Week of February 10, 2019

Week of February 10, 2019

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Dear Parishioners,

As you may know, one of the things I love about the priesthood is being able to share the faith. Having a robust knowledge of the faith is a key ingredient to having a healthy relationship with God because if one does not know God, one cannot love Him. So, pretty regularly, I offer opportunities to learn more about the faith in the form of discussion groups to talk about the Bible or other books about the faith. I am writing this article to let you all know that about a month from now, I am starting new sessions for these two groups. So, if you ever wanted to join my Bible Study or Reading Group, this would be the perfect time to join.

On Monday March 4th (5:30 pm in the conference room of the school), we will be studying the Bible using John Bergsma’s book “New Testament Basics for Catholics”. Bergsma has a great gift of stating in a down to earth and often humorous way the eternal unifying truths of sacred scripture. We read his book, “Bible Basics for Catholics”, last fall and it went over incredibly well with the people who attended the study. The Bible study meets weekly (except not Holy Week or Easter Week) and it does require people to read the chapters of the book ahead of time to keep up with the discussion.

On Thursday March 14th (7 pm in the conference room of the school), the Reading Group will be studying “Jesus the Bridegroom: the Greatest Love Story Ever Told” by Brant Pitre. A couple weeks ago, I was reading this book to prepare for my homily on the Wedding Feast of Cana and I was surprised at how much of a quick read it is. I was surprised because it really gets into the heart of what the faith is about: how Christ’s sacrifice can be best understood as a nuptial act that fulfills the ancient scriptures that predict Him. If you find that hard to believe, then you definitely need to read this book because that’s exactly what it does. The Reading Group meets about twice a month and we usually read one chapter ahead of time per meeting.

One of the beautiful things about the Catholic faith is that there’s always more to learn. Even after six years of seminary, both of these books have taught me a lot. As our knowledge increases, so does our appreciation for all that God has done for us and our ability to enter more deeply into the liturgy that gives us life. So, please feel free to drop in this Lent to try out either of these classes. You might be surprised yourself at how much you enjoy it.

If you would like to join either of these groups or have more questions, feel free to contact me at toddcarterpriest@gmail.com.

God bless!

Father Carter