Thomas Nelson - My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories

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I thank Godfor everyremembrance of you."
PHILIPPIANS 1:3

My Big Book of
Catholic

BIBLE STORIES

Compiled by Heidi Hess Saxton

Nihil Obstat
Most Reverend David R. Choby, S.T.B., J.C.L.
Bishop, Diocese of Nashville
September 3, 2009

Imprimatur
Most Reverend David R. Choby, S.T.B., J.C.L.
Bishop, Diocese of Nashville
September 3, 2009

2009 by Thomas Nelson.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Tommy Nelson. Tommy Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Page design by Mandi Cofer.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

The Scripture contained herein is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked RSV is from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Copyright 1946, 1952 and 1971 by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotations marked CCC are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.Libreria Editrice Vaticana. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

My big book of Catholic Bible stories / compiled by Heidi Hess Saxton.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4003-1538-3 (hardcover)
1. FamiliesReligious life. 2. Spiritual lifeCatholic Church. 3.
Religious educationActivity programs. 4. Christian educationHome training. 5. Bible stories, English. I. Saxton, Heidi Hess.
BX2351.M9 2009
220.9505dc22

2009032128

Mfgr: R R Donnelley
Shenzhen, China
November/2009 PPO #96661

My dear Children

God loved the world so much that He sent us His only Son to save us from sin. And Jesus brought us the Good News that God loves each one of us with a most tender love. We are precious to Him. He has carved us in the palm of His hand. And we are created for greater things: to love and to be loved.

It is so important for us to know the Word of God. Because if we know it , we will love it; and i f we love i t . we will keep it and live it . Let us ask Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, for the grace to imitate her. She kept the Word of God and pondered it in her heart. And to be able to do that, we must pray. Prayer gives a clean heart, and a clean heart can see God and know His will for us.

Jesus tells us, "Love one another as I have loved you." And how do we do that? Love begins in the family. I begin by loving my father and my mother, my brothers and sisters; my friends in the neighbourhood and at school and all those I meet in my town or city. Love to be true must hurt, must cost us something. When we love like that, ready to make a sacrifice, we will find peace and joy.

Look around and see if there is anyone around you who is sick, poor, lonely, or feeling unloved or unwanted. We don't have to do big things. What counts is that we do small things with great love - giving a smile, a kind word, a helping hand, bringing a glass of water, sharing a sweet. Remember that we do it to Jesus because He said, "Whatever you do to the least, you do it to Me." So let us pray much that we may be the sunshine of God's love to all we meet.

Let us pray.

Contents

Introduction:
God Wants Us to Grow... Together!

STORIES FROM
THE NEW TESTAMENT

God Wants Us to Grow...
Together!

WE ARE PART OF GODS FAMILY

God gives us family to provide guidance, fellowship, and love for the good times and the bad.

All this is true with Gods family too. Each of us is brought into the family through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation and called to have a personal and intimate relationship with God our heavenly Father, through Jesus his Son and in the Holy Spirit. We, the Church, are the Bride of Christ, members of his Body. And so, we approach God not just as individuals, but as a family.

OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN FAITH

Part of our Church family is already in heaven. The Church Triumphant is made up of our brothers and sisters in faith who are in heaven, and whose lives and writings have been preserved for us, in the Deposit of Faith. This includes the Scriptures as well as other, less authoritative, spiritual writings and stories. Some of these stories have been included in this book to help you get to know some of the spiritual giants of the faith!

Why is it important to read about other men and women of the faith, or to read sources such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church as we study the Scriptures? In the same way we can learn from our families, the lives of saints can also teach us about God. That is why Jesus left a group of his followers to pass the gospel message on to others.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

St. Jerome said, The New Testament is hidden in the Old; the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New. We read Scripture and interpret it with this in mind, and the readings we hear at Mass each week are arranged along these lines as well. If you go to Mass each day and listen attentively, you will become familiar with most of the Bible in the course of three years.

Because most of us dont make it to church every day, cultivating the habit of regular spiritual reading is important. A family that wishes to grow strong in the faith must study the Scriptures and then seek ways to apply what they have read in daily life. Reading this book as a family can help you do just that!

HELPFUL RESOURCES

As you read through the stories in the book, take note of the additional resources for your family:

The deuterocanonical books are books that are unique to the Catholic Church. Jews and some Christians do not consider them a part of the inspired canon.

The stories in the book are color-coded:

A story with a beige heading is from the Old Testament.

A story with a brown heading is a deuterocanonical book.

And a story with a blue heading is from the New Testament.

GOING DEEPER sections include Read It! and Do It! sections that direct you to related readings with fun and educational family activities.

SPECIAL WORDS teach meanings of unusual and unfamiliar biblical terms.

DID YOU KNOW? sections will teach you fun facts.

THE QUOTE OF THE DAY