Archbishop Blair's Column

THE WIND IN OUR SAILS

In the June issue of The Catholic Transcript, our archbishop writes: "If you’ve ever attended a big public fireworks display, you will know how it begins and ends with a bang, and is marked by many fiery bursts against the dark sky, to the oohs and ahs of the delighted spectators.

"I would like to suggest," he continues, "that at this season we are near the end of an annual spiritual fireworks display. It began at the Easter Vigil with Christ the Light bursting the shackles of sin and death, with a renewed blaze of glory at the Ascension.

To read Archbishop Leonard P. Blair's column in full, go to: http://www.archdioceseofhartford.org/writings3/archbblair_column_14-06.htm

Fr. Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal

Kathi Bonner with her pastor, Fr. Whyte

The Fr. Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal represents the highest honor awarded to Hartford Catholic Biblical School students and graduates, honoring an individual whose life and ministry demonstrates the excellence in the study of Sacred Scripture and the generosity of spirit in teaching the Word of God for which Paulist Fr. Larry Boadt was so well known.

Kathi L. Bonner, CBS Class of 2011, was awarded the Boadt
medal at the Archdiocese of Hartford Office of Religious Education and Evangelization Award Ceremony last evening. In her role as Director of Religious Education at St. Catherine
of Siena in West Simsbury, Kathi has integrated in creative ways the knowledge and skills gained from her Bible studies into her catechetical ministry.

Fr. Lawrence Boadt

Fr. Boadt was Paulist priest and a great friend to the Hartford Catholic Biblical School. He worked closely with our students every year and led our first-year Lenten Scripture Day less than four months before his death. His writings, especially his landmark Reading the Old Testament, showed the highest Old Testament scholarship while at the same time making the complexities of the texts accessible to the minds and hearts of ordinary folks. The Archdiocese of Hartford’s undying respect for Fr. Boadt and his work is commemorated in the annual presentation of the Fr. Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

Twenty-seven Awarded Basic Certicate

Joining together for Evening Prayer and "treats" (to quote Fr. Tiano), hundreds of youth and adults came together at St. Jerome's in New Britain yesterday to celebrate achievements in Youth Ministry, Discipleship, Service in Catechesis, and (my fave) Biblical Studies.

The Basic Certificate requires 144 hours (a very biblical number!) of in-class work, plus an average of 6-7 hours of self-study each week, for two years.

Here are the students who earned the Basic Certificate in Biblical Studies this year:

Andrew Ackerman                         St. Monica, Northford
Adrienne Couch Artale                  St. Teresa of Avila, Woodbury
Ronald J. Artale                             St. Teresa of Avila, Woodbury
Patty Augustyn                               St. Rose of Lima, Meriden
Suzanne d'Avignon Berwick          St. James, Manchester
Michelle C. Boisseau                     St. Francis of Assisi, South Windsor
Arthur J. Brokowsky, Jr                  St. Mary, East Hartford
MaryAnn D'Addario                        St. Peter and Paul, Wallingford
Sheila Clare DeLuca                      St. Andrew, Colchester
Michael J. DePrimo                        St. Joan of Arc, Hamden
Sr. Elizabeth Doyle, ASCJ             Mount Sacred Heart, Hamden
Susan J. Guerrera                          St. Anthiony, Prospect
Mary Ann Kelly                                St. John of the Cross, Middlebury
Paul A. Kominis                              St. Margaret, Madison
Rachelle M. LaBrecque                 St. Mary, East Hartford
Linda A. Masci                                St. Mary, Clinton
Gloria Danielle Nonnweiler            St. Patrick-St. Anthony, Hartford
Patricia Reynolds                           St. Martin de Porres, New Haven
Frank Rio                                        St. Bridget, Manchester
Edward Robinson                          St. Teresa of Avila, Woodbury
Kathrine E. Rutledge                     St. Teresa of Avila, Woodbury
Charlotte Scaviola                          St. Michael, Waterbury
Sr. Christina Skelley, ASCJ           Mount Sacred Heart, Hamden
Patricia Sward                                St. Brigid, West Hartford
Mary Jo Tomsic                              St. Bartholomew, Manchester
Patricia L. Wilkin                             St. Augustine, Seymour
Sr. Lauren Elizabeth Zak, ASCJ   Mount Sacred Heart, Hamden

Weekly Bible Study - Exodus 34:4-9

15 June 2014

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

In today’s first reading, the Lord is preparing to give Moses a second chance. Some time has passed since Moses received the Ten Commandments and then smashed them in anger at Israel’s idolatry. God now commands him to return to Mt. Sinai with blank tablets in hand.

It seems that Moses may be reluctant to return, knowing as he does his people’s disobedience. But God gives him a word of encouragement: God's own name, which we translate as “LORD.”  And the reassurance is made more profound in God's cry to Moses: “The LORD, the LORD, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity.”

Do we, at times, also hide from God out of fear or shame? It is easy to distance ourselves from God, but when we do that we vastly underestimate the Lord’s goodness. In times like these, can we hear in God’s very name the reassurance that Moses experienced.

This passage seems an odd choice for so solemn a feast as The Most Holy Trinity. But as we think about it there are so many gifts wrapped up in the Sacred Name of God. There is obviously the triune Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit who call to mind the unfolding of love within the richness of salvation history. There is the unique unity of three persons that draws us into the essence of true Christian community. And lest we forget, there is the compassionate nature of God, so beautifully illustrated in this passage from Exodus. 

 

The next time we utter the Sacred Name of God, let us be reminded of the Lord’s reassurance to Moses and to us: I am gracious, merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity.  And let us hear in these words another invitation from our gracious God: Bring the blank tablets of your heart to my holy mountain and there I will forever inscribe my name.

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.

Weekly Bible Study - Psalm 104

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Solemnity of Pentecost

Each year on this day we relive the dramatic features of Pentecost: its strong driving wind, tongues of fire descending upon the disciples (hard to imagine), a cacophony of languages (even harder to imagine). Pentecost Sunday is the day we remember the treasured story of the birthing of our faith community.

But it’s not just something that happened long ago. The psalm response (“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth”) makes it clear that the coming of the Spirit is here and now, living and active, capable of effecting change in our present moment, our current circumstances.

Looking around the “face of the earth” we see much that badly needs to be renewed. We see an earth badly scarred by the destructive forces of evil, war and poverty. We see the victims of those devastating conditions who cannot enjoy the basic human rights and liberties many of us take for granted. We see individuals within our own families and communities who struggle daily with hardship and suffering. We pass by the abused, neglected, forgotten, often silent and invisible to us in their pain.  The list is endless…

 

… should not our praying, then, also be endless?

Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.


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 Twentieth Anniversary

In 2015 we will celebrate 20 years of the Catholic Biblical School!


A committee of graduates is already planning a reunion dinner for all CBS alums and anyone who wants to celebrate with us. After-dinner speaker is none other than the Most Reverend Leonard Blair, Archbishop of Hartford and Chairman-Elect of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.

Mark your calendars for the evening of Friday, May 1, 2015.

(First CBS Logo: Designed by Sr. Jewel)

Class of 2014 Getting Serious about Evangelization

"Evangelize evangelize evangelize.  CBS gave me the tools to take it to the street!" New Biblical School graduate, Lou Daniels, has already begun offering seasonal Bible studies in his parish, and hopes to develop what he is calling a "chapel meeting" for athletes before games.

And his classmate, Toni Mintel, is mulling over an idea for an adult vacation Bible school, with (I expect) help from her husband Ernie--also a new CBS grad! Great idea.

Another Class of '14 grad, Sanita Gingras, is working now as a pastoral associate in her parish, Immaculate Conception, New Hartford.

Christian evangelization is limited only by our imaginations! Blogs; social media; tweeting--How might you spread God's Word in today's world?

Weekly Bible Study - Acts 1:12-14 and John 17:1-11

1 June 2014

7th Sunday of Easter   

It is a time of anxious anticipation. Jesus has left the earth and ascended to the Father. The apostles, together with Mary and the other women, have now returned to the upper room, the setting of the Last Supper. This is a familiar and perhaps comforting place for the apostles at this uncertain time.

Luke offers us one simple but significant detail of their activity in this gathering: “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.” It seems the only thing they want to do at this time of waiting is to pray. They are drawn together in heart and mind in this place. And they are not alone. One is present to them, for he has promised that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there in their midst.

Jesus prays with and for them, just as in his earthly life he offered his great priestly prayer* to the Father in that same upper room. Today's Lectionary readings join our scene from Acts with the scene in today’s Gospel of John.

Can we even fathom the intensity with which Christ offered this prayer, just hours before he went to his death? Can we even imagine that Christ had all of us in mind as he proclaimed those words we hear in today’s Gospel: “I pray for those you have given me." Since I will no longer be in the world, he seems to be thinking, I need to pray for those who will be in the world carrying on my work of redemption, making Your name known, bringing alive the Good News of the kingdom of God.

Like the apostles and holy women gathered in that upper room, we draw strength and vision from knowing Jesus is with us—even as the veil of uncertainty is lifted from us and the Spirit enlightens our hearts. Let us, this week especially, “devote ourselves with one accord in prayer.”

*This great priestly prayer of Jesus is found in John, chapters 14-17.  As you prepare for the Feast of Pentecost, spend some time this week reading this extended passage.

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.