Divine Appeal Reflection - 278
Today, consider in Divine Appeal 278: "The word of My Eternal Father and the Church must be respected."
The Word is far more than ink inscribed on paper or the sounds of human speech; it is the eternal breath of the Father, a living river of divine life that upholds all creation and flows into the innermost depths of the human soul. When God utters His Word, being itself awakens, light bursts forth from darkness, and truth casts its order upon the chaos of the world (cf. Gen 1:3). To revere the Word is to honour the origin of all life; to ignore it is to disassociate oneself from the very vitality of God. The Word is alive and incisive, revealing the innermost secrets of the heart and being sharper than a double-edged sword (cf. Heb 4:12). As a loving friend, God calls us into the conversation of salvation in Scripture by revealing His Heart and extending an invitation for ours to join Him (cf. CCC 104). Reverence for the Word shapes not only our minds but our whole being: it guides conscience, forms the will, and transforms daily life into a vessel of God’s presence. Respect is not mere ritual—it is a holy awe, a loving bow before the mystery of God’s eternal Word. The Word is Christ Himself — not abstract speech but living Presence. When enthroned in our hearts, it sanctifies thought, purifies desire, and shapes destiny; when ignored, it becomes judgment. To revere the Word is to live beneath its radiance, receiving every syllable as bread eternal, for wherever the Word is received with love, the Spirit breathes freedom, wisdom, and fire.
The lives of the prophets and saints unveil the mystery of reverence before the Word. Moses, standing barefoot before the fire that burned yet was not consumed, encountered not mere sound but a Presence demanding holiness (cf. Ex 3:5). Jeremiah bore the fierce weight of God’s Word as a consuming fire, unable to remain silent, for it raged and seared within him (cf. Jer 20:9). Ezekiel partook of the scroll and discovered a mysterious sweetness entwined with solemn burden—a Word demanding embodiment, not mere utterance (cf. Ez 3:3). Mary, the Virgin Mother, welcomed the Word into her very being, her “yes” opening the horizon of eternity to touch the world of time, making her womb a sanctuary of divine presence (cf. Lk 1:38). These witnesses reveal that reverence is not passive assent but surrender, a letting-go that allows the Word to mold and transfigure the soul. The Divine Appeal warns that when the Word of the Father and the Church is scorned, confusion descends upon peoples and nations. But when welcomed, the Word aligns thought with divine wisdom, sanctifies conscience, and animates life with mercy and justice (cf. CCC 103, 134). To respect the Word is to let it dismantle pride, uproot fear, and consecrate our existence until every fiber breathes obedience and light.
As the loving Bride of the Word made flesh, the Church bears His message throughout history as a beacon of hope and a defender of the truth. She preserves it as a priceless gem, but she lights it on fire as a beacon of light for all ages. In her sacred liturgy, the Word is not reduced to memory but becomes encounter—alive, sacramental, and transformative. When proclaimed, it pierces hearts, stirring faith, and kindling the fire of divine Presence in those who receive it with humility. To separate Scripture from the Church is to sever voice from breath, flame from lampstand. The Catechism teaches that Sacred Scripture and Tradition spring from one fountain and form a single deposit of faith (cf. CCC 97). Fidelity to the Word thus requires docility to the Spirit’s voice within the Magisterium, humility in hearing the homily, and receptivity in catechesis. When Paul commanded Timothy to preach the Word in season and out (cf. 2 Tim 4:2), he entrusted not a dead letter but a living inheritance. The Church is the womb in which the Word continually takes flesh — instructing, correcting, sanctifying, and consoling. To dishonor her proclamation is to resist the Eternal Word Himself. To receive it with reverence is to encounter Christ, who continues to speak, judge, and heal through her voice in every age.
Across every vocation and state of life, we see how the Word of God and the living Tradition of the Church are wounded by neglect and disregard. Families often substitute prayer and Scripture with passing distractions; schools silence the Gospel in favor of ideologies that fragment truth; professionals sacrifice integrity to ambition and gain; leaders craft policies without reference to divine law; and even within the Church, voices sometimes treat the Word as a matter of opinion rather than revelation entrusted to the Bride of Christ (cf. CCC 85–87). When the Word is ignored and Tradition marginalized, hearts become blind, and societies lose their anchor. Our Adorable Jesus mourns that reverence for the Father’s Word is fading, leaving culture vulnerable to confusion and division. Such indifference corrodes the inner life of the faithful, weakens moral conscience, and poisons the communal fabric of nations. To lose reverence for the Word is to lose direction; to disregard Tradition is to uproot ourselves from the living stream of grace that has sustained the Church through the ages.
Reverence for the Word must not remain theory; it must be incarnated in every vocation and circumstance of life. For priests and religious, the Word is breath and fire, shaping their prayer, their homilies, and their sacrifice. For spouses and parents, it is the seed of fidelity and the altar upon which children are nurtured in truth. For consecrated souls, it is the flame that turns solitude into communion. For workers, professionals, and leaders, it is a compass that sanctifies labor, orders justice, and purifies decisions. For students, it is wisdom beyond measure, forming both intellect and virtue. For the sick, the forgotten, and the poor, it is consolation and strength, a light that turns suffering into sacrifice and weakness into offering. Like the Bereans, we are called to search the Scriptures daily (cf. Acts 17:11); like Augustine, we must let tears of conversion flow when the Word pierces our pride. In families, enthroning the Word transforms homes into domestic churches. In communities, it heals division. In nations, it restores peace and justice. To live without the Word is to starve; to live in it is to breathe eternity even now. Respect for the Word is worship, for it is Christ Himself enthroned.
Prayer
Adorable Jesus, ignite in us profound reverence for Your Father’s Word. May we listen with humility, meditate with love, and live with courage. Transform every syllable into guidance, every reading into sanctification, and every encounter with Scripture into light. Let our lives bear witness to the sacredness of Your eternal Word. Amen.
Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.
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