Hartford Biblical School in U.S. Catholic

Two recent Hartford Catholic Biblical School graduates are featured in the most recent issue of U.S. Catholic magazine, a major Catholic monthly with a national audience.

The article explores adult faith formation programs and their impact on Catholic ministries. It describes CBS as one of "a new generation" of formation programs "that are having a significant impact both on parishes and other Catholic institutions, as well as on the lives of those who enroll in them."

Barbara Evans (Class of 2010), is quoted in the article saying, "From the moment I walked into the [CBS class]room, I knew that's where I was meant to be.... I couldn't get enough." Kathi Bonner (also Class of 2010) adds, "It's not for the faint of heart, [but] I loved it, I loved every minute."

As over 300 graduates attest, the Catholic Biblical School is challenging but fun--and incredibly inspiring.

Left to right: Theresa Vincenzo, Claudette LaChance and Sr. Heather Deneen. Class of 2014

Leslie Scanlon is the author of the U.S. Catholic article, "Off the Corporate Ladder: Working for the Church," which you can read in full (for a limited time) by clicking here.

February News in Faith Formation

Looking for a "boost" to your faith? Adult faith formation may be exactly what you're looking for. Find out what's available through the Archdiocese (some of it, right in your neighborhood) in the January newsletter, ORE Connections. Click here to explore.

Celebration of Sacred Scripture

Save the Date:

March 25, 2012 Celebration of Sacred Scripture

12:30-4:30 pm "Is Natural Disaster God's Punishment for Sin?"

"Coffee And" Begins at Noon

Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary

Bloomfield, CT

Open to the public, our 2012 “Celebration of Sacred Scripture” features Sr. Dianne Bergant, senior professor at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union.

HCBS Grads Living and Leading in God’s Word

Ms. Mary Laureno, Class of 2000
Confirmation Coordinator
Saint Bernard Parish
Tariffville, CT

Catholic Biblical School graduates bring the Word of God to catechesis in a way that stirs and inspires children, youth, and adults alike.

Mary Laureno is no exception. Mary coordinates and teaches in St. Bernard's two-year confirmation program, where she helps form teenagers in the faith and invites them to encounter God's Word in Sacred Scripture. "I want students to be comfortable reading the Bible," she told me this week. The parish provides students with their own Bibles to encourage students to make Scripture an indispensable part of their adult faith life.

St. Bernard Church

Mary will be expanding her evangelizing ministry at St. Bernard Parish next year as a presenter in their Christian initiation program (RCIA), teaching about the Old and New Testaments to adults coming into the Catholic faith for the first time.

Geography Tasks Revised for Oxford Atlas (Adv Year)

Students in the Advanced Year of the Biblical School (St. Thomas Seminary CBS 400) who are using the Oxford Atlas to complete Geography Tasks will find the following table to be of assistance. Thanks to Jay Pershing, Class of 2012, for putting it together.

Here are the page numbers of the appropriate maps for each lesson in Unit Two:

ADV YEAR UNIT ONE	OXFORD ATLAS PAGE NUMBERS
II.1	128 (Nineveh)
II.2	128 (Persian Empire)
II.3	128 (Ecbatana in Media)
II.4	124 (Babylonia and the land of Chaldea)
II.5	Use the Oxford index to trace the events in 1Maccabees 5
II.6	133 (Idumea, Beth-zur, Joppa, Jamnia, Modein, Gilead)   72 (Carnaim/Karnaim)
II.7	78, 85, 100, 105, 114, 124-125, 128-129, 146 (Places mentioned in   Judith 1:1)
II.8	124 (Babylonian Empire)
II.9	67 (Susa)

Jonah: A CBS Student Poem

There is a part of me—
    inside of me—
    that is Jonah.

A part of me that God loves so
                            very much
    and that loves God so
                            very much
    but that runs away to Tarshish so
                            very often
    because going to Ninevah seems so
                            very difficult.

But as I get closer and closer to Tarshish
    The water gets
                            very unsettled and
                            very unsettling—
    And I fight the waves and billows
        all the more—
    but I know
        all the while
    that I am being
                            very blind
        and I feel
                            very empty.

I know that I cannot go to Tarshish
        though I try
                            very hard.
    So I long for the day,
        for the grace to say
                            very often:
    “Throw that part of me overboard
           and then the sea will be calm!”
    Throw that part of me overboard
            into the
                            very Hands of God.


By Sr. Doretta D’Albero, ASCJ (Class of 2013)

A New Year in Faith Formation

What's happening in the Biblical School, adult spirituality, catechist enrichment, youth ministry? It's all here in the January newsletter, ORE Connections. Click here to explore what's happening this month in faith formation in the Archdiocese of Hartford.