th
will be the annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. It has come to be known as a day to celebrate
Ireland. However, before St. Patrick, Ireland was a somewhat barbaric place, and pagan to boot.
St. Patrick was born sometime between 372 and 390.
He went to Ireland as a missionary, and there he tried to teach the people about the Holy Trinity.
They could not understand until he picked up a Shamrock (clover) from the ground and explained
that even though it has three leaves, it has only one stem, making it one Shamrock. The folk
immediately understood the concept of the unity of parts making the whole.
The trinity is also explained by St. Athanasius:
“We adore one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in one God without confusing the Persons or
dividing the substance of God. The Person of the Father is different from the Person of the Son, and
both are different from the Person of the Holy Spirit. But the divinity of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit is one and the same in equal glory and coeternal majesty.
“What the Father is, that the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is. The Father is uncreated, the Son is
uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy
Spirit immeasurable.The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. Nevertheless,
there are not three eternal, immeasurable, uncreated beings, but one uncreated, immeasurable,
eternal Being.
“The Father is omnipotent, the Son omnipotent, the Holy Spirit omnipotent. But still, there are not
three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent Being.
“Thus the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And nevertheless, not three gods, but one God.”
There is also a Legend that St. Patrick drove out the snakes from Ireland. Whether or not he did, the
concept bears some examination.
Throughout history, the snake has been a favorite symbol for evil. In the book of Genesis, the evil
entity which leads Eve to disobey God’s commandment concerning the “fruit of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil” is depicted as a serpent. Serpent is an even stronger image. Who
thinks of a “serpent” when faced with a common garter snake? Who says, “Look it’s a Blue Racer
serpent!” So, indeed, a serpent is an evil being in our minds, our legends, our folklore.
So, what do these two stories of St. Patrick have to do with each other?
The concept of the Trinity is one of the major mysteries of our Faith and is also one of the many
doctrines which set us apart from many other Christian churches. Indeed, it frequently comes under
attack from some fundamentalists who would tell us that the Trinity can’t exist as we see it because
Jesus separated himself from God the Father, and from God the Holy Spirit: “And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always ..”
These are examples of arguments against the Trinity which I have had addressed to me.
The late Bishop Fulton Sheen warns us that the devil often comes as the “angel of light” promising
knowledge and enlightenment. This is the same approach used by the “serpent” against Eve. He
convinced her that knowledge is a good thing and that surely God didn’t mean for his creations to
remain ignorant!
I believe that it is a real possibility that Satan influences people to use the Word of God selectively to
confuse us. He will assist those whom he can manipulate in selecting the passages of scripture
which, when taken out of context, can handily be used to cast at least that initial shadow of doubt.
During this season of Lent, and while we celebrate, each in our own way, the feast day of St. Patrick,
Patron Saint of the Emerald Isle, let’s all try to find time to increase our formation. Ask the Holy
Spirit, one person of the Trinity, to enlighten us and to prepare us to help the “spiritually challenged”
of our race to understand the majesty of God in three Persons. Perhaps if we “throw the book at
him” we too, can bruise the serpent's head.
Sponsoring-Some Things to Consider
Greg Ganslen, Lay Director
Do you realize that there are fewer than 60 days until the 2004 women's Cursillo weekend, and fewer
than 100 days before the men's? Today, or yesterday, or even before, is (or was!) the time to prepare
for sponsoring one or more candidates for the weekends.
Whom do you sponsor?
Those who will grow from an increased awareness of how much they are loved by God,and from a
new understanding of their dignity as persons, and from a willingness to exercise their natural
leadership abilities.
How do you begin?
• Prayer.
• Make a friend . . . (or even begin with someone you have known for years.)
• Be a friend . . . Speak with them on matters other than the weather or last night's game. Start
talking about what Cursillo means to you . . . the sparks of energy, the support of community. . . Then
begin to encourage them to consider the weekend.
• Bring that friend to Jesus . . . if Jesus says "Yes" in answer to your prayers asking Him if this is
what He wants.
The practical details . . .
• Live your Cursillo -- be the person God wants you to be.
• Get them an application form. (Available on our web site: www.hot-cursillo.org ) Have them fill it
out, helping them, if desirable. Encourage them to be specific in answering "health concerns/
restricted diet" and be thorough yourself when you fill out the sponsor's part (on the paper form).
• Encourage them . . . tell them something about the format of the weekend, without concentrating
on negatives; like long hours, bunk beds.
• Let them know that you and others are praying for them.
• Help them when it comes time to pack, with helpful suggestions . . a flashlight, ear plugs .
• Bring them to 58th Street Chapel on Thursday evening. Stay and make them feel comfortable,
and then go into the chapel to pray before you go home.
• Find out if there is anything you can do for the family over the weekend.
• Check and see who might want to go to the closing on Sunday and provide them with
directions.
• Have a palanca letter for the candidates telling them of the prayers and/or sacrifices that you are
doing for them personally.
• Be at the Sunday closing. Take them home after (if they have no family coming), and give them
a chance to unwind by talking about their experience if they wish.
• Phone, or visit within the next few days, asking how their fourth day is going. Remind them
of the upcoming Ultreya, and offer to take them there, and be there yourself; and the same applies to
the other Ultreyas of the year.
And most important . . . pray. Pray at every stage of the process. And get moving!
Greg Ganslen, Lay Director
Do you realize that there are fewer than 60 days until the 2004 women's Cursillo weekend, and fewer
than 100 days before the men's? Today, or yesterday, or even before, is (or was!) the time to prepare
for sponsoring one or more candidates for the weekends.
Whom do you sponsor?
Those who will grow from an increased awareness of how much they are loved by God,and from a
new understanding of their dignity as persons, and from a willingness to exercise their natural
leadership abilities.
How do you begin?
• Prayer.
• Make a friend . . . (or even begin with someone you have known for years.)
• Be a friend . . . Speak with them on matters other than the weather or last night's game. Start
talking about what Cursillo means to you . . . the sparks of energy, the support of community. . . Then
begin to encourage them to consider the weekend.
• Bring that friend to Jesus . . . if Jesus says "Yes" in answer to your prayers asking Him if this is
what He wants.
The practical details . . .
• Live your Cursillo -- be the person God wants you to be.
• Get them an application form. (Available on our web site: www.hot-cursillo.org ) Have them fill it
out, helping them, if desirable. Encourage them to be specific in answering "health concerns/
restricted diet" and be thorough yourself when you fill out the sponsor's part (on the paper form).
• Encourage them . . . tell them something about the format of the weekend, without concentrating
on negatives; like long hours, bunk beds.
• Let them know that you and others are praying for them.
• Help them when it comes time to pack, with helpful suggestions . . a flashlight, ear plugs .
• Bring them to 58th Street Chapel on Thursday evening. Stay and make them feel comfortable,
and then go into the chapel to pray before you go home.
• Find out if there is anything you can do for the family over the weekend.
• Check and see who might want to go to the closing on Sunday and provide them with
directions.
• Have a palanca letter for the candidates telling them of the prayers and/or sacrifices that you are
doing for them personally.
• Be at the Sunday closing. Take them home after (if they have no family coming), and give them
a chance to unwind by talking about their experience if they wish.
• Phone, or visit within the next few days, asking how their fourth day is going. Remind them
of the upcoming Ultreya, and offer to take them there, and be there yourself; and the same applies to
the other Ultreyas of the year.
And most important . . . pray. Pray at every stage of the process. And get moving!
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