by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 31, 2019 | Evangelium
St Brigid (451- 525)
Born in 451 or 452 at Faughart, near Dundalk, in Ireland, she converted to Christianity, inspired by the preaching of St Patrick. She founded a monastery at Kildare. She died there in 525.
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Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 95: 1, 6
O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In his presence are majesty and splendour, strength and honour in his holy place.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Hebrews 10:32-39
Remember all the sufferings that you had to meet after you received the light, in earlier days; sometimes by being yourselves publicly exposed to insults and violence, and sometimes as associates of others who were treated in the same way. For you not only shared in the sufferings of those who were in prison, but you happily accepted being stripped of your belongings, knowing that you owned something that was better and lasting. Be as confident now, then, since the reward is so great. You will need endurance to do God’s will and gain what he has promised. Only a little while now, a very little while, and the one that is coming will have come; he will not delay. The righteous man will live by faith, but if he draws back, my soul will take no pleasure in him. You and I are not the sort of people who draw back, and are lost by it; we are the sort who keep faithful until our souls are saved.
Psalm 36(37):3-6, 23-24, 39-40
- R) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
1.If you trust in the Lord and do good, then you will live in the land and be secure. If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart’s desire.
2.Commit your life to the Lord, trust in him and he will act, so that your justice breaks forth like the light, your cause like the noon-day sun.
3.The Lord guides the steps of a man and makes safe the path of one he loves. Though he stumble he shall never fall for the Lord holds him by the hand.
4.The salvation of the just comes from the Lord, their stronghold in time of distress. The Lord helps them and delivers them and saves them: for their refuge is in him.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps 118:27
Alleluia, alleluia!Make me grasp the way of your precepts, and I will muse on your wonders. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’ He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’ Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept our offerings, O Lord, we pray, and in sanctifying them grant that they may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon Cf. Ps 33: 6
Look toward the Lord and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, receiving the grace by which you bring us to new life, we may always glory in your gift. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Trust and hope in God in bad times. Today’s readings are about hope and confidence in God. They are not a promise of instant salvation or total security in this world. As the reading from the letter to the Hebrews states, bad things may happen; we are called to be faithful and to hope. The Author says his followers have been “exposed to insults and violence” and need “endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.” The Gospel also gives some advice on what to do in times of suffering. We need to trust in God and to be patient with Him and expect great things from Him. May our faith in Jesus’ preaching of the Kingdom of God improve our sight and fire our imaginations to see God powerfully at work in all that is small.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 30, 2019 | Evangelium
St John Bosco (1815 – 1888)
He was born in Piedmont of a peasant family, and he was brought up by his widowed mother. He became a priest, and his particular concern was for the young.
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Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 131: 9
Your priests, O Lord, shall be clothed with justice; your holy ones shall ring out their joy.
Collect
O God, who raised up the Priest Saint John Bosco as a father and teacher of the young, grant, we pray, that, aflame with the same fire of love, we may seek out souls and serve you alone. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Hebrews 10:19-25
Through the blood of Jesus we have the right to enter the sanctuary, by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his body. And we have the supreme high priest over all the house of God. So as we go in, let us be sincere in heart and filled with faith, our minds sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is faithful. Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works. Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, as some do, but encourage each other to go; the more so as you see the Day drawing near.
Psalm 23(24):1-6
R/ Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
1. The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm.
2. Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things.
3. He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps 118:135
Alleluia, alleluia!Let your face shine on your servant, and teach me your decrees. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 4:21-25
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Would you bring in a lamp to put it under a tub or under the bed? Surely you will put it on the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’ He also said to them, ‘Take notice of what you are hearing. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given – and more besides; for the man who has will be given more; from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Receive, O Lord, we pray, the offerings placed on your altar in commemoration of Saint John Bosco so that, as you brought him glory, you may, through these sacred mysteries, grant to us your pardon. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon Cf. Mt 24: 46-47
Blessed is the servant whom the Lord finds watching when he comes. Amen I say to you: He will put that servant in charge of all his property.
Prayer after Communion
May partaking at the heavenly table, almighty God, confirm and increase strength from on high in all who celebrate the feast day of Saint John Bosco that we may preserve in integrity the gift of faith and walk in the path of salvation you trace for us. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The goal of human life is union with God. God made us in order to live with him in this world and in the next. Sin makes union with God impossible, but sin has been destroyed by Jesus. In Jesus therefore, we can achieve the purpose of our existence; we can be united with God. Through faith in Jesus, by holding on in hope to his promise of eternal life, and by obeying his command to show love to our brothers and sisters, we will live in God and God will live in us. It is in this way that our lives can shine like a lamp that is placed on a lampstand and gives light to an entire house. When we live in union with Jesus, we become witnesses of the presence and action of Jesus in the world. As St. Josemaria Escriva advises, let us live in such a way that anyone who sees us will know that we read the life of Christ. Let our very existence be a witness of our union with Christ to the world.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 29, 2019 | Evangelium
Saint Aedan of Ferns
(c.550 – 632)
He was the son of an Irish tribal chieftain and studied under St Finian and St David. He was the first bishop of Ferns, in Ireland, and founded many churches and monasteries.
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Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 95: 1, 6
O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In his presence are majesty and splendour, strength and honour in his holy place.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Hebrews 10:11-18
All the priests stand at their duties every day, offering over and over again the same sacrifices which are quite incapable of taking sins away. He, on the other hand, has offered one single sacrifice for sins, and then taken his place forever, at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made into a footstool for him. By virtue of that one single offering, he has achieved the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying. The Holy Spirit assures us of this; for he says, first: This is the covenant I will make with them when those days arrive; and the Lord then goes on to say:
I will put my laws into their hearts and write them on their minds. I will never call their sins to mind, or their offences. When all sins have been forgiven, there can be no more sin offerings.
Psalm 109 (110):1-4
R/ You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
1. The Lord’s revelation to my Master: ‘Sit on my right: your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
2. The Lord will wield from Zion your sceptre of power: rule in the midst of all your foes.
3. A prince from the day of your birth on the holy mountains; from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
4. The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. ‘You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
Gospel Acclamation: 1S 3:9, Jn 6:68
Alleluia, alleluia!Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 4:1-20
Jesus began to teach by the lakeside, but such a huge crowd gathered round him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there. The people were all along the shore, at the water’s edge. He taught them many things in parables, and in the course of his teaching he said to them, ‘Listen!, Imagine a sower going out to sow. Now it happened that, as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground where it found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; and when the sun came up it was scorched and, not having any roots, it withered away. Some seed fell into thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop. And some seeds fell into rich soil and, growing tall and strong, produced crop; and yielded thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’ When he was alone, the Twelve, together with the others who formed his company, asked what the parables meant. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God is given to you, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables, so that they may see and see again, but not perceive; may hear and hear again, but not understand; otherwise they might be converted and be forgiven.’ He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? What the sower is sowing is the word. Those on the edge of the path where the word is sown are people who have no sooner heard it than Satan comes and carries away the word that was sown in them. Similarly, those who receive the seed on patches of rock are people who, when first they hear the word, welcome it at once with joy. But they have no root in them, they do not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, they fall away at once. Then there are others who receive the seed in thorns. These have heard the word, but the worries of this world, the lure of riches and all the other passions come in to choke the word, and so it produces nothing. And there are those who have received the seed in rich soil: they hear the word and accept it and yield a harvest, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept our offerings, O Lord, we pray, and in sanctifying them grant that they may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 33: 6
Look toward the Lord and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, receiving the grace by which you bring us to new life, we may always glory in your gift. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus is the High Priest who has offered the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. He is the Sower, who offers us God’s message of salvation: if we believe in him and obey his commands, then we will be purified and will obtain the salvation which he won for us by his sacrifice. How do we receive this message? How faithful are we to it? Are we simply indifferent to the message? Do we abandon God’s commands when we start facing persecution and difficult moments? Do we sacrifice God’s precepts because we want to enjoy the pleasures of the world? Or do we accept the message and stick to it come what may? To which of the above categories do we belong? May God give us the grace to choose and stick to the last one.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 28, 2019 | Evangelium
Sts. Sarbelius & Barbea
Two martyrs, brother and sister, who were put to death at Edessa during the persecutions of Emperor Trajan. Sarbelius, also called Sharbel, was a high priest at Edessa, in Mesopotamia.
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Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 95: 1, 6
O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In his presence are majesty and splendour, strength and honour in his holy place.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Hebrews 10:1-10
Since the Law has no more than a reflection of these realities, and no finished picture of them, it is quite incapable of bringing the worshippers to perfection, with the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year. Otherwise, the offering of them would have stopped, because the worshippers, when they had been purified once, would have no awareness of sins. Instead of that, the sins are recalled year after year in the sacrifices. Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless for taking away sins, and this is what he said, on coming into the world: You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation, prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin; then I said, just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book, ‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’ Notice that he says first: You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.
Psalm 39:2, 4, 7-8, 10, 11
R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
1.I waited, I waited for the Lord and he stooped down to me; he heard my cry. He put a new song into my mouth, praise of our God.
2.You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I.
3.Your justice I have proclaimed in the great assembly. My lips I have not sealed; you know it, O Lord.
4.I have not hidden your justice in my heart but declared your faithful help. I have not hidden your love and your truth from the great assembly.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps 118:135
Alleluia, alleluia! Let your face shine on your servant, and teach me your decrees. Alleluia!
Gospel : Mark 3:31-35
The mother and brothers of Jesus arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept our offerings, O Lord, we pray, and in sanctifying them grant that they may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 33: 6
Look toward the Lord and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, receiving the grace by which you bring us to new life, we may always glory in your gift. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
God is not interested in sacrifices, but first and foremost in obedience to his will. None of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant could take away sin; Jesus had to replace them with the sacrifice of obedience. He offered himself as a sacrifice for us in obedience to his Father’s will, and it is this sacrifice made out of obedience that could take our sins away. Jesus declares that the members of his family are those who do God’s will, that is, those who obey God like him. This is an invitation to offer ourselves to God and place our lives entirely at his disposal, like Jesus did. We need to seek to know the will of God through prayer and meditation on his Word, and ask him for the grace to do this will.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 27, 2019 | Evangelium
St Thomas Aquinas
(1225 – 1274)
He was born of a noble family in southern Italy, and was educated by the Benedictines. He studied in Paris and in Cologne under the great philosopher St Albert the Great. He is the Church’s one and only Angelic Doctor.
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Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Sir 15: 5
In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and clothed him in a robe of glory.
Collect
O God, who made Saint Thomas Aquinas outstanding in his zeal for holiness and his study of sacred doctrine, grant us, we pray, that we may understand what he taught and imitate what he accomplished. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Hebrews 9:15, 24-28
Christ brings a new covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant. It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ, too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him.
Psalm 97 (98):1-6
R/ Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
1.Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation.
2.The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel.
3.All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy.
4.Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp with the sound of music. With trumpets and the sound of the horn acclaim the King, the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation Ps 24:4,5
Alleluia, alleluia!Teach me your paths, my God, make me walk in your truth. Alleluia!
Gospel : Mark 3:22-30
The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house. ‘I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in him.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May the sacrifice which we gladly present on the feast day of Saint Thomas Aquinas be pleasing to you, O God, for, taught by him, we, too, give ourselves entirely to you in praise. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Lk 12: 42
Behold a faithful and prudent steward to give them their allowance of food at the proper time.
Prayer after Communion
Through Christ the teacher, O Lord, instruct those you feed with Christ, the living Bread, that on the feast day of Saint Thomas Aquinas they may learn your truth and express it in works of charity. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
God has made a covenant with us through Jesus Christ. Jesus shed his blood once and for all for us, and whoever believes in him has his sins forgiven. If we receive forgiveness for all sins through Christ, then why does he declare that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven? What does this sin consist in? It consists in rejecting Jesus and calling evil what is manifestly good and comes from him. If we reject the actions of Jesus, if we condemn the acts that are performed by his servants through his grace, then we are sinning against the Holy Spirit, since it is the Holy Spirit who inspires these acts. Consequently, to reject the actions which Jesus inspires in his children through his Spirit is to walk towards our own doom. We should allow Jesus to break into our hearts and take us hostage, so that we may see him at work in our lives and in the world and give him praise.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 26, 2019 | Evangelium
Third Sunday in Ordinary time, Psalter III
ST ANGELA MERICI (1470 – 1540)
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Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 95: 1, 6
O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In his presence are majesty and splendour, strength and honour in his holy place.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10
Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, consisting of men, women, and children old enough to understand. This was the first day of the seventh month. On the square before the Water Gate, in the presence of the men and women, and children old enough to understand, he read from the book from early morning till noon; all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden dais erected for the purpose. In full view of all the people – since he stood higher than all the people – Ezra opened the book; and when he opened it all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people raised their hands and answered, ‘Amen! Amen!’; then they bowed down and, face to the ground, prostrated themselves before the Lord. And Ezra read from the Law of God, translating and giving the sense, so that the people understood what was read. Then Nehemiah – His Excellency – and Ezra, priest and scribe and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all the people, ‘This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not be mournful, do not weep.’ For the people were all in tears as they listened to the words of the Law. He then said, ‘Go, eat the fat, drink the sweet wine, and send a portion to the man who has nothing prepared ready. For this day is sacred to our Lord. Do not be sad: the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.’
Psalm 18 (19):8-10, 15
R/ Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.
1. The law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul. The rule of the Lord is to be trusted, it gives wisdom to the simple.
2. The precepts of the Lord are right, they gladden the heart. The command of the Lord is clear, it gives light to the eyes.
3. The fear of the Lord is holy, abiding for ever. The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
4. May the spoken words of my mouth, the thoughts of my heart, win favour in your sight, O Lord, my rescuer, my rock!
Second reading : 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27
Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink. Nor is the body to be identified with any one of its many parts… Now you together are Christ’s body; but each of you is a different part of it.
Gospel Acclamation : Lk 4:18
Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives.Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21
Seeing that many others have undertaken to draw up accounts of the events that have taken place among us, exactly as these were handed down to us by those who from the outset were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, I in my turn, after carefully going over the whole story from the beginning, have decided to write an ordered account for you, Theophilus, so that your Excellency may learn how well founded the teaching is that you have received. Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised him. He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written: The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the Synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept our offerings, O Lord, we pray, and in sanctifying them grant that they may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 33: 6
Look toward the Lord and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, receiving the grace by which you bring us to new life, we may always glory in your gift. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
How important is the Word of God for us? What place does it occupy in our lives? These are questions that every Christian must ask herself, and to which she must give appropriate responses. Ezra the priest read the Word of God to the Israelites from early morning till noon, and the Israelites listened attentively. They were so touched by the Word that they wept; they must have realised how much they fell short of applying that Word in their lives. If only we could listen to the Word and allow ourselves to be touched by it in the same way! Luke begins his Gospel by stating the reason why he wrote it; he wrote so that Theophilus, to whom he addressed it, might believe more deeply in the teaching he had received about Jesus. The Word of God deepens and strengthens our faith in Jesus Christ. As Jesus states in the Gospel, the words of Scripture are fulfilled in him. The Word of God leads us to a greater knowledge of and a deeper faith in Jesus. As St. Jerome said, “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”. We must meditate on the Word everyday, so that we may know Jesus better, love him more deeply and serve him more faithfully.
