Dear Parishioner,

“It cut through me like a knife!” “It pulled the rug from under me!” “It knocked the stuffing out of me!” What might do that? Any examples? Death of a loved one; cancer, terminal illness; filing for divorce; “I love you!”; “I’m sorry for what I did to you!”; “Money isn’t going to get you what you want this time.”

There are so many things that can give you a wakeup call, shock you into reassessing your life/the meaning of your life or just life full stop. What shocks you, can reveal a lot about the state your life is in.

Has Scripture (The Word of God) ever hit you like a bolt of lightning and stopped you in your tracks? Do you remember why? What were the consequences? When you read the opening verse from our second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, What’s your reaction? ”The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely.” Heb 4:12

What passages have done that to you or still do? Write them down. Is there a common denominator or theme to them? As you reflect on them now, what conclusions emerge? If can’t think of any passages, then ask yourself why? And how can you change that?

Our second reading is just two verses (12 & 13) from chapter 4 of the Letter to the Hebrews, but they are a rallying call to remind us of what reading and living the Word of God is all about. It’s a challenge to put the Word of God at the centre of our lives and how to make sense of the lives we live and how God communicates with us and through us. And from the book of Wisdom: “I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me!”

Fr Ambrose McCambridge, OSB – Parish Priest