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Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin
Ezekiel 2:8—3:4
After the vision of God’s glory, Ezekiel receives his prophetic mission.
But before he speaks, he must first eat.
A mysterious hand gives him a scroll.
And the Lord says:
“Eat what is before you.”
The meaning is clear.
The prophet cannot proclaim a word that remains outside him.
He must receive it.
Taste it.
Carry it within.
Only then can he speak.
The Bible knows the power of words.
The first word spoken on its pages is:
“Let there be light.”
And there was light.
The Gospel of John begins:
“In the beginning was the Word.”
And through this Word, all things were made.
The words of the prophets also carried great weight.
Elijah could announce that the heavens would be closed.
Jeremiah’s words were given to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and overthrow,
to build and to plant.
Isaiah could speak of the coming Messiah,
His birth,
His suffering,
and His saving wounds.
But before the prophets could speak God’s word,
God had to touch them.
Moses said he could not speak.
God promised to teach him.
Isaiah cried out that he was a man of unclean lips.
A seraph touched his lips with a burning coal.
Jeremiah was afraid because he was young.
The Lord touched his mouth and placed His words there.
Today, Ezekiel is told to eat the scroll.
The word of God must enter him first.
It must become part of him.
Only then can it become a word for others.
Today, the Church places before us not one scroll,
but the whole Bible:
stories,
commandments,
prophecies,
psalms,
visions,
Gospels,
and letters.
From Genesis to Revelation,
the Scriptures unfold God’s plan of salvation.
But the question remains:
Do we know this book?
Do we love it?
Have we allowed it to enter us?
Ezekiel says that the scroll was sweet as honey in his mouth.
Many Christians know this sweetness.
They wake early to read the Bible.
They carry it on buses, trains, and planes.
Some Christians, in places where the Bible is forbidden, cherish it more than gold.
They memorize it.
They copy it by hand.
They hide it.
And when they are imprisoned for Christ, they discover that the Scriptures are already alive within them.
Saint Augustine said:
“The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”
Saint John Chrysostom said that the Scriptures were not given to us only to remain in books,
but to be engraved upon our hearts.
Today, the scroll is before us.
Take it.
Eat it.
Let it become sweet within you.
Then speak it with your life.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Content License
© 2025 Krakus.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
(Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial).