Back in September of 2019, Holy Father Pope Francis issued a Motu Proprio declaring the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time as Sunday of the Word of God, directing us to consider how, in the life of the Church, the Scriptures are to be celebrated, studied, and shared. So let’s talk a little bit about the Scriptures.
The life of the Church is marked, changed, guided, infused, inspired and transformed by the Scriptures though which God has spoken and continues to speak. The Lord never tires of speaking to us through His Word and the Church never tires of listening that we may grow in love and faithful witness.
It is by the Scriptures that we come to understand the works and words of God throughout salvation history. It is by the Scriptures that we come to understand ourselves, our need for salvation in this fallen world, the promise of salvation through Christ. We come to know who God is when we take-up and read. We come to know who we are, and who we are meant to be in God’s plan.
In his book “The Lamb’s Supper”, catholic author and theologian Scott Hahn talks about the misconceptions he had about Catholicism prior to his conversion. He was under the impression that Catholics did not truly value the scriptures. And then, one day, he felt drawn to attend mass, to see for himself, and what he found wasn’t that we did not value the scriptures, in fact, just the opposite. The scriptures infuse every line of the Mass.
The words of the sign of the cross at the beginning of mass are taken directly from the lips of Jesus in Matthew Chapter 28 (Go and baptize, ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit). The greeting “the Lord be with you” is repeated often by St. Paul. Calling upon the Lord’s mercy in the penitential rite, not only draws upon the words of the repentant tax collected in Luke 18, but finds us beating our breast, humbling ourselves in ritual imitation of the sort of humility that is praised by the Lord Himself. The Gloria contains the words the Angels sing on Christmas in Luke chapter 2. And that’s just the introductory rite of mass.
We then dedicate an entire portion of the Mass—the Liturgy of the Word--to listen attentively to the Scriptures and to sing psalms in response. The homily breaks open the scriptures so that we can understand them better and better apply them to our lives.
The Creed is then recited which is a concise synthesis of the faith conveyed in the scriptures. And the Eucharistic prayer is one phrase from scripture after another woven into a tapestry of petition, praise, and gratitude, as we literally do what Jesus told us to do at the Last Supper, as recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. After receiving the Word made flesh in the Eucharist, We are sent out into the world with words from scripture “go in peace”, spoken by our Lord to the women in Luke chapter 8, “daughter your faith has saved you, go in peace”
We are sent out to be fishers of men, as we heard in the Gospel this weekend. And one might say that our effectiveness as fishers of men is contingent upon the Word of God. Our knowledge of it, and to the extent that it infuses and directs our lives.
And so we need to study the Word of God, as the Holy Father directs us. As scripture itself directs us. Joshua chapter 8 says, “Keep this Book always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words”, says the book of Revelation, “and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it.” Paul instructs Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” So we do well to study, meditate, seek to understand the scriptures as best we can so that we can be equipped for the work God has for us.
Scripture is not always easy to understand. Read it anyway. Study it anyway. Catholic Scriptures Studies like “The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture” and books by excellent Catholic scripture scholars like Scott Hahn and, Jeff Cavins, study Bibles like The Navarre Study Bible and The Word on Fire Study Bible published by Bishop Robert Barron are excellent tools. Fr. Mike Shmitz, a catholic priest from Duluth Minnesota, has the high rated podcast right now, with his series “The Bible in a Year”, and can be accessed for free. We have a bible study, in fact, every week, here at St. Ignatius, on Monday nights at 7pm in the school cafeteria.
Studying the scriptures in light of our Catholic Faith has never been more accessible. But that means taking a little time every day with our bibles in our laps or iphones or headphones, to hear the word, study the word, and meditate on the word.
Lastly, the Holy Father directs us to consider how the Word of God may be better shared. Having heard and celebrated the Word at Mass, having meditated upon it and studied it in our personal lives, we become more and more competent in sharing it with others.
For anyone that has access to social media, perhaps on a weekly basis, share a line from scripture that challenged you or inspired you that week, and share why. Don’t be afraid to share. Your time praying with, studying and meditating upon scriptures will touch others. For example, you can post to social media: I was going through a rough time this week, and this line from the Psalms spoke to me, here’s why. I was confused about how to handle a particular situation, and this parable resonated with me, here’s why. I came to a deeper understanding of Catholic moral or theological teaching because of this line from St. paul, here’s why.
And if you can’t do that with social media, how about, doing the same in person, perhaps with a family member who doesn’t go to Church. Write them…gasp…a letter. I was praying with this line of Scripture and it made me think of you, here’s why. The Lord is sending us like Jonah in the first reading, to speak the word of God to the inhabitants of Nineveh, to the sinful cities, and the lives of the confused and searching. And we must accept this calling, for we, might be the only prophet God wishes to send into some people’s lives.
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.” Becoming fishers of men, for all of us, likely means, making time to draw close to the Lord to listen to him, that he may equip us for the work he has for us, drawing others to Himself.
May we continue our worship today thanking God for the Word which is a lamp to our feet and a light unto our path, the word which is more valuable than silver or gold, the pearl of great price, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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