Today is the third Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In 2019 Pope Francis designated this day each year as Sunday of the Word of God. A day to notice, in a special way, the importance of Sacred Scripture in our lives. It’s not just about our Church lives but our lives in a general way that Scripture should inform us.
Thinking about the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, we should learn of God’s love for us. That love should affect how we live day to day in all our interactions and in all our relationships. The more we know about Scripture the better we should be in the rest of our lives.
When I say the more we know about Scripture I don’t necessarily mean that in an exegetical sense though there’s nothing wrong with that. I mean it in terms of understanding God’s love for us and how we are called to take that love out to others.
In today’s first reading we hear about Ezra and how the people were weeping from the reading they were hearing. But Ezra, Nehemiah, and the priests, were all instructing the people and helping them to understand this was actually a time for joy as God’s love brought them back from Babylon. This interpretation is exactly what the homily at Mass is supposed to do. It is a bridge to help the people apply the readings to their everyday lives. Good homilists get that and excel at it but it’s up to us to be good listeners.
One thing I suggest to people to help them grow in their spiritual life is to become better listeners at Mass. It frequently feels like during the readings and/or homily people get distracted. I understand because I’m just as human as the next person but we all need to be sure we’re listening.
So, let’s all rededicate ourselves to listening well at Mass and being sure we are applying what we hear to our lives.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace, Bob
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