Week of January 22, 2023

Week of January 22, 2023

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Dear Parishioners,

Today is the Sunday of the Word of God. It is a new name for this Sunday, having been announced by Pope Francis three years ago. On this Sunday, he wants us to focus on the Word of God so that we may, “experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world.” (Aperuit Illis 2) In order to help us understand scripture better, I have assembled a list of essential teachings the Church has about scripture.

  1. Scripture is the Word of God. God is the primary author of scripture and therefore the truths expressed in it are certain, trustworthy and necessary for our salvation.
  2. God chose to use human beings to write the sacred scriptures. He did not dictate to them exactly what needed to be said but allowed them to use the modes of communicaton of their tmes to express tmeless truths. That is why it is important to understand the context and cultures of the times scriptures were written in order to understand what it is talking about.
  3. We are people of the Word, not people of the Book. Scripture is the written form of public revelaton. But, the Church also passes down Sacred Traditon which is just as much the Word of God. As St. John expresses in his Gospel, “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) Examples of these include the councils, the creeds, the order of the liturgical and the canon of scripture.
  4. All public revelaton closed at the death of the last apostle because they are the ones who personally knew Jesus who is the fullness of divine revelaton and they are tasked with handing that revelaton down. God can stll give private revelaton, though. These include many of the appearances of Jesus and Mary to Holy men and women. While these are good, private revelation is not necessary for our salvation and we are not required to believe it.
  5. The Canon of New Testament was not defined untl 382 at the Council of Rome. The Canon of the whole Bible was not officially defined untl the Council of Trent in 1545. Before these dates, there was debate on what should be included in scripture. We should always remember that we would not know for sure which books are sacred scripture without the Church.
  6. If you know scripture well and open to receiving its the message, your faith will become deeper and you will know God better. There are so many great Catholic resources and Bible studies out there. If you need a good place to start, then I suggest you read John Bergsma’s, “Bible Basics for Catholics” or find a good Bible study.

God bless!

Fr. Carter

P.S. Tomorrow is also the Natonal Day of Prayer for the Legal Protecton of the Unborn Children. Normally we celebrate this day on January 22nd. But it is transferred to tomorrow because the 22nd is a Sunday. So, please do penance in reparation for our national sin of elective abortion that day.