Cor: "Men of the Word" - Intro Session (8/28/2025) (UPDATED: 1/22/2026)

At the heart of Christianity is the person of Jesus Christ. Our Catholic faith is an encounter with Jesus through the living word of God in Sacred Scripture. And so, St. Jerome: rightfully said that “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”

I am preparing to lead an 11-part series, called "Men of the Word", as part of the continuing Cor initiative of the Knights of Columbus to help men go deeper in their faith through prayer, formation, and fraternity.

All men, come join us as we take a deep dive into Sacred Scripture. This is more than a men's Bible Study, it is lectio divina, or divine reading, of the Word of God.

We had a great kick-off meeting for Cor tonight. We had 30 men join us for "Men of the Word," a Bible study series by the Knights of Columbus. It was wonderful to hear the men share Scripture verses, stories, parables, etc. that inspire them to be the men God created them to be - men of the Word of God.

Grateful to Fr. Payden for joining us tonight and leading in prayer. Many thanks to Arturo for organizing and our Worthy Grand Knight Greg for leading us in praying the Holy Rosary. After the Holy Rosary, we prayed this Litany of prayer after a school shooting in memory of the victims of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in MN.

Lastly, hats off to the team of Stephen, Peter, and Ricardo for making a deserving a delicious meal of salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, veggies, rolls, and ice cream for dessert.

Blessed for the opportunity to lead this 11-part series as we dive deeper in to Sacred Scripture and encounter our Lord Jesus Christ in the living Word of God. Below is my teaching.

Brothers, we are continuing that we started at the Men's Retreat on 8/16/2025 - to be a sign of HOPE in the world, to be the light of Christ in a world fallen into darkness. We become a sign of hope through our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is our reason for our hope. His life, Passion, death, and Resurrection are revealed to us in Sacred Scripture, particularly in the Book of the Gospels. Let us read and take these words of the Holy Father to heart.

Pope Leo XIV: "Our Lord approaches his coming passion freely and consciously, in obedience to the will of the Father and as an act of redemptive love.  In this way, he reveals the essence of true hope: the firm conviction that even in the midst of violence, injustice and suffering, God’s love is ever present as a source of spiritual fruitfulness and the promise of eternal life.  The way that Jesus exercised his freedom in the face of death teaches us not to fear suffering, but to persevere in confident trust in God’s providential care." 

From the Men's Retreat, as Fr. Michael encouraged us, we aspire to become "Men of the Word" through lectio divina (or divine reading) and a deep dive into Sacred Scripture.

Brothers, let us truly believe in the word of God, not the word of man, and allow the word of God to conform our hearts to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and transform us into men that God created us to be - men of hope, God-fearing men, servant leaders for our families and communities.

After his glorious Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and in the upper and open their hearts and minds to to understand Sacred Scripture.

Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. (Luke 24:45)

I share with you these verses from Sacred Scripture that should inspire us to be men of the Word of God.

“And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the WORD of God from hearing us, you received it not as the WORD of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:9-13)

“Brothers, I beg you through the mercy of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)

“Indeed, the WORD of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the WORD of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17) 

“Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him.” (1 John 2:5)

I also share with you these words of the Pope Francis, who instituted Sunday of the Word of God, in his Apostolic Letter “Motu Proprio” - “Aperuit Illis”.

“He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Lk 24:45).  This was one of the final acts of the risen Lord before his Ascension.  Jesus appeared to the assembled disciples, broke bread with them and opened their minds to the understanding of the sacred Scriptures.

The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians. Without the Lord who opens our minds to them, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures in depth. Yet the contrary is equally true: without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of his Church in this world would remain incomprehensible. Hence, Saint Jerome could rightly claim: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Commentary on the Book of Isaiah, Prologue: PL 24,17B).

Saint Ephrem: “Who is able to understand, Lord, all the richness of even one of your words? There is more that eludes us than what we can understand. We are like the thirsty drinking from a fountain. Your word has as many aspects as the perspectives of those who study it. The Lord has coloured his word with diverse beauties, so that those who study it can contemplate what stirs them. He has hidden in his word all treasures, so that each of us may find a richness in what he or she contemplates” (Commentary on the Diatessaron, 1, 18).

Consequently, I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God. This Sunday of the Word of God will thus be a fitting part of that time of the year when we are encouraged to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity. This is more than a temporal coincidence: the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God has ecumenical value, since the Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity.

The Bible, as sacred Scripture, thus speaks of Christ and proclaims him as the one who had to endure suffering and then enter into his glory (cf. v. 26). Not simply a part, but the whole of Scripture speaks of Christ. Apart from the Scriptures, his death and resurrection cannot be rightly understood. That is why one of the most ancient confessions of faith stressed that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas” (1Cor15:3-5). Since the Scriptures everywhere speak of Christ, they enable us to believe that his death and resurrection are not myth but history, and are central to the faith of his disciples.

The sweetness of God’s word leads us to share it with all those whom we encounter in this life and to proclaim the sure hope that it contains (cf. 1 Pet 3:15-16). Its bitterness, in turn, often comes from our realization of how difficult it is to live that word consistently, or our personal experience of seeing it rejected as meaningless for life. We should never take God’s word for granted, but instead let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with him and with our brothers and sisters.

Finally, here are the "6 Key Parts to the Sessions" that we will be starting for "Men of the Word".

• Opening Prayer
• Session Introduction
• Reading Scripture
• Applying Scripture (through questions and lectio divina)
• Call to Action
• Closing Prayer

Also, here is the activity/discussion that we did at our tables: What is the favorite Scripture passage, parable, story, character, etc.? Why?

All men are invited! We meet on the 4th Thursday of the month in the Parish Hall at Saint Albert the Great Catholic Church. Bring your Bible, something to write with and take notes on, and, most importantly, bring a heart that is ready to receive the Word of God, to be conformed to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

UPDATE: For us to become Men of the Word of God, let us read Scripture daily. Here is a link to the daily readings on the USCCB web-site. Also, the Regnum Christi web-site provides daily meditation / reflection on the daily readings.

UPDATE (9/1/2025): This is the second reading for the Office of Reading (Liturgy of the Hours) for 9/1/2025. It is a wonderful meditation on the word of the God and so I thought I would share it.

From The Imitation of Christ

Lib. (3, 3)

I taught my prophets

My son, says the Lord, listen to my words, the most delightful of all words, surpassing all the knowledge of the philosophers and wise men of this world. My words are spirit and life and cannot be comprehended by human senses alone.

They are not to be interpreted according to the vain pleasure of the listener, but they must be listened to in silence and received with all humility and great affection.

And I said: Blessed is the man whom you teach, Lord, and whom you instruct in your law; for him you soften the blow of the evil day, and you do not desert him on the earth.

The Lord says, I have instructed my prophets from the beginning and even to the present time I have not stopped speaking to all men, but many are deaf and obstinate in response.

Many hear the world more easily than they hear God; they follow the desires of the flesh more readily than the pleasure of God.

The world promises rewards that are temporal and insignificant, and these are pursued with great longing; I promise rewards that are eternal and unsurpassable, yet the hearts of mortals respond sluggishly.

Who serves and obeys me in all matters with as much care as the world and its princes are served?

Blush, then, you lazy, complaining servant, for men are better prepared for the works of death than you are for the works of life. They take more joy in vanity than you in truth.

Yet they are often deceived in their hope, while my promise deceives no one, and leaves empty-handed no one who confides in me. What I have promised I shall give; what I have said I will fulfill for any man who remains faithful in my love unto the very end. I am the rewarder of all good men, the one who rigorously tests the devoted.

Write my words in your heart and study them diligently, for they will be absolutely necessary in the time of temptation. Whatever you fail to understand in reading my words will become clear to you on the day of your visitation.

I am accustomed to visit my elect in a double fashion, that is, with temptation and with consolation. And I read to them two lessons each day: one to rebuke them for their faults; the other to exhort them to increase their virtue.

He who possesses my words yet spurns them earns his own judgment on the last day.

UPDATE (9/4/2025) - Saint Gregory the Great on Holy Scripture  His feast day is Sept. 3rd.

UPDATE (1/9/2026): Cor is on Thursday (1/22) and Sunday of the Word of God in that Sunday (1/25). Here is the Vatican document in which Pope Francis instituted Sunday of the Word of God back in 2019. I invite you all to read it.

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/papa-francesco-motu-proprio-20190930_aperuit-illis.html

In this new year, let us strive to become better Men of the Word of God for ourselves, for our families, but most especially for God's glory and for the Catholic Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

UPDATE (1/22/2026): Every 3rd session of the "Men of the Word" series, we practice lectio divina - lectio, oratio, meditatio, and contemplatio. For this session, we did lectio divina on Genesis 2:15-25. Several of the men shared how God spoke to them during the guided lectio divina and I am grateful for them sharing and enriching our experience. The next Cor meeting will be on 2/26 during Lent.