Each Sunday most of us gather as a parish family to be fed by the Body and Blood of Christ and the Word of God. We know that our spiritual hungers are alleviated whenever we celebrate the Eucharist and whenever we listen and respond to the Word of God. Most of us will admit that life would be unbearable without the strength, courage, and the comfort that we receive at the Eucharist each Sunday. We know, too, that if we truly open our hearts to the Word of God, proclaimed at each Eucharist and available for private reflection in the Bible, we will receive direction for our lives, encouragement, the help needed for repentance, and the hope that comes from the sacred Word of God.

The Word of God is filled with stories of human emotions, needs, the presence of God, and the ability to change one’s direction with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is filled with conversion stories. These same scriptures reveal to us an image of God who gave his life that we might all have eternal life. Although the scriptures are ancient, they are ever new and relevant for our times. We can only understand this by making the time to read the sacred Word of God. All that we believe, all our doctrines, come from the Word of God. Our catechism, our papal teachings, all tradition is rooted in the Word of God.

Each week’s bulletin contains information about the Scripture Readings for the following Sunday (there is also a link to the full text on our parish website).   Parishioners tell me that when they read the next Sunday’s Scriptures during the week, they are much easier to comprehend because some reflection has already taken place.

If more Christians would take time regularly to read the Scriptures, we would find the answers to many of today’s challenges and fears. It is amazing how we are so faithful to the daily newspapers and the evening news on television. Countless people would never think of missing a day of news. Yet, God’s Word often is put on the back burner because of so many other important things we do each day. As our nation continues to search out terrorists and as we face the possibility of war in Iraq, it is even more imperative that we allow ourselves to be fed with the Eucharist and the Word of God. So, let us continue to come to the Table of the Lord and feast on the Word and Eucharist.