Little Rock Study on Dei Verbum

The Word of God at Vatican II by Fr. Ronald Witherup SS will be available later this month.  I hope to be receiving a review copy at some point to look at.  

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of God at Vatican II Study Set!

Did you ever wonder how the Bible became such an essential part of being a Catholic in our Day? Dei Verbum—The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation—remains one of the foundational teachings of the Second Vatican Council. Discover how this teaching helped to move the Bible into the heart of parish faith formation, and continues to direct our efforts in liturgy, education, and spirituality. Appropriate for all parish adult faith formation efforts, Bible study groups, and diocesan education programs.

Ronald D. Witherup, SS, is Superior General of the Sulpicians, an order of diocesan priests dedicated to initial and ongoing formation of priests. He holds a doctorate in biblical studies and is the author of numerous books and articles on scripture, including, Gold Tested in Fire A New Pentecost for the Catholic Priesthood, and Biblical Fundamentalism, What Every Catholic Should Know, both published by Liturgical Press. He is also the New Testament editor of the Little Rock Catholic Study Bible.

This simplified 4 week study requires no video or audio lectures. There is no introductory session, either, so participants should be encouraged to obtain their study sets ahead of time and come prepared to discuss Lesson One at their first gathering. The Study Set, however, is similar to study sets found in almost any other Little Rock Scripture Study. It consists of a commentary, The Word of God at Vatican II: Exploring Dei Verbum, written by Ronald D. Witherup, SS (Liturgical Press, 2014) and a Study Guide. The commentary includes a translation of the document Dei Verbum, also known as The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, along with background information and insightful commentary. The Study Guide is written by Catherine Upchurch, with 18 questions for each of the 4 lessons.

Weekly Lessons
Lesson 1—A brief history of Dei Verbum
Lesson 2—Dei Verbum, paragraphs 1–13
Lesson 3—Dei Verbum, paragraphs 14–26
Lesson 4—Ongoing interpretation and the fruits of Dei Verbum

Sunday Knox: Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4)

Knox:
When the day of Pentecost came round, while they were all gathered together in unity of purpose, all at once a sound came from heaven like that of a strong wind blowing, and filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then appeared to them what seemed to be tongues of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in strange languages, as the Spirit gave utterance to each.


NAB:
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Francis T. Gignac, S.J. (1933 – 2014)

Fr. Gignac was a Professor in the Biblical Studies Department at Catholic University of America. He retired in May 2013 to the Jesuit provincial house in Detroit. He was a reviser on the 1986 NAB revised New Testament and on the board of editors for the NABRE OT.  He was known as one of the Church's best textual scholars, most notably being ranked among the most knowledgeable scholars of Hellenistic Greek.  You can read more about him and his work by heading over to his faculty staff page.  

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

Pocket Gospels and Acts from USCCB

In light of our Holy Father's often repeated call to read the Gospels daily, including gifting thousands of people at a recent Sunday Regina Caeli prayer in St. Peter's Square with copies of the Gospels, the USCCB will be publishing a similar product for those of us in the USA.

INFO:
Carry the Pocket Gospels and Acts of the Apostles with you, and keep the Word of God as your constant guide and inspiration!

In April, Pope Francis handed out thousands of pocket-sized copies of the Gospels and Acts. He asked the faithful to read a passage every day, saying, "This is the word of Jesus!"

This small pocket-sized book has the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles with a beautiful Italian fresco on the cover just like the Pope's! Take it with you and read it anytime you have a few minutes during the day. On the bus!   Waiting for an appointment! Anytime!

This paperback edition will contain the NAB(RE) Gospels and Acts (including notes).  Its size is 6" X 4" X 1/4" and, as the info above mentions, will have the same cover as the one given to the pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.  That is pretty cool!  Individually, the price for each is $7.95.  I know that they are encouraging bulk orders, which you can access here.  (In bulk, the price is closer to $5.37 per book.)

Benedict on Wednesday: Christmas Homily 2012

"Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me."

Angels and Saint Contest Winner

Congrats to Barbara Stonecipher for being the winner of the contest.  Please send along your name and email to mccorm45(at)yahoo(dot)com by the end of the week to claim your prize.  Thanks to all who entered!

Guest Post: My Little Scripture Library

Thanks to reader Thomas for this post on the My Little Scripture Library from Confraternity of the Precious Blood.

This is a three book collection called My Little Scripture Library. It was published by the Confraternity of the Precious Blood. I think it was sold around the 1950's. The latest publishing date in the book Christ in the gospel is 1949.

There are three titles: The New Testament which contains the Confraternity version,  Christ in the Gospel which is a harmony of the gospels, and My Daily Psalm Book, which contains the Bea Psalter arranged according to the pre-Vatican II breviary.

Both the psalter and the harmony have numerous illustrations by the Armenian artist Ariel Agemian.

Each book is bound in what appears to be a synthetic leather. They each come with two ribbon markers. The pages have the red and gold gilt edges. Each book is about 5 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches. And they came packed in a small protective box.

I got these off of eBay for about thirty dollars. They seemed to have been unused. The ribbons were still folded up in each volume and look as though they have never been read.

I have enjoyed reading them and especially like following the Psalter throughout the day for prayer, and ready the gospel harmony.

It is also interesting to note that TAN Books is now going to be the publisher for the pocket books of the Confraternity of Precious Blood.