THE BREAD OF LIFE CATHOLIC BIBLE STUDY
By Deacon Ken and Marie Finn
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Pray and ask God to speak to you through His Holy Spirit.
“THE PARACLETE, THE HOLY SPIRIT WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, WILL INSTRUCT YOU IN EVERYTHING, AND REMIND YOU OF ALL THAT I TOLD YOU.” (JOHN 14:26)
FIRST DAY Reread last week’s readings.
1. What was a helpful or new thought from the readings or from the homily you heard on Sunday?
2. From what you learned, what personal application did you choose to apply to your life this week?
SECOND DAY READ EXODUS 34:4-6, 8-9 FIRST READING
(“The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God…”)
1. What did the Lord say to Moses and who inscribed the tablets? Exodus 24:12, Exodus 31:18
2. Why did Moses go to Mount Sinai? Exodus 34:4
3. What happened to the stone tablets? Exodus 32:19
4. What did Moses cut, where did he go, and who commanded it? Exodus 34:4
5. Having come down in a cloud, who stood with Moses, and what did he proclaim? Exodus 34:5
6. What did the Lord do, and what did he cry out? Ex 34:6
7. In what is the Lord slow, and in what is he rich? Exodus 34:6
8. What did Moses do? Exodus 34:8
9. What does Psalm 95:6 say we should do, and what has the Lord done?
10. What did Moses ask the Lord to do, and what did he say about the people? Exodus 34:9
11. What did Moses ask the Lord to pardon and receive? Ex. 34:9
Personal – In what way have you revealed your slowness to anger to those around you? How can you improve in this area?
THIRD DAY READ 2 CORINTHIANS 13:11-13 SECOND READING
(“Mend your ways. Encourage one another.”)
1. Who is writing and to whom is he writing? 2 Corinthians 1:1
2. As he says good-bye, what two things does he tell them to do and how are they to live? 2 Corinthians 13:11
3. Where will be the God of love and peace? 2 Corinthians 13:11
4. How are we to greet one another and what do all the holy ones do? 2 Corinthians 13:12
5. What is of the Lord Jesus Christ? 2 Corinthians 13:13
6. As a child, what was upon Jesus as he grew in size and stature? Luke 2:40
7. What is of God? 2 Corinthians 13:13
8. What is God and how do we abide in God? 1 John 4:16
9. What is of the Holy Spirit? 2 Corinthians 13:13
10. To what have we been called with the Son? 1 Corinthians 1:9
Personal – In what way do you have fellowship with the Holy Spirit? How do you see the grace of Jesus Christ and the love of God within you? How do you see Jesus in those around you?
FOURTH DAY READ JOHN 3:16-18 GOSPEL
(“…whoever believes in him may not die.”)
1. Whom did God love, and whom did he give? John 3:16
2. What happens to those who believe in him, and what will they have? John 3:16
3. How is God’s love revealed to us? 1 John 4:9
4. What did God send the Son into the world not to do? John 3:17
5. Through him (the Son) what would happen to the world? John 3:17
6. Read the following Scriptures and write next to each one what it says about being saved.
a. Acts 2:21 –
b. Acts 4:12 –
c. Acts 15:11 –
d. Romans 10:9 –
e. Titus 3:4-5 –
7. What happens to whomever believes in Jesus? John 3:18
8. What happens to those who do not believe in him? John 3:18
9. Who has no condemnation? Romans 8:1
10. What did Jesus come to do and what condemns a person? John 12:47-48
Personal – In what way have you experienced the love of the Father through Jesus’ death on the cross? In what way do you share this love the Father has for you with your family, friends, business acquaintances, school friends, etc. on a daily basis? Is there a balance with word and deed?
FIFTH DAY READ DANIEL 3:52-56
(“and blessed is your holy and glorious name.”)
Read and meditate on Daniel 3:52-56.
What is the Lord saying to you personally through the Psalm?
How can you apply this to your life?
SIXTH DAY READ ALL OF THE COMMENTARY
EXODUS 24:4-6, 8-9
Today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity, and in this passage we see God making a covenant with the Israelites. He declared them as his chosen people through whom he would eventually send his Divine Son and to whom he would give his Holy Spirit. In this way all mankind had the possibility and the means of reaching their permanent home with him. His plan for them would be complete for all eternity.
To explain this mystery is impossible, and, yet, it is very simple. God loved us so much that he sent his only begotten Son to die for us, and he left his Holy Spirit to empower our lives. In stages, a woman marries and becomes a wife, then a mother, and later, a grandmother. While God does not go through stages, the woman who is wife, mother, and grandmother in some ways reflects the Trinity. She never stops being a woman through these different phases of her life. We might ask what part becomes a wife? What part becomes a mother? She is totally woman in all three ways, while she is several persons in the one person of being a woman.
God is God, and he told Moses, “I am who am.” The covenant made on Mount Sinai by God with Moses was the preparation for God to become Incarnate (God became man) and then to forever reside by his Holy Spirit with us. This has been a mystery that one day God will reveal to us in Heaven where we will see him face to face. The Israelites were stubborn, sinful people and did not deserve another chance, but Moses pleaded for them and God forgave and promised them that a Messiah would emerge from them and bring salvation to the whole world.
Today there are many stubborn, cruel and violent people who walk in darkness. The Messiah has come, and he died and rose from the dead for all who believe in him. We have within us a Holy Spirit that is far greater than the one who leads the world (1 John 4:4). We must never forget that we are the chosen children of God in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2 CORINTHIANS 13:11-13
Paul’s last words in this passage apply to us in today’s world. He tells us to be happy by growing in Christ. We are called to mend our ways; in other words, to repent and to change. We can live in peace with one another when we follow the teachings of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. We are called to greet each other with a holy sign of Christ’s blessings. We only have to look around to see the discord in our families, communities, and countries throughout the world. We may ask, “Where is the strife and jealousy originating?”
Paul is telling us that all discord comes when we try to be in control of others and play God with other people’s lives and their nations. In order to live in peace with one another, we must be at peace with ourselves. Jesus told us that he would leave his Holy Spirit and he would never leave us.
Paul closes this passage with words of encouragement and cheer for all. He tells us how the Blessed Trinity is always active and present in our lives. He says, “May God’s love and the Holy Spirit’s friendship be yours.” He also calls upon the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and says that Jesus’ grace will always be available to us.
Paul is once again calling upon God to bless, direct, and protect his people through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name above all names, Jesus Christ. You are called to bring God’s blessing upon yourself and your family. This will help you live in peace and harmony with all people.
JOHN 3:16-18
If we had only one passage in the Bible to read, I believe this would be the choice of many people: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Do you really believe this? God is saying that he loves us so much that he let his only begotten Son Jesus die for us, so that we could live forever with him in heaven. God did this for us knowing well that we would be sinners, and yet, he is still loving us very much.
Scripture tells us that, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on men, what God has prepared for those who love him.”(1 Cor. 2:9) We cannot even imagine that kind of love, nevertheless, it is true. We only have to believe in Jesus Christ. When we believe, our lives change and this change is noticed by others. We become vulnerable, lovable, gentle, kind and trustworthy.
God knows where we have been and what we have done and he still offers us the incredible gift of eternal life and a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7). Memorize this verse (John 3:16) and put your name in place of the word “world” and “whoever” and see how personal is this promise.
We have to remember that true love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws in others. God has set the pattern of true love in this passage, the basis of all love relationships. If we love someone considerably, we are willing to pay dearly for that person’s responsive love. Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for love with his life. God paid for our love with his Son’s life. Jesus accepted the punishment, paid for our sins, and then offered us the new and eternal life he bought for us with his blood. When you and I share the Gospel message, our love must be like his. We must be willing to give up our comfort, and maybe our lives, so that others might join us in receiving this incredible gift of God’s love.
Application
The first reading reveals that God is present to us in himself, his Son, and his Holy Spirit – a true Blessed Trinity. The second reading tells us that to grow in Christ will bring a happy, positive response, and that is what we really need in today’s world. The Gospel tells us that God loved us so greatly that he gave us his begotten Son, so that we could live forever.
This week, let us call on the power of the Holy Spirit and be positive in our words and actions to the members of our family and those whom we meet at work and at school. Let us try to give up our comfort to bring someone to Christ this week, or to read Scripture to someone or encourage someone to read a bible. Remember – make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Christ.