The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us

~ Brother Thomas Paul ~

This is the thought that the Holy Spirit gives at the beginning of this retreat: set our life in order!
We have learned certain phrases over the years- certain false doctrines. For example, we all have heard these “too much anything is bad”, “you do half and God do the other half”. We got stuck in those false proverbs. Matthew 4:16 says: “the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light”. What does it mean to be in the darkness? Psalm 18: 10 says, “He parted the heavens and came down, a dark cloud under his feet”. Where or what is heaven? Heaven is not a place above the clouds. Heaven is the perfect union with the Holy Trinity. What is dark cloud or darkness? There are two kinds of darkness. First, is the darkness of ignorance about God. Second, is the darkness of the original sin. So, in order to set out life in order, the Word was made Flesh And dwelt among us. The Word made flesh in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Word of God says , one does live by Bread. Or, what does it mean that man lives on rice? it means that someone must remove the husk and bran then cook it in order to eat. Similarly, One does live by Word of God means, we have to breakdown the Word of god and unite with Holy Spirit. This is how Word become flesh in our heart. A great example is Virgin Mary. Holy Mother was the first person full of this Word and the Holy Spirit. Virgin Mary is a classic symbol of Christianity.

As we have read earlier, when the church bell ring as a call to prayer, the prayer we say is Angelus. It is our daily prayer and we must understand its depth. “The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary”. What is the meaning of “declared” here? It means the angel of the Lord announced a Word of God to Mary. What happened after that? Mary conceived of the Holy Spirit. That is, the Word and the Holy Spirit worked in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Thus, Christ was conceived. But, how can a woman get pregnant without a man? But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”. Immediately the Angel said, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [Luke 1:34- 35]. So ,who is a man or a person here? Holy Spirit. Mary is conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit. “The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary”. This is the ‘Word that proceeds from the mouth of God’. The union of the Word and the Holy Spirit resulted in incarnation of God the Son Jesus Christ. This is what happens in us through Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. When the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are united in our soul, Jesus is born in us. Then we become a follower of Christ – a Christian. Christ began to live in us.

Every day, Word of God and the Holy Spirit unite in our spirit, a great source of divine life will spring up in our lives.