| SPARK |
| November / December |
| 2004 |
The Spark is the Newsletter of the Fort Hood / Heart of Texas Cursillo. It is published by the Cursillo Community for the Cursillo Community and does not
reflect the opinion of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.
reflect the opinion of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.
| PAGE 2 |
| FROM THE ARCHIVES From the Archives refers to Spark articles which were published prior to 1999. Some of our longer resident community members may remember them, but for those of you who are more recently affiliated with us; enjoy! |
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS
--By Sharon Barnes
Formation. The Cursillo puts it equal to Evangelization and Holiness. What is so
important? I have met people who equate the practice of formation with a deficiency of
faith. Others equate “formation” with reading old books, the bigger and dustier the better.
But formation is something that can be done any time, with any (approved) resources, on
any subject. And formation can protect the faith you have against attacks.
We demonstrated this routinely with our third-grade CCD classes in Fort Campbell. We
took a trick from a TV show: What is 13 X 7? Costello proved to Abbott that it was 28.
How? Well, 3 X 7 = 21, and 1 X 7 = 7, and 21 + 7 = 28. You can even check your math. The
children know it’s wrong, but they can’t tell us why. They can explain the process of
carrying that gives the correct answer of of 91, but they don’t know why you have to do
that. The answer is that you have ignored the FACT that the “1” in 13 is actually a “10”.
Our ninth grade Confirmation Class couldn’t explain it, either. I think that the students
went straight to the process that would give them the correct answer, and ignored the
reasoning that would have explained it. Are we ever guilty of this?
Take Christmas, for example. I read a tract put out by a splinter Christian organization
that claimed that all of
Catholicism was wrong because Jesus wasn’t born on December 25. They claimed that the
Church had overstepped its authority by decreeing that; and they furthermore claimed that
it couldn’t be true.
I had a good laugh. You see, I know that The Church has NEVER said that Jesus was born
on December 25th!!!
Scholars -- Catholic and Protestant -- have argued over Christ’s actual birthday since the
first century. The current opinion is that he was born in the fall. This is the time of year
that shepherds would have their flocks out.
Why, then, did the young Catholic Church order us to Celebrate his birthday in winter?
For people intimately involved with the cycles of the sun, it is a striking time of year. The
days have been getting shorter and shorter. The sun is out less and less. When we lived in
Munster, W. Germany, which is much farther north than Texas, the sun would rise around
nine in the morning, and set before school was out at three. Even in this day of artificial
light, people have been observed to suffer a stress syndrome from the lack of sunlight. The
answer for the desperate sufferers is to sit near strong lights. We miss the light of the Sun.
The turning comes approximately on December 21, the winter solstice. Even a few more
minutes of light each day brought a sense of relief to us in Munster. We wanted to party on
a deep level. Primitive people must have felt that much more. Every known culture has a
holiday at this time. Every culture that has joined the Church has added its pre-Christian
symbols to the celebration.
Was the Church “wrong” to put the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus Christ at this time?
I believe that God the Father has always been sensitive to the need of people to celebrate at
certain times. I believe that his Holy Spirit influenced the early Church Fathers to note
that the return of the light exactly symbolizes the coming of Jesus Christ, the Light of the
World. As long as we put our focus on his coming -- through his birth -- I believe that we
will derive only good from the celebration of this holiday.
Our Advent celebrations are centered on the epic story of the presentation of Christ as the
Lamb of the World, from Adam’s sin to Mary’s acceptance of her mission. On Christmas
mornings, we do not let the children run for the presents; we have a Christmas devotion
first. And all our children have reported that seeing their family’s eyes shining in the light
of the Christmas Candle forms their most enduring memory of Christmases past.
What about the other customs? The custom of giving gifts to others (to symbolize the great
gift of redemption that God has given us) is celebrated in some cultures on Epiphany, twelve
days after Christmas, when the Wise Men traditionally reached Bethlehem. Other cultures
give gifts on St. Nicholas’ Day, December sixth, to symbolize the giving Christian spirit
shown by that historical personage.
We do not emphasize the gift function of current Christmas customs. We give gifts; God was
generous to us, and we celebrate that at Christmas. However, we do not impoverish
ourselves. Sometimes expensive things cover the lack of real feeling between people.
Currently, the image of Santa Claus is used as a commercial device to give meaning to the
customs without invoking the Christianity that underlies them. Children are going to be
exposed to him in secular settings. We choose not to fight that; but we have added a figure
of Santa kneeling to the Christ Child to our Christmas decorations.
Five boards supposed to be from the first manger are housed in St. Mary Major, a church in
Rome. They’ve been there since the fifth century AD, and Dr. Kevin Orlin Johnson
(Expressions of the Catholic Faith ) says that the church was built specifically for those
boards. Nativity sets are the idea of St. Francis of Assisi, who sponsored the first one in
Italy.
There are three Wise Men because three is a holy number, representing the Trinity; the
Bible doesn’t count them, and the names come to us from tradition. The animals in the
nativity are there because of Isaiah 1:3: “An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master’s
manger; but Israel does not know, my people have not understood.”
There are many, many more, from evergreen for trees to lights for decoration. Look for
customs that help invoke the wonder of God’s gift of redemption through Jesus Christ, and
share them. A lot of complicated people have thought a lot about all the aspects of Christ’s
coming. Most of this thinking will be of benefit to you in your Christian growth. And most of
it is interesting enough to blow the dust off a couple of old books.
Does this subject fascinate you? Do you want to know more? Be sure you consult sources
that are approved; they have been checked for error. Otherwise, have fun.
And finally: If anything ever strikes you the way the math problem 7 X 13 = 28 did the
school kids -- do some study. Find a spiritual advisor. The right answer is out there
somewhere.
De Colores!
--By Sharon Barnes
Formation. The Cursillo puts it equal to Evangelization and Holiness. What is so
important? I have met people who equate the practice of formation with a deficiency of
faith. Others equate “formation” with reading old books, the bigger and dustier the better.
But formation is something that can be done any time, with any (approved) resources, on
any subject. And formation can protect the faith you have against attacks.
We demonstrated this routinely with our third-grade CCD classes in Fort Campbell. We
took a trick from a TV show: What is 13 X 7? Costello proved to Abbott that it was 28.
How? Well, 3 X 7 = 21, and 1 X 7 = 7, and 21 + 7 = 28. You can even check your math. The
children know it’s wrong, but they can’t tell us why. They can explain the process of
carrying that gives the correct answer of of 91, but they don’t know why you have to do
that. The answer is that you have ignored the FACT that the “1” in 13 is actually a “10”.
Our ninth grade Confirmation Class couldn’t explain it, either. I think that the students
went straight to the process that would give them the correct answer, and ignored the
reasoning that would have explained it. Are we ever guilty of this?
Take Christmas, for example. I read a tract put out by a splinter Christian organization
that claimed that all of
Catholicism was wrong because Jesus wasn’t born on December 25. They claimed that the
Church had overstepped its authority by decreeing that; and they furthermore claimed that
it couldn’t be true.
I had a good laugh. You see, I know that The Church has NEVER said that Jesus was born
on December 25th!!!
Scholars -- Catholic and Protestant -- have argued over Christ’s actual birthday since the
first century. The current opinion is that he was born in the fall. This is the time of year
that shepherds would have their flocks out.
Why, then, did the young Catholic Church order us to Celebrate his birthday in winter?
For people intimately involved with the cycles of the sun, it is a striking time of year. The
days have been getting shorter and shorter. The sun is out less and less. When we lived in
Munster, W. Germany, which is much farther north than Texas, the sun would rise around
nine in the morning, and set before school was out at three. Even in this day of artificial
light, people have been observed to suffer a stress syndrome from the lack of sunlight. The
answer for the desperate sufferers is to sit near strong lights. We miss the light of the Sun.
The turning comes approximately on December 21, the winter solstice. Even a few more
minutes of light each day brought a sense of relief to us in Munster. We wanted to party on
a deep level. Primitive people must have felt that much more. Every known culture has a
holiday at this time. Every culture that has joined the Church has added its pre-Christian
symbols to the celebration.
Was the Church “wrong” to put the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus Christ at this time?
I believe that God the Father has always been sensitive to the need of people to celebrate at
certain times. I believe that his Holy Spirit influenced the early Church Fathers to note
that the return of the light exactly symbolizes the coming of Jesus Christ, the Light of the
World. As long as we put our focus on his coming -- through his birth -- I believe that we
will derive only good from the celebration of this holiday.
Our Advent celebrations are centered on the epic story of the presentation of Christ as the
Lamb of the World, from Adam’s sin to Mary’s acceptance of her mission. On Christmas
mornings, we do not let the children run for the presents; we have a Christmas devotion
first. And all our children have reported that seeing their family’s eyes shining in the light
of the Christmas Candle forms their most enduring memory of Christmases past.
What about the other customs? The custom of giving gifts to others (to symbolize the great
gift of redemption that God has given us) is celebrated in some cultures on Epiphany, twelve
days after Christmas, when the Wise Men traditionally reached Bethlehem. Other cultures
give gifts on St. Nicholas’ Day, December sixth, to symbolize the giving Christian spirit
shown by that historical personage.
We do not emphasize the gift function of current Christmas customs. We give gifts; God was
generous to us, and we celebrate that at Christmas. However, we do not impoverish
ourselves. Sometimes expensive things cover the lack of real feeling between people.
Currently, the image of Santa Claus is used as a commercial device to give meaning to the
customs without invoking the Christianity that underlies them. Children are going to be
exposed to him in secular settings. We choose not to fight that; but we have added a figure
of Santa kneeling to the Christ Child to our Christmas decorations.
Five boards supposed to be from the first manger are housed in St. Mary Major, a church in
Rome. They’ve been there since the fifth century AD, and Dr. Kevin Orlin Johnson
(Expressions of the Catholic Faith ) says that the church was built specifically for those
boards. Nativity sets are the idea of St. Francis of Assisi, who sponsored the first one in
Italy.
There are three Wise Men because three is a holy number, representing the Trinity; the
Bible doesn’t count them, and the names come to us from tradition. The animals in the
nativity are there because of Isaiah 1:3: “An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master’s
manger; but Israel does not know, my people have not understood.”
There are many, many more, from evergreen for trees to lights for decoration. Look for
customs that help invoke the wonder of God’s gift of redemption through Jesus Christ, and
share them. A lot of complicated people have thought a lot about all the aspects of Christ’s
coming. Most of this thinking will be of benefit to you in your Christian growth. And most of
it is interesting enough to blow the dust off a couple of old books.
Does this subject fascinate you? Do you want to know more? Be sure you consult sources
that are approved; they have been checked for error. Otherwise, have fun.
And finally: If anything ever strikes you the way the math problem 7 X 13 = 28 did the
school kids -- do some study. Find a spiritual advisor. The right answer is out there
somewhere.
De Colores!
Notes from Greg Ganslen, our Lay Director
In case any of you have not yet heard, Dominga Anderson has had to resign as our Board of
Directors President due to military commitments. Keep her in our prayers as she is preparing for
deployment to Southwest Asia in December-January timeframe.
Linda Abram has graciously accepted the call to serve as our Board President. Keep her in your
prayers as she assumes her duties with the Board. We hope to be able to publish a bio and possibly a
photo of her in the near future.
Annual Epiphany Party has be set for January 8th at Comanche Chapel on Fort Hood. This will
replace our monthly Ultreya. More information can be found by going to The Next Big Thing page.
Our Spring weekends are also set. The Women’s Weekend is 21 – 24 April 2005 and the team
coordinator will be Arlene Vitucci. The Men’s Weekend is 9 – 12 June 2005 and the team
coordinator will be Larry Lockhart.
Let’s keep our team coordinators in our prayers as they begin the discernment process to choose
their teams.
It is NEVER too early to recruit candidates for these weekends.
In case any of you have not yet heard, Dominga Anderson has had to resign as our Board of
Directors President due to military commitments. Keep her in our prayers as she is preparing for
deployment to Southwest Asia in December-January timeframe.
Linda Abram has graciously accepted the call to serve as our Board President. Keep her in your
prayers as she assumes her duties with the Board. We hope to be able to publish a bio and possibly a
photo of her in the near future.
Annual Epiphany Party has be set for January 8th at Comanche Chapel on Fort Hood. This will
replace our monthly Ultreya. More information can be found by going to The Next Big Thing page.
Our Spring weekends are also set. The Women’s Weekend is 21 – 24 April 2005 and the team
coordinator will be Arlene Vitucci. The Men’s Weekend is 9 – 12 June 2005 and the team
coordinator will be Larry Lockhart.
Let’s keep our team coordinators in our prayers as they begin the discernment process to choose
their teams.
It is NEVER too early to recruit candidates for these weekends.