His eyes landed on a passage from Romans:
Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Rom 13:13–14)
The passage told Augustine something that he had known for some time—that he needed to leave the old life behind and accept the new life of Christ in baptism. But now the conviction moved from his head to his heart. In a flash, he received the power he needed to act on what he knew to be true. Augustine was soon baptized and became a Christian. Where did Augustine find the power to overcome the fears and doubts that had plagued him for so long? Not from himself. The power came from the Word of God in Scripture.
Here we discover one of the most important differences between God’s Word and mere human words: God’s Word contains in itself the power to accomplish the very things it declares. Unlike the latest self-help book, which may have good advice for my life but leaves me to do the work, God’s Word is able to make happen exactly what it proclaims. This opens up for us a whole new way of reading Scripture—a way in which we expect God’s Word to accomplish in us the very thing we are reading!
God’s Word Gives Direction
Because Scripture is alive in this way, it can also point us in the right direction. It can help us answer the questions we have. It can tell us things we need to know. This happened to me at a crisis point in my own life.
It happened about half way through my first year in diocesan seminary. At that time, many seminaries had not experienced the spiritual reform that has since taken place. I had entered seminary after a careful discernment process, and I was as sure as I could be that God was calling me to be a diocesan priest. But as the year went on, the various struggles in the seminary left me restless and unsettled. I wasn’t sure I was in the right place. I thought I should be a priest, but perhaps I should join a religious order instead of becoming a diocesan priest. The struggle was so intense that I even began visiting different religious orders.
At some point in the midst all of this it dawned on me that I couldn’t make the decision on my own. Even though I was tempted to pack up my room and leave, I was drawn instead to make a special novena asking the Lord to guide me in the direction I should go. At the end of the nine days, I had a strong sense that the Lord wanted me to look into Scripture for some wisdom about my problem. I was led to a beautiful passage from Isaiah:
By waiting and by calm you shall be saved,
in quiet and in trust shall be your strength.
But this you did not will.
“No,” you said,
“Upon horses we will flee.”
Very well, you shall flee!
“Upon swift steeds we will ride.”
Very well, swift shall be your pursuers!
(Is 30:15–16, NABRE)
These words spoke to me immediately. The Lord was telling me to wait, to trust Him and be calm, not to rush into the wrong decision: “in quiet and in trust shall be your strength.” But He also convicted me when, in the same passage, He said: “But this you did not will.” He was right. I was ready to leave, to flee, not to wait and be calm. I understood very clearly that the Lord was telling me not to make any decision about my future now, but to wait trustingly.
So I waited. And about two months later, out of the blue, the Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese called to tell me that the Archbishop wanted to send me to a different seminary to complete my formation. I was shocked and surprised, but I saw this clearly as God’s hand at work, so I accepted the transfer. The five years of seminary that followed my transfer were among the most blessed of my life and culminated in my ordination as a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which is exactly where the Lord wanted me.
See what I mean when I say that Scripture is alive with the power of God? God was waiting for me when I opened the Bible to Isaiah, chapter 30. It was His will that I stay on the path I was on and eventually serve as a parish priest. At that time of crisis He was waiting to give me direction about an important decision, but He’s always waiting for me when I open the Scriptures. He’s waiting for you too.
God’s Word Spoken at Mass
There are many ways to make Scripture part of your life. The most important way—one sometimes overlooked—is the proclamation of the Word of God at Mass. Christ comes to us in two ways at Mass: in Scripture (the Liturgy of the Word) and in His Body and Blood (the Liturgy of the Eucharist). The culmination of the Liturgy of the Word at every Mass is the proclamation of the Gospel, the very words and deeds of Christ Himself. This is preceded by a reading from the Old Testament, which tells us of God’s promises and preparation of His people for the coming of His Son, and by a responsorial psalm. This is followed by a reading from the letters of St. Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, and other pastoral letters proclaiming the message of Christ to the early Christian community.
As we said earlier, God’s Word has unique power to do the very thing it proclaims. This is especially true in the celebration of the Mass. Our bishops put it this way:
The Word of God proclaimed in the Liturgy possesses a special sacramental power to bring about in us what it proclaims. The Word of God proclaimed at Mass is “efficacious,” that is, it not only tells us of God and God’s will for us, it also helps us to put that will of God into practice in our own lives.*
Think about that for a moment. At Mass, Scripture does what it’s describing. The Old Testament reading is preparing us to receive Christ. The reading from St. Paul, Acts, or another pastoral letter is proclaiming the message to us personally. The Gospel reading is bringing salvation and healing to us as it tells of the words and deeds of Christ.
So, imagine you are at Mass and the Gospel reading is the parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11–32). In the very act of hearing that beautiful Gospel, which describes the merciful heart of our heavenly Father, that very mercy is being poured out on you and made real for you. You are not just hearing about God’s mercy, you are actually receiving it as it’s being proclaimed!
It makes sense then to pay especially close attention to the Scripture readings at Mass, expecting the power of God’s Word to be at work. A good practice is to read these passages ahead of time in order to prepare your heart. Good commentaries can also be helpful in preparing our hearts. The monthly magazine The Word Among Us provides the daily and Sunday Scripture readings with powerful and practical commentaries. You can also get the day’s reading by email every morning from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by signing up at www.usccb.org/bible/readings/.
God’s Word in your Life
To make Scripture a part of your daily prayer, it’s important to work from a good readable translation of the Bible. There are dozens of English translations and hundreds of editions available, ranging from thick scholarly commentaries to small editions of the Gospels that you can slip into the pocket of your jeans. For personal prayer, the two most common translations for Catholics are the New American Bible (which is the translation used at Mass) and the Catholic edition of the Revised Standard Version. Study and application editions are available for both of these that offer footnotes and sidebars that help explain the text.
If you aren’t in the habit of reading Scripture regularly, it might be helpful to start