"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16)

On September 30, 2019, on the liturgical memorial of St. Jerome, Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Letter Aperuitillis, announced that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time would be observed as the Sunday of the Word of God and devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the Word of God.

In the Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass, we are reminded of the role of the Word of God in the life of the Church, "In the hearing of God's word the Church is built up and grows, and in the signs of the liturgical celebration God's wonderful, past works in the history of salvation are presented anew as mysterious realities. God in turn makes use of the congregation of the faithful that celebrates the Liturgy in order that his word may speed on and be glorified 
and that his name be exalted among the nations. 

Whenever, therefore, the Church, gathered by the Holy Spirit for liturgical celebration, announces and proclaims the word of God, she is aware of being a new people in whom the covenant made in the past is perfected and fulfilled. Baptism and confirmation in the Spirit have made all Christ's faithful into messengers of God's word because of the grace of hearing they have received. They must therefore be the bearers of the same word in the Church and in the world, at least by the witness of their lives. (Preamble, 7)

Reading, meditating about, and living the Word of God should be our life-long commitment. Today we are invited to reflect on the great importance of Sacred Scripture in lighting our way to Jesus, who is the Incarnate Word of God. Let us make sure that God’s Word will remain at the center of our lives – on our minds, on our lips and in 
our hearts. We should never take God’s Word for granted, but instead let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with God and with one another. On this Word of God Sunday let us re-commit and deepen our engagement with Sacred Scripture remembering the words of St. Jerome that "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

God Bless,
Fr. Gregg