Meeting 2 - Value of the Word¶
Goal¶
Discovery of the value of the word.
Discovery that the spoken or heard word changes reality.
Discovery how the meaning of words is diminished.
Introduction for the Animator¶
We are after the silent Mass and Kasia’s conference. And we are before individual consideration of the Word of God. And we have to convince about the value of the word, that the word has power. Let’s approach this meeting with faith that “my word has power and the word of every participant has power” - let’s experience that the word WORKS at this meeting. Let’s be attentive in listening and speaking.
Prayer¶
For sensitivity to each other, to the words we will share. For the guidance of the Holy Spirit - He is the Lord of the Word, He convinces, He opens to understanding and discovering.
Introduction¶
In the morning we participated in the Mass - we did not sing, words were limited, there were longer moments of silence. Let’s share this experience.
Did you feel the lack of words? Did you miss them or maybe “it was better than usual”? Why?
How did you experience this Mass?
What did you pay special attention to?
We want to reflect today at this meeting on the value of the word. On whether and what the word changes when it is spoken and heard. On how the word works and what power it has. Let’s try to be very attentive: listen and speak so that words truly reach us - let’s catch these words that will be spoken here, let’s look at them.
Power of the Word¶
Yesterday we wrote down on cards words that are important to us, that we would like to hear. Words we are waiting for.
Have you ever heard something that had a big impact on your life?
Something that changed, shaped it in some way?
Have you experienced how someone’s word changes you?
Note
Three versions to choose from for the animator
Let’s listen:
A certain philosopher explained the power of words at a lecture. He spoke about how people react to words, how they live by them (more than reality), how words follow them. Then one of the students stood up and protested:- It’s impossible, professor, for words to have such an influence on people!- Sit down, you son of a bitch, who asked for your opinion? - shouted the philosopher.The room went silent as a grave. The student paled with anger and when he swallowed his saliva, he said confused:- It is a shame and disgrace for a professor to address his students like this!- I apologize to you very much, I just got carried away. I ask a hundred times for forgiveness for this outburst, I am very sorry that I offended you.When the atmosphere in the room finally returned to normal, the philosopher said:- You see, my dears, a few words were enough to cause a storm in a man, and a few words made the storm quiet down again; isn’t that the power of words?!—Cf. K. Wójtowicz, Alikwoty, 115
In the corner of a large park, in the thicket of trees and bushes, full of flowers and colorful berries, there was a small pond covered with white and pink water lilies. A family of toads lived in the pond. Dad, mom and a lively little daughter. It was a happy family.- You are the most beautiful child in the world. – mother toad whispered to her little daughter and showered her with kisses, and the little toad croaked with satisfaction.- You are the best mommy in the world. – the little toad repeated, and then ran to immerse herself in the fresh water of the pond.Dad looked with pride at his family, at the flowery banks of the pond, at the dark and fresh water, and used to say:- We live in the most wonderful place in the world!One day the peaceful life of the family was disturbed by a series of screams. They came from a group of girls who were walking along the path on the bank of the pond:- Oh, what a disgusting smell!- It’s a real dunghill… Let’s get out of here!- The water is rotten! Look at those terrible toads! They are repulsive!- And that little one, what a terrible creature!The toad parents hid in the mud with shame. The little one hid under a water lily leaf, depressed and worried. Happiness in the pond ended forever.—Bruno Ferrero
Everyday story. Mommy says to her child:- Look, my little one, look at that hunchback, how funny he is.The little son asks:- Hunchback, come here so I can touch your hump, it brings luck!And the little hunchback bowed his head and ran away.It was like that every day. For many years. And yet his heart knew no hatred.He only wanted to be normal. Meanwhile, he was hunchbacked.- Hunchback, Hunchback! – he heard once, dreaming at night.He wanted to sleep to forget. He poisoned himself…—Reoul Follereau
There are words that make you “grow”. There are also those that destroy you. We often talk about words hurting. We also often talk about them building. Words have power. When you speak a word, you change reality: by speaking a word, you can change someone’s life. Similarly, listening and accepting a word directed to you, your life can be changed.
Can you give an example when a word changes reality?
Our experiences confirm what God did earlier:
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
—Gen 1:3-5a
God spoke a word and something came into being. God is the One who creates with a word. But that’s not the end. Let’s read:
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
—Gen 1:28
Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field.
—Gen 2:19-20a
God gave us a task. Our vocation is creating the world. The world of words is a real world. God wanted Adam to name His creatures. He makes him a co-author of his work, a co-author of creation. He knows best what power the word has. His word creates. Our word can also create.
Let’s read:
May God, who by the Resurrection of his Only Begotten Son was pleased to confer on you the gift of redemption and of adoption, give you gladness by his blessing.R. Amen.May he, by whose redeeming work you have received the gift of everlasting freedom, make you heirs to an eternal inheritance.R. Amen.And may you, who have already risen with Christ in Baptism through faith, by living in a right manner on this earth, be united with him in the homeland of heaven.R. Amen.And may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, come down on you and remain with you for ever.R. Amen.
What is this text?
What is a blessing? What is an exorcism? What is a spell?
What are these “forms of expressing words” for? What do they serve?
A word can be both something healing, positive (blessing), and destroying, and enslaving (spell, curse). The spoken word becomes reality. We cannot assume that we “spoke playfully”. The word works.
Words Losing Power¶
Let’s see how easy it is sometimes for us to forget about the power of the word. Let’s focus and listen to a certain text:
I have like a dream today! I have like some dream that one day probably every valley shall be exalted, probably every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places should be made somewhat plain, the crooked places should be made somewhat straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and it would probably be good if people saw it. This is like our hope. This is like the faith with which I might return to the South. With this faith we will probably be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of some hope. With this faith we will maybe be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into some, maybe beautiful, symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will perhaps be able to work together, maybe to some joint prayer, maybe to struggle together, to go like together to jail, to stand up together for freedom, like knowing that one day we will probably be free.
Do you have any guesses what text this is? Who said it and when?
Does this speech convince you?
Let’s listen to the original:
I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
—Martin Luther King – I have a dream – Washington, 1963.
What happened in the first version of the text?
How do these two texts we heard differ?
Note
First let’s share general impressions; then we can distribute the texts if the group has a problem grasping CONCRETE verbal changes
Does it happen to me to do something similar? Do I hear it around me?
Why do we do it?
Through such treatments we cause words to lose power. They cease to mean exactly what they mean. We weaken them. What’s more: we weaken them through other words. A small “like” is enough for the word “hope” to lose its power. And really our great awareness is needed when we want to “unlearn” this habit, when we want to speak words carefully, when we decide not to weaken them.
Which words are so important to me that for nothing would we want them to mean anything other than what they mean?
Which words do I want to defend against weakening?
Question for the End…¶
Someone who knew very well how great power and value words have was Jacob, who fought with God to receive His blessing:
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.
—Gen 32:24-29
Do I have such awareness that words are so important?
Would I like to have it?
Do I want to fight for it?