(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
a professor from Fordham University, a priest, a sister, guest speakers who are renowned biblical scholars and Catholic theologians—and with the fellowship of others on the same journey.
As we completed the fourth year of our journey with God into our Christian family history, we were proud to be related to family members who were heroic and holy, and disappointed in others who were heroic, yet unfaithful to God. We agonized over family members who sought God’s help, received His blessing, but in the end, could not let go of their life to follow Him. We applauded family members who unhesitatingly left everything behind to follow the Lord, only to be left wondering about the things we still cling to that distract us from our commitment to God’s will for our lives. In the end, we realized that despite our persistent weaknesses and failings, God never abandons us. He remains faithful. He remains merciful. His love for us never ends……..never.
God desires a personal relationship with each one of us. We cannot thank God enough for holding our lives in his loving hands and through the CBS, blessing us with a deeper personal relationship with Him. “For I know well the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) If you would like to know and love God more deeply, please prayerfully consider attending the CBS.
If you are interested in the CBS, please check out the Office of Religious Education website at www.orehartford.org, call the CBS Coordinator BJ Daly Horell at 860-243-9465, extension 11. The Sister Jewel Renna scholarship fund is available to defray the cost of the program for those who may not be able to afford it.
