It is 3rd September 2018. We celebrate the memorial of St Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church. The readings are from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; and the Gospel from Luke 4:16-30. The Word of God does not require human philosophy and powerful arguments to prove its worth and the presence of God in it. It is the power and the presence of God in the written form indeed. Without faith in God, one cannot fathom its richness and influence in our lives. Ignorance of God and Christ is dispelled by the illumination we obtain by the Word of God. Knowing and recognizing the presence of the Holy Spirit and allowing the movement of the God’s Spirt to have an impact is much more needed to cherish and nourish the Word of God. St. Paul acknowledges in the first reading that how he could not succeed to convince the people of Greece with the eloquence of philosophy to bring home the message of Cross. As he preaches in Corinth, he asserts that it is the message of Cross that changes the mind of the believers not a mind-blowing philosophy of the world. The power of the message of Christ in the Word of God cannot be diluted by philosophical arguments. By giving importance to stories, anecdotes, jokes could embellish the fragrance of the Word of God. The content of the Word of God is the free offer of salvation by God and whatever is away from this theme cannot have an impact on a soul bruised by sin. It is the power of God revealed in the Word of God that moves the heart of a person to be converted and to live a life not the power of eloquence of a speaker, who has no faith in the Crucified Christ. The evangelisation cannot be done without a personal conversion and uncompromised faith in the One from who we have the mandate to preach. Our knowledge of Christ must be based on our love for Christ in the historical Jesus as human and divine. Reason alone is not enough to know and love God rather our humble faith is so much required to accept Jesus as our Redeemer. The responsorial Psalm desires, “Lord, how I love your law.” (Ps.118:97). In the Gospel, we reflect the first preaching of Jesus in His home town at Nazareth and a cold response He received from an astonishing and staring crowd who did not open their hearts for the Word of God to enter in. Jesus read a passage from the book of Isaiah, the manifesto of His mission on earth. Jesus affirmed that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, and anointed him Christ, the Messiah to preach the Good News to the poor, to proclaim freedom to all who are willing to break the shekels of sin and slavery and He will be the light for those who lost the light of God by endorsing sin and the works of Satan and last but not least to offer hope and prosperity to the downtrodden, the poor and the marginalised in the society. We cannot accept the message and manifesto of Christ unless we have the required faith in the Lord. May the Lord help us to believe in Him to accept the Word of God as the power and presence that we require to live in peace and hope. May you have a good day. God bless you.