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Living and Effective: The Word of God
The word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit,
joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
How familiar are you with the bible? How much are you aware of what it says, what it teaches? Do you know why it even matters that we are familiar with the Word of God? What has kept you from knowing more about it?
For Catholics, it can appear that the bible is not very important to us, since we do not always know it well, we do not know what it says, and perhaps most importantly, we do not see the connections the bible has with our beliefs as Catholics. It is important, and today’s reading makes clear that it is quite powerful.
We might ask why it is God does not speak to us today the way that he appeared to in ancient days. But God does speak to us. And his Word can change us. It can make us new. It can help us to discover God’s place in our life, and it can help us to discover our infinite worth.
But it can do more. It can cause our conversion. This means very much that we make the deliberate choice to seek God in our lives. How is it that we allow God to change us? How is it we turn our attention to a relationship with God, and a relationship that brings out the best in us, and turns our attention to helping others?
How is it we can experience the Divine Word? How is it we can find God speaking to us? How is it we can experience God? And how is it this Word of God informs the beliefs of the Catholic faith? How is the way in which we practice our faith as Catholics rooted in what we hear in God’s word?
For two years now, I listened to a podcast from Father Mike Schmitz called The Bible in a Year. And it was so powerful for me to hear the Word of God, and it was edifying to hear his commentary about what the Word meant. He indicates where it is that the Bible and the teaching of the Church intersect.
I would suggest there are two ways in which we can strengthen our prayer life by becoming more familiar with the Word of God. Listen to the podcast I suggest. Pray with the bible. Listen for God’s voice. Make time for silence. God so much wants to share himself with you. Let him.
On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the readings of the day) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update.
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