Bible Students Awarded Basic Certificates

Yr 2 Students Study with Dr. Don Gray

On Wednesday, May 25, people of all ages gathered at St. Mark the Evangelist Church in West Hartford to receive a variety of awards and certificates presented by the Office of Religious Education under the authority of the Archbishop of Hartford, Henry Mansell.

The following second-year CBS students qualified this year for the Certificate in Basic Biblical Studies:


Ms. Alexis Chacchia, St. Teresa, Woodbury
Ms. Lynda T. Curtis, St. Francis of Assisi, South Windsor
Sr. Doretta D’Albero, ASCJ, Mt. Sacred Heart, Hamden
Dr. Paula A. deSilva,  St. Ann, Avon
Mr. Thomas A. Desjardin, St. John the Evangelist, Watertown
Ms. Yvonne Distante, St. Mary, New Haven
Ms. Prudence Doty, St. Dominic, Southington
Ms. Elizabeth M. Gerrity,  Resurrection, Wallingford
Deacon Edward J. Giard, St. Christopher, East Hartford
Ms. Fran Giard, St. Christopher, East Hartford
Ms. Kimberly Green, St. Peter Claver, West Hartford
Ms. Margaret M. Hurley, Sacred Heart, Bloomfield
Mr. Karl L. Kuhn, St. Thomas the Apostle, West Hartford
Ms. Amy Louen, Immaculate Conception, Waterbury
Sr. Maria Lourdes Maranan, ASCJ, Mt. Sacred Heart, Hamden
Ms. Martha C. Marin, Sacred Heart/Sagrado Corazo, Waterbury
Ms. Carol Ann McAllister, St. Francis of Assisi, Naugatuck*
Ms. Constance T. Oligino, Our Lady of Assumption, Woodbridge
Mr. Albert Van Leuven, St. Clare, East Haven*
Ms. Phyllis Voira, St. Francis, New Haven
Mr.Bogumil Romuald Zacharski, St. Augustine, Hartford

*Will be completing certificate in summer

Words Made Flesh: The Presence of the Spirit

Broken heart filled with Spirit

"In John's Gospel, the sense of loss among the apostles is palpable as Jesus prepares to take leave of them. Peter asks: 'Lord where are you going?' (John 13:36) and 'Lord, why can I not follow you now?' (John 13:37). To this poignant longing Jesus responds: 'If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever' (John 14:15). Then Jesus identifies the new Advocate (Gk paracletos) as the Spirit of truth, unknown to the world but an abiding presence within the disciples (John 14:17). This then is the foundation of our trust in the guidance of the Spirit.

"...The new Advocate is not a kind of a proxy sent to replace the absent Lord: on the contrary, it assures his presence as well as the Father's. They will 'come to' the one who remains faithful to Jesus' word, and they will dwell 'with' him."

Biblical Reflection for 6th Sunday of Easter

For Fr. Rosica's commentary on the other readings from this Sunday, click here.

Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB is CEO of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada. He is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and writes a weekly commentary on the Sunday readings for Zenit.

*ZENIT is a non-profit international news agency comprising a team of professionals and volunteers who are convinced of the extraordinary richness of the Catholic Church's message, particularly its social doctrine. The ZENIT team sees this message as a light for understanding today's world.

If God Had Texted Moses

Moses: Check your phone!

In the spirit of lighthearted fun in the Third Millennium, here's a summer series asking the question, "What would the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) look like if God had texted Moses?"

No 1: You shall have no other gods before me. (NIV Dt 5:7)

Courtesy of Sr. Carol Cimino, PhD and Religious Education Consultant for Sadlier Publishers.

Words Made Flesh: Christian Service Is Based in Faith

A message especially for youth and young adults, and their ministers:

"In Sunday's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (6:1-7), we learn that ... the essential function of the Twelve (6:2-4) is the 'service of the word,' including ... formulation of the teachings of Jesus. In Verse 2 we read: 'It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.'... At the Apostles' invitation the disciples chose seven men: 'Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus. The Apostles prayed over them and laid their hands upon them' (6:5-6).

"The real purpose of this whole episode is to introduce Stephen as a prominent figure in the community whose long speech and martyrdom will be recounted in Acts 7. After Stephen and the others are chosen, they are never presented carrying out the task for which they were appointed (6:2-3). Rather, two of their number, Stephen and Philip, are presented as preachers of the Christian message. ...

"Let us remember that in addition to charitable work, Stephen carried out the work of evangelization.... Stephen, 'full of grace and power' (6:8), presented in Jesus' Name a new interpretation of Moses and of God's Law itself. Stephen reread the Old Testament in the light of the proclamation of Christ's death and resurrection.

"One of the powerful lessons we learn from Stephen's witness is that charitable social works must never be separated from the bold, explicit and courageous proclamation of the faith.

Advanced Summer Reading Assignments

Students entering their third and fourth years in the Biblical School should download their summer reading assignment by clicking on the following links:

• Text of The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (abridged for purposes of this assignment)
• Assignment Questions and a Glossary of Terms

 For paper copies contact Jill Costa in the Office of Religious Education. (Click on her name or call her at 860-243-9465, ext. 2670.)

Bad Bible Info Online (Again)

Back in January we noted that there is an awful lot of incorrect information about the Bible out there, especially online.

A week ago, Cee Cee Johnson, CBS Class of 2010, noticed a story on a CNN blog about a book (entitled Forged) that is chock-full of misleading information on the Bible. The blog claimed that "half of the New Testament was forged."

Students in the second year of the Biblical School get the real scoop about the ancient practice of pseudepigraphal writing (that is, the ascription of false names to a literary work). It was customary in ancient times for an author to write in the name of another, usually a person whose teaching had inspired that author. Hence, many of the letters in the New Testament are written as if by Paul, but are truly written under the inspiration of Paul by a later writer. In the Old Testament, the Book of Ecclesiastes implies it is written by Solomon, but it simply cannot have been so.

Pseudepigraphal writing  was a common, well-respected practice in biblical times. The practice wasn't meant to deceive anyone, but when we apply words like "forgery" to the texts, we suggest something sinister.

Anyone claiming the New Testament is "half forged" is showing their ignorance of the Bible, at least as the Catholic Church (and other non-fundamentalist Christians and Jews) understands it.

The lesson here: Be very careful about using online or other popular sources for faith information. Period.

And if you do decide to venture into cyberspace for information about the Bible, we recommend three guidelines:

CBS Course Schedules 2011-12

YEAR ONE CLASSES (2011-12)

 · Bloomfield: Mondays 7-9 pm, Sacred Heart Parish, Ms. Marcia Franko, MA

· Hamden: Tuesdays 10 am to noon, Caritas Christi Center, Sr. Jewel Renna, CND, MA

· Plantsville: Thursdays 7-9 pm, St. Aloysius Parish Center, Sr. Jewel Renna, CND, MA

· Milford: Weekday evenings (Details TBD), Christ Redeemer Parish, Ms. Marcia Franko, MA

YEAR TWO CLASSES (2011-12)
· Cheshire: Mondays 7-9 pm, Epiphany Parish, Fr. Aidan Donahue, STM, STL

· Bloomfield: Wednesdays 6:30-8:30 pm, Sacred Heart Parish, Fr. Aidan Donahue, STM, STL

· West Hartford: Thursdays 10 am to noon, St. Mark the Evangelist, Dr. Donald Gray, PhD

· Milford: Thursdays 7-9 pm, Christ the Redeemer Parish, To be determined

ADVANCED YEAR (Year 3 and 4) CLASSES (2011-12)  

· Cheshire: Mondays 7-9 pm, Epiphany Parish, Ms. BJ Daly Horell, MTS

· Hamden: Tuesdays 7-9 pm, Caritas Christi Center, Dr. Donald Gray, PhD

· Bloomfield: Wednesdays 6:30-8:30 pm, Sacred Heart Parish, Ms. BJ Daly Horell, MTS

· Plantsville: Fridays 10-noon, St. Aloysius Parish, Ms. BJ Daly Horell, MTS

From OT Prophecy to Gospel of Christ to Catholic Social Justice

The Christian tradition of caring for those in the community who are voiceless or in need has a proud heritage: straight from the pages of the Bible.

"You shall not oppress a resident alien...any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely listen to their cry." (Ex 22:21-22)

Interior: St. Ann's Avon

So when I heard that "St. Ann's Cares"--a group of St. Ann's parishioners in Avon, CT that often includes students and grads of the Biblical School--were helping out a Hartford school in need, I was not one bit surprised.

Maria Zone, Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Communications, writes this:

When “St. Ann’s Cares,” a branch of the Social Justice Committee of St. Ann Church in Avon, heard that St. Augustine School in Hartford needed help, they sprang into action. On Saturday, May 7, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., they spent the entire day at the school making much needed improvements to the physical plant.

Dozens of skilled and unskilled volunteers from “St. Ann’s Cares” painted classrooms, a basement floor, a wall in the gymnasium, and made improvements to a playground.

Dr. Paula deSilva, a Biblical School student and member of “St. Ann’s Cares,” says

Words Made Flesh: Mercy Flows From the Wound in His Heart

"'Doubting Thomas' is a term often used to describe someone who refuses to believe something without direct, personal evidence; a skeptic.

"It refers, of course, to Thomas, one of the Twelve Apostles, whose name occurs in all the Gospel lists of the apostles....

"When Jesus announced his intention of returning to Judea to visit Lazarus, Thomas said to his fellow disciples: 'Let us also go, that we may die with him' (John 11:16). It was Thomas who, during the great discourse after the Last Supper, raised an objection: 'Lord, we do not know where you are going; and how can we know the way?' (John 14:5).

"Little else is recorded of Thomas the Apostle in the New Testament; nevertheless, thanks to John's Gospel text for today (John 20:19-31), his personality is clearer to us than that of some others of the Twelve.

"...That Easter evening when the Lord appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not present. When he was told that Jesus was alive and had shown himself, Thomas stated: 'Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe' (John 20:25).

"Eight days later, Thomas made his act of faith, drawing down the rebuke of Jesus -- 'Because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.'

"The real Thomas

"Thomas the Apostle is one of the ... most honest of the lovers of Jesus, not the eternal skeptic, nor the bullish, stubborn personality that Christian tradition has often painted. This young apostle stood before the cross, not comprehending the horrors of what had happened. All his dreams and hopes were hanging on that cross.

"Thomas rediscovered his faith amidst the believing community of apostles and disciples. This point must never be forgotten, especially in an age when so many claim that faith and spirituality are attainable without the experience of the ecclesial community. We do not believe as isolated individuals....
 

"Let us not forget the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 'Faith is ... not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others.

"'Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith' (CCC No. 166)."

Reprinted from "A Wave of Mercy Flows From the Wound in His Heart," Biblical Reflection for Divine Mercy Sunday, by Father Thomas Rosica, CSB, President of Canada's Salt and Light Television. To access all Fr. Rosica's reflections in Zenit on this past week's Sunday readings and on the Beatification of Pope John Paul II, click here.

Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB is CEO of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada. He is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and writes a weekly commentary on the Sunday readings for Zenit.

*ZENIT is a non-profit international news agency comprising a team of professionals and volunteers who are convinced of the extraordinary richness of the Catholic Church's message, particularly its social doctrine. The ZENIT team sees this message as a light for understanding today's world.

ZENIT's objective is to inform about the "world seen from Rome," with professionalism and faithfulness to the truth. They aim to view the modern world through the messages of the Pope and the Holy See; tell about the happenings of the Church; and inform about the topics, debates and events that are especially interesting to Christians worldwide. ZENIT carries out this service independently, with the help of world-wide donors. Click here to find out more or to help ZENIT in its fundraising campaign.

Pew Research: Are Catholics Leaving the Church for the Bible?

So it would seem. The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey put out recently by the Pew Research Center reveals that large numbers* of Catholics are leaving the Church, often in order to join Protestant Evangelical traditions who place strong emphasis on knowing and living the Bible.

And one of the main reasons these former Catholics give for leaving the Catholic Church is that they don't feel their parish offers them a meaningful encounter with Sacred Scripture.

Here's what Thomas Reese reports in the National Catholic Reporter: "Ex-Catholics are not flocking to the evangelicals because they think the Catholic church is politically too liberal. They are leaving to get spiritual nourishment from worship services and the Bible."

Reese points out that "Thanks to Pope Pius XII, Catholic scripture scholars have had decades to produce the best thinking on scripture in the world. That Catholics are leaving to join evangelical churches because of the church teaching on the Bible is a disgrace."

Now, that last statement seems to "stretch" the research a bit. It doesn't seem to be church teaching on the Bible that is given as the reason for leaving. Rather, it seems that typical Catholic spiritual and liturgical practices around the Bible may be problematic and need to be "beefed up" in many parishes.

Reese redeems himself, though, when he goes on to affirm precisely what Vatican II and the world-wide bishops have been saying for nearly fifty years--and what Pope Benedict XVI insists in his recent exhortation, Verbum Domini.

"The church needs a massive Bible education program," writes Reese. "If we could get Catholics to read the Sunday scripture readings each week before they come to Mass, it would be revolutionary."

The numbers suggest that the pope, the bishops, and Mr. Reese are right on target. The mission of the Hartford Catholic Biblical School is to provide exactly the kind of serious, meaningful encounter with Scripture that adult Christians need and crave.

*According to the Pew Research Center, one out of three people who were raised Catholic no longer identifies as Catholic.

Osama Bin Laden Killed on Divine Mercy Sunday?

The killing of Osama bin Laden on Divine Mercy Sunday, yesterday, reminds me of something my friend, Patricia Leonard Pasley, recently told me. Patricia is a New Testament scholar, the mother of five and is studying for the Episcopalian priesthood.

Some of her 16-year-old daughter's friends were having dinner at their house, including young believers of many faiths--Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist. Naturally (if you knew Tricia, you'd know it would be "naturally"), they started discussing their faith traditions.

When the conversation came around to heaven and hell, one young Jew spoke up. He said that he believes Hitler went to heaven. "How can we limit God's love and mercy?" the young man insisted. "But as soon as Hitler saw all that was going on in heaven, he wanted nothing to do with it. So he left."

Let's leave Osama bin Laden to God and concentrate on finding ways to pursue justice without hatred and violence. Only then can bin Laden's legacy be erased from the earth.

by Barbara Jean Daly Horell

 

Link: Vatican Says Don't Celebrate Death of Bin Laden