The Word of God

Fr Alan said, "The Word, [as in the readings from Scripture], is always in the singular, [even if were three readings from the Bible in a Celebration of the Word]." 

Other examples of such uncount nouns include furniture, food, information, luggage, advice, equipment.

So we say, "The Word of the Lord." and not the words of the Lord. 

Fr Alan said, "Christians should not go through three days without listening to the Word of God." So people who are in communities should meet at least twice a week to hear the Word of God together - once for Sunday Mass and the other during mid-week - and respond to the Word, which is to put flesh on the Word of God. 

To put flesh on the Word means to relate the Word of God to our lives and experiences. 

Fr Alan also said the Word of God should be drip-fed. Fr Alan said, "When water is constantly dripping on a rock, over time there would be an indentation." Similarly, the Word of God can have this effect. 

If we were to listen to the Word of God given to us within a week, as in a retreat, then it would be like throwing a bucket of water over a rock and soon the rock would be dry and no indentation has been made. 

Since hearing what Fr Alan had said, I stopped going to 8 day retreat with the Jesuits. However, Fr Alan also said he would go for a 30 day retreat when he retired. Fr Alan died before he retired. 

So when the Word of God is drip-fed to us, over time, as in years, we will slowly respond to the Word of God.

Fr Alan also said we should belong to a Scripture school to study the Bible and we should not expect a priest to explain all the readings in any Liturgy of the Word. It is in this Scripture school that we begin to familiarise ourselves with the Word of God and understand its deeper meaning and how the Word of God relate to our lives.

When I first attended St Charles, Ogle Street in the early 1990's, Fr Alan said, "Pray to God that the Word of God can be a mirror for your lives and show you your sins."

How terrifying it was for me when this became true and my prayers were answered! 

I will write more about what Fr Alan said about sin in another post in the future. 

Fr Alan also said, "The Word of God is the Holy Spirit, and when the Word is announced, it is looking for a home in our hearts." So Fr Alan encouraged us to welcome the Word into our hearts with great expectation. 

Let us pray: Almighty Father, give us the grace to enter into your Word each day, and may your Word show us our sins and show us who we really are. Unless we know ourselves, we can never get to know you. In Jesus' name. Amen.