Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 11, 2008 - Saturday in the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
[Galatians 3:22-29 and Luke 11:27-28]While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."
In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Second Vatican Council states in paragraph seven: "[Christ] is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church." If any of us heard that Jesus himself would be speaking at a local arena, I dare say the arena would be full to overflowing - bigger than any papal visit at any sports stadium! Then why is it that so many are so casual about hearing the scriptures at the celebration of the Eucharist, demonstrated by coming late?! I know, I know, there are many reasons, including poor proclamation and even poorer preaching! But there is also the notion that Christ is truly present only in the consecrated bread and wine, the "eucharistic species." The passage from the Gospel of Luke today directs our attention to the importance of hearing and observing the word of God! On an earlier occasion in the Gospel of Luke (8:19-21) Jesus compares the person who hears his word and keeps it to being as blood kin to him!!!!! In today's passage, such a person is called "blessed." This is an important reality and it underlies the current Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome. Their subject is the word of God! The threat to the life of the church is very real, especially among Catholics who are so ignorant of scripture, despite the encouragement of the magnificent Vatican II document on scripture and tradition, Dei Verbum. The word of Gpd, as presented in the sacred scriptures, is in danger of becoming some kind of antiquated book gathering dust on millions of coffee tables and shelves in Catholic homes around the world! The preliminary "working document" of the synod has a strong emphasis on the spiritual practice of lectio divina, which is an ancient way of reading and reflecting on the words of scripture. I recommend it to every Catholic. Catholic bookstores will have any number of books to help one to learn this great way to "hear the word of God." But lectio divina alone is insufficient. We must live our lives according to the word of God which we have "heard." However, as St. Paul tells us in Romans: Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. St. Jerome, the famous translator of the Greek bible into Latin (the Vulgate), wrote, "Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ." Much has been done since the Second Vatican Council to familiarize Catholics with the Bible, but the meeting of the Synod of Bishops is a sign that we still have a long ways to go. We can all get a head start by taking up our Bible (even acquiring one?), learning about lectio divina, reading/hearing the word of God and then intentionally observing it. AMEN