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.