First-Year Scripture Day!

Reminder: The required Opening Scripture Day (Orientation) for first-year students is Saturday, Sept. 8, 9:00-3:00 pm. Try to arrive around 8:30, so you can meet your new classmates. Coffee and refreshments available beginning at 8:30.

Stephen J. Binz, author

Remember you must bring your written, completed summer assignment with you on Sept. 8 (your written answers to the questions on the "blue sheet" you received at your interview).

The author of the summer reading assignment, Stephen J. Binz, will be our presenter. He will sign books and have some of his other writings for sale.

See you on September 8!

New Evangelization Seminar with Stephen Binz

"The Church is built upon the word of God; she is born from and lives by that word," Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini 3.

What is more important than nurturing our communities in God's Word? This is what God and the Church requires of pastoral leaders. All are welcome.

Join us for an outstanding seminar to help us all in our mission of discipleship. To register, call Jill Costa in the ORE by August 31: 860-243-9465.

Congratulations to Cecelia and Mark Stevens

CBS graduate Cecelia Stevens’s spouse, Mark, was ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese in June. You can be sure that diaconate formation is rigorous and requires great character, because the process is directed by none other than our own Fr. Aidan Donahue, CBS faculty member.

Mark is assigned to St. Bridget Parish in Cheshire.

Teaching Resource: Visio Divina

If you're looking for a creative way to pray the Bible--or to teach others to pray the Bible, you'll love Visio Divina (Latin for divine seeing). It's like Lectio Divina with a creative twist.

And if you don't think you're "creative," think again. Every human person is gifted with creativity as part of being made in the image and likeness of the Creator. So what if you're not Rembrandt? Dive in anyway. Creativity is one way human beings discover (and help others discover) how our creative side can unite us more fully to God.

Here's a link to get the full scoop: http://www.youngadultministryinabox.com/step-by-step/visio-divina-extraordinary-prayerfor-ordinary-time/. Have fun!

HCBS Graduates Living and Leading in God's Word

I recently received this note from Jerry Siegmund, 1999 graduate of the Hartford Catholic Biblical School. He is expanding his offering at St. Brendan Parish in North Carolina.

"Hope you are enjoying the summer as I am.  It has been quite awhile since I gave you an update as to how things are going.  The single answer is "Great!"  Our first class of eight finished their second year and are as enthused as they were in the beginning.  We had a small graduation exercise at the 5:00 Mass in mid May where one of the students spoke to the church.  It was well received by all.  We are starting another class that will begin in Sept.  I will teach the third year students on Monday mornings (remember this is a large retired community) and the new class on Tuesday."

This is an important REMINDER: The Hartford Catholic Biblical School can lead (and has led) to  BIG things with a tiny (okay, not always so tiny) effort! Well done Jerry! We'd love to see Bible study in every parish in the world!

Courses for CBS Graduates: Luke and Acts

CBS Graduates are encouraged to sign up (by Sept. 4) for "The Gospel of Luke," a ten-week course taught by Dr. Tom Casey. (In the spring he will offer a follow-up, "Acts of the Apostles.")

Class Meeting Information:

Wednesdays, 7:00-9:00 pm

St. Mark the Evangelist Parish Center

Cost: $95*

Classes begin on Sept. 12 for students who did not participate in Dr. Casey's courses on the Synoptics last fall.

Classes begin on Sept. 19 for returning students.

Registration forms were included in the mailing to CBS grads in July. If you cannot locate your form, contact Jill Costa at (860) 243-9465 to get another one. We require the form be complete (see instructions on the form), and payment must also be included with your registration.

In Dr. Casey's own words, here is what is planned for this fall:

"Each semester we study one book of the New Testament, line by line by line, evaluating each section of the book by relating it to the overall purpose and theology of the author, as well as to the teaching of Jesus and the rest of the NT. Your part in this will be to prepare for each class and to review what we cover there. NO WRITING! Just reading and studying on your own, including whatever notes you choose to take in class. This year we will be studying Luke-Acts. The first semester we will study Luke’s Gospel in detail, but first we will begin with examining Luke’s overall purpose and theology of his two-volume work, his Gospel and his Acts of the Apostles."

*TWO IMPORTANT NOTES:

1) Because Luke and Acts are two volumes from the same author, we must insist that students who wish to take "Acts of the Apostles" in the spring participate also in "Gospel of Luke" this fall. (You may, however, take "Luke" without committing to "Acts.")

2) Because we must have a certain number of students to offer this course, refunds will not be possible after September 4, 2012. Checks should be made payable to ORE (or Office of Religious Education). On memo line, please write: CBS Tuition, graduate course: 2012-13 (Checks only please.) We will only cash your check if we have sufficient students to go forward with the class. If we cannot fill the class we will let you know and all checks will be shredded.

"Wordle" created from words in Luke 24, NABRE.

"Must Have" Bible Study Reference

The Jewish Annotated New Testament (JANT) is the first-ever complete version of the New Testament (NRSV) edited and annotated by Jewish scholars. It is a landmark resource for understanding Jesus in the context of his Jewish first-century community.

JANT invites Christian readers to better understand how Jewish experts of our own time view the NT and Jesus.

JANT also invites Jewish readers to engage the teachings of Jesus from the stance of their own convictions.

Co-editor, Amy-Jill Levine

As Amy-Jill Levine, co-editor with Marc Zvi Brettler, made clear in conversation with US Bishops, "It is vital for Jews to study the New Testament to gain respect for their Christian neighbors, even as Christians must do the same with the Hebrew Scriptures."

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) agrees. "The publication of Levine's and Brettler's comprehensive work on the New Testament represents an important milestone in Catholic-Jewish relations," said Bishop Denis Madden, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. (Check out the USCCB press release by clicking here.)

Preachers, Bible students and teachers alike should consult JANT every time they prepare a homily or Bible lesson. If you can afford only one new Bible resource this year, this is the one to buy. (Click here for a link to publisher's website, where you can get JANT for only $35.)

Published by Oxford University Press, 2012.

"And the Final Jeopardy Answer Is..."

Who are the Jebusites?

How well did you do in our summer trivia quiz? Send in your tally of correct answers (on your honor) to BJ at cbs@orehartford.org.

You COULD calculate your total score by adding up the questions you got correct (100 for the first week, 1000 for the tenth week) and subtracting from that total the questions you answered incorrectly.

Or simply tell me whether you got x out of 10 (or x out of 20) correct.

Be sure to say whether you were answering the Jeopardy (Basic) questions, the Double Jeopardy (Advanced) questions, or both!

You may elect to report anonymously--just be sure and indicate that in your email to me!

Scripture Day is Nigh

And yes, we're entitled to use outdated words like "nigh" because it suits our interest in all things ancient: namely, the roots of our faith. (T or F: The word "nigh" hadn't been invented when Jesus walked the earth.)

Reminder to Advanced Year Students: Scripture Day is on Saturday, August 25, 9:00-3:00 at St. Thomas Seminary in Lecture Hall (third floor). Two important notes:

• You MUST arrive by 8:50 am to sign in. Coffee will be available beginning at 8:30.
• You are also required to bring your written response to the summer reading book, Conversations with God, by Stephen Binz.

Our presenter, Dr. Harry Nasuti of Fordham University will introduce us to the prophets, a topic that will be the major focus of study for the Advanced Year classes (CBS 300) this year.

Do you recognize these characters?

Teaching the Bible to Children and Adolescents

Jared Dees's post called "4 Ways to Help Students Learn the Books of the Bible" has some effective tips for catechists and youth ministers. Click here to read the article.

Final Jeopardy

Remember to state your answer in the form of a question. Good luck contestants!

Final Jeopardy Category: Biblical Places

How much will you wager?

And the answer is:  The capital city of the United Monarchy and later Judah was originally captured by David from this Canaanite tribe.


ANSWERS to "Bible Trivia for 1000, Alex" posted on August 4:
Jeopardy (Basic):What is Tanakh? (The Hebrew Bible contains 39 of the 46 books contained in Catholic Bibles. The books that were excluded from the Jewish canon in the first century AD were known, at the time, only in languages other than Hebrew, which was considered the sacred language.)

Double Jeopardy (Advanced):What are the Writings? (The Jewish Bible is divided into three parts: 1) The Torah or Law/Teaching--Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy; 2) The Nevi'im, or Prophets, which includes not only the written prophets but stories about prophets and their time period, as in the Books of Samuel and Kings); 3) The Ketuvim (The eleven books not included in the Torah or Nevi'im).

To take the entire trivia quiz, begin with the first post of Summer Series 2012, posted on July 7.

At the end of the summer, email BJ (click on the envelope icon at the bottom of the post) with your tally of correct answers. Top scores will be posted here in September.

"Bible Trivia for 1000, Alex"

Remember to state your answer in the form of a question. Good luck, contestants!

Jeopardy (Basic): The Jewish name for the Bible, it is an acronym for the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible: Torah, Nevi'im, Kethuvim.

Jeopardy (Advanced): The English translation of Ketuvim, this division of the Hebrew Bible includes works like Job and Qoheleth.

ANSWERS to "Bible Trivia for 900, Alex" posted on August 4:
Jeopardy (Basic):What is the Visitation? (The leadership of Mary in the Christian community begins in relationship with Elizabeth, who not only supports Mary during her pregnancy but is the prophet who recognizes and declares both God's presence in Jesus and the role of Mary in the faith community.)


Double Jeopardy (Advanced):What is the Gospel of John? (The Wedding at Cana, the Second Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, is not found in the Synoptic Gospels. Interestingly, the Fifth Luminous Mystery, The Institution of the Eucharist, appears only in the Synoptic Gospels and not in John.)

Bonus Question: Can you name all five Luminous Mysteries and the gospels they appear in?

To take the entire trivia quiz, begin with the first post of Summer Series 2012, posted on July 7.

At the end of the summer, email BJ (click on the envelope icon at the bottom of the post) with your tally of correct answers. Top scores will be posted here in September.

"Bible Trivia for 900, Alex"

Remember to state your answer in the form of a question. Good luck, contestants!

Jeopardy (Basic): The rosary's Second Joyful Mystery, this story appears in Luke 1:39-56 .

Double Jeopardy (Advanced): The only gospel that tells the story remembered in the Second Luminous Mystery.
All Bible verses are taken from the New American Bible Revised Edition.

ANSWERS to "Bible Trivia for 800, Alex" posted on August 1:
Jeopardy (Basic):What is the number of books in the canon of Sacred Scripture. (Canon, which comes from the Hebrew word qaneh, meaning a "measuring stick," is the official list of works included in the Bible. Catholics contain seven "deuterocanonical"/"second canon" books that are not considered canonical by Protestants.)

Double Jeopardy (Advanced): Who is the prophet Huldah? (Huldah, a woman, was the authority consulted by the King and High Priest of Judah to determine the canonicity of a book scholars believe to be Deuteronomy 12-26. They seem to have intentionally chosen to consult Huldah over the better-known prophet Jeremiah. See 2 Kings 22.

To take the entire trivia quiz, begin with the first post of Summer Series 2012, posted on July 7.

At the end of the summer, email BJ (click on the envelope icon at the bottom of the post) with your tally of correct answers. Top scores will be posted here in September.

Bible Trivia for 800, Alex!

Remember to state your answer in the form of a question. Good luck contestants!

Jeopardy (Basic): 73 in Catholic Bibles; 67 in Protestant Bibles.

Jeopardy (Advanced): In 2 Kings, this prophet was the first person we know of to declare a written work to be canonical.

ANSWERS to "Bible Trivia for 700, Alex" posted on July 28:
Jeopardy (Basic): What is the Gospel according to Mark? (It is puzzling to most people that the author of Mark repeatedly describes Jesus as forbidding people to tell others that he is the messiah. Numerous explanations have been advanced, but no authoritative interpretation has come forward as yet.)


Double Jeopardy (Advanced):  Who is William Wrede? (Pronounced VRAY-duh. Professor Wrede first put forward the term "messianic secret" in 1901. Not to be confused with Patricia Wrede, author of  several very interesting historical-fantasy books aimed at adolescents.)

To take the entire trivia quiz, begin with the first post of Summer Series 2012, posted on July 7.

At the end of the summer, email BJ (click on the envelope icon at the bottom of the post) with your tally of correct answers. Top scores will be posted here in September.