Weekly Bible Study - Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

30 August 2015
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 

The Book of Deuteronomy means “second law” and depicts a second chance for Israel to be made into God’s image, following the way of God’s commandments. (Forty years of desert had begun to forge Israel as God’s people, but forging a new way of life usually takes more than a generation. Think about how “digital natives” seem instinctively know how to manipulate data processes, while most of the rest of us plod through.) Through a series of speeches, the author of Deuteronomy reiterates and reinterprets the importance of God’s law for living God’s life, preparing a new generation of God’s people to move forward in greater fidelity to the Lord.

The law had a unique place in Israelite history.  It revealed the intimate relationship between God and

his chosen nation. God’s law was a gift, and their actions were to not only show their gratitude for the gift but to help them remain firmly in God’s steadfast love.

In these speeches Moses shows himself to be passionate about ensuring that the law be preserved. As the people prepare to take possession of the land, they are required to make a new resolve to imprint the law upon their hearts. Blessings and prosperity in the new land will depend upon the Israelites’ embracing whole-heartedly God’s commands. The exhortations in Deuteronomy will offer them their “second chance” to come back to God and live faithfully as his chosen people.

But overall, the Hebrew Scriptures (OT) show us that the people failing, time and time again.

But there is ONE who succeeded where all others fail. Christ’s full obedience does what the speeches of Moses could not. By “living in Christ,” “putting on Christ” and living as “the Body of Christ” we are joined to the obedience of Christ. We become obedient by the power of Christ's perfect obedience.

In this way, the defect of human sinfulness is rooted out; it is as though we have received a heart transplant. The transplanted heart is Christ’s, fashioned by a new law, a new covenant of love. God became one of us that he might show us the way, the truth and the life; that we might finally find life through God's second chance.

Co-authored by BJ Daly Horell and Barbara Gawle.

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.

Saturday Is Scripture Day (Years 2, 3, and 4)

Fr. Thomas Stegman, SJ, PhD

Year 2 Students: 8:20-2:30 ("Coffee And" begins at 8:00)
Speaker: Fr. Thomas Stegman, SJ, PhD

Advanced Year Students: 8:50-3:00 ("Coffee And" begins at 8:30)
Speaker: Mr. Paul Sansone*

Both are at St. Thomas Seminary, third floor.

Can't wait to hear all about your summer! Don't forget to bring your summer assignment. You have two and a half days to finish it, if you are still writing!

* Paul Sansone, PhD Candidate, has graciously agreed to take Fr. Dick Clifford's place. Paul is an excellent scholar who regularly provides Scripture programs for our alumnae/i and at St. Patrick-St. Anthony parish in Hartford.

Please pray for a successful surgery this week for Fr. Clifford.

YEAR ONE STUDENTS: Your Opening Scripture Day is September 12!

Weekly Bible Study ▪ Ephesians 5:21-32

23 August 2015

21st  Sunday in Ordinary Time

Bible Study often invites us to slow down. It encourages us to stop and ponder each line as we move deliberately through the text. This process also bids us to stand back and see the whole, not to miss the trees for the forest, so to speak.

This is often a challenge as we encounter today’s second reading. This passage is often controversial and misunderstood because we fail to stop and ponder the first two lines. We hear “wives be submissive to your husbands” and we close our minds to the rest. But the first two lines put the rest of this passage in its proper perspective.  Before we are wives and husbands we are brothers and sisters in Christ, “subordinate to one another” out of reverence for Christ.

As with all historical writing (including the Bible), there are cultural considerations we need to take into account when reading. In the first century, when this letter was written, women did not usually play a dominant role in society. Teachers developed “household codes” that defined the proper roles and conduct between masters and slaves, children and parents, and even husbands and wives.



What we often miss within this passage is that this New Testament letter actually elevates this Roman household code to a higher spiritual level. It places this household code within the context of Christ, who is our Lord and who loves us as a spouse. Thus, this passage is about mutual love and service, as shown by the beautiful image given in the passage which reminds us that Christ “handed himself over” in humility. He did this out of love, for the purpose of redeeming and sanctifying his Church (Ephesians 5:25-27). In today's Scripture reading, what we are meant to come away with is the idea that subordination or superiority has no place within the Christian community. The humility of Christ is our model for all relationships. The Church was to be a model of mutual love and responsibility, always leading to the affirmation of human dignity. Let us live the Word of God by fostering, by our mutual love and service, the model of love and humility of Jesus Christ.


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.

Time to Enroll!

Forty-one people have joined our Catholic Biblical School Information Fairs, with new enrollments happening every day!

Is today the day for you to consider broadening your biblical boundaries? 

Christ is the Word of God, the one we encounter in Scripture. Call for an interview today at 860-242-5573 or join us at our final Info Fair:

Monday, August 24

St. Timothy School Library

West Hartford, CT

Weekly Bible Study ▪ Proverbs 9:1-6

16 August 2015

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

At first glance it would seem that today’s first reading portrays a woman of the house skillfully preparing a table. Her choice meat and wine offer the promise of satiety. No one is yet present to consume this feast. The woman extends her invitation “from the heights of the city,” calling out to the simple.

This image from the Book of Proverbs is far more than a culinary invitation. We are first introduced to the Wisdom Woman, often a personification of God’s divine activity in the world. The Wisdom books of Scripture often offer practical knowledge and instructions for living. The Book of Proverbs instructs the reader to seek wisdom and value its ways of discernment. The reader is guided in “her ways” to embrace the divine attributes of wisdom that will make for a truly spiritual life. Christians see in personified Wisdom aspects of Jesus Christ, Incarnate Wisdom, who is the way, the truth and the life.

Our passage today portrays the Wisdom Woman preparing a divine table and offering this feast to those who are far and near. She is not selective about her guests, but is selective about their simple ways. These “simple ones” are not only (or necessarily) the downtrodden or uneducated. Rather, these are the people who are not foolishly led to other false, superficial and meaningless tables (sometimes represented as “Dame Folly”). The feast that the Wisdom Woman prepares is one of truth, knowledge, integrity, justice and righteousness.  Those who seek these gifts are the “simple who understand” and are rewarded with deep spiritual nourishment.

We can choose to dine with Wisdom who offers us a “proper spiritual understanding,” or we can choose the empty and self-indulgent banquets that compete for our many appetites. To accept God’s invitation to dine at the heavenly banquet table is a choice for eternal life.

Whose invitation will we accept?

Last Supper by Bohdan Piasecki 1998

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.

NOT Too Late to Encounter Christ in God's Word!

The Bible can be a difficult book. For people who really want to "dig in" to the Bible, but who can't seem to get traction on the project, the Hartford Catholic Biblical School can help. Our faculty have graduate level expertise in the Bible, combined with years of helping non scholars find their way in this rewarding--but sometimes tricky--path.


If you're thinking about enrolling in the Catholic Biblical School, it's not too late--but classes will begin soon! So I invite you to check us out on our webpage at www.orehartford.org. Click on "Our Programs" and then choose "Catholic Biblical School" from the drop-down menu. Or contact us directly at 860-242-5573, extension 2670 (ask for Jill or BJ).

We will also be holding four Information Fairs. You'll have the chance to enroll during those meetings, if you like. (To enroll, you will just need to bring yourself and your checkbook!) Fairs will be held as follows:

• Wednesday, August 19, 2015, 10:00 am at St. Bridget Rectory, Manchester
• Wednesday, August 19, 2015, 6:30 pm at Blessed Sacrament School, Waterbury
• Thursday, August 20, 2015, 6:30 pm at St. Therese Parish Center, North Haven
• Monday, August 24, 2015, 6:30 pm at St. Timothy Parish, West Hartford

Weekly Bible Study ▪ 1 Kings 19:4-8

9 August 2015
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It is no wonder the prophet Elijah is running for his life. He has just been involved in the deaths of countless false prophets of Baal, and Queen Jezebel is outraged. Her husband, Ahab, the king of Israel, now wants Elijah to suffer the same fate. (Do we hear echoes of John the Baptist and Herodias, in the New Testament, here?)

Elijah seems to have forgotten already the dramatic intervention of God in bringing about the destruction of the false prophets. He has somehow lost his trust. This man of God only knows that he is depressed, tired and frustrated. The Lord’s work is just too much for Elijah and he now asks for death.

How short our memories can become when we feel abandoned by God, when our good works go unrecognized. How often have we wanted to give up (“sought death”) when our efforts at doing the Lord’s work seem in vain?

As the story continues, an angel appears to provide Elijah with nourishment. The prophet is too weary to care, but God’s messenger insists that Elijah fortify himself. Elijah is still unaware of the divine nature of this mysterious food. It is a simple hearth cake and jug of water, but so much more. This sustenance comes from God and so will enable him to make an even more important journey: one that will bring him to a holy place. His forty day and night sojourn, propelled by the nourishment of this sacred food and drink, will bring him to Horeb where, in centuries past, Moses received the divine law.

This food will offer Elijah more than just physical revival.  It will bring him new life and energy for the work of God, transforming his weary spirit, giving him new resolve to continue the work of God. We might imagine that Elijah is now able to get up, stand tall, his eyes firmly fixed on his new destination, his heart transformed. Continuing on his new spiritual journey, the Bread of Life will now be his strength.

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. 

Lectio Divina Book Review

Most Rev. Leonard P. Blair, S.T.D, Archbishop of Hartford, recommends Praying the Bible: An Introduction to Lectio Divina – by Archbishop Mariano Magrassi.

Recently, Cathy deSimas, Class of 2004, read and reviewed this book, with an eye to whether Catholic Biblical School students and alums would be able to access the book for their own enrichment. Here's what she tells us:

There is a small group of us who have been practicing Lectio for almost eight years. So I approached this book with what I thought was an understanding of the process and practice.

At first, I was quite distracted by the length and frequency of the footnotes that interrupted the flow of the narrative. It seemed impossible to glean the essence of the exercise with so many references to those who practiced Lectio through the ages – in fact for twelve centuries and more!

However, I persevered and came to appreciate the comprehensive effort of the author to cite all those “ancients” who went before us. It seems that I behaved exactly as Archbishop Magrassi described in the first two lines directed to the reader – "This can be a disturbing book. After a first reading begun out of curiosity and with some misgivings, we end up reading it again out of a desire to absorb its contents more fully." How true!

But in the end, I loved this book. Here's just one excerpt that I found particularly helpful and interesting:

"Obviously, diligent and constant reading creates familiarity with the world of the Bible. But this does not come from a first reading. If a quick voyage of discovery is all we want, we will be disappointed. The beauty of this fascinating world will be hidden from us; upon entering it, we will feel as though everything is foreign. We cannot enter into the Bible as tourists; we must become inhabitants of the land. We need to retrace our steps, stop and reflect at each site in order to explore it in depth. To become part of this world we must enter it, immerse ourselves in it in order to be absorbed by it. Then it will reveal to us the charm of its secret places. The same thing happens with certain pieces of classical music. Only after repeated listening do we detect the secret harmonies, discover the language, catch the dominant themes."

I am now re-reading this book, and as I move through it again I see and “hear” so many ways that God is reaching out to each of us every day. I keep “hearing” this biblical theme - Love God and love one another!

This book offers many more beautiful explanations for us to “listen” and practice Lectio Divina , either in a group or privately, and would be a fine addition to any library.

Cathy deSimas is an alumna of the Class of 2004. She leads Lectio Divina in her parish, St. Ann in Avon, engaging prayerfully the readings from the upcoming Sunday Lectionary each week.

Weekly Bible Study - Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15

2 August 2015
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Did God’s people understand the spiritual journey they were on? God’s offer of release from Egypt and freedom from slavery was attractive of course, but were they willing to pay the price? Are we?

Given the harsh desert conditions the Israelites faced, they could only dream about the land they left behind where at least “we ate our fill of bread.”  It was not easy to plod on in the desert, unsure of where they were going, starvation at their doorstep.  Even their leader disappointed them. (Honestly, though, what leader doesn’t?)

The Israelites needed to grasp a deeper reality.  They needed to see that it was not really Moses but God who was leading them: patiently asking for their trust, willing to provide for their daily bread.  How quickly they forgot the great deeds God worked in their midst. In their desert sojourn, God came through, again and again, this time promising to rain down bread from heaven. In spite of their grumbling and lack of trust, God showed them steadfast love and mercy. Only a wilderness experience could bring them to understand God’s amazing love (hesed, in Hebrew, hard to translate into English, but some attempts have been: mercy, loving kindness, steadfast love, commitment).



The wilderness presents us, too, with many challenges. Facing adversity, fear and uncertainty our human nature yearns for the easier way out, the proverbial greener grass. We often fail, as the Israelites did, to see who is really leading us. We easily forget the great saving deeds God has done for us.

This account has much to teach us in terms of faith, trust and dependence upon God. It also raises within us questions: What are we hungering for? What truly satisfies our needs?


This story’s most important lesson is the true nature of bread. Our daily needs (for which we pray in the Our Father) are important, but the bread we truly need is shown to us in the Word of God, the bread from heaven. This is the Body of Christ, the one bread that satisfies not the human hunger but the deepest need of the human soul.


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.