 |
|
|
Six-week program to explore the ‘Hebrew Experience’
By Julie Filby
|
The Hebrew Experience Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
CNS photo from Reuters |
Born into a devout Jewish family, Jesus grew up observing the Sabbath from sunset Friday until sunset Saturday. He traveled to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph to take part in feasts such as Pessach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles). During his ministry, he used Jewish imagery to explain his role as Messiah.
Yet many Catholics are not familiar with Jesus’ Jewish roots.
The Community of the Beatitudes, at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Denver, will offer a seven-week program to teach participants about Jewish feasts, the Hebrew alphabet, how to pray the Hail Mary in Hebrew, and explain Church teaching on Israel. The “Hebrew Experience” will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on consecutive Wednesdays, from Jan. 18 through Feb. 29, at the parish school.
“Learning about the Jewish roots of our Catholic faith means growing out of an age-old ignorance,” explained Beatitudes Sister Magdalit Bolduc, who will lead the class. “Ignorance causes fear and fear leads to violence, and even war. By understanding someone better, respect can take root.”
Sister Bolduc—native of Montreal, Canada, and daughter of a diplomat—grew up exposed to a variety of cultures, languages and religions. Following entry into religious life, she served as a pilgrimage guide in Israel for 12 years, from 1988 to 2000. There she discovered the Jewish people, their history and the Jewish roots of Christianity.
“(Through this program) I would like to pass on respect and understanding of the Jewish reality and people,” she said. “They are part of our Catholic family tree; part of God’s plan in the history of humanity’s salvation.
“It’s a matter of stepping up to the Church’s call to treat the Jews as our elder brothers in the faith.”
Material covered in the classes will go beyond a catechetical level to help attendees understand a people with “its own spiritual and cultural world” and discover “the very sounds, images and language of Jesus.”
“Students must be ready not only for facts,” said Sister Bolduc, “but for an encounter and a learning method that is engaging and interactive.”
The first class will serve as an introduction, as well as start the alphabet and Hail Mary in Hebrew. Sessions will continue by studying the feasts of Pessach, Shavuot, Sukkot and Rosh Hashanah-Kippur; and the final class with feature a multi-media presentation “A Man Had Two Sons.”
The presentation, which summarizes historical events between the Church and synagogue throughout a 2,000-year relationship, received the Micah Award from the Jewish Community in Denver in 2004 for promoting interfaith dialogue and understanding. Sister Bolduc will also share significant Church statements since Vatican II on the topic of Judaism.
Anyone interested in learning more about the Jewish roots of Christianity is invited to attend.
“‘Regular parishioners’ are often the best students,” she said. “The only requirement is a desire to understand more about our faith and who Jesus is. Some come because they know a Jew … for personal reasons, they want to understand their boss or neighbor or daughter-in-law.”
At a later date, Sister Bolduc will offer a follow-up series of classes covering secondary feasts of the Jewish liturgical year, as well as social-political realities that brought about the state of Israel.
“This is a complicated subject, but it is possible to understand the phenomena that brought such pain and suffering in the Middle East,” she said. “I’d like parishioners to realize the implication of knowledge and ignorance in political matters.”
The cost of the program is $100, which includes all materials. It will be held at St. Catherine of Siena School at 4200 Federal Blvd. in Denver, adjacent to the church. To register by the Jan. 16 deadline, call 720-301-3712 or email srmagdalit@hotmail.com.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||