“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
ROMANS 15:7-15
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” 10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” 12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God.
COLLECT FOR ADVENT
Blessed Lord, who has caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience, and comfort of the holy word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast the Blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou Hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
ART APPRECIATION
There is a rocky Maine coastline in this painting. Above the coast, there is what looks like clouds. But these are actually waves from the Atlantic Ocean crashing into the coast.
1
Winslow Homer (1836-1910) Homer was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Though he was an average student, he always had an exceptional talent in art. His mother was a gifted watercolorist and was his first art teacher until he was an adult. Homer never had any formal art instruction because he claimed he wanted his style to be original, not a copy of other artists. His main job was as an illustrator for Harper’s Magazine where he drew mostly Boston life and other New England scenes. After opening a studio in New York City, he took a course in the basics of oil painting, but he taught himself in only one year’s time. Harper’s sent him to the front lines during the Civil War, where he painted the loneliness of the soldiers and the horrors of the war.
2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
“Rule of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
This scene from the opera Die Walküre has become so popular a piece. It shows the Valkyries, eight sisters, making preparations to carry heroes to Valhalla, the equivalent of heaven in Norse mythology.
3
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was a German dramatic composer and theorist whose operas and music had a revolutionary influence on the course of Western music, either by extension of his discoveries or reaction against them. Among his major works are The Flying Dutchman (1843), Tannhäuser (1845), Lohengrin (1850), Tristan und Isolde (1865), Parsifal (1882), and his great tetralogy, The Ring of the Nibelung (1869–76). 4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Music Appreciation I: Memoria Press – Classical Christian Curriculum.” Memoria Press: Classical Education, 12 Aug. 2024, http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/art-and-music/music-appreciation-book/.
↩︎ - “Richard Wagner.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 22 Oct. 2024, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Wagner-German-composer. ↩︎
Providence School of Tifton 