Away in a Manger

The infancy narrative in the Gospel According to Luke is written not as a biography of Jesus, but as a testament to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth as our Risen Lord. One of the ways the gospel of Luke illustrates this truth is in the simple story of Jesus' birth in a manger.

The birth in the manger recalls the words of the prophet Isaiah, in which we hear the deep longing of God for His beloved people: "The ass knows its owner; and the donkey knows the anger of its lord; but Israel has not known me; my people has not understood me" (Is 1:3). In Luke's gospel, when the shepherds come to the manger and rejoice over their savior, Luke is telling us that in the person of Jesus Israel has begun to find the manger of its Lord.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Christians sing the beautiful Advent hymn, inviting Emmanuel ("God with us") to come into our lives and hearts once again. But how many of us know the history of the name, given to Our Lord Jesus?

The name Emmanuel is applied to Jesus in Matthew 1:23, but the gospel writer is quoting Isaiah 7:14. In this Old Testament passage, God gives Ahaz, the King of Judah, a sign that God will protect Judah against enemies that are threatening Jerusalem. Isaiah tells Ahaz, "The young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel." But Ahaz's faith was weak. So instead of trusting in God's protection, he made an alliance with the cruel superpower of his day, Assyria.

December News in Faith Formation

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

CBS Announces Publishing Contest

In honor of the Catholic Biblical School’s fifteenth anniversary, the Catholic Biblical School will be accepting entries for our Publishing Contest. Beginning in January and for the entire CBS fifteenth-anniversary year (2010), send us your reflections on biblical spirituality. We will choose one entry each month for publication here on our Bible Blog.

Here’s what we’re looking for: brief, inspirational reflections based on a biblical text or theme. Entries should show

What's a Bible Concordance (and why should I care?)

If you're interested in the Bible, a concordance is a handy tool that can help you do at least three things: (1) Find where in the Bible a specific passage is located; (2) Find a Bible passage that speaks about a theme or idea you're thinking about; and (3) Connect two (or more) passages with the same words, ideas or themes.

Simply look up in the concordance a word related to the passage, idea or theme you want to explore. For example, if you want to explore passages where the Spirit of God is imaged as "breath"--like when Jesus breathed on the disciples after the resurrection and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit"; or when the breath (or wind or spirit) hovered over the waters at creation--simply look up the word "spirit" (or "breath" or "wind") in your concordance--then see what you discover!

CBS Recommends--Encountering Jesus in the Scriptures

A Boston College, C21 Resources Workshop
2 weeks, Nov 30– Dec 11, 2009

This online workshop provides guided discussion centered on Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, and resurrection as presented in the popular issue of C21 Resources, "Encountering Jesus in the Scriptures," edited by Fr. Daniel Harrington, S.J. and Dr. Christopher Matthews. This workshop is ideal for the busy person who wants quality material in short segments. Completion of this workshop does count as a "make-up" for CBS students who have missed a Scripture Day. Click here for more information or to register.

Is God Like a Fire?

At this week's Religious Education Congress, BJ did a reflection on the symbol of fire as encountered in the Exodus and Covenant story in the Book of Exodus. Click here to see the powerpoint images used in that reflection.

The Biblical School—Taking a Closer Look at Your Family Tree

(By Biblical School graduates Hugo and Judy Kostelni and Jackie Wielgoszinski)

Where two or three people meet together in my name, I am there with them.  (Matthew 18:20)

Have you ever researched your family tree? It’s a very interesting way to find out where you came from, and to unearth stories that help to uniquely define you and your family.

Attending the Catholic Biblical School (CBS) to study the Bible, the living Word of God, is very much like researching your family tree, albeit your Christian family tree.  As a student in the CBS, you begin a four-year journey with God as your Guide learning about “family” members in Church history. You will journey through every book of the Bible with the added help of

November News in Faith Formation

To discover what's happening this month in the Archdiocese of Hartford, click on this link: ORE Connections.

For Advent, the Catholic Biblical School Recommends—

Hark! The Herald Prophets Sing: The Prophets on the Sundays of Advent
(Jeremiah, Baruch, Zephaniah and Micah)

Where? St. Patrick and St. Anthony Parish, Hartford
When? Sat., December 5, 9-3 and Sunday 1-3 pm

Hartford CBS at the Religious Education Congress

Join BJ and a team of CBS graduates at the Archdiocese of Hartford Religious Education Congress on November 7 at St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol. We will be exhibiting from 8:00-9:00 am and 12:00-1:30 pm, and BJ will lead a workshop entitled "How to Foster in Children a Lifelong Devotion to the Bible."

For more information or to register for the Congress, click here: RE Congress 2009. For information in Spanish, click here: Congreso Catequético Anual de 2009.

To Go Back Wholly in Spirit...

... to those remote centuries of the East (Pope Pius XII, Divino Afflante Spiritu 35) ....

The goal of biblical studies is to enable us to "go back wholly in spirit" to biblical times so that we can encounter the Word both as it was given in that time and as it might be interpreted today.

In order to do this, we need to exercise our imaginations.

Accreditation Visit from the Connecticut Department of Higher Education

On Monday, October 19, 2009, the Catholic Biblical School and St. Thomas Seminary will receive members of the Accreditation Review Board appointed by the State of Connecticut. This review is the second step in the process of becoming accredited as a higher education certificate program. We expect to complete the process by Fall, 2010.

Biblical School at Catholic Educators Conference

The Hartford Catholic Biblical School will sponsor an exhibit at the Hartford Archdiocesan Catholic Educators Conference on October 20-21 at St. Paul High School in Bristol, CT. Did you know that Catholic school teachers in the Archdiocese of Hartford can fulfill their Biblical Studies certification requirements through the Biblical School?

9-11 in Biblical Proportions

Eight years after the shocking events of 9-11, the tragedy of our divided world remains a source of anguish among people of good will—not just in the United States, but all over the world. I’m reminded of two gospel passages that speak of how religion can be a source of either division or unity for our world.


From Matthew 10:34-36, we have a very troubling saying of Jesus: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against