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How do I Start a Bible Study?

The most difficult part of establishing a Catholic Bible Study is attracting people to attend. You can do a study on your own but it is generally more productive if more people are involved. Talk up the idea with your friends, pastor, DRE. Run and article in your parish bulletin and / or make an announcement at Mass encouraging people to attend a scripture study at your parish. Recruit friends to recruit friends. The more the merrier. You can also invite your friends from other parishes to attend (people from several different parishes attend the study I'm currently involved with) and even some non-Catholics might find this study interesting.

This Bible Study is designed to be presented by the laity but it can certainly be presented by religious. The number of participants will determine whether the study should be presented in the parish hall, class size rooms, or in homes. Some parishes have fifty or more people wanting to attend. Others have groups of only 3 to 5 people. Large groups should be broken down into groups of 10-12 with a leader for each small group. The Study includes the Lectures in the form of Leaders Manuals and/or CDs and Student Workbooks. These books have the Imprimatur of the Bishop of the Diocese of Orange and are copyrighted. Everything you need for a bible study (except the people) is available at our web site.

Separate materials are provided regarding Leaders and Lecturers. There is also a separate document giving the outline of a typical class. Though the norm is one lesson (one complete lecture) per week, some people have found the prefer to split the lessons in to half or even thirds. Others use only the Student Books. The Student Books are only summaries of the lectures but work well for high school students. Generally, for a shorter class, we would recommend breaking an entire study into smaller pieces rather than using the Student Books so you get all of the lecture material presented. Either way works. Father O'Bryan's work is done and yours is just beginning!

How do I Run a Bible Study?

Below is a typical weekly class format:

First Hour - Small Group Sharing

Students break into their small group (12 or less)
Prayer said aloud together (Example: Prayer to the Holy Spirit)
Songs can be sung
Sharing begins (approximately 45 minutes)
Stretch / Break for coffee, etc. (10 - 15 minutes)

Second Hour - Lecture

Prayer said aloud by lecturer
Lecture begins for the following week's study (approximately 45-60 minutes)
Leader may present the material or play the CD

Total Class Time: appromimately 2 Hours each week

Recommended Personnel

Study can be adapted for 10 to 400 people.
The number of committed people that are needed varies depending upon the number of students.
Small Group Leader: One for every 10 people sharing answers.
Secretary: Functions might include: Advertising, Registration, Collecting fees (where applicable for materials etc.) or providing coffee / treats for the break.

The complete study consists of:

Leader's Manual - Leader's manuals contain the complete lectures of each lesson. A Leader may use these verbatim or edit them to suit the needs of the class.
Student Books - Also known as, Meditation Books, these books contain summaries of the lectures as well as assignments for the students to work on during the week. These assignments are "daily meditations"; with questions for sharing in group sessions.
CDs - Many Leaders use play the CDs, which are mostly original recordings of Fr. O'Bryan's lectures. These are the same lectures found in the Leader's Manuals with possible addition of a few of Father's comments.

Why a Catholic Bible Study is Important

This multi-year Catholic Bible Study series entitled INVITATION TO CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP, is an in-depth study of the New Testament for Catholic laity so that the Word of Christ, rich as it is, might dwell in us.

"Thus you will be able to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and heights and depth of Christ's love, and experience this love which surpasses all knowledge, so that you may attain to the fullness of God himself." (Ephesians 3:18-19)

The general motivating force behind this course is the preservation and growth of the Christian faith as understood and transmitted by the Catholic Church through the centuries.

Purpose

The Motivating cause for the formation of the Bible Study is to preserve and impart the Christian Faith as understood and transmitted by the Catholic Church through the centuries. This course has four immediate aims:

To incite a true spirit of repentance
To foster a deeper commitment in faith to Jesus Christ
To create a greater awareness of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer
To encourage a more vibrant participation in the life and mission of the Catholic Church

Christ said to the Saducees, "You err because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God." (Matthew 22:29). When we learn the scriptures, we learn about God and the power of His great love for us.

This Bible Study is now available to all parishes and at-home study groups. The study is designed for presentation by either a religious or layperson. These studies have received Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur through the Bishop of Orange, California.

Who is Father O'Bryan?

Invitation to Christian Discipleship Father James P. O'Bryan, S.T., is a native of Mississippi and a member of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. His order was founded specifically to work with the laity in their spiritual formation. Father Jim has studied at Holy Trinity Mission Seminary, Washington, D.C.; the Catholic University of America at Ponce, Puerto Rico; California State University Long Beach; and Chapman College in Orange, California, where he received his M.A. in Psychology.

After his ordination in 1956, Father served in the southern part of the United States and Puerto Rico. For several years he was engaged in giving retreats to priests, sisters and the laity. In 1966 he was sent to California where he served for five years as Guidance Counselor at Mater Dei High School and as Chaplain for the Juvenile Hall of Orange County.

In 1971 he established Holy Spirit Cenacle House in Orange, California, for the spiritual formation of the laity. He also served as Spiritual Director of the Holy Spirit Missionary Cenacle Apostolate. In 1976 he started writing the Catholic Bible Study: INVITATION TO CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP. He started writing in response to a call from the laity. Protestant Bible studies were recruiting Catholics. There were no Catholic Bible studies to be found. Father wrote for over 7 years and presented all of his lectures in person to over 400 people per week.

In addition he wrote ROCK FOUNDATION REVISTED, CHRISTIAN with a CAPITAL "C," and he refined his book on prayer, THE INNER JOURNEY. In a book entitled WE NEED NO WINGS, Father Jim has compiled and arranged the spiritual doctrines of Therese of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, and Catherine of Siena.

While on a Sabbatical in 1983, while residing in Holy Trinity, Alabama, Father researched the material for his book, AWAKE THE GIANT, a history of the first twenty-five years of the Missionary Cenacle Apostolate; it was published by the Cenacle Press in 1986 at which time he was National Spiritual Guide of all Missionary Cenacles (lay groups founded by his order).

Father Jim was assigned Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Pass Christian, Mississippi, in February 1990, where he stayed for almost seven years. Here he wrote RETURN TO EDEN, a book on marriage. In November 1996 he was sent to New Orleans, Louisiana, to reopen the Trinitarian House, a center for spiritual growth and development for the young adult Catholic laity. Becoming Pastor of St. Joseph Church in Pearlington, Mississippi in August 2003. He helped rebuild this community after its destruction by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. Living in the midst of the mud and ruin in a small trailer, he worked tirelessly to keep the Church alive in Pearlington. Assigned later to Magee, Mississippi he eventually became too ill from the results of Katrina to continue to work. He is now "retired" in Riverside, California though he continues his efforts instructing the laity. He leads an annual bible study retreat and continues to write, with his latest effort being, A CHRISTIAN WALKS THROUGH GENESIS. In this book, he shares his personal walk through Genesis in a work well suited for personal or group studies.

Above all, Fr. O'Bryan, affectionately referred to as "FOB" by those who know him, is an ardent Catholic who grew up in the Bible belt of America. Unlike the Pharisees, he knows both the power of God and the Scriptures of God and many are blessed through the sharing of his knowledge.

Click player to listen to a clip of Fr. O’Bryan: https://www.invitetodiscipleship.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Eucharistic.mp3