The Word of God is sacramental. That means it is sacred, and as a sacred word, it makes present what it indicates . . . When we say that God’s Word is sacred, we mean that God’s Word is full of God’s presence. The questions therefore are: How does God come to me as I listen to the Word? Where do I discern the healing hand of God touching me through the Word? How is my sadness, my grief and my mourning being transformed at this very moment? Do I sense the fire of God’s love purifying my heart and giving me new life? These questions lead me to the sacrament of the Word, the sacred place of God’s real presence . . . When Jesus joins us on the road and explains the scriptures to us, we must listen with our whole being, trusting that the Word that created us will also heal us. God wants to become present to us and thus radically transform our fearful hearts.

– Henri J.M. Nouwen