Religious Education Supplement
Breaking open the word:
Bible study brings archdiocesan Catholics closer to God
Using a Bible timeline chart, Alexa Puscas, left, director of religious education at St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis, discusses the meaning of a Scripture passage on Sept. 3 with parishioners Calli Eickhoff, center, and Kathy Loeffler. Eickhoff is a financial assistant at the Indianapolis North Deanery parish and Loeffler is the parish secretary. They participated in The Great Adventure Bible Study Timeline last spring. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Mary Ann Wyand
Pope Benedict XVI wants Catholics to read the Bible and study sacred Scripture to better understand the Good News of Christ and the story of salvation history.
The pope has asked the Synod of Bishops to focus on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church” during their Oct. 5-26 gathering in Rome.
It’s important for Catholics to “read the Bible regularly,” he has emphasized, “to let it keep us company and guide us.”
Pope Benedict also wants Catholics to participate in the Church’s international observance of the Year of St. Paul by reading the Apostle’s writings and learning about his missionary travels.
Paul’s letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Thessalonians as well as to Timothy and Philemon comprise about one-third of the New Testament.
The Church’s Year of St. Paul invites Catholics to focus on Scripture in parish Bible study groups and in the home, said Ken Ogorek, director of catechesis for the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education.
“The [bishops’] synod is yet another opportunity to help Catholics grow in appreciation of sacred Scripture,” Ogorek said, “not only as they hear it proclaimed at Mass, but also in their daily life.”
As Catholics, he said, “we understand that God reveals truth to us through two essential and complementary means—sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition.
“It really is as simple as understanding that God loves us so much that he has chosen to reveal himself to us, at least in part, through sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition,” Ogorek explained. “It’s hard to appreciate sacred Scripture without the benefit of the clarity of teaching that has always been a part of sacred Tradition, and it’s hard to take sacred Tradition to heart at a deep level without seeing how it flows from sacred Scripture.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church complements resources for Bible study in the home and in parish groups, he said, and encourages Catholics to more fully grow in knowledge and understanding of the faith.
“Catholic Bible study resources have benefited from the energy and focus that the Catechism of the Catholic Church has helped bring to teaching and learning and growing in our faith,” Ogorek said. “Thanks to the wealth of good, solid Catholic books and Web sites that are available, more and more Catholics are studying sacred Scripture.”
But for most of the Church’s history, he noted, Scripture wasn’t widely accessible to Catholics because literacy levels were not very high.
“The cathedrals [in Europe] are sometimes referred to as catechisms of stone,” Ogorek said, “so understandably a lot of catechesis that occurred throughout [the Church’s] history wasn’t book-based, let alone Scripture-based.”
Contemporary Catholics have the benefit and blessing of studying their faith with “doctrinally complete” religious education materials, he said. “For several decades, religion textbooks have been incorporating more sacred Scripture … and doing a better job of communicating sacred Tradition.”
For Bible study groups, Ogorek said The Great Adventure Bible Study Timeline series for adults and teenagers, published by Ascension Press, is becoming widely used as are Norbertine Father Alfred McBride’s Scripture books and pamphlets for adults and teens available from Our Sunday Visitor Publishing in Huntington, Ind., and catechetical resources from the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville, Ohio.
“A lot of Catholics are sharing Scripture with their spouse and children at home,” he said. “Their primary means of faith-sharing may be with their family, and that’s a good thing. We want the domestic Church to be energized by sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition.
“It’s important for Catholics to be aware of all the ways that God is constantly reaching out to us out of love,” Ogorek said, “and to make sure that sacred Scripture is part of the process of discerning God’s will in our daily life and regarding our vocation. We’ve got to make the word of God a key part of our life, and make sure that it is part of a well-rounded spiritual diet.”
Catholics are “hungry and thirsty” for knowledge of God and salvation history, said Alexa Puscas, director of religious education at St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis.
“We did The Great Adventure quick study for five weeks after Easter,” she said. “I thought it would be a small Bible study group and we ended up having 96 people sign up for it, which was incredible. People want to be closer to their faith and better understand the Scriptures.”
St. Pius Parish will offer the 24-part Great Adventure series starting in October, Puscas said, for new members of the Church as well as longtime Catholics.
“It demonstrates how Scripture, the word of God, the story that you are a part of, is really our mission and that we are the body of Christ in the Church,” she explained. “After you study the timeline of the Church, you realize that you are the Church and it’s your role, your baptismal call, to continue Christ’s mission in this world right now.”
Puscas is excited about the Church’s observance of the Year of St. Paul.
“As Catholics, we really need to value the Scriptures in our own life,” she said, “and come to know Christ through one of the greatest gifts that we have from God—the Bible.”
St. Joseph parishioners in Clark County also are studying The Great Adventure series as are members of St. Nicholas Parish in Sunman, St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Shelby County, St. Patrick Parish in Terre Haute, St. Michael Parish in Bradford, SS. Francis and Clare Parish in Greenwood, and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Christ the King and St. Simon the Apostle parishes, all in Indianapolis.
Lisa Whitaker, coordinator of religious education at St. Joseph Parish in the New Albany Deanery, said 50 parishioners enjoyed The Great Adventure Bible Timeline series last fall and spring.
“We’re offering that [program] again this year in addition to two other Bible studies for adults,” she said. “Several persons said The Great Adventure [series] has helped them understand the liturgy in such an incredible way. One father of youngsters attended with his wife, and he shared with me that his understanding of the Mass is so much better now because he understands the relationship of the Scriptures to one another. … He said Mass has really become alive for him.” †
