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Week 2

Lover of the Word

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16–17

The Bible is God’s love letter to humanity — his inerrant, perfect, and powerful revelation of himself to his children. Scripture is our guide, our strength, our power, and our peace. Together with Tradition, it forms the great foundation of our faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that in the Scriptures God reveals himself to us, and because God is the true author of the words, we can trust that the Bible teaches us God’s truth without error.

As Catholic men, we are called to grow in our knowledge of God’s word. The Scriptures have the power to shape our hearts, renew our minds, feed our spiritual hungers, and sharpen our souls as we walk the road to perfection. When we allow the word of God to break up the fertile soil of our lives, plant the seeds of hope, and harvest the fruit of the Spirit, we become productive and profitable cultivators of other lives. This week, we will consider five essential truths of God’s word and the power it has for our lives.

1. God’s word is our hope.

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom 15:4).

2. God’s word nourishes us.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, / but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4).

3. God’s word cuts deep into our souls.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12).

4. God’s word is forever.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, / but the word of our God will stand for ever” (Is 40:8).

5. God’s word lights our way.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, / and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105)

We cannot become true witnesses of the gospel without growing in knowledge of God’s word. To do this, we need to develop a love of Scripture that becomes a passion burning within us. As you read the Bible, dig deeply into the words. Allow the Spirit to speak to you, drawing strength from the Church’s wisdom, and let the word of God shape your actions each day. Scripture should become so much a part of you that you will always be ready to defend your faith. Remember that the teachings of the Bible provide the power that moves your hands and feet in the service of Christ.

This Week’s Call to Action

This week, meditate on the power of God’s word. Develop a hunger for the word of God and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with understanding and a desire to mature in wisdom as you grow in your knowledge of the Scriptures. Take a specific time every day, in a place of solitude and prayer, to read and meditate on the passages of the Bible suggested in this book. Think about how you can apply what you read to specific situations in your life: at work, at home, and wherever you interact with others in this broken world.

Sunday

This week, we will focus on the power of God’s word. Scripture is a living and eternal document that should penetrate deep into our hearts and bring us insight, healing, and spiritual growth. Allow spending time with God in his word to become a familiar and enjoyable habit. This is key to growing in our relationship with Jesus and applying his truth to our everyday lives. As you cultivate the seed of God’s word in your heart, you will discover that it is an essential part of all that you are.

During Sunday Mass, as you participate in the Liturgy of the Word, remember that you are not just a spectator but an active listener. The beautiful cycle of readings that we hear at Mass repeat the rhythm of God’s saving love over and over throughout your lifetime.

Questions for Reflection

How does hearing God’s word help you to participate more fully in the celebration of the Eucharist?

Are you truly allowing God’s word to penetrate your heart and bring real and lasting change to all that you are?

How will you allow God’s word to guide you in the coming week?

Praying with Scripture

“Oh, how I love your law! / It is my meditation all the day” (Ps 119:97).

Monday

God’s word is our hope.

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Romans 15:4

Although the Bible is composed of many books written by different authors over a long period of time, it contains a consistent and unbroken message of hope for those willing to form a relationship with the Author of the words. The Church teaches firmly that the Bible can be trusted as the word of God. Because of this, we can have hope that what it tells us about God’s love for us and about our salvation is true. As Scripture itself assures us: “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet 1:16).

To hope is to desire what has been promised by God in his word, fully expecting that we will receive it. This great hope shapes us as Catholic men because it instructs us and empowers us to take hold of our inheritance in Christ.

God has revealed himself to us from the very beginning, pointing the way to his Son through treasures, types, prophecy, and poetry throughout the pages of Scripture. The Bible is an eternal document, which spans the centuries and speaks to hearts in every age. When we allow it to instruct us, we find all the encouragement and hope we need to live our lives for Jesus Christ.

Questions for Reflection

How would you describe your current relationship to the word of God?

What messages of hope stand out to you from the pages of Scripture?

What connections do you see between stories in the Old Testament and the New?

Praying with Scripture

“For the word of the Lord is upright; / and all his work is done in faithfulness” (Ps 33:4).

Tuesday

God’s word nourishes us.

But [Jesus] answered, “It is written,

‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:4

Just as we need physical food to nourish and sustain our bodies, we also need a steady diet of God’s word to nourish and sustain our spiritual life. Most of us would consider it dangerous and absurd to eat only once a week. Yet when it comes to our spiritual life, that’s exactly what many of us do. Attending Mass at least once a week is essential to cultivate our life of faith. But if we want to thrive and grow as men of character, we need to commit to nourishing our faith every day — not just on Sunday — beginning with God’s word.

God’s word is truly good food. It is a sweet experience of renewing joy, a delight that can bring peace and happiness to our troubled inner world. Consider the following passages:

Your words were found, and I ate them, / and your words became to me a joy / and the delight of my heart. (Jer 15:16)

And he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. (Ezek 3:3)

Today, take time to enjoy the sweet satisfaction of God’s holy and eternal word. As you read your Bible, allow it to fill you and give you the nourishment your soul needs.

Questions for Reflection

What are some of your favorite Bible passages, stories, or psalms? Why are these your favorite? How do they nourish you?

What is one verse you can share with someone who is weary in spirit today?

What reasonable and regular Bible reading can you commit to over the next month?

Praying with Scripture

“How sweet are your words to my taste, / sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps 119:103).

Wednesday

God’s word cuts deep into our souls.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

The Roman double-edged sword was a terribly efficient weapon, capable of cutting through bone. It is a fitting image for the word of God, which can penetrate into our very souls, separating our flesh from our spirit, revealing what is at the core of who we are. Scripture is a surgical instrument in the hands of the Divine Physician who wants to cut out of our lives everything that destroys us from within. Only once the cancer of sin and selfishness is removed can the Spirit of God shape us into the men we are meant to be.

How many of us are man enough to allow the Scriptures to pierce our souls and dig into the very depths of who we are? Can we allow the word of God to breach the boundaries of our inner thoughts, exposing our failings, our struggles, and the deepest longings of our searching souls? Let us commit today to yield to the penetrating power and surgical precision of God’s perfect word so that it can transform us from the insight out.

Questions for Reflection

What are some things you want the word of God to cut out of your life? What might be holding you back from letting God do this work in you?

Are there any special verses that have been a true source of “surgical” healing for you? What are they?

Do you have a brother in Christ who needs to allow God’s word to do some surgery in his life? How can you encourage and pray for him?

Praying with Scripture

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 6:17).

Thursday

God’s word is forever.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand for ever.

Isaiah 40:8

Our world is constantly changing. Kingdoms rise and fall, political power changes hands, and cultures shift and change, for good or ill. Sadly, today our culture is sliding away from Christ. Truth is seen as relative, dictated by personal feelings, which shape most people’s moral choices. Scripture contains many passages warning us about this reality. Consider these two verses from Saint Paul’s second letter to Timothy:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people. (2 Tim 3:1–5)

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. (2 Tim 4:3–4)

There is only one answer to such falsehood — God’s eternal, unchanging, perfect word. Evil will fade away, but God’s word — God’s truth — remains forever. We as Catholic men must take a stand for the truth. God’s holy word is our anchor in the stormy sea of uncertainty that is our world today. Being men of Christlike character demands that we honor our Savior by living out the spirit of strength that he has poured out into our lives.

Questions for Reflection

In the midst of constant change, not only in the world around you but in your own life, are there Scripture passages that give you comfort and hope in God’s abiding presence? What are they?