“Tell me who he is, so that I can believe in Him!” (c.f. John 9:36) July 8-14, 2013 Objective of the Week: To enter in the dynamism of the Word of God as Verbum Dei Family who has its source in the Word of God. To learn how to root our lives in faith in order to enter deeply in this dynamism.
IntroductionIn the past month, we have been praying and living on the four exercises that help us to persevere, live more seriously and deeply our Christian life. This month, we are going to learn and enter in the dynamism of the Word of God. What is it? “The dynamism of the Word is an essential structure of the Revelation of God to man. It is the structure of God giving himself to man and the structure that man should respond to God. (Reflections on the Verbum Dei mission)”As Verbum Dei, this is also the same dynamism we do when we pray with the Word of God. God speaks to us and he made himself known through the dialogue we have with him in praying with His Words. “…God becomes known through the dialogue which he desires to have with us… the unseen God ‘from the fullness of his love, addresses men and women as his friends, and lives among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company.’” (Verbum Domini # 6) It is for this same dynamism of love that Jesus wants us to enter, taste, experience and make as our daily rhythm of life. “…In many ways, God seeks contact with us… he speaks even more clearly to us when he turns to us in His Word… He addresses us as friends. Therefore we too should respond as friends and believe Him, trust Him completely, learn to understand Him better and better and accept His will without reservation.” (Youth Catechism # 20) Yes, it is true that God speaks and reveals himself through his Word. What will be our response? How can we respond to Him when he speaks to us? To respond to God means to believe in Him. The first step to enter in this dynamism is an act of faith. What is faith? “Faith is knowledge and trust… Faith grows when we listen more and more carefully to God’s Word and enter a lively exchange with him in prayer. (Youth Catechism # 21)” “Someone who believes is seeking a personal union with God and is ready to believe God in everything that he shows(reveals) about himself…that is why we must believe Jesus, the Son of God, if we want to know what God would like to communicate to us. Believing therefore means accepting Jesus and staking one’s whole life on Him. (Youth Catechism # 22)” God is inviting us not just to believe, but to want to believe because I want to know Him and be in communion with Him. “What we believe is important, but even more important is the One in whom we believe. (Benedict XVI)” Through our faith, we start to dialogue with him through His word and enter in this dynamism of transformation to become the Word of God who is Jesus himself. This is our goal and that’s why we form ourselves and help each other as a Verbum Dei Family towards this same dynamism so that the foundation of our lives be rooted firmly and strongly on rock – the Word of God . The dynamism of the Word consists in: 1. To welcome the Word with an act of faith. 2. To listen the Word 3. To assimilate the Word 4. To live out the Word 5. To announce the Word Although there are more steps, we will focus on these five for the next five weeks. MondayGod speaks to us through His Word “…And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together; for ‘we speak to Him when we pray; we hear Him when we read the divine saying.(St. Ambrose)’” (Dei Verbum # 25) 16 You spoke to me, and I listened to every word. I belong to you, Lord God Almighty, and so your words filled my heart with joy and happiness. (Jeremiah 15:16) 63 What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit. (John 6:63) TuesdayOur response is faith “…The proper human response to the God who speaks is faith. Here we see clearly that in order to accept revelation, man must open his mind and heart to the working of the Holy Spirit who enables him to understand the word of God present in the sacred Scriptures… there is a profound bond between the Word of God and the faith which arises from an encounter with Christ. Faith thus takes shape as an encounter with a person to whom we entrust our whole life. (Verbum Domini # 25) 35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36The man answered, “Tell me who he is, sir, so that I can believe in him!” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have already seen him, and he is the one who is talking with you now.” 38“I believe, Lord!” the man said, and knelt down before Jesus. (John 9:35-38) WednesdayThe need for silence “…The word, in fact, can only be spoken and heard in silence, outward and inward. Ours is not an age which fosters recollection; at times one has the impression that people are afraid of detaching themselves, even for a moment, from the mass media. For this reason, it is necessary nowadays that the People of God be educated in the value of silence. Rediscovering the centrality of God’s word in the life of the Church also means rediscovering a sense of recollection and inner repose… Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence.” (Verbum Domini # 66) 11 “Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain,” the Lord said to him. Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks — but the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake — but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire — but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the soft whisper of a voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12) ThursdayThe challenges of faith 29 Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!” (John 20:29) 20 “It was because you haven't enough faith,” answered Jesus. “I assure you that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this hill, ‘Go from here to there!’ and it will go. You could do anything!” (Matthew 17:20) 8 Be alert, be on the watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that your fellow-believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8-9) FridayAs a Family, we make our roots and foundations stronger in faith We will form ourselves and accompany each other in order that the roots of our faith go deeper and become firm through an abundant comtemplative life. This is the motor of our apostolic life… (Verbum Dei Constitutions # 15) 12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children. (John 1:12) 6 Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him. 7 Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7) 16 Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct each other with all wisdom. (Colossians 3:16a) SaturdayMary’s faith in the Word of God 45 How happy you are to believe that the Lord's message to you will come true!” (Luke 1:45) “…The human reality created through the word finds its most perfect image in Mary’s obedient faith. From the Annunciation to Pentecost she appears as a woman completely open to the will of God…Her obedient faith shapes her life at every moment before God’s plan. A Virgin ever attentive to God’s word, she lives completely attuned to that word; she treasures in her heart the events of her Son, piecing them together as if in a single mosaic.” (Verbum Domini # 27) “…Here we see how completely at home Mary is with the word of God, with ease she moves in and out of it. She speaks and thinks with the word of God; the word of God becomes her word, and her word issues from the word of God. Here we see how her thoughts are attuned to the thoughts of God, how her will is one with the will of God. Since Mary is completely imbued with the word of God, she is able to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate” (Verbum Domini # 28) Sunday15th Sunday in Ordinary Time1st Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37 or Psalm 19:8-11 2nd Reading: Colossians 1:15-20 Gospel: Luke 10:25-37 Comments are closed.
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