STEUBENVILLE – The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology (founded by Dr. Scott Hahn) is striving to catechize tens of thousands of Catholics this Lent with what could be the largest Catholic Bible study on the often under-appreciated core of our faith: the sacraments.
In a new video Bible study from the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, the seven sacraments are presented in the context of salvation history. The Bible and the Sacraments is a dynamic, eleven-lesson series that the St. Paul Center will make available for free online beginning March 1, 2017. With tens of thousands already registered to participate, The Bible and the Sacraments could be the largest-ever Catholic Bible study.
“The St. Paul Center’s mission is to promote life-transforming Scripture study in the Catholic tradition.” said Andrew Jones, Executive Director of the St. Paul Center. “We’ve created an incredible study, and we want to reach as many people as we can. Thanks to a few very generous donors, we’re able to offer the study as an online series, helping us to reach thousands—tens of thousands—of people around the world.”
By offering the study online for free, the St. Paul Center has removed many of the obstacles Catholics face when considering a traditional Bible study. Those with busy schedules can participate without attending at a specific time and location. An individual can sign up even if they are the only one from their parish.
While supplemental materials do enhance the study (and are offered to participants at a discount for the duration of the live-streaming study), the study itself is free. The St. Paul Center has even created Leader Guides, books that walk one through the process of leading, so that anyone can host a group at their parish or home.
“We’ve been blown away by the participation,” says Jones. “Sign-ups are soaring and we can tell that many people are putting together groups using our Leader Guide and a handful of workbooks.”
Hosted by apologist and author Matthew Leonard, The Bible and the Sacraments reveals that throughout the Old Testament God interacted with man in a sacramental manner and through the ages was slowly preparing his people for the institution of these seven signs by Christ himself.
Cradle Catholics, converts, and everyone in-between can be enriched through the closer study of the sacraments. Matthew Leonard, who is also the executive producer of last year’s The Bible and the Virgin Mary video study, explains that The Bible and the Sacraments “is designed so that people who have been studying the faith for years come away with deeper understanding and knowledge,” while those who are learning about the sacraments for the first time “are introduced to the depth and beauty of our faith.”
Leonard continues, “There are so many levels of truth, so many levels of depth in Catholic teaching, that anyone and everyone will be enriched.”
In addition to its scriptural foundation, The Bible and the Sacraments draws from Dr. Scott Hahn’s bestselling book Swear to God: The Promise and Power of the Sacraments. Study participants will also benefit from the supplemental material in Dr. Jacob W. Wood’s text, Speaking the Love of God: An Introduction to the Sacraments.
“The Bible and the Sacraments brings to completion what I started with Swear to God years ago,” says Dr. Scott Hahn. “I see the sharing of the good news of the Sacraments entering a new era with this beautiful series.”
The Bible and the Sacraments also features twentieth-century Catholics whose lives had been greatly influenced by the reception of the sacraments. Notable figures such as Alfred Hitchcock, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Dolores Hope (wife of comedian Bob Hope) all demonstrate how the sacraments add meaning to our daily lives and sustain us through joys and hardships.
But the sacraments do more than just sustain us: they perfect us, or “complete” us as new creations in Christ. For this reason alone, the seven sacraments of the Church are deserving of more detailed study. The Bible and the Sacraments is a visually stimulating, informative, and deeply moving starting point for all Catholics.
Beginning March 1, the St. Paul Center will make The Bible and the Sacraments available online for free. Register now to participate. To learn more visit BibleandtheSacraments.com.
