This is a brief introduction to my DVD "Welcome to God's Library: Introducing Catholics to the Bible." Many Catholics grew up "biblically deprived." Since the Second Vatican Council, Catholics are reclaiming the Bible.

In the year 2000, I filmed a video titled Welcome to God’s Library which provided a basic introduction to the Bible for Catholics (intermediate/junior high through adult). The video summarizes the thrust of my book God’s Library. Several years ago, this video and the original edition of the book went out of print. Since then, I’ve been receiving inquiries from people interested in buying copies of the video (especially since Loyola Press published a new version of the book, God’s Library: A Catholic Introduction to the World’s Greatest Book in 2005)

So here’s what I did: I worked with my son, Mike, who is a videographer, to update the master copy of the video so that it is up to date (except for the fact that I look 8 years younger than I am now!) and refers to the new edition of the book. We then transferred it to DVD.

For more information about my DVD, send me an e-mail at welcometogodslibrary@comcast.net, providing me with your name, shipping address, and quantity and I’ll get back to you with details.

Here is a description of the DVD (42 minutes):

This video is for those who are interested in deepening their knowledge and familiarity with the Bible.

• DREs may use this video for catechist formation
• individuals can use it in the privacy of their own home for independent study
• parish leaders can use it as a formation experience for parish ministers
• pastoral staffs can use it as an introduction to parish Bible study
• RCIA teams can use it as part of the catechumenate’s introduction to Scripture
• youth ministers can use it to introduce adolescents to the Bible
• catechists can use it to introduce intermediate and junior high students to the Bible

The DVD consists of 3 parts. Part One is an introduction and overview:

• comparison to using a library
• how the Bible is arranged
• How to choose a Bible
• How to use the Table of Contents
• How to use Scripture citation to locate passages

Part Two covers the Old Testament:

• How to use the God’s Library bookmarks to become more familiar with the sections of the Bible
• exploration of the arrangement of the Old Testament
• overview of the highlights found in the 4 sections of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, History, Wisdom, Prophets

Part Three covers the New Testament:

• continuation of how to use the God’s Library bookmarks
• overview of the highlights found in the 4 sections of the New Testament: Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Letters, Revelation
• the importance of footnotes
• how to pray the Bible
• tips for where to begin reading the Bible
• introduction to the Lectionary
• conclusion

I hope you find this resource helpful! Thanks!

This group is a resource for new media bible study materials. The cutting-edge video products available for download include bible study discussion guides that provide historical context about the scripture, interpretive guidelines for the video, discussion leader questions, references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Lectionary References. The materials are grouped into various theme-based modules for easy reference.

This group contains great bible study resources for your youth group or individual study. The best in videos from 36 Parables and Outside da Box with discussion guides to help with interpretation of the video, provide important historical and cultural background, and a list of discussion questions to help facilitate dialogue with the group or individual contemplation. The video packages from 36 Parables also include a Catholic Extension page with Scripture and Catechism of the Catholic Church and Lectionary references.