“Blessed are those who hear the WORD of God and obey it.”
Luke 11:28
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
Isaiah 55:10-11
and return not thither but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
We are to be bearing fruit from the seed of God’s Word. Operatio/Actio/Resolutio are all Latin terms for action. His Word creates and becomes flesh through us when we move from pondering to practicing His Word, all for His Glory. It is a response of the heart to the Word of God, as it is stated in Verbum Domini:
“We do well also to remember that the process of lectio divina is not concluded until it arrives at action (actio), which moves the believer to make his or her life a gift for others in charity.”
Verbum Domini (87)
Operatio is “contemplation in action”, just as Mary in the Visitation of her cousin, Elizabeth. We are helping others to touch Jesus in His Word, especially through the Corporal Works of Mercy and Spiritual Works of Mercy, which are truly God’s Word in action.
Return to First Step: Lectio