The Word
God’s whispers thundered deeply, loving hints to the mystery
Thoughts that transported, inspired and prepared us for infinity
Supernatural light elevated ordinary men to holiness’s heights
Illuminated by Grace they wrote, filled with divinities insights
Now, some are called to breath out these captured memories
to humbly share God’s gift, his mark, in their personalities
Their soothing voices, like sounds of practiced instruments
lift beauty off antiquities pages to spiral out its abundance
The words take flight, floating softly into waiting hearts
Spirit awakened, we are taken away from earthly thoughts
to stir up imaginations freedom, to believe a living story
Transcendent participation urges us to join the luminary
Proclaimed verses stream and flow to purify and stimulate
Hope, love, peace, joy, even suffering begin to accumulate
Paul reaches out to speak to us as his Brothers and Sisters
From Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we hear Jesus’s desires
Silence returns us from ceilings limits, truth clings to our heart
You, have brought us to places community could not go apart
Our glance, an acknowledgment that your gift held us aloft briefly
to a different time, a different space, love, held us unconditionally
Since The Word was the initial thought that triggered the genesis of this book, I start with people that proclaim. These include lectors, the ordained, and catechist. They help us participate with The Word as more than listeners. There is an enormous responsibility to not just simply read. If one believes that divinity truly inspired the original authors then there is no choice but to ask for the grace to do likewise, in our current time. Along with prayer and practice, there is also quiet time with God to allow the senses and soul to absorb whatever grace God chooses to give to the proclaimer.
Sometimes, there is very little and they might feel on their own, other times they can barely stand from the overwhelming love. Either way, the desire to please God by doing a good job sends each word, comma, or pause off the page outwardly then inwardly to all who wish to receive it. They know that their voice combined with the community’s ears make up One Body. Christ himself joins us in the moment, bridging time and space to whisper truths into our hearts.
For further reflection: Scripture proclaimed by Lectors, Deacons, Priest and John 1
On the Other Side of the Ambo
Painting by Jerry Francis