“Yet through virtuous living man is further ordained to a higher end, which consists in the enjoyment of God, as we have said above. Consequently, since society must have the same end as the individual man, it is not the ultimate end of an assembled multitude to live virtuously, but through virtuous living to attain to the position of God.”
― St. Thomas Aquinas to the King of Cyprus
1 JOHN 5:1-12
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify your holy Name, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
ART APPRECIATION
Observe the bald eagle and the golden eagle. The bald eagle is our national bird. It is not bald, but its white head looks featherless from a distance. The golden eagle is often called the “king of birds.”
1
John James Audubon (1785-1851) was interested in birds, nature, drawing, and music as a young child. Born in what is now Haiti, he lived in France as a child and came to America at age eighteen. At his family’s estate near Philadelphia, he hunted and drew birds. He also conducted the first known bird-banding experiment in North America. He tied strings around the legs of Eastern phoebes and learned that the birds returned to the very same nesting places each year. Audubon struggled off and on as a businessman, and in 1819, he sailed down the Mississippi to add to his portfolio of birds. After several years, Audubon sailed to England, where his drawings and paintings of birds were published as a book. This book called The American Woodsman, was a huge success. He continued throughout his life to study and draw birds and other animals. Today, the name Audubon is still strongly associated with birds and bird conservation.
2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
| “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa |
With the possible exception of “The Star Spangled Banner,” no musical composition has done more to arouse the patriotic spirit of America than this, John Philip Sousa’s most beloved composition. … Symbolic of flag-waving in general, it has been used with considerable effectiveness to generate patriotic feeling ever since its introduction in Philadelphia on May 14, 1897, when the staid Public Ledger reported: “It is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora borealis.”
3
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) was born in Washington, D. C. on November 6, 1854. His father, John Antonio Sousa, was born in Spain of Portuguese parents, and his mother, Marie Elizabeth Trinkaus, was born in Bavaria.
Sousa received his early education in Washington public schools, while simultaneously studying music at a private conservatory. At age 13, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Band as a “boy” (apprentice) musician, but he also continued his private music studies. His most important teacher was George Felix Benkert, with whom he studied violin, harmony, and composition. After serving seven years with the marines, he was discharged. Thereafter, he performed as a violinist and conductor in various theater orchestras in Washington and Philadelphia.
By 1880, his fame as a conductor, composer, and arranger had been established. He was appointed leader of the U. S. Marine Band and held this position for 12 years, eventually molding the band into the finest military band in the world.4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Unit Home.” United States Marine Band, http://www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Complete-Marches-of-John-Philip-Sousa/The-Stars-and-Stripes-Forever-March/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
↩︎ - “John Philip Sousa: Articles and Essays: The March King: John Philip Sousa: Digital Collections: Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/collections/john-philip-sousa/articles-and-essays/biography/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025. ↩︎
Providence School of Tifton 