A Weekly Bible Study

Trinity Sunday
Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 8:4-9
Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

Sometimes we find it hard to believe that God really has a plan in mind! Our world often seems aimless as it courses through history. We ourselves struggle to find a rudder as we tread challenging paths. But a golden thread running through today’s four readings offers us some insight into God’s glorious design.

Wisdom, personified as a woman, speaks first. Existing even before the created world, she partners with God to bring life into being. God’s plan unfolds with Wisdom as master “artisan.” All that would come to be, including humankind, would be shaped by God’s Holy Wisdom.

The psalmist joins the chorus of praise, showcasing humanity as the pinnacle of creation. But more than that, the psalm highlights our deep connection to God, as creature to creator. And in the process, Lady Wisdom continues to walk hand in hand with us in our lifelong quest.

Next, Paul’s message to the Romans echoes the theme of God’s loving design. Paul says that we have been justified (saved) by faith, and therefore our lives are not bound to the tempests of sin and death. Enfolded in grace, we are empowered to move in harmony with God’s plan toward a hope of glory, despite any present-day suffering.

And in today’s gospel, Jesus tells the disciples, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” It has been said that if God revealed everything to us at once we could not endure it! But now as then God's Wisdom is revealed, little by little over time, so we may come to know God more fully and ultimately achieve God's plan for us: a share in the glory of God.

In the meantime, we rejoice to know that God, in infinite wisdom, not only has a plan for the world (Jesus called this plan the Kingdom of God), but that we are called, through our daily choices, to partner with God in the unfolding of that perfect plan.



The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

Comfort from Fabric

Working @ Sew Inspired Quilt Shop

Sandy Hook-Quilts2Heal

As we reflect back on the tragedy of the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, CT, many of us have asked ourselves, "What can I do to help?" Dr. Paula De Silva CBS Class of 2013 and member of St. Ann Parish, Avon took charge.

In her own creative, unique way, Dr. De Silva organized over 200 volunteers to create quilts for each of the 26 teachers and children killed on that day, in hopes that they can bring some degree of comfort to traumatized families and the Newtown community. Seamstresses, donors, couriers, pray-ers: these are the folks who came together to create Quilts2Heal.

Fabrics from Sweden!

Fabrics collected from across the country and around the world were pieced together by volunteers, incorporating themes to represent the passions, accomplishments and dreams of each of those lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School. And did they get it right! A sister of one of the teachers exclaimed, “Everything my sister loved!” And from a classmate of one of the little boys, “You got him, 110%!”

In order to send these quilts on their way in the most spiritual and loving way possible, a Blessing Ceremony was held during Sunday liturgy on April 21 at Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center in West Hartford, with a beautiful blessing for the quilts and all the Sandy Hook –Quilts2Heal volunteers. Every person who came to the blessing ceremony was given a 6” square of fabric, each representing fabrics in the quilts.

Thank you for all your prayers: for the families and for the Sandy Hook-Quilts2Heal project. From the Archdiocese of Hartford to each and every person who made this endeavor a labor of love and comfort: our deepest gratitude. To the Sandy Hook community: We continue to pray for all of you.

Holy Family Blessing Ceremony, April 21, 2013

A Weekly Bible Study - Acts 2:1-11

Pentecost Sunday
 From its first words, our reading from Acts brings us to a very festive celebration for first-century Jews like the disciples of Christ. Acts tells us they gathered together on that day to celebrate the harvest feast of Jewish Pentecost, a feast for giving up to God the first fruits of the spring harvest and for remembering the birth of Israel as a people at Mt. Sinai, when God revealed the Torah to Moses.

What an appropriate occasion for the birth of our Church!  Did the disciples ever imagine what would happen next? Would you yourself have believed it?

A driving wind and fire filled the room! A terrifying sight, don’t you think? The sound of a great rush of wind heralded a new birth for God’s people; a new creation descends upon Jerusalem.

The fire comes to rest on each of those gathered.  Earlier Luke tells us that the group, numbering about 120, included the apostles, Jesus’ mother, other women and his brothers.


The Spirit has filled this community of believers “enabling them to proclaim” the Good News in their own language and driving them (us!) to fulfill Jesus’ commission to be his “witnesses ,,, to the ends of the earth.”

Joining hearts and spirits, this gathering called “church” can now proclaim with one voice:  Come Holy Spirit!


The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

CBS Recommends—Fr. Frank Matera

St. Timothy Parish, West Hartford

Festival of Sacred Scripture

Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 7:00 P.M. 

St. Timothy Middle School Milligan Hall

West Hartford

Who is Jesus? What does he mean for our lives today? To answer this question, Fr. Frank Matera considers how Jesus identified himself in the “I Am” sayings in the Gospel of John. In these six sayings Jesus identifies himself as (1) the bread of life, (2) the light of the world, (3) the good shepherd, (4) the resurrection and the life, (5) the way, the truth, and the life, and (6) the vine. Each of these sayings provides us with a way to understand who Jesus was and who he is for our lives today. 

Please mark your calendar and take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity.


This event is not sponsored by the Catholic Biblical School but could be an authorized make-up for certain requirements towards archdiocesan and seminary certificates in biblical studies. Only contact BJ about this program if you wish to request it as a make-up for missed requirements. 

A Weekly Bible Study - Revelation 22: 12-20

7th Sunday of Easter

“Behold, I am coming soon.”

Do these words frighten you? Perhaps they should!

In the very next line of this passage from Revelation the author (John of Patmos) speaks of Christ bringing the “recompense he will give to each according to his deeds.” It was a message of reassurance to the first-century Christians whose persecutors would realize the Lord’s judgment against them.

Moreover, these martyrs had “washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb” and would soon obtain their eternal reward. While it is not likely that we will ever face martyrdom, we are all called to stand daily in readiness for judgment. The Lord may, in fact, be coming to us soon. As the gospels tell us repeatedly, we do not know the day or the hour.

But what of our redemption?

John goes on to tell us that we are the Bride of Christ. The Bride represents the redeemed community of God’s people, the church. What a beautiful image of intimacy with God are we, the church. But do we live up to the level of loving to which we are called? As individuals and as a redeemed community, we are continually called to conversion. Our repentance does not end at the Lenten confessional door. We will, in fact, be made to render an account of our Christian living. Ours is a lifelong journey, one joined in Christ’s death, embracing his cross as we live out our faith.

Drawing the “life-giving water” to which John refers, we renew daily our baptismal commitment to Christ and to his Church. When we walk the days and hours with the Lord in our every step, only then may we have the courage to cry out unflinchingly, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Are we ready?




The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

Beware Online Research!

At this stage of their studies, I ask my classes in the Biblical School to refrain from using the internet as a source of Bible study. There is so much misinformation out there online, that it is more likely to be harmful than helpful to their progress. And in addition, their textbooks provide more than enough material to supplement their Bible reading.

There are three important exceptions to this rule.

1) Online (approved) translations of the Bible. If the translation is approved for use in CBS classes, then it doesn't matter whether you read it online or in print. Best choices are NABRE, NRSV Catholic Edition, RSV Catholic Edition, and the New Jerusalem Bible).

2) Online concordances. Online concordances allow you to look up any word in a particular translation and find every verse in the Bible that has that word in its text. Both the NRSV and the RSV are available at www.biblegateway.com. The USCCB has the NABRE online, but its search feature is not easy to use (you need to use the search box for the entire site, so you may get results from anywhere on the site, not just from the Bible). But its feature called "Today's Reading" is very useful for finding the correct liturgical readings not only for today, but for any day of the year.

3) Sources relating to Judaism. Finally, it can be very useful for both Old and New Testament studies to have a good source for contemporary and ancient Jewish practices, which our printed texts sometimes skim over. So AFTER you've completed the required reading assignments, here are two reliable online websites for contemporary Judaism and the history of Judaism: www.jewishencylopedia.com and Judaism101.

Schedule Change for CBS Classes 2013-14

CBS/STS Students Take Note

Weekly classes will start one week later than usual this fall, in order to accommodate a late Thanksgiving holiday (11/28). We will break for only two weeks at Christmas so the academic year can end as usual in mid-May.

This also means that Year 2 and Advanced Year students will NOT meet in advance of your Scripture Days on Saturday, September 14, 2013, as had previously been reported (on your Summer Reading Assignment sheets).

Complete schedules and calendars will be sent to all students in August.

Please note the meeting day for your first class, as follows:

If your class meets on Mondays, your first meeting is scheduled for September 16, 2013.

If your class meets on Tuesdays, your first meeting is scheduled for September 17, 2013.

If your class meets on Wednesdays, your first meeting is scheduled for September 18, 2013.

If your class meets on Thursdays, your first meeting is scheduled for September 19, 2013.

No classes meet on Fridays this year.

Year One Study Aide

For students in Year One of the Biblical School, we have published a Powerpoint document aimed to help you prepare for your Comprehensive and Unit Three "Memory Exercise." Click here to go to the correct webpage of the Office of Religious Education and Evangelization website, and click "CBS 100 Unit 3 Review."

If the link isn't working for you, cut and paste this URL into your web browser: http://www.orehartford.org/joomla3/index.php/our-programs/catholic-biblical-school/cbs-study-guide.

From Fr. Tiano and all of us at the Office of Religious Education and Evangelization, good luck to CBS students as you complete this year of study.

A Weekly Bible Study - Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23

Sixth Sunday of Easter



Even before its capture by King David in the tenth century BC, Jerusalem has had a special place at the heart of Sacred Scripture. The massive,

opulent temple built by King Solomon (and the more modest Second Temple) was central to the life of God’s people, the Israelites.

More than a physical place, Jerusalem has often symbolized the soul and conscience of humankind. In the 8th century BC the prophet Isaiah spoke of Jerusalem’s significance: “In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain … All nations shall stream toward it.” Here Jerusalem becomes a symbol of hope that the reign of God would blossom throughout the world.

In today’s reading from Revelation the biblical writer imagines a “new Jerusalem” descending from heaven. No longer a city of earthly concerns, it is imagined radiating the splendor of God and God's messianic kingdom.

The Book of Revelation adds to this image. It describes the New Jerusalem to be founded upon the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of the gospels. It incorporates the whole of God’s rich tapestry of salvation history by linking the ancient People of God, Israel, with the People of God affirmed Christ, the Church pictured in our reading being opened up to the four corners of the earth.

So, for the Book of Revelation, the dwelling place of God is no longer limited to an earthly temple in Jerusalem. Rather, our reading envisions the glory of God residing in the New Jerusalem and pouring itself lavishly over the whole of the earth.

Could it be that the Church and the world are not so far apart, in God's estimation? Can we reach out to the world - humanity and all of creation - and recognize that this is precisely where God is already being poured out?


The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

God and the Problem of Evil

Adam and Eve ... David and Bathsheba ... Exile (Judah) and Extinction (10 tribes of Israel) ... and the biggie:

JESUS AND THE CROSS!

Does God ever WILL real evil? Impossible. First and most obviously: Sometimes what we judge as evil might not actually be real evil. But does that mean that God always WILLS what we think of as evil?

Hitler and the concentration camps? The Cambodia of Pol Pot? Darfur in the Sudan? Is there "a reason for everything"? I don't think so. This popular philosophy sticks in my craw.

Is it possible that real evil is not willed by God? Of course! God never wills real evil! But freedom is part of the nature of love and life, so it is in God's own nature and the nature of the world that our will remain free. Otherwise we could not freely choose to love!

So, it is in the nature of the world that REAL EVIL, unwilled by God, happens. It happens all the time, it seems to me.

How does love respond to evil? Never with destruction or slavery. Take that, terrorists. Love responds to evil by bringing good out of evil.

We mourn real tragedy. Hurricane Sandy. Sandy Hook. Bombings in Boston.

And the Bible shows us GOD mourning real tragedy!

 "How can I give you up, O E′phraim!
    How can I hand you over, O Israel!...

My heart recoils within me,
    my compassion grows warm and tender." (Hos 11:8)

Despite the evil that God condemns in Israel, here, his love mourns the tragedy of love lost. Imagine how God's heart broke when the Assyrians actually DID obliterate the ten tribes of the Northern kingdom in the 8th century?

The point of all this can be summed up in the picture of this daffodil. I came across this

daffodil a few weeks ago while it was still in bud in my garden. A piece of debris had fallen on it and nearly crushed it. I mourned because I believed it to be ruined. But I let it lie, too sad to finish it off. Imagine my joy a week later when I noticed that it had bloomed nonetheless!

If God cares as much about daffodils as the gospels tell us God cares about sparrows, then I'm certain God did not WILL my lonely daffodil to die. (Think: the little ewe lamb of 2 Samuel 11.) But because my daffodil was crushed, it became more to me than any of the other daffodils in my garden!

I call that bringing good out of evil. There was no reason for the daffodil to be crushed. There is not "a reason for everything." But the joy I had at its blooming was greater than the joy I had over any other blossoms this this spring.

So I say, "Bloom where you're planted," but by all means also, "Bloom where you're bruised."

More eloquently, Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey reminds us to "thank God ahead of time for whatever ... we suffer ... including with all its circumstances ... our death."