The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) now in publication!

New American Bible, Revised Edition

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has now released the revised edition of the Bible we use during Mass in the United States.

Check out the Bishops' website: http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/nabre.shtml

Platoons of theologians and scholars have been working on this for many, many years.  I am looking forward to getting a copy!

Publishers will start coming out with editions in June, and the USCCB online version of the Bible will be updated -- they are working on it.

For Lent, here is an online version of the Seven Penitential Psalms and Songs of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/seven-psalms-songs.shtml

For more previews of the new text, visit: http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/text-changes.shtml

"How to Use the Bible" -- verses to read for comfort and guidance

A woman in my Small Christian Community shared this gem. This is a good way to get into the Bible if you are not a regular reader.

When in sorrow: John 14

When men fail you: Psalm 27

When you have sinned: Psalm 51

When you worry: Matthew 6:19-34

When you are in danger: Psalm 91

If you have the blues: Psalm 34

When God seems far away: Psalm 139

If you are discouraged: Isaiah 40

If you are lonely or fearful: Psalm 23

Feeling down and out: Romans 8:39

Need courage: Joshua 1

World is overwhelming: Psalm 90

Rest and peace: Matthew 11:25-30

Going away: Psalm 121, 107

Feeling bitter: 1st Corinthians 13

Return on investment: Mark 10:17-31

A great opportunity: Isaiah 55

Free Audio Bibles for iPod! Also on iTunes!

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has a wonderful program to distribute audio Bibles to the world!

Try it out!

http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/ambassador/free-audio-bible-download

I recommend the English Standard Version Audio Drama New Testament: The translation is easy to listen to, all the characters are done by different performers, and the music and special sound effects make the Word of God come alive! Your kids will love it! You will love it!

Over 400 languages now available! Because much of the world is illiterate, this is a great ministry for spreading the Bible!

If you wish to make a donation, of course Faith Comes By Hearing is happy to receive it. But they are also happy to give away their wonderful productions free of charge.

Don't have time to read the Bible? Think again! Think the Bible is hard to understand and boring? Think again!

Free Online Bible Studies from Nationally Recognized Catholic Theologians

Schedule too crazy to attend a group Bible study at your parish?

Here's your answer!

Free, online Bible studies from the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

You may have heard of Scott Hahn, an outstanding theologian and author who converted to the Roman Catholic Church from Protestant Christianity. He understands and expresses Catholic beliefs very clearly, and knows the Bible forwards and backwards.

A number of FREE Bible studies are available at: http://www.salvationhistory.com/studies/courses/online

Topics include:
Covenant Love: Introducing the Biblical Worldview

Genesis to Jesus: A Journey Through Scripture

The Lamb's Supper: The Bible and the Mass

"He Must Reign: The Kingdom of God in Scripture

Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God

Reading the Old Testament in the New: The Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel According to Saint Paul

Free Online Bible Study of Gospel of John

The podcast, "Into the Deep", tackles theology and discipleship today. This podcast is a great resource if you want to delve more deeply into your Roman Catholic faith. The podcast is part of the SQPN Catholic New Media consortium.

Among the many great episodes of "Into the Deep" is a 7 part Bible study on the Gospel of John. This Bible study is very faithful to Vatican II (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum). If you haven't attended a Catholic Bible study lately, this is a great place to start. If you are an old hand, you will also get some meat and potatoes to think about.

The website for "Into the Deep" is: http://deepcast.blogspot.com/

The podcast feed is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/deepcast/UnHm

The 7 episodes in the Bible study for the Gospel of John are:

http://media.libsyn.com/media/deepcast/John_exegesis_talk_1_final.mp3
http://media.libsyn.com/media/deepcast/John_exegesis_talk_2_final.mp3
http://media.libsyn.com/media/deepcast/John_exegesis_talk_3_final.mp3
http://media.libsyn.com/media/deepcast/John_exegesis_talk_4_final.mp3
http://media.libsyn.com/media/deepcast/John_exegesis_talk_5_final.mp3
http://media.libsyn.com/media/deepcast/John_exegesis_talk_6_final.mp3
http://media.libsyn.com/media/deepcast/John_exegesis_talk_7_final.mp3

Lectio divina - a way to pray that will astonish you!

Lectio divina is a slow, contemplative way to pray the Scriptures. I learned how to do this from my diocesan coordinator for Small Christian Communities, and I have used it with wonderful results in RCIA, my Small Christian Community group, and various ministry committee meetings at my parish. This can be done alone, but the spiritual insights are astounding when done with a small group. Try it!

Gather in a quiet spot at a time set aside for contemplation and prayer. Allow 20 minutes. Describe the process so that people know what to expect, and guide people firmly through the process.

Select a short, stand-alone passage from the Scriptures. Part of the previous Sunday's Gospel is usually excellent.

1. Read the Gospel. Everyone spends a minute or so in silent reflection.

2. Read the Gospel. Go around the circle, with everyone sharing a single word, short phrase, or image that stands out to them. DO NOT DISCUSS. Be brief. You may need to restate the ground rules.

3. Read the Gospel. Go around the circle, with everyone sharing just a sentence or two about what INSPIRES or CHALLENGES them. Again, do not discuss. Be brief.

4. Read the Gospel. Go around the circle, with everyone giving a short prayer. When all are done, the leader concludes this reflection time with a prayer.

OK -- now you are done with the Lectio divina. Now you can talk freely, discuss, debate, look up references and commentaries, or otherwise go on with your meeting.

Yes! You really read the Scripture passage through FOUR TIMES. Trust me -- try it! The profound insights that have come out of a group of committed Christians all listening to their hearts is beautiful -- and usually everyone has a different and important insight. Lectio divina is a direct encounter with the Living Word of God. No previous experience is necessary! But please follow the directions given above -- it is a time for each person to share whatever comes to their hearts -- it is not a time for Bible study per sec.

Here are some websites that talk about it more:

Written description Fr. Luke Dysinger: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Catholic/2000/08/How-To-Practice-Lectio-Divina.aspx

YouTube video by Fr. Jim Martin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DxaGZqprrs&feature=related

Bring the Holy Bible with You on the Go! Bible Software for PDAs and iPhones and Smartphones and . . .

Don't have time to read the Bible? Think again!

Easy to use, inexpensive PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and cell phone versions of the Bible abound!

I am steadily working my way through the book of Sirach just standing in line at grocery store checkout lines, airport lines, etc. Psalms and Proverbs also are fun to ponder when I'm stuck somewhere like the dentist's waiting room. I did a quick Google search on "Bible PDA Catholic" and "Bible iPhone Catholic" and found several good sources. Here are a few:

Olive Tree: Bible Software for PDA, iPhone, iTouch, Smartphone, Palm, Pocket PC, Blackberry, HP iPaq, Nokia, just about everything: http://www.olivetree.com/ Search on "Catholic" to locate translations of the Bible that have the complete Old Testament and study notes from a Catholic perspective. Olive Tree has the New American Bible (NAB) that is currently proclaimed during Mass in the United States, the Catholic Youth Bible, notes from the Catholic Study Bible, and other translations with complete Old Testaments. (Remember, a few hundred years ago, Protestant leaders removed content from the Old Testament so be sure to get a Catholic Bible).

I have the Olive Tree version of the entire Holy Bible (both Old Testament and New Testament) on my HP iPaq in two translations with some commentary. http://www.olivetree.com/resources/cdpackages/catholic.php Works great. The search tools are extremely handy: I can jump to any verse in any book, and search for specific words -- I find this very useful when I lead RCIA Inquiry sessions and we want to look something up. I have the ENTIRE Holy Bible in TWO translations -- and it takes up a small fraction of the memory in my iPaq.

The New American Bible for iPhone http://www.iphonebible.org/#_home This page seems to be the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops approved New American Bible in iPhone format. (I don't have an iPhone myself, so cannot check).

Catholic Bible, Bookmarks, and Notes http://www.catholicpda.com/

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com I easily found Bible software on Amazon by searching for "Bible Catholic software"

The Holy Bible Goes High Tech!

No Time to Read the Bible? Think Again!

Busy at work? Why not read the Gospel of the Day during lunch on your computer?

Running errands all over town? You can listen to all four Gospels in less than a week!

Kids claim to be bored by the Bible? Listen to a dramatic reading by professionals with sound effects and hear the New Testament come alive!

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Daily Readings from the New American Bible (www.usccb.org/nab)

• Read the daily readings (or the entire Bible, for that matter!)
• Listen to audio presentations of the daily readings (available for download to your mp3 player, e.g. iPod, or just click to listen on your computer)
• Watch and listen to a video by a priest or bishop reflecting on the day's readings.

Faith Comes By Hearing (www.faithcomesbyhearing.com), a ministry from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, providing audio Bibles to the world.

• Free New Testament to download to your computer or portable mp3 player (e.g. iPod)
• About $10 for the entire New Testament on a single mp3 format CD
• About $20 for the entire New Testament on 16 standard audio CDs
• 300 languages and several translations of the New Testament
• Choose either regular or dramatic readings (e.g. with a few sound effects for when Jesus and the disciples are in a storm at sea). Check out a sample of the "drama" style online -- really get your kids interested in listening to the Bible!

I took the Faith Comes By Hearing mp3 disk on a three-day business trip, and listened from 1 Corinthians clear to Revelation just driving around between airport, hotel, and the office. I listened to most of the Gospel of Luke just driving between home, the airport, and back again.

You can get through a tremendous amount of scripture just sitting stuck in traffic – try it!

Catholic Priests Are Podcasting!

You just got music on that iPod? You're missin' out!

The Internet is full of excellent and FREE Catholic podcasts. Here are fantastic Catholic podcasts that you can locate through "iTunes" by searching on the title. The webpage of each podcast is also listed:

"Catholic:Under the Hood" (http://catholicunderthehood.com). Fr. Seraphim Beshoner, a Franciscan priest, podcasts about the Pope, the Bible, Catholic spirituality, theology, history, news and even the latest movies. Faithful as well as entertaining.

"Daily Breakfast with Fr. Roderick" (http://sqpn.com/category/talkshows/daily-breakfast-with-fr-roderick/). The best way to wake up in the morning with comments on news around the Catholic world, theology, a Catholic take on TV, movies and videogames, and just plain inspiration. This is the most popular Catholic podcast on the Internet.

"iPadre Catholic Podcasting >> iPadre Podcast" (http://www.ipadre.net/). Fr. Jay A. Finelli starts out with great Christian music, then dives into a solid Catholic discussion from saints to what are angels to theological challenges like excommunication. Very orthodox and informative.

"Daily Readings from the New American Bible" (http://www.usccb.org/nab) by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Hear the readings from our liturgical cycle every day!

What is a "podcast"? A "podcast" is just like a radio show, but is transmitted over the Internet. It is better, because you can listen whenever you want to, and you can get past episodes. You can start listening today right from your computer -- just click. WIth the investment of some time, you can copy the programs onto audio CDs. Or, download shows to a portable "mp3" player and take them with you! What is an "mp3" player? Ask the nearest teenager or the friendly folks at Radio Shack or go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts.