Originally published at The Catholic Thing
“The Word of the Lord” is a phrase regularly and reliably heard throughout the Church Year. When we hear it and reflexively reply: “Thanks be to God.” And this is only right and just, since no response other than heartfelt gratitude is fitting in the face of so great a mystery as the utterances of the one true God.
As it was to the prophets of old, the Word of the Lord comes to us, condescending to our lowliness, casting light into our darkness, and cultivating the shallow, rocky, and sunburnt soil of our minds, hearts, and spirits. That’s what we’re about to celebrate next week.
Yet how often does the Word come to me and I know it not? How commonly does it come to me and find my mind uninterested and my heart unfeeling towards its revelations?
For myself, the answers are, sadly, “Quite often,” and “Quite commonly.” In my defense, I can only offer that the Word of the Lord is not always readily intelligible or immediately interesting. And the average quality of homiletic interpretations and explanations are (and I mean this in all charity) uninspiring.
So there’s a twofold problem. I know full well that I’m
