How does understanding the past help us to understand the present and shape our future? Discovering your family history tells the story of why you and your family are as you are today. Events in which your family participated. Challenges they faced. Successes they enjoyed and failures they endured. Beliefs, practices and values they held dear. Culture and religion they clung to through thick and thin. Your identity is inextricably linked to your family’s story.

The Bible tells the story of God’s action in human history The Christian Sacred Scripture or ‘holy writing’. The Word of God in human language. Like our family story, the Bible helps us understand where we have come from in terms of our Christian faith. Testament – means covenant or agreement between God and the People of God

The Bible tells the story of God’s action in human history A library of 73 books: 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. Earliest parts of the Bible are 4000 years old, while the last books were written about 1900 years old. Old Testament tells the story of God’s covenantal relationship with the Israelites. New Testament is the story of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and of the members of the early Church.

The Bible tells the story of God’s action in human history The Old Testament was important in the life of Jesus. He heard the stories and read them in the synagogue; they shaped his trust in his Father and how he fulfilled his mission on earth. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ (Luke 4:16-19) When you put the Old and New Testament together, they tell a single story – Greatest Story – God’s unconditional love for humankind.

The Bible reveals God’s plan for humankind In the Old Testament, we learn about how God’s people did not always listen to his promises. God sent prophets to help us understand that he was with us, but we still did not listen. God promised to send us a Messiah, an Anointed One, Savior of the World

The Bible reveals God’s plan for humankind God Revealed His Plan to Abraham God chose Abraham to be the founder of a great nation, Israel. Abraham and his wife Sarah traveled to Canaan, later known as Palestine. For Abraham’s great act of faith, God promised that he would be ‘the ancestor of a multitude of nations…’ (Genesis 17:4). This established the Covenant between God and the Israelites (the Hebrew people).

The Bible reveals God’s plan for humankind God Called Moses to Lead the Israelites to the Promised Land The descendants of Abraham and Sarah eventually had to flee Canaan and were forced into slavery by the Egyptians. God called Moses to lead them to freedom. God revealed to him that He is the One and only true God While they were on the journey, God appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of a burning bush and revealed the Ten Commandments.

The Bible reveals God’s plan for humankind Jesus, the Messiah, the Climax of God’s Action and Revelation in History God promised to send a Savior – Messiah (means Anointed One) to establish a new covenant between God and all human beings The central theme of Jesus’ life and preaching was the announcement and inauguration of the coming of God’s Kingdom Jesus reminded us of the Great Commandment (Revealed in the Old Testament) Love God with all your mind, heart, strength and our neighbors as ourselves

The Bible reveals God’s plan for humankind Jesus taught us a New Commandment (the central focus of the Gospel): That we love with the same love that he and his Father love us. John 15:9 After Jesus’ Death and Resurrection and Ascension, his disciples carried on his saving mission, spreading his Good News of God’s love At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon a large group of disciples, about 120 of them, including Mary the mother of Jesus and the women disciples

Poetry, music and song as storehouses of meaning The Psalms Record of the prayer and pain, the hopes and joys of the Israelite people. Prayers of praise of God and thanksgiving, asking for help and deliverance. Prayers of hope and resistance, expressing sorrow for sin. Usually sung by people gathered into two groups, back and forth. Still sung or recited today in the ‘Liturgy of the Hours’.

Poetry, music and song as storehouses of meaning Grace The word ‘grace’ comes from the Latin word gratia, which means ‘free’. Grace is the free and undeserved gift of God’s love to us. God shares his divine life and friendship with us. God’s grace is ever at work in our lives, helping us to live as children of God and disciples of Jesus. An old proverb runs, ‘There is an ebb to every tide, except the tide of God’s grace.’ God’s grace—his effective love—is always at high tide in our lives.

The story of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Born Frances Saveria Cabrini in Lombardy, Italy and became a religious sister. Founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and in 1889 went to New York City to work among immigrants. Established a network of educational, health care and social service institutions. First American citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church in 1946. Patron saint of immigrants.