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Towering Figures of the Old Testament |
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Noah |
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Introduction |
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Noah is the tenth
and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs.
The story of Noah is the subject of much
elaboration and is immensely influential
in Western culture. While the Flood and
Noah's Ark are the best-known element of
the story of Noah, he is known through the
Holy Bible as the first to cultivate a
vineyard, and with that he is considered
the inventor of wine.
It was through this later fame that the
Curse of Canaan came about.
This is his story, straight from the pages
of the Old Testament, Genesis Chapters 5
through 9. |
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The Wickedness of Man
When men begin to multiply on earth,
daughters are born to them. When the sons
of God see how beautiful they are, the
sons of God take the daughters of man for
their wives. And they bear giants who are
mighty men and great renown.*
Then the LORD says: "My spirit shall not
remain in man forever, since he is but
flesh. His days shall comprise one hundred
and twenty years."
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When the LORD sees how great man's wickedness
on earth is, he regrets that he had made man
on the earth, and his heart grieves.
So the LORD says: "I will wipe out from the
earth the men whom I have created, and not
only the men, but also the beasts and the
creeping things and the birds of the air, for
I am sorry that I made them."
But Noah finds favor with the LORD, for he is
a good man and blameless in that age and he
walks with God.
*The sons
of God... The descendants of Seth and Enos are
here called sons of God from their religion
and piety: whereas the ungodly race of Cain,
who by their carnal affections lay grovelling
upon the earth, are called the children of
men. The unhappy consequence of the former
marrying with the latter, ought to be a
warning to Christians to be very circumspect
in their marriages; and not to suffer
themselves to be determined in their choice by
their carnal passion, to the prejudice of
virtue or religion.
Giants... It is likely the generality of men
before the flood were of a gigantic stature in
comparison with what men now are. But these
here spoken of are called giants, as being not
only tall in stature, but violent and savage
in their dispositions, and mere monsters of
cruelty and lust. – Bishop Richard Challoner |
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Building of the Ark |
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The LORD then says to Noah: "I have decided to
put an end to all mortals on earth; the earth is
full of lawlessness because of them. So I will
destroy them and all life on earth. Make
yourself an ark of gopherwood, put various
compartments in it, and cover it inside and out
with pitch.”
The LORD tells Noah to build an ark three
hundred cubits* long, fifty cubits wide, and
thirty cubits high. He also instructs Noah to
make an opening for daylight in the ark, and
finish the ark a cubit above it. He should also
put an entrance in the side of the ark at the
bottom, second and third decks.
The LORD tells Noah that He will bring the flood
on the earth, to destroy all creatures in which
there is the breath of life. He tells Noah that
everything on earth shall perish.
But the LORD also tells Noh that He I will
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Noah's Ark, Französischer Meister |
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His covenant and Noah and his sons and their
wives shall go into the ark and they will be
spared. The LORD also instructs Noah to bring
into the ark seven pairs, male and its mate, of
the clean beasts, but only one pair, a male and
its mate, of the unclean beasts. Likewise, Noah
is also to bring into the ark of every clean
bird of the air, seven pairs, a male and a
female, and of all the unclean birds, one pair,
a male and a female.
The LORD also tells Noah to bring food that is
to be eaten, and stored away, that it may serve
as provisions for them.
*One cubit
is about a foot and a half.
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The LORD tells Noah that seven days from that
time He will bring rain down on the earth for
forty days and forty nights that will wipe out
from the surface of the earth every moving
creature that He have made.
Noah does just as the LORD had commanded him,
and he takes into the ark all the beasts and
fowls as the LORD commanded. On the precise day
Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and
Noah's wife, and the three wives of Noah's sons
Noah go into the ark. |
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The Animals Entering Noah´s Ark, by Jacob Savery
II |
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As the LORD said after seven days, on the
hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second
month, on the seventeenth day of the month
that all the fountains of the great abyss
burst forth, and the floodgates of the sky
opens. For forty days and forty nights heavy
rain pours down on the earth. |
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The Deluge, by
Michelangelo |
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As the waters rise and lift the ark above
the earth. The waters rise further until all
the highest mountains everywhere are
submerged and the crest is fifteen cubits
higher than the submerged mountains.
All creatures on earth perish. Everything on
dry land with the faintest breath of life
die. Only Noah and those with him in the ark
are left. The waters maintain their crest
over the earth for one hundred and fifty
days. |
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The Promise |
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Then the LORD remembers Noah and all the
animals, wild and tame, that were with
him in the ark. So the LORD makes a wind
sweep over the earth, and the waters
begin to subside. The fountains of the
abyss and the floodgates of the sky
close, and the downpour from the sky
stop.
Gradually the waters recede from the
earth. In the seventh month, on the
seventeenth day of the month, the ark
comes to rest on the mountains of
Ararat. At the end of forty days Noah
opens the hatch he had made in the ark,
and he sends out a raven, to see if the
waters had receded. It flies back and
forth until the waters dried off from
the earth.
Then he sends out a dove, to see if the
waters had lessened on the earth. But
the dove does not find a place to alight
and perch, and it returns to him in the
ark. Putting out his hand, |
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he catches the dove and brings it back
inside the ark. |
The Dove
Returns to Noah, by C.F. Vos |
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He waits seven more days and again sends the
dove out from the ark. In the evening the
dove comes back to him, and there in its
bill was a plucked-off olive leaf!
He waits still another seven days and then
releases the dove once more; and this time
it does not come back. Noah removes the
covering of the ark and sees that the
surface of the ground is drying up. In the
second month, on the twenty-seventh day of
the month, the earth is dry.
Then God says to Noah: "Go out of the ark,
together with your wife and your sons and
your sons' wives. Bring out with you every
living thing that is with you--all bodily
creatures, be they birds or animals or
creeping things of the earth-and let them
abound on the earth, breeding and
multiplying on it." |
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So Noah comes out, together with his
wife and his sons and his sons' wives;
and all the animals, wild and tame, all
the birds, and all the creeping
creatures of the earth left the ark, one
kind after another. Then Noah builds an
altar to the LORD, and choosing from
every clean animal and every clean bird,
he offers holocausts on the altar.
When the LORD smells the sweet odor, he
says to himself: "Never again will I
doom the earth because of man, since the
desires of man's heart are evil from the
start; nor will I ever again strike down
all living beings, as I have done. As
long as the earth lasts, seedtime and
harvest, cold and heat, Summer and
winter, and day and night shall not
cease."
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After the
Flood, Brock |
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To
read more of the Story of Noah,
please go
this this link. |
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Read more about this towering figure of the
Old Testament. |
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The Navarre Bible: Pentateuch (The Navarre Bible: Old Testament)
This volume helps you make the first five
books of the Old Testament a vital part of
your spiritual reading and practical
growth in the Christian life. It contains
the full English and Latin texts of these
books, along with extensive and faithfully
Catholic commentaries. Like other volumes
in the world-renowned Navarre Bible
series, these commentaries draw on Church
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documents, the exegesis of Fathers and Doctors
of the Church, and the works of contemporary
spiritual writers — particularly St. Josemaría
Escrivá, who initiated the Navarre Bible
project. |
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The Sunday Readings |
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March
4, 2007: The Second Sunday of Lent |
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First Reading From
the Book of Genesis: |
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Gn
15:5-12, 17-18 |
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The
Lord God took Abram outside and said,
"Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you
can. Just so,"
he added,
"shall your descendants be."
Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it
to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
"I
am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the
Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession."
"O
Lord GOD,” he asked, “how am I to know that I
shall possess it?"
He answered him,
"Bring
me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old
she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and
a young pigeon."
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other; but the
birds he did not cut up. Birds of prey swooped
down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon
Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped
him.
When the sun had set and it was dark, there
appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a
covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants
I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the
Great River, the Euphrates." |
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Responsorial From the Book of
Psalms: |
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Ps
27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14 |
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R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the
LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
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Second Reading From
the Letter to the
Philippians: |
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Phil
3:17—4:1 or 3:20—4:1 |
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Join with others in being
imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and observe
those who thus conduct themselves according to the
model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you and now tell
you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies
of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction. Their God is their
stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their
minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we
also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body to conform with his
glorified body by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love
and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand
firm in the Lord. |
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Brothers and sisters:
Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also
await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body to conform with his
glorified body by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love
and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand
firm in the Lord, beloved.
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Notes: |
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Paul and those
who live a life centered in Christ, envisaging
both his suffering and resurrection, provide a
model that is the opposite of opponents who
reject Christ's cross (cf 1 Cor 1:23).
Being imitators of me: not arrogance, but
humble simplicity, since all his converts know
that Paul is wholly dedicated to imitating
Christ (1 Cor 11:1; cf also Philippians 4:9; 1
Thes 1:6; 2 Thes 3:7, 9; 1 Cor 4:6).
Citizenship: Christians constitute a colony of
heaven, as Philippi was a colonia of Rome
(Acts 16:12). The hope Paul expresses involves
the final coming of Christ, not a status
already attained, such as the opponents claim.
This series of
ethical admonitions rests especially on the
view of Christ and his coming (cf
Philippians 4:5) in
Philippians 3:20-21. Paul's instructions
touch on unity within the congregation, joy,
prayer, and the Christian outlook on life. |
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From the
Gospel of Luke:
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Lk
9:28b-36 |
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Jesus took Peter, John, and
James and went up the mountain to pray. While he
was praying his face changed in appearance and his
clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him,
Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke
of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in
Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by
sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his
glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to
Jesus,
"Master, it is good that we are here; let us make
three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one
for Elijah."
But he did not know what he was saying. While he
was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow
over them, and they became frightened when they
entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This
is my chosen Son; listen to him."
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time tell
anyone what they had seen. |
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Situated shortly
after the first announcement of the passion,
death, and resurrection, this scene of Jesus'
transfiguration provides the heavenly
confirmation to Jesus' declaration that his
suffering will end in glory (Luke
9:32); see also the notes on
Matthew 17:1-8 and
Mark 9:2-8.
Moses and
Elijah: the two figures represent the Old
Testament law and the prophets. At the end of
this episode, the heavenly voice will identify
Jesus as the one to be listened to now (Luke
9:35). See also the note on
Mark 9:5.
His exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem:
Luke identifies the subject of the
conversation as the exodus of Jesus, a
reference to the death, resurrection, and
ascension of Jesus that will take place in
Jerusalem, the city of destiny (see
Luke 9:51). The mention of exodus,
however, also calls to mind the Israelite
Exodus from Egypt to the promised land.
They saw his
glory: the glory that is proper to God is here
attributed to Jesus (see
Luke 24:26).
Let us make
three tents: in a possible allusion to the
feast of Tabernacles, Peter may be likening
his joy on the occasion of the transfiguration
to the joyful celebration of this harvest
festival.
Like the
heavenly voice that identified Jesus at his
baptism prior to his undertaking the Galilean
ministry (Luke
3:22), so too here before the journey to
the city of destiny is begun (Luke
9:51) the heavenly voice again identifies
Jesus as Son. Listen to him: the two
representatives of Israel of old depart (Luke
9:33) and Jesus is left alone (Luke
9:36) as the teacher whose words must be
heeded (see also
Acts 3:22). |
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Coming Soon! |
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Humor |
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What My Mother Taught Me, Part 1 |
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1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB
WELL DONE: |
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"If you're going to kill each other, do it
outside -- I just finished cleaning!"
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2. My mother taught me RELIGION: |
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"You better pray that will come out of the
carpet."
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3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: |
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"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to
knock you into the middle of next week!"
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4. My mother taught me LOGIC: |
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"Because I said so, that's why!"
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5. My mother taught me FORESIGHT: |
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"Be sure you wear clean underwear in case
you're in an accident."
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6. My mother taught me IRONY: |
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"Keep laughing and I'll give you something
to cry about."
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7. My mother taught me about OSMOSIS: |
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"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
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Comments and
Contributions are Most Welcome.
If
you have any comments or contributions, please
use the form in this link.
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