September – 1 & 2 Book of Kings (Tuesday, September 6 at 7pm meeting and Tuesday, September 13 Movie) Where are we? First Kings opens describing the final days of King David (around 971 BC) and the conspiracies surrounding his succession. When David died (1 Kings 2:10), Solomon ascended the throne and established himself as a strong and wise leader. In the early years of Solomon’s reign, Israel experienced its “glory days.

With renewed enthusiasm and dedication, we shall resume our Bible Study meetings on Tuesday night, September 6th at 7:00pm. As in the past, each month, we will read through one book of the bible at home, and then come together on a Tuesday night to share our insights on that portion of scripture and discuss how its lessons can help us enrich our lives. Normally, we will meet on the first Tuesday of each month, but in September, we will be having two meetings. On the 6th, we will have a discussion about the 1st & 2nd Books of Kings, and on Tuesday night the 13th, we will see a movie about this passage of scripture. In October, we will begin studying the books of Wisdom. The wisdom books, or “the writings,” consist of Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Wisdom, the Song of Songs, and the Psalms. Some wisdom texts contend with the idea of law that is found in the book of Deuteronomy, namely that one who fulfills the law will thrive while the sinner will die. Job and Ecclesiastes argue that the righteous can also suffer by no fault of their own. Proverbs and Sirach give advice for daily life. All the wisdom books recognize the fear of God as the beginning of a wise and virtuous life. They give good ethical instruction with a philosophical tone. The Song of Songs describes a passionate relationship between its young, love-struck protagonists. This relationship has been compared to God’s relationship with Israel, or Christ’s compassion for the Church. The book of Psalms, a compilation of prayers, was gathered over a period of centuries. The prayers include praises and lamentations from individuals, as well as communities. They attempt to grasp at the relationship between God and humanity in the most personal and dramatic way. Calendar Tuesday September 6 7-8pm and 13 7-9.30pm (movie) 1& 2 Kings Tuesday October 4 7-8pm - Job Tuesday November 8 7-8pm – Psalms Tuesday December 6 7-8pm – Proverbs Tuesday January 3 7-8pm - Ecclesiastes Tuesday February 7 7-8pm - Song of Songs Tuesday March 7 7-8pm – Wisdom Tuesday April 4 7-8pm – Ben Sira

MONDAY, AUGUST 15 MASSES: 8.15, 12.10PM, 7.30PM The Catholic Church teaches as dogma that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory". This doctrine was dogmatically defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus by exercising papal infallibility. While the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church believe in the Dormition of the Theotokos, which is the same as the Assumption, the alleged physical death of Mary has not been dogmatically defined.