Today I concluded my five-week class on Sacred Scripture for Catholic school teachers in Springfield. I really enjoyed breaking open the Bible with this great group of catechists!

The following are a few of the resources I recommended to them:

Books:

• The Bible Blueprint: A Catholic’s Guide to Understanding and Embracing God’s Word by Joe Paprocki – Joe Paprocki is a popular speaker on catechesis and religious education. This book is a great reference!
• Apprenticed to Christ by Jerry Galipeau – Discussion questions and activities following the Sunday lectionary cycle.
• Reading the Old Testament by Lawrence Boadt – Great overview of the Old Testament.
• Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI – An excellent scriptural reflection on the life and ministry of Christ. The second volume (covering Christ’s birth, death and resurrection) is expected this year.
• Adventures of Saint Paul by Oldrich Selucky – A narrative version of St. Paul’s journeys; great for young boys!
• United States Catholic Catechism for Adults – An invaluable tool for catechists.
• Tomie DePaola’s Book of Bible Stories by Tomie De Paola – A great treasury of Bible stories; perfect for younger grades.

Links:

• New American Bible – The daily lectionary readings, online.
• Pope Benedict XVI’s Homilies – The text of the pope’s homilies are available on the Vatican’s web site.
• One Year Bible Reading Guide (PDF) – Read the Scriptures in one year (includes one year Catechism plan).
• DivineOffice.org – Resources on the Liturgy of the Hours.
• Lectio Divina – An overview on this form of scriptural prayer.
• Word on Fire – Fr. Robert Baron’s site includes excellent commentary on Sacred Scripture and other topics.
• Catholic Answers’ Scriptural Reference Guide – A guide to where Catholic teachings may be found in Sacred Scripture.
• Biblia Clerus – A little advanced, but this is an extraordinary resource for finding ancient commentaries on biblical passages.

Class Handouts (PDFs)

• Timeline of Biblical Events – A list of major biblical events in chronological order.
• Liturgy of the Word (adapted for the beginning of the school day) – A simple prayer form to start off the day.
• Lectio Divina – An outline for using this scriptural form of prayer.
• Hidden Books of the Bible (with answer sheet) – A downloadable form of this classic quiz!