Dear friends in Christ
At the conclusion of each of the Scripture Readings at Mass we are told: The Word/Gospel of The Lord. This is a statement of fact since, whenever we read or hear the words of the Bible we are listening to God Himself speaking to us. It would be difficult for us to know Jesus really well if we were not familiar with His life and teachings. In this Sunday’s Mass we hear the beginning of the Gospel of St Luke, who tells us he has resolved to write down the life of Christ so that we may know the truth of the teachings we have received. Each of us, according to the unique circumstances of our life, has the obligation to know Christ and His doctrine in depth, This obligation lasts as long as our path here on earth shall continue; since as with any relationship, we can always discover more and more about the one who is the object of our love and desire. Jesus Christ is the centre of the universe and of our individual lives, and so we constantly, until the end, want to discover more and more about Him. The so-called plain man’s faith (I believe it all, even though I don’t know what it is) is not sufficient for a Christian in the world who is confronted each day by confusion and a lack of light regarding Christ and His Church. We daily encounter problems - moral, ethical, doctrinal - within our work and families, so we need (as St Paul says) to have a response for those who call us to account for the hope that we have. We Christians need to have the answers which allow us to counter the arguments of those who denounce us, and to know how to present these answers in a positive and attractive way. It is more and more important, in the widespread lack of faith to have, as near as possible, a complete and precise knowledge of Catholic teaching. This is why, in the words of Blessed John Henry Newman any child well instructed in the Catechism is, without realising it, a true missionary. If we study our Faith, and undertake to get to know Jesus in the Scriptures, then we will be able to open the doors of life for so many others. God bless you!
Msgr Kevin Hale