3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

01-22-2023From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

Thank you for inspiring your children into forming Youth Ministry in our parish! I thank our parish secretary and Deacon Rob in leading them as coordinators of this important ministry and continue to pray for our children to grow like Christ. I also request parents who have teenagers at home to encourage them to be part our parish youth ministry.

This Sunday, our Universal Church celebrates the ‘Word of God’ Sunday. Cardinal Sarah wrote of it as Prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship in 2020, “The Sunday of the Word of God, instituted by Pope Francis and to be held every year on the third Sunday of Ordinary Time, (Motu Proprio Aperuit Illis of Pope Francis, 2019) reminds us, pastors and faithful alike, of the importance and value of Sacred Scripture for the Christian life, as well as the relationship between the word of God and the liturgy: “As Christians, we are one people, making our pilgrim way through history, sustained by the Lord, present in our midst, who speaks to us and nourishes us. A day devoted to the Bible should not be seen as a yearly event but rather a yearlong event, for we urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the Risen Lord, who continues to speak his word and to break bread in the community of believers. For this reason, we need to develop a closer relationship with Sacred Scripture; otherwise, our hearts will remain cold and our eyes shut, inflicted as we are by so many forms of blindness” (II Vatican Council Dei Verbum).

Constitution Dei Verbum, n. 25 of the Second Vatican teaches us: “the clergy must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study, especially the priests of Christ and others, such as deacons and catechists who are legitimately active in the ministry of the word. This is to be done so that none of them will become ‘an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly ’since they must share the abundant wealth of the divine word with the faithful committed to them, especially in the sacred liturgy. The sacred synod also earnestly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the ‘excellent knowledge of Jesus Therefore, all Christ ’(Phil. 3:8). ‘For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’”.

There are also different levels of preparation being planned for the Eucharistic Renewal in our Diocese and in our parish. Please prayerfully respond to my request for ’72 Disciples’ to realize this preparation in our parish. This will ensure the vibrancy and missioncentered parish that we can become. Jesus first and foremost built community to preach and to teach; he built community to serve and nourish people. In order to be an authentic follower of Christ, every Christian strive to become a community builder.

Fr. Antony

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