I've just returned from this amazing gathering of hundreds of deeply committed Catholics (bishops and priests, nuns and lay folks) who have dedicated their lives to the systematic study and teaching of Sacred Scripture. The Word of God was dynamically and palpably present among us as he promised long ago. ("Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be among you.") The entire 3-day meeting was a sacramental encounter with Christ present in one another.
From breakfast to bedtime, I conversed both formally and casually with the most learned and devoted Scripture scholars in the world--people whose works form the background for the entire Biblical School curriculum.
Setting aside for a moment the formal presentations, organized discussions and liturgies--the simple conversations between-times, over meals, "coffee and," and while walking the grounds--powerfully renewed both my love of Scripture and my life-long commitment to studying and teaching the Bible.
I came away thanking God, once again for the presence of the Catholic Biblical School in the Archdiocese of Hartford.My friends, I ask for your redoubled efforts and prayers that our enrollment might increase again this year, as it did last year, so that more Catholics will come to know God more profoundly through study of the Bible.
