Fr. Don’s Weekly Letter ~ 8 March 2026

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

Our Lenten small group/self study continues this week using Session Three, The Liturgy of the Word, from A Biblical Walk through the Mass by Edward Sri.

How do you hear Sacred Scripture? Are they texts about God, or is God actually speaking to you? The Liturgy of the Word is more than a Bible study, it’s a personal encounter. Divine listening is not about learning, or even just hearing something new. It’s about encountering. It requires some preparation actively engaging in the Introductory Rites (see last week). The lector lends his voice.

This is what is unique about the Judeo-Christian legacy. In only these religions does God speak – we can hear him, we reply – God hears us, and responds to our words.

Synagogue worship developed out of this unique, active conversation. Communication is like communion. Even in Jesus’ time, there is evidence of a three-year cycle of readings.

God speaks first in the Old Testament (First Reading). We respond with “Thanks,” and a Psalm (should be sung when possible) also from the Old Testament. God speaks again, this time from the New Testament. We respond with “Thanks” and a Gospel verse and acclamation (alleluia! if not Lent). Then we hear the definitive revelation of Jesus in Gospel. The homily explains the Gospel. “I believe,” our profession of faith is the answer, and we entrust our needs to God in the Prayers of the Faithful.

The sacred hymns that are the Psalms are often referred to as “Jesus’ prayerbook.” He prays them often, especially when he cries out to the Father.

The New Testament did not suddenly appear out of nowhere. It is growth, informed by the past, moving forward with the breath of the Holy Spirit. Like the Easter Vigil when in seven First Readings we hear the story of salvation from Genesis to Jesus, there is a “historic” movement forward. Reaching its pinnacle in the Gospel, we hear the Words of God himself in Christ, we stand (the posture of deep reverence), we process with the Book of the Gospels, when we have enough servers, we use candles at the altar of the Word, the ambo, like we do at the altar of Jesus’ offering of himself to the Father. The proclamation of the Gospel, therefore, makes Jesus himself present to us in a profound way.

The readings from Scripture also correspond to the various seasons and feasts of the Church. On one level, the Church walks us through the life and mission of Jesus through the seasons of the liturgical year. In the four weeks of Advent, we recall the Old Testament period of humanity’s longing for the Savior. In the Christmas season, we rejoice in the birth of the Son of God who came to dwell among us. In the forty days of Lent, we participate in Jesus’ prayer and fasting in the desert as we prepare to enter Christ’s passion in Holy Week. In the fifty days of the Easter season, we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant resurrection and ascension into heaven, culminating on the fiftieth day with his sending of the Spirit on Pentecost. The rest of the liturgical year—known as Ordinary Time—focuses our attention on the public ministry of Jesus.

Because we are human and cannot fully grasp the entire mystery of Christ at once, it unfolds for us throughout the year. This is one reason why the Church marks off special days to give attention, thanks, and praise for a particular Mystery of Jesus’ life or a specific doctrine of the Catholic Faith.

The word homily means “explanation” in Greek, and its purpose is to help the assembly understand more fully the readings we have heard. In the early Church, the bishop typically was the one who celebrated Sunday Mass and gave the homily. Sometimes people use the word “sermon,” which means simply a talk that might be on any subject the speaker chooses. The liturgical reforms of Vatican II declared that the homily must be in service to the Gospel which has just been proclaimed.

After all of this our response is a powerful reaffirmation of our faith in this God who has revealed himself to us in his own words, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Nicene Creed, whose 1,700th anniversary we observed last year, is the universal faith of the Church, and touches on all the points which we must believe and embrace as Christians. It is a renewal of our baptismal identity, said together in community, a sign of our faith and unity in the Trinity. All is tied together nicely as we include in the Creed “in accordance with the Scriptures,” and “who has spoken through the prophets.” The new is the fulfillment of what came before.

The Lord be with you,