​Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

 
Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,
On September 30, 2019, Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, motu proprio “Aperuit Illis”, established that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God.” 

The title of the document, “Aperuit illis”, is equally important. They are its opening words, taken from St Luke’s Gospel, where the Evangelist describes how the Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples, and how “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”.

Pope Francis writes “that the life of our people be constantly marked by this decisive relationship with the living word that the Lord never tires of speaking to his Bride” (Aperuit Illis, 2).  

The Bible is not meant for a privileged few, continues Pope Francis. It belongs “to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words”. The Bible cannot be monopolized or restricted to select groups either, he writes, because it is “the book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity”.

Pope Francis invites us never to take God’s Word for granted, “but instead to let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with Him and with our brothers and sisters”.

The Letter closes with a reference to Our Lady, who accompanies us "on the journey of welcoming the Word of God", teaching us the joy of those who listen to that Word – and keep it.

This weekend I will have the honour of extending a blessing to our Ministers of the Word with the blessing found below.  We thank these women and men from our parish, of all ages, for proclaiming the Word of God and making it alive for our community.

May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at mass this weekend.
Fr. Greg