The Covenant Broken and Renewed

Again and again, God offers his Covenant to man, from the beginning of Creation, and now to be established formally, once and for all, with Israel on Sinai mountain. All too soon, however, his chosen people fail again in their response to the Covenant. Will God finally give up on them?

Here is the powerpoint presentation for this part of our lesson:

The Covenant Broken and Renewed
Fidelity and Infidelity in the Context of the Covenant

Mazal Tov: 2nd Quarterly Test Achievers

Shalom Class and welcome back to school!

Mazal Tov to all students who got very high grades (93% and above) in the recent Second Quarterly Test. Special mention goes to H1G for a very impressive performance as a class, 1/5 of them getting 93% and above. Continue to "let your let shine so that you may give glory to your heavenly Father." God bless all of you.

H1A
Fernandez, John Patrick
Lim, Alfred Vincent
Quiaoit, Daniel Mark

H1B
Orosa, Rafael Andre
Uy, Jason Russel

H1C
Chiong, Michaelvin

H1D
Qui, Martin Daniel
Yu, Charles Richmond

H1E
Tan, David Reginald
Teh, Jeffrey Alester
Ventanilla, Juan Miguel

H1G
Co, Marc Terence
Lao, Eric Michael
Lim, Tristan Jonel
Onglao, Mario Juvenal III
Rosal, Thomas Abraham
Santiago, Benedict Leonard
Tan, Christian David

Second Quarterly Test

Shalom guys!

QT Week is here again! To help you in your studying for our CLE Exam, I have prepared a short review sheet that gives you an overview of our lessons for this quarter to help you see everything as they fit in the big picture of Israel's Covenant-relationship with God as it progresses in history.

May the much hoped for Promised Land of the Semestral Break inspire you as you go through this Desert Experience which you have to undergo. God bless all of you.

Review Notes
H1CLE- Introduction to the Bible and the Old Testament
2nd Quarterly Test

Passover Meals

Shalom everyone!

I just finished today my last of six Passover Seder meals this week. These were truly great and memorable class encounters for me and, I hope, for each and everyone of you as well.

Although prayer services, they were nonetheless fun-filled experiences getting to eat traditional Jewish dishes, trying out things we've never tasted before, all over stories of how God led his people from slavery into freedom, from bondage into fullness of life. As we shared the food, so did we share in the experience of our forefathers in the faith, letting its power, made present by our anamnesis, touch us in the present and unite us with them.

Thanks to everyone for making these Passovers truly meaningful for all of us. Special thanks to the parents who supported our endeavors and helped prepare some of the food.

Dayenu, Adonai, Dayenu!

Sample Prayer Service

Shalom Class!

To further help you with your Prayer Service, I have prepared a sample prayer service for my favorite saint, Saint Therese of Lisieux.


Saint Therese of the Child Jesus
virgin and doctor of the Church
Feast Day: October 1

Brief Biography

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus was born as Marie Therese Francoise Martin to an upper middle-class family in Lisieux, a rural village of France. The youngest child, Therese was raised in piety, surrounded by the love and care of her family. At age fifteen, she was called by God to serve him as a Carmelite nun in a life of prayer and sacrifice. In Carmel, she had to live the simple and disciplined life of a contemplative nun, very far from the comfortable and sheltered environment she was accustomed to in childhood. Yet she offered herself to God, doing the most ordinary things like sweeping floors, folding towels and washing kettles always with great love. She contracted tuberculosis and died at the tender age of 24, still uttering on her deathbed of pain with undiminished faith and devotion, "My God, I love you!"

After her death, many people from all walks of life have been inspired and led by her simple way of sainthood: to do the most ordinary things with great love. She was soon declared a saint, and soon after, despite the simplicity of her teachings, proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, foe she taught and showed people how to be a great saint even if one is able to do only simple things for Jesus. Even if she considered herself very small, Jesus' Little Flower, she is regarded by many as "The Greatest Saint of Modern Times."

Scripture Reading

Psalm 131
LORD, my heart is not proud; nor are my eyes haughty.
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me.
Rather, I have stilled my soul, hushed it like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me.

Reflection on the Saint's Virtue

Although she wanted to accomplish great things for God, Saint Therese knew her weakness and chose instead to offer Him the simple, ordinary things she does everyday with great love, like a little child to her Father. She can be our model in following the commandment, "You shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength," for she teaches us that to please God, we do not need to do great things, we only have to do all things with great love, that is, with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength.

Prayer

Loving Father,
you raised your little one,
Saint Therese of the Child Jesus
and made her great, even in her simplicity,
by teaching her to do even the smallest things
with great love for you.

Be with us as we journey through life
and help us imitate the way of Saint Therese.

May we always remain simple as a little child before you,
and learn to do our ordinary duties with joy and faith
through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Very Important Announcements

Shalom Class!

Thank God for the holidays... by using it properly and wisely especially in view of the fact that the Second Quarter is quickly coming to a close with hoards of requirements to prepare and pass and tons of class material to review and study. The coming week will be especially hectic for CLE class with several things to submit:

1. Creative Synthesis (Part 3 - My Saint's Desert Experience) due on Monday

ALL DUE on Friday:
2. Creative Synthesis (Part 4 - My Saint's Promised Land)
3. Creative Synthesis (Prayer Service)
4. Passover Meal Group Paper
5. High1CLE - Second Reflection Paper (My Own Desert Experience)

The Passover Meal Group Paper must include
1. Title: the name of the food assigned to your group.
2. The recipe thatyou used for the food.
3. The significance/ symbolism of the food in the Passover meal.
4. The prayers that are said while sharing the food. (You can find the prayers in the material I posted earlier in this blogsite)
5. The names of your group members

Here are the rubrics for your Second Reflection Paper:

H1 CLE - Second Reflection Paper

Topic:
My Desert Experience: Finding God in a Dry and Difficult Moment of Life

Procedure:
1. Identify a period or moment in your own life where you encountered God’s silent presence. Remember and describe that part of your life by identifying the feelings and thoughts that your had. How did I react to the apparent absence of God? Was I angry, doubtful, complaining or still trusting? How did God speak to me during that difficult moment in my life? What was he trying to tell me?
2. Compare your experience to the desert experience of Israel. How was my desert experience similar to or different from that of Israel? (Remember to use Scripture and apply the lessons in your comparison)
3. Ask, "How did God lead me and form me in the desert?" Looking back at it from the present, ask, “How did that experience change me for better or worse?” What contributed to the change? Where do I see the hand of God at work here?

Scoring Rubrics:
Proper Understanding of Desert Experience 10pts.
Application to one’s life 10pts.
Comparison with the Biblical example (Israel’s desert experience) 10pts.
Depth and completeness of insights and reflection 10pts.
Organization and Coherence of Ideas 5pts.
Proper Format 5pts.

TOTAL SCORE (10% of Quarterly Grade)

God bless us all.

Passover Recipes

Shalom Class!

I am already very excited for our Passover meal! I am looking forward to a truly meaningful and memorable Prayer Service will all my classes for this quarter. Here are some recipes that you may want to follow. You are to submit the recipe with the significance of your assigned food and the prayers for eating it together with the names of your group members next week.

Matzoh (Unleavened Bread)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup wholewheat flour (or just another cup of all-purpose flour)
spring water (or plain, clean water)

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix two flours together and add water until you have a soft, kneadable dough. Knead about five minutes. Let dough rest a couple of minutes.

Break off egg-sized portions of dough. Stretch as thinly as you can before rolling into thin, oval slabs that are as thin as possible. Prick each slab with a fork or pastry docker. Place on baking sheet and as soon as sheet is filled with matzohs, place in oven, and bake until crisp and buckled, about 3 minutes. Cool and eat.

(You should prepare three big matzohs for three rounds of eating, so just multiply the ingredients to achieve that amount. Each matzoh should be enough to be shared by the whole class, which should be around the size of a 14"-16" pizza.)

Maror (Bitter herbs dip)

Ingredients
traditionally, horseradish or romain lettuce is used
other bitter herbs like ampalaya leaves may be substituted.

Directions
Finely grate the herbs together to form a bitter dip for the matzoh. You may want to use a food processor but do not overdo so the maror will not become watery.

Kharoset (Sweet apple dip)

Ingredients
5 large apples
2 1/2 cup walnuts or another nut, chopped fine
5 tablespoonw grape juice, fresh squeezed is best
5 teaspoons honey
2 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Directions
Peel, core and grate the apple. Mix apple with the remainder of ingredients in a storage container with a lid mixing well. (You may also want to use a food processor but do not overdo because the dip may become watery. Place in the refridgerator for several hours, the apples should be turning brown.

Other reminders:
1. Those assigned to bring traditional Passover dishes, except the matzoh must divide the food into four containers to facilitate sharing. (So we will not have to get from just one dish.)
2. Those assigned to bring grape juice should bring enough for everyone in class to drink a small amount for three rounds. They should also bring paper cups.
3. Those assigned to bring roast beef should also bring toothpicks for everyone.

"We were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt, but God took us out from there, with a mighty hand and outstretched arm..."