SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: The Lord is my light and my salvation.
TODAY’S MASS INTENTION: Elizabeth Kacsala, by Mary Spisak
MASS SCHEDULE & INTENTIONS FOR THE COMING WEEK:
| January | 28 | Saturday | 9:00 AM | Traditional Latin Mass |
| January | 29 | Sunday | 9:15 AM | Deceased Members of the Gyékenyesi Family, by the Gyékenyesi Family |
FROM THE DESK OF FR. BONA: As we hold today the Sunday of the Word of God, I would like to offer a brief explanation on why the list of the books in the Protestant Bible differs from the Catholic Bible.
Catholic and Protestant Bibles both include 27 books in the New Testament (although Martin Luther wanted to get rid of the Letter of James and seriously questioned three other New Testament books). However, Protestant Bibles have only 39 books in the Old Testament, while Catholic Bibles have 46. The seven books included in Catholic Bibles are Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch. Catholic Bibles also include sections in the Books of Esther and Daniel (e.g., famous story of Susanna) which are not found in Protestant Bibles. Why is it?
The Old Testament took over one thousand years to compile, and the list of inspired books grew continuously as God’s word was revealed. This gradual accretion indicated that the Jewish people felt no need for a static canon but remained open to further revelation. Due to the Babylonian captivity and other historical events, Jews began living outside of the Palestine (forming diasporas). The Hebrew language stopped being spoken by them (and later on even by those in the Palestine) and so a need arouse to have an understandable version of the Old Testament. Hence, in 250 B.C. a Greek translation was prepared (called Septuagint). This translation was used not only by the diaspora, but also, later on, by many Jews and Christians. In fact, when St. Paul used quotations from the Old Testament, he predominantly used the Septuagint. The Septuagint from the beginning included the aforementioned seven books disputed by the Protestants. While certain figures of the history (e.g., St. Jerome) questioned the authenticity of the seven books, the Church in her magisterial authority did not question the list of the books in the Septuagint and defended its divine inspiration. The Jews, on the other hand, continued to debate many of the books of the Old Testament several centuries after Jesus. Only after this time, they settled on the Masoretic text, which lacked those seven books. By this time, the Church has used and accepted the current books of the Bible for many centuries (and starting in the fourth century begin to list them officially in many conciliar decrees). Interestingly, the Ethiopian Jews of today use the same Old Testament as Catholics.
In the sixteenth century, the Protestant movement first accepted 46 books. Martin Luther included all the books in his first German translation of the Bible. They can also be found in the first King James Version (1611). It was only after this time, that the Protestants decided to remove them and consider them as not inspired by the Holy Spirit.
SUNDAY COLLECTION FIGURES: Jan. 8, 15 figures will be published in the next bulletin. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY in supporting our parish. Thank you for sending in your offertory donation through the mail, or through the PayPal option found on the website: https://www.stelizabethcleveland.org/donations/
PLEASE, PICK UP YOUR 2023 YEAR DONATION ENVELOPES BY THE ENTRANCE OF THE CHURCH. Thank you for your generosity in supporting the parish throughout the year. If there are any address changes, please notify us.
ANNUAL PORK SAUSAGE DINNER at ST. EMERIC: on February 5th at 12:45PM. Menu: traditional rich chicken soup, entrée of pork and rice-liver sausages with side dish of parslied potatoes and ham hock braised cabbage. Dessert is puff pastry filled with apricot jam, coffee. Cost: adults $25, students $12. Also available for take-home: apricot jam filled puff pastry at $10 a dozen. To make your dinner reservations or to place your take home pastry order, please call one of the ladies by February 1: Marika Zsula 216-676-5863 or Mária Mészáros 440-331-0391.
THIS WEEKEND’S SECOND COLLECTION is for the Church in Latin America.
PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK, especially, Kathy Szabó, Kamilla Szabó, Anna Melega, Dorothy Fromhercz, and Alex Szaday.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL THE DECEASED.
THIS SUNDAY the 11:15 AM Mass from St. Emeric will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/saintemeric and on the website, https://stemeric.com/
LET US PRAY THREE HAIL MARYS FOR OUR PARISH EVERY DAY!
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