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| "The Sermon on the Mount" by Sebastiano Ricci, c. 1725 |
After
listening to practice homilies from a deacon class recently ordained, I thought I’d put some
thought to advice I might give the new homilist. So the following will be some (hopefully
short) suggestions about homiletic preparation and, since I am preaching at St.
Thomas for the Second Sunday of Lent (B) I will also walk you through my own
process for that homily and leave you with a draft.
There
is a caution to interject here. While it
is necessary to consider many things when preparing a homily, do not start
looking for a message you want to preach
before you have let the Holy Spirit guide you through the scripture that will
be proclaimed in front of your homily.
The scripture caries the authority of God. It is your responsibility as a proclaimer of
the Word of God, to make sure you preach that Word.
Before Putting Pen to Paper:
·
What is going on in the world and in the
community that is impacting the people of the parish?
·
What is causing them concern or what is it that
they would like to celebrate in the life of the community?
These
will be important elements to consider.
The Word of God lives and is truth!
The
amazing thing I have learned about this statement is that Sacred Scripture is
timeless in its application to real-world issues or problems. It also has depths and nuances that we
discover over time. A passage read ten
years ago may have a totally different meaning to you when you read it today. It’s like marriage. When you met and married your spouse, you had
certain expectations, certain experiences, and a history that, taken together
gave you an understanding of who she was and what she wanted. Over time that understanding changed and you
understood much better who she was and what she wanted. As a consequence our love (hopefully) changed
and grew. The same is true with Sacred
Scripture because, as St. John says: “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
(John
1:1)
My Process
Insert:
·
The
national news is full of reaction and politicization of the recent school
shooting in Florida.
·
Gun
control will be dominating the news for the next week.
·
The
Winter Olympics are taking place in South Korea and there is a good deal of drama
surrounding the cyber bullying of Lindsey Vonn, gay activism, and pollical
drama distracting from the hoped-for celebration of sport.
·
Violence
in the Middle-East continues (Syria, Isreal)
·
Not
much (so far) grabbing the people’s attention in business or technology at
least broadly.
·
Unusually
warm weather is predicted for later this week.
If
possible it is good to let the in-dwelling Holy Spirit have some time with the
scripture you are going to be preaching.
I like to go through with just a casual read a week in advance. This generally does nothing more than put it
in the back of my mind. Between now and
when the homily will be polished for publication and presentation, I will be
spending a lot of time with various other parts of scripture (Liturgy of the
Hours, daily, the daily Mass settings. (This week we also consider St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
(Optional Memorial on Wednesday), The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter (Feast
on Thursday), and St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr
(Optional Memorial on Friday).) I make note of these feasts and memorials
because more and more, Deacons who have retired from their secular roles are
asked to assist at daily Masses and often asked to preach. As you can see, in the upcoming week we have
several interesting options that take us away from the flow of scripture
directed specifically at Lent. Often
your involvement with the community (and the Lord) in the liturgy will provide
nudges to the Holy Spirit and generate texture for your Sunday homily.
Reminder: In
the back of your mind always is the overall liturgical structure of the season,
in this case Lent. Here’s what I put
into my Blog in front of my Ash Wednesday post:
The Lenten Season: The Lectionary readings
for Lent fall into two basic themes broken into the first half of Lent and the
second. The first half, beginning today and running through the Saturday of the
third week of Lent, focuses on the model of discipleship. As we are confronted
time and again with the demands of our call to be Christ’s disciples, we come
to understand that, in spite of our best efforts, our perfect response to that
call will always be out of our reach.
In the second half of Lent the Lectionary
shows us Jesus the Christ in the Gospel of St. John. We review his ministry,
not so much as a synopsis, but rather to come to a closer understanding of the
salvation he alone provides.
Taken together, the first half of Lent is
ethical and the second is Christological. The first half empties us the second
fills us up. At the end lies the great gift of Easter.
Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18:
Abraham tested by God who orders him to kill his son Isaac. Abraham passes the test!
Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19: The
David sings his gratitude and offers his service to the Lord, because God has
freed him. I note the difficult verse: “Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the
death of his faithful ones.” (possible like to the kids in Florida??)
Rom 8:31b-34:
Paul’s encouragement to those who may be persecuted: “If God is for us…” Good message of hope to those who are facing
difficult times.
Mk 9:2-10: The
Transfiguration story from Mark. The
sort version (Mark is always short) lays the bare bones of who Jesus is. What does: "This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him," mean to us (me)?
Now,
like a chef preparing in advance, we are going to let these gems sauté for the rest
of the week.
Breaking Open the Word:
Fast
forward now to later in the week. Since
I have been doing this for a while in a very formal way (part of my daily
discipline for the past 12 years is I write commentary on scripture each
morning), I will give you the steps I have gone through in breaking open the
word. Another caution here. We must never look at this process as “part
of our job.” It’s important to take it
seriously and to be diligent, but it
must also be a prayerful experience. I
tell you from experience, that is not always easy.
I
always start with a second reading of the texts from the lectionary or the
USCCB site. These texts are taken from
the New American Bible (NAB), a revised version of which was published by the
USCCB and ICEL within the past few years.
The NAB is a good translation.
However, I always like to look at a couple others just to see if there
are nuances that might give me other insights.
So I also read the readings from the Jerusalem Bible (many places in the
UK continue to use this translation liturgically) and the Neo-Vulgate (because
one of my favorite commentary resources is the Navarre Bible. I’ve paced these resources in my blog
structure so I don’t have to go looking for them. For my subscribers they are located at the
bottom of each post at the link “S.S. Commemoratio.” (my Latin way of saying
that the daily links to much of the material at that link “time out,” that is
they disappear after some period of time.
Here
are those versions in parallel for those who don’t have internet access:
|
USCCB
|
Jerusalem
|
Neo Vulgat
|
|
Reading 1
Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am!" he replied.
Then God said:
"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you."
When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his
son.
But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am!" he answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the
messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved
son."
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.
Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven
and said:
"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing—
all this because you obeyed my command."
Rom 8:31b-34
Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with
him?
Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?
Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised—
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
Mk 9:2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
|
First reading Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18
God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called.
‘Here I am’ he replied. ‘Take your son,’ God said ‘your only child Isaac,
whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a
burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you.’
When they arrived at the place God had pointed out to him,
Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son
Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his
hand and seized the knife to kill his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven.
‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand
against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear
God. You have not refused me your son, your only son.’ Then looking up,
Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and
offered it as a burnt-offering in place of his son.
The angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from
heaven. ‘I swear by my own self – it is the Lord who speaks – because you
have done this, because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I
will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the
stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants
shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the
earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your
obedience.’
Second reading Romans 8:31-34
With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did
not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain,
after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone
accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn?
Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and
there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.
Gospel Mark 9:2-10
Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them
up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their
presence he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter
than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with
Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus: ‘Rabbi,’
he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one
for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say; they
were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came
a voice from the cloud, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ Then
suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only
Jesus.
As they came down from the mountain he warned them to tell
no one what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the
dead. They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they
discussed what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean.
|
From: Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Renewal of the Promise
-------------------------------------------
[1] After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him,
"Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." [2] He said,
"Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land
of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains
of which I shall tell you."
[9a] When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order. [10] Then Abraham
put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. [11] But the angel of
the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"
And he said, "Here am I." [12] He said, "Do not lay your hand
on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing
you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." [13] And
Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram,
caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and
offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
[15] And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second
time from heaven, [16] and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord,
because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
[17] I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the
stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your
descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, [18] and by your
descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you
have obeyed my voice."
From: Romans 8:31b-34
Trust in God
------------------
[31b] If God is for us, who is against us? [32] He who did
not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us
all things with him? [33] Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It
is God who justifies; [34] who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died,
yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who
indeed intercedes for us?
From: Mark 9:2-10
The Transfiguration
----------------------------
[2] And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James
and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was
transfigured before them, [3] and His garments became glistening, intensely
white, as no fuller on earth bleach them. [4] And there appeared to them
Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. [5] And Peter said to
Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths,
one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah." [6] For he did not
know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. [7] And a cloud overshadowed
them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son; listen
to Him." [8] And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with
them but Jesus only.
[9] And as they were coming down the mountain, He charged
them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man should have
risen from the dead. [10] So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning
what the rising from the dead meant.
|
Next
my process is to review a number of commentaries and footnotes. I use the following which I have collected
over the past 33 years (I actually bought my copy of the Jerome Biblical
Commentary and McKenzie’s Dictionary of the Bible during my formation in 1982).
New
American Bible
Jerusalem
Bible
Hebrew
Bible (Old Testament)
St.
Ignatius Study Bible (New Testament)
St.
Ignatius Study Bible (Old Testament Books as they are released)
The
Navarre Bible and Commentary (10 Volumes – that’s where we find the Neo Vulgate)
Baker
Academic Commentary (Just started collecting these)
Jerome
Biblical Commentary
McKenzie’s
Dictionary of the Bible
Scott
Hahn’s Catholic Bible Dictionary
If, as
I am writing my own commentaries, I run into an issue I can’t figure out or
don’t understand, I will also use internet sources. I am especially fond of the
Catholic Encyclopedia and Anthology of the Writings for the Church Fathers
found at New
Advent.
After
consulting these I try to come up with a concise commentary on each piece of
scripture I will be using. I also
consult the index of readings from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
(CCC). If the selections we will be
using are referenced in the CCC, I review those topics as well to see how they
augment my commentary.
For
Sunday readings we also have the wonderful document published by the Church a
few years back called the Homiletic
Directory. I would hope all
of you would have reviewed this important document.
For
the Second Sunday of Lent (B) here are the Catechism topics they have extracted
for us:
Each
of these topics could become a central point in the homily that may be starting
to be formed by the Holy Spirit in your mind (tough to hear it yet because of
all the intellectual noise being generated by our research).
So now
I just write a short summary for myself (and subscribers/readers). Here are my commentaries for the coming
Sunday:
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In this passage Abraham is put to
the test. He is to offer his son Isaac as a holocaust – an offering completely
burnt on the altar. Abraham, though reluctant, is faithful to God and follows
his instructions. At the last moment, when God is sure that Abraham has greater
love for God than even his beloved son Isaac, he stops Abraham and “blesses him abundantly,” making him the
father of nations.
This example demonstrates that God
expects those faithful to him to place love and obedience to him above all
other worldly interests and loves. In return, those, like Abraham, who
demonstrate that God is their first priority will be blessed as only God can.
"Isaac is a type of Christ,
for he was a son as Christ was a Son, and he carried the wood of his sacrifice
just as the Lord bore the wood of the Cross.
(Clement of Alexandria, Christ the Educator 1, 5, 23). The Lord carried
his Cross as Isaac carried the wood; and the ram, caught by its horns in the
thicket, prefigures Jesus crowned with thorns and then slain in sacrifice (St.
Augustine, City of God 16, 32)."[2]
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Psalm 116 is a song of
thanksgiving. This selection is an individual prayer and promise to God. The
singer understands that the Lord is his salvation. A little confusing is
-“Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.”- The
meaning is that the death of God's faithful is grievous to God, not that God is
pleased with the death.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Paul bursts into a hymn
proclaiming the victory over death and suffering experienced by the faithful,
lifted up by God in Christ. The premise that the love of God assures salvation
to the faithful is strengthened as the evangelist asks the rhetorical question
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
"This exclamation of the Apostle
vividly reveals the full extent of the love of God the Father, who not only
listens to our prayers but anticipates our needs. God is with us, he is always
by our side. This is a cry expressing confidence and optimism, despite our
personal wretchedness; it is firmly based on our sense of divine sonship."
[3]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Mark’s account of the
Transfiguration varies only slightly from the account found in St. Matthew (Matthew 17:1-9). In St.
Mark’s account the event takes place six days after his first prediction (see
note below) of his own passion and resurrection (St. Luke has eight days Luke 9:28b-36). Jesus
brings Peter, James and John with him and, by their presence gives them a
special understanding that his death and resurrection (and their own) will lead
to the glory of the Kingdom of God, not to an end as they had feared.(see
also 2
Corinthians 3:18; 2
Peter 1:16-19).
Shown as it is to the select
disciples, it prepares them to understand the necessary connection between the
passion and his rise to messianic glory. The imagery of this event provides a
recognizable reference to the greater mission of the Lord, as he comes to
fulfill both the Prophets (personified in Elijah) and the Law (represented by
Moses). Scholars agree that uniting and fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
represented in this tableau was a key message of this event.
The suggestion by St. Peter that he
erect three “booths” suggests the Jewish Feast of Booths which commemorates the
revelation of the Law by Moses at Mt. Sinai, a close parallel is emphasized as
the ultimate revelation of God in Christ is now played out.
The “bright cloud” is another Old
Testament symbol used to represent the immediate presence of Yahweh (see Exodus 19:9, 24:15-16 and 40:34-35). From
within it God speaks the same formula used at Jesus’ baptism (see Matthew 3:17) providing the final
absolute identity of Jesus as Christ.
A side note – the Lectionary for
Mass begins this reading with “Jesus took Peter…”, omitting “After six days”.
This omission removes an interesting numerological reference to the event that
takes place. The Transfiguration is the revelation of Christ as God’s Son. It
completes the teaching referenced in the previous verses –After six days of
teaching Christ was revealed- seven representing the complete or perfect
number. The implication being that Christ’s perfect revelation would come
at the resurrection.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With
this step completed (obviously, since you do not publish your work broadly,
your notes need not be as formally developed (and footnoted) as what I do, but
some level of exegesis should be part of your pre-homiletic writing) we now get
to the hard part, writing our first draft.
I am
not going to walk you through my own thinking and praying as I approach my
homily for this year. I will give you
the homily I preached three years ago on the Second Sunday of Lent. I do not reuse homilies. So what I write for this year will be, in all
likelihood, completely different. The
example below is what the Holy Spirit and I came up with the last time these
readings were assigned.
Homily: (Second Sunday of
Lent, Cycle B, 2/28/2015)
Have
you ever stopped to ask yourself why the transfiguration took place? We hear about that spectacular event at least
twice a year; how Jesus takes three of his closest friends and goes up a
mountain and there, he is transfigured before them. They see him in dazzling standing with the
great forefathers of our faith Elijah, the great prophet and Moses who gave the
people God’s Law.
Yes,
the image is clear. Jesus is transformed
into something closer to his essence as God.
He came to fulfill what was predicted by Elijah and all the prophets, so
Elijah had to be there. Moses was there
because Jesus also came to fulfill the Law handed to him on Mount Horeb. There is no doubt what this event demonstrated
that Jesus is the Only Son of the Living God.
To make that point even more explicit, for only the second time in the
Gospel accounts of Jesus, God’s voice is heard: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
The
event is truly amazing and awe inspiring.
Of that there is no doubt, but why was it done? What purpose did Jesus have in going up that
mountain with only three of his disciples?
It was not to show off. He even
tells them in later verses not to tell anyone about the episode. It was done with only three of his closest
friends. He could have invited the whole
entourage, all his disciples and the crowd he had been teaching for the past
six days to come up the mountain with him to witness this unique event in which
he was clearly revealed in his power and majesty.
If he
had done that with a significant crowd of prominent scribes and Pharisees
present (and we know there were representative in the crowd that was with him),
they would have announced to the Sanhedrin that the Messiah had come and there
would never have been any doubt about his identity. A whole different set of
events would have unfolded at Jerusalem.
So
what do we know? We know that Jesus was
transfigured on the mountain; that he showed himself to his closest friends in
all his majesty. They witnessed this
event after Jesus had been teaching them for six days – an intense
tutorial. We can only conclude that the
purpose for this miraculous demonstration was to be an exclamation point to
what he came to show us.
It is
like the teacher in the class room who uses a spectacular demonstration to get
across a point. Jesus is transfigured so
that we might be paying special attention to the point he makes. And what is that point? Why did God feel it was necessary to send his
only son in the first place? It was so
we would be assured of His love for us and to make clear what he wished for us;
how we were to live in peace. Like any
loving parent, God wants us be happy and to do that we must follow the “house
rules”, the biggest of them is Love God and love one another.
This
recognition, this understanding, this conversion is something that happens
gradually. Again using the example of
the teacher in school, the important lessons are repeated over and over again
so they become ingrained, second nature.
So now
we have come to realize why the Transfiguration was so important. It was the exclamation point that emphasizes
our need to follow the example Jesus gave us and the commandments he left us. Now we must ask ourselves a second question;
what must we do to respond to what he taught us? How can we derive the benefit of this
teaching to achieve what God our loving Father wishes for us?
For
the younger students, this is like a story problem. We have been taught over and over again the
lessons Jesus teaches, now we are asked to use what we have learned in a way we
are likely to encounter in the real world.
Because this is one in a series of lessons during our Lenten season and
as much as you would love to spend hours listening to this wisdom, other things
must be done, lets look only one of the ways we can work at converting
ourselves into the pupils (disciples) of which Jesus would be proud.
We are
called to be a people of faith. The
always pragmatic St Paul said it in what can only be imagined as a fit of
religious zeal “If God is for us, who can be against us?” God is for us when we have spoken with him
and know what he wishes us to do. So
first and foremost we must be a people of prayer.
This
second week of Lent let’s all make a pledge together. Whatever amount of praying we normally do on
a given day (and saying, “I talk to God all the time” does not count) let’s
pledge to set aside and additional one half hour to be alone with God in
prayer. Let’s pray together for all
those who face desperation during these difficult economic times. If we count ourselves in that number, pray
that God will give us peace so we can face the difficulty knowing in our hearts
that the Lord who transfigured himself, also loves us and will be a light in
the darkness. Let us offer our fears and
our bitterness to the Lord, begging his forgiveness because we know he wishes
only happiness for us. Be infused in
that half hour with the knowledge that God loves us and will stand with us when
we are put to the test.
Jesus
came teaching us to be a people of prayer.
He punctuated his teaching with the amazing event that unfolded before
us in scripture as we heard once more how he revealed his divinity to us. Let us each now pledge to be what he teaches
us to be and in doing so receive gratefully the gift of peace he gives us.
Pax
After
the Homily:
One
last suggestion. Pick a group of close
friends from your parish to be your “truth squad.” (I use my CFM group who have
been with me for over 15 years.) Task
them with giving you truthful feedback after you’ve preached. Don’t let them sugar-coat it. It is unlikely your pastor will give you the
kind of feedback you need (although if he does take a teaching role, you are
blessed, listen to him) and most of your parishioners will tell you: “That was
a nice homily, Deacon (or Father).” Even if they don’t mean it. When I am done preaching, I know by the
following Monday how long I went, and what was good and bad about the homily I
delivered. We also record homilies at
our parish so I have added torture of being able to go back and listen to see
how much I messed up (multiply your YouTube experience by over thirty years).
Best
of luck, and trust in the Lord.
Deacon
Jim Miles
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014
[2]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Genesis © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco,
CA. pp. 44-45
[3]
The Navarre Bible: “Letters of St. Paul”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, ©
2003, pp. 105
