St. Jerome Catholic Church

This year, St. Jerome Parish Bible Study offers a short 4-week Bible study focused on the Sunday Mass readings for the Advent season.  The Season of Advent, the first season of the Church’s liturgical calendar, prepares us to celebrate the Solemnity of Christmas.  On Tuesday or Thursday evenings, beginning November 26, we will reflect on the readings the Church has designated for the following Sunday of Advent, to prepare us for Advent Sunday liturgy.  

 

We offer two opportunities for this Advent Bible study:  1) in-person in the St. Jerome Parish Hall on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9pm, beginning Tuesday, November 26; and, 2) on-line via Zoom on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9pm, beginning Thursday, December 5.  (The calendar is not friendly to us this year, as the First Sunday of Advent falls on the Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend this year; since Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 28, there will be no Thursday online session that first week.)

 

No experience is necessary.  All are welcome.  Invite a friend or family member.  To participate, register for either track of this study by email.  Email Steve Picard at sjpicard526@att.net with the phrase “SJ Bible study” in the subject line to let him know you would like to attend, or if you have any questions.

 

We will use the following published resource as the text for this study:

 

Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word 2025, US Edition.  Stephen Lampe, Eric Wagner.  (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2024).  See the link below. 

 

The text is nominally a workbook for lectors . . . but it is not only for lectors!  I like this book for two reasons:  in addition to the readings for each Sunday of the Church year, it contains short and very readable commentaries about the readings to help you understand their context; and the book will be a ready reference to prepare you for weekly Sunday liturgy for the whole year.

 

The workbook is available from the publisher (Liturgy Training Publications) on their website at Search - 2025 Workbook for lectors - LTP at a cost of $15 plus tax and shipping.

 

You may also be able to pick up the book locally at Pauline Books and Media (3908 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City).

 

This Workbook for Lectors is strongly recommended, though not required.  Links to the readings for each Sunday to the website for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (usccb.org) are listed below.  I will distribute by email the Study Guide--questions for conversation--we will use for each session each week, a week prior to the week they will be used in study.

 

It will be helpful to have your Bible at hand (or on an app on your phone) to answer some of the questions you will encounter in the study guide.  If you need to purchase a Bible or download an app, I suggest you consider the following translation:

 

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

This is just one of many good translations.  It is a Catholic translation (73 book canon) and is used at Mass in all Catholic dioceses of the United States.  The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is another excellent Catholic translation used at Mass in Canada, England, and other English-speaking countries.  See the website of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (usccb.org) for more information on Catholic Bible translations.

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Calendar:  4 Tuesday evenings, 7:30-9pm in person, or
       3 Thursday evenings, 7:30-9pm online via Zoom