Dear Parish Family,
Pope Francis has declared that the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time will be devoted to the celebration and study of the Word of God.
(September 30 is the feast day of St. Jerome, who is known especially for his translation of Scriptures into Latin.)
The document is called Aperuit illis, from its opening words, taken from St. Luke’s Gospel, where the Evangelist describes how the Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples, and how “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
When we gather for Mass, God speaks his word to us through the Scriptures. Our desire is to open our ears and our hearts to listen attentively. To prepare to hear the Word we could more effectively do this by reading the Sunday Scriptures before Mass in order to prepare our hearts to receive the Word of the Lord.
The Bible is the inspired word of the Lord. As Catholics, we believe this is the holy book of the church, the sacred literature of God’s people. Our church encourages us to read and reflect frequently on the pages of this book so that we may be continually formed into committed disciples of Jesus Christ
May the Holy Spirit instill in us a deep desire to know God’s word and may our reading of Scripture lead us to a deeper faith, a more lively hope, and a more fervent love for the Lord and his holy church.
God Bless,
Fr. Cyrus
