Weekly Bible Study - 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

27 October 2013
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Many of us can easily identify with the athletic imagery in today’s second reading. Life often seems like a competition, a frenzied race to the finish line. Trying to keep the faith, we sprint ahead toward our eternal destination.

And along the way we encounter many who disappoint us, some who abandon us in our need and others who lead us down the wrong path.  Human nature has not changed much since the first century!

Whether this letter is written by Paul or, as many Bible scholars suspect, one of Paul’s close disciples, the letter reflects back upon Paul’s life, lived to the fullest, and colored by his martyrdom in Rome. Second Timothy expresses a central reality: The Lord stands by us and gives us strength. Echoing the words of the psalmist, 2 Timothy reminds us not to rely on “princes” or any human being “in whom there is no power to save.” (Psalm 146:3)

That is not to say that we shouldn’t derive much support in life from our family, friends and faith community. We do need one another! But our true support and strength is the Lord who stands by us. Our community is there to be the face of God for us, so that we will remain confident in the Lord in the midst of trials.

For unlike frail human beings, God does not fail, disappoint or lead us astray.

And whether we choose to sprint or to walk to our finish line, the Lord journeys with us at all times.

Take some moments throughout this week to reflect on the many ways the Lord has been there for us, taking us by the hand, gently carrying us along our journey, uplifting us in faith.  And offer a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the One who stands by us and gives us 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.

Pray For Us Sinners

CBS alumni will be on retreat this weekend, October 25-27. Please remember us in your prayers. Remember too Dr. Janet Weber, RSCJ, our retreat director, and Fr. Christopher Tiano, our celebrant for Sunday liturgy.

We will be praying also for you, and especially that the Holy Spirit will inspire an ever-deepening desire and commitment to Seek the Face of God in our Archdiocese and the world.

It is our fervent hope that everything we undertake in the Catholic Biblical School has this intention at its foundation.

Weekly Bible Study

20 October 2013
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 17:8-13; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8

A story is told of a man who began praying in church and was heard mumbling. The mumbling became increasingly louder, ending in shouts and cries. Bothered by the noise, a nearby woman remarked: “If you lived closer to God, my friend, you wouldn’t have to yell so loudly."

Living closer to God sometimes requires less volume and more quiet persistence. Moses is persistent in prayer when he raises his arms in confidence. His companions, Aaron and Hur, persist with him. We see it also in the instruction to Timothy to be persistent in proclaiming God's word, whether convenient or not. And like the widow of today’s gospel, who of us has not banged repeatedly on the door of God’s heart to make our needs known?

We are often persistent in prayer, like the widow, when our need feels great. But might there be more to persistence than an occasional volley of words?

In today’s gospel, Luke offers us a clue to the “more” of persistence when Jesus instructs his disciples to “pray always.” Does Jesus want his followers to mumble “Hail Marys” and “Glory Bes” every moment of every day? Probably not.

Jesus’ instruction to pray always suggests that persistence in prayer is more a matter of attitude than of action. It is more a matter of living closer to God so we don't have to shout so loud.

We pray always when we keep God close in mind and heart no matter how busy we are or how distant God may seem. We pray always when we are attuned to God’s presence around us in the  midst of our daily activities. We pray always when we bring our faith to every nook and cranny of our Christian life.

If we cultivate an attitude of true persistence we will not have to bang on God’s door to get God’s attention. If we live closer to God, we are aware of God's constant presence, listening always, and so when we do want to pray with words we approach with confidence. Anytime.

And by our attitude as much as by our words we answer Jesus' question in today's gospel, "Will there be faith?" with a resounding, “Yes, there will be faith!”

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.

Editor: BJ Daly Horell

Weekly Bible Study - Luke 17:11-19 and 2 Kings 5:14-17

15 October 2013
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Catechetical Sunday

Could the man of the Gospel be any more of an outcast? As a leper he would have been shunned by society. As a Samaritan he would have been unwelcome anywhere Jews were living. But that man, the one who “realizes he has been healed,” is the one who returns to give thanks. He is the foreigner. Presumably Jesus’ own Jewish neighbors didn’t even bother.

Is this a story about mere physical healing? No. Jesus’ unprecedented acceptance of the foreigner does more for the foreigner than simply heal his skin. Jesus gives the man a renewed sense of worth and dignity that may be even more valuable to him than the disappearance of his pockmarks. He has been made whole in body and spirit. Gratitude is his response.

Similarly, in 2 Kings, Naaman, the foreigner, realizes that his healing has come not from the hands of Elisha the prophet, but from Elisha’s God, Yahweh. Naaman’s immediate response is one of gratitude as he collects soil from Israel. According to ancient custom, gods were worshiped on their own "turf," the land claimed for their own worshipers. So when he vowed to worship only the LORD, Naaman thought he needed to bring some of the soil of Yahweh's land with him when he returned home.

In light of these readings we may want to ponder our own interior disposition: our response of gratitude and our attitude toward the outcast.

Is gratitude instinctive to us in our daily lives, as much a part of our prayer as our litany of needs? Do Do we return regularly to God to give thanks? Do we even recognize that our own healing and wholeness come from God?

And what about the outcast? Who is the foreigner among us? Whom do we label as outcast? Do we need to examine our own attitudes toward the stranger among us?

And is God a stranger in our families? Do we welcome into our hearts and homes those whom the world sees as “least,” including the strange, the lonely and the neglected--in whom Christ taught us to see himself?

Lord Jesus, remind us to welcome with open hospitality each person we meet each day, even when it might be uncomfortable for us to do so.