What a blessed Thursday you have given us today, our dear loving God the Father as we celebrate the Memorial of St. Jerome who taught us that "ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Jesus Christ".
In him we find hope and consolation to tame our cantankerous attitudes in this age of too much means of communication that lead to more quarrels and division than peace and unity; give us the grace, O Lord that like St. Jerome we may assiduously pray, study, and most of all, live the Sacred Scriptures so we may be emptied of our many impurities to be filled with your humility and kindness.
How wonderful that on this day the first reading describes to us the great joy your words have brought to your exiles upon their return to Jerusalem; let us give the proper respect due to your words, dear God, for they are life!
Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all the people: “Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep,” for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. He said further: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!”
Nehemiah 8:9-10
Bless us your priests, Father, who are supposed to be men of the Word according to Vatican II that we may "enflesh" your holy words like Jesus the eternal Word who became flesh so that indeed, as your Son had said in today's gospel, people would pray for more laborers in the field than anything else to feed their hunger and thirst for meaning in this life. Amen.
