Pastor's Corner
March 5, 2017
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4
When Jesus is tempted by Satan (“Adversary” in Hebrew), He quotes the above scripture passage from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. There, God is speaking to the people who had been wandering through the desert through His servant, Moses. God is reminding them that the good things that He has promised or provided (like manna, which kept them from starving) are signs of His gratuitous love. But they must seek Him, not the signs!
The same is true for us. We can get caught up in the good things of this world and the gifts God has given us, and seek the gifts, rather than the Giver. This is a great temptation, and Jesus shows us how to overcome this and other temptations by being immersed in the Word “that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
But most Catholics are starving when it comes to the Word. 48% of California Catholics seldom or never read the Bible and 23% only read it several times a year to once or twice a month. How can we call ourselves people of faith if we will not listen to what God might say to us? Faith is a relationship, yet nearly three out of four Catholics in our state are hardly, if ever, listening to what God is saying!
So how do we start reading the Bible? Just do it! For Lent, I’m reading a chapter a day from one of the Gospels as part of my prayer. Not just to “get through it”, but beginning by asking for the Holy Spirit to open my mind and heart, and then savoring the word. Brandon Vogt, a Catholic lay man, has some suggestions for year-long plans, as well as a description of Catholic Bibles at http://brandonvogt.com/how-to-easily-read-the-whole-bible/. If you run across a passage that is really confusing, Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire website has lots of video and written commentaries on various passages at https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/browse/scripture/, or you can look in the footnotes, if your bible has them, for some explanations. And, of course, you can always ask one of the priests for some help!
If you want to overcome temptation, take Jesus’ approach and know your scriptures!