From staff reports

This fall, internationally renowned speaker and author Jeff Cavins will visit St. Isaac Jogues Parish, Marlton, to offer his presentation “When You Suffer: Biblical Keys for Hope and Understanding.”

Slated for 5:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 17, the popular speaker’s events often sell out early, so pre-registration is recommended. The event is sponsored by the diocesan Department of Catholic Cemeteries and is designed to help participants understand the Church’s perspective on suffering – that it has meaning, and that it is inseparable from being human. Learning to attach meaning to suffering enables the individual to cope with almost anything, organizers said. People can learn during this presentation what is really happening when one suffers.

Cavins, who grew up Catholic but left the Church as a young adult, spent 12 years as a Protestant pastor before returning to the Catholic Church. Creator of the popular Great Adventure Bible Study, he communicates the Catholic faith and understanding at a level all can understand, taking theological truths and expressing them practically. The foundational study, “The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation,” has enabled students to understand the chronological flow of Scripture.

“Knowing Scripture and the story of Salvation History is key to knowing God and his plan for your life,” Cavins said in an interview with The Monitor ahead of his November 2017 visit to the Diocese, when he presented The Bible Timeline Seminar” in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral Parish, Freehold.

Other Great Adventure Bible Studies taught and recorded by Cavins include The Book of Matthew Bible Study; The Book of Acts Bible Study; The Book of Revelation Bible Study, and The Book of James Bible Study series. More than 6,000 groups have used these studies nationwide and internationally.

“Most people, when asked, ‘Have you read the Bible,’ answer, ‘I tried,’” Cavins has said. “The reason they gave up is that they tried to read it as a book – like a great epic story. What happens, they start reading in January, and in March they quit,” he said, adding that people typically stop at the Book of Leviticus, which focuses on instructions and law. 

“Leviticus is not a history book. They lose the narrative thread and give up. That’s typical to life. If you lose the plot, you put it down,” he said.

Cavins is the founding host of EWTN’s weekly program “Life on the Rock,” as well as Relevant Radio’s daily show, “Morning Air.” He is author of several books, including “My Life on the Rock: A Rebel Returns to the Catholic Faith” and “I’m Not Being Fed: The Food that Satisfies the Soul.” His Oct. 17 presentation is based on a recently published book of the same title.

A graduate of Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio, with a master’s in theology, Cavins is currently the director of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn. He is on the board of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute at the St. Paul Seminary, Minn., where he has served as director for six years. He is a fellow of the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colo., and the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, Steubenville. Cavins resides with wife, Emily, and their daughters in Minnesota.

Check-in will begin at 4 p.m. the day of the presentation. Cost to attend is $25; pre-registration in July and August is $20. Participants can register online at DioceseofTrenton.org/catholic-cemeteries; by phone if paying with credit card, 856-317-6400.

For more information, contact Maria Guzman-Paczkowski, [email protected], 856-317-6400. St. Isaac Jogues Parish is located at 348 Evesboro-Medford Road.

Previous Coverage

• Biblical scholar Jeff Cavins visiting Diocese to help faithful understand the Word

• Acclaimed evangelist Jeff Cavins leads faithful of Diocese on great adventure through the Bible