Biblical School Reunion and Twentieth Anniversary Celebration!

Enjoy a festive meal and conversation with Archbishop Blair, Biblical School founders (Sr. Jewel Renna and Msgr. Michael Motta), and your own CBS cohort!

Friday, May 1, 2015

St. Thomas Seminary

5:00 Chapel "Celebrating and Remembering You" (by name)

6:00 Reception in Alumni Lounge (wine and hors d'oeuvres)

6:30 Dinner in the Main Dining Room (choice of entrée)

 

With dessert, Rev. Steven Boguslawski, OP, PhD will provide an address on the future of biblical studies and the role of the Hartford Catholic Biblical School in the church today.

The 2015 Boadt Memorial Medal Winner will also be announced.

Tickets are $35 per person and must be purchased in advance. Contact BJ or Jill in the Office of Religious Education and Evangelization to reserve your tickets today!

Joy of the Gospel #11

THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
ON THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL
IN TODAY’S WORLD

46. A Church which “goes forth” is a Church whose doors are open. Going out to others in order to reach the fringes of humanity does not mean rushing out aimlessly into the world. Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way. At times we have to be like the father of the prodigal son, who always keeps his door open so that when the son returns, he can readily pass through it.

Gospel Link to Ponder: Parable of the Lost Son, Luke 15:11-32 
"My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
 
Click here to read the entire parable: http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/15

After word: Are your doors open? Are you ready to listen and to love at all costs, as Jesus did? What about the stranger, even those who might intimidate or repulse you?



Paragraph numbers are provided to help you find the quotes for further study and to place these ideas in their original context, should you wish to do so. To read the text in full, click here:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#II.

CBS Alumna is a "Wonder Woman"

On Tuesday, May 5, 2015, Malta House of Care Foundation, Inc. will honor seven women who are remarkable for helping other women in a variety of ways. One of the honorees is Dr. Paula DeSilva, a 2013 graduate of the Catholic Biblical School.

Dr. DeSilva of Avon, CT holds a Ph.D. in Education and is a passionate advocate for people with disabilities. As an educator of children and adults with disabilities, she initiated programs in public schools, Services for the Blind, Department of Developmental Disabilities, and served as Coordinator of Faith Based Initiative at UCEDD; was adjunct professor in education at the University of Hartford; was Executive Director of CRIS Radio for the Blind; Executive Director of Very Special Arts Connecticut which provided opportunities and programs for artists with disabilities; is a prolific grant writer; founded Sri Lanka Tsunami Relief, Inc. coordinating medical relief, funding sanitary drinking water, and rebuilding and refurbishing schools for the deaf and blind in rural Sri Lanka; recipient of March of Dimes Volunteer Mentor of the Year Award and the Living Spirit Award from the Spiritual Life Center; chairs efforts to raise funds for the March of Dimes for the prevention of prematurity; a life member of the St. Francis Hospital Auxiliary; supports efforts to raise funds for patients of the Saint Francis NICU; coordinates volunteers for the Mothers and Babies Project for the Haitian Health Foundation; established Quilts2Heal, Inc. which provides comfort and healing though quilts for veterans and for families who have suffered a loss or illness including the families of Newtown, CT; actively involved in scouting for 30 years; board of St. Ann Cares, active in parish ministries and in music ministry at Holy Family Retreat Center.

Weekly Bible Study - John 20:1-9

5 April 2015
Solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection
Gospel of Easter Morning

With hearts like empty tombs, three disillusioned disciples make their way to the site of Jesus’ burial.

Mary of Magdala comes to the tomb early in the morning “while it is still dark.” The light of understanding has not yet illuminated the dark recesses of her aching, abandoned heart. The emptiness of the tomb resonates within her desolate soul. Has she lost her Lord forever? Has their loving relationship been in vain?

Summoned by Mary, Simon Peter rushes to the tomb with anxious anticipation. Denial of his Lord is fresh in his experience. His empty heart seeks wholeness but only finds an abandoned burial place. Will he now lose hope of being forgiven? Has his following of the Lord all been for naught?

"Resurrection," St. Bonaventure, Detroit

The “beloved disciple” enters into the darkness of the tomb as if drawn deeply into a mysterious life force. He sees beyond the physical evidence left behind. His heart begins to experience a spiritual illumination. Has his loving, personal relationship with the Lord enabled him to “see and believe?”

On this Easter morning, three disciples are drawn to the empty tomb, each approaching tentatively the vast unknown. As the first light of day begins to illumine the night, it gives way to the first glimmer of resurrection, the first ray of hope that all is not lost. Their own emptiness will gradually come to fullness as they begin to understand the everlasting life that emerged from the darkness of the empty tomb. This Easter day promise, hope and belief emerge from the darkness of the tomb as new Light enters expectant hearts. Alleluia!

Easter Blessings!


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.