THE WORD OF THE FATHER

449th Meditation

“I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me (…), and they have kept thy word” (Jn 17:6).

It is important for our Lord that we accept Him as the One sent by the Father and that we keep His Word, because it is the Word of our Heavenly Father.

Those who do so are safe, for, as the Lord tells us in the Gospel, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mt 24:35). And so it is!

It is no less important today to adhere to the word that has been handed down to us, and thus to the Lord Himself, than it was at the time when Jesus addressed this request to the Father. Indeed, His Word shows us the way and always grants us a living relationship with God.

Particularly in these times of great confusion, which has even penetrated the Church and is seriously tarnishing her, the Word of God, supported and interpreted by the authentic Magisterium of the Church, is a firm ark in the midst of so much verbiage and ideologies that lead people away from the truth.

“Only say a word, and I shall be healed” – we say with reverence before receiving Holy Communion. One word will be enough because it is THE Word itself, it is the Lord! His every word is light in darkness. Therefore, by keeping His Word, we let our Father guide us through time in fidelity to the Lord, so that we do not walk in darkness (cf. Jn 8:12).

We never waste time if we interiorize the Word of the Lord and allow it to penetrate deeply into us. Then it will dwell in us and become for us an inexhaustible source of life. At the same time, it will give us criteria for the discernment of spirits, making us familiar with the voice of the Father and enabling us to distinguish it from all kinds of voices and words that whisper to us.

Only in the Word of God can we be sustained! Only in it can we lean!