Fr. James Martin explains Sacred Reading (Lectio Divina)

In his Apostolic Exhortation The Joy of the Gospel Pope Francis tells us how the practice of lectio divina, a practice of prayerfully reading Scripture, can “enlighten and renew us."

In Verbum Domini (The Word of the Lord) Pope Benedict also encouraged all Christians to engage in sacred reading, saying that "Lectio Divina will bring to the church a new spiritual springtime."

Now, you don't have to be a biblical scholar to pray with Scripture using this powerful practice of prayer. NY Times bestselling author and humorist Fr. James Martin, SJ shows us the way--following his teacher and mine, Fr. Daniel Harrington (RIP)--in a 4 1/2 minute YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=17&v=i27FqIyk2qY.

Relax with your favorite gospel story while you enjoy or endure the heat of August, my friends.

Are you a CBS Alum?

If you are, did you receive our July mailing of all programs offered to all who have graduated from the Catholic Biblical School?

If you did NOT get this mailing (either by email or by snail mail, depending on what you've selected with Jill's assistance), please contact Jill Costa in the OREE at 860-242-5573 or jill.costa@aohct.org.

Mailings to current students will go out in mid-August.

Catholic Biblical School Lecture Series

Designed for CBS grads, but open to all:

Sunday, September 13, 2015, 1:00- 3:00 pm

Standing in the Threshold: Introducing God’s Word Using the Threshold Bible Series

·        Location: St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield

·        Presenter: Stephen J. Binz, STL

Saturday, October 24, 2015, 9:00-Noon

Women Leaders in the Churches of St. Paul

·        Location: Caritas Christi Center, Hamden

·        Presenter: Paul Sansone, MA

Saturday, November 7, 2015, 8:00-3:30 (there is a registration fee for this program)

OREE Faith and Evangelization Congress

·        2-3 Scripture workshops

·        Location: St. Paul High School, Bristol, CT

·        Presenters: To be determined

Saturday, December 12, 2015, 9:00-Noon

Behold the Lamb: Jesus, Isaac, Temple, and Eucharist in the Gospel of John

·        Location: St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield

·        Presenter: Kathleen Troost-Cramer, PhD Candidate

NEW: Saturday, February 13, 2016 (snow-date: Feb. 20), 9:00 am-3:00 pm (a lunch charge applies)

The Treatment of the Prophet of the Lord: A Matter of Life and Death 

·        Location: St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield

·        Presenter: Br. Robert K. Moriarty, SM, PhD

Sunday, March 6, 2016, 12:30–4:30 p.m. (tentative)

A Celebration of Sacred Scripture (see January mailing for details)

·        Location: St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield

·        To be determined

Saturday, April 30, 2016, 9:00-noon

From Creation to Cross:

Exploring Biblical Perspectives on the Mystery of Human Suffering

·        Location: St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield

·        Presenter: Amy Ekeh, MA

Please keep in mind:

• “Coffee And” is available 30 minutes in advance for most programs.
• Events are held at the Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary – unless otherwise indicated.
• Advanced registration required for ALL.
• Whenever possible, our lecture series presentations are offered free of charge. If there is an additional charge for a given program, it is indicated next to that title.
• Registration forms will be sent in OREE Connections, the newsletter of the Archdiocese of Hartford's Office of Religious Education and Evangelization, available 1-2 months in advance of each program.

Weekly Bible Study ▪ 2 Kings 4:42-44

26 July 2015
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are many parallels between today’s rather unfamiliar first reading and the well-known gospel story. We may find ourselves asking, who is this prophet Elisha and why is he important?

St. John Bible,* "Elisha and the Six Miracles"

As one who “assumed the mantle of the Prophet Elijah,” Elisha carried on the daunting task of his mentor: to stand up to kings who encouraged idol worship and tolerated social injustice. The “Elisha Cycle” in the Books of Kings include several stories of miraculous events at the hands of this man of God. Today’s miracle is an account of the multiplication of loaves.

Devout Israelites often shared their “first fruits” with the prophets in their midst. The man offering the bread intended for Elisha is more than a little skeptical when the prophet suggests it can be “set before a hundred people.” Perhaps he is even disappointed that his offering will be given away.

During the time of Elisha, a prophet proved his worth by performing wondrous acts. What is significant about the deeds of Elisha is not the wonder-working ability of the prophet. Rather, his action is a testimony to the power of God’s word speaking and acting through him. Elisha, whose name means “God is Salvation,” is God’s instrument. Firm in his faith, Elisha is certain that God will feed his hungry people. As in the Gospel story, the bread that God provides is not merely enough to assuage the people’s hunger, it is abundant. This bread of life is given from God’s generosity.

With firmness of faith, we too partake in the miraculous feeding of our hungry spirits. The power of God’s Word acts through others to nourish our souls. The power of the Eucharist provides spiritual life and sustenance. In Word and Sacrament, God’s gracious gifts, we find an abundance of God's generosity and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet awaiting us in eternity.

*The St. John's Bible, commissioned by St. John's Abbey in Minnesota, includes some of the most inspiring biblical artwork ever produced. Handwritten and illuminated by a team of professional scribes and artists under the direction of Donald Jackson, Senior Illuminator to the Queen of England's Crown Office, both the illuminated Bible and the artwork are available in reproduction at http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/promotions/store/?gclid=CP7086iSgccCFYKPHwod36gDeg .

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, the Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

CBS Information Fairs!

You’re invited! The Archdiocesan Biblical School is hosting Information Fairs in four locations:

• Wednesday, August 19, 2015, 10:00 am at St. Bridget Rectory, Manchester
• Wednesday, August 19, 2015, 6:30 pm at Blessed Sacrament School, Waterbury
• Thursday, August 20, 2015, 6:30 pm at St. Therese Parish Center, North Haven
• Monday, August 24, 2015, 6:30 pm at St. Timothy Parish, West Hartford

Enjoy light refreshments and the company of Catholic Biblical School alums and faculty. It will be a time to learn about the Bible and the Archdiocese of Hartford’s premier Bible study program. Contact BJ Daly Horell or Jill Costa in the Office of Religious Education and Evangelization (860-242-5573 or catholic.biblical.school@aohct.org) to let us know you will attend.

You can also call to set up an enrollment interview between now and August 15. Deadline to enroll is August 15, but we are extending the deadline for these final events! Scholarship applications, though, MUST be in by 8/15/15.

These fairs will be your last chances to apply for enrollment for the 2015-16 classes. Fall first-year weekly classes will be held in these same locations, at these same times.

Weekly Bible Study ▪ Mark 6:30-34 ▪ Jeremiah 23:1-6

19 July 2015

16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Christian discernment is often not about determining the good from the bad (a moral decision), but about determining the better from the good and the best from the better.

Mark seems to underscore this theme as he portrays Jesus and the Apostles looking for a place of rest following intense activity. They seek the good of quiet and prayer to renew themselves and their relationship with God and one another. This is a good idea! But in this case, the efforts of Jesus and the Twelve are confounded because the needy crowd hastens on foot to find Jesus. Somehow he cannot escape their demanding presence.

In this account, the better idea is shown through Jesus’ compassion for the people. They are in great need and confusion, like “sheep without a shepherd.”  Jesus discerns that the better act of love, in this case, is to reach out to the people—in spite of his exhaustion.

What's more, Mark is also presenting Jesus as, somehow, the fulfillment of the needs of God's people in today’s first reading as well! (Better and better!) Five centuries before this lakeside event, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of a lost, wayward people badly in need of a shepherd. The long line of kings had ended in a devastation of land, temple and heart. It would take a tender Shepherd, one like David, to restore their hope and guide them with care and compassion.

Jesus is that Shepherd. Long after the activity of the day is done, the people continue to bring their searching and needy hearts to the Galilean seaside, longing for the Shepherd’s gentle words. We sit among them. We, like the people of Jesus’ time, recognize our need for him, that wells up from within us like a gushing spring. (Best of all?)

We need only sit quietly at the lakeside of our lives to allow the Lord to shepherd us, showing us the difference between the good, the better, and the best acts of love. (And leaving the "bad" out of the picture entirely, God willing!)

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, the Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

Weekly Bible Study - Ephesians 1:3-14

12 July 2015
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time    

Bible Study engages us on a number of different levels to enhance our understanding. Some passages call for intensive analysis, with the help of commentaries. Other texts draw us closer to their meaning and message by thoughtful, prayerful reflection. In both cases, good analysis leads to prayer, and deep prayer moves us to study.

To borrow an expression from St. Paul’s writing, the “height, depth, breadth and length” of this early Christian liturgical hymn invite us to step back in awe of the great mysteries before us. If we're really listening, passages like our reading from Ephesians this Sunday stop us in our mental tracks and invite us simply to gaze with our hearts at the depth of God’s revelation to us.

And what is revealed?

Our deep connection to a loving God. St. Paul uses profound and tender images in his desire that we KNOW this essential truth. Before the foundation of the world, we were already God’s beloved, blessed in God's Word (the Christ), chosen to be holy, destined for adoption, brought into existence for the praise of his glory.

Do these words of Paul give us pause?

We are redeemed by the blood of Christ. St. Paul reminds us that the gift of Christ’s redemption and forgiveness of sin were lavished upon us by the riches of God’s grace. Redemption: How can one word  capture God's generosity which is beyond imagining. Is gratitude welling in our hearts?

God clues us into the divine plan. Wow. God's wisdom is given so that we might grow in knowledge of God's mysteries, perfected and embodied in Christ. We marvel at God’s desire for us to know him more deeply. Are we attuned to God’s voice?

How does God desire you to realize the dream of fullness of life and joy in Christ?

How could the church help with that?

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, the Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

Weekly Bible Study - Ezekiel 2:2-5 ▪ 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ▪ Mark 6:1-6

5 July 2015
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

If we think doing God’s work is easy, we may be doing the work of someone else! Ourselves? "He who must not be named"? (LOL. In case the quotes aren't enough to clue you in, I'm not talking about Voldemort. Nor Sauron or THE ONE RING. Just what they symbolize!).

Jesus promised the disciples joy and life, but also the cross. The central figures of our three readings have something to say about that!

Ezekiel is sent to the rebellious Israelites who seem unconcerned about their impending demise. God sends a "steely" guy to confront their obstinacy.  Relying not on his own power, Ezekiel is first filled with the Spirit. He cannot accomplish his mission otherwise. He knows that given their hardness of heart, it will take the power of God, not his own power, to loosen the grip of rebellion. The very last line of our reading bears a message for all who witness to the faith: “They shall know that a prophet has been among them.”

God did not make things easy for Paul either. In today’s letter he writes of a mysterious “thorn in the flesh” about which scholars continue to be puzzled. Whether it was a human opponent, a temptation, or an ailment, this thorn served as a reminder to Paul of the true source of his power. Many readers of this letter have found encouragement in its familiar line: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” What propelled Paul in his ministry was the reality that it was God’s power at work within him and not his own.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus experiences something of a thorn in the flesh. His own people begin to question his power and authority based on his humble origins. Certainly this exalted teaching can’t come from the carpenter’s son! Amazed at their lack of faith, he will move on. While Jesus has clearly demonstrated the power of the Father at work within him, the people have not been empowered within their own hearts to believe.

As we witness in many ways to our own faith, will t"they know that a 'prophet' has been among them?

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, the Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.