On the first page it states; "In the Bible, we discover the depth and generosity of God's love, as well as his desire to soothe humanity's yearning for truth and happiness." The stories in the Bible help us relate and realize the impact God has on our lives. I have always been in awe to hear people that belong to other faiths that have such a strong understanding of the Bible. I wondered where I had failed. Through this chapter I realized that it is through Scripture, nature, and the life of the Church where God reveals himself to each of us. It is the interaction of the three that keeps the Word of God alive. In this chapter I also realized that there are many phrases and quotes in the Bible that I can use as prayer in my daily prayers.
Last Saturday evening at mass Fr. Gross talked about scripture and reading the bible. Many of the things he mentioned are also in this chapter. Taking time to read it and find the meaning. Contemplating what the words may be telling us is important. You should think of yourself as a participant, not an observer. How would I feel when Jesus helped the lepers and the sinners? If I were a leper, would I return to praise him. I thought of my students as I read this. These are some of the same things that we encourage them to do as they read their novels. I never thought about that and am anxious to try it for the readings next weekend.
I had heard the story about the car and "Dad if you really love me..." It makes me stop and think when I am not grateful for gifts whether they are smiles, the gift of time, or something else. May we always be grateful!
Chapter 14 talked about preparing for Mass by reading scripture and I have been lucky enough to be able to do this along with my students every Friday. I notice I am much more focused during Mass and the kids have told me that they are too! Chapter 15 talked about making reading scripture into a more daily activity. I need to get back to this routine- it makes life so much more peaceful and exciting, setting my sight on Jesus. The New Testament is what I tend to go to, and have always kind of felt bad about this, so after reading this chapter I felt better!
While reading this chapter it made me ponder how busy our lives can be and we don't often find time to pray. It brought to light all the simple prayers that we can pray when we feel overwhelmed in life and we can start with the simple prayers of the Psalms which are short but thought provoking prayers. I can sometimes relate to Peter how you can draw near to God only to abandon his ways and then once again draw near to God in his ways. There are times when I have ignored what I knew was in good conscience was the right thing to do because I was afraid of what other people might think of me. Maybe it is time that we do what is right and not worry about what others think.
I agree with you Abby, going over the weekend reading with the students on Friday makes be more attentive during Mass. I think by doing this I am prepared for the readings and I also have time to ponder the message that is being taught. I never feel comfortable talking about the Bible with anyone due to me not taking the time to read it daily and understand it fully.
When I read the fifteenth chapter, it made me think about how much I know about the Bible. Yes, I am familiar with a lot of stories, but there are many stories I don’t know. Whenever I have tried to read parts of the Bible, I found them to be difficult to understand. I am not saying that I totally abandoned reading the Bible, but I have somewhat shied away from reading it. One of the ways I am able understand the Bible more is by listening to the priest read and discuss the Gospel every Sunday.
The story at the end of the chapter was a sad, but meaningful story. Michael’s dad gave him a gift (the Bible) that would help him to get through life. By using the Bible for comfort, he realized what was really important. By taking the time to read through the Bible, he received many more gifts than he thought he would. This story helps us to realize that by taking time out for God and the Bible, our gifts will be great. The gifts won’t be necessarily money or other items, but spiritual and emotional gifts.
As I read Abby and Stephanie's comments, it made me a little bit sad not to be a regular classroom teacher. There are so many things I miss out on doing with students. But it got me thinking......I may not be able to prepare the readings for Mass with my students, but what I can do is provide them with bible stories and other religious books written for children. Looking at my classroom library, I see that it is totally devoid of any religious novels for kids. So my goal is to improve on that!
I also think that the weekend readings help me focus more during mass as well. I feel that after going over those with the kids, I tend to understand the Gospel and other readings more easily and I feel like I get much more out of mass than when I did before I started using the weekend readings. I also think it helps because I have not heard the readings as often as most of the other people that are in church. I often find it hard to understand many of the readings so when we have mass during school on Friday, I really look forward to it because Father Cain does such a good job explaining the readings and I feel that I understand them more.
I feel as though when I teach my first graders about the Bible or read them stories I am teaching myself too. I do not read the Bible much other than at school, so when I have to prepare a lesson for the kids, it forces me to find the true meaning of the story. I enjoy teaching the weekend readings to my students because it also prepares me for Mass.
It was not until after I made my first CEW weekend after someone gave me a book, How to Read the Bible in 365 Days. I have looked through the Bible, read selected stories of the Bible, had a Prophets course in college but never before read it like a novel. Then I began to take another class that taught me specifics about it and how one should go about reading it. I now understand the significance for the Pentateuch and how all Bible share in this commonality. Then and only then did the readings at Mass really mean anything to me. They told me eventually, I will pick up a new piece of the story, a new understanding perhaps after hearing it again in the church cycle. I found this to be true. I too am amazed how our Methodist and Lutheran friends can actually quote passages from the Bible. I am in awe of this ability. This was the first time I read the story, "Dad if you really love me" As touching as it was, it had a different ending than I anticipated but still made the point about how great our Father's love is.
This year as a fourth grade team, we are working with the kids on learning about and reading the Bible. It has been a good way to get them ready for mass and to share what the word of God means. I would like to make it a goal to take time myself to especially read the gospel reading for Sunday to help focus more on what God is saying and why I am at mass. I liked how the author said that it is through the repetition and reflection on the word of God that will transform us.
Another thought I had as a I read this chapter came from a conversation with a Protestant friend. She was wondering if we (as Catholics) had Bibles since she hadn't known of any Catholics that took them to church like they did. I explained to her that most have a Bible in their home (because I know from experience that not everyone has a Bible in their home) and the reason we don't take them to church is that the readings go in cycles and are contained in missalettes that change according to the church cycle. I shared with her that if a person attends church everyday for 3 years, they will hear virtually every reading in the bible--she thought that was quite interesting. This chapter was a nice reinforcement that while Scripture is very important, Tradition and the witnessing of God around us are equally important.
I think it is truly astonishing that the Bible is the most read book in the world. Something which is that popular must be truly amazing. The fact that the bible took 1,500 years to write amazes me as well. I will admit I don't have much more to say about this chapter.
On the first page it states; "In the Bible, we discover the depth and generosity of God's love, as well as his desire to soothe humanity's yearning for truth and happiness." The stories in the Bible help us relate and realize the impact God has on our lives. I have always been in awe to hear people that belong to other faiths that have such a strong understanding of the Bible. I wondered where I had failed. Through this chapter I realized that it is through Scripture, nature, and the life of the Church where God reveals himself to each of us. It is the interaction of the three that keeps the Word of God alive.
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter I also realized that there are many phrases and quotes in the Bible that I can use as prayer in my daily prayers.
Last Saturday evening at mass Fr. Gross talked about scripture and reading the bible. Many of the things he mentioned are also in this chapter. Taking time to read it and find the meaning. Contemplating what the words may be telling us is important. You should think of yourself as a participant, not an observer. How would I feel when Jesus helped the lepers and the sinners? If I were a leper, would I return to praise him. I thought of my students as I read this. These are some of the same things that we encourage them to do as they read their novels. I never thought about that and am anxious to try it for the readings next weekend.
ReplyDeleteI had heard the story about the car and "Dad if you really love me..." It makes me stop and think when I am not grateful for gifts whether they are smiles, the gift of time, or something else. May we always be grateful!
Chapter 14 talked about preparing for Mass by reading scripture and I have been lucky enough to be able to do this along with my students every Friday. I notice I am much more focused during Mass and the kids have told me that they are too! Chapter 15 talked about making reading scripture into a more daily activity. I need to get back to this routine- it makes life so much more peaceful and exciting, setting my sight on Jesus. The New Testament is what I tend to go to, and have always kind of felt bad about this, so after reading this chapter I felt better!
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this chapter it made me ponder how busy our lives can be and we don't often find time to pray. It brought to light all the simple prayers that we can pray when we feel overwhelmed in life and we can start with the simple prayers of the Psalms which are short but thought provoking prayers.
ReplyDeleteI can sometimes relate to Peter how you can draw near to God only to abandon his ways and then once again draw near to God in his ways. There are times when I have ignored what I knew was in good conscience was the right thing to do because I was afraid of what other people might think of me. Maybe it is time that we do what is right and not worry about what others think.
I agree with you Abby, going over the weekend reading with the students on Friday makes be more attentive during Mass. I think by doing this I am prepared for the readings and I also have time to ponder the message that is being taught. I never feel comfortable talking about the Bible with anyone due to me not taking the time to read it daily and understand it fully.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the fifteenth chapter, it made me think about how much I know about the Bible. Yes, I am familiar with a lot of stories, but there are many stories I don’t know. Whenever I have tried to read parts of the Bible, I found them to be difficult to understand. I am not saying that I totally abandoned reading the Bible, but I have somewhat shied away from reading it. One of the ways I am able understand the Bible more is by listening to the priest read and discuss the Gospel every Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThe story at the end of the chapter was a sad, but meaningful story. Michael’s dad gave him a gift (the Bible) that would help him to get through life. By using the Bible for comfort, he realized what was really important. By taking the time to read through the Bible, he received many more gifts than he thought he would. This story helps us to realize that by taking time out for God and the Bible, our gifts will be great. The gifts won’t be necessarily money or other items, but spiritual and emotional gifts.
As I read Abby and Stephanie's comments, it made me a little bit sad not to be a regular classroom teacher. There are so many things I miss out on doing with students. But it got me thinking......I may not be able to prepare the readings for Mass with my students, but what I can do is provide them with bible stories and other religious books written for children. Looking at my classroom library, I see that it is totally devoid of any religious novels for kids. So my goal is to improve on that!
ReplyDeleteI also think that the weekend readings help me focus more during mass as well. I feel that after going over those with the kids, I tend to understand the Gospel and other readings more easily and I feel like I get much more out of mass than when I did before I started using the weekend readings. I also think it helps because I have not heard the readings as often as most of the other people that are in church. I often find it hard to understand many of the readings so when we have mass during school on Friday, I really look forward to it because Father Cain does such a good job explaining the readings and I feel that I understand them more.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though when I teach my first graders about the Bible or read them stories I am teaching myself too. I do not read the Bible much other than at school, so when I have to prepare a lesson for the kids, it forces me to find the true meaning of the story. I enjoy teaching the weekend readings to my students because it also prepares me for Mass.
ReplyDeleteIt was not until after I made my first CEW weekend after someone gave me a book, How to Read the Bible in 365 Days. I have looked through the Bible, read selected stories of the Bible, had a Prophets course in college but never before read it like a novel. Then I began to take another class that taught me specifics about it and how one should go about reading it. I now understand the significance for the Pentateuch and how all Bible share in this commonality.
ReplyDeleteThen and only then did the readings at Mass really mean anything to me. They told me eventually, I will pick up a new piece of the story, a new understanding perhaps after hearing it again in the church cycle. I found this to be true.
I too am amazed how our Methodist and Lutheran friends can actually quote passages from the Bible. I am in awe of this ability.
This was the first time I read the story, "Dad if you really love me" As touching as it was, it had a different ending than I anticipated but still made the point about how great our Father's love is.
This year as a fourth grade team, we are working with the kids on learning about and reading the Bible. It has been a good way to get them ready for mass and to share what the word of God means. I would like to make it a goal to take time myself to especially read the gospel reading for Sunday to help focus more on what God is saying and why I am at mass. I liked how the author said that it is through the repetition and reflection on the word of God that will transform us.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought I had as a I read this chapter came from a conversation with a Protestant friend. She was wondering if we (as Catholics) had Bibles since she hadn't known of any Catholics that took them to church like they did. I explained to her that most have a Bible in their home (because I know from experience that not everyone has a Bible in their home) and the reason we don't take them to church is that the readings go in cycles and are contained in missalettes that change according to the church cycle. I shared with her that if a person attends church everyday for 3 years, they will hear virtually every reading in the bible--she thought that was quite interesting. This chapter was a nice reinforcement that while Scripture is very important, Tradition and the witnessing of God around us are equally important.
I think it is truly astonishing that the Bible is the most read book in the world. Something which is that popular must be truly amazing. The fact that the bible took 1,500 years to write amazes me as well. I will admit I don't have much more to say about this chapter.
ReplyDelete