Summer Assignments!

Year 2

Summer is a time for fun in the sun and catching up on your reading--or both at once! Okay, so I'm a book nerd (and proud of it).

This year's summer reading assignments for CBS students are paperback classics that easily go with you on day trips and on vacation. When you're finished, six reflective questions will help deepen your understanding. (Answers are, of course, due at Opening Scripture Days.)

Here's where you can find the details online: CBS Summer Assignments.

Advanced Years

Year 1

Best of Barron

6th Week of Easter, Year I
John 16:12-15

Bishop Barron writes:

"Friends, the theme of today’s Gospel declares that when the Spirit comes, he will guide us into all truth. There is a story I’ve heard about Jean-Luc Marion.... A student asked a pointed question about God. Marion looked at her and said, 'Go to Sunday Mass for a year and then return and ask me that question again.'

"Marion’s response was not just a clever one-liner. If true knowledge of God depends upon immersion in the Holy Spirit, then that knowledge is a function of an entire form of life.
...

"[Understanding] the divine mystery flows from life in the Holy Spirit. And so today we pray, 'Come, Holy Spirit, come!'"

For Bishop Barron's reflection in its entirety, click here: http://dailycatholicgospel.com/get-reflections.

Returning Students: Register by June 15th

Everything needed to register for the Catholic Biblical School Years 2, 3 and 4 can be downloaded at this online address: http://catholicedaohct.org/beyond-the-basics/registering-for-years-2-3-and-4.

Summer reading assignments and questions can be found on another page of that same site. Once you are on the "Registering for Years 2, 3 and 4" page, click on "Student Matters" in the menu (on the right-hand side of the page). There you'll find a link to the Advanced Year Summer Assignment.

NOTE that the new CBS webpages have been moved to the Office of Education, Evangelization and Catechesis site at www.CatholicEdAOHCT.org.

And remember: Scripture Day is August 26! Details can be found on the CBS online calendar (also to be found at www.CatholicEdAOHCT.org.) Reserve the date now! Two renowned scripture scholars will be with us from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

Updated Class Schedule

Catholic Biblical School first-year classes will meet at the following times and locations in 2017-18:

CBS 100 Year One (Blue Workbook) Weekly Class Schedule*:

Christ Redeemer, Milford

Mondays 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Begins September 11, 2017

St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield
Tuesdays, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Begins September 12, 2017

Caritas Christi Center, Hamden, CT
Wednesdays, 10:00 am-noon
Begins September 13, 2017

Our Lady of Loreto, Waterbury
Thursdays 6:30-8:30
Begins September 14, 2017

For details, go to www.CatholicEdAOHCT.org and click on Catholic Biblical School in the main menu.

Please also note: The required Opening Scripture Day (orientation) for first-year students will be on Saturday, September 9, 2017, 8:50-3:00 p.m. ("Coffee and" available at 8:30)

*NOTE: All CBS classes are subject to adequate enrollment. No news is good news. You will be notified only if changes need to be made. 

First-Year Classes Announced

Three of the four class sites for Catholic Biblical School first-year classes can now be confirmed. The fourth is listed as tentative below, awaiting confirmation.

Here's what's planned for school year 2017-18:

Confirmed Locations:

Mondays 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Christ Redeemer Parish Center, Milford
Begins September 11, 2017

Tuesdays, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield
Begins September 12, 2017

Wednesdays, 10:00 am-noon
Caritas Christi Center, Hamden, CT
Begins September 13, 2017

Location to be determined:

Thursdays 6:30-8:30
(Most likely: Plantsville or Waterbury area)

New HCBS Website

Updated information about the Hartford Catholic Biblical School is now located on the Office of Education, Evangelization and Catechesis (OEEC) website, the new site contains not only CBS materials but also many other educational information and opportunities.

Here's the URL: www.CatholicEdAOHCT.org. It looks like this:

When you get to the site, click where it says, Catholic Biblical School. A number of pages will open, listed under two categories: Basic Information and Beyond the Basics.

Basic Information: Click on this menu option if you want an overview of Biblical School programs or would like access to the "nuts and bolts" of how the Hartford Catholic Biblical School operates. Other pages listed under this header have more details for folks who are new to our School:

Beyond the Basics: Click on this menu option if you are enrolled in the program and want quick access to the Student Portal (for course outcomes, class notifications, etc.). Other pages listed under this header provide information and ongoing support to current students, alumnae/i, and others who seek biblical tools and materials:

If you have any trouble navigating the new website, give us a call, and one of our Administrative Assistants will gladly walk you through the process.

Archbishop O'Brien Library Privileges

Karen Lesiak, Catholic Biblical School (CBS) Class of 2008 and Library Director at St. Thomas Seminary, announces that library privileges at the seminary will now be provided free of charge to CBS students. All CBS materials are available for use in the library and to check out.

Beginning June 1, the library will be open 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m, Monday through Friday. (Evening hours are available September through May on Tuesdays until 6:30 p.m.)

The Archbishop O'Brien Library is located on the main floor of St. Thomas Seminary and Archdiocesan Center at 467 Bloomfield Ave., Bloomfield, CT 06002. For directions, click on this link: http://www.stseminary.org/directions.html.

Archdiocesan Bible Studies Thriving!

Making Sense of the Bible continues to "make sense" for faith communities across the Archdiocese of Hartford. Here's what Angela (Pietrowski) Arpino, Class of 2005 reports from Milford:

The St. Ann/St. Gabriel group really enjoyed the first class. The curriculum is terrific and I've enjoyed prepping for it. [Students] are at all different Scripture "levels" of knowledge, but it works.

Other parish-based programs, many of them led by Biblical School alums, continue to flourish as well. Maura Pauli, Class of 2012 recently took a very creative approach to her teaching:

I recently went to the Confraternity of the Rosary meeting at our Parish to display and discuss a biblical block quilt I made. It had nine blocks that had names of events in the Old Testament. I discussed each block with the relevant biblical citations.

When we think creatively, we image God the Creator! This kind of "out of the box" thinking will move our faith community forward in our love of the Word of God, who is Christ Jesus.