Just returning from Rome where I spent 8 days making a personal retreat of sorts that included time in prayer with the monks at Sant'Anselmo, I could not divorce the experience of hearing the Word of God proclaimed frequently throughout the day. Truly, it was a renewing experience of keeping God in front of me. And how else does one live as a follower of Christ but to keep His word and sacrament in front of the self?
The reality of Scripture and the Liturgy is a Benedictine experience, that is, a Catholic view of reality that does not separate faith from reason, Scripture from experience, worship from study and leisure. Scripture is so very much a part of our lives as Catholics that we often overlook its importance in our worship and formation as adopted sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ. The Church from the very beginning proclaims and lives the sacred Scriptures because they document the covenantal relationship with God the Father. We know this fact through our sacred Liturgy: Lauds, Vespers, the Sacrifice of the Mass and our personal prayer offered each and every day. While some may not be able to pray Lauds, Vespers and Mass daily, prayers such as the Rosary, the Angelus and lectio divina provide ample grist for the heart's mill helping us to seek God's face. In Hebrews 4 we are reminded of the Word that created the cosmos and daily recreates us and this latter point is what we believe the sacraments to do: recreate us in God's own image and likeness.
Augustine of Hippo spoke of the sacraments being a "visible word" we also know the sacred Scripture to be the audible sacrament. "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."
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