National Bible Week - A Word from the Vatican

"Since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words." (Dei Verbum, No. 12)

This is the task we are set by the Vatican II Council Fathers. It is not an easy task, but it is essential if we want to become fully mature Christian disciples. 

Do you desire to encounter Christ more deeply, by "digging into" Sacred Scripture? We can help. Contact us at the Office of Education, Evangelization and Catechesis to learn more about how the Catholic Biblical School can be your invaluable guide as you journey from Genesis to Revelation.

Call us at (860) 242-5573. Classes begin forming after Easter.

National Bible Week - Contemporary Gospel Style Parables

As a special treat for National Bible Week, consider the following parables, written by CBS Year 2 students in imitation of gospel parables:

"The Kingdom of God is like the clown car in a circus.  An infinite number of people can fit in it."

-- Maura Stavovy, Class of 2018

"The Kingdom of God is like a beehive in the attic of an old house.  It is hidden, yet if one becomes silent, one can hear the buzzing presence.  It is in the world yet is not fully visible in the world.  Its members, the bees, must return to the hive for rest and refreshment, yet must also pollinate all the flowers.  By doing this, they not only gain what is necessary to produce honey but also help new flowers to grow.  The flowers then produce fruit which feeds the animals and the people.  Without the bees, the plants cannot produce fruit.  With the hidden presence of bees, all the peoples and animals of the world are fed."

-- Kelsey Shaver, Class of 2018

"The Kingdom of God is like the moon.  It first reveals itself as hardly visible, and you can only perceive it as a sliver of light in the darkness of the night.  Not long after that, it appears as a quarter moon on a clear night.  Soon after that it becomes a half moon in radiant colors.  It continues to grow and soon you can anticipate its fullness.  Finally, the day comes when it appears in all its full splendor and glory illuminating the sky for all nations to see.  The entire world can gaze upon it and receive its fullness of beauty and light."

-- Anonymous, Class of 2018

In the fall of Year 2 in the Catholic Biblical School, students work on understanding the New Testament. Because imagination and creativity are required to step inside the biblical texts, occasionally we ask them to use their imaginations to become more fully the image of God our Creator.

National Bible Week - Do Catholics Read the Bible?

"The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body." (Dei Verbum, No. 21)

Be honest, did you know that we venerate the Bible as we do the Eucharist? Did you know that both the proclamation of Scripture and the reception of Holy Communion are considered bread of life for us? 

This is one meaning of Scripture, where it says, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4, referring to Deuteronomy 8:3)

What are the words of life we will speak today? Do we sometimes find that words of death are coming from our mouths? How will we nourish our families, our friends, and yes, even our enemies with our words today?

National Bible Week - Fifty Years Ago Today

Fifty years ago today I might have been anticipating my third birthday to come in less than a week. I was certainly not aware that what happened that day would forever change the way I lived my life!

Fifty years ago today, the entire leadership of the Catholic Church, having received advice from both Catholic and non-Catholic advisors, promulgated the landmark document, Dei Verbum--in English, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. It would eventually form the backbone of my professional and personal/spiritual life.

Fifty years ago today our pope (then, Paul VI) and worldwide bishops wrote to us: "By hearing the message of salvation the whole world may believe, by believing it may hope, and by hoping it may love."

Fifty years later, what do these words mean for the average Christian? They tell us that WE are the means by which Christ's love can shine through into our troubled world. We are the Body of Christ, the hands of Christ, the heart of Christ in the world today. It is we who must "take on the mind of Christ," as St. Paul proclaims, so that we may be Christ for others.

Fifty years later in US society (at least), this is a tremendous challenge. Many Christians are uncomfortable even talking about religion, the Bible, or prayer, let alone attempting to proclaim the gospel of Jesus! How do we do this in ways that can be heard in our world, without making us a mockery among our peers?

Fifty years later, I have two words to share:

• Christian living was never meant to be comfortable. Our Baptism calls us to be Christ's disciples, which inevitably brings us to the cross of Jesus. So toughen up, my friends! As the gospel of John reminds us: "If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours." (John 15:18-20)
• There is more than one way to skin a cat. Find the way that works for you. Direct preaching, soap-box style, may not be what you are called to do (unless you are a priest, deacon, or another authorized preacher). But we are all called to speak a word of challenge or comfort at many times every day. In addition, our actions should speak volumes. Or are we too embarrassed to pray before meals at a public diner? (Awkward!) And if someone is hurting, do we hesitate to let them know we're praying for them? Do we still display religious art in our homes and office areas?

Fifty years from now, will there be faith in our world? It's up to us to pass it on, today.

National Bible Week - "Don't Let What Happens in Church Stay in Church"

During National BIble Week, do your best to bring the Word of God home, making connections between the liturgy and your family's daily life. Here are three ideas for doing just that:

• Challenge children to learn a weekly Bible verse (choose something easy and memorable, from the mass readings). Repeat it to them at times during the week, and reward them if they can repeat it from memory at the end of the week. (Rewards might be: extra play time, choice of TV programs or bedtime story, free pass from chores, etc.)
• Is there an image in the Sunday readings that you could explore together as a family? For example, from the Nov 15 readings, there are multiple images: Saints shining like stars; Michael the Archangel as the guardian of the People of God; Jesus seated at the right hand of God and placing Israel's enemies under its feet like a footstool, and so on. Just imagine how these images might stimulate faith in young children!
• Pick a character from the Bible (from this week's readings, or one of your own personal favorites) and tell the story from memory. Ask children to imagine, "What comes next?"

The bishops have provided even more ideas online at http://www.usccb.org/bible/national-bible-week. They remind us that "by actively participating in some form of involvement with the Bible, your family can be assured that the Word of God will become a prominent part of your home and that family members will, at an early age, recognize the person of Christ in his Word and grow in God’s love throughout their lives." (Quote taken from "Making the Word of God Part of Your Home," a downloadable resource found online at http://www.usccb.org/bible/national-bible-week/upload/word-at-home.pdf)

National Bible Week - Friendship with Christ in Word and Sacrament

"The priest was near death, his body surrendering to a long struggle with cancer. He had spent his entire life immersed in the Word of God. He loved to tell others how he had caught his love for the Bible from his parents, who had read him favorite stories at bedtime...

"What greater desire could any parents have for their children than to form a friendship with Christ that would grow and deepen throughout a lifetime—to live and die as this holy priest, rapt in God’s love to the end, a friendship discovered early in the home through the sharing of God’s Word. This is the wish the Church has for all God’s people, young and old. 

National Bible Week highlights the Church’s desire that the Word of God be a central focus in all aspects of Catholic life."*

Christ is the Word of God, in Scripture and Sacrament. As Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, teaches: "The church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as it has venerated the Body of the Lord, in that it never ceases, above all in the sacred liturgy, to partake of the bread of life and offer it to the faithful from the one table of the Word of God and the Body of Christ." (Dei Verbum, No. 21).

Dei Verbum (the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation) was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 18, 1965, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,344 to 6. National Bible Week celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of this document. A Dogmatic Constitution is the most solemn form of teaching in the life of the church.

*Quoted from "Making the Word of God a Part of Your Home," a free downloadable resource courtesy of the USCCB. To read more or to download, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/national-bible-week/upload/word-at-home.pdf)

Welcome to National Bible Week

National Bible Week highlights the Church’s desire that the Word of God be a central focus in all aspects of Catholic life.  (November 15-21)

Each day this week we will offer an idea or a reflection for moving the Word of God, Christ Jesus, closer to the center of your heart. The target? To know, love and serve the LORD and make Him the center of everything we do, and to help families share God's Word together.

My parents taught me to put Jesus at the center of my life, without often speaking much about it. During my rebellious "teen" years I was very worried about my parents' souls. (For me, rebelling meant attending other churches in addition to Sunday mass in my beloved home parish, St. Rose de Viterbo.) I remember, one day, asking Mom whether she and Dad had dedicated their new business to Jesus. She looked at me, puzzled that I should ask her such a question, and said, "Of course." Then returned to her sewing, as if nothing were more natural.

Thank you Eileen McCluskey Daly and James E. Daly! I know you're singing beautifully in the heavenly choirs.

For more info on National Bible Week visit the US Conference of Catholic Bishops at http://www.usccb.org/bible/national-bible-week/index.cfm.

Weekly Bible Study ▪ Psalm 146

8 November 2015

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Psalm 146 is a perfect “P.S” to the reading from Revelation that we considered last week, of the vast multitude of the faithful celebrating the fulfillment of God's kingdom with an unending chorus of praise. “After all the prayers and praises of the Psalter, we are now at the end; all the instruments of creation and all the voices of human beings enter into a great chorus, a symphony destined never to end.”*

Today’s response to the first reading is one of the “Hallel” psalms that conclude the Psalter. The three Hallel collections, beginning with Psalm 113, were typically offered during annual feasts or at synagogue gatherings. It is likely that on the night of the Passover Jesus recited verses of these Hallel psalms and within them we can see hints of his passion, death and resurrection to come.

Psalm 146 exhorts the pilgrim to continue to trust in God as he recalls the marvelous works of the Lord. It is a song not only of promises fulfilled, but of the inauguration of a new kingdom of peace and security. We hear of God’s care and concern for his chosen people. We hear also, particularly in today’s selected verses, the “Good News” proclaimed loud and clear: “The Lord secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets captives free, gives sight to the blind, raises up those bowed down.” These are the universal concerns of God’s people echoed throughout all of salvation history.  And in the kingdom to come, when all will be brought to completion, we will see the perfect fulfillment of these promises.

In the meantime, our hearts and spirits offer our own Great Hallel, our “Hallelujah” of thanksgiving and praise to God for the marvelous works he has done for us!

*From The Psalms: New Catholic Version, ©2002, pg. 301.

Singing the good news! Martha Houlroyd, CBS Class of 2016

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 ▪ Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

1 November 2015
Sunday, Solemnity of All Saints

The Book of Revelation was brought to birth in the midst of first-century Roman persecution. While its cosmic and bizarre images reflect the final battle between the forces of good and evil, Revelation is ultimately a celebration of triumph.

The text we read this Sunday for the Solemnity of All Saints celebrates with us the “Church Triumphant,” the reality we all share, in our hope of eternal life. John’s vision describes a vast multitude that has triumphed over sin and death and now wears the white robes of new life. The numbering of the faithful (144,000) is derived from the repeated multiplication of ten (designating perfection) with twelve (representing the twelve tribes of Israel). This is the vast assembly of saints who have survived the time of great distress. These are God’s faithful ones whose lives have embraced the cross and who now stand in unison to offer the hymn of praise. This great multitude represents every nation, people, race and tongue, all of humanity from time immemorial. John’s vision is one of the completion and perfection of God’s kingdom.

We should look beyond the Book of Revelation's sometimes "far out" depictions of cosmic forces to see a new world where God’s kingdom will ultimately live on in triumph. One day we will all step into this great vision. We will stand with our brothers and sisters in faith to join in the unending chorus of praise: “Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Are we readying ourselves in this life to take our rightful place with the triumphant multitude?

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.