The Word of God, Our Power
We all need strength to carry out the essential activities that constitute and define human life and progress and growth associated with it. Every human person needs the strength of the mind and body to function maximally and to have the best of life. We do much to keep ourselves refueled when we run out of strength. Humans do not just want to live or survive. We constantly need daily strength of the mind and body to keep thriving and soaring in the domain of existence. It is our prayers that may our strength never diminish or fail. Life as we know is not just about the body or the intellect. The human life has a principal element, that is, the soul that has the character of immortality and principally connects to God. The human soul is the most unique element in the human person, and it distinguishes us from other creatures and define the human person as a creature created in the image and likeness of God, imago Dei. The soul will make us live beyond space and time even in the completion of our earthly journey. The soul is the defining mark of our immortality and will keep our existence so pristine and noble beyond the decay and expiration that define material realities after a given time.
The religious consciousness we possess and get really involved in is helping us keep the value of the vitality of the human soul, giving it true nourishment so that with its unfailing power, the choices of life we make will help the whole human person to be properly enriched and coordinated. Taking care of the soul will not but help in making the best of the human body and the mind. A well-nourished soul will lead to a better perception of how well to nourish the body and the mind. The soul creates the light to see how best to keep the body and the mind in good shape and proper functionality. The soul becomes the light for the body and the mind. The well-nourished soul keeps the body and the mind in the right place and perspective. Thus, the one who aims to nourish the body and the mind at the expense of the soul has taken the wrong course, such a person will still end up in total darkness and living in the state of darkness that ends in destruction and ignominy.
The human soul is truly nourished and fueled through the life and light of God, the one who is immortal and eternal. The soul can only be nourished by an eternal substance, not just through material elements. We have the human soul nourished by God who is present in His Words and the Sacraments. Our attention is in the reality of God presence in His Words or in the words of the Scriptures. We cannot be disconnected with the scriptures and not have our souls in a state of full malnourishment. The soul must always be opened to the truth of the scriptures and receptive of God’s presence in the sacraments, for it to be truly nourished. The soul needs God’s truth to keep it well-fed and with that reality of constant nourishment, grows as it should. It is thus imperative to always keep in touch with the truth of the Scriptures for our own good. In the words of St Jerome, ignorance of the scriptures is the same as ignorance of Christ. We must never give in to deliberate slot that will not make us daily to expose ourselves to the truth of the word of God present in the Scriptures or the Bible. The culture of daily study of the Scriptures is as important as the culture of eating good food daily for human wellness. Let us create a disposition of spending time exposing ourselves to the truth of the scriptures in a very beautiful way.
For this week, as a community, let us follow this Bible reading schedule in our various homes and settings where we live and gather.
Sunday; John 1:1-18.
Monday: John:1 18-34.
Tuesday: John: 1:35-51.
Wednesday: Matthew 12:1-28.
Thursday: Matthew 11:20-29.
Friday: Galatians 5:1-25.
Saturday: Proverbs.1:1-33.
May we grow in the strength of the soul as we open ourselves to the enriching and transforming truth of the Holy Scriptures. Amen.