We just had a good discussion of this year's Christmas Book: “A Father who keeps His promises-God's Covenant Love in Scripture" by Scott Hahn. When we chose the book, we knew that we could not go wrong with Scott Hahn. However, we also knew that it would take more time to read than any of the 12 earlier books distributed at Christmas. I will not try to summarize the many insights that the 30 participants gathered from such a rich book by Scott Hahn covering the entire Bible through the powerful lens of God's Covenant Love. I would simply like to encourage you to take your time and read the book slowly. You will not regret it. Scott Hahn has a deep understanding of Scripture and of Church teachings. Through reading his book on God's unchanging Covenant Love you can reach new insights on the continuous relationship of God with His children since Creation till today. God never stops loving us despite our shortcomings and failures. He is our loving Father, our Creator. We remain His family. God will never abandon us. He will always love us. He keeps His Covenant promises. What a consolation for all of us as we face continuous challenges and sufferings. We can always trust God: He is always Faithful to us. When we fail Him He is always ready to forgive us. Through His constant Love, He always gives us Hope and Peace!

This weekend, Jesus gives us THE NEW COVENANT LAW: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Jesus goes up the MOUNTAIN. He sits down and TEACHES his disciples (Matthew Chapters 5-7), everything we too need to follow as Christ's disciples. This weekend we can meditate on the famous beginning of this long Sermon on the Mount: the eight Beatitudes: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek.... etc... Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you...because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven" (Matthew 5:1-12). If you go to Chapter 9 "Israel in the wilderness”, you will find Scott Hahn referring to the Sermon on the Mount as part of his summary section " Moses: A Mirror of Christ" (pages 186-188). Jesus is the new Adam, the new Abraham, the NEW MOSES. As the new Moses, Jesus gives a New Covenant to reconstitute a new Israel: "Moses ascended the mountain to get God's Old Covenant law, whereas Jesus went up to the mountain to give the New Covenant law, the Sermon on the Mount. Moses delivered the Ten Commandments to the people, along with curse threats, while Christ gave a law full of God's promised blessings (the Beatitudes). Moses offered himself as a substitute to take away Israel's temporal penalty, while Jesus died on the cross to remove our eternal punishment by reconciling us to the Father and filling us with his Spirit." I suggest that you read the entire section on “Moses: a Mirror of Christ" (pages 186-188) to give you a sense of Scott Hahn’s Scriptural insights (the entire Book is filled with such gems).

Some of you may have read only the first chapter (as I had suggested) and found it too difficult. I would now suggest that you read the last two
chapters: chapter 12 "The Son Fulfills the Father's Promises" and chapter 13:"The Son Rises over the New Jerusalem” (based on the final Book of the Bible, Revelation). All previous chapters cover the entire Old Testament from Genesis all the way to the First Gospel (Matthew). They all lead to the Coming of the Son of God on earth, who indeed fulfills all the Father's Promises!

Many of you found last year's book "Life is Messy" by Matthew Kelly not only an easy read but also immediately relevant to what we all face in daily life. Others were disappointed that Matthew Kelly did not mention even once the name of Jesus. I am confident that Scott Hahn's book can benefit every family in our parish spiritually. We are considering different ways to pursue our conversation on many of the insights we can grasp. One way may be to focus on key themes. Your suggestions are most welcome. As a first step, you are all invited to come to a follow-up discussion in the Narthex at 9:45 am Saturday February 4 right after the 9 am First Saturday Mass.

May we all open our hearts to God's unchanging Love! May His Immense Love transform our lives and help us accept our shortcomings and sufferings! May we believe that God will never abandon us, and that He is always with us even when we face crisis after crisis! May His Son keep pouring His Spirit upon us! May we and our families stay close to Jesus through the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation!

One in Christ,

Fr. Alain