Powerful Words

There is so much power in words.
I see it every Sunday with Fr. Bala.
He memorizes the entire Gospel!
He "reads" it from the pulpit--
without the Lectionary.
Beautiful.

If you have ever practiced a poem, you realize how much time is invested to do that. Every word has to be exact, even the smallest words. And sometimes the Gospel on Sunday is rather long.
But Father Bala does it perfectly week after week, and English is not his native language.
Maybe you already have the habit of Lectio Divina, which is picturing the story from the Bible in your imagination (maybe even with yourself in the scene). Entering the living word is an act that becomes an even greater experience when you hear the priest recite the Gospel from memory. An amazing depth is felt, with each syllable, through each sequence, until the end.

"John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judeaand saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:A voice of one crying out in the desert,Prepare the way of the Lord,make straight his paths."

Such a gift.
Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.