Before we can speak God's Word in power, we must hear, accept, and digest His Word so completely that it becomes part of us. We must eat the scroll of God's Word (Ez 3:2; Rv 10:9). Then we will become letters "written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh in the heart" (2 Cor 3:3). As we become walking tabernacles by receiving Holy Communion, so we become walking Bibles when we eat the scroll of God's Word. And, as has been often said, we will be the only Bibles many people will ever read. We become walking Bibles by:

1. hearing God's Word and doing it (Mt 7:24; Jas 1:22),
2. humbly welcoming "the word that has taken root" in us (Jas 1:21),
3. meditating on God's law (Word) day and night (Ps 1:2),
4. reciting God's Word "by day and by night" (Jos 1:8), and
5. sharing God's Word (see Lk 8:16).

The dogmatic constitution from Vatican II, On Divine Revelation, proclaims: "All the clergy must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study, especially the priests of Christ and others, such as deacons and catechists who are legitimately active in the ministry of the Word" (25). This can also apply to all of us. Therefore, eat the scroll, devour God's Word, make it the joy and happiness of your heart (Jer 15:16). In Jesus, the Word became flesh (Jn 1:14). In you, flesh can become the Word.

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 23, 2016

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