Weekly Bible Study - Ezek 18:25-28

28 September 2014

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God sounds a little like an exasperated parent in today’s first reading: “House of Israel, grow up! When will you learn that you have to live with the consequences of your actions?” (Are we listening?)

At the time of the priest-prophet Ezekiel (6th c. BC) it was widely believed that God punished a people’s sinfulness through several generations.  This notion of children suffering for the sins of their parents was originally found in Exodus (20:5). But Ezekiel turns this conviction on its head because he knows it only serves to give the exiled people another excuse to blame their sinfulness on someone else. It is time for Israel to take personal responsibility for its actions, to understand that the exile and its many devastating consequences are the result of its own behaviors.

Personal responsibility seems to have gone out of style these days as well. It is much easier to pass the buck, to whine about God being unfair, or even to say, “It’s the fault of my parents that I am this way!” The Lord poses a simple question to the House of Israel, and to us: “Are not your ways unfair?” 

Last week we considered the prophet Isaiah’s notion of “our ways” in terms of our unforgiving spirits. Today’s reading asks us to consider that “our ways” are ways that estrange us from God. But if we accept that, if we own and admit to our wrongdoings and are reconciled to the Lord with a contrite and humbled heart, we free ourselves to deal constructively with the consequences.

Do we to accept personal responsibility for our lives and our behaviors? Is it our turn to hear God saying, “Oh, grow up”?

CBS Alums Can Apply to Receive Academic Credit

A process has been approved by the St. Thomas Seminary Academic Dean, Fr. Christopher M. Tiano, to help some CBS alumnae/i to receive undergraduate credit for their work in the Biblical School.

Alums are eligible if they 1) successfully completed the Archdiocese of Hartford Advanced Certificate in Biblical Studies within the last ten years; and 2) entered the Catholic Biblical School for the first time before January 1, 2011.

The process requires a strict review of all work completed in your Biblical School classes and is subject to the same academic standards that apply to current matriculating students.

If you are interested in the details, contact BJ Daly Horell to receive a copy of the procedure.

Former CBS Student Makes First Profession

“Your Love Is Better Than Life” - Psalm 63

On beautiful, sunny Saturday, August 16 in Lodi, NJ, Sr. Maria Louise Edwards made her first profession of vows with the Felician Sisters

Sr. Maria Louise, your friends in the Hartford Catholic Biblical School miss you, are inspired by you, and pray for your continued well-being.

To read more, click on this link: http://felicianvocations.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/your-love-is-better-than-life/

"Micro" Catechism for Busy Adults

Catechetical Sunday: September 21, 2014

"Teaching About God's Gift of Forgiveness"

God desires to offer forgiveness and does so freely.

The Catholic Church teaches that the world exists today in a broken and sinful state and that all people who are born into this world suffer the effects of this sinfulness. While to some this teaching may seem dark and negative, all people must acknowledge that with honest self-evaluation they find within themselves some tendencies toward selfishness, self-satisfaction, envy and pride that at times lead them to be less that the loving and generous people they at depth wish themselves to be. It is hard at times to be good and do what we already know to be the right thing. This comes on top of the reality that at times we also struggle to know and recognize what the right thing is.

In the face of this reality, God has responded and responded forcefully. By his own free choice God seeks to save the world from this brokenness. The Father has worked this salvation out over time. The Father’s plan for salvation finds its fulfillment in the incarnation of his Word in Jesus Christ, who has become Emmanuel, [which means] "God-with-us."

It is in Jesus Christ that the bonds of sin have finally been broken. Through Jesus Christ, God has given us the gratuitous [not merited by us] gift of his own very life. That is to say, through Jesus Christ God invites people to join in the inner life of the Most Holy Trinity. This is what we call sanctifying grace. The Holy Spirit infuses this gift of sanctifying grace on the souls of those who receive it, that they may be healed of sin and made holy.

This is, to put it mildly, very, very, good news. And this good news is the source of our authentic joy.

We are in need of forgiveness; God desires to offer it, and does so freely.

Reflection Question
What difference might in make in your life as a Christian disciple if you began each day by intentionally recalling for yourself that we are all in need of forgiveness and that God freely offers that gift of forgiveness to each of us?

Scripture to Explore
Gospel of John 3

Additional References
Catechism of the Catholic Church nos. 416, 417, 723, 744, 2003, 2023
United States Catholic Catechism for Adults pp. 84-87, 91-92
Catechetical Framework for Lifelong Faith Formation MA.1.3.29, MA.3.3.10, MA.3.3.42

Resource for Adult Faith Formation
Prepared for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Distributed courtesy of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership (NCCL)

© Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the copyright holder.

Permission is hereby granted to all (arch)dioceses, parishes, Catholic schools, and other ecclesial entities to reproduce this document in whole or in part, in whatever form is most expedient, for the purposes of catechizing the People of God, provided that the copyright information on this page is included in its entirety. This grant does not diminish the rights reserved hereunder.

Weekly Bible Study - Isaiah 55:6-9

21 September 2014

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time  

When we consider “God’s ways” and “my ways” we are more apt to think about God’s plans and actions than about God's mercy. But the real point of this passage is the generosity of God’s forgiveness. One commentary offered an interesting observation about today’s first reading: God’s mercy sails through space while human mercy rides the subway!

How willing are we to forgive as God forgives? The little boy who prayed, “Forgive us our trashbaskets as we forgive those who put their trash in our baskets” may have had the wrong words but he certainly had the right idea. It is particularly difficult for us to forgive those who continue to put the same old trash in our already-overflowing baskets. And besides the “trash” others heap upon us, we generate a lot of our own: painful memories, guilt feelings, resentments, fears, memories of failure and sinful tendencies. It is difficult to approach the forgiving heart of God when our own hearts are so heavy with spiritual pain.

One way of looking at our unwillingness to forgive – both ourselves and others – is to consider the adverse effects of non-forgiveness on our bodies, minds and spirits. Bearing an unforgiving heart can consume our thoughts and fracture relationship. An unforgiving heart depletes our energy, disturbs our sleep, enters our unconscious, and engenders nightmares. Our focus becomes the hurt, guilt or retribution, rather than the good of the other.

It is God, not we, who sets the standard of forgiveness. We receive generously from the vast storehouse of His mercy.

God never tires of emptying our “trash” baskets! Can we do the same? 

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 Fr. Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.
 

Accessing CBS Information Online

Our online information center, STS Registrar, is your guide to all "housekeeping" details in the Catholic Biblical School. We have added links to STS Registrar on the Office of Religious Education and Evangelization website, www.orehartford.org, under two of the drop-down headings: "Links" and "Our Programs - Catholic Biblical School."

CBS students and alums can access information about classes, grades, certificates, and the all-important notifications (I see a snowflake. Will class be cancelled?) at http://www.stsregistrar.org/cgi-bin/CBS/cbsstudentlogin.pl.

CBS instructors can send notices to their classes, access student contact information and class rosters at http://www.stsregistrar.org/cgi-bin/CBS/cbsinstructorlogin.pl.

If you need help with your password or with any other technical advice, contact Jennifer McClintock at jennifer.mcclintock@aohct.org or 860-242-5573, ext. 2675.

Weekly Bible Study - Numbers 21:4-9

14 September 2014

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

“That’s the story of my life!” Isn't that what we say when someone’s misfortune resonates with our own? The Book of Numbers might as well be the story of our lives. Though it's not a book of Scripture that most people go to first for reading and reflection, we may be able to "find our selves" in its pages, at times.

Numbers continues the account of the Israelites' desert journey begun in Exodus. It is a time of discipline and instruction. It is also a time of grumbling and rebellion against both the leadership of Moses and the expectations of God.

In today's reading, the Israelites are disgusted with their "wretched food” and their patience is "worn out.” So God sets out to teach them, once again, how even suffering can become a blessing. The plague of serpents is seen as a punishment from God. But in a strange twist, God changes the seraph serpent from a symbol of punishment for sin to a source of healing! The symbol of their sinful rebellion becomes the source of their rebirth.

Scripture scholars look at this event as a “type” of the cross of Christ. The seraph serpent comes to represent the sinfulness of all humanity that Jesus took upon himself for our salvation.

Jesus assures us in today’s Gospel that he, too, will be lifted up that we might find life. When we behold the cross of Jesus, do we see the One who embraced his rebellious, ungrateful, unfaithful children to draw us to himself? Do we see the promise and hope of eternal life?

Isn't the exaltation of the cross the real “story of our lives”?

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.

Pope Francis on the Bible and Christian Life

The exegete perceives the Divine Word through a fervent spiritual life

On Sept. 12, 2014, Pope Francis addressed the 43rd National Biblical Week in Italy, where he said,

"Faith, to respond, and so as not to be suffocated, must be constantly nurtured by the Word of God....

"Since it is not possible for every Christian personally to carry out the research necessary to arrive at a good understanding of Biblical texts," he added, “this task is entrusted to exegetes.  ... Alongside academic competence, the Catholic exegete needs above all, faith: received from and shared with all believers."

It is the mission of the Catholic Biblical School, as part of the Office of Religious Education and Evangelization, to make the work of biblical scholarship available to everyone, following the directive of Dei Verbum: "Easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful." (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, 22)

The pope's remarks inaugurate the 50th anniversary of Dei Verbum, which  in 1965 confirmed 20th century Church teaching that the Word of God is written in human language and therefore must be understood according to its original intent in order to access the fuller meaning of the text for the contemporary Christian community.

For more information, see the official Vatican news article: Biblical Interpretation: Help Faithful to Live in Communion With God by clicking here: http://www.news.va/en/news/the-exegete-perceives-the-divine-word-through-a-fe

Advanced Year Class Adjustment

Advanced-Year Students Take Note:

Dr. Leonard-Fleckman's class will be meeting on Mondays from 6:30 to 8:30 pm (not 7:00-9:00, as previously scheduled). Please note this change on your calendar materials, for future reference.

The rest of the logistics for that class remain the same: St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield, Room 3A (third floor).

Weekly Bible Study - All Readings

7 September 2014

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

We do not journey in life alone. As children of our heavenly Father, we are bound to one another in faith, hope and love (the “theological virtues”). Each of today’s readings illustrates one of these three virtues in a unique way as they are lived out in our relationships with others.

We turn first to today’s Gospel which reaffirms our bonds of faith. Jesus assures us that it is in the context of community that our prayers will be heard. This does not diminish the value of personal prayer, but adds another dimension. In the joining of hearts and minds in faith we are the Body of Christ where Jesus makes himself fully present. We have only to look around our congregation each Sunday to witness this unity.

Hope was all the priest-prophet Ezekiel could offer to the suffering, exiled people of 6th century Judah. Jerusalem, the heart and soul of the people's life and faith, was now destroyed, and the people were scattered. Ezekiel would be responsible for bringing them back to God. They would make this journey together, supporting one another as they returned to their homeland. The people’s shared sense of hope would guide them to a better place.

As Paul affirms in his letters, the greatest of the theological virtues is love. It seems simple enough in today’s excerpt from Romans: “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.” If only we could divest ourselves of the baggage that distorts our ability to love fully! (That baggage is what we call sin!) Still, supported by our faith community and encouraged by its faith and hopefulness, love will grow and reveal its fruits in our relationships, will inspire us, encourage us, lift us up and carry us along the way.

Biblical Reflection for the New School Year

Sr. Jewel Renna, CND

Every year, the first-year class of the Catholic Biblical School begins its Opening Day with a guided prayer reflection authored by Sr. Jewel Renna, CND. As many of us in all circumstances begin a new process of growth in faith, it is well to bring it to mind once again:

Sometimes, like Jacob, you will be wrestling with God, trying to understand what you are reading, seeking the meaning of God's word in your life, here and now.... Sometimes it may feel like the desert to you - with words that are empty and dry…. Perhaps you will feel as if you have lost your way at times.... Or you may struggle with fear or fatigue ... or with you know not what! In those moments, remember Jacob!  He never let go until he was blessed! You do the same! Hold firm and you, too, will be blessed!

"For as God's word continues to work within you, you will come to know better: Who God wants to be for you; Who God calls you to become.

(And, I would add: You will come to know better how you go about (with God's grace) this becoming!)

Or, as Dr. Phyllis Trible, biblical scholar, put it: "Blessings do not always come on our terms, but that is no reason to quit wrestling."

In this week's Biblical Archaeology Review, biblical scholar Phyllis Trible talks about wrestling with the Bible from her own personal standpoint, as a feminist biblical scholar in a non-Catholic tradition. To read her reflections, click here.


(The questions of feminism in the Bible are reckoned as important by the Pontifical Biblical Commission. See The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, 1993.)

Reminder: Day of Enrichment for Parish Leaders and CBS Alumnae/i

Presenter: Stephen J. Binz

"The Bible: God's Handbook for Evangelization," will be offered in two locations: September
4, 6:30-9:00 pm at St. Aloysius Parish Center, Plantsville or September 5 - 9:30-noon at St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield.




We will explore the necessary relationship between listening to Scripture (Lectio Divina) and witnessing to Scripture (New Evangelization). We cannot evangelize until we ourselves have been evangelized, and the best way to become an evangelizing Catholic is to experience Scripture as an encounter with God's word! Presenter: Stephen J. Binz. September 4 OR 5, 2014 (offered at two times and locations). Sept. 4, 6:30-9:00 pm at St. Aloysius Parish Center, Plantsville or September 5 - 9:30-noon at St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield.

CBS Reminders for the New Academic Year

First Week of Classes for ALL (Year 1 through Grad Division) students is September 8-12. Click here to access exact dates and times of all classes.

Opening Scripture Days (required for students in Years 1-4) will be held at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield as follows:

 

Weekly Bible Study - Jeremiah 20:7-9

31 August 2014

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fear was not in Jeremiah’s vocabulary! This 6th century prophet was not afraid to oppose kings, priests and the unfaithful. And he didn't hesitant to challenge God, either! Would we have the courage to say to God, “You duped me!?”

Today’s brief passage portrays someone who is tired of the harsh treatment he receives as he struggles to remain faithful to God. Time and again he is harassed, beaten, imprisoned, his life threatened. He wonders: Where is this God who promised to take care of me? Where is he when I need him most? Jeremiah is downright angry and discouraged and not afraid to let God know it.

What sets this prophetic book apart from the others is its portrayal of the inner struggle of this man of God. Plagued by feelings of inadequacy and doubt, he gets "down" and desperate. These inner conflicts are best reflected in the passages known as “Jeremiah’s Confessions." Jeremiah has been betrayed by those dearest to him. He agonizes over the purpose of his ministry, wrestles with discouragement and even curses the day of his birth!

But in spite of Jeremiah’s desire “no longer to speak in God’s name,” there remains within him a burning passion. Deep within his being Jeremiah knows God and cannot turn his back on God's call.

To say that Jeremiah is a unique character is an understatement. His prophetic book is a deeply moving revelation of a man’s spiritual struggle to understand the ways of God and carry out his will in the face of great adversity. It is Jeremiah’s brutal honesty in bringing his struggles to God that makes him an inspiration to all of us. Where else should we turn to bring our own inner conflicts? God is big enough to handle our anger, if that's what we're feeling!

This book beckons us to enter and gaze deeply into the heart of a spiritual companion and to learn from one who felt confident to bare the depths of his soul before God.

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.