New York Catholic Bible Summit Brings Joy of the Gospel to Life

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Imagine yourself in the first century. You’re in a house made of straw and branches, with Jesus as your guest. All of a sudden, you feel twigs begin to fall on your head, and before you know it, there’s a large hole in your roof and a young man on a stretcher is lowered right in front of your guest.

That is how Sister Carol Perry, S.U., one of the presenters at the fifth annual New York Catholic Bible Summit described the scene from the Gospel of Luke in which a paralyzed man is cured.

Inside the chapel at the New York Catholic Center in Manhattan, her audience sat mesmerized, hearing and experiencing the Bible in a tactile way. Sister Carol, resident Bible scholar at Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, picked that scene from Jesus’ life to highlight a moment of joy in St. Luke’s Gospel.

At the end of the scene, she noted, the paralyzed man went home glorifying God as a person healed and full of happiness. “When Jesus begins his public life, there are countless moments of joy,” she said.

Sister Carol’s workshop, “Capturing the Joy of Following Jesus,” was just one of the workshops offered at the New York Bible Summit June 21. The day’s theme was “Discover the Joy of the Gospel.” Some 400 people attended.

Other workshops included “Discovering the Joy of the Gospel in the Suffering Life,” “Sacred Scriptures: The Very Source of Evangelization,” and “Seeking the Kingdom: The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Imagination.”

Spanish-language workshops included “El Camino Biblico Que Nos Propone La Evangelii Gaudium,” and “El Testimonio en La Evangelii Gaudium Del Papa Francisco.”

Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros of the Diocese of Brooklyn was the main celebrant of the opening Mass. Cardinal Dolan led the closing prayer service.

The keynote speakers were Father Anthony Ciorra of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., in English, and Dr. Nuria Calduch-Benages, Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in Spanish.

Father Ciorra’s talk focused on “Experiencing the Joy of the Gospel.” During his talk, he told the audience that “Pope Francis challenges us to follow his example in deepening our relationship with Jesus Christ through reading and living the Scriptures so that we might come to know the joy of the Gospel, and share it with a world that longs to see those who ‘cry the Gospel with their lives.’”

“Anyone can talk” about living the Gospel, but actually doing so is quite difficult, Father Ciorra said. “We are called to bring hope into the messiness of our world,” he said.

One way to do that is through study and prayer. “After we study the Scriptures, we then pray the Scriptures,” he said. “That’s how we take it from the head to the heart.”

The author of the book, “Beauty: A Path to God,” he told those gathered that we are called to open our eyes to recognize the beauty of our faith in our daily lives.

One attendee, Frances DeFrange of St. Francis of Rome parish, the Bronx, regularly attends the Bible Summit. “I always go home feeling like I’ve been replenished,” she explained.

“Finding joy in the Scriptures can build us up so we can face the things in life that we didn’t plan for,” said Mrs. DeFrange, who attended with her husband, David.

Another attendee, Jan Dugan of Ascension parish in Manhattan, said she came specifically to hear Father Ciorra. “This is the way I wanted to spend my Saturday,” she said happily.

She said reading the Bible and attending events like the summit to learn more “is important for a balance on this journey.”

“That’s where I get my guidance,” she added.

The summit was sponsored by the Catechetical Office of the Archdiocese and the American Bible Society. Sister Joan Curtin, C.N.D., director of the Catechetical Office, said, “A day like today gives people an opportunity to come to love and understand more about Sacred Scripture and to do it in a place with other men and women of faith.”

“It’s a great opportunity to grow in the joy of the Gospel,” she said.

That is just what David and Julie Borges of St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish in LaGrangeville found. Mrs. Borges said she always finds it beneficial to learn more about Scripture.

As for joy, she said, “There is so little joy in the world. Pope Francis is always telling us to get immersed in the Gospel and live the Gospel.” She added that the Bible is “a guidebook to help you through your life.”

Her husband said, “I enjoy the community and being around people who have the same interests.”

“I came to find a better way of living my life through the Scriptures. It’s very difficult in today’s world.”