“The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes. The ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” Ps 19

Dear parishioners, 

As you can see from today’s psalm 19 quoted above, today’s readings are all about celebrating the dispositions of God, as they have been made known to us in Scripture. Today is all about celebrating the Word of God, simply put, the Bible. This Sunday of the Word of God was instituted by pope Francis, who decreed that it would be celebrated on this 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time because the readings of this Sunday are so well-suited to a meditation on the Word of God. It’s also timely because it coincides with the Sunday of Prayer for Christian Unity. Stuck as we are in the apparently permanent tragedy of Christian division, it is heartening to remember that there is in spite of everything, more that unites us than that divides us. I can think of two things. The first is that we all, in spite of our divisions and disagreements, hold fast to the same Scriptures. The second is that, thanks be to God, as the Church splintered into many factions, the Holy Spirit did not choose a side. Manifestly, the Holy Spirit is present in all the Churches that are truly Christian. That is no small consolation.

Here at St. Mary’s, we will mark the occasion by blessing the Bibles of all those who, following on last Sunday’s suggestion, have brought their Bibles to mass today for blessing. We also take this opportunity to point out that our Bible Study group continues to meet on Wednesdays from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Zoom. If you wish to join them, just send an email to the group’s email address: [email protected]. Once they have your email address, each week you will receive the link to that week’s Zoom gathering. 

In other news, the total of our Project Advance rebate from donations in 2021 has come in. It stands at $56,000! As soon as it is received, this amount will be deposited in our building fund. On behalf of the entire archdiocese and on behalf of our building committee, thanks again to all who have contributed so generously to Project Advance this year.

Given the incredibly aggressive spread of the omicron virus, there is a real possibility that notwithstanding all the precautions we take, Fr. Gabriel and I could become both positive. If that should happen, it will almost certainly not be possible to find priests to preside all our masses. So it could happen that you come to church for mass in the coming days or weeks, only to find that it isn’t a mass, but a liturgy of the Word with communion, led by a deacon or a layperson. This is just a heads-up. We hope it won’t come to this, but if it does, we will live it better if we all go into it forewarned.

Even as I write this, the sun is shining. I take this as a wink from God, saying to us: “Just be patient, be safe, be calm, be kind. This too shall pass!”

May God himself keep us safe and well in the week that opens before us. 

Fr. Guy