Did you know that the Roman Catholic Church chose September as the month of the Bible? Why? Simple… because we celebrate the feast of St. Jerome on September 30th. The Bible was written originally in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek, and St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, the famous Vulgate, which means “popular.”
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and, for that reason, we venerate the Holy Scriptures. God is talking to us through the Holy Bible. All its stories, poems, and prayers are wonderful lessons that God gives us for our lives. The word Bible comes from the Greek word βιβλος (Biblós), which means collection of books or a small library. That means that the Bible is not only divided into two parts, the Old and New Testament, but it is also divided into books. How many books does the Bible have? The Catholic Bible has 73 books, 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. What can we say about the Bible? The Bible is not a scientific or historical book. This does not mean that what the Bible says is not true because its focus is to understand that God is the creator of the universe. For example, the Bible responds to the question WHO created the world, while the science responds to the question HOW the world was created. Two different questions, so two different answers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says, “In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks to them in human words: ‘Indeed the words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men’” (CCC 101). God uses human words to communicate to humankind, and these words are found in the Bible.
It is hard to express all the reality of the Bible in just this text; therefore, we need to understand and believe that God is always talking to us through the Holy Scriptures. If you have questions about the Holy Bible, please contact me, and I will be happy to help answer your questions. If I do not know the answer, we together, can work to find it. Or consider attending Bible Study here at Holy Trinity on Wednesday, September 6th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Trinity Hall. Please see the church bulletin or our website for additional details.
September reminds us of the importance of the Holy Scriptures in our lives; hence, let us always pray to the Holy Spirit to give us knowledge and wisdom to comprehend the Word of God every time that we read the Bible. God has a wonderful message for each one of us. Do you read the Bible? When was the last time you read it?
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez
