Do Catholics Read the Bible?

Don't Forget!!

Upcoming Events in the Catholic Biblical School

March 6: Year of the Priest Workshop
Called to Be a Priestly People
Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary
(Pre-registration required by March 1, 2010)

March 21: The Passion and Death of Jesus
The Biblical Story and the "Back" Story
Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary
(Pre-registration required by March 12, 2010)

To get more information or to register for each event, click on one of the links above or call Jill Costa at the Office of Religious Education: 860-243-9465.

UN-Learning What We "Know"

In thirty years of studying and teaching the Bible, I can't count how many times I've had to guide adults away from an unthinking fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. A century of teaching about the dangers of literalist interpretation seem to have gone unnoticed by most contemporary Catholics.

Fr. Raymond Brown, S.S., talked about a "natural literalism" that Catholics have fallen heir to. He said that otherwise sophisticated Catholics often simply haven't thought about the fact that the Bible is a literary work compiled over the course of centuries, bound in time and space to particular cultures and historical contexts. So, if  Catholics approach the Bible at all, they consider it to be divine dictation, in the Elizabethan language of King James, communicated from God's mouth to the ear of venerable human authors.

So as we hand down the faith to another generation of Catholics, I urge that we think carefully about how we speak about the Bible. Do we, unthinkingly, talk about the Garden of Eden as a literal place, rather than a symbol of the beauty and fulfillment we strive for but cannot attain except by the intervention of God in our lives? Can we remember to engage the symbols and stories of Genesis 1-11 as we would the parables of Jesus--as instructive fiction that communicates the kind of truth that runs deeper than the factual trivia we read online one minute and forget the next? Without engaging questions that younger children are not ready to consider, can we help them marvel at the wonderful stories that wrap us in God's loving embrace, while at the same time framing the conversation in such a way that they see through the literal level of the stories in much the same way that they see through the costume and know that the grown-up sized bunny at the mall is really a person dressed up?

If we can find ways to help children engage the symbols and stories of the Bible with reason and faith, then perhaps as adults they will not have to unlearn the naive literalism we have inadvertently taught them.

(For the full text of the Pontifical Biblical Commission's 1993 document, "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church," click here or on the image above.)

February News in Faith Formation

The February 2010 edition of ORE Connections is now available. Click here to discover what's happening this month in faith formation in the Archdiocese of Hartford.

"Another Job Perspective" by Joe Lapointe, January "Bible Blog" Winner

September 1969, Washington  D.C.

A soldier looks out a bus depot window, awaiting a ride home. He was recently released from Walter Reed Army Hospital after undergoing numerous surgeries and months of recovery from war wounds. His uniform is immaculate, highlighted by row upon row of service ribbons, including the Silver Star. He stands there, leaning on crutches, in anticipation.

Joshua Johnson hails from Tilman, Alabama, a small town bordering Selma. He was raised mostly by his mother, his father having been hanged by the KKK when he was only three. Joshua is very polite, well mannered, and fears the Lord—lessons he learned at home and Ebenezer Baptist Church in Selma.

Early life for Joshua had been difficult. He was constantly made to feel inferior. To the locals, he and “his kind” were scourges that had to be dealt with. He lived in constant fear of being attacked, rundown, beaten, even killed. His home was subject to desecrations, cross burnings, stone throwing, bombings and arsons. Yet Joshua never complained nor criticized. He sensed the Lord had a purpose for his afflictions and saw them as God’s strategy in strengthening his character, resolve and discipline.

As Joshua gazes out the depot window, he sees several men gathering and notes that he seems to be the object of their scorn. In an instant, the men enter the bus depot and assail Joshua. First comes the name calling, ugly black insults, followed by pushing, shoving, kicking and finally, beating Joshua senseless with his own crutches. Added to this horror,

CBS Announces—Fifteenth Anniversary Contest Winner for January!

Mr. Joseph Lapointe, a fourth-year student in the Catholic Biblical School, is this month's winner of the CBS Fifteenth Anniversary "Bible Blog" Contest.

Honorable Mentions: Ms. Alexis Chacchia, Ms. Jill Costa, Mr. Tom Melesky, and Ms. Mary Renker—all current students in the Catholic Biblical School. You may see some of their work here in future weeks and months, as space allows.

Thank you to all who submitted your Bible reflections this month. It was challenging to select only one winner! We encourage all of you to submit additional pieces to our contest in the months ahead.

And remember: You don't have to be a CBS student or graduate to enter! For contest details, click here or email BJ Daly Horell, Coordinator of the Hartford Catholic Biblical School.