About 25 years ago I was challenged by a Priest friend to attend a workshop on Scripture at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. My wife and I both attended the workshop and were both shocked and and amazed. Shocked to find that most of the presenters were Protestant Ministers who had converted to Catholicism, amazed at the depth and the passion of their presentations. They explained how they came to the Catholic Faith through in-depth study of Scripture. Here I was a “cradle Catholic” learning about my faith from converts!
The following year my wife and I attended both the Applied Biblical Studies workshop and the Defending the Faith weekend sessions. We continued to attend these workshops and had the opportunity to study under many notable Scripture Scholars.
One year, one of our instructors was Archbishop Chaput. He asked me what I thought of that year’s sessions and when I replied that thought it was fantastic, he asked what was I going to do with the knowledge that I had received. He then went on to tell me the story of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. He explained how the Sea of Galilee received water rich in nutrients that fed the fish and the land surrounding the sea. As the water flowed from the Galilee down the Jordan river, it nourished the lands surrounding the river. It then flowed into the Dead Sea which received but had no outlet. In this sea nothing there was no life. What was I going to be: the Sea of Galilee or the Dead Sea? The answer was obvious, the Sea of Galilee. I decided to become involved in a Bible Study in my home town. This was in the late 1980’s.
On returning home, I could not find a Catholic Bible study, so my wife and I decided to start one in our home since we had the notes and tapes from our continuing studies at Franciscan University. Scott Hahn, Jeff Cavins and Mark Shea started an online studies initiative called “@Home with the Word” which I also downloaded. We averaged about 20 people per class. I can tell you this with all confidence, that if you want to learn Sacred Scripture, lead a Bible Study.
Over the past 20+ years I have developed quite a collection of information including PowerPoint presentations which I developed to augment many studies. My intention is to make this information available to those who want to start a Bible Study. I can also recommend studies that I have used.
Visit our contact us page to request information.
