Pondering the Word

By Deacon Desmond Yorke

Pondering the Word reflects on how the Word of God penetrates our senses and teaches us not only how to live our lives but also how to manage our lives. His Word is experienced through our encounters with others. We are not only impacted by the words of others; we also impact their lives by the Word dwelling in us.

The reader will experience, through many examples, the Word coming to life and providing us practical solutions to our everyday situations. We soon become aware of the power of the Word and how it can affect us in a positive or negative way. The Word lives in us and can become a dependable companion for us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798823010986

Deacon Desmond Yorke

The author was born in British Guiana, now Guyana; after finishing high school he studied, for two years, at St. Paul’s Minor Seminary in Guyana. He then entered the major Seminary of St. John Vianney in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies. There he studied philosophy and theology for four years. He relocated to USA in 1973, and studied at Southeastern University in Washington, DC, graduating with a Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Business and Public Administration. He worked in the Healthcare field, for more than thirty years. Most of those years were spent working as a Financial Manager, in the District of Columbia government. He entered the diaconate program of the Archdiocese of Washington DC in 2001and was ordained a deacon in 2006. The author has been involved as a volunteer Religious Education teacher, for more than forty years.

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© 2023 Deacon Desmond Yorke. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright ©

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ISBN: 979-8-8230-1097-9 (sc)

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Published by AuthorHouse 06/23/2023

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

A

Above All Is Jesus

Abundance

Acceptance

Amen

Authority

Availability

B

Beauty

Beginning

Blocking God’s Energy

Breadth of Education

C

Call to Order

Change

Change and Its Effects

Change Can Create Disharmony

Choices

Conversion

Conviction

D

Death

Defining Oneself

Discernment

Dreams

E

Encountering the Spirit

F

Father

Forgiveness

Fullness of Life

G

Greed

Growth

H

Healing

Holiness

Humility

Hypocrisy

I

Insight

J

Journey

Journey of Love

Journeying with God

Judgment Replaced with Forgiveness

K

Know Your Place

L

Leadership—The First Union

Leadership and Its Fruits

Lifted up

Love

M

Making Space for God

N

NO

o

Openness

P

Paradox

Passion with Compassion

Peace

Pondering

Prayer

Principles

Q

Quest

Questions

R

Restored in His Image and Likeness

Resurrection

S

Salt

Scandal

Silence

Sincerity

Spirituality and Suffering

Spiritual Leader

Spiritual Life Sharing

Spiritual Insight

Spiritual Intervention

Spiritual Uniqueness

Spiritual Unveiling

Spiritual Vision

Sowing the Word

T

Telling (Jesus Your Story)

Temptation

Touched by His Love

U

Unity

V

Validation

Value

Vessel

Voice

Void

W

Walking in His Ways

Word of God

Where Do We Go from Here?

X

Xylophobia

Y

Yes

Yoke

Z

Zeal

Conclusion

BG.psd

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To my family; my wife, Drusilla; and my son, Zachary.

To Tricia Clarke, my niece, and to Linda Walker, a former coworker.

To the many parishioners at St. Bernard’s church.

I would like to thank you all for the support and help you have provided me along my journey.

All pictures of Our Lady of Grace Statue were taken at Holy

Love Ministries in Lorain County, Ohio.

All Biblical references were taken from the NIV Giant Print Reference Bible.

The Copyright is from 1990 by the Zondervan Corporation.

May you, too, share in the experience that the Word of God teaches

us not only how to live but also how to manage our lives.

INTRODUCTION

This book is not intended to be an exploration of the teachings or dogma of the Catholic Church. It is intended to be the journey of one man, a Catholic in search of God’s will. It is a journey to discover the Word of God. Since God is not an inanimate object, his presence is expressed in words which unite him with us. He continues to reveal himself to us in an informal way. Through meditation and reflection on God’s Word, we can grow closer to experiencing his presence in us. We are reminded by the Isaiah of God’s promise, So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Is 55: 11). God’s Word is alive and exists in us. The challenge is to discover and navigate his presence in our lives.

We have been told, often, that we can offend God through our thoughts, words, and deeds. This also implies that we can encounter him through our thoughts, words, and deeds. God’s Word is spirit and life. It comes into existence through our senses even when he disciplines or forgives us. He is present in our lives, and His grace speaks to us in many ways.

My desire is to awaken in us the joy of discerning God’s presence as he guides us through our senses. The word sense is used here in the context of the five basic senses, which are sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The impact of the word sense also connects us to everyday activities in our lives, such as hearing, listening, dreaming, and even silence.

God’s Word awakens in us a deeper consciousness in ourselves. It arouses us from our slumber to a fuller appreciation of his unending love for us. His Spirit and life exist in the Word, which dwells in us and impacts the many facets of our lives. We can experience his presence in a multitude of ways.

I have selected a few words that have impacted my life. They are just a glimpse into the wide spectrum of words that are available to us. These words may have different impacts on the lives of others. However, I am, in this book, exploring as well as sharing my personal experiences of how God’s Word can affect us. The words selected are not intended to be discussed in detail. I am pondering on the Words as they impact my life as well as the lives of others. I hope that the selected words may also touch others and assist them to discover and share the power of God’s Word as it impacts their lives.

I am not looking at any word with respect to its etymology, definition, or description. I am looking at some of the words with respect to how they have transformed my life. My hope is that what I have experienced from the words selected can help others to understand the depth and width of God’s presence in his Word. Taking the time to examine the selected words can open a new perspective on how we experience God’s presence in us.

The Gospels, in essence, reflect a way of life for all. It is through the living out of the Gospels that we discover the magnitude and the profound simplicity of the Word.

Jesus speaks to us through parables in the Gospels. He continues to speak to us in similar ways. We frequently encounter situations in which we are told a parable that provides us with a profound spiritual message. The Holy Spirit continues to teach us, in our everyday activities, how to discover the Word.

I have also included a few stories that have touched my life and guided me to a deeper and humbler discovery of the Word. My hope is that they will also help you in recognizing in your own stories of the Word dwelling among you and within you.

A

Above All Is Jesus

Jesus reminds us in Matthew’s Gospel (10:37–42) that he is above all. And it is in placing him above all things that we experience the Word, which is his very presence in us. It impacts us in the way we see, hear, smell, speak, touch, and experience the world around us. But the Word also impacts us in the spiritual world, revealing itself in our hearts, minds, and souls. When we put Jesus above all things, we begin to experience life in a loving relationship with him.

But there are many who constantly put their personal interests above their relationships with Jesus. He reminds us in the Gospels that we should not love our families—father, mother, son, and daughter—above him. Because if we do, we are not worthy of him. And this may seem strange to some, but when we realize that God is truly our Creator and Father, we understand that we need to put the Son of God above all our wants and desires. Only Jesus can help us discover what is truly given for us. He provides us with lasting solutions to our problems.

In the Gospel of Mark, one of the teachers of the law asks Jesus which of the commandments is the most important. Jesus then responds, Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mk 12:29–30).

Jesus used this quotation from the Shema Israel, a sacred Jewish prayer. His followers most likely knew this prayer. And Jesus reminded them of the multiple use of the word all in it. The word was used four times in qualifying the use of one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength when loving God. He wanted to make it clear that all means all when obeying God. And a total commitment to the Triune God is required for discipleship. The Christian is called to give all of himself or herself, not just a part, when it comes to following Jesus.

Jesus also reminds us in this Gospel that we are able to put him above all others by taking up our crosses and following him. He offers us, through the cross, a way to navigate this complex world. He is always with us, in the midst of our lives’ journeys.

And he tells us that we are rewarded based on our commitment to serve others. If we serve a prophet or a righteous man, we will be rewarded accordingly. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward (Mt 10:42).

So, the Christian’s life is spent seeking how to discern and embrace the presence of Jesus continuously. We experience a sense of loneliness without the companionship of the Word in our lives. But it is with us and continues to guide us only when we allow it, through the grace of God, to be above all others.

An example of that loneliness was seen when the world experienced, the spring of 2020, the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Millions died and many more were infected as a result of the pandemic. The world was made conscious of the serious limitations that are inherent in our human existence. This should remind us that our lives can easily become disordered and separated from our creator. Human knowledge has its limitations, which can lead us to self-destruction. But we need to be reminded that all our efforts should include Jesus as our companion. He teaches us how to elevate his presence in our lives above all others, without diminishing our gift of human life. And a disordered life leads to destruction.

Abundance

We are created in the image and likeness of God, and sharing in the image and likeness of God means that we also share in His abundance of life. It is not just a physical reward but also a spiritual one. But to achieve this relationship through Christ, one’s body, mind, and spirit should be united under a single purpose. If there are extreme tensions and polarities between the functions of the body, mind, and spirit, we will be limited in our abilities to tap into the abundance that Christ offers us.

And Christian spirituality is the vehicle that will take us on that journey. Sometimes it is difficult to see how spirituality is connected to the functions of our bodies, minds, and spirits. But the scriptures tell us that the body is the temple of God. So the body should be spiritually prepared to house God, in order for us to experience the abundance of life and a union with him.

But our bodies are often stressed out. Our stress may come in the form of physical, mental, or spiritual illnesses. And these are elements that we