Word of the Week

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Amen: Amen (Gk.): meaning “let it be done”, “so it is”, or “truly”, behind it stands a Hebrew term that conveys a sense of belief, firmness, reliability, and trustworthiness.

Amen signifies and ratifies an agreement between two people (glossary, 865). Many prayers of the New Testament and the life of the Church (Liturgy and Creed) conclude with “Amen”, signifying the solidity of the solemn assertion taking place (CCC 1061-1062). Amen communicates both God’s faithfulness towards us and our fidelity and trust in him (CCC 1062). Amen is man’s “fiat”, his yes, to everything he professes and espouses towards in the Body of Christ. To say “Amen” is to entrust ourselves entirely to Christ who is the “‘Amen’ of infinite love and perfect faithfulness” (CCC 1064, 1065).

Amen can be found in Sacred Scripture 57 times: 27 in the Old Testament and 30 in the New Testament. The term “Amen” appears in the OT to pronounce or confirm a divine oath or curse (Nm.5:22; Deut.27:15-26), or to attest to the greatness of God in worship (Neh.5:13, 8:6). A double “Amen and Amen” concludes the first, second, and third divisions of the Psalter (Ps.41; 72; 81) where there is a praise of blessedness unto the Lord (Hahn and Minch, 56). In the NT, “ ‘Amen’ is a liturgical response arising from the congregation in both the earthly (1 Cor14.16) and heavenly liturgies (Rev.5:14, 7:1) (Hahn and Minch, 56). Christ used the word “Amen” when he wanted to ratify his teachings in his truth (Mt.5:18; 18:3). Pauline scholarship is replete with the term “Amen” as an expression that concludes all doxology (Rom.11:36; Gal.1:5; Eph.3:21; Phil.4:20; 1 Tim.1:17; 1 Tim.6:16; 2 Tim.4:18). Christ is the “Amen” because he embodies the irrevocability of covenant faithfulness of God (Hahn and Minch, 56). John concludes the book of Revelation with “Amen” because of the nature of the book as liturgical and to confirm all of Scripture as truth (Rev.22:20).

Consequently, when we in our own lives say “Amen” to the teachings and sacramental life of the church, we declare ourselves in communion with God’s binding declarations of Doctrine as truth. Essentially, entrusting ourselves to he who is the “Amen” incarnate. For it is in our “Amen” where we find true rest in God…Amen!

“Life itself is an Amen”

–Fr. Frank Pavone

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