All the saints had great love for the Scriptures. Saint Jerome was consumed by such a great love for Sacred Scripture that he left the comforts of an easy life to take up residence in the Holy Land with the sole intention of studying the Scriptures and translating them to Latin. Saint Anthony of Padua spent 18 months meditating on the Scriptures till the entire Bible was engraved in his heart. The special gift he had was the same gift that the Blessed Virgin had, “to treasure all the Scriptures in her heart” (Luke 2:19)

 

Several saints were converted by God’s Words. Saint Augustine was touched when he read Romans 13:11-14, “the moment is here for you to stop sleeping and wake up, because by now our salvation is nearer than when we first began to believe.”

 

During the initial stages of his conversion, Saint Franis of Assisi was deeply touched by the Words of Jesus,  “The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off in his joy, sells everything he owns and buys the field” (Matthew 13:44). At all times, Saint Francis used to rely on Sacred Scripture to provide guidance and strength for his life with Christ.

 

Saint Teresa of Avila used Sacred Scripture to verify all her revelations. This saint was granted the gift of discernment of spirits and the knowledge of the Kingdom of God. In particular, Saint Teresa experienced the beauty of an interior life in union with the Most Holy Trinity:  “Anyone who loves Me will keep My Word, and My Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him” (John 14:23).

 

Saint Ignatius Loyola overcame the initial resistance of Saint Francis Xavier by frequently asking him the question of Jesus, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). These words of Christ made Saint Francis reorder his priorities. He left everything to work for the salvation of souls.

 

The power of the words of Christ to create saints is very clearly proved in our own times. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta received direction through the words of Christ, ‘And the King will answer, “In all truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to Me”’ (Matthew 25:40). These words of our Lord made up a whole programme of life for her mission and work.

 

We too should pray and read the Bible frequently, and allow the Word of God to teach, inspire, guide and transform our lives.