St. Januarius
word-work
“Take heed, therefore, how you hear.” —Luke 8:18
Many Catholics in our culture have been conditioned to passively hear God’s Word and be mere spectators at Mass. However, the Lord calls His Word “seed” (Lk 8:11) and ourselves “ground.” Any farmer knows that ground is full of life, that is, organisms, nutrients, chemical processes, etc. We not only work the ground, but the ground works on anything in it — from graves to seeds. We are the ground. We work on and with the seed of God’s Word. We are to be very active in relationship to God’s Word.
God’s Word is also like light (see Ps 119:105). Our job is to put the light on the lampstand of our lives so as to give light to all in the house (Lk 8:16). Once again, we are to do something with God’s Word or lose the light (see Lk 8:18).
Receiving God’s Word is similar to patronizing a “drive-through” window. We hear, read, or study God’s Word specifically to pick up something, carry it out, and take it home or to work or to the streets. Actively work on, work with, put forth, take out, and give out God’s Word.
Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to make me a servant and messenger of Your Word.
Promise: “When He is dealing with the arrogant, He is stern, but to the humble He shows kindness.” —Prv 3:34
Praise: St. Januarius was Bishop of Benevento, near Naples, Italy. He was martyred during Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of 305 AD. The wild animals in the arena, who were meant to devour him in martyrdom, would not touch him, so he was beheaded.
Reference: (Give out God’s Word by teaching the Bible. Listen to, download or order our CD or DVD series on our website. Our eight CD series starts with CD 5A-1 and our four DVD series starts with DVD 5A.)
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from August 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio January 31, 2022"