Not His Own Musings About Pious Things

Back in the dressing room, I put on my clericals and walked out. Going by the technicians' office, I said goodbye. One of them looked at me astonished.  

"I didn't know that you were a man of the Word." I had to laugh: My clerical status does not shine through a hospital gown. I do not ever remember being called a "man of the Word." No doubt, this form of address is an honored title in black Protestant churches. It was meant as that. 

The title made me think. Is a priest a "man of the Word?" His three powers are to "teach, to rule, and to sanctify." So, yes, he is a man of the Word. He recognizes Scripture -- and, through it, the Church and Christ -- as the source of any "word" he speaks in its name. The man of the Word is first to be sure that his word is the word that the Lord handed down, not his own musings about pious things.

 

Link (here) to read the full article by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. at Inside Catholic entitled, The Man of the Word.

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