word of god
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The Word of God: Living and Powerful in our Lives

In today’s First Reading, the Lord reveals two significant aspects regarding his Word.  God’s Word is living (“fertile and fruitful”) and powerful (“achieving the end for which I sent it”). In what sense do we say that the Word of God is living?  

Books are wonderful.  Through them and the gift of imagination they foster, we can travel to space and distant lands.  We build empathy through reading about the experiences of real and fictional people from around the world and throughout human history.  We gain wise insights and grapple with the deepest and most profound questions of human meaning.  However, the Bible is fundamentally different from all other books, no matter how brilliant.  All other books ultimately express the thoughts of their human authors. Sacred Scripture expresses a Living Person, the Word of God, the Risen Christ Jesus.  This Person is the Word through whom all things were created, redeemed, and ultimately find their origin and meaning.  Vatican II offers us this key insight, “in reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear.” (Gaudium et spes, no. 22) Ultimately, God’s Word is alive because Jesus is alive, risen from the dead never to die again.

In what sense do we mean that the Word of God has power?  Usually, when we think of something or someone as powerful, it means that they have the ability to coerce or manipulate a response from us.  Failure to comply with them will bring unpleasant consequences.  They necessarily limit our freedom.  However, this is not God’s definition of power.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave us a good definition of biblical power, “Power, properly understood, is the ability to achieve purpose . . . power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice.”  God’s word has this kind of power.  It is not coercive or limiting to true freedom (the freedom to love), but it has the ability to effect change in our hearts and in our world.  It can truly change our lives and the course of human history.  Scripture is God’s revealed love bringing about his plan of reconciliation and justice.

So how can the Word of God become living and powerful in our lives?  In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about the proper disposition for prayer and teaches his disciples how to pray.  When our prayer is rooted in Scripture in the context of our loving relationship with our Father, we experience deep within the Word of God as living and powerful.  Bible studies are a great way to learn about God and should be encouraged.  Nevertheless, to really know (and not just know about) God, we need to spend time with him present in his revealed Word.

The context for Scriptural prayer par excellence is the Liturgy.  Each of the sacraments begins with a Liturgy of the Word, and the sacramental action comes as a response in faith to the living and powerful Word proclaimed.  The oath (Latin=sacramentum) of the Lord, found in his Word, gives each sacrament its efficacy.  To the extent that we actively listen to the proclamation of God’s Word, the better we are able to actively and fully participate in the Liturgy, opening ourselves to a more full cooperation with God’s life and power (also known as Sanctifying Grace) available to us through liturgical ritual prayer.

Another great way to pray with Scripture is through the Psalms.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls them “the masterwork of prayer in the Old Testament.” (no. 2585)  For this reason, the Church uses them as the foundation for the Liturgy of the Hours.  Their antiquity speaks to their vitality and power.  For almost 3,000 years, they have been used to sustain and express the praise, longing, and lamentation of the People of God.  Jesus prayed this inspired poetry, even from the cross. (Ps 22:2; Mk 15:34)  In the Psalms, every human emotion is felt, acknowledged, and placed before God.  As a poet and proponent of “communal pondering in a noisy world” Marilyn Nelson said in a recent interview, “poetry comes out of silence and leads us back to silence . . . and that’s why reading poetry, reading it alone silently takes us someplace where we can’t get ordinarily. Poetry opens us to this otherness that exists within us. In any case, I think poetry and the silence of the inner life are related, are connected . . . you read a poem, and you say, ‘Ah.’ And then you listen to what it brings out inside of you. And what it is is not words; it’s silence.”  How much more so for divinely inspired poetry!  

Furthermore, the Psalms are meant to be sung.  The Catechism quotes St. Augustine as saying that the person “who sings prays twice.” (no. 1156)  The human action of singing, especially with others, animates our bodies and spirits, bringing about unity like nothing else.  Do you ever notice how hard it is to remember simple things from last week, but we can summon up song lyrics that we learned decades ago?  

Finally, there has been a resurgence in the practice of lectio divina (Sacred Reading) in recent years.  Pope Benedict XVI encouraged this practice in his Apostolic Exhortation on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church. (no. 86)  It can be practiced in a few minutes (at least 10) by yourself, or in a small group.  There are four steps to this practice; Reading, Meditation, Prayer, and Contemplation.  First, take a passage of Scripture (perhaps begin with a Gospel or one of the readings from the daily Mass).  Slowly read a short passage.  Second, re-read the passage, perhaps even slower than the first time, but now use your imagination to place yourself in the scene, trying to account for all five senses.  If you are reading a non-narrative passage (epistles, wisdom literature, etc.), did you notice a word or phrase that stuck with you?  Third, bring this to prayer.  Simply speak to God from your heart using your reading and meditation to begin the conversation.  Is there a connection you see or feel between the passage and your current situation in life?  Talk with God about it.  Fourth, sit wordlessly with the Lord and rest in him, noticing the movements of your spirit.  Use the reading, meditation, and prayer as kindling for a “fire of love”.  Some have called this silent contemplation “the prayer of the loving gaze”.  Additionally, some have found it helpful to add a last step, one of action.  Did some action suggest itself to you during your prayer?  Make a commitment to do one thing over the next day as a fruit of your daily prayer.

“Indeed, the word of God is living and effective.” (Heb 4:12)  God wants to effect change in your life and in our world.  His Word will not return to him void, but will achieve its purpose.  This Lent, may we each find our way to experience this vitality and power more personally and deeply in anticipation of the celebration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery.    

 

 

John Graveline, MTS, is a husband and father of three small children.  He has worked for almost twenty-five years as a catechist and ministry coordinator specializing in the evangelization of young adults, adults, and families.  He is currently on the pastoral staff of St. Luke University Parish at Grand Valley State University as the Faith Formation Director.  

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America: Peace Be With You!

The upcoming U.S. presidential election is on everyone’s mind. Every citizen who has the right to vote should vote, but this year’s election seems especially difficult. As Catholics, it is imperative that we are informed voters, that we have sought out prayerful guidance and formed our consciences to the best of our abilities before stepping into the voting booth.

In 1979, St. John Paul II made his first papal visit to the United States. His seven-day visit was a whirlwind of activity: New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago. And everywhere, he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds. People waited hours and hours just to glimpse this charismatic pope.

This papal visit was filled with iconic American symbols. For instance, he said Mass at Yankee Stadium, and his first homiletic words to America there were: Peace be with you!

Our country, right now, is not a country at peace. Partisan political divides are deep. Racial divisions – some old wounds, some new – fester. Drug abuse is rampant. Our police officers’ actions are questioned and confronted., sometimes violently. Families are torn apart by divorce, addictions, religious issues. No, we are not a country at peace.

Perhaps it is good for us to revisit St. John Paul’s words 37 years ago, in one of America’s great cities, New York, in a symbol of American fair play and cherished dreams, Yankee Stadium.

Catholics of the United States, while developing your own legitimate institutions, you also participate in the nation’s affairs within the framework of institutions and organizations springing from the nation’s common history and from your common concern. This you do hand in hand with your fellow citizens of every creed and confession. Unity among you in all such endeavors is essential, under the leadership of your Bishops, for deepening, proclaiming and effectively promoting the truth about man, his dignity and his inalienable rights, the truth such as the Church receives it in Revelation and such as she ceaselessly develops it in her social teaching in the light of the Gospel. These shared convictions, however, are not a ready-made model for society (cf. Octogesima Adveniens, 42). It is principally the task of lay people to put them into practice in concrete projects, to define priorities and to develop models that are suitable for promoting man’s real good. The Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes tells us that “lay people should seek from priests light and spiritual strength. Let the lay people not imagine that their pastors are always such experts that to every problem which arises, however complicated, they can readily give a concrete solution, or even that such is their mission. Rather, enlightened by Christian wisdom and giving close attention to the teaching authority of the Church, let the lay people assume their own distinctive role” (Gaudium et Spes, 43). [emphasis added]

It is good for us to remember that our leaders, whether religious or political, do not carry the vast weight of change and justice on their shoulders; we – the laity, the citizens – carry it on ours. Even in the complex issues of today, we the American people must seek out and then carry out solutions.

St. John Paul II was no stranger to political upheaval. He came of age in World War II Poland, under the devastating rule of Nazis. Secretly ordained near the end of the war, he then had to lead his people – first as a priest, then a bishop – under the rule of Communism. When this pope spoke of our political duties, he was immensely aware of the challenges. And yet, he challenged us further:

[F]resh spiritual and moral energy drawn from the inexhaustible divine source is needed. This energy does not develop easily. The life style of many of the members of our rich and permissive societies is easy, and so is the life style of increasing groups inside the poorer countries. As I said last year to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Commission Justice and Peace, “Christians will want to be in the vanguard in favoring ways of life that decisively break with a frenzy of consumerism, exhausting and joyless” (November 11, 1978). It is not a question of slowing down progress, for there is no human progress when everything conspires to give free rein to the instincts of self-interest, sex and power. We must find a simple way of living. For it is not right that the standard of living of the rich countries should seek to maintain itself by draining off a great part of the reserves of energy and raw materials that are meant to serve the whole of humanity. For readiness to create a greater and more equitable solidarity between peoples is the first condition for peace. Catholics of the United States, and all you citizens of the United States, you have such a tradition of spiritual generosity, industry, simplicity and sacrifice that you cannot fail to heed this call today for a new enthusiasm and a fresh determination. It is in the joyful simplicity of a life inspired by the Gospel and the Gospel’s spirit of fraternal sharing that you will find the best remedy for sour criticism, paralyzing doubt and the temptation to make money the principal means and indeed the very measure of human advancement. [emphasis added]

As we prepare our consciences’ for the November elections, let us meditate on these words. St. John Paul II reminded us then and now: the laity is responsible for creating just structures for all Americans. As Catholics, we must study and pray so that our consciences can guide us in carrying out the Gospel and in choosing political leaders who understand that peace and justice are paramount. When we are criticized, doubtful or greedy, we must be inspired by the joyful simplicity of Christ. Most of all, we must be the peace of Christ for our families, our co-workers, our neighbors, our nation. Peace be with you!