The Monthly Note
May 2005
Meditating the Word of God
by Fr. Bernard East, OP
Personally, I think that the one thing that threatens us the most is, not consciously doing the wrong things, but being constantly distracted.
Thanks to the Good News, we possess wealth, values, knowledge that we communicate to others but we do not always measure up to what is asked of us, we do not know how to react, due to our distraction.
I think that the more we make room for meditation in our lives, the less we are distracted in respect to what we are called to live in our daily lives as Christians.
We must take the time to taste, to savour the Word of God, so that we may develop an evangelical intuition. To me, this seems essential to know how to react towards ourselves and others in a responsible Christian way. The Scriptures are note recipe books. Rather, they allow us to take on God’s feelings and respond as sons and daughters of God.
On one hand, meditation of Word of God appears to me as necessary as breathing. Meditation must nourish my schemes of thought and action. It seems to me that it can, in the long run, become the quasi-permanent standard that questions what I receive and pushes me to act in this or that precise direction.
On the other hand, if I am attentive and listen to others, if I am sensible to their miseries, difficulties and aspirations, I will develop a more subtle art to better question and meditate the unmeasured wealth of the Word of God and I will draw from it new pearls that will light up my life and reinforce my vision of the world.
Bernard East, o.p.
« And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart ». (Lk 2, 19)
