Violence Begets Violence

 The Gate House by Nelson DeMille is a sequel to The Gold Coast.  I didn't read The Gold Coast, so the characters are new to me.  I don't usually read novels in order, except for Louise Penny's Three Pine mysteries.  Books call me by name at Library Book Sales, Yard Sales, free tables--here and there, gifts, and handed over, by friends.  My friends know I'm on a Nelson DeMille kick, now, so The Gate House was given to me.

I never quite got the geography of exactly where the gate house was located, on the estate.  But I didn't worry about it because I thought it was an unnecessary complication, in the plot.  I still think so.  The main character, John Sutter has returned home, after ten years.  A family servant, friend, and client has died.  John lived with her for a while, was her lawyer, and friend.

He had left, in the first place, because he was divorced from his unfaithful wife, who had murdered her lover, who was John's client, who was also a mafioso.  

Following?

Capice?

John is back.  It turns out that as soon as John and his ex see each other, they resume their relationship and plan to remarry.  However, if they do remarry, the in-laws will retract their financial support, which is considerable.  But that's minor, compared to the problem of the mafioso's son, who wants revenge.  

That's the plot.  It's a big book.  But I took my time reading the story and I did enjoy it.

The Shepherd of Hermas

 It was hard to keep the early Church, on the same page.  That's why Paul wrote so many letters.  Another person, known as the Shepherd of Hermas wrote an important treatise.  He, whomever he was, wrote of the problems in the Roman community.  Rome was the capital of the Roman empire and the Christians there were not always behaving.  What to do about that, is what the Shepherd of Hermas wrote about.  

He was stern and well, full of "hell fire and brimstone."  Hence, he was always haranguing about doing penance.  Hence, Church history shows the sacrament of reconciliation, or penance, commonly known as Confession, was offered as a chance for salvation for repentant sinners, not only once, or once a year, at Yom Kippur, but as many times as the penitent thought he needed. 

The Shepherd of Hermas was written in the second century, so it is not a canonical book, which are written by apostles and direct companions of the apostles,  However, it is an example of early Christian writing.

Didache

 The Didache is the oldest book/catechism/constitution, etc. of information, that we have.  It has been dated as around 50 A.D..  It contains the teachings of the twelve apostles.  It was found by the Metropolitan Philotheos Bryennios in a Greek manuscript in Constantinople.  Although, it has been moved to a safer place.  Think of it.  This is older than the Gospel of John and some of the synoptic letters. 

Inside is a manual of instruction for the community on how to prepare catechumen for baptism.  Catechumen is Greek for people taking instructions in the faith.  It also gives the form of the rite to be used and other practical advice.

IOW, it is a manual that outlines teachings, rites, and instructions.  Here are the instructions for the Rite of Reconciliation (Confession).

In the church you shall acknowledge your transgressions, and you shall not come near for your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . But every Lord’s day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. – Didache 4, 14 (50 A.D).

Clement

 Pope Clement is considered an early Church Father because his writings are some of the earliest we have. He reigned as pope from 88 A.D. to 99 A.D.  That's as an adult-meaning he could have known Jesus.  For sure, he knew the Apostles.  

He wrote the First Epistle of Clement around 96 AD to fix a big argument in the church at Corinth, which is one of the oldest surviving Christian writings outside the New Testament.  Like church goers today, the early Christians were criticizing their local clergy.  People don't like authority telling them things they don't want to hear--then and now.

1000 portrayal at Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv

Babel or Jerusalem

 Don't you just love that juxtaposition?  I found it in Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas.  He is talking about Artificial Intelligence= AI.  Since AI is really a new concept, it will grow because it has tremendous potential.  Will it be used for the good of humanity or for selfish gain?  

Babel is used as the example of selfish motives.

Jerusalem is used as an attainable divine connection and inner peace for the good of humanity.

Another Quest for the Holy Grail

 There are many stories of people searching for the Holy Grail.  This is supposedly the very cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper.  The Resurrection Maker by Glenn Cooper is another story searching for the Holy Grail.  

The main character, Arthur Mallory, is a descendent of Thomas Mallory--a direct descendant, mind you.  The male descendants all have an extra rib, as does Arthur.  Thomas Mallory wrote about King Arthur.  Born into the Mallory family and Arthurian lore, Arthur belongs to a club, called the Loons.  They are all Arthurian devotees.  One day, a friend of Arthur's, from the Loons, asks Arthur to come to dinner with him.  He said he had something to tell him.  But before he did, the friend and his wife were killed, and Arthur was wounded.  

Of course, this had to be about something he had found, that Arthur would be interested in.  Arthur back tracked his friend's recent travels, conversations with friends, and diaries and papers left in his office.  Arthur deduces that what he found had to do with the Holy Grail.  His travels and extensive stays were in Montserrat and Barcelona.  

Arthur fortunately lost his job, with a generous severance.  So, he sets off to see what his friend found.  Arthur also notices that he is being followed.  Then another Loon is murdered.  What's going on?

Enters Claire.  She has come to warn Arthur that he is in danger.  So, the two of them set off to Montserrat.  Claire informs Arthur that he's being followed by the Khem.  The Khem is a ancient, secret society after the Holy Grail.  They are unscrupulous and murderous.

Hence, the chase is on.  Arthur and Claire unwitting the Khem, are looking for the Holy Grail.  The leads go the Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família in Barcelona.

To me, this was the best part.  Cooper's explanation and descriptions of the basilica fascinated me. Should I tell you, dear reader, that Arthur and Claire find the Holy Grail, fall in love, and live happily ever after?  Ha!  Think again.

Fathers of the Church

 Some times the early church fathers are called the Apostolic Fathers because their writings talk of the original 12 apostles' work, and maybe even knew some of the apostles, at least they learned from them.  They lived in the 1st and 2nd century.  Peter is one, and his letters are in the New Testament.  Linus is considered the second pope, and although he is mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21, there aren't any writings from him.  

Since these early writers, wrote, we know of them.  So, they are continuing the work of the Apostles.  Hence, Apostolic Fathers.  They are important because they describe the life, and ideas, of the first Christian communities.  I'm learning about them and will post, as I learn.