Fr. Aidan Writes:
Every Sunday, and indeed at every Mass, we listen to the Word of God proclaimed with the readings, psalm and Gospel. This is not just a reading but a formal proclamation of the Word in the midst of the Assembly. We all hear the scriptures together so that we can all respond to the same promptings of the Holy Spirit and be united in purpose. This Sunday is known as Word of God Sunday, when we appreciate the role of the Bible scriptures in our daily lives and in the life of our worship community. Pope Francis called for this Sunday to be such a focus in 2019 in order to promote our deeper appreciation, study and spreading of the word. It is also at this time because the Bible scriptures are the one thing that unite all Christians, and this Sunday falls in Christian Unity week.
This is a time for us all to work for closer unity amongst all Christians. The late Pope Benedict XVI had a great concern for the lack of unity of Christians as we face a future filled with the challenges of secularism, of materialism, of socio-economic inequality and of differing ideologies; he felt that the Christian voice was fractured and thus less effective in the modern public forum. Too often as Christians, we have misplaced our concerns over our historical divisions at the expense of our joining forces and voices to speak up as one for what we know to be right in the face of uncertainty, false truth and the contentious forces and voices in society.
So, my request is that we all pick up our bibles more and allow our knowledge and inspiration in life to be rooted in the word of God and, also, to engage more with our brothers and sisters in Baptism.
God bless you and your families,
Fr Aidan-Peter CJ
May God bless you, your families, and the week ahead,
Fr Aidan Peter