These days, we sometimes find ourselves searching for "spiritual hotspots" even within our faith. We travel to attend lectures that explain the Word well, and we listen to recordings and videos, receiving deep inspiration. These are undoubtedly moments of grace. Our hearts are warmed, and we feel a renewal of faith. I, too, cherish such experiences.
However, at some point, a question lingers in my mind: Am I only listening to the Word, or am I living it? I may have been moved, but it's hard to say whether that Word is actually changing my daily choices and attitudes.
The Word is similar to food. No matter how good the food is, if you don't chew and swallow, it won't be absorbed into your body. Words heard only with the ears and forgotten provide only temporary satisfaction. They won't remain within us for long because it hasn't been properly digested.
So, what does it mean to digest the Word? It means taking the time to reflect on the Word. Keeping a sentence heard during Mass or a sermon in your heart and recalling it throughout the day.
"What does this Word demand of me today?", "What would the Lord do in this situation?" When these questions are repeated, the Word begins to slowly break down within us. Words whose meaning wasn't initially clear reveal a new face as they encounter the scenes of our lives. At that moment, the Word of God becomes not just knowledge, but a standard.
Jesus' parables were not given to be understood all at once. Rather, the more we ponder them, the more they touch our hearts, and the more we live, the more different meanings they reveal. That's how the Word of God is digested.
When the Word is digested and absorbed, transformation occurs. The Word begins to take root beyond our emotions and judgments. It stops us when we are angry and points us to a different path when we feel wronged.
"Forgive seventy times seven times."
This saying is easy to understand, but difficult to live. However, when the Word begins to permeate us, we make slightly different choices than before. Instead of an immediate reaction, we pause, and instead of a firm judgment, we leave room for possibility.
The absorbed Word changes the tone of our speech, the direction of our relationships, and the rhythm of our day. At some point, we realize the Word is no longer just sentences in a book, but an inner compass guiding our lives.
Just as a blockage in the body leads to illness, so too does a failure to let go in faith lead to spiritual sickness. If we hear the Word, are moved by it, and understand it, but all of that ends with us, then our faith easily remains self-satisfied. It can become hardened into a mere personal spiritual experience.
The release in faith is the practice of love towards our neighbors. Small acts of attention, small acts of consideration, and small acts of sharing are enough. Swallowing a harsh word, extending a helping hand one more time—these are actions that may go unnoticed, but have results in God's time.
Jesus clearly said: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40)
Faith flows and circulates without obstruction when it doesn't remain merely in hearing the Word, but is digested and becomes a part of life, and then flows out again as love. From a faith that listens well to the Word, to a faith that lives according to the Word. Perhaps the "delicious meal" we should be seeking today is not in a lecture hall, but in our daily lives.