Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Yr 1 2025

Title

The Word is in Your Heart Joined to Him

Outline

We do not live in an Oral-Mnemonic culture

A Ukrainian friend questioned the legitimacy of Byzantine Catholics in the Ukraine because they did not carry Bibles to church nor recognized Bible verse references. What he did not think about is that ancient Israel and the first century Church and all the way up to the Reformation and well beyond it for the working classes were an oral mnemonic culture. Few could read and fewer write. Even after the codex started being used books were expensive and bulky. And the verse system for the Bible only came about the same time as the Reformation. And people who had access to gospels still preferred listening to reading. Polycarp wrote that he wanted to hear Christians who had been disciples of John or other apostles tell what those men had said rather than consulting a gospel. Monasteries read to monks, as you know. One memorized the various prayers and Psalms. Even today we prefer going to see a play performed rather than reading it in a book.

Now I love books. Indeed I have loved them too much. I prefer books to screens for they are less effervescent. But I also realize that we do not internalize much less memorize what we can read or look up o n a screen as well as what we hear because our brain does not both to store what we can at least in theory look up.

Israel was to read, mark, and inwardly digest the Torah so that they would know the Lord, so that he would be in their thoughts and on their lips. They were to become saturated with the Lord.

Now look our gospel

Jesus is confronted by a man whose son is demonized in such a way that his life was endangered. The disciples who had been sent to expel demons could not cure the boy. Jesus is frustrated with both the people and the disciples for their lack of faith. But what is faith? Not a belief in their own abilities, but a deep trust in and knowledge of God. They did not need a better formula, but a trust in and relationship with God in which they would know if and when and how God would expel the demon because of their closeness to him. This would come from meditation on scripture that Jesus spoke to them, from reciting the psalms with Jesus, and especially from copying Jesus’ practice of prayer and fasting, as Mark adds. One trusts God because one has built a relationship with him and therefore know what he wants to do through you at this moment. You will not find this on the internet.

So Sisters,

If you get so familiar with the liturgy of the hours that you know the content of the Psalms for the day as you glance at the first line blessed are you if you make this your ongoing inward thoughts for the day. Of if you do the same with the lections. But let your thoughts turn into conversation with God, asking to get to know him better. Be like Jesus and spend time in prayer, especially silent listening prayer, the prayer of the heart. That is how a bride is with her husband and a husband wants to be with his bride. And out of this closeness you will sense why God brought you into this or that situation and what he wants to do through you or wants to show you so you know him better. Then you will know if he is in a mountain moving mood and whether he wants you to watch or wants you to speak the word. And if you speak, you will speak in utter trust in and union with him.

Amen