Today we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God, recognizing the centrality of God's word in the life of the Church. Saint Jerome. who translated most of the Bible into Latin in the fourth century, wrote, "Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Christ." Every time we come to Mass we listen to the words of scripture, conscious that God's word is a living word, speaking to us in our age as powerfully and relevantly as when it was written. Let us resolve to make God's word a guiding force in our lives. And also, on this Sunday of the Word of God we hear a dramatic example of how words written in one era come alive centuries later in a new context. Isaiah saw the Judah's king had turned his back on his own people, but also saw a day when God's ultimate triumph would be realized. Eight hundred years later, Matthew noted that Jesus came from the same region Isaiah mentioned, giving new meaning to the "great light" who overcome the darkness. Listening to God's holy word, let us also reflect on how the light of Christ continues to overcome the darkness.