St James Catholic Church

Almost every day or every week, is national something day or week.  You name it, and there will be an occasion for it.  To my surprise, today we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God.  It was established just four years ago to remind us that scriptures are central to our faith.  St. Jerome, who translated most of the bible into Latin in the fourth century wrote “Ignorance of the bible is ignorance of Christ.”  Christ is the center of the bible, both the Old and the New Testaments.  John wrote in his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was ‘God’.”  Through stories and myths, histories and testimonies, visions, dreams and parables, oracles, letters and songs, God is revealed to us through the Word.

Every time we come to celebrate Mass we listen to the words of scripture, conscious that God’s word is a living word, speaking to us in our age as powerfully and relevantly as when it was written.  Today, Isaiah tells us that we who once walked in darkness have seen a great light.  Eight hundred years later, Matthew noted that Jesus came giving new meaning to the great light who overcame the darkness.  We rejoice that the Lord has called us by name, just as he called Simon, Andrew, James, and John. 

Perhaps if we haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions it could be to read, study, and pray daily in 2023 over the scriptures, making them a central part of our life.

Love, Peace, Joy,

Fr. Bob