INTRODUCTION

1. “The word of the lord abides for ever.” This word is the Gospel which was preached to you” (1 Pet 1:25; cf. Is 40:8). With this assertion from the First Letter of Saint Peter, which takes up the words of the Prophet Isaiah, we find ourselves before the mystery of God, who has made himself known through the gift of his word. This word, which abides for ever, entered into time. God spoke his eternal Word humanly; his Word “became flesh” (Jn 1:14). This is the good news. This is the proclamation which has come down the centuries to us today. The Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, meeting in the Vatican from 5-26 October 2008, had as its theme: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church. It was a profound experience of encounter with Christ, the Word of the Father, who is present where two or three are gathered in his name (cf. Mt 18:20). With this Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation I readily respond to the request of the Synod Fathers to make known to the whole People of God the rich fruits which emerged from the synodal sessions and the recommendations which resulted from our common endeavour.^[1] Consequently, I intend to revisit the work of the Synod in the light of its documents: the Lineamenta, the Instrumentum Laboris, the Relationes ante and post disceptationem, the texts of the interventions, both those delivered on the Synod floor and those presented in written form, the reports of the smaller discussion groups, the Final Message to the People of God and, above all, a number of specific proposals (Propositiones) which the Fathers considered especially significant. In this way I wish to point out certain fundamental approaches to a rediscovery of God’s word in the life of the Church as a wellspring of constant renewal. At the same time I express my hope that the word will be ever more fully at the heart of every ecclesial activity.

VERBUM DOMINI manet in aeternum. Hoc est autem verbum, quod evangelizatum est in vos (cfr 1 Pe 1,25; Is 40,8). Primae huius Epistulae Petri, Isaiae prophetae verba referentis, per sententiam in conspectu Dei mysterii ponimur, qui se ipsum per Verbum suum donatum communicat. Verbum hoc, quod manet in aeternum, in tempus est ingressum. Suum Verbum aeternum humana ratione pronuntiavit Deus; eius Verbum « caro factum est » (Io 1,14). Hic est bonus nuntius. Hic est nuntius qui saecula decurrit, ad nos perventurus. XII Coetus Generalis Ordinarius Synodi Episcoporum, in Civitate Vaticana diebus V-XXVI mensis Octobris anno MMVIII celebratus, hoc enodavit argumentum: Dei verbum in vita et in missione Ecclesiae. Altum quiddam est expertus cum Christum conveniret, Patris Verbum, qui adest ubi sunt duo vel tres congregati in nomine eius (cfr Mt 18,20). Adhortatione hac apostolica postsynodali libenter occurrere volumus Patribus postulantibus ut universus Dei Populus divitias cognoscat, quae ex Vaticana congressione exstiterunt, simul ac indicia per commune opus proposita.¹ Hoc in rerum prospectu considerare volumus id quod Synodus effecit, prae oculis habentes exhibita documenta: Lineamenta, Instrumentum laboris, Relationes ante et post disceptationem necnon textus communicationum, cum in aula lectarum, tum per scriptum datarum, Relationes Circulorum Minorum eorumque disceptationes, Nuntium postremum ad Dei Populum destinatum atque praesertim nonnullas Propositiones peculiares illas, quas magni momenti Patres iudicarunt. Hoc modo quaedam praecipua demonstrare cupimus, ut divinum Verbum in Ecclesiae vita denuo detegatur, quod perennis renovationis est fons, exoptantes item ut ipsum magis magisque cor fiat omnis ecclesialis operae.

That our joy may be complete

Ut gaudium nostrum sit plenum

2. Before all else, I would like to call to mind the beauty and pleasure of the renewed encounter with the Lord Jesus which we experienced during the synodal assembly. In union with with the Synod Fathers, then, I address all the faithful in the words of Saint John in his first letter: “We proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and which was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 Jn 1:2-3). The Apostle speaks to us of hearing, seeing, touching and looking upon (cf. 1 Jn 1:1) the word of life, since life itself was made manifest in Christ. Called to communion with God and among ourselves, we must proclaim this gift. From this kerygmatic standpoint, the synodal assembly was a testimony, before the Church and before the world, to the immense beauty of encountering the word of God in the communion of the Church. For this reason I encourage all the faithful to renew their personal and communal encounter with Christ, the word of life made visible, and to become his heralds, so that the gift of divine life – communion – can spread ever more fully throughout the world. Indeed, sharing in the life of God, a Trinity of love, is complete joy (cf. 1 Jn 1:4). And it is the Church’s gift and unescapable duty to communicate that joy, born of an encounter with the person of Christ, the Word of God in our midst. In a world which often feels that God is superfluous or extraneous, we confess with Peter that he alone has “the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). There is no greater priority than this: to enable the people of our time once more to encounter God, the God who speaks to us and shares his love so that we might have life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10).

2. In memoriam primum revocare volumus pulchritudinem et renovati occursus cum Domino Iesu iucunditatem, quam synodalis Congressionis diebus sumus experti. Hac de causa Patrum vocis induentes personam, ad cunctos fideles Nos convertimus sancti Ioannis verbis, quae sunt in Prima eius Epistula: « Annuntiamus vobis vitam aeternam, quae erat coram Patre et apparuit nobis – quod vidimus et audivimus, annuntiamus et vobis, ut et vos communionem habeatis nobiscum. Communio autem nostra est cum Patre et cum Filio eius Iesu Christo » (1 Io 1,2-3). Apostolus nobis dicit audire, videre, contrectare et contemplari (cfr 1 Io 1,1) Vitae Verbum, quoniam Vita ipsa in Christo est manifestata. Atque nos ad communionem vocati cum Deo et inter nos, huius doni praecones esse debemus. Hoc in kerygmatico prospectu, synodalis Congressio Ecclesiae atque mundo argumento fuit quam esset pulchrum in ecclesiali communione Dei Verbum nancisci. Itaque omnes fideles cohortamur ut personalem communemque denuo detegant occursum cum Christo, Vitae Verbo, quod visibile factum est, atque ipsius fiant praecones, ut divinae vitae donum, communio, magis ac magis in terrarum orbe diffundatur. Etenim vitam Dei, Trinitatis Amoris, communicare gaudium est plenum (cfr 1 Io 1,4). Donum est et necessarium Ecclesiae munus gaudium communicare, quod ex Personae Christi occursu oritur, Dei Verbi quod inter nos est. In mundo quodam, qui supervacaneum extrariumque considerat Deum, nos sicut Petrus confitemur Eum unum « verba vitae aeternae » (Io 6,68) habere. Nulla res est magis anteferenda quam haec, scilicet iterum homini nostrae aetatis aditum ad Deum patefacere, ad Deum quippe qui loquitur et suum amorem nobis communicat, ut vitam abundantius habeamus (cfr Io 10,10).

From “Dei Verbum” to the Synod on the Word of God

Ex Constitutione « Dei Verbum » ad Synodum de Dei Verbo

3. With the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God, we were conscious of dealing in a certain sense with the very heart of the Christian life, in continuity with the previous synodal assembly on The Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church’s Life and Mission. Indeed, the Church is built upon the word of God; she is born from and lives by that word.^[2] Throughout its history, the People of God has always found strength in the word of God, and today too the ecclesial community grows by hearing, celebrating and studying that word. It must be acknowledged that in recent decades ecclesial life has grown more sensitive to this theme, particularly with reference to Christian revelation, the living Tradition and sacred Scripture. Beginning with the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII, we can say that there has been a crescendo of interventions aimed at an increased awareness of the importance of the word of God and the study of the Bible in the life of the Church,^[3] culminating in the Second Vatican Council and specifically in the promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum. The latter represented a milestone in the Church’s history: “The Synod Fathers … acknowledge with gratitude the great benefits which this document brought to the life of the Church, on the exegetical, theological, spiritual, pastoral and ecumenical plane”.^[4] The intervening years have also witnessed a growing awareness of the “trinitarian and salvation-historical horizon of revelation”^[5] against which Jesus Christ is to be acknowledged as “mediator and fullness of all revelation”.^[6] To each generation the Church unceasingly proclaims that Christ “completed and perfected revelation. Everything to do with his presence and his self-manifestation was involved in achieving this: his words and works, signs and miracles, but above all his death and resurrection from the dead, and finally his sending of the Spirit of truth”.^[7]

3. Per XII Coetum Generalem Ordinarium Synodi Episcoporum de Dei Verbo nos conscii sumus posuisse nos argumentum illud veluti cor ipsum vitae christianae, quod est proximum superiori Coetui synodali de Eucharistia fonte et culmine vitae et missionis Ecclesiae. Ecclesia namque Dei Verbo fundatur, ex ipso oritur et eo vivit.² Saeculorum suae historiae decursu, Dei Populus ex eo suam vim usque hausit atque ecclesialis communitas hodie etiam Dei Verbum auscultans, celebrans et vestigans adolescit. Agnosci autem debet postremis his decenniis ecclesialis vitae de hoc argumento increbruisse sensum christianae Revelationis, vivae Traditionis sacraeque Scripturae peculiari habita ratione. Initio a Leonis XIII pontificatu sumpto, quaedam plus plusque sunt suscepta ut maior habeatur conscientia momenti Dei Verbi et biblicarum inquisitionum in Ecclesiae vita,³ quod in Concilio Oecumenico Vaticano II suum attigit fastigium, peculiarem in modum per Constitutionem dogmaticam de divina Revelatione Dei Verbum promulgatam. Documentum in ecclesiali itinere est maximi ponderis: « Patres synodales ... animo grato agnoscunt, quanta beneficia inde provenerint vitae Ecclesiae in exegesi, et in theologia, et in vita spirituali et in actione pastorali atque oecumenica ».⁴ Increbruit his annis potissimum conscientia prospectus trinitarii et historici salvifici revelationis⁵ in quo agnoscitur Iesus Christus « mediator simul et plenitudo totius Revelationis ».⁶ Ecclesia incessanter confitetur omni generationi: Is « suiipsius praesentia ac manifestatione, verbis et operibus, signis et miraculis, praesertim autem morte sua et gloriosa ex mortuis resurrectione, misso tandem Spiritu veritatis, Revelationem complendo perficit ».⁷

Everyone is aware of the great impulse which the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum gave to the revival of interest in the word of God in the life of the Church, to theological reflection on divine revelation and to the study of sacred Scripture. In the last forty years, the Church’s magisterium has also issued numerous statements on these questions.^[8] By celebrating this Synod, the Church, conscious of her continuing journey under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, felt called to further reflection on the theme of God’s word, in order to review the implementation of the Council’s directives, and to confront the new challenges which the present time sets before Christian believers.

Omnes profecto sciunt quantum Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum contulerit ad Verbum Dei iterum detegendum in Ecclesiae vita, ad divinam Revelationem theologice inquirendam ac sacram Scripturam vestigandam. Haud pauca Magisterii ecclesialis documenta his de rebus postremis quadraginta annis annumerantur.⁸ Ecclesia suo de continuato itinere, Spiritu Sancto duce, cum sibi sit conscia, per huius Synodi celebrationem animadvertit se vocari ad divini Verbi argumentum altius vestigandum, sive ut Concilii propositorum ponderentur effectus, sive ut novis provocationibus occurratur, quas hodierna tempora in Christo credentibus afferunt.

The Synod of Bishops on the Word of God

Synodus Episcoporum de Dei Verbo

4. In the twelfth synodal assembly, Bishops from throughout the world gathered around the word of God and symbolically placed the text of the Bible at the centre of the assembly, in order to stress anew something we risk taking for granted in everyday life: the fact that God speaks and responds to our questions.^[9] Together we listened to and celebrated the word of the Lord. We recounted to one another all that the Lord is doing in the midst of the People of God, and we shared our hopes and concerns. All this made us realize that we can deepen our relationship with the word of God only within the “we” of the Church, in mutual listening and acceptance. Hence our gratitude for the testimonies about the life of the Church in different parts of the world which emerged from the various interventions on the floor. It was also moving to hear the fraternal delegates, who accepted our invitation to take part in the synodal meeting. I think in particular of the meditation offered to us by His Holiness Bartholomaios I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, for which the Fathers expressed deep appreciation.^[10] Furthermore, for the first time ever, the Synod of Bishops also invited a rabbi to offer us a precious witness on the Hebrew Scriptures, which are also part of our own sacred Scriptures.^[11]

4. In XII Coetu synodali, Pastores ex toto terrarum orbe venientes propter Dei Verbum sunt congregati atque symbolice in medio Coetu librum Bibliorum posuerunt, ut denuo id detegeretur quod in cotidiana vita adit periculum ne illud pro concesso habeatur: eo quod Deus loquitur et nostris interrogationibus respondet.⁹ Una simul Domini Verbum auscultavimus et celebravimus. Alius ad alium narravit quantum in Dei Populo fecerit Dominus, spes communicando et sollicitudines. Haec omnia conscios nos reddiderunt, necessitudinem cum Dei Verbo solummodo intra illud « nos » Ecclesiae posse nos altius perscrutari, cum auscultamus et nos mutuo suscipimus. Hinc propter vitae ecclesialis testificationes in diversis orbis terrarum locis gratus animus efficitur, quae ex diversis sermonibus in aula emerserunt. Eodem modo animus est permotus, cum Delegati fraterni audirentur, qui invitationem receperunt ut synodalem congressionem participarent. Peculiarem in modum de intercessione cogitamus, quam Sua Sanctitas Bartholomaeus I, Patriarcha oecumenicus Constantinopolitanus, obtulit, propter quam synodales Patres pergratum suum animum patefecerunt.¹⁰ Praeterea Synodus Episcoporum etiam Rabbinum invitare voluit, qui magni pretii testimonium de sacris Scripturis Hebraeorum redderet, quae nimirum sunt etiam partes nostrarum sacrarum Scripturarum.¹¹

In this way we were able to acknowledge with joy and gratitude that “in the Church there is also a Pentecost today – in other words, the Church speaks in many tongues, and not only outwardly, in the sense that all the great languages of the world are represented in her, but, more profoundly, inasmuch as present within her are various ways of experiencing God and the world, a wealth of cultures, and only in this way do we come to see the vastness of the human experience and, as a result, the vastness of the word of God”.^[12] We were also able to see an ongoing Pentecost; various peoples are still waiting for the word of God to be proclaimed in their own language and in their own culture.

Sic laeto gratoque animo experiri potuimus « adesse in Ecclesia hodie etiam Pentecosten – ipsam videlicet multis linguis loqui atque non tantummodo eo quod exterius in ea omnes praestantiores orbis linguae adsunt, sed etiam altiore quodam sensu: in ea multiplices species Dei mundique experientiae, culturarum divitiae adsunt, atque hoc modo tantum humanae experientiae amplitudo apparet et, ab ea sumpto initio, Dei Verbi latitudo ».¹² Experiri porro Pentecosten adhuc itinerantem etiam potuimus. Etenim varii populi adhuc exspectant ut Dei Verbum propria lingua ac propria cultura nuntietur.

How can I fail to mention that throughout the Synod we were accompanied by the testimony of the Apostle Paul! It was providential that the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly took place during the year dedicated to the great Apostle of the Nations on the two thousandth anniversary of his birth. Paul’s life was completely marked by his zeal for the spread of God’s word. How can we not be moved by his stirring words about his mission as a preacher of the word of God: “I do everything for the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:23); or, as he writes in the Letter to the Romans: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith” (1:16). Whenever we reflect on the word of God in the life and mission of the Church, we cannot but think of Saint Paul and his life spent in spreading the message of salvation in Christ to all peoples.

Quidni memoremus quod per totum Synodi tempus nos Pauli apostoli comitata est testificatio. Provide enim accidit quod XII Coetus Generalis Ordinarius actus est intra ipsum annum, praestanti illi gentium Apostoli dicatum, duobus milibus ab eiusdem ortu transactis annis. Eius vita penitus Dei Verbo studiose diffundendo tradita est. Quidni nostro in corde ardentia illius verba sentiamus, quae ad eius missionem attinent divini Verbi nuntiandi: « Omnia autem facio propter evangelium » (1 Cor 9,23). « Non enim – scribit in Epistula ad Romanos – erubesco evangelium: virtus enim Dei est in salutem omni credenti » (1,16). Cum de Dei Verbo in vita et missione Ecclesiae cogitamus, facere non possumus quin de sancto Paulo et de eius vita cogitemus, quam Christi saluti nuntiandae cunctis gentibus impendit.

The Prologue of John’s Gospel as a guide

Ioannis Evangelii Prologus ut ductor

5. With this Apostolic Exhortation I would like the work of the Synod to have a real effect on the life of the Church: on our personal relationship with the sacred Scriptures, on their interpretation in the liturgy and catechesis, and in scientific research, so that the Bible may not be simply a word from the past, but a living and timely word. To accomplish this, I would like to present and develop the labours of the Synod by making constant reference to the Prologue of John’s Gospel (Jn 1:1-18), which makes known to us the basis of our life: the Word, who from the beginning is with God, who became flesh and who made his dwelling among us (cf. Jn 1:14). This is a magnificent text, one which offers a synthesis of the entire Christian faith. From his personal experience of having met and followed Christ, John, whom tradition identifies as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (Jn 13:23; 20:2; 21:7, 20), “came to a deep certainty: Jesus is the Wisdom of God incarnate, he is his eternal Word who became a mortal man”.^[13] May John, who “saw and believed” (cf. Jn 20:8) also help us to lean on the breast of Christ (cf. Jn 13:25), the source of the blood and water (cf. Jn 19:34) which are symbols of the Church’s sacraments. Following the example of the Apostle John and the other inspired authors, may we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit to an ever greater love of the word of God.

5. Hanc per Adhortationem apostolicam exoptamus ut Synodi monita efficaciter Ecclesiae vitam afficiant: personalem cum sacris Scripturis necessitudinem, in Liturgia et catechesi interpretationem perinde ac scientificam inquisitionem, ut Biblia praeteriti temporis non sint verba, sed viva et huius aetatis verba. Hac de causa ostendere et altius ponderare Synodi exitus volumus, usque nos convertentes ad Ioannis Evangelii Prologum (Io 1,1-18), in quo nostrae vitae fundamentum communicatur: Verbum, quod in principio erat apud Deum, caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (cfr Io 1,14). De mirabili quodam textu agitur, qui summatim totam christianam fidem praebet. Ex personali experientia occursus et sequelae Christi, Ioannes, quem traditio significat eundem esse discipulum « quem diligebat Iesus » (Io 23,23; 20,2; 21,7.20), intimam certitudinem exprompsit: Iesus est Dei Sapientia caro facta, eius est Verbum aeternum homo mortalis factum.¹³ Is qui « vidit et credidit » (Io 20,8) nos quoque adiuvet ut recumbamus supra pectus Iesu (cfr Io 13,25), ex quo « exivit sanguis et aqua » (Io 19,34), figurae Sacramentorum Ecclesiae. Ioannis Apostoli ceterorumque inspiratorum scriptorum sectantes exempla, sinamus ut Spiritus Sanctus nos dirigat ad magis magisque Dei Verbum diligendum.

PART ONE

VERBUM DEI

PARS PRIMA
VERBUM DEI

“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God…
and the Word became flesh”
(Jn 1:1, 14)

« In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum,
et Deus erat Verbum... et Verbum caro factum est » (Io 1,1.14)

The God Who Speaks 

DEUS QUI LOQUITUR

God in dialogue

Dialogi Deus

6. The novelty of biblical revelation consists in the fact that God becomes known through the dialogue which he desires to have with us.^[14] The Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum had expressed this by acknowledging that the unseen God “from the fullness of his love, addresses men and women as his friends, and lives among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company”.^[15] Yet we would not yet sufficiently grasp the message of the Prologue of Saint John if we stopped at the fact that God enters into loving communion with us. In reality, the Word of God, through whom “all things were made” (Jn 1:3) and who “became flesh” (Jn 1:14), is the same Word who is “in the beginning” (Jn 1:1). If we realize that this is an allusion to the beginning of the book of Genesis (cf. Gen 1:1), we find ourselves faced with a beginning which is absolute and which speaks to us of the inner life of God. The Johannine Prologue makes us realize that the Logos is truly eternal, and from eternity is himself God. God was never without his Logos. The Word exists before creation. Consequently at the heart of the divine life there is communion, there is absolute gift. “God is love” (1 Jn 4:16), as the same Apostle tells us elsewhere, thus pointing to “the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny”.^[16] God makes himself known to us as a mystery of infinite love in which the Father eternally utters his Word in the Holy Spirit. Consequently the Word, who from the beginning is with God and is God, reveals God himself in the dialogue of love between the divine persons, and invites us to share in that love. Created in the image and likeness of the God who is love, we can thus understand ourselves only in accepting the Word and in docility to the work of the Holy Spirit. In the light of the revelation made by God’s Word, the enigma of the human condition is definitively clarified.

6. Biblicae revelationis novitas in eo est quod Deus in dialogo cognoscitur quem nobiscum constituere vult.¹⁴ Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum hanc realitatem iam ostendit: « Deus invisibilis ex abundantia caritatis suae homines tamquam amicos alloquitur et cum eis conversatur, ut eos ad societatem secum invitet in eamque suscipiat ».¹⁵ Sed sancti Ioannis Prologi nuntium adhuc plane non perciperemus, si solummodo intellegeremus Deum nobiscum amabiliter communicari. Reapse Dei Verbum, per quod omnia facta sunt (cfr Io 1,3) quodque « caro factum est » (Io 1,14), idem est quod « in principio » est (Io 1,1). Si quidem hic indicium videmus, quod ad Genesis librum refertur (cfr Gn 1,1), quodam reapse coram principio sumus absolutae naturae, quod intimam Dei vitam nobis narrat. Ioannis Prologus illud nobis demonstrat quod Logos semper exsistit, atque semper ipse est Deus. Itaque numquam fuit tempus apud Deum quo non fuit Logos. Ante creationem est Verbum. Itaque in vitae divinae corde est communio, est absolutum donum. « Deus caritas est » (1 Io 4,16), hoc dicit alibi idem Apostolus, dum per hoc indicat « christianam Dei imaginem atque etiam congruentem hominis imaginem eiusque itineris ».¹⁶ Deus efficit ut nos se tamquam infiniti amoris mysterium cognoscamus, quo Pater ex aeternitate in Spiritu Sancto suum Verbum exprimit. Quapropter Verbum, quod in principio est apud Deum et est Deus, ipsum Deum nobis in amoris dialogo inter divinas Personas ostendit atque nos invitat ut idem communicemus. Itaque, ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei amoris facti, solummodo in Verbo accipiendo et Spiritus Sancti operae obsequendo nos ipsos intellegere possumus. Per ipsum revelationis lumen, quam divinum Verbum est operatum, humanae condicionis aenigma explicatur.

The analogy of the word of God

Dei Verbi analogia

7. In the light of these considerations, born of meditation on the Christian mystery expressed in the Prologue of John, we now need to consider what the Synod Fathers affirmed about the different ways in which we speak of “the word of God”. They rightly referred to a symphony of the word, to a single word expressed in multiple ways: “a polyphonic hymn”.^[17] The Synod Fathers pointed out that human language operates analogically in speaking of the word of God. In effect, this expression, while referring to God’s self-communication, also takes on a number of different meanings which need to be carefully considered and related among themselves, from the standpoint both of theological reflection and pastoral practice. As the Prologue of John clearly shows us, the Logos refers in the first place to the eternal Word, the only Son, begotten of the Father before all ages and consubstantial with him: the word was with God, and the word was God. But this same Word, Saint John tells us, “became flesh” (Jn 1:14); hence Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, is truly the Word of God who has become consubstantial with us. Thus the expression “word of God” here refers to the person of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Father, made man.

7. Ex his animadversionibus, quae ex christiani mysterii meditatione oriuntur, in Ioannis Prologo significati, necesse est nunc ut id collustretur quod synodales Patres edixerunt de diversis rationibus, quibus vocabulis « Verbum Dei » utimur. Merito qui-dem de Verbi concentu dictum est, de uno Verbo, quod diversimode exprimitur: « multisonus concentus ».¹⁷ Patres synodales hac de re locuti sunt de analogico usu humanae loquelae, Dei Verbo relatae. Haec revera sententia, cum ad communicationem attinet quam de se ipso efficit Deus, tum diversas significationes induit, quae perspicue sunt considerandae et inter eas necessitudines, sive theologica inquisitione perspecta, sive pastorali usu. Quemadmodum plane Ioannis Prologus demonstrat, Logos Verbum aeternum primitus significat, scilicet Filium unigenitum, a Patre generatum ante omnia saecula ipsique consubstantialem: Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Sed hoc idem Verbum, asserit sanctus Ioannes, « caro factum est » (Io 1,14); idcirco Iesus Christus, ex Maria Virgine natus, realiter Dei Verbum est, consubstantialis nobis factus. Itaque illud « Dei Verbum » Iesu Christi hic indicat personam, aeterni Patris Filii, qui homo factus est.

While the Christ event is at the heart of divine revelation, we also need to realize that creation itself, the liber naturae, is an essential part of this symphony of many voices in which the one word is spoken. We also profess our faith that God has spoken his word in salvation history; he has made his voice heard; by the power of his Spirit “he has spoken through the prophets”.^[18] God’s word is thus spoken throughout the history of salvation, and most fully in the mystery of the incarnation, death and resurrection of the Son of God. Then too, the word of God is that word preached by the Apostles in obedience to the command of the Risen Jesus: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). The word of God is thus handed on in the Church’s living Tradition. Finally, the word of God, attested and divinely inspired, is sacred Scripture, the Old and New Testaments. All this helps us to see that, while in the Church we greatly venerate the sacred Scriptures, the Christian faith is not a “religion of the book”: Christianity is the “religion of the word of God”, not of “a written and mute word, but of the incarnate and living Word”.^[19] Consequently the Scripture is to be proclaimed, heard, read, received and experienced as the word of God, in the stream of the apostolic Tradition from which it is inseparable.^[20]

Praeterea, si in divina revelatione praecipuum obtinet locum Christi eventus, agnoscatur etiam oportet ipsam creationem, naturae librum, essentialiter hunc plurium vocum concentum communicare, in quo unum Verbum exprimitur. Eodem modo confitemur suum Verbum in salutis historia communicasse Deum, effecisse ut sua vox audiretur; qui per sui Spiritus vim « locutus est per prophetas ».¹⁸ Divinum ideo Verbum per totam salutis historiam exprimitur et in incarnationis, mortis et resurrectionis Filii Dei mysterio suam reperit plenitudinem. Rursus, Dei Verbum illud est quod Apostoli praedicarunt, Iesu Resuscitati mandatum tenentes: « Euntes in mundum universum praedicate evangelium omni creaturae » (Mc 16,15). Quapropter Dei Verbum in vivam Ecclesiae Traditionem transmittitur. Postremo, Dei Verbum testimonio confirmatum atque divinitus inspiratum sacra Scriptura est, Vetus et Novum Testamentum. Haec omnia efficiunt ut intellegamus cur in Ecclesia magnopere sacras Scripturas veneremur, quamvis fides christiana « Libri religio » non sit: christianismus « religio Verbi Dei » est, non sane alicuius verbi scripti mutique, sed Verbi incarnati atque viventis.¹⁹ Itaque sacra Scriptura est proclamanda, auscultanda, legenda, recipienda atque vivenda veluti Dei Verbum, secundum apostolicam Traditionem ex qua seiungi non potest.²⁰

As the Synod Fathers stated, the expression “word of God” is used analogically, and we should be aware of this. The faithful need to be better helped to grasp the different meanings of the expression, but also to understand its unitary sense. From the theological standpoint too, there is a need for further study of how the different meanings of this expression are interrelated, so that the unity of God’s plan and, within it, the centrality of the person of Christ, may shine forth more clearly.^[21]

Sicut synodales Patres asseverarunt, revera de analogico usu sententiae « Dei Verbi » agitur, qua de re conscii simus oportet. Fideles itaque magis sint instituendi, ut diversas eius significationes percipiant et unitatis sensum intellegant. Etiam quod ad theologicum adspectum attinet, necesse est ut altius inquirantur rationes diversarum significationum huius sententiae, quo divini consilii unitas atque Christi personae principalitas liquidius splendeant.²¹

The cosmic dimension of the word

Cosmica Verbi ratio

8. When we consider the basic meaning of the word of God as a reference to the eternal Word of God made flesh, the one Saviour and mediator between God and humanity,^[22] and we listen to
this word, we are led by the biblical revelation to see that it is the foundation of all reality. The Prologue of Saint John says of the divine Logos, that “all things were made through him, and without
him was not anything made that was made” (Jn 1:3); and in the Letter to the Colossians it is said of Christ, “the first-born of all creation” (1:15), that “all things were created through him and for him” (1:16). The author of the Letter to the Hebrews likewise states that “by faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear” (11:3).

8. De Verbi Dei praecipua significatione conscii, quae ad aeternum Dei Verbum incarnatum, unum salvatorem et inter Deum hominesque mediatorem, attinet,²² itemque Verbum hoc auscultantes, biblica revelatione illuc perducimur ut agnoscamus id omnium rerum esse fundamentum. Sancti Ioannis Prologus asseverat, quod ad divinum Logon attinet. « Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil, quod factum est » (Io 1,3); in Epistula quoque ad Colossenses de Christo asseritur, qui est « primogenitus omnis creaturae » (1,15), atque « in ipso condita sunt universa in caelis et in terra » (1,16). Atque auctor quoque Epistulae ad Hebraeos memorat: « Fide intellegimus aptata esse saecula verbo Dei, ut ex invisibilibus visibilia facta sint » (11,3).

For us, this proclamation is a word of freedom. Scripture tells us that everything that exists does not exist by chance but is willed by God and part of his plan, at whose center is the invitation to partake, in Christ, in the divine life. Creation is born of the Logos and indelibly bears the mark of the creative Reason which orders and directs it; with joy-filled certainty the psalms sing: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth” (Ps 33:6); and again, “he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth” (Ps 33:9). All reality expresses this mystery: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Ps 19:1). Thus sacred Scripture itself invites us to acknowledge the Creator by contemplating his creation (cf. Wis 13:5; Rom 1:19-20). The tradition of Christian thought has developed this key element of the symphony of the word, as when, for example, Saint Bonaventure, who in the great tradition of the Greek Fathers sees all the possibilities of creation present in the Logos,^[23] states that “every creature is a word of God, since it proclaims God”.^[24] The Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum synthesized this datum when it stated that “God, who creates and conserves all things by his word (cf. Jn 1:3), provides constant evidence of himself in created realities”.^[25]

Nuntius hic liberans est nobis verbum. Etenim sacrae Scripturae sententiae demonstrant omnia quae sunt non casu ac sine ratione oriri, sed ex Dei voluntate manare, intra ipsius consilium esse, cuius medium locum oblatio obtinet vitae divinae Christi participandae. Logos efficit creatum, quod indelebiliter fert vestigium Rationis creatricis quae ordinat et dirigit. Laeta hac de certitudine psalmi canunt: « Verbo Dei caeli facti sunt, et spiritu oris eius omnis virtus eorum » (Ps 33,6); rursus: « Ipse dixit, et facta sunt, ipse mandavit, et creata sunt » (Ps 33,9). Universa realitas hoc mysterium exprimit: « Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei, et opera manuum eius annuntiat firmamentum » (Ps 19,2). Idcirco ipsa sacra Scriptura nos suadet ut Creatorem, creatum spectantes, cognoscamus (cfr Sap 13,5; Rom 1,19-20). Traditio christianae doctrinae hoc concentus Verbi praecipuum elementum altius est scrutata, cum exempli gratia, sanctus Bonaventura, qui una cum praeclara Patrum Graecorum traditione intellegit omnia quae creari possunt ad Logon attinere,²³ asseverat: « Omnis enim creatura verbum Dei est, quoniam Deum proclamat ».²⁴ Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum summatim hanc rem enuntiaverat, cum ediceret: « Deus, per Verbum omnia creans (cfr Io 1,3) et conservans, in rebus creatis perenne sui testimonium hominibus praebet ».²⁵

The creation of man

Hominis creatio

9. Reality, then is born of the word, as creatura Verbi, and everything is called to serve the word. Creation is the setting in which the entire history of the love between God and his creation develops; hence human salvation is the reason underlying everything. Contemplating the cosmos from the perspective of salvation history, we come to realize the unique and singular position occupied by man in creation: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). This enables us to acknowledge fully the precious gifts received from the Creator: the value of our body, the gift of reason, freedom and conscience. Here too we discover what the philosophical tradition calls “the natural law”.^[26] In effect, “every human being who comes to consciousness and to responsibility has the experience of an inner call to do good”^[27] and thus to avoid evil. As Saint Thomas Aquinas says, this principle is the basis of all the other precepts of the natural law.^[28] Listening to the word of God leads us first and foremost to value the need to live in accordance with this law “written on human hearts” (cf. Rom 2:15; 7:23).^[29] Jesus Christ then gives mankind the new law, the law of the Gospel, which takes up and eminently fulfils the natural law, setting us free from the law of sin, as a result of which, as Saint Paul says, “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it” (Rom 7:18). It likewise enables men and women, through grace, to share in the divine life and to overcome their selfishness.^[30]

9. Realitas demum ex Verbo oritur, veluti creatura Verbi et omnia ad Verbo serviendum vocantur. Creatio enim est locus in quo omnis amoris inter Deum et creaturam historia enodatur; itaque hominis salus est omnium rerum impulsio. Universum in salutis historiae prospectu contemplantes, ad detegendum unicum singularemque locum impellimur, quem in creatione detinet homo: « Creavit Deus hominem ad imaginem suam; ad imaginem Dei creavit illum; masculum et feminam creavit eos » (Gn 1,27). Sinit istud ut pretiosa dona, a Creatore accepta, plane agnoscamus, quae sunt corporis dignitas, rationis, libertatis conscientiaeque donum. Hac in re illud etiam reperimus quod philosophica traditio « legem naturalem » appellat.²⁶ Revera « omnis homo qui ad conscientiam et responsalitatem accedit, interiorem quandam vocationem ad bonum patrandum experitur »²⁷ ideoque ad malum vitandum. Ut sanctus Thomas Aquinas memorat, hoc principio cetera omnia naturalis legis praecepta fundantur.²⁸ Verbum auscultatum nos potissimum inducit ut necessitatem aestimemus vivendi secundum hoc praeceptum « scriptum in cordibus » (cfr Rom 2,15; 7,23).²⁹ Iesus Christus porro hominibus novam Legem fert, Evangelii Legem, quae sumit et insigniter naturalem legem efficit, dum a peccati lege nos vindicat, cuius causa, sicut asserit sanctus Paulus, « velle adiacet mihi, operari autem bonum, non! » (Rom 7,18), et dat hominibus, ope gratiae, ut vitam divinam participent et nimium sui amorem superent.³⁰

The realism of the word

Verbi realismus

10. Those who know God’s word also know fully the significance of each creature. For if all things “hold together” in the one who is “before all things” (cf. Col 1:17), then those who build their lives on his word build in a truly sound and lasting way. The word of God makes us change our concept of realism: the realist is the one who recognizes in the word of God the foundation of all things.^[31] This realism is particularly needed in our own time, when many things in which we trust for building our lives, things in which we are tempted to put our hopes, prove ephemeral. Possessions, pleasure and power show themselves sooner or later to be incapable of fulfilling the deepest yearnings of the human heart. In building our lives we need solid foundations which will endure when human certainties fail. Truly, since “for ever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” and the faithfulness of the Lord “endures to all generations” (Ps 119:89-90), whoever builds on this word builds the house of his life on rock (cf. Mt 7:24). May our heart be able to say to God each day: “You are my refuge and my shield; I hope in your word” (Ps 119:114), and, like Saint Peter, may we entrust ourselves in our daily actions to the Lord Jesus: “At your word I will let down the nets” (Lk 5:5).

10. Qui divinum Verbum novit, is plene omnium creaturarum novit etiam significationem. Etenim si omnia « constant » in Eo qui est « ante omnia » (cfr Col 1,17), tunc qui propriam suam vitam in Eius Verbo fundat, is prorsus in modo solido et mansuro aedificat. Dei Verbum revera nos impellit ut realismi sensum immutemus: realista est qui in Dei Verbo omnium rerum fundamentum agnoscit.³¹ Hac re peculiarem in modum hodiernis temporibus nos indigemus, cum complura, quibus vitam nostram committimus aedificandam, quibus allicimur ut in iis nostram spem locemus, suam fluxam indolem demonstrant. Possessio, voluptas, dominatio serius ocius inhabiles ad altiores cordis hominis appetitiones adimplendas deprehenduntur. Ipse enim, ut suam vitam aedificet, firmis fundamentis indiget, mansuris etiam cum humanae certitudines deficiunt. Revera, quoniam « in aeternum, Domine, verbum tuum constitutum est in caelo » atque fidelitas Domini manet « in generationem et generationem » (Ps 119, 89-90), qui in hoc Verbo construit, suae vitae domum supra petram aedificat (cfr Mt 7,24). Cor nostrum cotidie Deo dicat: « Tegmen et scutum meum es tu, et in verbum tuum supersperavi » (Ps 119,114) et sicut sanctus Petrus cotidie agere possumus, Domino Iesu fisi: « In verbo autem tuo laxabo retia » (Lc 5,5).

Christology of the word

Christologia Verbi

11. From this glimpse at all reality as the handiwork of the Blessed Trinity through the divine Word, we can understand the statement made by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews: “in many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (1:1-2). It is very beautiful to see how the entire Old Testament already appears to us as a history in which God communicates his word: indeed, “by his covenant with Abraham (cf. Gen 15:18) and, through Moses, with the race of Israel (cf. Ex 24:8), he gained a people for himself, and to them he revealed himself in words and deeds as the one, living and true God. It was his plan that Israel might learn by experience God’s ways with humanity and, by listening to the voice of God speaking to them through the prophets, might gradually understand his ways more fully and more clearly, and make them more widely known among the nations (cf. Ps 21:28-29; 95:1-3; Is 2:1-4; Jer 3:17)”.^[32]

11. Hanc realitatem, veluti sanctissimae Trinitatis operam, spectantes, per divinum Verbum intellegere possumus auctoris Epistulae ad Hebraeos verba: « Multifariam et multis modis olim Deus locutus patribus in prophetis, in novissimis his diebus locutus est nobis in Filio, quem constituit heredem universorum, per quem fecit et saecula » (1,1-2). Perpulchrum quidem est perspicere quo pacto iam totum Vetus Testamentum nobis occurrat veluti historia in qua Deus suum per Verbum communicat: « Foedere enim cum Abraham (cfr Gn 25,18) et cum plebe Israel per Moysen (cfr Ex 24,8) inito, populo sibi acquisito ita Se tamquam unicum Deum verum et vivum verbis ac gestis revelavit, ut Israel, quae divinae essent cum hominibus viae experiretur, easque, ipso Deo per os prophetarum loquente, penitus et clarius in dies intellegeret atque latius in gentes exhiberet (cfr Ps 21,28-29; 95,1-3; Is 2,1-4; Ier 3-17) ».³²

This “condescension” of God is accomplished surpassingly in the incarnation of the Word. The eternal Word, expressed in creation and communicated in salvation history, in Christ became a man, “born of woman” (Gal 4:4). Here the word finds expression not primarily in discourse, concepts or rules. Here we are set before the very person of Jesus. His unique and singular history is the definitive word which God speaks to humanity. We can see, then, why “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a definitive direction”.^[33] The constant renewal of this encounter and this awareness fills the hearts of believers with amazement at God’s initiative, which human beings, with our own reason and imagination, could never have dreamt of. We are speaking of an unprecedented and humanly inconceivable novelty: “the word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14a). These words are no figure of speech; they point to a lived experience! Saint John, an eyewitness, tells us so: “We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14b). The apostolic faith testifies that the eternal Word became one of us. The divine Word is truly expressed in human words.

Obsequentia haec Dei in Verbi incarnatione singulariter completur. Verbum aeternum quod in creatione exprimitur quodque in salutis historia communicatur in Christo factum est homo, « factum ex muliere » (Gal 4,4). Ante omnia non exprimitur hic sermone, opinationibus regulisve Verbum. Hic coram ipsa Iesu persona sumus. Eius una singularisque historia est Verbum definitivum quod humanitati dicit Deus. Hinc intellegitur: « Ad initium, cum quis christianus fit, nulla est ethica voluntas neque magna quaedam opinio, verumtamen congressio datur cum eventu quodam, cum Persona quae novum vitae finem imponit eodemque tempore certam progressionem ».³³ Cum congressio haec et conscientia renovantur, in fidelium cordibus stupor generatur propter divinam actionem, quam homo suis rationalibus facultatibus suaque inventione numquam cogitare potuisset. De inaudita novitate agitur, quae humana ratione intellegi non potest: « Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis » (Io 1,14a). Haec verba figuram quandam rhetoricam haud indicant, sed experientiam effectam! Haec dicit sanctus Ioannes, testis et spectator: « Vidimus gloriam eius, gloriam quasi Unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratiae et veritatis » (Io 1,14b). Apostolica fides testatur Verbum aeternum unum ex nobis factum esse. Divinum Verbum revera humanis verbis exprimitur.

12. The patristic and medieval tradition, in contemplating this “Christology of the word”, employed an evocative expression: the word was “abbreviated”.^[34] “The Fathers of the Church found in their Greek translation of the Old Testament a passage from the prophet Isaiah that Saint Paul also quotes in order to show how God’s new ways had already been foretold in the Old Testament. There we read: ‘The Lord made his word short, he abbreviated it’ (Is 10:23; Rom 9:28) … The Son himself is the Word, the Logos: the eternal word became small – small enough to fit into a manger. He became a child, so that the word could be grasped by us”.^[35] Now the word is not simply audible; not only does it have a voice, now the word has a face, one which we can see: that of Jesus of Nazareth.^[36]

12. Patrum traditio et mediaevalis, cum hanc « Christologiam Verbi » contemplaretur, blandam quandam sententiam usurpavit: Verbum brevians factum:³⁴ « Ecclesiae Patres, sua in Graeca Veteris Testamenti versione, verbum invenerunt Isaiae prophetae, quod sanctus Paulus etiam adfert, ut commonstrarent quo pacto novae Dei semitae in Vetere Testamento iam essent praenuntiatae. Ibi legebatur: consummationem enim et abbreviationem Dominus Deus exercituum faciet (cfr Rom 9,28). Filius ipse est Verbum, est Logos: Verbum aeternum parvum est factum – ita sane parvum, ut in praesepio contineretur. Puer factum est, ut Verbum comprehendere possemus ».³⁵ Verbum nunc non modo audiri potest, non modo vocem habet, nunc Verbum vultum habet, quem nos videre possumus: Iesum Nazarenum.³⁶

Reading the Gospel accounts, we see how Jesus’ own humanity appears in all its uniqueness precisely with regard to the word of God. In his perfect humanity he does the will of the Father at all times; Jesus hears his voice and obeys it with his entire being; he knows the Father and he keeps his word (cf. Jn 8:55); he speaks to us of what the Father has told him (cf. Jn 12:50); I have given them the words which you gave me” (Jn 17:8). Jesus thus shows that he is the divine Logos which is given to us, but at the same time the new Adam, the true man, who unfailingly does not his own will but that of the Father. He “increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man” (Lk 2:52). In a perfect way, he hears, embodies and communicates to us the word of God (cf. Lk 5:1).

Evangelii narrationem sequentes, animadvertimus quemadmodum ipsa Iesu humanitas penitus singularis manifestetur, ipso Dei Verbo considerato. Is enim sua in perfecta humanitate Patris singulis momentis voluntatem efficit; Iesus eius vocem audit, cui per totum se ipsum paret; is Patrem novit eiusque verbum servat (cfr Io 8,55), Patris res nobis narrat (Io 12,50); « Verba, quae mihi dedisti, dedi eis » (Io 17,8). Itaque Iesus ostendit se esse Logon divinum, qui se nobis tradit, sed novum quoque Adam, verum hominem, qui singulis momentis non suam sed Patris voluntatem adimplet. Ipse « proficiebat sapientia et aetate et gratia apud Deum et homines » (Lc 2,52). Summopere divinum Verbum audit, quod in se efficit quodque nobiscum communicat (cfr Lc 5,1).

Jesus’ mission is ultimately fulfilled in the paschal mystery: here we find ourselves before the “word of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18). The word is muted; it becomes mortal silence, for it has “spoken” exhaustively, holding back nothing of what it had to tell us. The Fathers of the Church, in pondering this mystery, attributed to the Mother of God this touching phrase: “Wordless is the Word of the Father, who made every creature which speaks, lifeless are the eyes of the one at whose word and whose nod all living things move”.^[37] Here that “greater” love, the love which gives its life for its friends (cf. Jn 15:13), is truly shared with us.

Iesu tandem missio in Paschali Mysterio completur: hic coram « Verbo crucis » (cfr 1 Cor 1,18) ponimur. Verbum conticescit, mortale fit silentium, quandoquidem « dictum » est usque ad tacendum, nihil quidem reticens quod nobiscum communicare debebat. Mirabiliter Ecclesiae Patres, hoc mysterium contemplantes, Deiparae in labris hanc sententiam ponunt: « Sine verbo est Patris Verbum, quod omnem creaturam loquentem fecit; sine vita sunt oculi exstincti illius, cuius verbo nutuque omnia viventia moventur ».³⁷ Hic revera « maior » amor nobis participatur, is qui pro amicis suis animam ponit (cfr Io 15,13).

In this great mystery Jesus is revealed as the word of the new and everlasting covenant: divine freedom and human freedom have definitively met in his crucified flesh, in an indissoluble and eternally valid compact. Jesus himself, at the Last Supper, in instituting the Eucharist, had spoken of a “new and everlasting covenant” in the outpouring of his blood (cf. Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20), and shows himself to be the true sacrificial Lamb who brings about our definitive liberation from slavery.^[38]

Hoc in magno mysterio Iesus manifestatur ut Verbum Novi Aeternique Foederis: Dei libertas et libertas hominis in eius carnem cruci affixam consummate convenerunt, foedere inito indissolubili, in perpetuum valituro. Ipse Iesus in novissima cena, sacram Eucharistiam instituens, de « Novo Aeternoque Testamento », per suum sanguinem effusum icto locutus erat (cfr Mt 26,28; Mc 14,24; Lc 22,20), se ostendens ut verum Agnum immolatum, in quo consummatur et completur a servitute liberatio.³⁸

In the most luminous mystery of the resurrection, this silence of the word is shown in its authentic and definitive meaning. Christ, the incarnate, crucified and risen Word of God, is Lord of all things; he is the victor, the Pantocrator, and so all things are gathered up forever in him (cf. Eph 1:10). Christ is thus “the light of the world” (Jn 8:12), the light which “shines in the darkness” (Jn 1:5) and which the darkness has not overcome (cf. Jn 1:5). Here we come to understand fully the meaning of the words of Psalm 119: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v. 105); the risen Word is this definitive light to our path. From the beginning, Christians realized that in Christ the word of God is present as a person. The word of God is the true light which men and women need. In the resurrection the Son of God truly emerged as the light of the world. Now, by living with him and in him, we can live in the light.

In fulgidissimo resurrectionis mysterio silentium hoc Verbi suo in sensu germano et consummato manifestatur. Christus, Dei Verbum incarnatum, cruci affixum et resuscitatum, omnium rerum est Dominus; ipse est Victor, Pantocrator et omnia in perpetuum sunt in eo recapitulata (cfr Eph 1,10). Christus igitur est « lux mundi » (Io 8,12), lux illa quae « in tenebris lucet » (Io 1,5) quamque tenebrae non vicerunt (cfr Io 1,5). Hic penitus Psalmi 119 sensum intellegimus: « Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum et lumen semitis meis » (v. 105): Verbum quod resurgit haec est lux definitiva nostra in via. Inde ab initio christiani sibi conscii fuerunt Dei Verbum in Christo ut Personam adesse. Dei Verbum est lux vera, qua indiget homo. Sane quidem, in resurrectione Dei Filius ortus est ut lux mundi. Nunc cum Ipso et per Ipsum viventes, in luce vivere possumus.

13. Here, at the heart, as it were, of the “Christology of the word”, it is important to stress the unity of the divine plan in the incarnate Word: the New Testament thus presents the paschal mystery as being in accordance with the sacred Scriptures and as their deepest fulfillment. Saint Paul, in the First Letter to the Corinthians, states that Jesus Christ died for our sins “in accordance with the Scriptures” (15:3) and that he rose on the third day “in accordance with the Scriptures” (15:4). The Apostle thus relates the event of the Lord’s death and resurrection to the history of the Old Covenant of God with his people. Indeed, he shows us that from that event history receives its inner logic and its true meaning. In the paschal mystery “the words of Scripture” are fulfilled; in other words, this death which took place “in accordance with the Scriptures” is an event containing a logos, an inner logic: the death of Christ testifies that the word of God became thoroughly human “flesh”, human “history”.^[39] Similarly, the resurrection of Jesus takes place “on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”: since Jewish belief held that decay set in after the third day, the word of Scripture is fulfilled in Jesus who rises incorrupt. Thus Saint Paul, faithfully handing on the teaching of the Apostles (cf. 1 Cor 15:3), stresses that Christ’s victory over death took place through the creative power of the word of God. This divine power brings hope and joy: this, in a word, is the liberating content of the paschal revelation. At Easter, God reveals himself and the power of the trinitarian love which shatters the baneful powers of evil and death.

13. Quando, ut ita dicamus, ad « Christologiae Verbi » cor venimus, magni momenti est consilii divini in Verbo incarnato unitatem extollere: quapropter Novum Testamentum Mysterium Paschale nobis praebet cum sacris Scripturis coniunctum, sicut earum intimam consummationem. Sanctus Paulus in Epistula I ad Corinthios asserit Christum pro peccatis nostris mortuum esse « secundum Scripturas » (15,3) et tertia die esse suscitatum « secundum Scripturas » (15,4). Hac re Apostolus Domini mortis resurrectionisque eventum cum Veteris inter Deum eiusque populum Foederis historia confert. Immo nobis patefacit ab ipso hanc historiam suam rationem veramque significationem recipere. In Mysterio Paschali implentur « Scripturae verba, id est, haec mors, secundum Scripturas effecta, est eventus qui logon secum fert, videlicet rationem quandam: Christi mors testatur Dei Verbum funditus “carnem”, “historiam” humanam factum esse ».³⁹ Iesu quoque resurrectio « tertia die secundum Scripturas » fit: quoniam ad Iudaicam mentem post tertium diem incipiebat corruptio, Scripturarum verbum in Iesu adimpletur, qui resurgit antequam incipiat corruptio. Hoc modo sanctus Paulus, fideliter tradens Apostolorum doctrinam (cfr 1 Cor 15,3), palam asserit Christi ex morte victoriam per creatricem Verbi Dei potentiam evenire. Potentia haec divina spem laetitiamque affert: haec est tandem liberans summa paschalis revelationis. In Pascha se ipse et Amoris trinitarii potentiam revelat Deus, qui deletrices mali mortisque vires tollit.

Calling to mind these essential elements of our faith, we can contemplate the profound unity in Christ between creation, the new creation and all salvation history. To use an example, we can compare the cosmos to a “book” – Galileo himself used this example – and consider it as “the work of an author who expresses himself through the ‘symphony’ of creation. In this symphony one finds, at a certain point, what would be called in musical terms a ‘solo’, a theme entrusted to a single instrument or voice which is so important that the meaning of the entire work depends on it. This ‘solo’ is Jesus. … The Son of Man recapitulates in himself earth and heaven, creation and the Creator, flesh and Spirit. He is the centre of the cosmos and of history, for in him converge without confusion the author and his work”.^[40]

Elementa haec nostrae fidei essentialia in memoriam revocantes, artam unitatem inter creationem ac novam creationem necnon totam historiam Christi salutis contemplari possumus. Imaginem quandam adhibentes, universum « libro » aequare possumus – sic etiam Galilaeus Galilaei asserere solebat – cum consideraret « opus alicuius Auctoris, qui creati “symphonia” se exprimit. Hanc intra symphoniam aliquo momento id invenitur quod musicae loquela “sincinium” vocatur, pars scilicet quaedam singulo instrumento vel uni voci demandata; id tale habet pondus, ut ex eo totius operis pendeat significatio. Hoc “absolutum” est Iesus... Filius hominis in se terram caelumque, creatum Creatoremque, carnem Spiritumque complectitur. Centrum est ipse universi et historiae, quandoquidem in Eo coniunguntur sine confusione Auctor eiusque opus ».⁴⁰

The eschatological dimension of the word of God

Dei Verbi eschatologica ratio

14. In all of this, the Church gives voice to her awareness that with Jesus Christ she stands before the definitive word of God: he is “the first and the last” (Rev 1:17). He has given creation and history their definitive meaning; and hence we are called to live in time and in God’s creation within this eschatological rhythm of the word; “thus the Christian dispensation, since it is the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Tim 6:14 and Tit 2:13)”.^[41] Indeed, as the Fathers noted during the Synod, the “uniqueness of Christianity is manifested in the event which is Jesus Christ, the culmination of revelation, the fulfilment of God’s promises and the mediator of the encounter between man and God. He who ‘has made God known’ (Jn 1:18) is the one, definitive word given to mankind”.^[42] Saint John of the Cross expresses this truth magnificently: “Since he has given us his Son, his only word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything at once in this sole word – and he has no more to say… because what he spoke before to the prophets in parts, he has spoken all at once by giving us this All who is his Son. Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behaviour but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes entirely on Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty”.^[43]

14. His rebus conscientiam patefacit Ecclesia cum Christo Iesu se coram definitivo Dei Verbo esse; ipse est « Primus et Novissimus » (Apc 1,17). Ipse definitivum creationi et historiae sensum praebuit; hac de re ad tempus vivendum vocamur necnon ad Dei creationem habitandam intra hunc Verbi eschatologicum numerum; « oeconomia ergo christiana, utpote foedus novum et definitivum numquam praeteribit, et nulla iam nova Revelatio publica exspectanda est ante gloriosam manifestationem Domini nostri Iesu Christi (cfr 1 Tim 6,14 et Tit 2,13) ».⁴¹ Etenim, ut Synodi tempore memoraverunt Patres, « christianae religionis peculiare quiddam se manifestum exhibet in Iesu Christo, qui simul est eventus, revelationis culmen, promissionum Dei impletio, mediator hominis cum Deo in congressum venientis. Ille, qui nobis Deum enarravit (cfr Io 1,18), Verbum est unicum et definitivum hominibus traditum ».⁴² Sanctus Ioannes a Cruce mirabiliter hanc veritatem ostendit: « Dando quippe nobis, sicut dedit, Filium suum, qui est unicum solumque ipsius Verbum, omnia nobis simul unaque vice hoc suo unico Verbo locutus est et revelavit, neque illi quidquam dicendum manet ... Id enim quod antea per partes loquebatur prophetis, iam nobis totum in ipso dixit, ipsum nobis totum dando, id est, Filium suum. Quamobrem ille qui nunc vellet aliquid a Deo sciscitari, vel visionem aliquam aut revelationem ab eo postulare, non modo stultitiam faceret, iniuriam Deo inferret, non defigendo omnino suos oculos in Christum, vel aliam rem aut novitatem extra illum requirendo ».⁴³

Consequently the Synod pointed to the need to “help the faithful to distinguish the word of God from private revelations”^[44] whose role “is not to ‘complete’ Christ’s definitive revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history”.^[45] The value of private revelations is essentially different from that of the one public revelation: the latter demands faith; in it God himself speaks to us through human words and the mediation of the living community of the Church. The criterion for judging the truth of a private revelation is its orientation to Christ himself. If it leads us away from him, then it certainly does not come from the Holy Spirit, who guides us more deeply into the Gospel, and not away from it. Private revelation is an aid to this faith, and it demonstrates its credibility precisely because it refers back to the one public revelation. Ecclesiastical approval of a private revelation essentially means that its message contains nothing contrary to faith and morals; it is licit to make it public and the faithful are authorized to give to it their prudent adhesion. A private revelation can introduce new emphases, give rise to new forms of piety, or deepen older ones. It can have a certain prophetic character (cf. 1 Th 5:19-21) and can be a valuable aid for better understanding and living the Gospel at a certain time; consequently it should not be treated lightly. It is a help which is proffered, but its use is not obligatory. In any event, it must be a matter of nourishing faith, hope and love, which are for everyone the permanent path of salvation.^[46]

Quapropter Synodus suasit « ut fidelibus auxilia suppeditentur idonea, quibus Verbum Dei a privatis revelationibus probe discernant »,⁴⁴ quarum munus ... non est « complere » definitivam Christi Revelationem, « sed adiutorium praebere ut ipsa, in quadam historiae periodo, plenius deducatur in vitam ».⁴⁵ Revelationum privatarum vis omnino secus est ac publica revelatio: haec nostram fidem requirit; in ea enim per verba humana atque communitatis Ecclesiae viventis ope nobis loquitur ipse Deus. Iudicium verumtamen veritatis cuiusdam privatae revelationis est eius ad Christum ipsum directio. Cum ea ab ipso dissidet, tunc certe a Spiritu Sancto haud manat, qui intra et non extra Evangelium nos dirigit. Privata revelatio hanc fidem adiuvat atque credibilis conspicitur, eo quod ad unam publicam revelationem remittit. Quocirca ecclesiastica privatae revelationis comprobatio essentialiter demonstrat eiusdem nuntium nihil continere quod a fide probisque moribus dissideat; licet eundem evulgare, atque fideles sinuntur eidem prudenter adhaerere. Privata revelatio quaedam nova extollere, novas pietatis formas excitare antiquasve altius comprobare potest. Quandam ipsa propheticam naturam prae se ferre potest (cfr 1 Thess 5,19-21) atque validum auxilium ad intellegendum servandumque melius Evangelium hodiernis temporibus afferre potest; ideo non est neglegendum. Oblatum est subsidium quoddam, quod autem adhiberi necessario non debet. Quidquid est agitur de fidei, spei caritatisque pabulo, quae omnibus sunt ad salutem permanens via.⁴⁶

The word of God and the Holy Spirit

Dei Verbum et Spiritus Sanctus

15. After reflecting on God’s final and definitive word to the world, we need now to mention the mission of the Holy Spirit in relation to the divine word. In fact there can be no authentic understanding of Christian revelation apart from the activity of the Paraclete. This is due to the fact that God’s self-communication always involves the relationship of the Son and the Holy Spirit, whom Irenaeus of Lyons refers to as “the two hands of the Father”.^[47] Sacred Scripture itself speaks of the presence of the Holy Spirit in salvation history and particularly in the life of Jesus: he was conceived of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 1:18; Lk 1:35); at the beginning of his public mission, on the banks of the Jordan, he sees the Holy Spirit descend on him in the form of a dove (cf. Mt 3:16); in this same Spirit Jesus acts, speaks and rejoices (cf. Lk 10:21); and in the Spirit he offers himself up (cf. Heb 9:14). As his mission draws to an end, according to the account of Saint John, Jesus himself clearly relates the giving of his life to the sending of the Spirit upon those who belong to him (cf. Jn 16:7). The Risen Jesus, bearing in his flesh the signs of the passion, then pours out the Spirit (cf. Jn 20:22), making his disciples sharers in his own mission (cf. Jn 20:21). The Holy Spirit was to teach the disciples all things and bring to their remembrance all that Christ had said (cf. Jn 14:26), since he, the Spirit of Truth (cf. Jn 15:26) will guide the disciples into all the truth (cf. Jn 16:13). Finally, in the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the Spirit descended on the Twelve gathered in prayer with Mary on the day of Pentecost (cf. 2:1-4), and impelled them to take up the mission of proclaiming to all peoples the Good News.^[48]

15. Postquam Verbum tractavimus postremum et definitivum Dei orbi terrarum transmissum, oportet Spiritus Sancti missio memoretur quae ad divinum Verbum attinet. Etenim nullus datur authenticus revelationis christianae intellectus, haud agente Paraclito. Hoc ex eo pendet quod communicatio, quam de se ipso facit Deus, semper necessitudinem inter Filium et Spiritum Sanctum secum fert, quam enim Irenaeus Lugdunensis appellat « duas manus Patris ».⁴⁷ Ceterum sacra Scriptura ipsa de Spiritus Sancti praesentia in historia salutis nominatimque in Iesu vita nos docet, qui a Virgine Maria de Spiritu Sancto conceptus est (cfr Mt 1,18; Lc 1,35); suam incipiens publicam missionem, apud Iordanis ripas, columbae specie in se descendentem eum videt (Mt 3,16); in ipso hoc Spiritu Iesus agit, loquitur et exsultat (cfr Lc 10,21); et in Spiritu se ipsum offert (cfr Heb 9,14). Ad finem suam missionem adducens, secundum Evangelistae Ioannis narrationem, ipse Iesus arte suae vitae donum cum Spiritu suis misso conligat (cfr Io 16,7). Iesus porro resuscitatus, sua in carne passionis signa ferens, Spiritum effundit (cfr Io 20,22), suam ipsius missionem cum discipulis communicans (cfr Io 20,21). Spiritus Sanctus ipse discipulos omnia docebit et suggeret eis omnia quae Christus dixit (cfr Io 14,26), quia erit Ipse Spiritus Veritatis (cfr Io 15,26), et deducet discipulos in omnem veritatem (cfr Io 16,13). Demum, quemadmodum legitur in Actibus Apostolorum, Spiritus descendit in Duodecim in oratione cum Maria Pentecostes die coadunatos (cfr 2,1-4), eosdemque ad cunctis gentibus Bonum Nuntium proclamandum concitat.⁴⁸

The word of God is thus expressed in human words thanks to the working of the Holy Spirit. The missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable and constitute a single economy of salvation. The same Spirit who acts in the incarnation of the Word in the womb of the Virgin Mary is the Spirit who guides Jesus throughout his mission and is promised to the disciples. The same Spirit who spoke through the prophets sustains and inspires the Church in her task of proclaiming the word of God and in the preaching of the Apostles; finally, it is this Spirit who inspires the authors of sacred Scripture.

Dei Verbum itaque Spiritus Sancti ope per humana verba exprimitur. Filii aeque ac Spiritus Sancti missio seiungi non potest et unam salutis oeconomiam efficit. Ipse Spiritus, qui in Verbi incarnatione in Virginis Mariae gremio agit, idem est qui Iesum per totam eius missionem dirigit quique discipulis promittitur. Idem Spiritus, qui locutus est per prophetas, Ecclesiam sustinet et commovet, munus sustinentem Verbum Dei nuntiandi et in praedicatione Apostolorum; hic est tandem Spiritus qui sacrarum Scripturarum auctores inspirat.

16. Conscious of this pneumatological horizon, the Synod Fathers highlighted the importance of the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of the Church and in the hearts of believers in relation to sacred Scripture:^[49] without the efficacious working of the “Spirit of Truth” (Jn 14:16), the words of the Lord cannot be understood. As Saint Irenaeus states: “Those who do not share in the Spirit do not draw from the bosom of their mother [the Church] the food of life; they receive nothing from the purest fountain that flows from the body of Christ”.^[50] Just as the word of God comes to us in the body of Christ, in his Eucharistic body and in the body of the Scriptures, through the working of the Holy Spirit, so too it can only be truly received and understood through that same Spirit.

16. Hoc de pneumatologico ambitu conscii, Patres synodales prae se ferre voluerunt Spiritus Sancti pondus in Ecclesiae vita et in fidelium cordibus agentis, quod ad sacram Scripturam attinet;⁴⁹ efficaci utique absque actione « Spiritus veritatis » (Io 14,17) Domini verba non intelleguntur. Quemadmodum etiam memorat sanctus Irenaeus: « Quapropter qui non participant eum, neque a mammillis matris nutriuntur in vita, neque percipiunt de corpore Christi procedentem nitidissimum fontem ».⁵⁰ Ut in Christi corpore ad nos venit Dei Verbum, in corpore eucharistico et Scripturarum corpore ope Spiritus Sancti, sic per Spiritum Sanctum id accipi et vere intellegi potest.

The great writers of the Christian tradition speak unanimously of the place of the Holy Spirit in the relationship which believers are to have with the Scriptures. Saint John Chrysostom states that Scripture “needs the revelation of the Spirit, so that by discovering the true meaning of the things enclosed therein, we can reap abundant benefits”.^[51] Saint Jerome is likewise firmly convinced that “we cannot come to an understanding of Scripture without the assistance of the Holy Spirit who inspired it”.^[52] Saint Gregory the Great nicely emphasizes the work of the Spirit in the formation and interpretation of the Bible: “He himself created the words of the holy Testaments, he himself revealed their meaning”.^[53] Richard of Saint Victor points out that we need “the eyes of doves”, enlightened and taught by the Spirit, in order to understand the sacred text.^[54]

Praestantes christianae traditionis scriptores unanimiter Spiritus Sancti munus perpendunt, necessitudine credentium cum Scripturis considerata. Sanctus Ioannes Chrysostomus asserit: « Neque opus habet divina scriptura hominum sapientia ut intelligatur, sed revelatione Spiritus, ut hausto inde vero sensu, magnum nobis hinc lucrum accrescat ».⁵¹ Etiam sanctus Hieronymus firmiter sibi conscius est cur « in intellegenda ea Spiritus Sancti indigeamus auxilio, qui per Apostolum haec ipsa dictavit ».⁵² Sanctus Gregorius Magnus porro eiusdem Spiritus Sancti operam in efformanda et interpretanda Biblia animose effert: « Sanctorum testamentorum dicta ipse creavit et ipse aperuit ».⁵³ Richardus a Sancto Victore animadvertit « columbarum oculis », a Spiritu illuminatis institutisque, opus esse, ut sacer textus intellegatur.⁵⁴

Here too I would like to emphasize the very significant witness to the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Scripture which we find in the texts of the liturgy, where the word of God is proclaimed, heard and explained to the faithful. We find a witness to this in the ancient prayers which in the form of an epiclesis invoke the Spirit before the proclamation of the readings: “Send your Paraclete Spirit into our hearts and make us understand the Scriptures which he has inspired; and grant that I may interpret them worthily, so that the faithful assembled here may profit thereby”. We also find prayers which, at the end of the homily, again ask God to send the gift of the Spirit upon the faithful: “God our Saviour… we implore you for this people: send upon them the Holy Spirit; may the Lord Jesus come to visit them, speak to the minds of all, dispose their hearts to faith and lead our souls to you, God of mercies”.^[55] This makes it clear that we cannot come to understand the meaning of the word unless we are open to the working of the Paraclete in the Church and in the hearts of believers.

Confirmare volumus quam clara sit testificatio, quam de necessitudine inter Spiritum Sanctum et Scripturam in liturgicis textibus reperimus, ubi Dei Verbum fidelibus proclamatur, auscultatur et explicatur. Id in antiquis orationibus occurrit, quae epiclesis sub specie Spiritum ante lectionum proclamationem invocant: « Mitte Spiritum Sanctum in mentem nostram, et largire nobis discere Scripturas divinas a Spiritu Sancto easque interpretari pure et digne, ut fructum capiant populi praesentes omnes ». Eodem modo, orationes reperimus, quae homilia absoluta, rursus Deum invocant, ut fidelibus Spiritum det Deus: « Deus salvator ... oramus te pro hoc populo: Spiritum Sanctum mitte et Dominus Iesus visitet, loquatur in mentibus omnium et praeparet corda ad fidem; ipse ad te trahat animas, Deus misericordiarum ».⁵⁵ His ex omnibus rebus plane intellegere possumus cur Verbi sensus non comprehendatur, nisi Paracliti actio in Ecclesiae et in credentium cordibus recipiatur.

Tradition and Scripture

Traditio et Scriptura

17. In reaffirming the profound connection between the Holy Spirit and the word of God, we have also laid the basis for an understanding of the significance and the decisive value of the living Tradition and the sacred Scriptures in the Church. Indeed, since God “so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16), the divine word, spoken in time, is bestowed and “consigned” to the Church in a definitive way, so that the proclamation of salvation can be communicated effectively in every time and place. As the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum reminds us, Jesus Christ himself “commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel – promised beforehand by the prophets, fulfilled in his own person and promulgated by his own lips – to all as the source of all saving truth and moral law, communicating God’s gifts to them. This was faithfully carried out; it was carried out by the Apostles who handed on, by oral preaching, by their example, by their ordinances, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or by coming to know it through the prompting of the Holy Spirit; it was carried out by those Apostles and others associated with them who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing”.^[56]

17. Inter Spiritum Sanctum et Dei Verbum rursus confirmantes artum vinculum, fundamenta iecimus ad sensum pondusque intellegendum vivae Traditionis sacrarumque in Ecclesia Scripturarum. Etenim quoniam sic « dilexit Deus mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret » (Io 3,16), divinum Verbum in tempore enuntiatum, Ecclesiae se definitive dedit et « tradidit », ita ut salutis nuntius efficaciter omnibus temporibus et in omnibus locis communicaretur. Ut nobis memorat Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum, ipse Iesus Christus « mandatum dedit Apostolis ut Evangelium, quod promissum ante per Prophetas Ipse adimplevit et proprio ore promulgavit, tamquam fontem omnis et salutaris veritatis et morum disciplinae omnibus praedicarent, eis dona divina communicantes. Quod quidem fideliter factum est, tum ab Apostolis, qui in praedicatione orali, exemplis et institutionibus ea tradiderunt quae sive ex ore, conversatione et operibus Christi acceperant, sive a Spiritu Sancto suggerente didicerant, tum ab illis Apostolis virisque apostolicis, qui, sub inspiratione eiusdem Spiritus Sancti, nuntium salutis scriptis mandaverunt ».⁵⁶

The Second Vatican Council also states that this Tradition of apostolic origin is a living and dynamic reality: it “makes progress in the Church, with the help of the Holy Spirit”; yet not in the sense that it changes in its truth, which is perennial. Rather, “there is a growth in insight into the realities and the words that are being passed on”, through contemplation and study, with the understanding granted by deeper spiritual experience and by the “preaching of those who, on succeeding to the office of bishop, have received the sure charism of truth”.^[57]

Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum II commemorat porro quo pacto haec Traditio, ex Apostolis oriens, res sit viva et dynamica: « Haec quae est ab Apostolis traditio sub assistentia Spiritus Sancti in Ecclesia proficit »; non ex eo quod in sua veritate mutatur, quae autem est perennis. « Crescit enim tam rerum quam verborum traditorum perceptio, tum ex contemplatione et studio », tum ex altiore spiritualium rerum intellegentia, « tum ex praeconio eorum qui cum episcopatus successione charisma veritatis certum acceperunt ».⁵⁷

The living Tradition is essential for enabling the Church to grow through time in the understanding of the truth revealed in the Scriptures; indeed, “by means of the same tradition, the full canon of the sacred books is known to the Church and the holy Scriptures themselves are more thoroughly understood and constantly made effective in the Church”.^[58] Ultimately, it is the living Tradition of the Church which makes us adequately understand sacred Scripture as the word of God. Although the word of God precedes and exceeds sacred Scripture, nonetheless Scripture, as inspired by God, contains the divine word (cf. 2 Tim 3:16) “in an altogether singular way”.^[59]

Itaque viva Traditio essentialis est ut Ecclesia progrediente tempore adolescere possit, veritatem percipiens in Scripturis revelatam; etenim « per eandem Traditionem integer Sacrorum Librorum canon Ecclesiae innotescit, ipsaeque Sacrae Litterae in ea penitius intelliguntur et indesinenter actuosae redduntur ».⁵⁸ Ad summam viva Ecclesiae Traditio efficit ut plene sacram Scripturam ut Dei Verbum intellegamus. Licet Dei Verbum sacram Scripturam praecedat et excedat, tamen, quippe quae a Deo inspirata sit, ipsa divinum Verbum (cfr 2 Tim 3,16) « ratione specialissima » continet.⁵⁹

18. We see clearly, then, how important it is for the People of God to be properly taught and trained to approach the sacred Scriptures in relation to the Church’s living Tradition, and to recognize in them the very word of God. Fostering such an approach in the faithful is very important from the standpoint of the spiritual life. Here it might be helpful to recall the analogy drawn by the Fathers of the Church between the word of God which became “flesh” and the word which became a “book”.^[60] The Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum takes up this ancient tradition which holds, as Saint Ambrose says,^[61] that “the body of the Son is the Scripture which we have received”, and declares that “the words of God, expressed in human language, are in every way like human speech, just as the word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the weak flesh of human beings, became like them”.^[62] When understood in this way, sacred Scripture presents itself to us, in the variety of its many forms and content, as a single reality. Indeed, “through all the words of sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single word, his one utterance, in whom he expresses himself completely (cf. Heb 1:1-3)”.^[63] Saint Augustine had already made the point clearly: “Remember that one alone is the discourse of God which unfolds in all sacred Scripture, and one alone is the word which resounds on the lips of all the holy writers”.^[64]

18. His rebus innotescit quemadmodum magni sit momenti Dei Populum plane educari et institui, ut ad sacras Scripturas ex viva Ecclesiae Traditione accedat, in iis ipsum Dei Verbum agnoscens. Summi ponderis est efficere ut haec in fidelibus mens crescat, spiritali vita considerata. Hac de re iuvare potest similitudo, quam Ecclesiae Patres inter Verbum Dei quod « caro » fit et Verbum quod « liber » fit instituerunt.⁶⁰ Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum antiquam hanc traditionem recipit ad quam « Corpus eius traditiones sunt Scripturarum » – ut asserit sanctus Ambrosius⁶¹ – atque autumat: « Dei enim verba, humanis linguis expressa, humano sermoni assimilia facta sunt, sicut olim Aeterni Patris Verbum, humanae infirmitatis assumpta carne, hominibus simile factum est ».⁶² Sic intellecta sacra Scriptura, quamvis in suarum formarum et significationum multiplicitate, tamquam unitarium quiddam nobis ostenditur. Etenim « Deus unum solummodo Verbum dicit, Suum unicum Verbum in quo Ipse se totum exprimit (cfr Heb 1,1-3) »,⁶³ sicut iam palam affirmaverat sanctus Augustinus: « Meminit caritas vestra, cum sit unus sermo Dei in Scripturis omnibus dilatatus, et per multa ora sanctorum unum Verbum sonet ».⁶⁴

In short, by the work of the Holy Spirit and under the guidance of the magisterium, the Church hands on to every generation all that has been revealed in Christ. The Church lives in the certainty that her Lord, who spoke in the past, continues today to communicate his word in her living Tradition and in sacred Scripture. Indeed, the word of God is given to us in sacred Scripture as an inspired testimony to revelation; together with the Church’s living Tradition, it constitutes the supreme rule of faith.^[65]

Itaque Spiritus Sancti opera atque Magisterio duce, cunctis generationibus, quod in Christo revelatum est, transmittit Ecclesia. Plane sibi conscia est Ecclesia, suum Dominum, Qui olim locutus est, haud intermittere quin hodie suum Verbum in viva Ecclesiae Traditione et sacra Scriptura communicet. Verbum Dei enim in sacra Scriptura nobis se tradit, ut inspirata revelationis testificatione, quae una cum viva Ecclesiae Traditione supremam fidei regulam constituit.⁶⁵

Sacred Scripture, inspiration and truth

Sacra Scriptura, inspiratio et veritas

19. A key concept for understanding the sacred text as the word of God in human words is certainly that of inspiration. Here too we can suggest an analogy: as the word of God became flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, so sacred Scripture is born from the womb of the Church by the power of the same Spirit. Sacred Scripture is “the word of God set down in writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit”.^[66] In this way one recognizes the full importance of the human author who wrote the inspired texts and, at the same time, God himself as the true author.

19. Praecipua notio ad intellegendum sacrum textum ut Dei Verbum in humanis verbis, est procul dubio inspiratio. Hoc etiam in loco analogia quaedam induci potest: sicut Verbum Dei caro per Spiritum Sanctum in Virginis Mariae gremio factum est, ita ex Ecclesiae gremio per eundem Spiritum oritur sacra Scriptura. « Sacra Scriptura est locutio Dei quatenus divino afflante Spiritu scripto consignatur ».⁶⁶ Hoc modo scriptoris humani agnoscitur praestantia qui inspiratos textus exaravit atque Deus pariter ipse ut verus auctor.

As the Synod Fathers affirmed, the theme of inspiration is clearly decisive for an adequate approach to the Scriptures and their correct interpretation,^[67] which for its part is to be done in the same Spirit in whom the sacred texts were written.^[68] Whenever our awareness of its inspiration grows weak, we risk reading Scripture as an object of historical curiosity and not as the work of the Holy Spirit in which we can hear the Lord himself speak and recognize his presence in history.

Sicut edixerunt Patres synodales, lucide patet quam sit decretorium inspirationis argumentum ad Scripturas aeque conveniendas easdemque congrue interpretandas,⁶⁷ quod vero in eodem Spiritu effici debet in quo sunt scriptae.⁶⁸ Cum in nobis inspirationis conscientia imminuit, periculum est ne Scriptura veluti historici studii obiectum, non autem ut Spiritus Sancti opus, legatur, in qua ipsam Domini vocem audire eiusque in historia praesentiam cognoscere possumus.

The Synod Fathers also stressed the link between the theme of inspiration and that of the truth of the Scriptures.^[69] A deeper study of the process of inspiration will doubtless lead to a greater understanding of the truth contained in the sacred books. As the Council’s teaching states in this regard, the inspired books teach the truth: “since, therefore, all that the inspired authors, or sacred writers, affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the sacred Scriptures. Thus, ‘all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work’ (2 Tim 3:16-17, Greek)”.^[70]

Patres synodales praeterea merito extulerunt quemadmodum cum inspirationis argumento coniungatur etiam argumentum veritatis Scripturarum.⁶⁹ Hac de causa processus inspirationis altius investigatus procul dubio efficiet ut veritas in sacris libris contenta melius intellegatur. Ut de hoc argumento conciliaris doctrina asserit, inspirati libri veritatem docent: « Cum ergo omne id, quod auctores inspirati seu hagiographi asserunt, retineri debeat assertum a Spiritu Sancto, inde Scripturae libri veritatem, quam Deus nostrae salutis causa Litteris Sacris consignari voluit, firmiter, fideliter et sine errore docere profitendi sunt. Etenim “omnis Scriptura divinitus inspirata est et utilis ad docendum, ad arguendum, ad corrigendum, ad erudiendum in iustitia, ut perfectus sit homo Dei, ad omne opus bonum instructus” (2 Tim 3,16-17 gr.) ».⁷⁰

Certainly theological reflection has always considered inspiration and truth as two key concepts for an ecclesial hermeneutic of the sacred Scriptures. Nonetheless, one must acknowledge the need today for a fuller and more adequate study of these realities, in order better to respond to the need to interpret the sacred texts in accordance with their nature. Here I would express my fervent hope that research in this field will progress and bear fruit both for biblical science and for the spiritual life of the faithful.

Sine dubio theologica inquisitio inspirationem et veritatem semper consideravit duas notiones praecipuas, ad ecclesiale hermeneuma sacrarum Scripturarum spectantes. Attamen hodierna necessitas agnosci debet has res congruenter inquirendi, ita ut necessitatibus melius subveniatur, ad interpretationem textuum sacrorum secundum eorum naturam spectantibus. Hoc in rerum prospectu magnopere exoptamus ut hac in provincia vestigatio progrediatur itemque fructus in disciplinae biblicae spiritalisque fidelium vitae beneficium afferat.

God the Father, source and origin of the word

Deus Pater, Verbi fons et origo

20. The economy of revelation has its beginning and origin in God the Father. By his word “the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth” (Ps 33:6). It is he who has given us “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6; cf. Mt 16:17; Lk 9:29).

20.           Revelationis itaque oeconomia ex Deo Patre initium originemque sumit. Suo verbo « caeli facti sunt, et spiritus oris eius omnis virtus eorum » (Ps 33,6). Ipse efficit « illuminationem scientiae claritatis Dei in facie Iesu Christi » (2 Cor 4,6; cfr Mt 16,12; Lc 9,29).

In the Son, “Logos made flesh” (cf. Jn 1:14), who came to accomplish the will of the one who sent him (cf. Jn 4:34), God, the source of revelation, reveals himself as Father and brings to completion the divine pedagogy which had previously been carried out through the words of the prophets and the wondrous deeds accomplished in creation and in the history of his people and all mankind. The revelation of God the Father culminates in the Son’s gift of the Paraclete (cf. Jn 14:16), the Spirit of the Father and the Son, who guides us “into all the truth” (Jn 16:13).

In Filio qui est « Logos et caro factus » (cfr Io 1,14) quique venit ut faceret voluntatem Eius, qui eum misit (cfr Io 4,34), Deus, revelationis fons, ut Patrem se manifestat atque divinam hominis institutionem complet, quam antea prophetarum verba et mirabilia illa commoverunt, quae in creatione et in historia ipsius populi omniumque hominum facta sunt. Huius Dei Patris revelationis fastigium a Filio cum Paracliti dono datur (cfr Io 14,16), Spiritus Patris eiusque Filii, qui nos « deducit in omnem veritatem » (Io 16,13).

All God’s promises find their “yes” in Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Cor 1:20). Men and women are thus enabled to set out on the way that leads to the Father (cf. Jn 14:6), so that in the end “God may be everything to everyone” (1 Cor 15:28).

Universae ita Dei promissiones in Iesu Christo « sic » fiunt (cfr 2 Cor 1,20). Hoc modo homini datur facultas semitam calcandi, quae ad Patrem ducit (cfr Io 14,6), in fine « ut sit Deus omnia in omnibus » (1 Cor 15,28).

21. As the cross of Christ demonstrates, God also speaks by his silence. The silence of God, the experience of the distance of the almighty Father, is a decisive stage in the earthly journey of the Son of God, the incarnate Word. Hanging from the wood of the cross, he lamented the suffering caused by that silence: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk 15:34; Mt 27:46). Advancing in obedience to his very last breath, in the obscurity of death, Jesus called upon the Father. He commended himself to him at the moment of passage, through death, to eternal life: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46).

21. Sicut Christi crux demonstrat, Deus suum etiam per silentium loquitur. Dei silentium, Omnipotentis et Patris longinquitatis experientia decretorium est momentum in Filii Dei, Verbi incarnati, terrestri itinere. In crucis ligno pendens, dolorem lamentatus est, hoc silentio Ei procuratum: « Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me? » (Mc 15,34; Mt 27,46). In oboedientia usque ad extremum vitae halitum procedens, in mortis obscuritate, Iesus Patrem invocavit. Ipsi se transitus hora, per mortem ad vitam aeternam, commisit: « Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum » (Lc 23,46).

This experience of Jesus reflects the situation of all those who, having heard and acknowledged God’s word, must also confront his silence. This has been the experience of countless saints and mystics, and even today is part of the journey of many believers. God’s silence prolongs his earlier words. In these moments of darkness, he speaks through the mystery of his silence. Hence, in the dynamic of Christian revelation, silence appears as an important expression of the word of God.

Haec Iesu experientia hominis condicionem signat, qui, postquam Dei Verbum auscultavit et agnovit, cum eius silentio se conferre debet. Id complures sancti et mystici sunt experti, quod etiam hodie in credentium iter ingreditur. Dei silentium eius verba producit. Obscuris his momentis Ipse in mysterio sui silentii loquitur. Itaque in christianae revelationis processu, silentium ut insignis apparet Dei Verbi locutio.

Our Response To The God Who Speaks

HOMINIS RESPONSIO AD DEUM LOQUENTEM

Called to the covenant with God

Vocati ad Foedus cum Deo suscipiendum

22. By emphasizing the many forms of the word, we have been able to contemplate the number of ways in which God speaks to and encounters men and women, making himself known in dialogue. Certainly, as the Synod Fathers stated, “dialogue, when we are speaking of revelation, entails the primacy of the word of God addressed to man”.^[71] The mystery of the Covenant expresses this relationship between God who calls man with his word, and man who responds, albeit making clear that it is not a matter of a meeting of two peers; what we call the Old and New Covenant is not a contract between two equal parties, but a pure gift of God. By this gift of his love God bridges every distance and truly makes us his “partners”, in order to bring about the nuptial mystery of the love between Christ and the Church. In this vision every man and woman appears as someone to whom the word speaks, challenges and calls to enter this dialogue of love through a free response. Each of us is thus enabled by God to hear and respond to his word. We were created in the word and we live in the word; we cannot understand ourselves unless we are open to this dialogue. The word of God discloses the filial and relational nature of human existence. We are indeed called by grace to be conformed to Christ, the Son of the Father, and, in him, to be transformed.

22. Verbi pluriformitatem in luce ponentes, contemplari potuimus quot per vias Deus loquatur et obviam homini veniat, notum se reddens in dialogo. Profecto, prout merito edixerunt Patres Synodales, « dialogus cum ad Revelationem relatus sit, secum fert primatum divini Verbi in hominem conversi ».⁷¹ Mysterium Foederis exprimit hanc necessitudinem inter Deum qui suo Verbo vocat et hominem qui respondet, sub perspicua conscientia non agi de quodam occursu inter duos simili modo contrahentes; id quod nos Vetus Novumque Foedus appellamus non respicit consensum inter duas aequales partes, sed exclusivum donum Dei. Per hoc donum Sui amoris, Ille omnia superans spatia nos vere reddit suos consortes, ita ut perfici possit mysterium nuptiale amoris inter Christum et Ecclesiam. Sub hoc prospectu omnis homo uti destinatarius Verbi apparet, interpellatus et vocatus ad hunc dialogum amoris per liberam responsionem participandum. Unusquisque nostrum sic capax a Deo redditur exaudiendi et respondendi ad divinum Verbum. Homo creatur in Verbo et in ipso vivit; seipsum intellegere nequit, nisi sese aperiat ad hunc dialogum: Verbum Dei revelat naturam filialem et relationalem vitae nostrae. Reapse invitamur per gratiam ut conformemur ad Christum, Filium Patris, et in Ipsum transformemur.

God hears us and responds to our questions

Deus exaudit hominem ad eiusque interrogationes respondet

23. In this dialogue with God we come to understand ourselves and we discover an answer to our heart’s deepest questions. The word of God in fact is not inimical to us; it does not stifle our authentic desires, but rather illuminates them, purifies them and brings them to fulfilment. How important it is for our time to discover that God alone responds to the yearning present in the heart of every man and woman! Sad to say, in our days, and in the West, there is a widespread notion that God is extraneous to people’s lives and problems, and that his very presence can be a threat to human autonomy. Yet the entire economy of salvation demonstrates that God speaks and acts in history for our good and our integral salvation. Thus it is decisive, from the pastoral standpoint, to present the word of God in its capacity to enter into dialogue with the everyday problems which people face. Jesus himself says that he came that we might have life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). Consequently, we need to make every effort to share the word of God as an openness to our problems, a response to our questions, a broadening of our values and the fulfilment of our aspirations. The Church’s pastoral activity needs to bring out clearly how God listens to our need and our plea for help. As Saint Bonaventure says in the Breviloquium: “The fruit of sacred Scripture is not any fruit whatsoever, but the very fullness of eternal happiness. Sacred Scripture is the book containing the words of eternal life, so that we may not only believe in, but also possess eternal life, in which we will see and love, and all our desires will be fulfilled”.^[72]

23. Cum Deo colloquentes nosmet ipsos novimus et responsa invenimus ad magis profundas interrogationes, quae insunt nostris in cordibus. Verbum enim Dei non opponitur homini, eius authentica optata non coercet, immo illuminat, mundat et ad effectum ea perducit. Quanti ponderis nostrae est aetati ut detegatur Deum tantummodo respondere ad sitim quae in cuiusque hominis corde reperitur! Hodierno tempore pro dolor! diffunditur, maxime in mundo Occidentali, conceptus, iuxta quem Deus alienus sit tam vitae quam quaestionibus hominis et immo Eius praesentia possit esse comminatio eius autonomiae. Profecto, universa oeconomia salutis nobis ostendit Deum loqui et historiae interesse in hominis eiusque integralis salutis utilitatem. Idcirco, peremptorium est, sub prospectu pastorali, ut exhibeatur Verbum Dei in sua facultate colloquendi de quaestionibus, quas homo in cotidiana vita oppetere tenetur. Ipse Iesus conspicitur nobis sicut Ille qui venit ut vitam abundantius habeamus (cfr Io 10, 10). Hac de causa, maximopere adlaboremus oportet ad monstrandum Verbum Dei, uti aperturam ad proprias quaestiones, uti responsum ad proprias interrogationes, uti dilatationem ad proprios valores ac simul uti impletionem propriarum exspectationum. Pastoralis Ecclesiae ratio recte dilucidare debet quomodo Deus exaudiat necessitates hominis eiusque clamorem. Sanctus Bonaventura ita asserit in suo opere Breviloquium: « Status vero sive fructus sacrae Scripturae non est quicumque, sed plenitudo aeternae felicitatis. Nam haec est Scriptura, in qua verba sunt vitae aeternae, quae ideo scripta est, non solum ut credamus, verum etiam ut vitam possideamus aeternam, in qua quidem videbimus, amabimus, et universaliter nostra desideria implebuntur ».⁷²

In dialogue with God through his words

Cum Deo colloquendum per Ipsius verba

24. The word of God draws each of us into a conversation with the Lord: the God who speaks teaches us how to speak to him. Here we naturally think of the Book of Psalms, where God gives us words to speak to him, to place our lives before him, and thus to make life itself a path to God.^[73] In the Psalms we find expressed every possible human feeling set masterfully in the sight of God; joy and pain, distress and hope, fear and trepidation: here all find expression. Along with the Psalms we think too of the many other passages of sacred Scripture which express our turning to God in intercessory prayer (cf. Ex 33:12-16), in exultant songs of victory (cf. Ex 15) or in sorrow at the difficulties experienced in carrying out our mission (cf. Jer 20:7-18). In this way our word to God becomes God’s word, thus confirming the dialogical nature of all Christian revelation,^[74] and our whole existence becomes a dialogue with the God who speaks and listens, who calls us and gives direction to our lives. Here the word of God reveals that our entire life is under the divine call.^[75]

24. Divinum verbum unumquemque nostrum inducit in colloquium cum Domino: Deus qui loquitur docet nos quomodo cum Ipso colloqui possimus. Cogitatio sponte vertitur ad Librum Psalmorum, in quo Ipse nobis tribuit verba quibus nos ad Eum convertere possimus, vitam nostram coram Eo in colloquio gerere valeamus, sic ipsam vitam transformantes in motionem ad Deum.⁷³ In Psalmis enim invenimus contextam seriem sensuum, quos homo experiri potest in propria exsistentia et qui sapienter sunt positi coram Deo; hic enim exprimuntur gaudium et dolor, anxietas et spes, timor et trepidatio. Simul cum Psalmis mens nostra vertitur quoque ad alios innumeros textus sacrae Scripturae, quibus ostenditur quomodo homo ad Deum sese intendat per precationem intercessionis (cfr Ex 33,12-16), per canticum iubilationis ob victoriam (cfr Ex 15), vel per lamentationem in propria missione exsequenda (cfr Ier 20,7-18). Ita verbum quod homo vertit ad Deum, ipsum quoque efficitur Verbum Dei, tamquam confirmatio indolis dialogicae totius christianae Revelationis⁷⁴ et universa hominis exsistentia fit dialogus cum Deo qui loquitur et exaudit, qui vocat et mobilitat vitam nostram. Verbum Dei hic revelat integram hominis exsistentiam sub divina versari vocatione.⁷⁵

The word of God and faith

Verbum Dei et fides

25. “‘The obedience of faith’ (Rom 16:26; cf. Rom 1:5; 2 Cor 10:5-6) must be our response to God who reveals. By faith one freely commits oneself entirely to God, making ‘the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals’ and willingly assenting to the revelation given by God”.^[76] In these words the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum gave precise expression to the stance which we must have with regard to God. The proper human response to the God who speaks is faith. Here we see clearly that “in order to accept revelation, man must open his mind and heart to the working of the Holy Spirit who enables him to understand the word of God present in the sacred Scriptures”.^[77] It is the preaching of the divine word, in fact, which gives rise to faith, whereby we give our heartfelt assent to the truth which has been revealed to us and we commit ourselves entirely to Christ: “faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes from the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). The whole history of salvation progressively demonstrates this profound bond between the word of God and the faith which arises from an encounter with Christ. Faith thus takes shape as an encounter with a person to whom we entrust our whole life. Christ Jesus remains present today in history, in his body which is the Church; for this reason our act of faith is at once both personal and ecclesial.

25. « Deo revelanti praestanda est “oboeditio fidei” (Rom 16, 26; cfr Rom 1, 5; 2 Cor 10,5-6), qua homo se totum libere Deo committit “plenum revelanti Deo intellectus et voluntatis obsequium” praestando et voluntarie revelationi ab Eo datae assentiendo ».⁷⁶ Hisce vocibus Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum adamussim expressit modum quo homo se gerit coram Deo. Responsio propria hominis ad Deum loquentem fides est. Unde perspicue fit, ut « ad Revelationem accipiendam, homo mentem et cor suum actioni Spiritus Sancti aperta praebere debeat, ut intellegat divinum Verbum sacris Scripturis praesens contentum ».⁷⁷ Etenim praedicatio divini Verbi facit ut exoriatur fides, per quam libenter veritati nobis revelatae adhaereamus et Christo nosmet ipsos in integrum commendemus: « ergo fides ex auditu, auditus autem per verbum Christi » (Rom 10,17). Universa historia salutis gradatim ostendit nobis hoc intimum vinculum inter Verbum Dei et fidem quae in occursu cum Christo adimpletur. Etenim cum Ipso fides assumit formam occurrendi cum Persona illa cui propria vita concreditur. Christus Iesus praesens permanet hodie in historia, in suo corpore quod est Ecclesia, quocirca actus fidei nostrae est personalis simul et ecclesialis actus.

Sin as a refusal to hear the word of God

Peccatum tamquam non-auditio Verbi Dei

26. The word of God also inevitably reveals the tragic possibility that human freedom can withdraw from this covenant dialogue with God for which we were created. The divine word also discloses the sin that lurks in the human heart. Quite frequently in both the Old and in the New Testament, we find sin described as a refusal to hear the word, as a breaking of the covenant and thus as being closed to God who calls us to communion with himself.^[78] Sacred Scripture shows how man’s sin is essentially disobedience and refusal to hear. The radical obedience of Jesus even to his death on the cross (cf. Phil 2:8) completely unmasks this sin. His obedience brings about the New Covenant between God and man, and grants us the possibility of reconciliation. Jesus was sent by the Father as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins and for those of the whole world (cf. 1 Jn 2:2; 4:10; Heb 7:27). We are thus offered the merciful possibility of redemption and the start of a new life in Christ. For this reason it is important that the faithful be taught to acknowledge that the root of sin lies in the refusal to hear the word of the Lord, and to accept in Jesus, the Word of God, the forgiveness which opens us to salvation.

26. Verbum Dei necessario revelat etiam funestam possibilitatem ex parte libertatis hominis sese subducendi ab hoc dialogo foederis cum Deo, per quem creati sumus. Divinum enim Verbum patefacit quoque peccatum quod in cor hominis agit radices. Saepissime invenimus tam in Vetere quam in Novo Testamento peccatum describi tamquam non-auditionem Verbi, uti iacturam Foederis et itaque uti clausuram erga Deum, qui vocat ad communionem Secum instituendam.⁷⁸ Etenim sacra Scriptura nos edocet quomodo peccatum hominis essentialiter sit inoboedientia et « non-auditio ». Ipsa enim radicalis Iesu oboedientia usque ad mortem Crucis (cfr Philp 2,8) hoc peccatum usque in extremum detegit. In eius oboedientia adimpletur Novum Foedus inter Deum et hominem, atque data est nobis opportunitas reconciliationis. Iesus enim missus est a Patre tamquam victima expiationis pro peccatis nostris et totius mundi (cfr 1 Io 2,2; 4,10; Heb 7,27). Sic nobis offertur misericors redemptionis possibilitas et initium novae vitae in Christo. Hac quidem de causa magni interest ut fideles perducantur ad intellegendum peccati radicem inesse in non-auditione Verbi Dei, et ad excipiendam in Iesu, Verbo Dei, veniam, quae ad salutem est aditus.

Mary, “Mother of God’s Word” and “Mother of Faith”

Maria « Mater Verbi Dei » et « Mater fidei »

27. The Synod Fathers declared that the basic aim of the Twelfth Assembly was “to renew the Church’s faith in the word of God”. To do so, we need to look to the one in whom the interplay between the word of God and faith was brought to perfection, that is, to the Virgin Mary, “who by her ‘yes’ to the word of the covenant and her mission, perfectly fulfills the divine vocation of humanity”.^[79] The human reality created through the word finds its most perfect image in Mary’s obedient faith. From the Annunciation to Pentecost she appears as a woman completely open to the will of God. She is the Immaculate Conception, the one whom God made “full of grace” (cf. Lk 1:28) and unconditionally docile to his word (cf. Lk 1:38). Her obedient faith shapes her life at every moment before God’s plan. A Virgin ever attentive to God’s word, she lives completely attuned to that word; she treasures in her heart the events of her Son, piecing them together as if in a single mosaic (cf. Lk 2:19,51).^[80]

27. Patres synodales declaraverunt finem fundamentalem XII Coetus fuisse « renovare fidem Ecclesiae in Verbum Dei »; quapropter necesse est oculos convertere illuc ubi reciprocitas inter Verbum Dei et fidem perfecte adimpletur, id est ad Mariam Virginem, quae, « adnuens suo consensu Foederis Verbo eiusque missioni, plene complet divinam humanitatis vocationem ».⁷⁹ Humana realitas, creata per Verbum suam figuram in ipsa obsequenti fide Mariae expletam reperit. Ipsa ab Annuntiatione ad Pentecostem veluti mulier apparet prorsus prompta voluntati Dei. Est Immaculata Conceptio eius, quae a Deo « impletur gratia » (cfr Lc 1,28), docilis sine condicione erga Verbum divinum (cfr Lc 1,38). Eius fides oboediens est forma quam vita eius prae Dei incepto omni tempore sumit. Virgo auscultans, Ipsa cum divino Verbo plane consentit; suo in corde servat eventus Filii sui, veluti in opus musivum conferens (cfr Lc 2,19.51).⁸⁰

In our day the faithful need to be helped to see more clearly the link between Mary of Nazareth and the faith-filled hearing of God’s word. I would encourage scholars as well to study the relationship between Mariology and the theology of the word. This could prove most beneficial both for the spiritual life and for theological and biblical studies. Indeed, what the understanding of the faith has enabled us to know about Mary stands at the heart of Christian truth. The incarnation of the word cannot be conceived apart from the freedom of this young woman who by her assent decisively cooperated with the entrance of the eternal into time. Mary is the image of the Church in attentive hearing of the word of God, which took flesh in her. Mary also symbolizes openness to God and others; an active listening which interiorizes and assimilates, one in which the word becomes a way of life.

Nostra quidem aetate fideles oportet inducantur ad nexum melius inveniendum inter Mariam Nazarethanam et credentem auditionem Verbi divini. Hortamur quoque doctos viros ut penitus inspiciant vinculum inter mariologiam et theologiam Verbi. Ex hac re obvenire potest summum beneficium tam pro vita spirituali quam pro studiis theologicis et biblicis. Etenim, quidquid intellectio fidei quoad Mariam altius perspexit, collocatur in centro magis intimo christianae veritatis. Enimvero, incarnatio Verbi cogitari nequit si praetermittitur libertas huius iuvenis mulieris, quae suo consensu ad ingressum Aeterni in tempus definitive cooperatur. Ipsa figura est Ecclesiae in auditione Verbi Dei, quod in ea caro efficitur. Maria quoque symbolum est aperturae ad Deum et ad ceteros; auditio activa, quae in interius perducit, assimilat, in qua Verbum fit forma vitae.

28. Here I would like to mention Mary’s familiarity with the word of God. This is clearly evident in the Magnificat. There we see in some sense how she identifies with the word, enters into it; in this marvellous canticle of faith, the Virgin sings the praises of the Lord in his own words: “The Magnificat – a portrait, so to speak, of her soul – is entirely woven from threads of Holy Scripture, threads drawn from the word of God. Here we see how completely at home Mary is with the word of God, with ease she moves in and out of it. She speaks and thinks with the word of God; the word of God becomes her word, and her word issues from the word of God. Here we see how her thoughts are attuned to the thoughts of God, how her will is one with the will of God. Since Mary is completely imbued with the word of God, she is able to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate”.^[81]

28. His in adiunctis in mentem revocare cupimus consuetudinem Mariae cum Verbo Dei. Quod singulari efficacitate splendet in Cantico Magnificat. Hic quodammodo intellegi potest quomodo Ipsa una fiat eademque cum Verbo, et in illud ingrediatur; in hoc miro fidei Cantico Virgo Dominum extollit ipso eius Verbo: « Magnificat illud – ut ita dicamus, eius animae quasi effigies – sacrae Scripturae filis plane contexitur, filis scilicet Verbi Dei. Sic manifestatur, in Dei Verbo eam vere esse sua in domo, inde sponte exeuntem et illuc redeuntem. Per Dei Verbum loquitur et cogitat; Dei Verbum fit eius verbum, atque eius verbum ex Dei Verbo oritur. Ostenditur praeterea eius cogitationes cogitationibus Dei assimulari, eius voluntatem una esse cum Dei voluntate. Cum Dei Verbo penitus imbuatur, ipsa Vierbi incarnati Mater fieri potest ».⁸¹

Furthermore, in looking to the Mother of God, we see how God’s activity in the world always engages our freedom, because through faith the divine word transforms us. Our apostolic and pastoral work can never be effective unless we learn from Mary how to be shaped by the working of God within us: “devout and loving attention to the figure of Mary as the model and archetype of the Church’s faith is of capital importance for bringing about in our day a concrete paradigm shift in the Church’s relation with the word, both in prayerful listening and in generous commitment to mission and proclamation”.^[82]

Praeterea, mentio quae fit de Matre Dei edocet nos quomodo actio Dei in terrarum orbe nostram iugiter implicet libertatem, quoniam in fide Verbum Dei nos transformat. Actio quoque nostra apostolica et pastoralis numquam efficax esse poterit nisi a Maria discamus actione Dei in nobis plasmari: « Maximi porro momenti est devote et amanter oculos convertere in Mariam ut in speculum et exemplar fidei Ecclesiae, huius rei causa maxime, ut hodie mutationem efficiamus tangibilem in relatione Ecclesiae cum Verbo, tam in habitu auditus orantis quam in opera munifice pro missioni et nuntio impendenda ».⁸²

As we contemplate in the Mother of God a life totally shaped by the word, we realize that we too are called to enter into the mystery of faith, whereby Christ comes to dwell in our lives. Every Christian believer, Saint Ambrose reminds us, in some way interiorly conceives and gives birth to the word of God: even though there is only one Mother of Christ in the flesh, in the faith Christ is the progeny of us all.^[83] Thus, what took place for Mary can daily take place in each of us, in the hearing of the word and in the celebration of the sacraments.

Si in Dei Matre contemplamur quandam exsistentiam a Verbo prorsus plasmatam, detegemus nos quoque invitatos esse ad mysterium fidei ingrediendum, per quam Christus venit ut in vita nostra commoretur. Omnis christianus credens, ut memorat sanctus Ambrosius, quodam sensu concipit et generat Verbum Dei in seipso; si una est Mater Christi secundum carnem, Christus tamen omnium fructus est.⁸³ Itaque, quod Mariae accidit, unicuique nostrum cotidie contingere potest in auditione Verbi et in celebratione Sacramentorum.

The Interpretation of Sacred Scripture In The Church

HERMENEUTICA SACRAE SCRIPTURAE IN ECCLESIA

The Church as the primary setting for biblical hermeneutics

Ecclesia, originalis sedes hermeneuticae Bibliorum

29. Another major theme that emerged during the Synod, to which I would now like to draw attention, is the interpretation of sacred Scripture in the Church. The intrinsic link between the word and faith makes clear that authentic biblical hermeneutics can only be had within the faith of the Church, which has its paradigm in Mary’s fiat. Saint Bonaventure states that without faith there is no key to throw open the sacred text: “This is the knowledge of Jesus Christ, from whom, as from a fountain, flow forth the certainty and the understanding of all sacred Scripture. Therefore it is impossible for anyone to attain to knowledge of that truth unless he first have infused faith in Christ, which is the lamp, the gate and the foundation of all Scripture”.^[84] And Saint Thomas Aquinas, citing Saint Augustine, insists that “the letter, even that of the Gospel, would kill, were there not the inward grace of healing faith”.^[85]

29. Aliud magni ponderis argumentum agitatum in Synodo, ad quod nunc mentem vertere intendimus, respicit interpretationem sacrae Scripturae in Ecclesia. Nexus ipse intrinsecus inter Verbum et fidem perspicue ostendit authenticam hermeneuticam Bibliorum exsistere non posse nisi in fide ecclesiali, cuius exemplar invenitur in consensu Mariae. Sanctus Bonaventura ad rem affirmat quod absque fide deest clavis accedendi ad textum sacrum: « Haec est notitia Iesu Christi, ex qua originaliter manat firmitas et intelligentia totius sacrae Scripturae. Unde et impossibile est, quod aliquis in ipsam ingrediatur agnoscendam, nisi prius Christi fidem habeat sibi infusam, tamquam totius Scripturae lucernam et ianuam et etiam fundamentum ».⁸⁴ Et sanctus Thomas Aquinas, sanctum Augustinum memorans, vehementer instat: « Unde etiam littera Evangelii occideret, nisi adesset interius gratia fidei sanans ».⁸⁵

 “Faith traditions formed the living context for the literary activity of the authors of sacred Scripture. Their insertion into this context also involved a sharing in both the liturgical and external life of the communities, in their intellectual world, in their culture and in the ups and downs of their shared history. In like manner, the interpretation of sacred Scripture requires full participation on the part of exegetes in the life and faith of the believing community of their own time”.^[86Pont. bib. comm., The Interp. of the Bible in the Church (15 April 1993), III, A, 3: Enchirid.Vatican. 13, No. 3035^] Consequently, “since sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit through whom it was written”,^[87] exegetes, theologians and the whole people of God must approach it as what it really is, the word of God conveyed to us through human words (cf. 1 Th 2:13). This is a constant datum implicit in the Bible itself: “No prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet 1:20-21). Moreover, it is the faith of the Church that recognizes in the Bible the word of God; as Saint Augustine memorably put it: “I would not believe the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church led me to do so”.^[88] The Holy Spirit, who gives life to the Church, enables us to interpret the Scriptures authoritatively.

 « traditiones fidei vitalem ambitum constituebant in quem activitas litteraria auctorum sacrae Scripturae inserebatur. Insertio haec secum ferebat quoque ius participandi vitam liturgicam et externam activitatem communitatis, eorum mundum spiritualem, eorum culturam et vicissitudines historicae fortunae. Itaque interpretatio sacrae Scripturae, simili modo, requirit ut exegetae partes habeant totius vitae et totius fidei communitatis credentis temporis illorum ».⁸⁶ Quapropter, « cum sacra Scriptura eodem Spiritu quo scripta est etiam legenda et interpretanda sit »,⁸⁷ exegetae, theologi et universus Dei Populus accedant oportet ad eam propter id quod revera est, scilicet quatenus Verbum Dei qui per verba humana nobiscum loquitur (cfr 1 Thess 2, 13). Haec est informatio permanens et in ipsis Bibliis insita: « Omnis prophetia Scripturae propria interpretatione non fit; non enim voluntate humana prolata est prophetia aliquando, sed a Spiritu Sancto ducti locuti sunt a Deo homines » (2 Pe 1,20). Ceterum, est fides Ecclesiae quae in Bibliis agnoscit Verbum Dei; uti mirum in modum ait sanctus Augustinus, « ego vero Evangelio non crederem, nisi me catholicae Ecclesiae commoveret auctoritas ».⁸⁸ Spiritus Sanctus, qui animat vitam Ecclesiae, Ille est qui capaces nos reddit Scripturas authentice interpretandi.

30. Saint Jerome recalls that we can never read Scripture simply on our own. We come up against too many closed doors and we slip too easily into error. The Bible was written by the People of God for the People of God, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Only in this communion with the People of God can we truly enter as a “we” into the heart of the truth that God himself wishes to convey to us.^[89] Jerome, for whom “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”,^[90] states that the ecclesial dimension of biblical interpretation is not a requirement imposed from without: the Book is the very voice of the pilgrim People of God, and only within the faith of this People are we, so to speak, attuned to understand sacred Scripture. An authentic interpretation of the Bible must always be in harmony with the faith of the Catholic Church. He thus wrote to a priest: “Remain firmly attached to the traditional doctrine that you have been taught, so that you may exhort according to sound doctrine and confound those who contradict it”.^[91]

30. Sanctus Hieronymus sapienter memorat nos singulatim Scripturam umquam legere non posse. Nimios enim aditus obstructos reperimus et facile in errorem incidimus. Biblia scripta sunt a Dei Populo et pro Dei Populo, sub Spiritus Sancti afflatu. Tantummodo in hac communione cum Populo Dei vere ingredi possumus « nobiscum » in nucleum veritatis quam ipse Deus nobis dicere cupit.⁸⁹ Ille vir doctus, cui « ignoratio Scripturarum ignoratio Christi est »,⁹⁰ affirmat quod ecclesialitas interpretationis biblicae non est exigentia iniuncta ex externo; Liber est enim vox Populi Dei peregrinantis, et tantum ob fidem huius Populi – ut ita dicamus – versamur in iusta tonalitate ad intellegendam sacram Scripturam. Authentica Bibliorum interpretatio sit semper oportet in harmonica congruentia cum fide Ecclesiae catholicae. Ita sanctus Hieronymus quendam hortabatur presbyterum: « Ut possis exhortari in doctrina sana et contradicentes revincere, permane in his, quae didicisti et credita sunt tibi ».⁹¹

Approaches to the sacred text that prescind from faith might suggest interesting elements on the level of textual structure and form, but would inevitably prove merely preliminary and structurally incomplete efforts. As the Pontifical Biblical Commission, echoing an accepted principle of modern hermeneutics, has stated: “access to a proper understanding of biblical texts is only granted to the person who has an affinity with what the text is saying on the basis of life experience”.^[92] All this brings out more clearly the relationship between the spiritual life and scriptural hermeneutics. “As the reader matures in the life of the Spirit, so there grows also his or her capacity to understand the realities of which the Bible speaks”.^[93] The intensity of an authentic ecclesial experience can only lead to the growth of genuine understanding in faith where the Scriptures are concerned; conversely, reading the Scriptures in faith leads to growth in ecclesial life itself.

Aditus ad textum sacrum, qui fidem posthabeant, elementa cuiusdam ponderis innuere possunt, si remorantur in structura textus eiusque formis; attamen, talis conatus necessario esset tantummodo praevius et secundum structuram haud expletus. Enimvero, prout edixit Pontificia Commissio Biblica, resonans principium condivisum in hodierna hermeneutica, « ad aequam intellectionem textus biblici accedere potest tantum ille qui affinitate fruitur cum iis de quibus textus loquitur ».⁹² Haec omnia in lucem proferunt relationem inter vitam spiritualem et hermeneuticam Scripturae. Etenim « simul cum incremento vitae in Spiritu crescit quoque in lectore intellectio realitatum de quibus loquitur textus biblicus ».⁹³ Vigor intensus authenticae experientiae ecclesialis facere non potest quin augeat intellectionem authenticae fidei erga Verbum Dei; sensu reciproco affirmandum est quod Scripturas in fide legere, ipsam ecclesialem vitam augescere facit.

“The soul of sacred theology”

« Anima sacrae Theologiae »

31. “The study of the sacred page should be, as it were, the very soul of theology”:^[95] this quotation from the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum has become increasingly familiar over the years. Theological and exegetical scholarship, in the period after the Second Vatican Council, made frequent reference to this expression as symbolic of the renewed interest in sacred Scripture. The Twelfth Assembly of the Synod of Bishops also frequently alluded to this well-known phrase in order to express the relationship between historical research and a hermeneutic of faith where the sacred text is concerned. The Fathers acknowledged with joy that study of the word of God in the Church has grown in recent decades, and they expressed heartfelt gratitude to the many exegetes and theologians who with dedication, commitment and competence continue to make an essential contribution to the deeper understanding of the meaning of the Scriptures, as they address the complex issues facing biblical studies in our day.^[96] Sincere gratitude was also expressed to the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, past and present, who in close collaboration with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith continue to offer their expertise in the examination of particular questions raised by the study of sacred Scripture. The Synod likewise felt a need to look into the present state of biblical studies and their standing within the field of theology. The pastoral effectiveness of the Church’s activity and the spiritual life of the faithful depend to a great extent on the fruitfulness of the relationship between exegesis and theology. For this reason, I consider it important to take up some reflections that emerged in the discussion of this topic during the Synod sessions.

31. « Ideoque Sacrae Paginae studium sit veluti anima Sacrae Theologiae »:⁹⁵ haec expressio Constitutionis dogmaticae Dei Verbum hisce in annis nobis magis magisque efficitur familiaris. Affirmare possumus quod periodus, quae sequitur Concilium Vaticanum II, quantum attinet ad studia theologica et exegetica, saepe hanc sententiam memorat veluti figuram renovati fervoris erga sacram Scripturam. Etiam Coetus XII Synodi Episcoporum saepe mentem vertit ad hanc conspicuam affirmationem ut significaret relationem inter investigationem historicam et hermeneuticam fidei cum refertur ad textum sacrum. Sub hoc prospectu Patres laetanter agnoverunt dilatatum studium Verbi Dei in Ecclesia his novissimis decenniis, et omnino persuasi enixas rettulerunt grates innumeris exegetis et theologis qui, deditione, assiduitate et peritia essentialiter contulerunt et conferunt ad altiorem promovendum sensum Scripturarum, oppetentes intricatas quaestiones, quae aetate nostra biblicae investigationi proponuntur.⁹⁶ Sinceri gratique animi sensus relati sunt quoque sodalibus Pontificiae Commissionis Biblicae, qui subsecuti sunt his annis, et in arta communione cum Congregatione pro Doctrina Fidei conspicuam ferre pergunt cooperationem ad peculiares obeundas quaestiones quae cum studio sacrae Scripturae nectuntur. Synodus insuper necessitatem experta est sese interrogandi de hodierno studiorum biblicorum statu ac de eorum pondere in campo theologico. Etenim, ex fecundo vinculo inter exegesim et theologiam pendet pleraque pars efficacitatis pastoralis actionis Ecclesiae vitaeque spiritualis fidelium. Quamobrem cuiusdam esse ponderis arbitramur quasdam rursus instituere reflexiones, ortas ex collatione huiusmodi habita in laboribus Synodi.

The development of biblical studies and the Church’s magisterium

Diffusio investigationis biblicae et ecclesiale Magisterium

For the Catholic understanding of sacred Scripture, attention to such methods is indispensable, linked as it is to the realism of the Incarnation: “This necessity is a consequence of the Christian principle formulated in the Gospel of John 1:14: Verbum caro factum est. The historical fact is a constitutive dimension of the Christian faith. The history of salvation is not mythology, but a true history, and it should thus be studied with the methods of serious historical research”.^[98] The study of the Bible requires a knowledge of these methods of enquiry and their suitable application. While it is true that scholarship has come to a much greater appreciation of their importance in the modern period, albeit not everywhere to the same degree, nonetheless the sound ecclesial tradition has always demonstrated a love for the study of the “letter”. Here we need but recall the monastic culture which is the ultimate foundation of European culture; at its root lies a concern for the word. The desire for God includes love for the word in all its dimensions: “because in the word of the Bible God comes to us and we to him, we must learn to penetrate the secret of language, to understand it in its structure and its mode of expression. Thus, because of the search for God, the secular sciences which lead to a greater understanding of language became important”.^[99]

 Ad catholicam visionem sacrae Scripturae quod attinet, animadversio quaedam has methodos respiciens necessaria fit et nectitur cum realismo incarnationis: « Necessitas haec consequenter profluit e christiana sententia concepta in Ioanne 1, 14: Verbum caro factum est. Historicus eventus constitutiva dimensio est christianae fidei. Historia salutis non est mythorum collectio, verum historia genuina, quam ob causam studium ope viarum severae historicae indagationis est peragendum ».⁹⁸ Idcirco, studium Bibliorum cognitionem requirit et congruentem usum harum viarum investigationis. Si verum est quod sensus hic in ambitu studiorum hodierna aetate acrius increbruit, quamvis ubivis inaequali ratione, attamen, iuxta sanam ecclesialem traditionem, fervor erga studium « litterae » constanter exstitit. Sufficit hic in memoriam revocare culturam monasticam, cui denique debetur fundamentum culturae Europaeae, in cuius radice invenitur studium verbi. Desiderium Dei complectitur amorem verbi omnibus sub aspectibus: « Quandoquidem in biblico Verbo Deus ad nos iter suscipit et nos ad Eum, discamus oportet in linguae secretum penetrare, eandem in eius structura et in modo quo exprimitur percipere. Ita, Deum quaerendi causa, pondus obtinent scientiae profanae, quae nobis ad linguam vias ostendunt ».⁹⁹

33. The Church’s living magisterium, which is charged with “giving an authentic interpretation of the word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of tradition”,^[100] intervened in a prudent and balanced way regarding the correct response to the introduction of new methods of historical analysis. I think in particular of the Encyclicals Providentissimus Deus of Pope Leo XIII and Divino Afflante Spiritu of Pope Pius XII. My venerable predecessor John Paul II recalled the importance of these documents on the centenary and the fiftieth anniversary respectively of their promulgation.^[101] Pope Leo XIII’s intervention had the merit of protecting the Catholic interpretation of the Bible from the inroads of rationalism, without, however, seeking refuge in a spiritual meaning detached from history. Far from shunning scientific criticism, the Church was wary only of “preconceived opinions that claim to be based on science, but which in reality surreptitiously cause science to depart from its domain”.^[102] Pope Pius XII, on the other hand, was faced with attacks on the part of those who proposed a so-called mystical exegesis which rejected any form of scientific approach. The Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu was careful to avoid any hint of a dichotomy between “scientific exegesis” for use in apologetics and “spiritual interpretation meant for internal use”; rather it affirmed both the “theological significance of the literal sense, methodically defined” and the fact that “determining the spiritual sense … belongs itself to the realm of exegetical science”.^[103] In this way, both documents rejected “a split between the human and the divine, between scientific research and respect for the faith, between the literal sense and the spiritual sense”.^[104] This balance was subsequently maintained by the 1993 document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission: “in their work of interpretation, Catholic exegetes must never forget that what they are interpreting is the word of God. Their common task is not finished when they have simply determined sources, defined forms or explained literary procedures. They arrive at the true goal of their work only when they have explained the meaning of the biblical text as God’s word for today”.^[105]

33. Vivens Magisterium Ecclesiae, ad quod spectat « munus authentice interpretandi verbum Dei scriptum vel traditum »,¹⁰⁰ sapienti prudentia intervenit in iis quae pertinent ad iustum criterium servandum in novis methodis historicae investigationis inducendis. Peculiarem in modum loquimur de binis Litteris Encyclicis Providentissimus Deus Summi Pontificis Leonis XIII et Divino afflante Spiritu Summi Pontificis Pii XII. Venerabilis Noster Decessor Ioannes Paulus II in memoriam revocavit momentum horum documentorum in ambitu exegesis et theologiae, recurrente celebratione sive centenariae sive quinquagesimae memoriae ab earum respectiva promulgatione.¹⁰¹ Summus Pontifex Leo XIII per suum interventum meritum obtinuit catholicam Bibliorum interpretationem tuendi ab impugnationibus rationalismi, quin confugeret ad sensum spiritualem ab historia seiunctum. Non refugens criticam scientificam, diffidebat tantummodo « de sententiis praeconceptis quae scientia niti appetunt, sed revera contendunt ut ex ipsorum campo scientia dolose emergat ».¹⁰² Summus Pontifex Pius XII sua pro parte oppetebat incursus propugnantium exegesim sic dictam mysticam, quae quemlibet aditum scientificum reiciebat. Litterae Encyclicae Divino afflante Spiritu summa utentes lenitate vitaverunt ne diffunderetur conceptus discidii inter « exegesim scientificam » ad usum apologeticum et « interpretationem spiritualem interno usui reservatam », affirmando tamen sive « pondus theologicum sensus litteralis methodice definiti », sive pertinendi rationem « determinationis sensus spiritualis ... ad ambitum scientiae exegeticae ».¹⁰³ Tali modo utrumque documentum respuit « discidium inter humanum et divinum, inter investigationem scientificam et aspectum fidei, inter sensum litteralem et sensum spiritualem ».¹⁰⁴ Postea hoc aequilibrium subsequenti tempore declaratum est in documento Pontificiae Commissionis Biblicae anni MCMXCIII: « Exegetae catholici, dum interpretationi dant operam, minime obliviscantur ea quae interpretantur Verbum Dei esse. Eorum munus non concluditur cum illi fontes distinguunt, cum formas describunt vel processus litterarios explicant. Finis laboris eorum attingitur tantummodo postquam sensum textus biblici tamquam actualis Verbi Dei explanaverunt ».¹⁰⁵

The Council’s biblical hermeneutic: a directive to be appropriated

Hermeneutica biblica conciliaris: annotatio quaedam amplectenda

34. Against this background, one can better appreciate the great principles of interpretation proper to Catholic exegesis set forth by the Second Vatican Council, especially in the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum: “Seeing that, in sacred Scripture, God speaks through human beings in human fashion, it follows that the interpreters of sacred Scripture, if they are to ascertain what God has wished to communicate to us, should carefully search out the meaning which the sacred writers really had in mind, that meaning which God had thought well to manifest through the medium of their words”.^[106] On the one hand, the Council emphasizes the study of literary genres and historical context as basic elements for understanding the meaning intended by the sacred author. On the other hand, since Scripture must be interpreted in the same Spirit in which it was written, the Dogmatic Constitution indicates three fundamental criteria for an appreciation of the divine dimension of the Bible: 1) the text must be interpreted with attention to the unity of the whole of Scripture; nowadays this is called canonical exegesis; 2) account is be taken of the living Tradition of the whole Church; and, finally, 3) respect must be shown for the analogy of faith. “Only where both methodological levels, the historical-critical and the theological, are respected, can one speak of a theological exegesis, an exegesis worthy of this book”.^[107]

34. Hoc praevio prospectu, pluris aestimari possunt notissima interpretationis principia propria exegesis catholicae et declarata in Concilio Vaticano II, praesertim in Constitutione dogmatica Dei Verbum: « Cum autem Deus in sacra Scriptura per homines more hominum locutus sit, interpres sacrae Scripturae, ut perspiciat, quid Ipse nobiscum communicare voluerit, attente investigare debet, quid hagiographi reapse significare intenderint et eorum verbis manifestare Deo placuerit ».¹⁰⁶ Concilium in luce collocat elementa fundamentalia ad sensum ab hagiographis optatum eruendum per studium generum litterariorum et ambitus contextualis. Praeterea, cum Scriptura interpretanda sit eodem Spiritu quo scripta est, Constitutio dogmatica denotat tria elementa methodologica fundamentalia ut mens vertatur ad divinam Bibliorum dimensionem, scilicet 1) textus interpretandus est, dummodo perpendatur unitas totius Scripturae, quod hodie appellatur exegesis canonica; 2) ratio habenda est de viva totius Ecclesiae Traditione, ac denique 3) servanda est analogia fidei. « Tantummodo cum duo adimplentur gradus methodologici, scilicet historico-criticus et theologicus, tunc agi potest de exegesi theologica, de exegesi huic libro accommodata ».¹⁰⁷

The Synod Fathers rightly stated that the positive fruit yielded by the use of modern historical-critical research is undeniable. While today’s academic exegesis, including that of Catholic scholars, is highly competent in the field of historical-critical methodology and its latest developments, it must be said that comparable attention need to be paid to the theological dimension of the biblical texts, so that they can be more deeply understood in accordance with the three elements indicated by the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum.^[108]

Patres synodales iure meritoque affirmarunt quod negari nequit fructus positivus qui obvenit ex usu hodiernae investigationis historico-criticae. Attamen, dum praesens exegesis academica, catholica quoque, altiore operatur gradu in eo quod attinet ad methodologiam historico-criticam, adhibens etiam eius recentiora adiuncta, necesse est exigere simile studium de theologica ratione textuum biblicorum, ut progrediatur altior investigatio iuxta tria elementa quae Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum secum fert.¹⁰⁸

The danger of dualism and a secularized hermeneutic

Periculum dualitatis et hermeneutica saecularizata

35. In this regard we should mention the serious risk nowadays of a dualistic approach to sacred Scripture. To distinguish two levels of approach to the Bible does not in any way mean to separate or oppose them, nor simply to juxtapose them. They exist only in reciprocity. Unfortunately, a sterile separation sometimes creates a barrier between exegesis and theology, and this “occurs even at the highest academic levels”.^[109] Here I would mention the most troubling consequences, which are to be avoided.

35. Ad hoc quod attinet, denuntiare necesse est grave hodiernum discrimen cuiusdam dualitatis quae ingignitur ex aditu ad sacras Scripturas. Etenim, dum duo gradus distinguuntur aditus biblici, minime intenditur eos disiungere, nec opponere nec simpliciter apponere. Illi dantur tantum in reciprocitate. Attamen, haud raro infructuosa disiunctio inter eos quandam ingenerat extraneitatem inter exegesim et theologiam, quae evenit « etiam in verticibus academiarum ».¹⁰⁹ Hic enim referre velimus urgentiora consectaria quae sunt vitanda.

a) First and foremost, if the work of exegesis is restricted to the first level alone, Scripture ends up being a text belonging only to the past: “One can draw moral consequences from it, one can learn history, but the Book as such speaks only of the past, and exegesis is no longer truly theological, but becomes pure historiography, history of literature”.^[110] Clearly, such a reductive approach can never make it possible to comprehend the event of God’s revelation through his word, which is handed down to us in the living Tradition and in Scripture.

a) In primis, si activitas exegetica reducitur tantum ad primum gradum, tunc consequenter ipsa Scriptura efficitur textus tantum praeteriti temporis: « Ex quo erui possunt conclusiones morales, historia disci potest, sed Liber qua talis loquitur tantum de anteactis temporibus et exegesis non est amplius vere theologica, sed mera evadit annalium memoria, historia litterarum ».¹¹⁰ Haud dubie in tali reductione minime intellegi potest eventus revelationis Dei per ipsius Verbum, quod in viva Traditione et in Scriptura nobis transmittitur.

b) The lack of a hermeneutic of faith with regard to Scripture entails more than a simple absence; in its place there inevitably enters another hermeneutic, a positivistic and secularized hermeneutic ultimately based on the conviction that the Divine does not intervene in human history. According to this hermeneutic, whenever a divine element seems present, it has to be explained in some other way, reducing everything to the human element. This leads to interpretations that deny the historicity of the divine elements.^[111]

b) Defectio hermeneuticae fidei in relatione ad Scripturam non configuratur deinde solum inter conceptus absentiae; in eius locum alia hermeneutica necessario subsequitur, nempe « hermeneutica saeculo favorabilis, positivista, cuius clavis fundamentalis persuasio est Divinum numen in hominum historia non apparere. Iuxta hanc hermeneuticam, cum videtur exsistere quoddam divinum elementum, hoc aliter est explicandum et omnia ad humanum elementum sunt coartanda. Unde proponuntur interpretationes quae reiciunt historicum divinorum elementorum sensum ».¹¹¹

c) Such a position can only prove harmful to the life of the Church, casting doubt over fundamental mysteries of Christianity and their historicity – as, for example, the institution of the Eucharist and the resurrection of Christ. A philosophical hermeneutic is thus imposed, one which denies the possibility that the Divine can enter and be present within history. The adoption of this hermeneutic within theological studies inevitably introduces a sharp dichotomy between an exegesis limited solely to the first level and a theology tending towards a spiritualization of the meaning of the Scriptures, one which would fail to respect the historical character of revelation.

c) Huiusmodi sententia facere non potest quin damnum afferat vitae Ecclesiae, dubium effundens circa fundamentalia mysteria christianismi eorumque momentum historicum, ut verbi gratia circa Eucharistiae institutionem et Christi resurrectionem. Ita enim superponitur quaedam hermeneutica philosophica, quae negat dari posse ingressum Divini Entis in historiam et in eadem eius praesentiam. Assumptio huius hermeneuticae intra studia theologica necessario inducit onerosam dualitatem inter exegesim, quae solum in primo gradu confirmatur, et theologiam quae aperitur ad declinationem spiritualizationis sensus Scripturarum, qui historicam Revelationis indolem neglegit.

All this is also bound to have a negative impact on the spiritual life and on pastoral activity; “as a consequence of the absence of the second methodological level, a profound gulf is opened up between scientific exegesis and lectio divina. This can give rise to a lack of clarity in the preparation of homilies”.^[112] It must also be said that this dichotomy can create confusion and a lack of stability in the intellectual formation of candidates for ecclesial ministries.^[113] In a word, “where exegesis is not theology, Scripture cannot be the soul of theology, and conversely, where theology is not essentially the interpretation of the Church’s Scripture, such a theology no longer has a foundation”.^[114] Hence we need to take a more careful look at the indications provided by the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum in this regard.

Omnia haec non possunt non esse quoque negativa in iis quae referuntur ad vitam spiritualem et actuositatem pastoralem; « unde, ob absentiam secundi gradus methodologici, colligitur altum datum esse discrimen inter exegesim scientificam et lectionem divinam. Immo exhinc quaedam exoritur haesitatio in homiliis quoque apparandis ».¹¹² Praeterea affirmandum est quod hoc discidium aliquando incertitudinem gignit et exiguam soliditatem in itinere formationis intellectualis etiam apud quosdam candidatos ad ecclesialia ministeria.¹¹³ In summa, « quoties exegesis non est theologia, Scriptura anima theologiae fieri nequit, versaque vice, quoties theologia non est essentialiter interpretatio Scripturae, haec theologia fundamento caret ».¹¹⁴ Quocirca firmiter redire oportet ad annotationes quas huiusmodi Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum tradit diligentius perpendendas.

Faith and reason in the approach to Scripture

Fides et ratio ad Scripturam conveniendam

36. I believe that what Pope John Paul II wrote about this question in his Encyclical Fides et Ratio can lead to a fuller understanding of exegesis and its relationship to the whole of theology. He stated that we should not underestimate “the danger inherent in seeking to derive the truth of sacred Scripture from the use of one method alone, ignoring the need for a more comprehensive exegesis which enables the exegete, together with the whole Church, to arrive at the full sense of the texts. Those who devote themselves to the study of sacred Scripture should always remember that the various hermeneutical approaches have their own philosophical underpinnings, which need to be carefully evaluated before they are applied to the sacred texts”.^[115]

36. Nostro quidem iudicio, conferre possunt ad perfectiorem comprehensionem exegesis et ideo eius vinculi cum universa theologia, ea quae Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II ad rem edocuit in Litteris Encyclicis Fides et ratio. Affirmabat enim quod « non est porro subaestimandum periculum quod inest in proposito quodam sacrae Scripturae veritatem eruendi ex una tantum adhibita methodologia, necessitate neglecta latioris exegesis, quae una cum tota Ecclesia ad textus plene intellegendos accedere sinat. Quotquot in sacrae Scripturae studium incumbunt prae se usque ferre debent varias methodologias explanatorias in aliqua ipsas etiam inniti opinatione philosophica: est illa acumine pensitanda antequam sacris scriptis aptetur ».¹¹⁵

This far-sighted reflection enables us to see how a hermeneutical approach to sacred Scripture inevitably brings into play the proper relationship between faith and reason. Indeed, the secularized hermeneutic of sacred Scripture is the product of reason’s attempt structurally to exclude any possibility that God might enter into our lives and speak to us in human words. Here too, we need to urge a broadening of the scope of reason.^[116] In applying methods of historical analysis, no criteria should be adopted which would rule out in advance God’s self-disclosure in human history. The unity of the two levels at work in the interpretation of sacred Scripture presupposes, in a word, the harmony of faith and reason. On the one hand, it calls for a faith which, by maintaining a proper relationship with right reason, never degenerates into fideism, which in the case of Scripture would end up in fundamentalism. On the other hand, it calls for a reason which, in its investigation of the historical elements present in the Bible, is marked by openness and does not reject a priori anything beyond its own terms of reference. In any case, the religion of the incarnate Logos can hardly fail to appear profoundly reasonable to anyone who sincerely seeks the truth and the ultimate meaning of his or her own life and history.

Haec provida meditatio ansam nobis praebet ad notandum quomodo in aditu hermeneutico ad sacram Scripturam necessario in discrimine versetur rectum vinculum inter fidem et rationem. Etenim hermeneutica saecularizata sacrae Scripturae in actu ponitur a quodam conceptu qui suam ob structuram impedire optat, nempe, quominus Deus ingredi possit in vitam hominum et humanis verbis hominibus loquatur. Itaque in his quoque adiunctis hortari necesse est ad spatia propriae rationalitatis dilatanda.¹¹⁶ Hac de re in adhibendis methodis investigationis historicae vitandum est ne suscipiantur, si quae affuerint, criteria quae praeiudicialiter sese opponant revelationi Dei in vita hominum. Coniunctio duorum graduum operis interpretativi sacrae Scripturae secum fert, in conclusione, congruentiam inter fidem et rationem. Alia ex parte requiritur talis fides ut, servans conveniens vinculum cum recta ratione, nullo umquam tempore incidat in fideismum, qui quatenus ad Scripturam fautor fieret lectionum intolerantiae. Alia autem ex parte requiritur talis ratio ut, scrutans elementa historica in Bibliis insita, apertam se ostendat et non reiciat in antecessum a priori omnia quae propriam mensuram excedant. Ceterum, religio incarnati Logos non poterit non se praebere penitus rationalem coram homine qui veritatem et extremum sensum propriae vitae et historiae sinceriter scrutatur.

Literal sense and spiritual sense

Sensus litteralis et sensus spiritualis

37. A significant contribution to the recovery of an adequate scriptural hermeneutic, as the synodal assembly stated, can also come from renewed attention to the Fathers of the Church and their exegetical approach.^[117] The Church Fathers present a theology that still has great value today because at its heart is the study of sacred Scripture as a whole. Indeed, the Fathers are primarily and essentially “commentators on sacred Scripture”.^[118] Their example can “teach modern exegetes a truly religious approach to sacred Scripture, and likewise an interpretation that is constantly attuned to the criterion of communion with the experience of the Church, which journeys through history under the guidance of the Holy Spirit”.^[119]

37. Notabilis quaedam contributio ad instaurandam congruentem hermeneuticam Scripturae, uti affirmatum est apud Coetum synodalem, provenit quoque ex novata auditione Patrum Ecclesiae eorumque aditus exegetici.¹¹⁷ Etenim Patres Ecclesiae etiam hactenus nobis exhibent theologiam magni ponderis, quoniam in eius cardine volvitur studium sacrae Scripturae in eius integritate. Patres enim in primis et essentialiter sunt « divinorum librorum tractatores ».¹¹⁸ Eorum « exemplum docere pot-est huiusce nostrae aetatis explanatores aditum vere religiosum sacrae Scripturae, itemque interpretationem quae constanter persequitur communionis criterium cum Ecclesiae experientia, quae per historiam ambulat Spiritus Sancti ductu ».¹¹⁹

While obviously lacking the philological and historical resources at the disposal of modern exegesis, the patristic and mediaeval tradition could recognize the different senses of Scripture, beginning with the literal sense, namely, “the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation”.^[120]

Quamvis ignorans, ut patet, fontes naturae philologicae et historicae quae hodiernae exegesi in promptu sunt, traditio patristica et mediaevalis bene noverat diversos sensus Scripturae, initium sumens a sensu litterali, id est, « a sensu deprompto ex verbis Scripturae et reperto per exegesim quae rectae interpretationis regulas sequitur ».¹²⁰

Littera gesta docet,
quid credas allegoria,
Moralis quid agas,
quo tendas anagogia.

« Littera gesta docet,
quid credas allegoria,
moralis quid agas,
quo tendas anagogia ».¹²²

The letter speaks of deeds;
allegory about the faith;
The moral about our actions;
anagogy about our destiny”.

^[122quoted in the Cat.of the Cath. Church, 118^]

Here we can note the unity and interrelation between the literal sense and the spiritual sense, which for its part is subdivided into three senses which deal with the contents of the faith, with the moral life and with our eschatological aspiration.

Hic enim advertimus unitatem et compaginem inter sensum litteralem et sensum spiritualem, qui vicissim subdividitur in tres sensus, in quibus describuntur argumenta fidei, moralis et dissensionis eschatologicae.

In a word, while acknowledging the validity and necessity, as well as the limits, of the historical-critical method, we learn from the Fathers that exegesis “is truly faithful to the proper intention of biblical texts when it goes not only to the heart of their formulation to find the reality of faith there expressed, but also seeks to link this reality to the experience of faith in our present world”.^[123] Only against this horizon can we recognize that the word of God is living and addressed to each of us in the here and now of our lives. In this sense, the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s definition of the spiritual sense, as understood by Christian faith, remains fully valid: it is “the meaning expressed by the biblical texts when read, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, in the context of the paschal mystery of Christ and of the new life which flows from it. This context truly exists. In it the New Testament recognizes the fulfilment of the Scriptures. It is therefore quite acceptable to re-read the Scriptures in the light of this new context, which is that of life in the Spirit”.^[124]

In summa, dum agnoscimus pondus et necessitatem methodi historico-criticae, quamvis cum propriis restrictionibus, ab exegesi patristica id discimus nempe quod « dari potest fidelitas erga intentionalem sensum textuum biblicorum eo solummodo pacto ut, in substantiali eorum redactione, intendatur recuperare realitatem fidei quam ipsi exprimunt, dummodo cum credenti experientia societatis nostrae consocietur ».¹²³ Sub hoc tantummodo prospectu agnosci potest Verbum Dei vivum esse et ad unumquemque nostrum in praesenti vitae tempore se convertere. Hoc in ambitu prorsus valida permanet assertio illa Pontificiae Commissionis Biblicae, quae sensum spiritualem secundum fidem christianam describit uti « sensum declaratum in textibus biblicis cum leguntur sub inductione Spiritus Sancti in contextum mysterii paschalis Christi vitaeque novae ex eo manantis. Datur reapse hic contextus. In eo Novum Testamentum consummationem Scripturarum agnoscit. Idcirco iustum est Scripturas iterum legere sub lumine huius novi contextus, scilicet contextus vitae in Spiritu ».¹²⁴

The need to transcend the “letter”

Necessaria transcendentia « litterae »

38. In rediscovering the interplay between the different senses of Scripture it thus becomes essential to grasp the passage from letter to spirit. This is not an automatic, spontaneous passage; rather, the letter needs to be transcended: “the word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text. To attain to it involves a progression and a process of understanding guided by the inner movement of the whole corpus, and hence it also has to become a vital process”.^[125] Here we see the reason why an authentic process of interpretation is never purely an intellectual process but also a lived one, demanding full engagement in the life of the Church, which is life “according to the Spirit” (Gal 5:16). The criteria set forth in Number 12 of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum thus become clearer: this progression cannot take place with regard to an individual literary fragment unless it is seen in relation to the whole of Scripture. Indeed, the goal to which we are necessarily progressing is the one Word. There is an inner drama in this process, since the passage that takes place in the power of the Spirit inevitably engages each person’s freedom. Saint Paul lived this passage to the full in his own life. In his words: “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”
(2 Cor 3:6), he expressed in radical terms the significance of this process of transcending the letter and coming to understand it only in terms of the whole. Paul discovered that “the Spirit of freedom has a name, and hence that freedom has an inner criterion: ‘The Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ (2 Cor 3:17). The Spirit of freedom is not simply the exegete’s own idea, the exegete’s own vision. The Spirit is Christ, and Christ is the Lord who shows us the way”.^[126] We know that for Saint Augustine too this passage was at once dramatic and liberating; he came to believe the Scriptures – which at first sight struck him as so disjointed in themselves and in places so coarse – through the very process of transcending the letter which he learned from Saint Ambrose in typological interpretation, wherein the entire Old Testament is a path to Jesus Christ. For Saint Augustine, transcending the literal sense made the letter itself credible, and enabled him to find at last the answer to his deep inner restlessness and his thirst for truth.^[127]

38. Ad compaginem inter diversos sensus scripturisticos instaurandam, tunc peremptorium fit ut percipiatur transitus inter litteram et spiritum. Non agitur de transitu automatico et spontaneo; requiritur potius transcendentia litterae: « Verbum enim Dei numquam praesens est in simplici sensu litterali textus. Ad id attingendum habeantur necesse est transcendentia et processus comprehensionis, qui ab interno totius rei motu perduci sinit et ideo processus quoque vitae effici debet ».¹²⁵ Sic detegimus cur processus interpretativus authenticus numquam sit processus solummodo intellectualis sed etiam vitalis, in quo plena requiritur implicatio in vitam ecclesialem, veluti vitam in « Spiritu » (Gal 5,16). Hac enim ratione magis perspicua redduntur criteria quae exhibentur in numero 12 Constitutionis dogmaticae Dei Verbum: huiusmodi transcendentia evenire nequit in singulis fragmentis litterariis sed tantum in relatione cum universa Scriptura. Unum enim est Verbum, quod nos transcendere vocamur. Hic processus secum fert intimum dramaticum sensum, quoniam, in transcendentiae processu transitus qui accidit vigore Spiritus, necessario nectitur cum uniuscuiusque libertate. Sanctus Paulus in propria exsistentia hunc transitum plene vixit. Quidnam significent transcendentia litterae eiusque intellectio incipiendo tamtummodo a rerum complexu, ipse sequenti locutione radicitus hoc expressit: « Littera enim occidit, Spiritus autem vivificat » (2 Cor 3,6). Paulus reperit « Spiritum liberatorem nomen habere et ideo libertatem mensuram interiorem possidere: “Dominus autem Spiritus est; ubi autem Spiritus Domini, ibi libertas” (2 Cor 3, 17). Spiritus liberator non est simpliciter proprius conceptus, personalis visio interpretantis. Spiritus est Christus, et Christus est Dominus qui ostendit nobis viam ».¹²⁶ Scimus quomodo etiam apud sanctum Augustinum hic transitus eodem tempore dramaticus et liberans fuerit; ipse credere potuit in Scripturas, quae primo tempore videbantur illi ita dissidentes in seipsis et aliquando turpitudine plenae et hoc propter hanc transcendentiam quam ille a sancto Ambrosio didicit per interpretationem typologicam, per quam totum Vetus Testamentum iter est ad Christum Iesum. Iuxta sanctum Augustinum transcendentia litterae credibilem reddidit ipsam litteram, eique permisit ut responsum tandem inveniret ad altas inquietudines proprii animi veritatem sitientis.¹²⁷

The Bible’s intrinsic unity

Intrinseca Bibliorum unitas

39. In the passage from letter to spirit, we also learn, within the Church’s great tradition, to see the unity of all Scripture, grounded in the unity of God’s word, which challenges our life and constantly calls us to conversion.^[128] Here the words of Hugh of Saint Victor remain a sure guide: “All divine Scripture is one book, and this one book is Christ, speaks of Christ and finds its fulfilment in Christ”.^[129] Viewed in purely historical or literary terms, of course, the Bible is not a single book, but a collection of literary texts composed over the course of a thousand years or more, and its individual books are not easily seen to possess an interior unity; instead, we see clear inconsistencies between them. This was already the case with the Bible of Israel, which we Christians call the Old Testament. It is all the more so when, as Christians, we relate the New Testament and its writings as a kind of hermeneutical key to Israel’s Bible, thus interpreting the latter as a path to Christ. The New Testament generally does not employ the term “Scripture” (cf. Rom 4:3; 1 Pet 2:6), but rather “the Scriptures” (cf. Mt 21:43; Jn 5:39; Rom 1:2; 2 Pet 3:16), which nonetheless are seen in their entirety as the one word of God addressed to us.^[130] This makes it clear that the person of Christ gives unity to all the “Scriptures” in relation to the one “Word”. In this way we can understand the words of Number 12 of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, which point to the internal unity of the entire Bible as a decisive criterion for a correct hermeneutic of faith.

39. Apud scholam magnae traditionis Ecclesiae percipere discimus, in transitu a littera ad Spiritum, unitatem quoque totius Scripturae, quandoquidem unicum est Verbum Dei quod nostram vitam interpellat, eam constanter exhortans ad conversionem.¹²⁸ Nobis securam viam constituunt huiusmodi verba Hugonis a Sancto Victore: « Omnis Scriptura divina unus liber est, et ille unus liber Christus est, ... de Christo loquitur, et ... in Christo impletur ».¹²⁹ Biblia profecto, sub aspectu tantummodo historico vel litterario, non sunt merus liber quidam, sed collectio textuum litterariorum, quorum compositio protrahitur ultra millennium quorumque singuli libri facile cognosci nequeunt uti pertinentes ad internam unitatem; patent tamen inter eos discrepantiae. Hoc iam valet intra Biblia Israelis, quae nos christiani Vetus Testamentum appellamus. Quod quidem potius valet cum nos, tamquam christiani, Novum Testamentum eiusque scripta, ad instar clavis hermeneuticae, coniungimus cum Bibliis Israelis, ea interpretantes veluti viam ad Christum. In Novo Testamento plerumque non adhibetur vox « Scriptura » (cfr Rom 4,3; 1 Pe 2,6), sed potius « Scripturae » (cfr Mt 21,43; Io 5,39; Rom 1,2; 2 Pe 3,16) quae tamen simul sumptae habentur tamquam unicum Verbum Dei ad nos conversum.¹³⁰ Unde perspicue patet quomodo Persona Christi unitatem ferat omnibus « Scripturis » quatenus ad unicum « Verbum » referantur. Tali modo percipiuntur ea quae asseruntur in Constitutione dogmatica Dei Verbum 12, ad significandam internam Bibliorum unitatem, veluti criterium definitivum ad iustam fidei hermeneuticam.

The relationship between the Old and the New Testaments

Nexus inter Vetus et Novum Testamentum

40. Against this backdrop of the unity of the Scriptures in Christ, theologians and pastors alike need to be conscious of the relationship between Old and the New Testaments. First of all, it is evident that the New Testament itself acknowledges the Old Testament as the word of God and thus accepts the authority of the sacred Scriptures of the Jewish people.^[131] It implicitly acknowledges them by using the same language and by frequently referring to passages from these Scriptures. It explicitly acknowledges them by citing many parts of them as a basis for argument. In the New Testament, an argument based on texts from the Old Testament thus has a definitive quality, superior to that of mere human argumentation. In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus states that “Scripture cannot be rejected” (Jn 10:35) and Saint Paul specifically makes clear that the Old Testament revelation remains valid for us Christians (cf. Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:11).^[132] We also affirm that “Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew and the Holy Land is the motherland of the Church”:^[133] the roots of Christianity are found in the Old Testament, and Christianity continually draws nourishment from these roots. Consequently, sound Christian doctrine has always resisted all new forms of Marcionism, which tend, in different ways, to set the Old Testament in opposition to the New.^[134]

40. Ad unitatem Scripturarum in Christo quod pertinet, sive theologi sive pastores conscii sint oportet de vinculis inter Vetus et Novum Testamentum. In primis perspicuum est quod in ipso Novo Testamento agnoscitur Vetus Testamentum veluti Verbum Dei, quapropter amplectitur auctoritatem sacrarum Scripturarum populi Hebraici.¹³¹ Implicite excipit eas idem dicendi genus adhibens et saepe attingens paragraphos harum Scripturarum. Explicite excipit eas, quoniam aperte refert complures partes, quibus utitur ad argumentandum. Argumentatio quae nititur textibus Veteris Testamenti ita constituit in Novo Testamento momentum definitivum, maius quam simplices humanas ratiocinationes. In quarto Evangelio Iesus hac de re declarat: « Non potest solvi Scriptura » (Io 10, 35) et sanctus Paulus peculiarem in modum explicat revelationem Veteris Testamenti valida esse pergere pro nobis christianis (cfr Rom 15,4; 1 Cor 10,11).¹³² Affirmamus insuper: « Iesus enim Nazarenus Hebraeus fuit et Ecclesia ex Terra Sancta, velut ex matre, nata est »;¹³³ quamobrem radix Christianismi invenitur in Vetere Testamento et Christianismus hac radice constanter alitur. Idcirco, sana doctrina christiana semper reiecit quamlibet formam Marcionismi recurrentis, qui, diversis quidem modis, Vetus Novo Testamento officere intendit.¹³⁴

Moreover, the New Testament itself claims to be consistent with the Old and proclaims that in the mystery of the life, death and resurrection of Christ the sacred Scriptures of the Jewish people have found their perfect fulfilment. It must be observed, however, that the concept of the fulfilment of the Scriptures is a complex one, since it has three dimensions: a basic aspect of continuity with the Old Testament revelation, an aspect of discontinuity and an aspect of fulfilment and transcendence. The mystery of Christ stands in continuity of intent with the sacrificial cult of the Old Testament, but it came to pass in a very different way, corresponding to a number of prophetic statements and thus reaching a perfection never previously obtained. The Old Testament is itself replete with tensions between its institutional and its prophetic aspects. The paschal mystery of Christ is in complete conformity – albeit in a way that could not have been anticipated – with the prophecies and the foreshadowings of the Scriptures; yet it presents clear aspects of discontinuity with regard to the institutions of the Old Testament.

Praeterea, ipsum Novum Testamentum Veteri consentaneum se praebet et declarat quod in vitae, mortis et resurrectionis Christi mysterio sacrae Scripturae populi Hebraici perfectam invenerunt earum adimpletionem. Notandum tamen est notionem adimpletionis Scripturarum implicatam esse, eo quod secum fert triplicem dimensionem: rationem nempe fundamentalem continuitatis cum revelatione Veteris Testamenti, rationem iacturae et rationem completionis et superationis. Mysterium Christi continuitate intentionaliterque cum sacrificali cultu Veteris Testamenti coniungitur; peractum autem est modo longe diverso, qui congruit cum multis prophetarum oraculis, et ita perfectionem antea numquam adeptam attigit. Vetus Testamentum revera dissensionibus abundat inter aspectus institutionales et eius aspectus propheticos. Mysterium paschale Christi est prorsus consentaneum – ea tamen ratione quae praevideri non poterat – prophetiis et aspectui praefigurativo Scripturarum; nihilominus, patentes exhibet aspectus discontinuitatis quoad ad Veteris Testamenti institutiones.

41. These considerations show the unique importance of the Old Testament for Christians, while at the same time bringing out the newness of Christological interpretation. From apostolic times and in her living Tradition, the Church has stressed the unity of God’s plan in the two Testaments through the use of typology; this procedure is in no way arbitrary, but is intrinsic to the events related in the sacred text and thus involves the whole of Scripture. Typology “discerns in God’s works of the Old Covenant prefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullness of time in the person of his incarnate Son”.^[135] Christians, then, read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. While typological interpretation manifests the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament from the standpoint of the New, we must not forget that the Old Testament retains its own inherent value as revelation, as our Lord himself reaffirmed (cf. Mk 12:29-31). Consequently, “the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament (cf. 1 Cor 5:6-8; 1 Cor 10:1-11)”.^[136] For this reason the Synod Fathers stated that “the Jewish understanding of the Bible can prove helpful to Christians for their own understanding and study of the Scriptures”.^[137]

41. Hae considerationes ita ostendunt Veteris Testamenti praestantiam necessariam esse pro christianis, eodemque tamen tempore authenticam indolem lectionis christologicae exhibent. Inde ab aetate apostolica ac deinceps in viva Traditione, Ecclesia in lucem protulit divini consilii unitatem in duobus Testamentis ope typologiae, quae non habet indolem arbitrariam, sed est intrinseca in eventibus a textu sacro narratis et ideo universam respicit Scripturam. Typologia « in Dei operibus sub Vetere Testamento peractis praefigurationes discernit illius quod Deus in plenitudine temporum in Persona Filii sui incarnati adimplevit ».¹³⁵ Christiani igitur legunt Vetus Testamentum sub lumine Christi mortui et resuscitati. Si lectio typologica revelat inexhaustam materiam Veteris Testamenti in relatione ad Novum, attamen inducere non debet ad obliviscendum illud ipsum retinere proprium Revelationis vigorem, quem ipse Dominus denuo confirmavit (cfr Mc 12,29-31). Quocirca « Novum Testamentum postulat etiam ut sub Veteris legatur luce. Primaeva catechesis christiana constanter ad id recurrebat (cfr 1 Cor 5,6-8; 10,1-11) ».¹³⁶ Quamobrem Patres synodales affirmaverunt quod « intellectio biblica Hebraeorum christianis quidem auxiliari pot-est in comprehensione et studio Scripturarum ».¹³⁷

“The New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is made manifest in the New”,^[138] as Saint Augustine perceptively noted. It is important, therefore, that in both pastoral and academic settings the close relationship between the two Testaments be clearly brought out, in keeping with the dictum of Saint Gregory the Great that “what the Old Testament promised, the New Testament made visible; what the former announces in a hidden way, the latter openly proclaims as present. Therefore the Old Testament is a prophecy of the New Testament; and the best commentary on the Old Testament is the New Testament”.^[139]

« Novum Testamentum in Vetere est occultum, dum Vetus est in Novo detectum »,¹³⁸ ita hac de re subtili sapientia sanctus Augustinus asseverabat. Magni igitur interest ut tam in pastorali quam in academico ambitu in lucem bene proferatur intimum vinculum inter duo Testamenta, dum sancti Gregorii Magni in memoriam revocamus effatum: « Quod Testamentum Vetus promisit, hoc Novum exhibuit et quod illud occulte annuntiat, hoc istud exhibitum aperte clamat. Prophetia ergo Testamenti Novi Testamentum Vetus est et expositio Testamenti Veteris Testamentum Novum ».¹³⁹

The “dark” passages of the Bible

Paginae « obscurae » Sacrarum Litterarum

42. In discussing the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments, the Synod also considered those passages in the Bible which, due to the violence and immorality they occasionally contain, prove obscure and difficult. Here it must be remembered first and foremost that biblical revelation is deeply rooted in history. God’s plan is manifested progressively and it is accomplished slowly, in successive stages and despite human resistance. God chose a people and patiently worked to guide and educate them. Revelation is suited to the cultural and moral level of distant times and thus describes facts and customs, such as cheating and trickery, and acts of violence and massacre, without explicitly denouncing the immorality of such things. This can be explained by the historical context, yet it can cause the modern reader to be taken aback, especially if he or she fails to take account of the many “dark” deeds carried out down the centuries, and also in our own day. In the Old Testament, the preaching of the prophets vigorously challenged every kind of injustice and violence, whether collective or individual, and thus became God’s way of training his people in preparation for the Gospel. So it would be a mistake to neglect those passages of Scripture that strike us as problematic. Rather, we should be aware that the correct interpretation of these passages requires a degree of expertise, acquired through a training that interprets the texts in their historical-literary context and within the Christian perspective which has as its ultimate hermeneutical key “the Gospel and the new commandment of Jesus Christ brought about in the paschal mystery”.^[140] I encourage scholars and pastors to help all the faithful to approach these passages through an interpretation which enables their meaning to emerge in the light of the mystery of Christ.

42. In contextu necessitudinis inter Vetus et Novum Testamentum, Synodus etiam tractavit argumentum de illis biblicis paginis, quae obscurae videntur et difficiles ob violentiam resque immorales aliquando in ipsis narratas. Ad rem quod attinet ante oculos ratio habeatur oportet potissimum revelationem biblicam in historia funditus esse insitam. Dei consilium ibi progressive manifestatur atque efficitur lente per subsequentes periodos, non obstante hominum oppositione. Deus eligit populum eiusque patienter curat educationem. Revelatio aptatur ad antiquarum aetatum culturalem moralemque rationem ideoque earum gesta et usus refert, exempli gratia fraudulentos motus, violentos interventus, populorum caedes, quin eorum immoralitatem palam denuntiet; quod explanatur ex historico contextu, qui tamen hodiernum lectorem obstupefacere potest, praesertim cum oblivioni dantur tot « obscuri » modi se gerendi, apud homines per saecula et in nostra quoque aetate vigentes. In Vetere Testamento prophetarum praedicatio vehementer extollitur contra omne genus iniustitiae et violentiae, communis vel singularis, et hoc instrumentum est educationis quod Deus suo populo tradidit, tamquam praeparationem ad Evangelium. Quapropter erroneum est eos praetermittere locos sacrae Scripturae, qui nobis afferunt difficultates. Potius conscii simus oportet harum paginarum lectionem exigere ut congruentem acquiramus peritiam per formationem quae textus explanet in eorum contextu historico-litterario et in prospectu christiano, « cuius maxima velut clavis interpretatoria Evangelio et novo Iesu Christi mandato constat in Paschatis mysterio impleto ».¹⁴⁰ Quapropter hortamur doctos viros et pastores ad iuvandos fideles omnes ut accedant ad has quoque paginas per lectionem quae earum significationem sub luce mysterii Christi manifestet.

Christians, Jews and the sacred Scriptures

Christiani et Hebraei coram Sacris Litteris

43. Having considered the close relationship between the New Testament and the Old, we now naturally turn to the special bond which that relationship has engendered between Christians and Jews, a bond that must never be overlooked. Pope John Paul II, speaking to Jews, called them “our ‘beloved brothers’ in the faith of Abraham, our Patriarch”.^[141] To acknowledge this fact is in no way to disregard the instances of discontinuity which the New Testament asserts with regard to the institutions of the Old Testament, much less the fulfilment of the Scriptures in the mystery of Jesus Christ, acknowledged as Messiah and Son of God. All the same, this profound and radical difference by no means implies mutual hostility. The example of Saint Paul (cf. Rom 9-11) shows on the contrary that “an attitude of respect, esteem and love for the Jewish people is the only truly Christian attitude in the present situation, which is a mysterious part of God’s wholly positive plan”.^[142] Indeed, Saint Paul says of the Jews that: “as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers, for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable!” (Rom 11:28-29).

43. Artas si perpendimus necessitudines quae Novo Testamento cum Vetere intercedit, sponte nunc mentem vertimus ad peculiare vinculum quod emergit inter Christianos et Hebraeos, vinculum nullo umquam tempore obliviscendum. Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II asseruit Hebraeis: vos estis « “fratres nostri praedilecti” in fide Abrahae, nostri patriarchae ».¹⁴¹ Haec affirmatio profecto non significat retractationem discidiorum quae in Novo Testamento declarantur quoad Veteris Testamenti institutiones, nec minore ratione quoad consummationem sacrarum Scripturarum in mysterio Iesu Christi, qui probatus est tamquam Messias et Dei Filius. Attamen haec alta et absoluta differentia mutuam inimicitiam haudquaquam implicat. Exemplum sancti Pauli (cfr Rom 9-11) ostendit e contrario gestum reverentiae, aestimationis et amoris erga populum Hebraicum solum esse gestum vere christianum hac in condicione quae ad Dei consilium, plane positivum, mysteriose pertinet.¹⁴² Paulus enim affirmat de Hebraeis: « Secundum electionem autem carissimi propter patres; sine paenitentia enim sunt dona et vocatio Dei! » (Rom 11,28-29).

Saint Paul also uses the lovely image of the olive tree to describe the very close relationship between Christians and Jews: the Church of the Gentiles is like a wild olive shoot, grafted onto the good olive tree that is the people of the Covenant (cf. Rom 11:17-24). In other words, we draw our nourishment from the same spiritual roots. We encounter one another as brothers and sisters who at certain moments in their history have had a tense relationship, but are now firmly committed to building bridges of lasting friendship.^[143] As Pope John Paul II said on another occasion: “We have much in common. Together we can do much for peace, justice and for a more fraternal and more humane world”.^[144]

Sanctus Paulus pulchram praeterea adhibet imaginem arboris olivae qua describit artiores necessitudines inter Christianos et Hebraeos: definit Ecclesiam Gentilium tamquam virgultum oleastri, insertum in arborem bonae olivae quae est populus Foederis (cfr Rom 11,17-24). Haurimus ergo nostrum nutrimentum ex iisdem radicibus spiritalibus. Convenimus tamquam fratres, fratres qui invicem in quibusdam suae historiae temporibus hostiliter se gerebant, sed nunc firmiter pontes duraturae amicitiae construere student.¹⁴³ Asseruit etiam Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II: « Multa communia habemus. Plurima simul facere possumus pro pace, pro iustitia et pro mundo magis fraterno et humano ».¹⁴⁴

I wish to state once more how much the Church values her dialogue with the Jews. Wherever it seems appropriate, it would be good to create opportunities for encounter and exchange in public as well as in private, and thus to promote growth in reciprocal knowledge, in mutual esteem and cooperation, also in the study of the sacred Scriptures.

Confirmare iterum cupimus quam pretiosus sit Ecclesiae dialogus cum Hebraeis. Bonum est, ubi opportunum videtur, ut occasiones dari possint etiam publice conveniendi et conferendi quae foveant incrementum reciprocae cognitionis, mutuae aestimationis et cooperationis in ipsa quoque sacrarum Scripturarum perscrutatione.

The fundamentalist interpretation of sacred Scripture

Interpretatio fundamentalistica sacrae Scripturae

44. The attention we have been paying to different aspects of the theme of biblical hermeneutics now enables us to consider a subject which came up a number of times during the Synod: that of the fundamentalist interpretation of sacred Scripture.^[145] The Pontifical Biblical Commission, in its document The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, has laid down some important guidelines. Here I would like especially to deal with approaches which fail to respect the authenticity of the sacred text, but promote subjective and arbitrary interpretations. The “literalism” championed by the fundamentalist approach actually represents a betrayal of both the literal and the spiritual sense, and opens the way to various forms of manipulation, as, for example, by disseminating anti-ecclesial interpretations of the Scriptures. “The basic problem with fundamentalist interpretation is that, refusing to take into account the historical character of biblical revelation, it makes itself incapable of accepting the full truth of the incarnation itself. As regards relationships with God, fundamentalism seeks to escape any closeness of the divine and the human … for this reason, it tends to treat the biblical text as if it had been dictated word for word by the Spirit. It fails to recognize that the word of God has been formulated in language and expression conditioned by various periods”.^[146] Christianity, on the other hand, perceives in the words the Word himself, the Logos who displays his mystery through this complexity and the reality of human history.^[147] The true response to a fundamentalist approach is “the faith-filled interpretation of sacred Scripture”. This manner of interpretation, “practised from antiquity within the Church’s Tradition, seeks saving truth for the life of the individual Christian and for the Church. It recognizes the historical value of the biblical tradition. Precisely because of the tradition’s value as an historical witness, this reading seeks to discover the living meaning of the sacred Scriptures for the lives of believers today”,^[148] while not ignoring the human mediation of the inspired text and its literary genres.

44. Mens quam hucusque vertere voluimus ad argumentum hermeneuticae biblicae in variis eius aspectibus sinit nobis nunc rem attingere, quae saepius apparuit in synodali disceptatione circa interpretationem fundamentalisticam sacrae Scripturae.¹⁴⁵ Ad hoc quod attinet argumentum Pontificia Commissio Biblica in documento De interpretatione Bibliorum in Ecclesia indicia edidit adhuc valida. Hoc in contextu monere praesertim cupimus de his lectionibus quae textum sacrum in authentica eius natura non servant, quaeque fovent interpretationes subiectivas et arbitrarias. Nam interpretatio « ad litteram », quam lectio fundamentalistica propugnat, revera constituit proditionem sensus sive litteralis sive spiritualis, viam aperiens variis immoderatis usibus, diffundens exempli gratia antiecclesiales ipsarum Scripturarum interpretationes. Aspectus perquam deleterius consistit in re quae efficit ut haec lectio fundamentalistica, « dum recusat historicam indolem agnoscere revelationis biblicae, incapax fit plane accipiendi veritatem ipsius Incarnationis. Fundamentalismus devitat artam coniunctionem inter divinum et humanum in relationibus ad Deum. ... Hanc ob rationem propendit ad textum biblicum considerandum veluti ad litteram dictatum a Spiritu atque agnoscere nequit Verbum Dei conceptum esse in sermone et locutione propriis determinatae aetatis ».¹⁴⁶ E contra, christianismus percipit in verbis hoc Verbum, ipsum Logon, quod mysterium suum per talem multiplicitatem realitatemque humanae historiae extendit.¹⁴⁷ Vera responsio ad fundamentalisticam lectionem haec est: « Credentium lectio sacrae Scripturae, quae ab antiquo in Ecclesiae traditione facta est ». Ipsa « quaerit salutis veritatem pro vita uniuscuiusque christifidelis et pro Ecclesia. Huiusmodi lectio biblicae traditionis historicam qualitatem agnoscit. Propter hanc ipsam qualitatem, relate ad testimonium historiae, vivus sensus percipitur sacrarum Scripturarum, quae ad credentium vitam etiam hoc nostro tempore destinantur »,¹⁴⁸ in quo autem haud ignoratur humana mediatio inspirati textus eiusque genera litteraria.

Dialogue between pastors, theologians and exegetes

Dialogus inter pastores, theologos et exegetas

45. An authentic hermeneutic of faith has several important consequences for the Church’s pastoral activity. The Synod Fathers themselves recommended, for example, a closer working relationship between pastors, exegetes and theologians. Episcopal Conferences might foster such encounters with the “aim of promoting greater communion in the service of the word of God”.^[149] Cooperation of this sort will help all to carry out their work more effectively for the benefit of the whole Church. For scholars too, this pastoral orientation involves approaching the sacred text with the realization that it is a message which the Lord addresses to us for our salvation. In the words of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, “Catholic exegetes and other workers in the field of sacred theology should work diligently with one another and under the watchful eye of the sacred magisterium. Using appropriate techniques, they should together set about examining and explaining the sacred texts in such a way that as many as possible of those who are ministers of God’s word may be able to dispense fruitfully the nourishment of the Scriptures to the people of God. This nourishment enlightens the mind, strengthens the will and fires the hearts of men and women with the love of God”.^[150]

45. Authentica fidei hermeneutica secum fert quaedam consectaria magni momenti in provincia pastoralis actuositatis Ecclesiae. Ideo Patres synodales hanc ad rem commendaverunt exempli gratia magis assiduam necessitudinem inter pastores, exegetas et theologos. Bonum videtur ut Conferentiae Episcoporum foveant hos conventus, « quo maior promoveatur communicatio in servitutem Divini Verbi ».¹⁴⁹ Huiusmodi cooperatio adiuvabit omnes ad proprium opus melius perficiendum pro universa Ecclesia. Nam esse in prospectu operis pastoralis significat, etiam iuxta studiosos viros, stare coram textu sacro in eius natura communicationis quam Dominus facit hominibus pro eorundem salute. Idcirco, sicut affirmat Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum, suadetur ut « exegetae autem catholici, aliique sacrae theologiae cultores, collatis sedulo viribus, operam dent oportet, ut sub vigilantia sacri magisterii, aptis subsidiis divinas Litteras ita investigent et proponant, ut quam plurimi divini verbi administri possint plebi Dei Scripturarum pabulum fructuose suppeditare, quod mentem illuminet, firmet voluntates, hominum corda ad Dei amorem accendat ».¹⁵⁰

The Bible and ecumenism

Biblia et oecumenismus

46. Conscious that the Church has her foundation in Christ, the incarnate Word of God, the Synod wished to emphasize the centrality of biblical studies within ecumenical dialogue aimed at the full expression of the unity of all believers in Christ.^[151] The Scriptures themselves contain Jesus’ moving prayer to the Father that his disciples might be one, so that the world may believe (cf.
Jn 17:21). All this can only strengthen our conviction that by listening and meditating together on the Scriptures, we experience a real, albeit not yet full communion;^[152] “shared listening to the Scriptures thus spurs us on towards the dialogue of charity and enables growth in the dialogue of truth”.^[153] Listening together to the word of God, engaging in biblical lectio divina, letting ourselves be struck by the inexhaustible freshness of God’s word which never grows old, overcoming our deafness to those words that do not fit our own opinions or prejudices, listening and studying within the communion of the believers of every age: all these things represent a way of coming to unity in faith as a response to hearing the word of God.^[154] The words of the Second Vatican Council were clear in this regard: “in [ecumenical] dialogue itself, sacred Scripture is a precious instrument in the mighty hand of God for attaining to that unity which the Saviour holds out to all”.^[155] Consequently, there should be an increase in ecumenical study, discussion and celebrations of the word of God, with due respect for existing norms and the variety of traditions.^[156] These celebrations advance the cause of ecumenism and, when suitably carried out, they represent intense moments of authentic prayer asking God to hasten the day when we will all be able at last to sit at the one table and drink from the one cup. Nonetheless, while it is praiseworthy and right to promote such services, care must be taken that they are not proposed to the faithful as alternatives to the celebration of Holy Mass on Sundays or holydays of obligation.

46. Cum conscia sit Ecclesia se habere fundamentum in Christo, Dei Verbo carne facto, Synodus in aspectum proferre voluit cardinem biblicorum studiorum in dialogo oecumenico, plena manifestatione unitatis omnium credentium in Christum considerata.¹⁵¹ In ipsa enim Scriptura invenimus flagrantem orationem Iesu ad Patrem ut omnes eius discipuli unum sint, ut mundus credat (cfr Io 17,21). Haec omnia confirmant et nos suadent audire et meditari simul Scripturas urgere nos ad veram, etiamsi adhuc non plenam, communionem vivendam;¹⁵² « Scripturae igitur in communi auditae sollicitant in dialogum caritatis et dialogum veritatis accrescunt ».¹⁵³ Nam audire simul Verbum Dei, peragere lectionem divinam Bibliorum, admiratione affici de Verbi Dei novitate, quae numquam veterascit nec exhaurietur, nostram evincere surditatem his verbis quae ad nostras opiniones aut praeiudicia non conformantur, audire ea et perscrutari in credentium omnium temporum communione: haec omnia iter efficiunt quod percurrendum est ad unitatem fidei consequendam, tamquam responsum ad Verbi auditionem.¹⁵⁴ Magni ponderis sane huiusmodi fuerunt verba Concilii Vaticani II: « Sacra eloquia in ipso dialogo [oecumenico] eximia sunt instrumenta in potenti manu Dei ad illam unitatem adipiscendam, quam Salvator omnibus hominibus exhibet ».¹⁵⁵ Idcirco bonum est augere studium, comparationem et oecumenicas celebrationes Verbi Dei, dummodo vigentes normae atque diversae traditiones observentur.¹⁵⁶ Haec celebrationes conferunt ad oecumenicam causam et, cum in eorum vero sensu vivuntur, constituunt intensa momenta authenticae orationis, qua rogatur Deus ut festinet optatum diem quo omnes ad eandem mensam accedere et ex uno calice bibere valeamus. In iusta tamen et laudabili promotione harum celebrationum ita fiat ut ipsae non proponantur fidelibus uti substitutio ritus participandi sanctam Missam festivo praecepto servandam.

In this work of study and prayer, we serenely acknowledge those aspects which still need to be explored more deeply and those on which we still differ, such as the understanding of the authoritative subject of interpretation in the Church and the decisive role of the magisterium.^[157]

Hoc in opere investigationis et orationis aequo animo agnoscimus etiam hos aspectus qui postulant ut altius exquiratur quique longe absunt, sicut exempli gratia comprehensio subiecti auctoritate praediti circa interpretationem in Ecclesia et decretorium Magisterii munus.¹⁵⁷

Finally, I wish to emphasize the statements of the Synod Fathers about the ecumenical importance of translations of the Bible in the various languages. We know that translating a text is no mere mechanical task, but belongs in some sense to the work of interpretation. In this regard, the Venerable John Paul II observed that “anyone who recalls how heavily debates about Scripture influenced divisions, especially in the West, can appreciate the significant step forward which these common translations represent”.^[158] Promoting common translations of the Bible is part of the ecumenical enterprise. I would like to thank all those engaged in this important work, and I encourage them to persevere in their efforts.

Cupimus insuper in lucem proferre ea quae Patres synodales, hoc in opere oecumenico, edixerunt de pondere conversionum Bibliorum in varios sermones. Novimus enim textum convertere non esse merum opus mechanicum, sed quodam sensu partem esse operis interpretationis. De hac re in memoriam Nobis revocare liceat effatum illud Venerabilis Servi Dei Ioannis Pauli II: « Qui meminit quantum in divisiones valuerint, praecipue in Occidente, disputationes de Scriptura, intellegere potest quam notabilis progressio sint eiusmodi conversiones communes ».¹⁵⁸ Hoc sensu promotio communium conversionum Bibliorum pars est operis oecumenici. Hic gratias referre cupimus omnibus qui incumbunt hanc in magnam responsalitatem eisque animum addere ut operam suam prosequantur.

Consequences for the study of theology

Consectaria de studiorum theologicorum positione

47. A further consequence of an adequate hermeneutic of faith has to do with its necessary implications for exegetical and theological formation, particularly that of candidates for the priesthood. Care must be taken to ensure that the study of sacred Scripture is truly the soul of theology inasmuch as it is acknowledged as the word of God addressed to today’s world, to the Church and to each of us personally. It is important that the criteria indicated in Number 12 of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum receive real attention and become the object of deeper study. A notion of scholarly research that would consider itself neutral with regard to Scripture should not be encouraged. As well as learning the original languages in which the Bible was written and suitable methods of interpretation, students need to have a deep spiritual life, in order to appreciate that the Scripture can only be understood if it is lived.

47. Aliud consectarium proveniens ex congruenti hermeneutica fidei pertinet ad necessitatem exhibendi implicationes quoadformationem exegeticam et theologicam praesertim candidatorum ad sacerdotium. Agendum est ita ut studium sacrae Scripturae revera anima sit theologiae quoniam in ipsa Verbum Dei agnoscitur, quod hodie vertitur ad mundum, ad Ecclesiam et ad unumquemque nostrum. Magni interest ut criteria proposita in n. 12 Constitutionis dogmaticae Dei Verbum reapse considerentur et altius perspiciantur. Vitetur oportet ne conceptio pervestigationis scientificae neutralis censeatur erga Scripturam. Quapropter una cum studio linguarum quibus scripta sunt Biblia atque congruentium viarum interpretationis, necesse est ut alumni altam vitam spiritalem nutriant, ita ut intellegatur Scripturam comprehendi posse tantum si ipsa vivitur.

Along these lines, I urge that the study of the word of God, both handed down and written, be constantly carried out in a profoundly ecclesial spirit, and that academic formation take due account of the pertinent interventions of the magisterium, which “is not superior to the word of God, but is rather its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devoutly, guards it reverently and expounds it faithfully”.^[159] Care must thus be taken that the instruction imparted acknowledge that “sacred Tradition, sacred Scripture and the magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others”.^[160] It is my hope that, in fidelity to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, the study of sacred Scripture, read within the communion of the universal Church, will truly be the soul of theological studies.^[161]

Hoc in prospectu monemus ut studium Verbi Dei, traditi et scripti, semper eveniat in profundo spiritu ecclesiali. Quem ad finem debite ratio habeatur in formatione academica doctrinae de his disciplinis ex parte Magisterii, quod « non supra verbum Dei est, sed eidem ministrat, docens nonnisi quod traditum est, quatenus illud, ex divino mandato et Spiritu Sancto assistente, pie audit, sancte custodit et fideliter exponit »¹⁵⁹ hoc verbum. Idcirco providendum est ut studia perficiantur in persuasione « sacram Traditionem, sacram Scripturam et Ecclesiae magisterium, iuxta sapientissimum Dei consilium, ita inter se connecti et consociari, ut unum sine aliis non consistat ».¹⁶⁰ Exoptamus igitur ut, secundum doctrinam Concilii Vaticani II, studium sacrae Scripturae, lectae in communione cum Ecclesia universali, revera sit veluti anima studii theologici.¹⁶¹

The saints and the interpretation of Scripture

Sancti et interpretatio Scripturae

48. The interpretation of sacred Scripture would remain incomplete were it not to include listening to those who have truly lived the word of God: namely, the saints.^[162] Indeed, “viva lectio est vita bonorum”.^[163] The most profound interpretation of Scripture comes precisely from those who let themselves be shaped by the word of God through listening, reading and assiduous meditation.

48. Interpretatio sacrae Scripturae nondum consummaretur si etiam illi qui vere vixerunt Verbum Dei, id est sancti, non audirentur.¹⁶² Nam « viva lectio est vita bonorum ».¹⁶³ Altior enim interpretatio Scripturae provenit prorsus ab iis qui se siverunt plasmari Verbo Dei per eius auditionem, lectionem assiduamque meditationem.

It is certainly not by chance that the great currents of spirituality in the Church’s history originated with an explicit reference to Scripture. I am thinking for example of Saint Anthony the Abbot, who was moved by hearing Christ’s words: “if you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mt 19:21).^[164] No less striking is the question posed by Saint Basil the Great in the Moralia: “What is the distinctive mark of faith? Full and unhesitating certainty that the words inspired by God are true … What is the distinctive mark of the faithful? Conforming their lives with the same complete certainty to the meaning of the words of Scripture, not daring to remove or add a single thing”.^[165] Saint Benedict, in his Rule, refers to Scripture as “a most perfect norm for human life”.^[166] Saint Francis of Assisi – we learn from Thomas of Celano – “upon hearing that the disciples of Christ must possess neither gold, nor silver nor money, nor carry a bag, nor bread, nor a staff for the journey, nor sandals nor two tunics … exulting in the Holy Spirit, immediately cried out: ‘This is what I want, this is what I ask for, this I long to do with all my heart!’”.^[167] Saint Clare of Assisi shared fully in the experience of Saint Francis: “The form of life of the Order of Poor Sisters – she writes – is this: to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”.^[168] So too, Saint Dominic “everywhere showed himself to be a man of the Gospel, in word as in deed”,^[169] and wanted his friars likewise to be “men of the Gospel”.^[170] The Carmelite Saint Teresa of Avila, who in her writings constantly uses biblical images to explain her mystical experiences, says that Jesus himself revealed to her that “all the evil in the world is derived from not knowing clearly the truths of sacred Scripture”.^[171] Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus discovered that love was her personal vocation by poring over the Scriptures, especially Chapters 12 and 13 of the First Letter to the Corinthians;^[172] the same saint describes the attraction of the Scriptures: “No sooner do I glance at the Gospel, but immediately I breathe in the fragrance of the life of Jesus and I know where to run”.^[173] Every saint is like a ray of light streaming forth from the word of God: we can think of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in his search for truth and in his discernment of spirits; Saint John Bosco in his passion for the education of the young; Saint John Mary Vianney in his awareness of the grandeur of the priesthood as gift and task; Saint Pius of Pietrelcina in his serving as an instrument of divine mercy; Saint Josemaria Escrivá in his preaching of the universal call to holiness; Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, the missionary of God’s charity towards the poorest of the poor, and then the martyrs of Nazism and Communism, represented by Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), a Carmelite nun, and by Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, the Cardinal Archbishop of Zagreb.

Non fortuito accidit ut magnae spiritualitates, quae Ecclesiae signaverunt historiam, ortae sint ex quodam manifesto Scripturae textu. Cogitamus exempli gratia de sancto Antonio Abbate, qui ductus est auditione Christi verborum: « Si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende, quae habes, et da pauperibus, et habebis thesaurum in caelo; et veni, sequere me » (Mt 19,21).¹⁶⁴ Nec minus movens est sanctus Basilius Magnus, qui in opere Moralia quaerit: « Quid est proprium fidei? Certa et indubitata persuasio veritatis verborum divinorum. (...) Quid est proprium fidelis? In huiuscemodi persuasione constitui vi et auctoritate eorum quae dicta sunt, nec audere quidquam reicere, aut addere ».¹⁶⁵ Sanctus Benedictus sua in Regula remittit ad Scripturam quae « est rectissima norma vitae humanae ».¹⁶⁶ Sanctus Franciscus Assisiensis – scribit Thomas de Celano – « audiens Christi discipulos non debere aurum sive argentum seu pecuniam possidere, non peram, non sacculum, non panem, non virgam in via portare, non calceamenta, non duas tunicas habere, ... continuo exsultans in spiritu Dei: “Hoc est, inquit, quod volo, hoc est quod quaero, hoc totis medullis cordis facere concupisco” ».¹⁶⁷ Sancta Clara Assisiensis plene sequitur S. Francisci experientiam: « Forma vitae Ordinis Sororum Pauperum – scribit – haec est: Domini nostri Iesu Christi sanctum Evangelium observare ».¹⁶⁸ Sanctus Dominicus Guzman autem « ubique se manifestabat tamquam vir evangelicus, in verbis et operibus »¹⁶⁹ ac tales voluit etiam suos fratres praedicatores esse « viros evangelicos ».¹⁷⁰ Sancta Teresia a Iesu, Carmelitis, quae in suis scriptis iugiter recurrit ad biblicas imagines ad suam explicandam mysticam experientiam, memorat ipsum Iesum sibi id revelasse: « Omne malum mundi oritur ex hoc quia clare non cognoscuntur veritates sacrae Scripturae ».¹⁷¹ Sancta Teresia a Iesu Infante reperit Amorem tamquam suam personalem vocationem Scripturas perscrutando, praesertim capita XII et XIII Primae Epistulae ad Corinthios;¹⁷² ipsamet sancta attractionem Scripturarum ita describit: « Vix inspiciam Evangelium, statim odores respiro vitae Iesu et scio quo curram ».¹⁷³ Quisque sanctus veluti luminis radium est quod ex Dei Verbo oritur: sic insuper de sancto Ignatio de Loyola cogitamus in eius investigatione veritatis inque spiritali discrimine; de sancto Ioanne Bosco in passione pro iuvenum educatione; de sancto Ioanne Maria Vianney in conscientia magnitudinis sacerdotii veluti doni et muneris; de sancto Pio de Pietrelcina in officio instrumenti divinae misericordiae; de sancto Iosepho-Maria Escrivá in praedicatione de universali vocatione ad sanctitatem; de beata Teresia Calcuttiensi, missionaria Dei Caritatis erga ultimos, deque ceteris usque ad martyres regiminum nazistarum et communistarum, inter quos inveniuntur una ex parte sancta Teresia Benedicta a Cruce (Edith Stein), monacha carmelitis, altera autem ex parte beatus Aloisius Stepinac, cardinalis et archiepiscopus Zagrebiensis.

49. Holiness inspired by the word of God thus belongs in a way to the prophetic tradition, wherein the word of God sets the prophet’s very life at its service. In this sense, holiness in the Church constitutes an interpretation of Scripture which cannot be overlooked. The Holy Spirit who inspired the sacred authors is the same Spirit who impels the saints to offer their lives for the Gospel. In striving to learn from their example, we set out on the sure way towards a living and effective hermeneutic of the word of God.

49. Sanctitas, Verbo Dei considerato, inseritur ita quodammodo in traditionem propheticam, in qua Verbum Dei in servitium assumit vitam ipsam prophetae. Hoc sensu sanctitas in Ecclesia constituit hermeneuticam Scripturae, quam nemini licet praetermittere. Spiritus Sanctus qui sacros auctores inspiravit, ipse est qui sanctos movet ut vitam tradant pro Evangelio. Ingredi in eorum scholam constituit certam viam ad suscipiendam hermeneuticam vivam et efficacem Verbi Dei.

We saw a direct witness to this link between holiness and the word of God during the Twelfth Assembly of the Synod when four new saints were canonized on 12 October in Saint Peter’s Square: Gaetano Errico, priest and founder of the Congregation of Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; Mother Maria Bernarda Bütler, a native of Switzerland and a missionary in Ecuador and Colombia; Sister Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, the first canonized saint born in India; and the young Ecuadorian laywoman Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán. With their lives they testified before the world and the Church to the perennial fruitfulness of Christ’s Gospel. Through the intercession of these saints canonized at the time of the synodal assembly on the word of God, let us ask the Lord that our own lives may be that “good soil” in which the divine sower plants the word, so that it may bear within us fruits of holiness, “thirtyfold, sixtyfold, a hundredfold” (Mk 4:20).

Huius nexus inter Verbum Dei et sanctitatem testificationem habuimus XII Coetus Synodi tempore, cum die XII mensis Octobris in Foro Petriano peracta est canonizatio quattuor beatorum: presbyteri Caietani Errico, fundatoris Congregationis Missionariorum a Sacris Cordibus Iesu et Mariae; Matris Mariae Bernardae Bütler, quae orta est in Helvetia et missionaria fuit in Aequatoria et Columbia; sororis Alfonsae ab Immaculata Conceptione, quae est prima canonizata sancta orta in India; iuvenis laicae Aequatorianae Narcissae a Iesu Martillo Morán. Sua vita ipsi mundo et Ecclesiae testimonium reddiderunt perennis fecunditatis Evangelii Christi. Dominum deprecemur ut per horum sanctorum intercessionem, qui sunt canonizati ipso tempore Coetus synodalis de Verbo Dei, vita nostra sit haec « terra bona », in qua divinus Seminator semen spargere possit Verbi ut afferat in nobis fructus sanctitatis, « unum triginta et unum sexaginta et unum centum » (Mc 4,20).

PART TWO
VERBUM IN ECCLESIA

SECUNDA PARS
VERBUM IN ECCLESIA

“But to all who received him he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12)

« Quotquot autem acceperunt eum dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri » (Io 1,12)

The Word Of God And The Church

VERBUM DEI ET ECCLESIA

The Church receives the word

Ecclesia accipit Verbum

50. The Lord speaks his word so that it may be received by those who were created “through” that same word. “He came among his own” (Jn 1:11): his word is not something fundamentally alien to us, and creation was willed in a relationship of familiarity with God’s own life. Yet the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel also places us before the rejection of God’s word by “his own”, who “received him not” (Jn 1:11). Not to receive him means not to listen to his voice, not to be conformed to the Logos. On the other hand, whenever men and women, albeit frail and sinful, are sincerely open to an encounter with Christ, a radical transformation begins to take place: “but to all who received him, he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12). To receive the Word means to let oneself be shaped by him, and thus to be conformed by the power of the Holy Spirit to Christ, the “only Son from the Father” (Jn 1:14). It is the beginning of a new creation; a new creature is born, a new people comes to birth. Those who believe, that is to say, those who live the obedience of faith, are “born of God”
(Jn 1:13) and made sharers in the divine life: sons in the Son (cf. Gal 4:5-6; Rom 8:14-17). As Saint Augustine puts it nicely in commenting on this passage from John’s Gospel: “you were created through the word, but now through the word you must be recreated”.^[174] Here we can glimpse the face of the Church as a reality defined by acceptance of the Word of God who, by taking flesh, came to pitch his tent among us (cf. Jn 1:14). This dwelling-place of God among men, this shekinah (cf. Ex 26:1), prefigured in the Old Testament, is now fulfilled in God’s definitive presence among us in Christ.

50. Dominus annuntiat Verbum suum, ut accipiatur ab his qui creati sunt « per » idem Verbum. « In propria venit » (Io 1,11): Verbum igitur ex origine non est nobis alienum atque creatio optata est in familiari necessitudine cum vita divina. Prologus quarti Evangelii nos collocat etiam ante repudiationem erga divinum Verbum ex parte « suorum » qui « eum non receperunt » (Io 1,11). Eum non recipere significat eius vocem non audire, Logo non conformari. Ubi autem homo, etiamsi infirmus et peccator, occursui cum Christo sincere se aperit, radicitus incohat transformationem: « Quotquot autem acceperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri » (Io 1,12). Accipere Verbum significat sinere se ab Ipso plasmari, ita ut, per Spiritus Sancti virtutem, conformes efficiantur ad personam Christi, Filii « quasi Unigeniti a Patre » (Io 1,14). Initium est novae creationis, nascitur nova creatura, novus populus. Credentes, videlicet qui in oboedientia vivunt fidei, « ex Deo nati sunt » (Io 1,13), participes efficiuntur vitae divinae: filii in Filio (cfr Gal 4,5-6; Rom 8,14-17). Suggestive loquitur sanctus Augustinus, dum hunc locum commentatur Evangelii Ioannis: « Iam enim factus es per Verbum, sed oportet te refici per Verbum ».¹⁷⁴ Hic vultum Ecclesiae videmus delineari tamquam rem definitam acceptatione Verbi Dei quod, dum caro factum est, venit ut suum tabernaculum inter nos poneret (cfr Io 1,14). Haec Dei habitatio inter homines, haec shekinah (cfr Ex 26,1), praefigurata in Vetere Testamento, nunc adimpletur in definitiva Dei praesentia apud homines in Christo.

Christ’s constant presence in the life of the Church

Identitas temporis Christi in Ecclesiae vita

51. The relationship between Christ, the Word of the Father, and the Church cannot be fully understood in terms of a mere past event; rather, it is a living relationship which each member of the faithful is personally called to enter into. We are speaking of the presence of God’s word to us today: “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20). As Pope John Paul II has said: “Christ’s relevance for people of all times is shown forth in his body, which is the Church. For this reason the Lord promised his disciples the Holy Spirit, who would ‘bring to their remembrance’ and teach them to understand his commandments (cf. Jn 14:26), and who would be the principle and constant source of a new life in the world (cf. Jn 3:5-8; Rom 8:1-13)”.^[175] The Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum expresses this mystery by using the biblical metaphor of a nuptial dialogue: “God, who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the spouse of his beloved Son. And the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church – and through it in the world – leads believers to the full truth and makes the word of Christ dwell in them in all its richness (cf. Col 3:16).”^[176]

51. Vinculum inter Christum, Verbum Patris, et Ecclesiam intellegi non potest tamquam eventus simpliciter praeteritus, sed agitur de vitali relatione in quam ut ingrediatur unusquisque fidelis personaliter vocatur. Nam loquimur de praesentia Verbi Dei hodie inter nos: « Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi » (Mt 28,20). Sicut affirmavit Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II: « Identitas temporis Christi et hominis cuiusvis aetatis fit in ipsius corpore, quod est Ecclesia: hac de causa Dominus discipulis suis promisit Spiritum Sanctum, qui “commemoraret” eis eosque doceret mandata sua (cfr Io 14,26), atque futurus esset principium saliens ad novam in mundo vitam (cfr Io 3,5-8; Rom 8,1-13) ».¹⁷⁵ Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum exprimit hoc mysterium biblicis vocabulis dialogi nuptialis: « Deus, qui olim locutus est, sine intermissione cum dilecti Filii sui sponsa colloquitur, et Spiritus Sanctus, per quem viva vox Evangelii in Ecclesia, et per ipsam in mundo resonat, credentes in omnem veritatem inducit, verbumque Christi in eis abundanter inhabitare facit (cfr Col 3,16) ».¹⁷⁶

The Bride of Christ – the great teacher of the art of listening – today too repeats in faith: “Speak, Lord, your Church is listening”.^[177] For this reason the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum intentionally begins with the words: “Hearing the word of God reverently and proclaiming it confidently, this sacred Council…”.^[178] Here we encounter a dynamic definition of the Church’s life: “With these words the Council indicates a defining aspect of the Church: she is a community that hears and proclaims the word of God. The Church draws life not from herself but from the Gospel, and from the Gospel she discovers ever anew the direction for her journey. This is an approach that every Christian must understand and apply to himself or herself: only those who first place themselves in an attitude of listening to the word can go on to become its heralds”.^[179] In the word of God proclaimed and heard, and in the sacraments, Jesus says today, here and now, to each person: “I am yours, I give myself to you”; so that we can receive and respond, saying in return: “I am yours”.^[180] The Church thus emerges as the milieu in which, by grace, we can experience what John tells us in the Prologue of his Gospel: “to all who received him he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12).

Christi Sponsa, magistra auditionis, hodie quoque fidenter iterat: « Loquere, Domine, quia audit te Ecclesia tua ».¹⁷⁷ Quamobrem Constitutio dogmatica Dei Verbum hisce incipit verbis: « Dei Verbum religiose audiens et fidenter proclamans, Sacrosancta Synodus... ».¹⁷⁸ Agitur enim de dynamica definitione vitae Ecclesiae: « Verba sunt quibus Concilium qualificantem Ecclesiae aspectum indicat: ipsa est communitas quae audit et annuntiat Verbum Dei. Ecclesia non vivit de se ipsa, sed de Evangelio atque ex Evangelio semper et iterum cursum extrahit in suo itinere. Annotatio est quam quisque christianus accipere debet ac sibimet applicare: solum qui ante omnia immergitur in Verbi auditionem, deinde ipsius praeco fieri potest ».¹⁷⁹ In Verbo Dei proclamato et audito et in Sacramentis, Iesus hodie, hic et nunc, unicuique nostrum dicit: « Tuus sum Ego, me tibi trado »; ut homo accipere valeat et respondere, ipseque vicissim dicere: « Tuus sum ego ».¹⁸⁰ Ecclesia apparet itaque ambitus in quo per gratiam experiri possumus quod sancti Ioannis Prologus enarrat: « Quotquot autem acceperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri » (Io 1,12).

The Liturgy, Privileged Setting
For The Word Of God

LITURGIA PRAECIPUA VERBI DEI SEDES

The word of God in the sacred liturgy

Verbum Dei in sacra Liturgia

52. In considering the Church as “the home of the word”,^[181] attention must first be given to the sacred liturgy, for the liturgy is the privileged setting in which God speaks to us in the midst of our lives; he speaks today to his people, who hear and respond. Every liturgical action is by its very nature steeped in sacred Scripture. In the words of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, “sacred Scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy. From it are taken the readings, which are explained in the homily and the psalms that are sung. From Scripture the petitions, prayers and liturgical hymns receive their inspiration and substance. From Scripture the liturgical actions and signs draw their meaning”.^[182] Even more, it must be said that Christ himself “is present in his word, since it is he who speaks when Scripture is read in Church”.^[183] Indeed, “the liturgical celebration becomes the continuing, complete and effective presentation of God’s word. The word of God, constantly proclaimed in the liturgy, is always a living and effective word through the power of the Holy Spirit. It expresses the Father’s love that never fails in its effectiveness towards us”.^[184] The Church has always realized that in the liturgical action the word of God is accompanied by the interior working of the Holy Spirit who makes it effective in the hearts of the faithful. Thanks to the Paraclete, “the word of God becomes the foundation of the liturgical celebration, and the rule and support of all our life. The working of the same Holy Spirit … brings home to each person individually every-thing that in the proclamation of the word of God is spoken for the good of the whole gathering. In strengthening the unity of all, the Holy Spirit at the same time fosters a diversity of gifts and furthers their multiform operation”.^[185]

52. Quandoquidem Ecclesia habetur tamquam « domum Verbi »,¹⁸¹ ante omnia mens est vertenda ad sacram Liturgiam. Hic est enim praecipuus ambitus in quo Deus nos alloquitur in praesenti nostrae vitae tempore, loquitur hodie ad suum populum, qui audit et respondet. Omnis actio liturgica suapte natura sacra Scriptura imbuitur. Sicut affirmat Constitutio Sacrosanctum Concilium, « maximum est sacrae Scripturae momentum in liturgia celebranda. Ex ea enim lectiones leguntur et in homilia explicantur, psalmi canuntur, atque ex eius afflatu instinctuque preces, orationes et carmina liturgica effusa sunt, et ex ea significationem suam actiones et signa accipiunt ».¹⁸² Quinimmo, affirmandum est quod ipse Christus « praesens adest in verbo suo, siquidem Ipse loquitur dum sacrae Scripturae in Ecclesia leguntur ».¹⁸³ Revera, « liturgica celebratio fit ipsius verbi Dei continua, plena et efficax propositio. Verbum itaque Dei in Liturgia perpetuo propositum, vivum et efficax iugiter est per Spiritus Sancti potentiam, ac operantem manifestat Patris dilectionem in sua quoad homines efficacitate indeficientem ».¹⁸⁴ Ecclesia enim semper consciam se praebuit quod in actione liturgica Verbum Dei sociatur intima actione Spiritus Sancti, qui efficax reddit illud in cordibus fidelium. Revera, Paraclito inspirante, « Verbum Dei actionis liturgicae fit fundamentum et totius vitae norma atque subsidium. Ipsius ergo Spiritus operatio ... cuiusque cordi ea omnia suggerit quae in verbi Dei proclamatione pro universo fidelium coetu pronuntiantur, et dum omnium coagmentat unitatem, charismatum quoque diversitatem refovet et multiplicem operationem extollit ».¹⁸⁵

To understand the word of God, then, we need to appreciate and experience the essential meaning and value of the liturgical action. A faith-filled understanding of sacred Scripture must always refer back to the liturgy, in which the word of God is celebrated as a timely and living word: “In the liturgy the Church faithfully adheres to the way Christ himself read and explained the sacred Scriptures, beginning with his coming forth in the synagogue and urging all to search the Scriptures”.^[186]

Quapropter intellegatur et vivatur oportet vis essentialis actionis liturgicae ad Dei Verbi intellectionem. Quodammodo fidei hermeneutica quatenus ad sacram Scripturam referenda est semper ad liturgiam, ubi Verbum Dei celebratur tamquam actuale ac vivens verbum: « Sic in Liturgia Ecclesia fideliter sequitur modum legendi et interpretandi Scripturas sacras, quo ipse Christus, qui ab ‘hodie’ eventus sui, ad Scripturas omnes perscrutandas adhortatur, usus est ».¹⁸⁶

Here one sees the sage pedagogy of the Church, which proclaims and listens to sacred Scripture following the rhythm of the liturgical year. This expansion of God’s word in time takes place above all in the Eucharistic celebration and in the Liturgy of the Hours. At the centre of everything the paschal mystery shines forth, and around it radiate all the mysteries of Christ and the history of salvation which become sacramentally present: “By recalling in this way the mysteries of redemption, the Church opens up to the faithful the riches of the saving actions and the merits of her Lord, and makes them present to all times, allowing the faithful to enter into contact with them and to be filled with the grace of salvation”.^[187] For this reason I encourage the Church’s Pastors and all engaged in pastoral work to see that all the faithful learn to savour the deep meaning of the word of God which unfolds each year in the liturgy, revealing the fundamental mysteries of our faith. This is in turn the basis for a correct approach to sacred Scripture.

Hic sapiens etiam apparet paedagogia Ecclesiae quae proclamat et audit sacram Scripturam iuxta cyclum anni liturgici. Haec Verbi Dei in tempus dilatatio accidit praesertim in celebratione eucharistica et in Liturgia Horarum. In omnium centro splendet Mysterium Paschale, quocum nectuntur omnia Christi et historiae salutis mysteria quae sacramentaliter perficiuntur: « Mysteria redemptionis ita recolens, divitias virtutum atque meritorum Domini sui, adeo ut omni tempore quodammodo praesentia reddantur, fidelibus aperit [Ecclesia], qui ea attingant et gratia salutis repleantur ».¹⁸⁷ Hortamur ergo Ecclesiae Pastores et operatores pastorales ad ita agendum ut cuncti fideles educentur ad gustandum altum sensum Verbi Dei quod anno vertente in liturgia explanatur, ostendendo fundamentalia nostrae fidei mysteria. Ab hoc pendet etiam rectus aditus ad sacram Scripturam.

Sacred Scripture and the sacraments

Sacra Scriptura et Sacramenta

53. In discussing the importance of the liturgy for understanding the word of God, the Synod of Bishops highlighted the relationship between sacred Scripture and the working of the sacraments. There is great need for a deeper investigation of the relationship between word and sacrament in the Church’s pastoral activity and in theological reflection.^[188] Certainly “the liturgy of the word is a decisive element in the celebration of each one of the sacraments of the Church”;^[189] in pastoral practice, however, the faithful are not always conscious of this connection, nor do they appreciate the unity between gesture and word. It is “the task of priests and deacons, above all when they administer the sacraments, to explain the unity between word and sacrament in the ministry of the Church”.^[190] The relationship between word and sacramental gesture is the liturgical expression of God’s activity in the history of salvation through the performative character of the word itself. In salvation history there is no separation between what God says and what he does. His word appears as alive and active (cf. Heb 4:12), as the Hebrew term dabar itself makes clear. In the liturgical action too, we encounter his word which accomplishes what it says. By educating the People of God to discover the performative character of God’s word in the liturgy, we will help them to recognize his activity in salvation history and in their individual lives.

53. In agitando argumento de pondere liturgiae ad intellectionem Verbi Dei, Synodus Episcoporum extollere voluit etiam vinculum inter sacram Scripturam et actionem sacramentalem. Valde opportunum est perscrutari nexum inter Verbum et Sacramentum, sive in Ecclesiae actione pastorali sive in theologica pervestigatione.¹⁸⁸ Procul dubio « liturgia Verbi est elementum decretorium in celebratione cuiusque sacramenti Ecclesiae »;¹⁸⁹ attamen in praxi pastorali fideles non semper conscii sunt huius nexus nec unitatem percipiunt inter gestum et verbum. « Est munus sacerdotum et diaconorum, potissimum cum sacramenta administrent, in lucem exponere unitatem quam Verbum et Sacramentum constituunt in Ecclesiae ministerio ».¹⁹⁰ Etenim in necessitudine inter Verbum et gestum sacramentalem liturgice ostenditur actio propria Dei in historia per indolem performativam ipsius Verbi. Nam in historia salutis non datur disiunctio inter Dei dicta et facta; ipse Sermo eius vivus et efficax praesentatur (cfr Heb 4,12), sicut ceterum indicat ipsa significatio Hebraici effati dabar. Eodem modo in actione liturgica adsumus coram eius Verbo quod efficit ea quae dicit. Dum Dei populus ducitur ad detegendum indolem performativam Verbi Dei in liturgia, iuvatur etiam ad actionem Dei in historia salutis inque propria vita uniuscuiusque sui membri percipiendam.

The word of God and the Eucharist

Verbum Dei et Eucharistia

54. What has been said in general about the relationship between the word and the sacraments takes on deeper meaning when we turn to the celebration of the Eucharist. The profound unity of word and Eucharist is grounded in the witness of Scripture (cf. Jn 6; Lk 24), attested to by the Fathers of the Church, and reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council.^[191] Here we think of Jesus’ discourse on the bread of life in the synagogue of Capernaum (cf. Jn 6:22-69), with its underlying comparison between Moses and Jesus, between the one who spoke face to face with God (cf. Ex 33:11) and the one who makes God known (cf. Jn 1:18). Jesus’ discourse on the bread speaks of the gift of God, which Moses obtained for his people with the manna in the desert, which is really the Torah, the life-giving word of God (cf. Ps 119; Pr 9:5). In his own person Jesus brings to fulfilment the ancient image: “The bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” … “I am the bread of life” (Jn 6:33-35). Here “the law has become a person. When we encounter Jesus, we feed on the living God himself, so to speak; we truly eat ‘the bread from heaven’”.^[192] In the discourse at Capernaum, John’s Prologue is brought to a deeper level. There God’s Logos became flesh, but here this flesh becomes “bread” given for the life of the world (cf. Jn 6:51), with an allusion to Jesus’ self-gift in the mystery of the cross, confirmed by the words about his blood being given as drink (cf. Jn 6:53). The mystery of the Eucharist reveals the true manna, the true bread of heaven: it is God’s Logos made flesh, who gave himself up for us in the paschal mystery.

54. Quod affirmatur in genere quoad nexum inter Verbum et Sacramenta, penitius agnoscitur cum agimus de eucharistica celebratione. Ceterum, intima coniunctio inter Verbum et Eucharistiam oritur e testimoniis Scripturae (cfr Io 6; Lc 24), comprobatur a Patribus Ecclesiae et iterum confirmatur a Concilio Vaticano II.¹⁹¹ Hac in re cogitamus de magno sermone Iesu super pane vitae in synagoga vici Capharnaum (cfr Io 6,22-69), in cuius substrato habetur comparatio inter Moysen et Iesum, videlicet inter eum qui cum Deo loquebatur facie ad faciem (cfr Ex 33,11) et eum qui Deum revelavit (cfr Io 1,18). Nam sermo de pane evocat donum Dei, quod Moyses fecit suo populo per manna in deserto quodque revera est Torah, Verbum Dei quod vivificat (cfr Ps 119; Prv 9,5). Iesus in seipso ad rem perducit antiquam figuram: « Panis enim Dei est, qui descendit de caelo et dat vitam mundo... Ego sum panis vitae » (Io 6,33-35). Hic « Lex Persona facta est. In occursu cum Iesu, ut ita dicamus, alimur ab ipso Deo vivente, manducamus revera “panem de caelo” ».¹⁹² In sermone in vico Capharnaum altius explicatur Prologus Ioannis: si illic Logos Dei caro efficitur, hic caro haec fit « panis » datus pro mundi vita (cfr Io 6,51), itaque adumbratur donum quod Iesus de seipso oblaturus est in mysterio crucis, confirmatum affirmatione de eius sanguine, dato ad « bibendum » (cfr Io 6,53). Hoc modo in mysterio Eucharistiae ostenditur quid sit verum manna, verus panis de caelo: est Logos Dei caro factus, qui seipsum donavit pro nobis in Mysterio Paschali.

Luke’s account of the disciples on the way to Emmaus enables us to reflect further on this link between the hearing of the word and the breaking of the bread (cf. Lk 24:13-35). Jesus approached the disciples on the day after the Sabbath, listened as they spoke of their dashed hopes, and, joining them on their journey, “interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (24:27). The two disciples began to look at the Scriptures in a new way in the company of this traveller who seemed so surprisingly familiar with their lives. What had taken place in those days no longer appeared to them as failure, but as fulfilment and a new beginning. And yet, apparently not even these words were enough for the two disciples. The Gospel of Luke relates that “their eyes were opened and they recognized him” (24:31) only when Jesus took the bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them, whereas earlier “their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (24:16). The presence of Jesus, first with his words and then with the act of breaking bread, made it possible for the disciples to recognize him. Now they were able to appreciate in a new way all that they had previously experienced with him: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (24:32).

Enarratio Lucae de discipulis castelli Emmaus nobis ansam concedit amplius meditandi de nexu inter auditionem Verbi et fractionem panis (cfr Lc 24,13-35). Iesus occurrit eis die post sabbatum, audit verba frustratae eorum spei et, socius se faciens cum illis in itinere, « interpretabatur illis in omnibus Scripturis, quae de ipso erant » (24,27). Hi duo discipuli Scripturas novo modo inspicere incipiunt una cum hoc viatore qui eorum vitae tam inopinate familiarem se praebet. Quod illis diebus eventum est non amplius apparet tamquam frustratio, sed tamquam consummatio novumque initium. Attamen haec etiam verba duobus discipulis nondum sufficere videntur. Evangelium secundum Lucam dicit nobis: « Aperti sunt oculi eorum et cognoverunt eum » (24,31) tantummodo cum Iesus accepit panem, dixit benedictionem, fregit eum deditque eis, dum prius « oculi autem illorum tenebantur, ne eum agnoscerent » (24,16). Per praesentiam Iesu, primum cum verbis, deinde cum gestu fractionis panis, discipuli Eum agnoscere potuerunt, et ipsi possunt denuo persentire modo tamen novo quod iam antea cum Eo vixerant: « Nonne cor nostrum ardens erat in nobis, dum loqueretur nobis in via et aperiret nobis Scripturas? » (24,32).

55. From these accounts it is clear that Scripture itself points us towards an appreciation of its own unbreakable bond with the Eucharist. “It can never be forgotten that the divine word, read and proclaimed by the Church, has as its one purpose the sacrifice of the new new covenant and the banquet of grace, that is, the Eucharist”.^[193] Word and Eucharist are so deeply bound together that we cannot understand one without the other: the word of God sacramentally takes flesh in the event of the Eucharist. The Eucharist opens us to an understanding of Scripture, just as Scripture for its part illumines and explains the mystery of the Eucharist. Unless we acknowledge the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist, our understanding of Scripture remains imperfect. For this reason “the Church has honoured the word of God and the Eucharistic mystery with the same reverence, although not with the same worship, and has always and everywhere insisted upon and sanctioned such honour. Moved by the example of her Founder, she has never ceased to celebrate his paschal mystery by coming together to read ‘in all the Scriptures the things concerning him’ (Lk 24:27) and to carry out the work of salvation through the celebration of the memorial of the Lord and through the sacraments”.^[194]

55. Ex dictis hactenus apparet quomodo Scriptura ipsa inducat ad percipiendum indissolubilem nexum cum Eucharistia. « Proinde prae oculis semper habeatur oportet verbum divinum in Liturgia ab Ecclesia lectum et annuntiatum velut ad foederis sacrificium et gratiae convivium, scilicet ad Eucharistiam, tamquam ad finem suum ducere ».¹⁹³ Verbum et Eucharistia ita coniunctim sese pertinent ut alterum sine altera intellegi nequeat: Verbum Dei fit caro sacramentalis in eventu eucharistico. Eucharistia aperit nos ad intellegendam sacram Scripturam, quemadmodum sacra Scriptura vicissim illuminat et exponit Mysterium eucharisticum. Dum enim realis Domini praesentia in Eucharistia non agnoscitur, intellectio Scripturae haud conclusa permanet. Quapropter « Dei verbum et eucharisticum mysterium eadem veneratione, etsi non eodem cultu, Ecclesia prosecuta est atque semper et ubique prosequi voluit atque sancivit, cum, exemplo Conditoris impulsa, ab eius paschali mysterio celebrando numquam cessaverit, in unum conveniens ut legeret ‘in omnibus Scripturis, quae de ipso erant’ (Lc 24,27) et opus salutis per memoriale Domini et sacramenta exerceret ».¹⁹⁴

The sacramentality of the word

Sacramentalis qualitas Verbi

56. Reflection on the performative character of the word of God in the sacramental action and a growing appreciation of the relationship between word and Eucharist lead to yet another significant theme which emerged during the synodal assembly, that of the sacramentality of the word.^[195] Here it may help to recall that Pope John Paul II had made reference to the “sacramental character of revelation” and in particular to “the sign of the Eucharist in which the indissoluble unity between the signifier and signified makes it possible to grasp the depths of the mystery”.^[196] We come to see that at the heart of the sacramentality of the word of God is the mystery of the Incarnation itself: “the Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14), the reality of the revealed mystery is offered to us in the “flesh” of the Son. The Word of God can be perceived by faith through the “sign” of human words and actions. Faith acknowledges God’s Word by accepting the words and actions by which he makes himself known to us. The sacramental character of revelation points in turn to the history of salvation, to the way that word of God enters time and space, and speaks to men and women, who are called to accept his gift in faith.

56. Postquam reperta est indoles performativa Verbi Dei in actione sacramentali atque altior ratio habita est necessitudinis inter Verbum et Eucharistiam, conducimur ad ingrediendum in magni ponderis argumentum, quod apparuit in Coetu Synodi, pertinens ad qualitatem sacramentalem Verbi.¹⁹⁵ Qua de re aequum est ut memoretur Summum Pontificem Ioannem Paulum II relationem fecisse « ad sacramentalem Revelationis rationem atque, nominatim, ad eucharisticum signum ubi individua unitas inter rem ipsam eiusque significationem permittit ut mysterii capiatur altitudo ».¹⁹⁶ Ex quo intellegimus in origine qualitatis sacramentalis Verbi Dei proprio sensu inveniri mysterium incarnationis: « Verbum caro factum est » (Io 1,14), realitas revelati mysterii nobis offertur in « carne » Filii. Hoc modo Verbum Dei redditur comprehensibile ex parte fidei per verborum gestuumque humanorum « signum ». Fides igitur Dei Verbum agnoscit dum gestus et verba accipit quibus Ipsemet se nobis exhibet. Idcirco sacramentalis conspectus revelationis indicat modum historico-salvificum quo Verbum Dei ingreditur in tempus et spatium, tamquam interlocutor hominis, qui vocatur ad eius donum in fide excipiendum.

The sacramentality of the word can thus be understood by analogy with the real presence of Christ under the appearances of the consecrated bread and wine.^[197] By approaching the altar and partaking in the Eucharistic banquet we truly share in the body and blood of Christ. The proclamation of God’s word at the celebration entails an acknowledgment that Christ himself is present, that he speaks to us,^[198] and that he wishes to be heard. Saint Jerome speaks of the way we ought to approach both the Eucharist and the word of God: “We are reading the sacred Scriptures. For me, the Gospel is the Body of Christ; for me, the holy Scriptures are his teaching. And when he says: whoever does not eat my flesh and drink my blood (Jn 6:53), even though these words can also be understood of the [Eucharistic] Mystery, Christ’s body and blood are really the word of Scripture, God’s teaching. When we approach the [Eucharistic] Mystery, if a crumb falls to the ground we are troubled. Yet when we are listening to the word of God, and God’s Word and Christ’s flesh and blood are being poured into our ears yet we pay no heed, what great peril should we not feel?”.^[199] Christ, truly present under the species of bread and wine, is analogously present in the word proclaimed in the liturgy. A deeper understanding of the sacramentality of God’s word can thus lead us to a more unified understanding of the mystery of revelation, which takes place through “deeds and words intimately connected”;^[200] an appreciation of this can only benefit the spiritual life of the faithful and the Church’s pastoral activity.

Qualitas sacramentalis Verbi ita intellegi potest in analogia cum praesentia reali Christi sub speciebus panis et vini consecratis.¹⁹⁷ Accedentes ad altare ac participantes convivium eucharisticum, nos realiter communicamus corpus et sanguinem Christi. Proclamatio Verbi Dei in celebratione postulat ut agnoscamus Christum ipsum adesse et ad nos se vertere¹⁹⁸ ut excipiatur. De modo se gerendi erga Eucharistiam atque erga Verbum Dei sanctus Hieronymus affirmat: « Legimus sanctas Scripturas. Ego corpus Iesu Evangelium puto; sanctas Scripturas puto doctrinam eius. Et quando dicit: Qui non comederit carnem meam et biberit sanguinem meum (Io 6,53), licet et in Mysterio [eucharistica] possit intellegi, tamen vere corpus Christi et sanguis eius sermo Scripturarum est, doctrina divina est. Si quando imus ad Mysterium [eucharisticum], si micula ceciderit, periclitamur. Si quando audimus Sermonem Dei, et Sermo Dei et caro Christi et sanguis eius in auribus infunditur, et nos aliud cogitamus, in quantum periculum incurrimus? ».¹⁹⁹ Christus, realiter praesens sub speciebus panis et vini, adest simili modo etiam in Verbo in liturgia proclamato. Altius sensum reperire sacramentalis qualitatis Verbi Dei potest igitur fovere magis unitariam intellectionem mysterii revelationis in « gestis verbisque intrinsece inter se connexis »,²⁰⁰ concurrendo ad vitam spiritalem fidelium navitatemque pastoralem Ecclesiae.

Sacred Scripture and the Lectionary

Sacra Scriptura et Lectionarium

57. In stressing the bond between word and Eucharist, the Synod also rightly wanted to call attention to certain aspects of the celebration which concern the service of the word. In the first place I wish to mention the importance of the Lectionary. The reform called for by the Second Vatican Council^[201] has borne fruit in a richer access to sacred Scripture, which is now offered in abundance, especially at Sunday Mass. The present structure of the Lectionary not only presents the more important texts of Scripture with some frequency, but also helps us to understand the unity of God’s plan thanks to the interplay of the Old and New Testament readings, an interplay “in which Christ is the central figure, commemorated in his paschal mystery”.^[202] Any remaining difficulties in seeing the relationship between those readings should be approached in the light of canonical interpretation, that is to say, by referring to the inherent unity of the Bible as a whole. Wherever necessary, the competent offices and groups can make provision for publications aimed at bringing out the interconnection of the Lectionary readings, all of which are to be proclaimed to the liturgical assembly as called for by the liturgy of the day. Other problems or difficulties should be brought to the attention of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

57. In lucem proferens nexum inter Verbum et Eucharistiam, Synodus iure voluit in memoriam referre etiam quosdam aspectus celebrationis coniunctos cum Verbi ministerio. Praesertim mentionem facere cupimus de magno pondere Lectionarii. Instauratio incohata a Concilio Vaticano II²⁰¹ ostendit suos fructus, augens accessum ad sacram Scripturam quae abundanter offertur, maxime in liturgiis dominico die celebrandis. Praesens structura, praeterquam frequenter exhibet maioris momenti textus Scripturae, favet comprehensioni unitatis divini consilii per congruentiam inter lectiones Veteris et Novi Testamenti, « cuius centrum est Christus in suo paschali mysterio recolendus ».²⁰² Quaedam difficultates quae manent in comprehensione nexuum inter lectiones utriusque Testamenti perpendendae sunt sub luce lectionis canonicae, id est intrinsecae unitatis omnium Bibliorum. Ubi deprehenditur necessitas, ibi congruae auctoritates possunt providere ut publici iuris fiant subsidia quae faciliorem efficiant intellectionem nexus inter lectiones propositas in Lectionario, quae omnes coram plebe liturgica proclamandae sunt prout praescribit liturgia cotidiana. Quaedam aliae quaestiones vel difficultates significentur Congregationi de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum.

Nor should we overlook the fact that the current Lectionary of the Latin rite has ecumenical significance, since it is used and valued also by communities not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church. The issue of the Lectionary presents itself differently in the liturgies of the Eastern Catholic Churches; the Synod requested that this issue be “examined authoritatively”,^[203] in accordance with the proper tradition and competences of the sui iuris Churches, likewise taking into account the ecumenical context.

Insuper non est obliviscendum actuale Lectionarium ritus Latini frui quoque momento oecumenico, quia adhibetur ac aestimatur etiam a confessionibus plenam communionem cum Ecclesia Catholica nondum ineuntibus. Diverso quidem modo praesentatur quaestio Lectionarii in liturgiis Ecclesiarum Catholicarum Orientalium adhibiti, cuius Synodus quaerit ut « auctoritative examini subiciatur »²⁰³ secundum propriam traditionem atque facultates Ecclesiarum sui iuris, prae oculis habendo, hic etiam, oecumenica rerum adiuncta.

Proclamation of the word and the ministry of Reader

Proclamatio Verbi et ministerium lectoratus

58. The Synod on the Eucharist had already called for greater care to be taken in the proclamation of the word of God.^[204] As is known, while the Gospel is proclaimed by a priest or deacon, in the Latin tradition the first and second readings are proclaimed by an appointed reader, whether a man or a woman. I would like to echo the Synod Fathers who once more stressed the need for the adequate training^[205] of those who exercise the munus of reader in liturgical celebrations,^[206] and particularly those who exercise the ministry of Reader, which in the Latin rite is, as such, a lay ministry. All those entrusted with this office, even those not instituted in the ministry of Reader, should be truly suitable and carefully trained. This training should be biblical and liturgical, as well as technical: “The purpose of their biblical formation is to give readers the ability to understand the readings in context and to perceive by the light of faith central point of the revealed message. The liturgical formation ought to equip readers to have some grasp of the meaning and structure of the liturgy of the word and the significance of its connection with the liturgy of the Eucharist. The technical preparation should make the readers skilled in the art of reading publicly, either with the power of their own voice or with the help of sound equipment.”^[207]

58. Iam in Coetu synodali de Eucharistia maior postulabatur cura de Verbi Dei proclamatione.²⁰⁴ Sicut notum est, dum Evangelium proclamatur a presbytero vel diacono, prior et altera lectio in ritu Latino proclamantur a quodam lectore deputato, viro vel femina. Hic voces Patrum synodalium colligere volumus qui etiam, his in adiunctis, in aspectum necessitatem protulerunt adhibendi idoneam formationem²⁰⁵ ut lectoris munus in celebratione liturgica rite exerceatur ac praesertim ministerium lectoratus, quod, qua tale, in ritu Latino est ministerium laicale.²⁰⁶ Necesse est ut lectores ad hoc officium deputati, etiamsi hanc non susceperint institutionem, idonei sint et diligenter praeparentur. Huiusmodi praeparatio sit oportet tam biblica et liturgica, quam technica: « Institutio biblica eo tendere debet ut lectores possint lectiones in proprio contextu comprehendere, et centrum nuntii revelati lumine fidei intellegere. Liturgica institutio lectoribus praebere debet facultatem aliquam percipiendi sensum et structuram liturgiae Verbi ac rationes conexionis inter Verbi liturgiam et liturgiam eucharisticam. Praeparatio technica lectores aptiores in dies reddere debet ad artem coram populo legendi sive viva voce, sive ope instrumentorum recentium ad vocem amplificandam ».²⁰⁷

The importance of the homily

Momentum homiliae

59. Each member of the People of God “has different duties and responsibilities with respect to the word of God. Accordingly, the faithful listen to God’s word and meditate on it, but those who have the office of teaching by virtue of sacred ordination or have been entrusted with exercising that ministry”, namely, bishops, priests and deacons, “expound the word of God”.^[208] Hence we can understand the attention paid to the homily throughout the Synod. In the Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, I pointed out that “given the importance of the word of God, the quality of homilies needs to be improved. The homily ‘is part of the liturgical action’ and is meant to foster a deeper understanding of the word of God, so that it can bear fruit in the lives of the faithful”.^[209] The homily is a means of bringing the scriptural message to life in a way that helps the faithful to realize that God’s word is present and at work in their everyday lives. It should lead to an understanding of the mystery being celebrated, serve as a summons to mission, and prepare the assembly for the profession of faith, the universal prayer and the Eucharistic liturgy. Consequently, those who have been charged with preaching by virtue of a specific ministry ought to take this task to heart. Generic and abstract homilies which obscure the directness of God’s word should be avoided, as well as useless digressions which risk drawing greater attention to the preacher than to the heart of the Gospel message. The faithful should be able to perceive clearly that the preacher has a compelling desire to present Christ, who must stand at the centre of every homily. For this reason preachers need to be in close and constant contact with the sacred text;^[210] they should prepare for the homily by meditation and prayer, so as to preach with conviction and passion. The synodal assembly asked that the following questions be kept in mind: “What are the Scriptures being proclaimed saying? What do they say to me personally? What should I say to the community in the light of its concrete situation?^[211] The preacher “should be the first to hear the word of God which he proclaims”,^[212] since, as Saint Augustine says: “He is undoubtedly barren who preaches outwardly the word of God without hearing it inwardly”.^[213] The homily for Sundays and solemnities should be prepared carefully, without neglecting, whenever possible, to offer at weekday Masses cum populo brief and timely reflections which can help the faithful to welcome the word which was proclaimed and to let it bear fruit in their lives.

« Varia etiam sunt officia et munera quae competunt cuique quoad Verbum Dei, ita ut ipsum verbum fideles auscultent atque meditentur, illi vero soli exponant ad quos ex sacra ordinatione magisterii munus spectat, vel quibus idem ministerium committitur exercendum »,²⁰⁸ id est episcopis, presbyteris et diaconis. Unde intellegitur sollicitudo quam exhibuit Synodus de homiliae argumento. Iam in Adhortatione apostolica postsynodali Sacramentum caritatis rettulimus: « Cum Dei Verbum conspicuum obtineat locum, necessitas exsistit meliorem efficiendi homiliae qualitatem. Ipsa enim “est pars actionis liturgicae”; munus habet fovendi pleniorem intellectum efficaciamque Verbi Dei in vita fidelium ».²⁰⁹ Revera homilia nuntium Scripturae exsequitur, ita ut fideles inducantur ad praesentiam et efficaciam Verbi Dei hodierno propriae vitae tempore detegendam. Ipsa ad comprehensionem mysterii quod celebratur conducere debet, ad missionem invitare, plebem praeparans ad fidei professionem, ad orationem universalem et ad liturgiam eucharisticam. Quapropter ii qui peculiare ob ministerium ad praedicationem deputantur, hoc munus in animo habeant. Vitentur oportet homiliae genericae et abstractae, quae Verbi Dei simplicitatem obtegunt, sicut etiam inutiles evagationes quae in periculum veniunt ne mentem potius in praedicatorem quam in cor evangelici nuntii inducant. Fidelibus ut clare pateat oportet praedicatoris munus esse Christum monstrandi, qui centrum constituere debet omnis homiliae. Quamobrem praedicatores necesse est familiaritatem assiduumque usum excolant cum textu sacro;²¹⁰ ad homiliam se praeparent in meditatione et oratione ut praedicent cum persuasione et passione. Coetus synodalis monuit ut sequentes ponderentur interrogationes: « Quid proclamatae lectiones dicant. Quid mihimet ipsi dicant. Quid communitati, ratione eiusdem adiunctorum habita, sim dicturus ».²¹¹ « Praedicator a Verbo Dei, quod annuntiat... se sinat primum compellari »,²¹² quoniam, ut ait sanctus Augustinus, « Verbi Dei enim inanis est forinsecus praedicator, qui non est intus auditor ».²¹³ Accurate apparetur homilia pro diebus dominicis et pro sollemnitatibus; sed ne in feriis quidem hebdomadae in Missis cum populo, quando fieri potest, neglegenda est occasio breves offerendi considerationes, accommodatas ad rerum adiuncta, quibus fideles adiuventur ad Verbum auditum accipiendum et frugiferum reddendum.

The fittingness of a Directory on Homiletics

Opportunitas Directorii homiletici

60. The art of good preaching based on the Lectionary is an art that needs to be cultivated. Therefore, in continuity with the desire expressed by the previous Synod,^[214] I ask the competent authorities, along the lines of the Eucharistic Compendium,^[215] also to prepare practical publications to assist ministers in carrying out their task as best they can: as for example a Directory on the homily, in which preachers can find useful assistance in preparing to exercise their ministry. As Saint Jerome reminds us, preaching needs to be accompanied by the witness of a good life: “Your actions should not contradict your words, lest when you preach in Church, someone may begin to think: ‘So why don’t you yourself act that way?’ … In the priest of Christ, thought and word must be in agreement”.^[216]

60. Praedicare modo accommodato ad Lectionarium vera est ars quae est excolenda. Quapropter, obsequentes iis quae sunt postulata superiore in Synodo,²¹⁴ petimus ab expertis auctoritatibus ut, quatenus ad Compendium eucharisticum,²¹⁵ instrumenta etiam praeparent et subsidia apta quibus ministri iuventur ad proprium munus melius explendum, sicut exempli gratia Directorium de homilia, ita ut praedicatores in eo invenire valeant utile auxilium quo ad ministerium exsequendum se praeparent. Prout nobis memorat sanctus Hieronymus, praedicatio propriae vitae testimonio est confirmanda: « Non confundant opera sermonem tuum, ne, cum in ecclesia loqueris, tacitus quilibet respondeat: “Cur haec ipse non facis?” ... Sacerdotis Christi mens osque concordent ».²¹⁶

The word of God, Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick

Verbum Dei, Reconciliatio et Unctio infirmorum

61. Though the Eucharist certainly remains central to the relationship between God’s word and the sacraments, we must also stress the importance of sacred Scripture in the other sacraments, especially the sacraments of healing, namely the sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance, and the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The role of sacred Scripture in these sacraments is often overlooked, yet it needs to be assured its proper place. We ought never to forget that “the word of God is a word of reconciliation, for in it God has reconciled all things to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:18-20; Eph 1:10). The loving forgiveness of God, made flesh in Jesus, raises up the sinner”.^[217] “Through the word of God the Christian receives light to recognize his sins and is called to conversion and to confidence in God’s mercy”.^[218] To have a deeper experience of the reconciling power of God’s word, the individual penitent should be encouraged to prepare for confession by meditating on a suitable text of sacred Scripture and to begin confession by reading or listening to a biblical exhortation such as those provided in the rite. When expressing contrition it would be good if the penitent were to use “a prayer based on the words of Scripture”,^[219] such as those indicated in the rite. When possible, it would be good that at particular times of the year, or whenever the opportunity presents itself, individual confession by a number of penitents should take place within penitential celebrations as provided for by the ritual, with due respect for the different liturgical traditions; here greater time can be devoted to the celebration of the word through the use of suitable readings.

Eucharistia centrum haud dubie occupat vinculi inter Verbum Dei et Sacramenta, attamen extollere iuvat momentum sacrae Scripturae in ceteris quoque Sacramentis, praesertim de sanatione: agiturnempre de sacramento Reconciliationis seu Paenitentiae, ac de sacramento Unctionis infirmorum. Relatio ad sacram Scripturam in his sacramentis saepe neglegitur. Necesse est, e contra, ut ipsi locus concedatur qui ad eam pertinet. Etenim minime est obliviscendum quod « Divinus Sermo est Verbum reconciliationis, quia in ipso Deus in suam gratiam omnia iterum induxit (cfr 2 Cor 5,18-20; Eph 1,10). Propter misericordis Dei condonationem, quae in Iesu caro facta est, peccator surgit ».²¹⁷ « Per verbum Dei enim fidelis illuminatur ad peccata sua dignoscenda, ad conversionem vocatur et ad fiduciam in Dei misericordia ».²¹⁸ Quo vis reconciliatrix Verbi Dei altius inspiciatur, suadetur ut singuli paenitentes se praeparent ad confitenda peccata meditantes opportunum locum sacrae Scripturae et confessionem ordiri possint legendo vel audiendo quandam admonitionem biblicam, prout in proprio ritu praevisum est. Manifestans autem suam contritionem expedit ut paenitens adhibeat « orationem ex verbis sacrae Scripturae compositam »,²¹⁹ propositam in ritu. Cum fieri potest, iuvat ut in peculiaribus anni temporibus vel cum detur opportunitas, confessio individualis plurimorum paenitentium fiat intra celebrationes paenitentiales, uti prostant in rituali, dummodo diversarum liturgicarum traditionum reverentia habeatur, quo per usum congruentium lectionum celebrationi Verbi maius spatium dari possit.

In the case of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick too, it must not be forgotten that “the healing power of the word of God is a constant call to the listener’s personal conversion”.^[220] Sacred Scripture contains countless pages which speak of the consolation, support and healing which God brings. We can think particularly of Jesus’ own closeness to those who suffer, and how he, God’s incarnate Word, shouldered our pain and suffered out of love for us, thus giving meaning to sickness and death. It is good that in parishes and in hospitals, according to circumstances, community celebrations of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick should be held. On these occasions greater space should be given to the celebration of the word, and the sick helped to endure their sufferings in faith, in union with the redemptive sacrifice of Christ who delivers us from evil.

Etiam quod attinet ad sacramentum Unctionis infirmorum, meminisse iuvat ut « Virtus medendi, quae divino Verbo intime adhaeret, vivaciter compellat in perpetuam auditoris conversionem ».²²⁰ Sacra Scriptura innumeras continet paginas consolationis, sustentationis et sanationis quae per Dei virtutem sint patratae. Praesertim memoretur oportet Iesum proximum fuisse patientibus, et Ipsum, Verbum Dei incarnatum, dolores nostros tulisse atque pro hominis amore passum esse, ita aegrotationi et morti sensum tribuendo. Oportet quidem in paroeciis ac potissimum in valetudinariis, secundum rerum adiuncta, Sacramentum infirmorum modo communitario celebretur. His in occasionibus amplum detur spatium celebrationi Verbi necnon fideles infirmi adiuventur ad suam doloris condicionem fideliter vivendam, in unione cum sacrificio redemptivo Christi qui nos liberat a malo.

The word of God and the Liturgy of the Hours

Verbum Dei et Liturgia Horarum

62. Among the forms of prayer which emphasize sacred Scripture, the Liturgy of the Hours has an undoubted place. The Synod Fathers called it “a privileged form of hearing the word of God, inasmuch as it brings the faithful into contact with Scripture and the living Tradition of the Church”.^[221] Above all, we should reflect on the profound theological and ecclesial dignity of this prayer. “In the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church, exercising the priestly office of her Head, offers ‘incessantly’ (1 Th 5:17) to God the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name (cf. Heb 13:15). This prayer is ‘the voice of a bride speaking to her bridegroom, it is the very prayer that Christ himself, together with his Body, addressed to the Father’”.^[222] The Second Vatican Council stated in this regard that “all who take part in this prayer not only fulfil a duty of the Church, but also share in the high honour of the spouse of Christ; for by celebrating the praises of God, they stand before his throne in the name of the Church, their Mother”.^[223] The Liturgy of the Hours, as the public prayer of the Church, sets forth the Christian ideal of the sanctification of the entire day, marked by the rhythm of hearing the word of God and praying the Psalms; in this way every activity can find its point of reference in the praise offered to God.

62. Inter orationis formas quae sacram Scripturam exaltant absque dubio suum locum obtinet Liturgia Horarum. Patres synodales affirmaverunt quod ipsa « species est privilegiaria divini Verbi audiendi, nam efficit, ut fideles pertingant sacram Scripturam et vivam Traditionem Ecclesiae ».²²¹ Ante omnia memoretur oportet sublimis dignitas theologica et ecclesialis huius precationis. Nam « in Liturgia Horarum Ecclesia, sacerdotale Capitis sui munus exercens, “sine intermissione” (1 Thess 5,17) Deo hostiam laudis offert, id est fructum labiorum confitentium nomini eius (cfr Heb 13,15). Haec oratio est “vox ipsius Sponsae, quae Sponsum alloquitur, immo etiam oratio Christi cum ipsius Corpore ad Patrem” ».²²² Concilium Vaticanum II de hac re affirmavit: « Omnes proinde qui haec praestant, tum Ecclesiae officium explent, tum summum Sponsae Christi honorem participant, quia laudes Deo persolventes stant ante thronum Dei nomine Matris Ecclesiae ».²²³ In Liturgia Horarum, tamquam publica Ecclesiae oratione, ostenditur christianum propositum sanctificationis totius diei, qui modulate volvitur auditione Verbi Dei et oratione psalmorum, ita ut omnis actuositas in laudem Deo oblata suam inveniat rationem.

Those who by virtue of their state in life are obliged to pray the Liturgy of the Hours should carry out this duty faithfully for the benefit of the whole Church. Bishops, priests and deacons aspiring to the priesthood, all of whom have been charged by the Church to celebrate this liturgy, are obliged to pray all the Hours daily.^[224] As for the obligation of celebrating this liturgy in the Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris, the prescriptions of their proper law are to be followed.^[225] I also encourage communities of consecrated life to be exemplary in the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, and thus to become a point of reference and an inspiration for the spiritual and pastoral life of the whole Church.

Qui ob vitae statum Liturgiae Horarum recitatione tenentur, hoc munus fideliter vivant in totius Ecclesiae beneficium. Episcopi, presbyteri et diaconi ad sacerdotium aspirantes, qui ab Ecclesia celebrandi eam mandatum receperunt, singulis diebus cunctas Horas absolvere debent.²²⁴ Quoad obligationem huius Liturgiae in Ecclesiis Catholicis Orientalibus sui iuris, sequendae sunt indicationes iuris proprii.²²⁵ Hortamur insuper communitates vitae consecratae ut sint vere exemplares in Liturgia Horarum celebranda, ita ut exemplum fiant et inspiratio pro spiritali et pastorali vita universae Ecclesiae.

The Synod asked that this prayer become more widespread among the People of God, particularly the recitation of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. This could only lead to greater familiarity with the word of God on the part of the faithful. Emphasis should also be placed on the value of the Liturgy of the Hours for the First Vespers of Sundays and Solemnities, particularly in the Eastern Catholic Churches. To this end I recommend that, wherever possible, parishes and religious communities promote this prayer with the participation of the lay faithful.

Synodus expressit desiderium ut magis diffundatur in Populo Dei hoc orandi genus, praesertim Laudum et Vesperarum recitatio. Huiusmodi incrementum non poterit non augere inter fideles familiaritatem cum Verbo Dei. Extollendum est etiam pondus Liturgiae Horarum quae proponitur in primis vesperis Dominicae et Sollemnitatum, potissimum apud Ecclesias Catholicas Orientales. Ad hunc finem commendamus ut, ubi id fieri potest, paroeciae et communitates vitae religiosae huiusmodi orationem cum participatione fidelium foveant.

The word of God and the Book of Blessings

Verbum Dei et Benedictionale

63. Likewise, in using the Book of Blessings attention should be paid to the space allotted to proclaiming, hearing and briefly explaining the word of God. Indeed the act of blessing, in the cases provided for by the Church and requested by the faithful, should not be something isolated but related in its proper degree to the liturgical life of the People of God. In this sense a blessing, as a genuine sacred sign which “derives its meaning and effectiveness from God’s word that is proclaimed”.^[226] So it is important also to use these situations as means of reawakening in the faithful a hunger and thirst for every word that comes from the mouth of God (cf. Mt 4:4).

63. Etiam in usu Benedictionalis oportet mens vertatur ad spatium quod praevidetur in proclamatione, auditione et explicatione Verbi Dei, per breves admonitiones. Nam gestus benedictionis, in casibus praevisis ab Ecclesia et cum requiritur a fidelibus, non est segregandus in seipso, sed proprio gradu referendus ad vitam liturgicam Populi Dei. Hoc sensu « benedictio signum sacrum revera fiat, quod ex verbi Dei proclamatione sensum haurit et efficaciam ».²²⁶ Quapropter magni est ponderis adhibere has occasiones ut fames et sitis cuiusque verbi quod procedit de ore Dei (cfr Mt 4,4) in fidelibus accendatur.

Suggestions and practical proposals for promoting fuller participation in the liturgy

Consilia et proposita specifica ad liturgicam animationem

64. Having discussed some basic elements of the relationship between the liturgy and the word of God, I would now like to take up and develop several proposals and suggestions advanced by the Synod Fathers with a view to making the People of God ever more familiar with the word of God in the context of liturgical actions or, in any event, with reference to them.

64. Postquam quaedam praecipua inspeximus elementa relationis inter Liturgiam et Verbum Dei, nunc summatim exponere et aestimare cupimus quaedam proposita et consilia a synodalibus Patribus commendata, ut in Populo Dei maiorem in dies foveamus habitudinem cum Verbo Dei in ambitu actionum liturgicarum vel eorum quae ad eas referuntur.

a) Celebrations of the word of God

a) Celebrationes Verbi Dei

65. The Synod Fathers encouraged all pastors to promote times devoted to the celebration of the word in the communities entrusted to their care.^[227] These celebrations are privileged occasions for an encounter with the Lord. This practice will certainly benefit the faithful, and should be considered an important element of liturgical formation. Celebrations of this sort are particularly significant as a preparation for the Sunday Eucharist; they are also a way to help the faithful to delve deeply into the riches of the Lectionary, and to pray and meditate on sacred Scripture, especially during the great liturgical seasons of Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter. Celebrations of the word of God are to be highly recommended especially in those communities which, due to a shortage of clergy, are unable to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice on Sundays and holydays of obligation. Keeping in mind the indications already set forth in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis with regard to Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest,^[228] I recommend that competent authorities prepare ritual directories, drawing on the experience of the particular Churches. This will favour, in such circumstances, celebrations of the word capable of nourishing the faith of believers, while avoiding the danger of the latter being confused with celebrations of the Eucharist: “on the contrary, they should be privileged moments of prayer for God to send holy priests after his own heart”.^[229]

Synodales Patres hortati sunt omnes Pastores ad momenta celebrationis Verbi²²⁷ diffundenda apud communitates sibi concreditas: sunt privilegiatae occasiones occurrendi cum Domino. Hanc ob rem, huiusmodi praxis non potest non magnam adferre fidelibus utilitatem, atque habenda est instrumentum magni ponderis in re pastorali liturgica. Hae celebrationes singularem obtinent praestantiam ad parandam Eucharistiam dominicalem, ita ut credentes penitus imbui possint ubertate Lectionarii ad meditandum et orandum cum sacra Scriptura, maxime intensioribus temporibus liturgicis, Adventu et Natali, Quadragesima et Pascha. Celebratio Verbi Dei fieri enixe suadetur in illis communitatibus in quibus, ob exiguum sacerdotum numerum, diebus praecepti festivi sacrificium eucharisticum celebrari nequit. Attentis admonitionibus iam ex Adhortatione apostolica postsynodali Sacramentum caritatis emanatis circa congressus dominicales in exspectatione sacerdotis,²²⁸ praecipimus ut a competentibus auctoritatibus edantur directoria ritualia, ratione habita de Ecclesiarum particularium experientiis. Hoc modo promovendae sunt, his in adiunctis, celebrationes Verbi quae fidem nutriant credentium, cavendo tamen ne illae cum ipsis celebrationibus eucharisticis confundantur; « singulares potius sint Dei precandi occasiones ut sanctos mittat secundum cor suum sacerdotes ».²²⁹

The Synod Fathers also recommended celebrations of the word of God on pilgrimages, special feasts, popular missions, spiritual retreats and special days of penance, reparation or pardon. The various expressions of popular piety, albeit not liturgical acts and not to be confused with liturgical celebrations, should nonetheless be inspired by the latter and, above all, give due space to the proclamation and hearing of God’s word; “popular piety can find in the word of God an inexhaustible source of inspiration, insuperable models of prayer and fruitful points for reflection”.^[230]

Synodales Patres insuper hortati sunt ad Verbum Dei celebrandum occasione quoque peregrinationum, festivitatum peculiarium, missionum ad populum, secessuum spiritualium atque dierum specialium paenitentiae, reparationis et remissionis. Quod spectat ad varias formas pietatis popularis, etiamsi non sunt actus liturgici neque cum celebrationibus liturgicis confundendi, attamen bonum est ut inspirentur ac praesertim iustum tribuant spatium Verbo Dei proclamando et audiendo; revera, in « verbo biblico pietas popularis inexhaustum inveniet fontem inspirationis, insuperabiles formas orationis atque fecunda proposita thematica ».²³⁰

b) The word and silence

b) Verbum et silentium

66. In their interventions, a good number of Synod Fathers insisted on the importance of silence in relation to the word of God and its reception in the lives of the faithful.^[231] The word, in fact, can only be spoken and heard in silence, outward and inward. Ours is not an age which fosters recollection; at times one has the impression that people are afraid of detaching themselves, even for a moment, from the mass media. For this reason, it is necessary nowadays that the People of God be educated in the value of silence. Rediscovering the centrality of God’s word in the life of the Church also means rediscovering a sense of recollection and inner repose. The great patristic tradition teaches us that the mysteries of Christ all involve silence.^[232] Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence. Our liturgies must facilitate this attitude of authentic listening: Verbo crescente, verba deficiunt.^[233]

66. Non paucae synodalium Patrum voces in pondus silentii institerunt in relatione cum Verbo Dei cumque eius in vita fidelium receptione.²³¹ Verbum revera tantummodo in exteriore interioreque silentio pronuntiari et audiri potest. Aetas nostra meditationi non favet et aliquando veluti timor esse videtur, etiam brevi instanti, sese ab instrumentis publicae communicationis abstrahendi. Quam ob rem necesse est hodie Populus Dei ad valorem silentii formetur. Reperire centralem Verbi Dei in vita Ecclesiae positionem, sibi vult quoque meditationis et quietis spiritalis sensum iterum invenire. Ingens traditio patristica nos docet mysteria Christi cum silentio coniungi²³² et tantummodo in eo Verbum invenire apud nos posse mansionem, uti evenit in Maria, et Verbi simul et silentii muliere. Liturgiae nostrae hanc genuinam auditionem faciliorem reddant oportet: Verbo crescente, verba deficiunt.²³³

The importance of all this is particularly evident in the Liturgy of the Word, “which should be celebrated in a way that favours meditation”.^[234] Silence, when called for, should be considered “a part of the celebration”.^[235] Hence I encourage Pastors to foster moments of recollection whereby, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the word of God can find a welcome in our hearts.

Aestimatio haec maxime refulgeat in Liturgia Verbi, quae « ita celebranda est ut faveat meditationi ».²³⁴ Silentium, cum statuitur, « tamquam pars celebrationis »²³⁵ est habendum. Adhortamur igitur Pastores ut silentii momenta foveant, quibus, Spiritu Sancto iuvante, Verbum Dei in cor accipitur.

c) The solemn proclamation of the word of God

c) Sollemnis Verbi Dei proclamatio

67. Another suggestion which emerged from the Synod was that the proclamation of the word of God, and the Gospel in particular, should be made more solemn, especially on major liturgical feasts, through the use of the Gospel Book, carried in procession during the opening rites and then brought to the lectern by a deacon or priest for proclamation. This would help the people of God to realize that “the reading of the Gospel is the high point of the liturgy of the word”.^[236] Following the indications contained in the Ordo Lectionum Missae, it is good that the word of God, especially the Gospel, be enhanced by being proclaimed in song, particularly on certain solemnities. The greeting, the initial announcement: “A reading from the holy Gospel” and the concluding words: “The Gospel of the Lord”, could well be sung as a way of emphasizing the importance of what was read.^[237]

67. Aliud e Synodo emersum est consilium, nempe ut, praesertim in potioribus commemorationibus liturgicis, Verbum, maxime Evangelium, sollemniter proclametur, per usum Evangeliarii, ita ut in ritibus initialibus processionaliter deferatur ac deinde in ambonem a diacono vel a sacerdote ad proclamationem perducatur. Sic enim Populus Dei iuvatur ad intellegendum quod « lectio Evangelii culmen constituit ipsius liturgiae Verbi ».²³⁶ Secundum praecepta in Ordine lectionum Missae inclusa, bonum est ut proclamatio Verbi Dei, potissimum Evangelii, in cantu extollatur, praesertim in quibusdam sollemnitatibus. Salutatio, nuntiuminitiale: «Evangelium » etilludfinale: «Verbum Domini », aequum est in cantu proferri ut in luce ponatur id quod legitur.²³⁷

d) The word of God in Christian churches

d) Verbum Dei in templo christiano

68. In order to facilitate hearing the word of God, consideration should be given to measures which can help focus the attention of the faithful. Concern should be shown for church acoustics, with due respect for liturgical and architectural norms. “Bishops, duly assisted, in the construction of churches should take care that they be adapted to the proclamation of the word, to meditation and to the celebration of the Eucharist. Sacred spaces, even apart from the liturgical action, should be eloquent and should present the Christian mystery in relation to the word of God”.^[238]

68. Ad fovendam auditionem Verbi Dei minime sunt neglegenda illa instrumenta quae fidelibus ad maiorem mentis attentionem opem ferre possint. Hanc ob rationem necesse est in sacris aedificiis acustica minime omittatur, servatis normis liturgiae et architecturae. « Episcopi debite adiuti curent, ut ecclesiae eiusmodi aedificentur, quae proclamationi Verbi, meditationi et eucharisticae celebrationi locum praebeant accommodum. Spatia sacra, etiam extra actionem liturgicam, mysterium christianum Verbo Dei conexum diserte eloqui valeant oportet ».²³⁸

Special attention should be given to the ambo as the liturgical space from which the word of God is proclaimed. It should be located in a clearly visible place to which the attention of the faithful will be naturally drawn during the liturgy of the word. It should be fixed, and decorated in aesthetic harmony with the altar, in order to present visibly the theological significance of the double table of the word and of the Eucharist. The readings, the responsorial psalm and the Exsultet are to be proclaimed from the ambo; it can also be used for the homily and the prayers of the faithful.^[239]

Singularis cura ad ambonem adhibenda est, veluti liturgicum locum ad Verbum Dei proclamandum. In spatio visibili collocandus est, ad quem sponte fidelium attentio in liturgia Verbi convertatur. Ambo stabilis sit oportet, constitutus uti elementum sculptorium in harmonia aesthetica cum altari, ita ut etiam visibiliter theologicum significet sensum geminae mensae et Verbi et Eucharistiae. Ex ambone lectiones, psalmus responsorius atque Praeconium paschale proclamantur; ibidem proferri possunt homilia et oratio universalis.²³⁹

The Synod Fathers also proposed that churches give a place of honour to the sacred Scriptures, even outside of liturgical celebrations.^[240] It is good that the book which contains the word of God should enjoy a visible place of honour inside the Christian temple, without prejudice to the central place proper to the tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament.^[241]

Praeterea Synodales Patres proponunt ut in ecclesiis conspicuus adsit locus in quo sacra Scriptura etiam extra celebrationem collocanda sit.²⁴⁰ Oportet revera ut volumini, quod Verbum Dei continet, visibilis et praestans locus sit in templo christiano, quin neglegatur primarius locus qui spectat ad tabernaculum Sanctissimum Sacramentum continens.²⁴¹

e) The exclusive use of biblical texts in the liturgy

e) Exclusivum textuum biblicorum ius in liturgia

69. The Synod also clearly reaffirmed a point already laid down by liturgical law,^[242] namely that the readings drawn from sacred Scripture may never be replaced by other texts, however significant the latter may be from a spiritual or pastoral standpoint: “No text of spirituality or literature can equal the value and riches contained in sacred Scripture, which is the word of God”.^[243] This is an ancient rule of the Church which is to be maintained.^[244] In the face of certain abuses, Pope John Paul II had already reiterated the importance of never using other readings in place of sacred Scripture.^[245] It should also be kept in mind that the Responsorial Psalm is also the word of God, and hence should not be replaced by other texts; indeed it is most appropriate that it be sung.

69. Synodus praeterea alacriter declaravit id quod, ceterum, iam a norma liturgica Ecclesiae institutum est,²⁴² nempe ut lectiones videlicet ex sacra Scriptura depromptae numquam aliis textibus sint substituendae, quamvis significantiores sint sub aspectupastorali et spirituali: «Nullus enim est textus, qui de spiritualitate de humanisve litteris depromptus, virtutem et divitias sacrae Scripturae, quae est Verbum Dei, inhaerentes attingere valeat ».²⁴³ Agitur de quadam antiqua Ecclesiae dispositione quae servanda est.²⁴⁴ Prae quibusdam abusibus, iam Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II gravitatem memoravit sacras Scripturas nullo umquam tempore pro aliis lectionibus substituendi.²⁴⁵ Memoria teneamus etiam Psalmum responsorium Verbum esse Dei, per quem Domini voci respondemus et hanc ob rem pro aliis textibus substitui non debet; valde tamen opportunum est eum in cantu exsequi.

f) Biblically-inspired liturgical song

f) Cantus liturgicus biblice inspiratus

70. As part of the enhancement of the word of God in the liturgy, attention should also be paid to the use of song at the times called for by the particular rite. Preference should be given to songs which are of clear biblical inspiration and which express, through the harmony of music and words, the beauty of God’s word. We would do well to make the most of those songs handed down to us by the Church’s tradition which respect this criterion. I think in particular of the importance of Gregorian chant.^[246]

70. Ad valorem Verbi Dei quod attinet in celebratione liturgica, cantus quoque in momentis a proprio ritu praevisis est ponderandus, cantum clarae biblicae inspirationis provehendo, qui per verborum et artis musicae consonantiam Verbi divini pulchritudinem exprimere valeat. Hoc in contextu opportunum est ut vis conveniens tribuatur illis cantibus quos traditio Ecclesiae nobis praebuit quique hoc criterium observant. Peculiarem mentem ad Cantus Gregoriani pondus vertimus.²⁴⁶

g) Particular concern for the visually and hearing impaired

g) Peculiaris sollicitudo erga non videntes et non audientes

71. Here I wish also to recall the Synod’s recommendation that special attention be given to those who encounter problems in participating actively in the liturgy; I think, for example, of the visually and hearing impaired. I encourage our Christian communities to offer every possible practical assistance to our brothers and sisters suffering from such impairments, so that they too can be able to experience a living contact with the word of the Lord.^[247]

71. Ad rem quod attinet peculiarem etiam sollicitudinem memorare velimus quam Synodus habendam commendavit de omnibus qui ob proprias condiciones difficultates habent ut active liturgiam participent, uti exempli gratia de iis non videntibus et non audientibus. Quantum fieri potest, christianas hortamur communitates ut aptis cum instrumentis subveniant illis fratribus et sororibus qui hanc patiuntur difficultatem, ut etiam illis facultas concedatur vivam necessitudinem iungendi cum Verbo Domini.²⁴⁷

The Word Of God In The Life Of The Church

VERBUM DEI IN VITA ECCLESIALI

Encountering the word of God in sacred Scripture

Occurrendum Verbo Dei in sacra Scriptura

72. If it is true that the liturgy is the privileged place for the proclamation, hearing and celebration of the word of God, it is likewise the case that this encounter must be prepared in the hearts of the faithful and then deepened and assimilated, above all by them. The Christian life is essentially marked by an encounter with Jesus Christ, who calls us to follow him. For this reason, the Synod of Bishops frequently spoke of the importance of pastoral care in the Christian communities as the proper setting where a personal and communal journey based on the word of God can occur and truly serve as the basis for our spiritual life. With the Synod Fathers I express my heartfelt hope for the flowering of “a new season of greater love for sacred Scripture on the part of every member of the People of God, so that their prayerful and faith-filled reading of the Bible will, with time, deepen their personal relationship with Jesus”.^[248]

72. Cum verum sit liturgiam spatium esse privilegiarium ad proclamandum, audiendum et celebrandum Verbum Dei, verum etiam est hunc occursum in cordibus fidelium parandum esse ac maxime iisdem altius percipiendum et appropriandum. Revera vita christiana essentialiter occursu cum Iesu Christo signatur qui nos vocat ad Ipsum sequendum. Quam ob rem Synodus Episcoporum saepenumero in lucem protulit pondus pastoralis navitatis in christianis communitatibus veluti apti spatii in quo personale agendum est iter et communitarium erga Verbum Dei, ita ut id spiritalis vitae fundamentum revera exstet. Simul cum synodalibus Patribus vivum desiderium exprimimus ut « oriatur tempus novum ad amorem sacrae Scripturae ab omnibus sodalibus Populi Dei ardentius exhibendum opportunum, ut orante et fideli lectione, tempore progrediente, profundior fiat relatio, qua credentes ipsius Iesu personae adstringuntur ».²⁴⁸

Throughout the history of the Church, numerous saints have spoken of the need for knowledge of Scripture in order to grow in love for Christ. This is evident particularly in the Fathers of the Church. Saint Jerome, in his great love for the word of God, often wondered: “How could one live without the knowledge of Scripture, by which we come to know Christ himself, who is the life of believers?”.^[249] He knew well that the Bible is the means “by which God speaks daily to believers”.^[250] His advice to the Roman matron Leta about raising her daughter was this: “Be sure that she studies a passage of Scripture each day… Prayer should follow reading, and reading follow prayer… so that in the place of jewellery and silk, she may love the divine books”.^[251] Jerome’s counsel to the priest Nepotian can also be applied to us: “Read the divine Scriptures frequently; indeed, the sacred book should never be out of your hands. Learn there what you must teach”.^[252] Let us follow the example of this great saint who devoted his life to the study of the Bible and who gave the Church its Latin translation, the Vulgate, as well as the example of all those saints who made an encounter with Christ the centre of their spiritual lives. Let us renew our efforts to understand deeply the word which God has given to his Church: thus we can aim for that “high standard of ordinary Christian living”^[253] proposed by Pope John Paul II at the beginning of the third Christian millennium, which finds constant nourishment in attentively hearing the word of God.

In historia Ecclesiae ex parte sanctorum haud desunt adhortationes de necessitate cognoscendi Scripturam ad crescendum in Christi amore. Hoc potissimum patet apud Ecclesiae Patres. Sanctus Hieronymus, magno Verbi Dei « amore inflammatus », sese interrogabat: « Quae enim alia potest esse vita sine scientia Scripturarum, per quas etiam ipse Christus agnoscitur, qui est vita credentium? ».²⁴⁹ Omnino conscius erat Biblia instrumenta esse « in quibus quotidie credentibus loquitur Deus ».²⁵⁰ Hoc modo ipse consilia praebet Romanae matronae Laetae ad filiam instituendam: « Reddat tibi pensum quotidie de Scripturarum floribus carptum... Orationi lectio, lectioni succedat oratio... Pro gemmis et serico divinos Codices amet ».²⁵¹ Valet etiam pro nobis id quod idem sanctus Hieronymus sacerdoti Nepotiano scribebat: « Divinas Scripturas saepius lege, immo numquam de manibus tuis sacra lectio deponatur. Disce quod doceas ».²⁵² Exemplum sequentes tanti sancti, qui suam vitam in inquirenda Biblia impendit et Ecclesiae suam tradidit Latinam versionem, sic dictam Vulgatam, atque omnium sanctorum qui in centro suae spiritalis vitae constituerunt occursum cum Christo, nostrum renovemus studium ad altius vestigandum Verbum quod Deus Ecclesiae donavit. Ita intendere possumus ad illum « superiorem modum ordinariae vitae christianae »,²⁵³ optatum a Summo Pontifice Ioanne Paulo II tertio ineunte millennio christiano, quae constanter in audiendo Verbo Dei alitur.

Letting the Bible inspire pastoral activity

Biblica animatio actionis pastoralis

73. Along these lines the Synod called for a particular pastoral commitment to emphasizing the centrality of the word of God in the Church’s life, and recommended a greater “biblical apostolate”, not alongside other forms of pastoral work, but as a means of letting the Bible inspire all pastoral work”.^[254] This does not mean adding a meeting here or there in parishes or dioceses, but rather of examining the ordinary activities of Christian communities, in parishes, associations and movements, to see if they are truly concerned with fostering a personal encounter with Christ, who gives himself to us in his word. Since “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”,^[255] making the Bible the inspiration of every ordinary and extraordinary pastoral outreach will lead to a greater awareness of the person of Christ, who reveals the Father and is the fullness of divine revelation.

73. Huic rei prospiciens, Synodus hortata est ad peculiare opus pastorale ita agendum ut inde princeps locus Verbi Dei in ecclesiali vita exoriretur, commendans ut « actio pastoralis biblica » augeretur, non uti appositio ad alias formas actionis pastoralis, sed tamquam animatio biblica totius actionis pastoralis.²⁵⁴ Ergo non agitur de quadam congressione in paroecia vel in dioecesi addenda, sed de investigando num in solitis navitatibus communitatum christianarum, in paroeciis, in consociationibus et in motibus realiter in corde habeatur personalis cum Christo occursus qui suo in Verbo nobiscum communicat. Secundum hanc mentem, eo quod « ignoratio Scripturarum ignoratio Christi est »,²⁵⁵ animatio biblica totius actionis pastoralis ordinariae et extraordinariae ad maiorem adducet cognitionem personae Christi, Revelatoris Patris et plenitudinis divinae Revelationis.

For this reason I encourage pastors and the faithful to recognize the importance of this emphasis on the Bible: it will also be the best way to deal with certain pastoral problems which were discussed at the Synod and have to do, for example, with the proliferation of sects which spread a distorted and manipulative reading of sacred Scripture. Where the faithful are not helped to know the Bible in accordance with the Church’s faith and based on her living Tradition, this pastoral vacuum becomes fertile ground for realities like the sects to take root. Provision must also be made for the suitable preparation of priests and lay persons who can instruct the People of God in the genuine approach to Scripture.

Hortamur itaque pastores et fideles ad rationem habendam de pondere huius animationis: erit etiam aptissimus modus ad quasdam obeundas pastorales quaestiones quae in Coetu synodali ortae sunt, et coniunctae, ad exemplum, cum proliferatione sectarum quae distortam et abusivam lectionem sacrae Scripturae diffundunt. Ubi fideles ad cognitionem Bibliorum non instituuntur secundum fidem Ecclesiae in alveo eius vivae Traditionis, illic revera vacuum pastorale remanet in quo realitates sicut sectae spatium invenire possunt ad proprias agendas radices. Hanc ob rem necesse est ut congruae sacerdotum praeparationi provideatur et laicorum qui Populum Dei in genuino aditu ad Scripturas instituere valeant.

Furthermore, as was brought out during the Synod sessions, it is good that pastoral activity also favour the growth of small communities, “formed by families or based in parishes or linked to the different ecclesial movements and new communities”,^[256] which can help to promote formation, prayer and knowledge of the Bible in accordance with the Church’s faith.

Praeterea, sicut in luce positum est in sessionibus synodalibus, rectum est ut in actione pastorali foveatur quoque diffusio parvarum communitatum, « familiis constantium, vel in paroeciis radicatarum, vel variis motibus ecclesialibus communitatibusque novis adnexarum »,²⁵⁶ in quibus formatio, oratio et cognitio Bibliorum secundum fidem Ecclesiae promoveantur.

The biblical dimension of catechesis

Catechesis biblica ratio

74. An important aspect of the Church’s pastoral work which, if used wisely, can help in rediscovering the centrality of God’s word is catechesis, which in its various forms and levels must constantly accompany the journey of the People of God. Luke’s description (cf. Lk 24:13-35) of the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus represents, in some sense, the model of a catechesis centred on “the explanation of the Scriptures”, an explanation which Christ alone can give (cf. Lk 24:27-28), as he shows that they are fulfilled in his person.^[257] The hope which triumphs over every failure was thus reborn, and made those disciples convinced and credible witnesses of the Risen Lord.

74. Uti maioris ponderis momentum animationis pastoralis Ecclesiae, in quo sapienter centralis ratio Verbi Dei reperiri potest, est catechesis, quae suis in diversis formis et gradibus semper Populum Dei comitari debet. Colloquium discipulorum Emmaus cum Iesu, ab evangelista Luca descriptum (cfr Lc 24,13-35), exhibet, quodammodo, exemplum catechesis in qua praecipuum locum obtinet « Scripturarum interpretatio », quam solummodo Christus tradere potest (cfr Lc 24,27-28), in se ipso earum adimpletionem ostendendo.²⁵⁷ Hoc modo spes renascitur omni profligatione fortior, quae hos discipulos testes reddit persuasos et credibiles Resuscitati.

The General Catechetical Directory contains valuable guidelines for a biblically inspired catechesis and I readily encourage that these be consulted.^[258] Here I wish first and foremost to stress that catechesis “must be permeated by the mindset, the spirit and the outlook of the Bible and the Gospels through assiduous contact with the texts themselves; yet it also means remembering that catechesis will be all the richer and more effective for reading the texts with the mind and the heart of the Church”,^[259] and for drawing inspiration from the two millennia of the Church’s reflection and life. A knowledge of biblical personages, events and well-known sayings should thus be encouraged; this can also be promoted by the judicious memorization of some passages which are particularly expressive of the Christian mysteries. Catechetical work always entails approaching Scripture in faith and in the Church’s Tradition, so that its words can be perceived as living, just as Christ is alive today wherever two or three are gathered in his name (cf. Mt 18:20). Catechesis should communicate in a lively way the history of salvation and the content of the Church’s faith, and so enable every member of the faithful to realize that this history is also a part of his or her own life.

In Directorio generali pro catechesi valida invenimus indicia ad catechesim biblice animandam ad quae etiam libenter remittimus.²⁵⁸ Hac data occasione volumus praesertim affirmare oportere catechesim « sententiis, spiritu, rationibus biblicis et evangelicis imbui penitusque pervadi per assiduum textuum ipsorum usum; sed etiam reminisci catechesim eo locupletiorem et efficaciorem esse, quo magis eodem intellectu et animo verba legat, quo Ecclesia; mente ac vita duci, quae his duobus milibus annorum Ecclesiae propriae fuerint ».²⁵⁹ Cognitio ergo figurarum, eventuum et praecipuarum expressionum textus sacri promoveatur oportet; hanc ob rem iuvare etiam potest intellegenter memoriae mandare quosdam locos biblicos mysteriorum christianorum singulariter eloquentes. Catechetica actio semper secum fert ut ad Scripturas in fide et Traditione Ecclesiae accedatur, ita ut haec verba tamquam viva percipiantur, uti Christus est hodie vivus ubi duo vel tres in nomine eius congregantur (cfr Mt 18,20). Ipsa salutis historiam atque materiam fidei Ecclesiae vitaliter tradere debet ut unusquisque fidelis suam quoque personalem vicissitudinem ad illam historiam pertinere percipiat.

Here it is important to stress the relationship between sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as it is set forth in the General Catechetical Directory: “Sacred Scripture, in fact, as ‘the word of God written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit’, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as a significant contemporary expression of the living Tradition of the Church and a sure norm for teaching the faith, are called, each in its own way and according to its specific authority, to nourish catechesis in the Church today”.^[260]

Hoc sub prospectu interest ut in luce ponatur necessitudo inter sacram Scripturam et Catechismum Catholicae Ecclesiae, ut docet Directorium generale pro catechesi: « Etenim sacra Scriptura ut “locutio Dei divino afflante Spiritu scripto consignata”, et Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae quatenus magni momenti documentum hodiernum vivae Traditionis Ecclesiae et firma regula ad fidem docendam, vocantur, uterque suo modo et iuxta propriam auctoritatem utriusque, ad catechesim fecundandam in Ecclesia nostrae aetatis ».²⁶⁰

The biblical formation of Christians

Christianorum biblica formatio

75. In order to achieve the goal set by the Synod, namely, an increased emphasis on the Bible in the Church’s pastoral activity, all Christians, and catechists in particular, need to receive suitable training. Attention needs to be paid to the biblical apostolate, which is a very valuable means to that end, as the Church’s experience has shown. The Synod Fathers also recommended that, possibly through the use of existing academic structures, centres of formation should be established where laity and missionaries can be trained to understand, live and proclaim the word of God. Also, where needed, specialized institutes for biblical studies should be established to ensure that exegetes possess a solid understanding of theology and an appropriate appreciation for the contexts in which they carry out their mission.^[261]

75. Ad finem a Synodo optatum consequendum, ad maiorem videlicet biblicam indolem totius actionis pastoralis Ecclesiae, necesse est ut idonea sit christianorum ac, potissimum, catechistarum formatio. Ad hanc rem, attentio convertatur oportet ad apostolatum biblicum, qui methodus est satis valida ad eiusmodi finem attingendum, prout ecclesialis docet experientia. Praeterea Patres synodales adhortati sunt ut, si fieri potest, per considerationem structurarum academicarum iam exsistentium, formationis constituantur centra pro laicis et missionariis, in quibus discant Verbum Dei intellegere, vivere ac nuntiare, et, ubi necessarium videatur, instituta peculiariter studiis biblicis dicata constituantur, ut exegetae solida theologiae comprehensione et animo in adiuncta suae missionis sensibili pariter ditentur.²⁶¹

Sacred Scripture in large ecclesial gatherings

Sacra Scriptura in magnis ecclesialibus congressionibus

76. Among a variety of possible initiatives, the Synod suggested that in meetings, whether at the diocesan, national or international levels, greater emphasis be given to the importance of the word of God, its attentive hearing, and the faith-filled and prayerful reading of the Bible. In Eucharistic Congresses, whether national or international, at World Youth Days and other gatherings, it would be praiseworthy to make greater room for the celebration of the word and for biblically-inspired moments of formation.^[262]

Inter innumera incepta quae suscipi possunt, Synodus suadet ut in congressionibus, sive dioecesanis sive nationalibus vel internationalibus, amplius tribuatur momentum Verbo Dei, eius auscultationi atque credenti et oranti Bibliorum lectioni. Quapropter in congressibus eucharisticis, nationalibus et internationalibus, in diebus mundialibus iuventuti dicatis aliisque in conventibus maius spatium laudabiliter inveniri poterit ad celebrationes Verbi adque periodos formationis biblicae.²⁶²

The word of God and vocations

Verbum Dei et vocationes

77. In stressing faith’s intrinsic summons to an ever deeper relationship with Christ, the word of God in our midst, the Synod also emphasized that this word calls each one of us personally, revealing that life itself is a vocation from God. In other words, the more we grow in our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, the more we realize that he is calling us to holiness in and through the definitive choices by which we respond to his love in our lives, taking up tasks and ministries which help to build up the Church. This is why the Synod frequently encouraged all Christians to grow in their relationship with the word of God, not only because of their Baptism, but also in accordance with their call to various states in life. Here we touch upon one of the pivotal points in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which insisted that each member of the faithful is called to holiness according to his or her proper state in life.^[263] Our call to holiness is revealed in sacred Scripture: “Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:44; 19:2; 20:7). Saint Paul then points out its Christological basis: in Christ, the Father “has chosen us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph 1:4). Paul’s greeting to his brothers and sisters in the community of Rome can be taken as addressed to each of us: “To all God’s beloved, who are called to be saints: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Rom 1:7).

77. Synodus in lumen proferens necessitatem intrinsecam fidei ad necessitudinem cum Christo, Verbo Dei inter nos, altiorem reddendam, voluit etiam demonstrare quod ipsum Verbum unumquemque personaliter vocat, hoc modo revelans ipsam vitam vocationem esse in relatione cum Deo. Et hoc significat: quo magis personalem nostram necessitudinem cum Domino Iesu altiorem reddimus, eo magis etiam intellegimus Ipsum ad sanctitatem nos vocare, per definitivas optiones, quibus vita nostra amori illius respondet, munera sumens et ministeria ad Ecclesiam aedificandam. Hoc in prospectu adhortationes ad cunctos christianos a Synodo factae intelleguntur, ut necessitudinem cum Verbo Dei altius perspiciant veluti baptizati, et etiam sicut vocati ad vivendum secundum diversos vitae status. Hic tangimus unum ex argumentis fundamentalibus doctrinae Concilii Vaticani II quod in lumine posuit singulorum fidelium vocationem ad sanctitatem, in proprio cuiusque vitae statu.²⁶³ Et in sacra Scriptura invenimus revelatam nostram ad sanctitatem vocationem: « Sancti estote, quoniam et ego sanctus sum » (Lv 11,44; 19,2; 20,7). Sanctus Paulus deinde eius christologicum demonstrat fundamentum: Pater in Christo « elegit nos (...) ante mundi constitutionem, ut essemus sancti et immaculati in conspectu eius in caritate » (Eph 1,4). Ita possumus audire uti unicuique nostrum conversam salutationem ad fratres sororesque Romanae communitatis: « Dilectis Dei, vocatis sanctis: gratia vobis et pax a Deo Patre nostro et Domino Iesu Christo » (Rom 1,7).

a) Ordained ministers and the word of God

a) Verbum Dei et Ministri ordinati

78. I would like to speak first to the Church’s ordained ministers, in order to remind them of the Synod’s statement that “the word of God is indispensable in forming the heart of a good shepherd and minister of the word”.^[264] Bishops, priests, and deacons can hardly think that they are living out their vocation and mission apart from a decisive and renewed commitment to sanctification, one of whose pillars is contact with God’s word.

78. Ante omnia, dum nunc ad Ministros ordinatos Ecclesiae animum Nostrum vertimus, in eorum memoriam revocamus quod in Synodo affirmatum est: « Verbum Dei est omnino necessarium in corde boni pastoris, qui sit Verbi minister, formando ».²⁶⁴ Episcopi, presbyteri, diaconi minime intendere possunt suam vivere vocationem missionemque sine studio certo et renovato sanctificationis, quae in consuetudine cum Bibliis unum ex suis habet sustentaculis.

79. To those called to the episcopate, who are the first and most authoritative heralds of the word, I would repeat the words of Pope John Paul II in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Gregis. For the nourishment and progress of his spiritual life, the Bishop must always put “in first place, reading and meditation on the word of God. Every Bishop must commend himself and feel himself commended ‘to the Lord and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up and to give the inheritance among all those who are sanctified’ (Acts 20:32). Before becoming one who hands on the word, the Bishop, together with his priests and indeed like every member of the faithful, and like the Church herself, must be a hearer of the word. He should dwell ‘within’ the word and allow himself to be protected and nourished by it, as if by a mother’s womb”.^[265] To all my brother Bishops I recommend frequent personal reading and study of sacred Scripture, in imitation of Mary, Virgo Audiens and Queen of the Apostles.

79. Pro iis qui ad episcopatum vocantur et primi sunt et maiore auctoritate praediti Verbi praecones, confirmare desideramus quod Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II in Adhortatione apostolica postsynodali Pastores gregis dixit. Ad spiritalem vitam alendam et promovendam, Episcopus debet semper lectioni ac Verbi Dei meditationi principem concedere locum. « Quisque Episcopus debebit se committere seseque commissum animadvertere “Deo et verbo gratiae ipsius, qui potens est aedificare et dare hereditatem in sanctificatis omnibus” (Act 20,32). Quapropter antequam est Verbi praeco Episcopus, una cum suis sacerdotibus et sicut quisque fidelis, immo sicut ipsa Ecclesia, Verbi debet esse auditor. Immo veluti interius Verbum incolere debet, ut ipso veluti matris gremio custodiatur et alatur ».²⁶⁵ Ad imitationem Mariae, Virginis audientis et Reginae Apostolorum, omnibus fratribus in episcopatu frequentem suademus personalem lectionem atque assiduum sacrae Scripturae studium.

80. To priests too, I would recall the words of Pope John Paul II, who in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, stated that “the priest is first of all a minister of the word of God, consecrated and sent to announce the Good News of the Kingdom to all, calling every person to the obedience of faith and leading believers to an ever increasing knowledge of and communion in the mystery of God, as revealed and communicated to us in Christ. For this reason the priest himself ought first of all to develop a great personal familiarity with the word of God. Knowledge of its linguistic and exegetical aspects, though certainly necessary, is not enough. He needs to approach the word with a docile and prayerful heart so that it may deeply penetrate his thoughts and feelings and bring about a new outlook in him – ‘the mind of Christ’ (1 Cor 2:16)”.^[266] Consequently, his words, his choices and his behaviour must increasingly become a reflection, proclamation and witness of the Gospel; “only if he ‘abides’ in the word will the priest become a perfect disciple of the Lord. Only then then will he know the truth and be set truly free”.^[267]

Ad sacerdotes quoque quod attinet, verba Summi Pontificis Ioannis Pauli II recolere velimus, qui in Adhortatione apostolica postsynodali Pastores dabo vobis affirmavit: « Est enim imprimis sacerdos Verbi Dei administer, cum consecratus et missus sit ad nuntiandum hominibus universis Evangelium Regni, singulos ad oboedientiam fidei provocando et christifideles perducendo ad profundiorem in dies notitiam et communionem Dei mysterii, nobis in Christo revelati et communicati ». Quamobrem ipse sacerdos primum magnam personalem consuetudinem cum Verbo Dei fovere debet. Ei « non sufficiet linguisticos dumtaxat et exegeticos aspectus novisse, licet id quoque necessarium sit; accedendum enim ad Dei Verbum est, corde docili et orante, ut sic possit ipsum cogitationes et affectum sacerdotis penitus permeare novamque instruere mentis conformationem – “sensum Domini” (1 Cor 2,16) ».²⁶⁶ Itaque eius verba, optata et gestus magis magisque sint oportet perluciditas, nuntium et testimonium Evangelii; « tantummodo si in Verbo “remaneat”, poterit sacerdos fieri perfectus Domini discipulus; tum veritatem discernet; tum vere liber erit ».²⁶⁷

In a word, the priestly vocation demands that one be consecrated “in the truth”. Jesus states this clearly with regard to his disciples: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (Jn 17:17-18). The disciples in a certain sense become “drawn into intimacy with God by being immersed in the word of God. God’s word is, so to speak, the purifying bath, the creative power which changes them and makes them belong to God”.^[268] And since Christ himself is God’s Word made flesh (Jn 1:14) – “the Truth” (Jn 14:6) – Jesus’ prayer to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth”, means in the deepest sense: “Make them one with me, the Christ. Bind them to me. Draw them into me. For there is only one priest of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ himself”.^[269] Priests need to grow constantly in their awareness of this reality.

In summa, vocatio ad sacerdotium consecrationem « in veritate » postulat. Ipse Iesus ad suos quod attinet discipulos hanc significat necessitatem: « Sanctifica eos in veritate; sermo tuus veritas est. Sicut me misisti in mundum, et ego misi eos in mundum » (Io 17,17-18). Discipuli quodammodo « in intimam Dei naturam trahuntur per immersionem in Verbum Dei. Verbum Dei est, ut ita dicamus, lavacrum quod eos purificat, potentia creatrix quae eos in filios Dei transformat ».²⁶⁸ Cum ipse Christus Verbum Dei sit quod caro factum est (Io 1,14), est « ipsa Veritas » (Io 14,6), idcirco precatio Iesu ad Patrem « Sanctifica eos in veritate » altiore sensu sibi vult: « Redde eos unum mecum, Christo. Colliga eos mecum. Trahe eos in me. Adest revera unus sacerdos Novi Foederis, ipse Iesus Christus ».²⁶⁹ Necesse est igitur ut sacerdotes semper penitius conscientiam renovent huius realitatis.

81. I would also like to speak of the place of God’s word in the life of those called to the diaconate, not only as the final step towards the order of priesthood, but as a permanent service. The Directory for the Permanent Diaconate states that “the deacon’s theological identity clearly provides the features of his specific spirituality, which is presented essentially as a spirituality of service. The model par excellence is Christ as servant, lived totally at the service of God, for the good of humanity”.^[270] From this perspective, one can see how, in the various dimensions of the diaconal ministry, a “characteristic element of diaconal spirituality is the word of God, of which the deacon is called to be an authoritative preacher, believing what he preaches, teaching what he believes, and living what he teaches”.^[271] Hence, I recommend that deacons nourish their lives by the faith-filled reading of sacred Scripture, accompanied by study and prayer. They should be introduced to “sacred Scripture and its correct interpretation; to the relationship between Scripture and Tradition; in particular to the use of Scripture in preaching, in catechesis and in pastoral activity in general”.^[272]

81. Agere velimus de pondere Verbi Dei in vita etiam illorum qui ad diaconatum vocantur, non solum uti praevium gradum ordinis presbyteratus, sed tamquam permanens ministerium. Directorium pro institutione diaconorum permanentium affirmat quod « ex identitate theologica diaconi lineamenta spiritualitatis propriae perspicue efflorescunt, quae quidem ut spiritualitas servitii potissimum exhibetur. Exemplar per excellentiam est Christus servus, qui suam vitam totus in servitium Dei et in bonum hominum impendit ».²⁷⁰ Hoc in prospectu percipitur quod, in variis dimensionibus diaconalis ministerii, « elementum specificum spiritualitatis diaconalis est Verbum Dei, ad quod diaconus ex officio praedicandum vocatus est et quidem ita, ut quod proclamat credat, doceat quod credit atque vivat quod docet ».²⁷¹ Diaconos igitur hortamur ut propria in vita lectionem credentem sacrae Scripturae studio et precatione nutriant. Introducantur in sacram Scripturam et in eius rectam interpretationem; ad mutuam relationem inter Scripturam et Traditionem; praesertim ad usum Scripturae in praedicatione, in catechesi et in actione pastorali in genere.²⁷²

b) The word of God and candidates for Holy Orders

b) Verbum Dei et candidati ad Ordinem sacrum

82. The Synod attributed particular importance to the decisive role that the word of God must play in the spiritual life of candidates for the ministerial priesthood: “Candidates for the priesthood must learn to love the word of God. Scripture should thus be the soul of their theological formation, and emphasis must be given to the indispensable interplay of exegesis, theology, spirituality and mission”.^[273] Those aspiring to the ministerial priesthood are called to a profound personal relationship with God’s word, particularly in lectio divina, so that this relationship will in turn nurture their vocation: it is in the light and strength of God’s word that one’s specific vocation can be discerned and appreciated, loved and followed, and one’s proper mission carried out, by nourishing the heart with thoughts of God, so that faith, as our response to the word, may become a new criterion for judging and evaluating persons and things, events and issues.^[274]

Synodus peculiare pondus decretorio operi Verbi Dei dedit in vita spirituali candidatorum ad sacerdotium ministeriale. « Discant candidati in sacerdotium divinum Verbum amare. Fiat Scriptura velut anima eorum theologicae educationis et in propatulo collocetur circulus ille, qui exegesin, theologiam, spiritualitatem, missionem in orbem percurrit ».²⁷³ Adspirantes ad sacerdotium ministeriale ad altam personalem necessitudinem vocantur cum Verbo Dei, praesertim in lectione divina, quia eiusmodi necessitudine ipsa alitur vocatio: sub luce subque virtute Verbi Dei reperi, intellegi, amari et duci potest propria vocatio atque adimpleri propria missio, in corde nutriendo Dei cogitationes, unde fides, uti responsio ad Verbum, evadat novum iudicandi et aestimandi criterium erga homines et res, erga eventus et quaestiones.²⁷⁴

Such attention to the prayerful reading of Scripture must not in any way lead to a dichotomy with regard to the exegetical studies which are a part of formation. The Synod recommended that seminarians be concretely helped to see the relationship between biblical studies and scriptural prayer. The study of Scripture ought to lead to an increased awareness of the mystery of divine revelation and foster an attitude of prayerful response to the Lord who speaks. Conversely, an authentic life of prayer cannot fail to nurture in the candidate’s heart a desire for greater knowledge of the God who has revealed himself in his word as infinite love. Hence, great care should be taken to ensure that seminarians always cultivate this reciprocity between study and prayer in their lives. This end will be served if candidates are introduced to the study of Scripture through methods which favour this integral approach.

Haec sollicitudo de oranti Scripturae lectione nullo quidem pacto dichotomiam quandam alere debet quatenus ad institutionem exegeticam tempore formationis postulatam. Synodus hortata est ut sacrorum alumni efficaciter iuventur ad percipiendam necessitudinem inter biblicam institutionem et precationem cum Scriptura. Scripturarum scrutatio efficere debet maiorem conscientiam mysterii divinae revelationis et alere gestum orantis responsionis Domino qui loquitur. Praeterea, authentica quoque vita orationis facere non poterit quin in anima candidati augere valeat desiderium magis in dies cognoscendi Deum qui suo in Verbo se revelavit tamquam infinitum amorem. Maxima igitur adhibenda est sollicitudo ut in vita sacrorum alumnorum haec reciprocitas inter institutionem et orationem exerceatur. Ad hunc finem consequendum necesse est ut candidati ad studium sacrae Scripturae introducantur per methodos quae talem accessum integrum foveant.

c) The word of God and the consecrated life

c) Verbum Dei et vita consecrata

83. With regard to the consecrated life, the Synod first recalled that it “is born from hearing the word of God and embracing the Gospel as its rule of life”.^[275] A life devoted to following Christ in his chastity, poverty and obedience thus becomes “a living ‘exegesis’ of God’s word”.^[276] The Holy Spirit, in whom the Bible was written, is the same Spirit who illumines “the word of God with new light for the founders and foundresses. Every charism and every rule springs from it and seeks to be an expression of it”,^[277] thus opening up new pathways of Christian living marked by the radicalism of the Gospel.

83. Circa vitam consecratam Synodus praesertim memoravit quod eadem « a Verbo Dei auscultato exoritur et Evangelium ut vitae normam accipit ».²⁷⁵ Vita in sequela Christi, casti, pauperis et oboedientis ita fit vivens « “exegesis” Verbi Dei ».²⁷⁶ Spiritus Sanctus, cuius virtute Biblia scripta sunt, idem est qui illuminat « nova luce Verbum Domini fundatoribus et fundatricibus. Ex eo emanavit quodlibet charisma eiusque omnis regula exstat signum »,²⁷⁷ originem dando vitae christianae itinerariis radicali Evangelii indole signatis.

Here I would mention that the great monastic tradition has always considered meditation on sacred Scripture to be an essential part of its specific spirituality, particularly in the form of lectio divina. Today too, both old and new expressions of special consecration are called to be genuine schools of the spiritual life, where the Scriptures can be read according to the Holy Spirit in the Church, for the benefit of the entire People of God. The Synod therefore recommended that communities of consecrated life always make provision for solid instruction in the faith-filled reading of the Bible.^[278]

Memorare quidem velimus quod magna traditio monastica sicut elementum constituens propriae spiritualitatis meditationem sacrae Scripturae semper exercuit, maxime sub forma lectionis divinae. In praesens quoque antiquae et novae realitates specialis consecrationis vocantur ut verae sint scholae vitae spiritalis in quibus Scripturae secundum Spiritum Sanctum in Ecclesia sunt legendae, ita ut omnis Dei Populus hac re frui possit. Quam ob rem Synodus suadet ne in communitatibus vitae consecratae umquam desit solida formatio circa credentem Bibliorum lectionem.²⁷⁸

Once again I would like to echo the consideration and gratitude that the Synod expressed with regard to those forms of contemplative life whose specific charism is to devote a great part of their day to imitating the Mother of God, who diligently pondered the words and deeds of her Son (cf. Lk 2:19, 51), and Mary of Bethany, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened attentively to his words (cf. Lk 10:38). I think in particular of monks and cloistered nuns, who by virtue of their separation from the world are all the more closely united to Christ, the heart of the world. More than ever, the Church needs the witness of men and women resolved to “put nothing before the love of Christ”.^[279] The world today is often excessively caught up in outward activities and risks losing its bearings. Contemplative men and women, by their lives of prayer, attentive hearing and meditation on God’s Word, remind us that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (cf. Mt 4:4). All the faithful, then, should be clearly conscious that this form of life “shows today’s world what is most important, indeed, the one thing necessary: there is an ultimate reason which makes life worth living, and that is God and his inscrutable love”.^[280]

Cupimus etiam interpretari diligentiam et gratitudinem quas Synodus de formis vitae contemplativae protulit, quae per peculiare charisma cotidie protracta temporis spatia impendunt imitationi Matris Dei quae in corde suo omnia verba et facta Filii sui assidue conservabat (cfr Lc 2,19.51), et Mariae Bethaniae quae, sedens secus pedes Domini, audiebat verbum illius (cfr Lc 10,38). Mens Nostra praesertim ad monachos et ad moniales clausurae vertitur, qui a mundo seiuncti penitius sociantur cum Christo, orbis terrarum corde. Ecclesia quam maxime testificatione indiget eorum qui promittunt « nihil amori Christi praeponere ».²⁷⁹ Hodierna societas saepe nimis externis actionibus detinetur, quibus obrui periclitatur. Viri et mulieres vitae contemplativae, eorum vita orationis, auditionis meditationisque Verbi Dei, nos admonent quod non in pane solo vivit homo, sed in omni verbo, quod procedit de ore Dei (cfr Mt 4,4). Cuncti fideles idcirco meminerint eiusmodi vitae formam « mundo nostrae aetatis demonstrare id quod est maximi momenti, in summa, unum necessarium: quod postrema adest ratio qua operae pretium est vivere, Deus videlicet eiusque imperscrutabilis amor ».²⁸⁰

d) The word of God and the lay faithful

d) Verbum Dei et christifideles laici

84. The Synod frequently spoke of the laity and thanked them for their generous activity in spreading the Gospel in the various settings of daily life, at work and in the schools, in the family and in education.^[281] This responsibility, rooted in Baptism, needs to develop through an ever more conscious Christian way of life capable of “accounting for the hope” within us (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus points out that “the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the Kingdom” (13:38). These words apply especially to the Christian laity, who live out their specific vocation to holiness by a life in the Spirit expressed “in a particular way by their engagement in temporal matters and by their participation in earthly activities”.^[282] The laity need to be trained to discern God’s will through a familiarity with his word, read and studied in the Church under the guidance of her legitimate pastors. They can receive this training at the school of the great ecclesial spiritualities, all of which are grounded in sacred Scripture. Wherever possible, dioceses themselves should provide an opportunity for continuing formation to lay persons charged with particular ecclesial responsibilities.^[283]

84. Ad christifideles laicos Synodus saepenumero animum vertit, gratias eis referens de munifico eorum studio in Evangelio propagando in variis cotidianae vitae provinciis, in opere, in schola, in familia et in educatione.²⁸¹ Eiusmodi munus, quod a baptismo provenit, oportet per vitam christianam semper magis consciam augeri possit atque « rationem spei » (cfr 1 Pe 3,15) quae est in nobis dare valeat. Iesus in Evangelio secundum Matthaeum affirmat: « Ager autem est mundus; bonum vero semen, hi sunt filii regni » (13,38). Haec verba christifideles laicos potissimum contingunt, qui propriam vivunt vocationem ad sanctitatem per exsistentiam secundum Spiritum qui exprimitur « speciatim se inserendo in rebus temporalibus et participando in navitatibus terrenis ».²⁸² Illi indigent formatione ad discernendam voluntatem Dei per consuetudinem cum Verbo Dei, lecto et vestigato in Ecclesia, legitimis ducentibus Pastoribus. Utinam haurire possint hanc formationem ex scholis sublimium spiritalium traditionum ecclesialium in quarum fundamento sacra semper adest Scriptura. Quantum fieri possit, hoc in sensu ipsae dioeceses formationis occasiones praebeant laicis qui peculiaria officia ecclesialia habent.²⁸³

e) The word of God, marriage and the family

e) Verbum Dei, matrimonium et familia

85. The Synod also felt the need to stress the relationship between the word of God, marriage and the Christian family. Indeed, “with the proclamation of the word of God, the Church reveals to Christian families their true identity, what it is and what it must be in accordance with the Lord’s plan”.^[284] Consequently, it must never be forgotten that the word of God is at the very origin of marriage (cf. Gen 2:24) and that Jesus himself made marriage one of the institutions of his Kingdom (cf. Mt 19:4-8), elevating to the dignity of a sacrament what was inscribed in human nature from the beginning. “In the celebration of the sacrament, a man and a woman speak a prophetic word of reciprocal self-giving, that of being ‘one flesh’, a sign of the mystery of the union of Christ with the Church (cf. Eph 5:31-32)”.^[285] Fidelity to God’s word leads us to point out that nowadays this institution is in many ways under attack from the current mentality. In the face of widespread confusion in the sphere of affectivity, and the rise of ways of thinking which trivialize the human body and sexual differentiation, the word of God re-affirms the original goodness of the human being, created as man and woman and called to a love which is faithful, reciprocal and fruitful.

85. Synodus animadvertit necessitatem in lucem proferendi etiam necessitudinem inter Verbum Dei, matrimonium et familiam christianam. Nam « Verbum Dei annuntians, Ecclesia patefacit christianae familiae veram eius identitatem, id nempe quod ea est et esse debet secundum Domini consilium ».²⁸⁴ Numquam ideo obliviscendum est « Verbum Dei in matrimonii origine collocari (cfr Gn 2,24) et ipsum Iesum matrimonium includere voluisse inter institutiones sui Regni (cfr Mt 19,4-8) », extollendo ad sacramentum quod ab origine in humana natura est inscriptum. « In celebratione sacramenti vir et mulier proferunt verbum propheticum mutuae donationis efficax, ut sint “caro una”, signum unionis Christi et Ecclesiae (cfr Eph 5,31-32) ».²⁸⁵ Fidelitas erga Verbum Dei ducit etiam ad animadvertendum hanc institutionem hodie sub plurimis aspectibus in incursus mentis huius aetatis exponi. Prae diffusa affectuum turbatione ac recentioribus cogitandi modis qui corpus humanum et differentiam sexualem parvipendunt, Verbum Dei iterum confirmat originalem bonitatem hominis, qui masculus et femina creatus est, atque ad amorem fidelem, reciprocum et fecundum vocatus.

The great mystery of marriage is the source of the essential responsibility of parents towards their children. Part of authentic parenthood is to pass on and bear witness to the meaning of life in Christ: through their fidelity and the unity of family life, spouses are the first to proclaim God’s word to their children. The ecclesial community must support and assist them in fostering family prayer, attentive hearing of the word of God, and knowledge of the Bible. To this end the Synod urged that every household have its Bible, to be kept in a worthy place and used for reading and prayer. Whatever help is needed in this regard can be provided by priests, deacons and a well-prepared laity. The Synod also recommended the formation of small communities of families, where common prayer and meditation on passages of Scripture can be cultivated.^[286] Spouses should also remember that “the Word of God is a precious support amid the difficulties which arise in marriage and in family life”.^[287]

E magno mysterio nuptiali provenit responsalitas parentum erga eorum filios, quae praetermitti nequit. Ad authenticam enim paternitatem et maternitatem pertinent communicatio ac testificatio sensus vitae in Christo: per fidelitatem et unitatem vitae familiae coniuges erga suos filios primi sunt nuntiatores Verbi Dei. Ecclesialis communitas eos sustinere debet et iuvare ad augendam orationem in familia, auscultationem Verbi, cognitionem Bibliorum. Quam ob rem Synodus exoptat ut quaelibet domus sua habeat Biblia eaque digne custodiat, ita ut ea legere possit eaque adhibere ad orandum. Necessarium subsidium a sacerdotibus, diaconis et laicis recte paratis praestari potest. Synodus suasit etiam ut parvae constituerentur communitates inter familias ad communiter colendam orationem meditationemque congruentium locorum Scripturarum.²⁸⁶ Coniuges deinde meminerint « Verbum Dei auxilium magni pretii etiam in vitae coniugalis et familiaris adversitatibus praebere ».²⁸⁷

Here I would like to highlight the recommendations of the Synod concerning the role of women in relation to the word of God. Today, more than in the past, the “feminine genius”,^[288] to use the words of John Paul II, has contributed greatly to the understanding of Scripture and to the whole life of the Church, and this is now also the case with biblical studies. The Synod paid special attention to the indispensable role played by women in the family, education, catechesis and the communication of values. “They have an ability to lead people to hear God’s word, to enjoy a personal relationship with God, and to show the meaning of forgiveness and of evangelical sharing”.^[289] They are likewise messengers of love, models of mercy and peacemakers; they communicate warmth and humanity in a world which all too often judges people according to the ruthless criteria of exploitation and profit.

Hanc ad rem desideramus luculenter quoque exponere quod Synodus hortata est circa munus mulierum in necessitudine cum Verbo Dei. Contributio « ingenii muliebris »,²⁸⁸ prout Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II illud vocare consueverat, ad Scripturae cognitionem nec non ad totam vitam Ecclesiae hodie latior est quam praeterito tempore et ambitum quoque ipsarum inquisitionum biblicarum respicit. Synodus peculiari modo necessariam consideravit mulierum missionem in familia, in educatione, in catechesi atque in communicatione valorum. Ipsae enim capaces sunt quae « Verbi auditum suscitent, personalem cum Deo relationem cieant, sensum condonationis et evangelicae condivisionis communicent »,²⁸⁹ sicut etiam sciunt amoris esse gestatrices, misericordiae magistrae et pacis aedificatrices, caloris et humanitatis communicatrices in mundo qui saepissime personas aestimat per languida abusus et lucri criteria.

The prayerful reading of sacred Scripture and “lectio divina”

Orans  lectio sacrae Scripturae et lectio divina

86. The Synod frequently insisted on the need for a prayerful approach to the sacred text as a fundamental element in the spiritual life of every believer, in the various ministries and states in life, with particular reference to lectio divina.^[290] The word of God is at the basis of all authentic Christian spirituality. The Synod Fathers thus took up the words of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum: “Let the faithful go gladly to the sacred text itself, whether in the sacred liturgy, which is full of the divine words, or in devout reading, or in such suitable exercises and various other helps which, with the approval and guidance of the pastors of the Church, are happily spreading everywhere in our day. Let them remember, however, that prayer should accompany the reading of sacred Scripture”.^[291] The Council thus sought to reappropriate the great patristic tradition which had always recommended approaching the Scripture in dialogue with God. As Saint Augustine puts it: “Your prayer is the word you speak to God. When you read the Bible, God speaks to you; when you pray, you speak to God”.^[292] Origen, one of the great masters of this way of reading the Bible, maintains that understanding Scripture demands, even more than study, closeness to Christ and prayer. Origen was convinced, in fact, that the best way to know God is through love, and that there can be no authentic scientia Christi apart from growth in his love. In his Letter to Gregory, the great Alexandrian theologian gave this advice: “Devote yourself to the lectio of the divine Scriptures; apply yourself to this with perseverance. Do your reading with the intent of believing in and pleasing God. If during the lectio you encounter a closed door, knock and it will be opened to you by that guardian of whom Jesus said, ‘The gatekeeper will open it for him’. By applying yourself in this way to lectio divina, search diligently and with unshakable trust in God for the meaning of the divine Scriptures, which is hidden in great fullness within. You ought not, however, to be satisfied merely with knocking and seeking: to understand the things of God, what is absolutely necessary is oratio. For this reason, the Saviour told us not only: ‘Seek and you will find’, and ‘Knock and it shall be opened to you’, but also added, ‘Ask and you shall receive’”.^[293]

86. Synodus saepius in necessitatem institit orantis accessus ad textum sacrum uti elementum fundamentale spiritalis vitae cuiusque credentis, in diversis ministeriis et statibus vitae, cum peculiari relatione ad lectionem divinam.²⁹⁰ Verbum enim Dei fundamentum exstat cuiusque authenticae christianae spiritalitatis. Hoc modo Patres synodales unanimiter consentiunt sententiae Constitutionis dogmaticae Dei Verbum: « Libenter igitur [cuncti fideles] ad sacrum textum ipsum accedant, sive per sacram Liturgiam divinis eloquiis confertam, sive per piam lectionem, sive per institutionem ad id aptas aliaque subsidia, quae approbantibus et curantibus Pastoribus Ecclesiae ubique nostro tempore laudabiliter diffunduntur. Meminerint autem orationem concomitari debere sacrae Scripturae lectionem ».²⁹¹ Conciliaris meditatio magnam traditionem patristicam resumere volebat quae semper accessum ad Scripturam commendavit in colloquio cum Deo. Ut ait sanctus Augustinus: « Oratio tua locutio est ad Deum: quando legis, Deus tibi loquitur; quando oras, Deo loqueris ».²⁹² Origenes, in hac Bibliorum lectione unus ex magistris, censet intellectionem Scripturarum magis communionem cum Christo et orationem postulare, quam inquisitionem ipsam. Ille enim compertum habet viam privilegiariam ad Deum cognoscendum amorem esse, et authenticam scientiam Christi non dari nisi erga Ipsum amoris flamma ferveat. In Epistola ad Gregorium magnus theologus Alexandrinus commendat: « Praecipue attende divinarum Scripturarum lectioni, sed attente. (...) Et attendens rerum divinarum lectioni cum fideli et quae Deo placeat anticipata opinione, pulsa quae in iis clausa sunt, et aperietur tibi a ianitore, de quo dixit Iesus: “Huic ostiarius aperit”. Et attendens divinae lectioni, recte et firma in Deum fide eam quaere quae multis abscondita est, divinarum mentem litterarum. Verum ne tibi satis sit pulsare et quaerere. Nam maxime etiam necessaria est ad res divinas intelligendas oratio, ad quam cohortans Salvator, non solum dixit: “Quaerite, et invenietis”, et “Pulsate, et aperietur vobis”, sed et: “Petite, et dabitur vobis” ».²⁹³

In this regard, however, one must avoid the risk of an individualistic approach, and remember that God’s word is given to us precisely to build communion, to unite us in the Truth along our path to God. While it is a word addressed to each of us personally, it is also a word which builds community, which builds the Church. Consequently, the sacred text must always be approached in the communion of the Church. In effect, “a communal reading of Scripture is extremely important, because the living subject in the sacred Scriptures is the People of God, it is the Church… Scripture does not belong to the past, because its subject, the People of God inspired by God himself, is always the same, and therefore the word is always alive in the living subject. As such, it is important to read and experience sacred Scripture in communion with the Church, that is, with all the great witnesses to this word, beginning with the earliest Fathers up to the saints of our own day, up to the present-day magisterium”.^[294]

Attamen, ad tale quod attinet propositum, periculum est vitandum accessus individualistici, considerando quod Verbum Dei nobis datur ad communionem aedificandam, ad unionem in Veritate agendam nostro in itinere ad Deum. Verbum est quod unumquemque nostrum alloquitur, sed etiam Verbum quod communitatem aedificat, quod Ecclesiam aedificat. Quam ob rem ad sacrum textum in ecclesiali communione accedendum est. Etenim « maximi momenti est lectio communitaria, quia subiectum vivens sacrae Scripturae est Populus Dei, est Ecclesia... Scriptura ad praeteritum tempus non pertinet, quia eius subiectum, Populus Dei ab ipso Deo inspiratus, semper idem est, quocirca Verbum semper vivens est in subiecto viventi. Hanc ob rem magni ponderis est sacram Scripturam legere et sacram Scripturam sentire in communione Ecclesiae, cunctis videlicet cum magnis testibus huius Verbi, inde a primis Patribus usque ad Sanctos nostrae aetatis, usque ad hodiernum Magisterium ».²⁹⁴

For this reason, the privileged place for the prayerful reading of sacred Scripture is the liturgy, and particularly the Eucharist, in which, as we celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament, the word itself is present and at work in our midst. In some sense the prayerful reading of the Bible, personal and communal, must always be related to the Eucharistic celebration. Just as the adoration of the Eucharist prepares for, accompanies and follows the liturgy of the Eucharist,^[295] so too prayerful reading, personal and communal, prepares for, accompanies and deepens what the Church celebrates when she proclaims the word in a liturgical setting. By so closely relating lectio and liturgy, we can better grasp the criteria which should guide this practice in the area of pastoral care and in the spiritual life of the People of God.

Quamobrem in lectione orante sacrae Scripturae privilegiatum spatium occupat Liturgia, potissimum Eucharistia, in qua, dum Corpus et Sanguis Christi in Sacramento celebrantur, ipsum Verbum inter nos praesens efficitur. Quodammodo lectio orans, personalis et communitaria, semper in relatione ad eucharisticam celebrationem est vivenda. Sicut adoratio eucharistica parat, comitatur et eucharisticam liturgiam sequitur,²⁹⁵ ita lectio orans personalis et communitaria parat, comitatur et altius inspicit ea quae Ecclesia per proclamationem Verbi in ambitu liturgico celebrat. Dum in tali stricto vinculo lectio et liturgia ponuntur, melius possunt colligi criteria quae hanc lectionem conducere debent in contextu actionis pastoralis et vitae spiritalis Populi Dei.

87. The documents produced before and during the Synod mentioned a number of methods for a faith-filled and fruitful approach to sacred Scripture. Yet the greatest attention was paid to lectio divina, which is truly “capable of opening up to the faithful the treasures of God’s word, but also of bringing about an encounter with Christ, the living word of God”.^[296] I would like here to review the basic steps of this procedure. It opens with the reading (lectio) of a text, which leads to a desire to understand its true content: what does the biblical text say in itself? Without this, there is always a risk that the text will become a pretext for never moving beyond our own ideas. Next comes meditation (meditatio), which asks: what does the biblical text say to us? Here, each person, individually but also as a member of the community, must let himself or herself be moved and challenged. Following this comes prayer (oratio), which asks the question: what do we say to the Lord in response to his word? Prayer, as petition, intercession, thanksgiving and praise, is the primary way by which the word transforms us. Finally, lectio divina concludes with contemplation (contemplatio), during which we take up, as a gift from God, his own way of seeing and judging reality, and ask ourselves what conversion of mind, heart and life is the Lord asking of us? In the Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul tells us: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (12:2). Contemplation aims at creating within us a truly wise and discerning vision of reality, as God sees it, and at forming within us “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). The word of God appears here as a criterion for discernment: it is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12). 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.

86. In documentis quae Synodum praeparaverunt et comitata sunt, de diversis methodis dissertum est ut in fide et fructuose ad sacras Scripturas accedatur. Maius tamen pondus tributum est lectioni divinae, quae revera « capax est fideli thesaurum Verbi Dei aperiendi, immo etiam communionem creandi cum Christo, Verbo divino vivente ».²⁹⁶ Eius praecipuos gradus hic breviter recensere volumus: ea incipit lectione textus qui quaestionem provocat circa authenticam cognitionem eius argumenti: quid in se ipso biblicus dicit textus? Si praetermittitur hoc momentum, in periculum inciditur ne textus mutetur in praetextum ad minime egrediendum e nostris cogitationibus. Sequitur deinde meditatio in qua quaeritur: quid nobis biblicus dicit textus? Hic unusquisque singillatim, at etiam sicut communitas, tangi atque excuti sinere debet, quia agitur de verbis inspiciendis non in praeterito tempore, sed in praesens prolatis. Deinde ad tempus orationis venimus quae interrogationem praesumit: quid Domino in responsione ad eius Verbum dicimus? Oratio ad modum petitionis, intercessionis, gratiarum actionis et laudis, primus est modus quo Verbum nos transformat. Lectio divina denique concluditur contemplatione, in qua nos sicut donum Dei sumimus eundem Eius contuitum in rebus iudicandis et nos quaerimus: qualem conversionem mentis, cordis et vitae Dominus a nobis postulat? Sanctus Paulus in Epistula ad Romanos asserit: « Nolite conformari huic saeculo, sed transformamini renovatione mentis, ut probetis quid sit voluntas Dei, quid bonum et bene placens et perfectum » (12,2). Etenim contemplatio ad creandam tendit in nobis sapientialem visionem realitatis, secundum Deum, et ad instituendum in nobis « sensum Christi » (1 Cor 2,16). Verbum Dei hic offertur veluti criterium decernendi: « vivus est enim Dei sermo et efficax et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti et pertingens usque ad divisionem animae ac spiritus, compagum quoque et medullarum, et discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis » (Heb 4,12). Opportunum deinde memorandum est lectionem divinam sua in dynamica non concludi nisi ad actionem perveniat, quae exsistentiam credentem movet ut donum fiat pro aliis in caritate.

We find the supreme synthesis and fulfilment of this process in the Mother of God. For every member of the faithful Mary is the model of docile acceptance of God’s word, for she “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19; cf. 2:51); she discovered the profound bond which unites, in God’s great plan, apparently disparate events, actions and things.^[297]

Hos gradus in synthesi et summario invenimus expletos summa forma in figura Matris Dei. Cuilibet fideli exemplar docilis acceptionis Verbi divini, Ipsa « conservabat omnia verba haec conferens in corde suo » (Lc 2,19; cfr 2,51), sciebat invenire altum vinculum quo eventus, actus et res, apparenter disiuncta, in magno proposito divino iunguntur.²⁹⁷

I would also like to echo what the Synod proposed about the importance of the personal reading of Scripture, also as a practice allowing for the possibility, in accordance with the Church’s usual conditions, of gaining an indulgence either for oneself or for the faithful departed.^[298] The practice of indulgences^[299] implies the doctrine of the infinite merits of Christ – which the Church, as the minister of the redemption, dispenses and applies, but it also implies that of the communion of saints, and it teaches us that “to whatever degree we are united in Christ, we are united to one another, and the supernatural life of each one can be useful for the others”.^[300] From this standpoint, the reading of the word of God sustains us on our journey of penance and conversion, enables us to deepen our sense of belonging to the Church, and helps us to grow in familiarity with God. As Saint Ambrose puts it, “When we take up the sacred Scriptures in faith and read them with the Church, we walk once more with God in the Garden”.^[301]

Recolere insuper volumus quod Synodus hortata est circa momentum personalis lectionis Scripturae etiam tamquam praxis quae possibilitatem praevidet, iuxta consuetas Ecclesiae normas, indulgentiam sibi ipsi vel defunctis lucrandi.²⁹⁸ Praxis indulgentiae²⁹⁹ implicat doctrinam de infinitis meritis Christi, quae Ecclesia, sicut redemptionis ministra, dispensat et aptat, sed implicat doctrinam quoque de communione sanctorum et nobis dicit « quam intima unione in Christo inter nos coniungamur, et quantum conferre possit vita supernaturalis uniuscuiusque ad alios ».³⁰⁰ Sub hoc prospectu, lectio Verbi Domini nos in itinere paenitentiae et conversionis suffulcit, nobis permittit ut penitus inspiciamus sensum ad Ecclesiam pertinendi atque nos in maiore cum Deo familiaritate sustinet. Ut aiebat sanctus Ambrosius: quando in manus cum fide divinas sumimus Scripturas easque cum Ecclesia legimus, homo revertitur ut in paradiso cum Deo deambulet.³⁰¹

The word of God and Marian prayer

Verbum Dei et precatio Marialis

88. Mindful of the inseparable bond between the word of God and Mary of Nazareth, along with the Synod Fathers I urge that Marian prayer be encouraged among the faithful, above all in life of families, since it is an aid to meditating on the holy mysteries found in the Scriptures. A most helpful aid, for example, is the individual or communal recitation of the Holy Rosary,^[302] which ponders the mysteries of Christ’s life in union with Mary,^[303] and which Pope John Paul II wished to enrich with the mysteries of light.^[304] It is fitting that the announcement of each mystery be accompanied by a brief biblical text pertinent to that mystery, so as to encourage the memorization of brief biblical passages relevant to the mysteries of Christ’s life.

87. Memores relationis indissolubilis inter Verbum Dei et Mariam de Nazareth, simul cum Patribus synodalibus hortamur adpromovendas inter fideles, praesertim in vita familiari, precationes Mariales tamquam subsidium ad meditanda sacra mysteria in Scriptura narrata. Instrumentum magnae utilitatis est, exempli gratia, personalis vel communitaria recitatio Sancti Rosarii,³⁰² quod simul cum Maria mysteria percurrit vitae Christi,³⁰³ et quod Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II mysteriis lucis ditari voluit.³⁰⁴ Opportunum est ut singulorum mysteriorum nuntiationi adiungantur breves loci Bibliorum mysterium nuntiatum respicientes, ad memorationem quarundam significantium sententiarum Scripturae fovendam de mysteriis vitae Christi.

The Synod also recommended that the faithful be encouraged to pray the Angelus. This prayer, simple yet profound, allows us “to commemorate daily the mystery of the Incarnate Word”.^[305] It is only right that the People of God, families and communities of consecrated persons, be faithful to this Marian prayer traditionally recited at sunrise, midday and sunset. In the Angelus we ask God to grant that, through Mary’s intercession, we may imitate her in doing his will and in welcoming his word into our lives. This practice can help us to grow in an authentic love for the mystery of the incarnation.

Synodus insuper innuit ut recitatio antiphonae Angelus Domini inter cunctos fideles promoveretur. Agitur de oratione simplici et profunda quae sinit ut a nobis « memoria Incarnati Verbi cottidie renovetur ».³⁰⁵ Aequum est ut Populus Dei, familiae et communitates virorum mulierumque consecratorum huic Mariali precationi sint fideles, quam traditio nos invitat ad recitandam in aurora, in meridie et in solis occasu. In antiphona Angelus Domini a Deo petimus ut, Maria intercedente, nobis etiam tribuatur voluntatem Dei, sicut Ipsa fecit, adimplere atque in nobis eius Verbum accipere. Haec praxis nobis opem ferre potest ad authenticum mysterii Incarnationis amorem roborandum.

The ancient prayers of the Christian East which contemplate the entire history of salvation in the light of the Theotokos, the Mother of God, are likewise worthy of being known, appreciated and widely used. Here particular mention can be made of the Akathist and Paraklesis prayers. These hymns of praise, chanted in the form of a litany and steeped in the faith of the Church and in references to the Bible, help the faithful to meditate on the mysteries of Christ in union with Mary. In particular, the venerable Akathist hymn to the Mother of God – so-called because it is sung while standing – represents one of the highest expressions of the Marian piety of the Byzantine tradition.^[306] Praying with these words opens wide the heart and disposes it to the peace that is from above, from God, to that peace which is Christ himself, born of Mary for our salvation.

Operae pretium est ut cognoscantur, aestimentur et diffundantur etiam quaedam antiquae preces Orientis christiani, quae per relationem ad Theotokos Matrem Dei, totam percurrunt salutis historiam. Cogitamus potissimum de hymnis Akathistos et Paraklesis. Agitur de hymnis laudis litanico more cantatis, commixtis fide ecclesiali et locis biblicis, qui fideles movent ad Christi mysteria simul cum Maria meditanda. Peculiari modo venerandus hymnus ad Matrem Dei, dictus Akathistos – qui cantatur videlicet stando – unum ex altissimis constituit testimoniis pietatis Marialis in traditione Byzantina.³⁰⁶ Orare cum his verbis animam dilatat eamque ad pacem disponit quae desuper venit, a Deo, ad hanc pacem quae est ipse Christus, natus ex Maria pro nostra salute.

The word of God and the Holy Land

Verbum Dei et Terra Sancta

89. As we call to mind the Word of God who became flesh in the womb of Mary of Nazareth, our heart now turns to the land where the mystery of our salvation was accomplished, and from which the word of God spread to the ends of the earth. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word became flesh in a specific time and place, in a strip of land on the edges of the Roman Empire. The more we appreciate the universality and the uniqueness of Christ’s person, the more we look with gratitude to that land where Jesus was born, where he lived and where he gave his life for us. The stones on which our Redeemer walked are still charged with his memory and continue to “cry out” the Good News. For this reason, the Synod Fathers recalled the felicitous phrase which speaks of the Holy Land as “the Fifth Gospel”.^[307] How important it is that in those places there be Christian communities, notwithstanding any number of hardships! The Synod of Bishops expressed profound closeness to all those Christians who dwell in the land of Jesus and bear witness to their faith in the Risen One. Christians there are called to serve not only as “a beacon of faith for the universal Church, but also as a leaven of harmony, wisdom, and equilibrium in the life of a society which traditionally has been, and continues to be, pluralistic, multi-ethnic and multi-religious”.^[308]

88. Dum memoriam facimus Verbi Dei quod in sinu Mariae de Nazareth caro efficitur, nunc cor nostrum ad illam Terram convertitur ubi mysterium nostrae redemptionis consummatum est et unde Verbum Dei usque ad fines terrae diffusum. Nam de Spiritu Sancto Verbum in certo temporis instante atque in definito loco, in terrae quodam angulo intra fines Imperii Romani, est incarnatum. Hanc ob rem, quo magis universalitatem et singularitatem personae Christi perpendimus, eo magis illam Terram grato animo inspicimus in qua Iesus natus est, vixit et pro omnibus nobis se ipsum tradidit. Lapides super quos Redemptor noster deambulavit nobis permanent memoria onusti et Bonam Notitiam « conclamare » pergunt. Idcirco synodales Patres concinnam sententiam memoraverunt quae Terram Sanctam « Quintum Evangelium »³⁰⁷ appellat. Quanti momenti est ut in illis locis christianae adsint communitates, tot non obstantibus difficultatibus! Synodus Episcoporum profundam significat adhaesionem cunctis christianis in Terra Iesu commorantibus et testimonium fidei in Resuscitatum perhibentibus. Christiani huc vocantur ad servitium praestandum non solum tamquam « pharus fidei pro Ecclesia universali, sed etiam sicut fermentum harmoniae, sapientiae et aequilibrii in vita illius societatis quae ex tradito more insignita est et insigniri pergit pluralismo, multis stirpibus et religionibus ».³⁰⁸

The Holy Land today remains a goal of pilgrimage for the Christian people, a place of prayer and penance, as was testified to in antiquity by authors like Saint Jerome.^[309] The more we turn our eyes and our hearts to the earthly Jerusalem, the more will our yearning be kindled for the heavenly Jerusalem, the true goal of every pilgrimage, along with our eager desire that the name of Jesus, the one name which brings salvation, may be acknowledged by all (cf. Acts 4:12).

Terra Sancta hodie quoque meta peregrinationum remanet populi christiani, tamquam signum videlicet orationis et paenitentiae, prout iam in antiquitate testantur auctores uti sanctus Hieronymus.³⁰⁹ Quo magis oculos et cor in Hierosolymam terrestrem convertimus, eo amplius in nobis inflammantur desiderium Hierosolymae caelestis, verae metae cuiusque peregrinationis, et passio ut nomen Iesu, in quo uno est salus, ab omnibus agnoscatur (cfr Act 4,12).

PART THREE

VERBUM MUNDO

TERTIA PARS
VERBUM MUNDO

“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son,
who is close to the Father’s heart,
who has made him known”
(Jn 1:18)

« Deum nemo vidit umquam:

Unigenitus Deus, qui est in sinu Patris, ipse enarravit » (Io 1,18)

The Church’s Mission: To Proclaim The Word Of God To The World

ECCLESIAE MISSIO: MUNDO VERBUM DEI ANNUNTIARE

The Word from the Father and to the Father

A Patre et ad Patrem Verbum

90. Saint John powerfully expresses the fundamental paradox of the Christian faith. On the one hand, he says that “no one has ever seen God” (Jn 1:18; cf. 1 Jn 4:12). In no way can our imaginations, our concepts or our words ever define or embrace the infinite reality of the Most High. He remains Deus semper maior. Yet Saint John also tells us that the Word truly “became flesh” (Jn 1:14). The only-begotten Son, who is ever with the Father, has made known the God whom “no one has ever seen” (Jn 1:18). Jesus Christ comes to us, “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14), to give us these gifts (cf. Jn 1:17); and “from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (Jn 1:16). In the Prologue of his Gospel, John thus contemplates the Word from his being with God to his becoming flesh and his return to the Father with our humanity, which he has assumed for ever. In this coming forth from God and returning to him (cf. Jn 13:3; 16:28; 17:8,10), Christ is presented as the one who “tells us” about God (cf. Jn 1:18). Indeed, as Saint Irenaeus of Lyons says, the Son “is the revealer of the Father”.^[310] Jesus of Nazareth is, so to speak, the “exegete” of the God whom “no one has ever seen”. “He is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). Here we see fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah about the effectiveness of the Lord’s word: as the rain and snow come down from heaven to water and to make the earth fruitful, so too the word of God “shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (cf. Is 55:10f.). Jesus Christ is this definitive and effective word which came forth from the Father and returned to him, perfectly accomplishing his will in the world.

89. Sanctus Ioannes fidei christianae praecipuum paradoxon firmiter extollit: hinc ipse asserit: « Deum nemo vidit umquam » (Io 1,18; cfr 1 Io 4,12). Nullo modo nostrae imagines, opiniones verbave infinitam Altissimi realitatem definire vel metiri possunt. Ipse manet Deus semper maior. Hinc is autumat: Verbum realiter « caro factum est » (Io 1,14). Unigenitus Filius, qui Patris sinum prospectat, Deum revelavit, quem « nemo vidit umquam » (Io 1,18). Iesus Christus ad nos venit plenus « gratiae et veritatis » (Io 1,14), quae per eum nobis dono dantur (cfr Io 1,17); nam « de plenitudine eius nos omnes accepimus, et gratiam pro gratia » (Io 1,16). Illa ratione Ioannes evangelista in Prologo Verbum contemplatur ab eius apud Deum praesentia usque ad carnis assumptionem, usque ad reditum in sinum Patris, secum deferens eandem nostram humanitatem, quam ipsum in sempiternum sumpsit. Hoc in suo exitu a Patre et ad Ipsum reditu (cfr Io 13,3; 16,28; 17,8.10) Ille nobis se ostendit veluti Dei « Narratorem » (cfr Io 1,18). Filius enim, sic asserit sanctus Irenaeus Lugdunensis, « est Revelator Patris ».³¹⁰ Iesus Nazarenus est, ut ita dicamus, Dei « explicator », quem « nemo vidit umquam ». Is « est imago Dei invisibilis » (Col 1,15). Isaiae hic prophetia de Verbi Domini efficacitate adimpletur: « Quomodo descendit imber et nix de caelo » ut terram inebrient et germinare eam faciant, sic Dei Verbum « non revertetur ad me vacuum, sed faciet, quaecumque volui, et prosperabitur in his, ad quae misi illud » (Is 55, 10s). Iesus Christus definitivum hoc est et efficax Verbum, quod a Patre exivit et ad eum rediit, in mundo absolute suam efficiens voluntatem.

Proclaiming to the world the “Logos” of hope

Spei « Logon » mundo nuntiare

91. The word of God has bestowed upon us the divine life which transfigures the face of the earth, making all things new (cf. Rev 21:5). His word engages us not only as hearers of divine revelation, but also as its heralds. The one whom the Father has sent to do his will (cf. Jn 5:36-38; 6:38-40; 7:16-18) draws us to himself and makes us part of his life and mission. The Spirit of the Risen Lord empowers us to proclaim the word everywhere by the witness of our lives. This was experienced by the first Christian community, which saw the word spread through preaching and witness (cf. Acts 6:7). Here we can think in particular of the life of the Apostle Paul, a man completely caught up by the Lord (cf. Phil 3:12) – “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20) – and by his mission: “woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). Paul knew well that what was revealed in Christ is really salvation for all peoples, liberation from the slavery of sin in order to enjoy the freedom of the children of God.

90. Dei Verbum nobis vitam divinam communicavit quae faciem terrae transfigurat, nova faciens omnia (cfr Apc 21,5). Eius Verbum nos complectitur, non modo quatenus divinae revelationis destinatarios, sed etiam tamquam eiusdem nuntiatores. Ipse, a Patre missus ut eius faceret voluntatem (cfr Io 5,36-38; 6,38 40; 7,16-18), ad se nos attrahit et sua in vita missioneque nos illigat. Resuscitati Spiritus sic idoneam nostram vitam reddit ad efficaciter Verbum toti orbi nuntiandum. Pristinae christianae communitatis est experientia, quae percipiebat Verbum per praedicationem testificationemque diffundi (cfr Act 6,7). Peculiarem in modum hic ad Pauli apostoli vitam Nos convertimus, qui a Domino est prorsus comprehensus (cfr Philp 3,12) – « vivo autem iam non ego, vivit vero in me Christus » (Gal 2,20) – et ab eius missione: « Vae mihi est, si non evangelizavero! » (1 Cor 9,16), sibi conscius quod in Christo est revelatum id ad omnium gentium salutem, a servitute peccati ad liberationem realiter pertinere, ut filiorum Dei in libertatem ingrediantur.

What the Church proclaims to the world is the Logos of Hope (cf. 1 Pet 3:15); in order to be able to live fully each moment, men and women need “the great hope” which is “the God who possesses a human face and who ‘has loved us to the end’ (Jn 13:1)”.^[311] This is why the Church is missionary by her very nature. We cannot keep to ourselves the words of eternal life given to us in our encounter with Jesus Christ: they are meant for everyone, for every man and woman. Everyone today, whether he or she knows it or not, needs this message. May the Lord himself, as in the time of the prophet Amos, raise up in our midst a new hunger and thirst for the word of God (cf. Am 8:11). It is our responsibility to pass on what, by God’s grace, we ourselves have received.

Verumtamen id quod mundo nuntiat Ecclesia, est Logos Spei (cfr 1 Pe 3,15); « magna Spe » indiget homo ut in praesentia vivat, magna scilicet spe quae est « ille Deus qui humanum possidet vultum quique nos in “finem dilexit” (Io 13,1) ».³¹¹ Idcirco Ecclesia essentialiter est missionaria. Nobis verba vitae aeternae retinere non possumus, quae nobis dantur, Iesum Christum convenientes: omnibus, cuique homini, ipsa destinantur. Singulae huius temporis personae, scientes vel nescientes, hoc nuntio indigent. Dominus ipse, quemadmodum Amos prophetae temporibus, inter homines novam famem novamque sitim Domini verborum concitet (cfr Am 8,11). Nostrum est officium id quod per gratiam recepimus vicissim transmittere.

The word of God is the source of the Church’s mission

Ex Dei Verbo Ecclesiae missio

92. The Synod of Bishops forcefully reaffirmed the need within the Church for a revival of the missionary consciousness present in the People of God from the beginning. The first Christians saw their missionary preaching as a necessity rooted in the very nature of faith: the God in whom they believed was the God of all, the one true God who revealed himself in Israel’s history and ultimately in his Son, who thus provided the response which, in their inmost being, all men and women awaited. The first Christian communities felt that their faith was not part of a particular cultural tradition, differing from one people to another, but belonged instead to the realm of truth, which concerns everyone equally.

91. Episcoporum Synodus firmiter necessitatem confirmavit in Ecclesia missionariam conscientiam corroborandi, in Dei Populo inde eius ab origine praesentem. Pristini christiani suum missionarium nuntium putaverunt necessitatem quandam, ex ipsa fidei natura orientem: Deus in quem credebant erat omnium Deus, Deus unus et verus, qui in Israel historia et novissime suo in Filio se monstrabat, ita ad id respondens quod universi homines, imo ex corde, exspectant. Primevae christianae communitates animadverterunt suam fidem ad peculiaris cultus consuetudinem non pertinere, quae pro populis distinguitur, sed in veritatis ambitu versari, quae pariter ad omnes homines spectat.

Once more it is Saint Paul who, by his life, illustrates the meaning of the Christian mission and its fundamental universality. We can think here of the episode related in the Acts of the Apostles about the Athenian Areopagus (cf. 17:16-34). The Apostle of the Nations enters into dialogue with people of various cultures precisely because he is conscious that the mystery of God, Known yet Unknown, which every man and woman perceives, however confusedly, has really been revealed in history: “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23). In fact, the newness of Christian proclamation is that we can tell all peoples: “God has shown himself. In person. And now the way to him is open. The novelty of the Christian message does not consist in an idea but in a fact: God has revealed himself”.^[312]

Rursus sanctus Paulus sua vita missionis christianae sensum eiusque primigeniam universalitatem nobis collustrat. De eventu illo cogitamus qui in Actibus Apostolorum apud Areopagum Atheniensem narratur (cfr Act 17,16-34). Apostolus gentium cum diversi cultus hominibus dialogum instituit, sibi conscius Dei mysterium, Noti-Ignoti, cuius quiddam, quamvis confusum, percipit quisque homo, in historia esse revelatum: « Quod ergo ignorantes colitis, hoc ego annuntio vobis » (Act 17,23). Etenim in christiani nuntii novitate cunctis populis dici potest: « Ipse se monstravit, ipse personaliter. Et nunc ad Eum patet via. Christiani nuntii novitas non in cogitatione aliqua residet, sed in facto: Ipse se revelavit ».³¹²

The word and the Kingdom of God

Verbum et Dei Regnum

93. Consequently, the Church’s mission cannot be considered as an optional or supplementary element in her life. Rather it entails letting the Holy Spirit assimilate us to Christ himself, and thus to share in his own mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20:21) to share the word with your entire life. It is the word itself which impels us towards our brothers and sisters: it is the word which illuminates, purifies, converts; we are only its servants.

Itaque Ecclesiae missio non realitas quaedam est habenda quae ex voluntate et additamento vitae ecclesialis pendet. Res eo tendit ut sinatur Spiritus Sanctus ipsi Christo nos assimilare, ad eandem eius missionem sic participandam: « Sicut misit me Pater et ego mitto vos » (Io 20,21), ita ut Verbum tota cum vita communicetur. Ipsum Verbum nos in fratres impellit: Verbum nempe quod illuminat, purificat, convertit; nos servi tantummodo sumus.

We need, then, to discover ever anew the urgency and the beauty of the proclamation of the word for the coming of the Kingdom of God which Christ himself preached. Thus we grow in the realization, so clear to the Fathers of the Church, that the proclamation of the word has as its content the Kingdom of God (cf. Mk 1:14-15), which, in the memorable phrase of Origen,^[313] is the very person of Jesus (Autobasileia). The Lord offers salvation to men and women in every age. All of us recognize how much the light of Christ needs to illumine every area of human life: the family, schools, culture, work, leisure and the other aspects of social life.^[314] It is not a matter of preaching a word of consolation, but rather a word which disrupts, which calls to conversion and which opens the way to an encounter with the one through whom a new humanity flowers.

Oportet igitur ut sollicitudo ac pulchritudo rursus detegantur Verbum nuntiandi, ut Dei Regnum adveniat, ab ipso Christo praedicatum. Ad hanc sententiam conscientiam renovamus, quod suetum fuit Ecclesiae Patrum, Verbi enuntiati argumentum esse Dei Regnum (cfr Mc 1,14-15), ipsam esse personam Iesu, (autobasileian) – ut suadenter memorat Origenes.³¹³ Dominus omnium aetatum hominibus salutem praebet. Omnes nos intellegimus quam sit necessarium ut Christi lumen omnem humanitatis ambitum collustret: familiam, scholam, culturam, opus, otium ceterasque vitae socialis provincias.³¹⁴ Non agitur de verbo solaminis nuntiando, sed de verbo diruptionis, quod ad conversionem vocat, quod aditum reserat ad Eum conveniendi, per quem nova humanitas floret.

All the baptized are responsible for this proclamation

Omnes baptizati nuntiandi officio tenentur

94. Since the entire People of God is a people which has been “sent”, the Synod reaffirmed that “the mission of proclaiming the word of God is the task of all of the disciples of Jesus Christ based on their Baptism”.^[315] No believer in Christ can feel dispensed from this responsibility which comes from the fact of our sacramentally belonging to the Body of Christ. A consciousness of this must be revived in every family, parish, community, association and ecclesial movement. The Church, as a mystery of communion, is thus entirely missionary, and everyone, according to his or her proper state in life, is called to give an incisive contribution to the proclamation of Christ.

93. Quandoquidem omnis Dei Populus est populus « missus », Synodus confirmavit: « Omnibus Iesu Christi discipulis ob baptismum acceptum commissum est, ut divinum Verbum proclament ».³¹⁵ Nullus in Christo credens ab hoc officio se alienum esse putare potest, quod ex sacramentali Corporis Christi participatione oritur. Conscientia haec in unaquaque familia, paroecia, communitate, consociatione ecclesialique motu est concitanda. Ecclesia, ut communionis mysterium, tota utique est missionaria atque unusquisque pro suo vitae statu vocatur, ut operam christiano nuntio efficaciter det.

Bishops and priests, in accordance with their specific mission, are the first to be called to live a life completely at the service of the word, to proclaim the Gospel, to celebrate the sacraments and to form the faithful in the authentic knowledge of Scripture. Deacons too must feel themselves called to cooperate, in accordance with their specific mission, in this task of evangelization.

Episcopi et sacerdotes pro cuiusque missione primi vocantur ad exsistentiam quandam famulatu Verbi devinctam, ut Evangelium nuntient, sacramenta ministrent et fideles in Scripturis authentice cognoscendis instituant. Diaconi quoque ad sociatam operam conferendam in hoc evangelizationis officium se vocari pro cuiusque missione animadvertant.

Throughout the Church’s history the consecrated life has been outstanding for explicitly taking up the task of proclaiming and preaching the word of God in the missio ad gentes and in the most difficult situations, for being ever ready to adapt to new situations and for setting out courageously and boldly along fresh paths in meeting new challenges for the effective proclamation of God’s word.^[316]

In omnibus Ecclesiae annalibus vita consecrata ob facultatem sibi hoc munus nuntiandi ac praedicandi Verbi Dei palam sumendi splendet, in missione ad gentes et difficilioribus rerum adiunctis, pro novis etiam evangelizationis condicionibus, dum studiose animoseque nova curricula novaeque provocationes ad Dei Verbum efficaciter nuntiandum suscipiuntur.³¹⁶

The laity are called to exercise their own prophetic role, which derives directly from their Baptism, and to bear witness to the Gospel in daily life, wherever they find themselves. In this regard the Synod Fathers expressed “the greatest esteem, gratitude and encouragement for the service to evangelization which so many of the lay faithful, and women in particular, provide with generosity and commitment in their communities throughout the world, following the example of Mary Magdalene, the first witness of the joy of Easter”.^[317] The Synod also recognized with gratitude that the ecclesial movements and the new communities are a great force for evangelization in our times and an incentive to the development of new ways of proclaiming the Gospel.^[318]

Laici demum ad suum propheticum sustinendum munus vocantur, quod directe a baptismo oritur, ut Evangelium in cotidiana vita, in quovis loco sunt, testificentur. Hac de re Patres synodales optaverunt « suae sensa aestimationis et gratos exprimentes animos confirmare tot laicorum, praesertim mulierum, qui evangelizationi inserviunt munifice seduloque in communitatibus toto orbe terrarum dispersis, Mariam Magdalenam imitantes, quae prima fuit resurrectionis laetissima testis ».³¹⁷ Synodus insuper grato animo agnoscit motus ecclesiales et novas communitates in Ecclesia validum impetum ad evangelizandum nostra in aetate constituere et ad novas Evangelium nuntiandi formas explicandas compellere.³¹⁸

The necessity of the “missio ad gentes”

Necessitas « missionis ad gentes »

95. In calling upon all the faithful to proclaim God’s word, the Synod Fathers restated the need in our day too for a decisive commitment to the missio ad gentes. In no way can the Church restrict her pastoral work to the “ordinary maintenance” of those who already know the Gospel of Christ. Missionary outreach is a clear sign of the maturity of an ecclesial community. The Fathers also insisted that the word of God is the saving truth which men and women in every age need to hear. For this reason, it must be explicitly proclaimed. The Church must go out to meet each person in the strength of the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 2:5) and continue her prophetic defence of people’s right and freedom to hear the word of God, while constantly seeking out the most effective ways of proclaiming that word, even at the risk of persecution.^[319] The Church feels duty-bound to proclaim to every man and woman the word that saves (cf. Rom 1:14).

95. Cum omnes fideles ad divinum Verbum nuntiandum cohortarentur, synodales Patres necessitatem nostro quoque tempore confirmarunt in missione ad gentes animose operandi. Nullo pacto sese continere potest Ecclesia in pastorali quadam opera « servandi » eos qui iam Christi Evangelium noverunt. Missionale studium manifestum est signum maturitatis communitatis ecclesialis. Patres porro fortiter se conscios dixerunt Dei Verbum veritatem esse salvificam, qua quisque homo cunctis temporibus indiget. Quapropter nuntius manifestus debet esse. Cunctis per Spiritus vim Ecclesia obviam ire debet (cfr 1 Cor 2,5) atque prophetice perseverare in tuendo iure personarumque libertate Verbum Dei audiendi, efficaciora quaerens instrumenta ad illud proclamandum, periculum etiam adiens persecutionis.³¹⁹ Universis quidem se salutiferum Verbum nuntiare debere (cfr Rom 1,14) animadvertit Ecclesia.

Proclamation and the new evangelization

Nuntius ac nova evangelizatio

96. Pope John Paul II, taking up the prophetic words of Pope Paul VI in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, had in a variety of ways reminded the faithful of the need for a new missionary season for the entire people of God.^[320] At the dawn of the third millennium not only are there still many peoples who have not come to know the Good News, but also a great many Christians who need to have the word of God once more persuasively proclaimed to them, so that they can concretely experience the power of the Gospel. Many of our brothers and sisters are “baptized, but insufficiently evangelized”.^[321] In a number of cases, nations once rich in faith and in vocations are losing their identity under the influence of a secularized culture.^[322] The need for a new evangelization, so deeply felt by my venerable Predecessor, must be valiantly reaffirmed, in the certainty that God’s word is effective. The Church, sure of her Lord’s fidelity, never tires of proclaiming the good news of the Gospel and invites all Christians to discover anew the attraction of following Christ.

96. Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II, semitam sectans Summi Pontificis Pauli VI Adhortationis apostolicae Evangelii nuntiandi, multimodis fidelibus pro universo Dei Populo novi aevi missionarii memoravit necessitatem.³²⁰ Tertii millennii initio non modo sunt tot populi qui Bonum Nuntium haud noverunt, sed multis etiam christianis necesse est ut Dei Verbum efficaciter denuo nuntietur, ita ut Evangelii vim vere experiantur. Tot fratres « quamvis baptismo sint loti, tamen infirmiore Evangelii cognitione »³²¹ fruuntur. Saepenumero Nationes, olim fide vocationibusque locupletes, suam identitatem deperdunt, quadam perniciose imperante cultura in saecularem statum redacta.³²² Novae evangelizationis necessitas, quam Venerabilis Decessor Noster vehementer animadvertit, sine metu est roboranda, dum compertum est de divini Verbi efficacitate. Ecclesia, de sui Domini fidelitate secura, Evangelii bonum nuntium annuntiare non cessat atque omnes christianos ad Christi sequelae fascinationem denuo detegendam invitat.

The word of God and Christian witness

Dei Verbum et christiana testificatio

97. The immense horizons of the Church’s mission and the complexity of today’s situation call for new ways of effectively communicating the word of God. The Holy Spirit, the protagonist of all evangelization, will never fail to guide Christ’s Church in this activity. Yet it is important that every form of proclamation keep in mind, first of all, the intrinsic relationship between the communication of God’s word and Christian witness. The very credibility of our proclamation depends on this. On the one hand, the word must communicate every-thing that the Lord himself has told us. On the other hand, it is indispensable, through witness, to make this word credible, lest it appear merely as a beautiful philosophy or utopia, rather than a reality that can be lived and itself give life. This reciprocity between word and witness reflects the way in which God himself communicated through the incarnation of his Word. The word of God reaches men and women “through an encounter with witnesses who make it present and alive”.^[323] In a particular way, young people need to be introduced to the word of God “through encounter and authentic witness by adults, through the positive influence of friends and the great company of the ecclesial community”.^[324]

96. Lata ecclesialis missionis spatia, condicionis praesentis complicatio novatas rationes hodie requirunt, ut efficaciter Dei Verbum communicetur. Spiritus Sanctus, primarius omnis evangelizationis auctor, Christi Ecclesiam moderari hac in opera numquam desinet. Attamen praestat ut omnis nuntiandi ratio ante omnia intrinsecam necessitudinem inter Dei Verbi communicationem et christianam testificationem prae se ferat. Ex hac re ipsa nuntii auctoritas pendet. Hinc necessarium est Verbum, quod communicet id quod ipse Dominus nobis dixit. Hinc oportet ut una cum testificatione auctoritas huic verbo tribuatur, ne forsitan videatur pulchra philosophia vel utopia, sed potius realitas quaedam quae haberi potest et efficit ut vivatur. Haec inter Verbum et testificationem mutua necessitudo rationem revocat qua ipse Deus per Verbum suum incarnatum se communicavit. Dei Verbum homines attingit per testes, « qui sermonem Dei vivum et praesentem exhibeant ».³²³ Novae potissimum generationes oportet ut ad Dei Verbum perducantur « per occursum veramque testificationem adulti, per amicos positivam vim praebentes atque per magnum communitatis ecclesialis comitatum ».³²⁴

There is a close relationship between the testimony of Scripture, as the self-attestation of God’s word, and the witness given by the lives of believers. One implies and leads to the other. Christian witness communicates the word attested in the Scriptures. For their part, the Scriptures explain the witness which Christians are called to give by their lives. Those who encounter credible witnesses of the Gospel thus come to realize how effective God’s word can be in those who receive it.

Inter Scripturae testimonium, ut Dei Verbum de se testatur, et vitae credentium testimonium artum adest vinculum. Una alteram implicat et ad eam ducit. Christiana testificatio Verbum communicat, quod Scripturae testantur. Scripturae vicissim testificationem patefaciunt, quam christiani suam per vitam reddere debent. Ii, qui credibiles Evangelii testes conveniunt, efficacitatem Dei Verbi, in iis qui id recipiunt, sic experiuntur.

98. In this interplay between witness and word we can understand what Pope Paul VI stated in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi. Our responsibility is not limited to suggesting shared values to the world; rather, we need to arrive at an explicit proclamation of the word of God. Only in this way will we be faithful to Christ’s mandate: “The Good News proclaimed by the witness of life sooner or later has to be proclaimed by the word of life. There is no true evangelization unless the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, are proclaimed”.^[325]

97. Hoc circulari in motu inter testificationem et Verbum Summi Pontificis Pauli VI sententias in Adhortatione apostolica Evangelii nuntiandi intellegimus. Nostra responsalitas non suggerit mundo tantummodo bona participata; oportet ut manifesto Dei Verbum nuntietur. Sic tantum Christi mandato erimus fideles: « Quamobrem, Bonus Nuntius, per vitae testificationem proclamatus, serius ocius annuntiandus erit etiam per vitae verbum. Nulla est vera evangelizatio, nisi nomen et doctrina, vita et promissiones, Regnum et mysterium Iesu Nazareni, Filii Dei, praedicantur ».³²⁵

The fact that the proclamation of the word of God calls for the testimony of one’s life is a datum clearly present in the Christian consciousness from the beginning. Christ himself is the faithful and true witness (cf. Acts 1:5; 3:14), it is he who testifies to the Truth (cf. Jn 18:37). Here I would like to echo the countless testimonials which we had the grace of hearing during the synodal assembly. We were profoundly moved to hear the stories of those who lived their faith and bore outstanding witness to the Gospel even under regimes hostile to Christianity or in situations of persecution.

Quod Dei Verbum nuntiandum propriae vitae testificationem postulat hoc in christiana conscientia inde ab origine prorsus praesens est. Christus ipse fidelis et verus est testis (cfr Apc 1,5; 3,14), testis Veritatis (cfr Io 18,37). Hac de re innumeras testificationes communicare volumus, quas, gratia suffragante, synodali Coetu procedente, audivimus. Ob narrationem illorum qui fidem servaverunt et claram Evangelii reddiderunt testificationem penitus permoti sumus, etiam sub regiminis dominatione religionem christianam aversantis vel in persecutionum condicionibus.

None of this should cause us fear. Jesus himself said to his disciples: “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you” (Jn 15:20). For this reason I would like, with the whole Church, to lift up to God a hymn of praise for the witness of our many faithful brothers and sisters who, even in our day, have given their lives to communicate the truth of God’s love revealed to us in the crucified and risen Christ. I also express the whole Church’s gratitude for those Christians who have not yielded in the face of obstacles and even persecutions for the sake of the Gospel. We likewise embrace with deep fraternal affection the faithful of all those Christian communities, particularly in Asia and in Africa, who presently risk their life or social segregation because of their faith. Here we encounter the true spirit of the Gospel, which proclaims blessed those who are persecuted on account of the Lord Jesus (cf. Mt 5:11). In so doing, we once more call upon the governments of nations to guarantee everyone freedom of conscience and religion, as well as the ability to express their faith publicly.^[326]

Haec omnia formidinem nobis inicere non debent. Discipulis suis ipse Iesus dixit: « Non est servus maior domino suo. Si me persecuti sunt, et vos persequentur » (Io 15,20). Itaque laudis hymnum cuncta cum Ecclesia propter tot fratrum sororumque testificationes Deo elevare volumus, qui hoc nostro quoque tempore vitam impenderunt ut amoris Dei veritatem communicarent, in Christo cruci affixo et resuscitato nobis revelati. Praeterea mentem totius Ecclesiae gratam christianis patefacimus, qui impedimentis atque propter Evangelium persecutionibus non cesserunt. Eodem tempore magno solidalique animi affectu fideles communitatum illarum christianarum complectimur, earum potissimum in Asia et in Africa exsistentium, qui hoc tempore christianam ob fidem periculum vitae vel a societate depulsionis adeunt. Videmus hic spiritum beatitudinum Evangelii effici iis qui persecutionem propter Iesum Christum patiuntur (cfr Mt 5,11). Non intermittimus pariter quominus vocem Nostram attollamus, ut Nationum regimina omnibus conscientiae religionisque libertatem provideant, etiam publice propriam fidem testificantibus.³²⁶

The Word Of God
And Commitment In The World

DEI VERBUM ET IN MUNDO MUNUS

 

Serving Jesus in “the least of his brethren” (Mt 25:40)

Iesu inservire in « fratribus minimis » (Mt 25,40)

99. The word of God sheds light on human existence and stirs our conscience to take a deeper look at our lives, inasmuch as all human history stands under God’s judgment: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations” (Mt 25:31-32). Nowadays we tend to halt in a superficial way before the importance of the passing moment, as if it had nothing to do with the future. The Gospel, on the other hand, reminds us that every moment of our life is important and must be lived intensely, in the knowledge that everyone will have to give an account of his or her life. In the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, the Son of Man considers whatever we do or do not do to “the least of his brethren” (cf. 25:40, 45) as done or not done to himself: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (25:35-36). The word of God itself emphasizes the need for our engagement in the world and our responsibility before Christ, the Lord of history. As we proclaim the Gospel, let us encourage one another to do good and to commit ourselves to justice, reconciliation and peace.

98. Divinum Verbum humanam exstistentiam collustrat atque conscientias ad propriam vitam penitus rursusque considerandam concitat, quandoquidem universa humanitatis historia Dei iudicio subest: « Cum autem venerit Filius hominis in gloria sua, et omnes angeli cum eo, tunc sedebit super thronum gloriae suae. Et congregabuntur ante eum omnes gentes » (Mt 25,31-32). Nostra aetate momenti transeuntis praestantiam saepe ac leviter consideramus, perinde ac si nullum pondus in futurum haberet. At contra, Evangelium nobis memorat singula nostrae vitae momenta magni esse ponderis eaque impense experienda, cum sciamus omnes de propria vita rationem reddere debere. Evangelii secundum Matthaeum in capite XXV Filius hominis factum aut non factum sibi considerat quod fecerimus vel non fecerimus uni de eius « fratribus minimis » (25,40.45): « Esurivi enim, et dedistis mihi manducare; sitivi, et dedistis mihi bibere; hospes eram, et collegistis me; nudus, et operuistis me; infirmus, et visitastis me; in carcere eram, et venistis ad me » (25,35-36). Itaque ipsum Dei Verbum nostri in mundo officii nostraeque coram Christo, historiae Domino, responsalitatis necessitatem sibi vindicat. In Evangelio nuntiando mutuo nos cohortemur, ut bonum et pro iustitia, reconciliatione paceque officium agamus.

The word of God and commitment to justice in society

Verbum Dei et pro iustitia in societate officium

100. God’s word inspires men and women to build relationships based on rectitude and justice, and testifies to the great value in God’s eyes of every effort to create a more just and more liveable world.^[327] The word of God itself unambiguously denounces injustices and promotes solidarity and equality.^[328] In the light of the Lord’s words, let us discern the “signs of the times” present in history, and not flee from a commitment to those who suffer and the victims of forms of selfishness.
The Synod recalled that a commitment to justice and to changing our world is an essential element of evangelization. In the words of Pope Paul VI, we must “reach and as it were overturn with the force of the Gospel the standards of judgement, the interests, the thought-patterns, the sources of inspiration and life-styles of humanity that are in contrast with the word of God and with his plan for salvation”.^[329]

99. Dei Verbum ad necessitudines impellit hominem, quae probitate et iustitia imbuantur, pretiosum coram Deo bonum omnium hominis laborum testatur, quo iustior habitabilior exstet terrarum orbis.³²⁷ Ipsum Dei Verbum iniusta sine ambagibus denuntiat atque solidarietatem aequalitatemque promovet.³²⁸ Domini verborum sub lumine « signa temporum » agnoscamus, quae in historia adsunt, ne munus deseramus in eos qui dolent et egoismum patiuntur. Synodus memoravit officium pro iustitia et mundi immutatione funditus ad evangelizationem pertinere. Quemadmodum asseverabat Pontifex Maximus Paulus VI, oportet « Evangelii potentia tangere et quasi evertere normas iudicandi, bona quae plus momenti habent, studia et rationes cogitandi, motus impulsores et vitae exemplaria generis humani, quae cum Dei verbo salutisque consilio repugnant ».³²⁹

For this reason, the Synod Fathers wished to say a special word to all those who take part in political and social life. Evangelization and the spread of God’s word ought to inspire their activity in the world, as they work for the true common good in respecting and promoting the dignity of every person. Certainly it is not the direct task of the Church to create a more just society, although she does have the right and duty to intervene on ethical and moral issues related to the good of individuals and peoples. It is primarily the task of the lay faithful, formed in the school of the Gospel, to be directly involved in political and social activity. For this reason, the Synod recommends that they receive a suitable formation in the principles of the Church’s social teaching.^[330]

Ad hunc finem Patres synodales peculiarem cogitationem in eos converterunt, qui in politica socialique provincia operantur. Evangelizatio et propagatio Verbi Dei eorum operam in mundo ducere debent ad verum bonum omnium inquirendum, cuiusque personae dignitate servata et promota. Certe haud directe spectat ad Ecclesiam iustiorem societatem constituere, licet ipsa ius officiumque habeat ethicas moralesque res iudicandi, quae ad personarum populorumque bonum attinent. Est potissimum munus fidelium laicorum, Evangelii schola informatorum, de sociali politicaque opera directe agere. Hac de causa Synodus secundum principia doctrinae socialis Ecclesiae congruam institutionem promovendam suadet.³³⁰

101. I would like also to call the attention of everyone to the importance of defending and promoting the human rights of every person, based on the natural law written on the human heart, which, as such, are “universal, inviolable and inalienable”.^[331] The Church expresses the hope that by the recognition of these rights human dignity will be more effectively acknowledged and universally promoted,^[332] inasmuch as it is a distinctive mark imprinted by the Creator on his creatures, taken up and redeemed by Jesus Christ through his incarnation, death and resurrection. The spread of the word of God cannot fail to strengthen the recognition of, and respect for, the human rights of every person.^[333]

100. Exoptamus praeterea in mentem omnium revocare momentum iura cuiusque personae humana defendendi et promovendi, quae in lege naturali, in hominis cordis insculpta, innituntur, quae « ut generalia et inviolabilia sunt, ita mancipari nullo modo possunt ».³³¹ Ecclesia percupit ut per talia confirmata iura humana dignitas efficacius agnoscatur et universaliter promoveatur,³³² tamquam nota quam Deus Creator sua in creatura insculpsit, quam Iesus Christus suam per incarnationem, mortem et resurrectionem assumpsit et redemit. Hac de causa Dei Verbum diffusum facere non potest quin affirmationem et observantiam horum iurium roboret.³³³

The proclamation of God’s word, reconciliation and peace between peoples

Dei Verbi nuntius, inter gentes reconciliatio et pax

102. Among the many areas where commitment is needed, the Synod earnestly called for the promotion of reconciliation and peace. In the present context it is more necessary than ever to rediscover the word of God as a source of reconciliation and peace, since in that word God is reconciling to himself all things (cf. 2 Cor 5:18-20; Eph 1:10): Christ “is our peace” (Eph 2:14), the one who breaks down the walls of division. A number of interventions at the Synod documented the grave and violent conflicts and tensions present on our planet. At times these hostilities seem to take on the appearance of interreligious conflict. Here I wish to affirm once more that religion can never justify intolerance or war. We cannot kill in God’s name!^[334] Each religion must encourage the right use of reason and promote ethical values that consolidate civil coexistence.

101. Multiplices inter provincias officiorum, Synodus vehementer suasit ut reconciliatio et pax promoverentur. In rerum hodie adiunctis oportet quam maxime Dei Verbum iterum detegatur tamquam reconciliationis pacisque fons, quoniam in eo Deus sibi omnia reconciliat (cfr 2 Cor 5,18-20; Eph 1,10): Christus « est pax nostra » (Eph 2,14), qui separationis parietes solvit. Tot in Synodo testificationes graves cruentasque contentiones praesentes nostro in mundo ostenderunt. Interdum hae concertationes inter religiones dimicationis speciem prae se ferre videntur. Iterum iterumque confirmare volumus religionem minime umquam intolerantiam vel bella excusare posse. Vim adhibere non possumus in Dei nomine!³³⁴ Quaeque religio ad rationem recte utendam necnon ad ethica bona provehenda, quae civilem convictum efficiunt, perferre debet.

In fidelity to the work of reconciliation accomplished by God in Jesus Christ crucified and risen, Catholics and men and women of goodwill must commit themselves to being an example of reconciliation for the building of a just and peaceful society.^[335] We should never forget that “where human words become powerless because the tragic clash of violence and arms prevails, the prophetic power of God’s word does not waver, reminding us that peace is possible and that we ourselves must be instruments of reconciliation and peace”.^[336]

Reconciliationis operae fideles, quam Deus in Christo Iesu, cruci affixo et resuscitato, complevit, catholici atque omnes bonae voluntatis homines exemplis reconciliationis praebendis operam dent, ut iusta pacificaque societas aedificetur.³³⁵ Numquam oblivisci debemus ibi, « ubi humana verba inefficacia evadunt, quandoquidem funestus violentiae armorumque rumor praevalet, propheticam Dei Verbi vim non deficere atque nobis repetere pacem fieri posse, et nos reconciliationis pacisque instrumenta esse debere ».³³⁶

The word of God and practical charity

Dei Verbum et operosa caritas

103. Commitment to justice, reconciliation and peace finds its ultimate foundation and fulfilment in the love revealed to us in Christ. By listening to the testimonies offered during the Synod, we saw more clearly the bond between a love-filled hearing of God’s word and selfless service of our brothers and sisters; all believers should see the need to “translate the word that we have heard into gestures of love, because this is the only way to make the Gospel proclamation credible, despite the human weakness that marks individuals”.^[337] Jesus passed through this world doing good (cf. Acts 10:38). Listening with docility to the word of God in the Church awakens “charity and justice towards all, especially towards the poor”.^[338] We should never forget that “love – caritas – will always prove necessary, even in the most just society … whoever wants to eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such”.^[339] I therefore encourage the faithful to meditate often on the Apostle Paul’s hymn to charity and to draw inspiration from it: “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but delights in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Cor 13:4-8).

102. Iustitiae, reconciliationis pacisque studium suam postremam radicem suamque consummationem in amore reperit in Christo nobis revelato. Testificationes auscultantes quae in Synodo exstiterunt, attentiores facti sumus de vinculo quod inter Verbum Dei amabiliter audiendum et liberalem in fratres famulatum intercedit; omnes credentes necessitatem animadvertant « in amoris actus verbum auscultatum convertendi, quoniam sic tantummodo Evangelii nuntius fit credibilis, praeter infirmitates quibus personae signantur ».³³⁷ Iesus pertransivit in hoc mundo benefaciendo (cfr Act 10,38). Prompto quidem animo Dei Verbum in Ecclesia dum auscultatur, excitantur « caritas iustitiaque erga omnes, potissimum erga pauperes ».³³⁸ Numquam est obliviscendum « amorem – caritatem – semper fore necessarium, in iustiore quoque societate ... si quis de amore vult se subtrahere, prolabitur ad se ab homine velut homine eximendum ».³³⁹ Cohortamur itaque omnes fideles ad saepe meditandum caritatis hymnum, scriptum a Paulo Apostolo, qui et ad se eius inspiratione imbuantur: « Caritas patiens est, benigna est caritas, non aemulatur, non agit superbe, non inflatur, non est ambitiosa, non quaerit, quae sua sunt, non irritatur, non cogitat malum, non gaudet super iniquitatem, congaudet autem veritati; omnia suffert, omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia sustinet. Caritas numquam excidit » (1 Cor 13,4-8).

Love of neighbour, rooted in the love of God, ought to see us constantly committed as individuals and as an ecclesial community, both local and universal. As Saint Augustine says: “It is essential to realize that love is the fullness of the Law, as it is of all the divine Scriptures … Whoever claims to have understood the Scriptures, or any part of them, without striving as a result to grow in this twofold love of God and neighbour, makes it clear that he has not yet understood them”.^[340]

Proximi amor, in Dei amore fundatus, efficere debet ut continenter tum ut singuli tum ut ecclesialis, localis et universalis communitas operemur. Sanctus Augustinus asserit: « Haec summa est, ut intelligatur Legis et omnium divinarum Scripturarum plenitudo et finis esse dilectio ... Quisque igitur Scripturas divinas vel quamlibet earum partem intellexisse sibi videtur, ita ut eo intellectu non aedificet istam geminam caritatem Dei et proximi, nondum intellexit ».³⁴⁰

The proclamation of the word of God and young people

Dei Verbi nuntius et iuvenes

104. The Synod paid particular attention to the proclamation of God’s word to the younger generation. Young people are already active members of the Church and they represent its future. Often we encounter in them a spontaneous openness to hearing the word of God and a sincere desire to know Jesus. Youth is a time when genuine and irrepressible questions arise about the meaning of life and the direction our own lives should take. Only God can give the true answer to these questions. Concern for young people calls for courage and clarity in the message we proclaim; we need to help young people to gain confidence and familiarity with sacred Scripture so it can become a compass pointing out the path to follow.^[341] Young people need witnesses and teachers who can walk with them, teaching them to love the Gospel and to share it, especially with their peers, and thus to become authentic and credible messengers.^[342]

103. Synodus peculiarem in modum de divino Verbo novis generationibus nuntiando cogitavit. Iuvenes iam nunc sunt activa Ecclesiae membra cuiusque sunt futura aetas. Ii saepenumero ad Dei Verbum audiendum propendere reperiuntur atque sincerum desiderium Iesum cognoscendi habent. Etenim iuventutis aetate vehementer ac sincere de propriae vitae sensu et de propriae exsistentiae destinatione interrogationes emergunt. Interrogationibus his Deus tantum veram responsionem praebere valet. Haec cura, iuvenibus conversa, manifesti nuntii studium secum fert; iuvenes adiuvare debemus ut fiduciam familiaritatemque erga sacram Scripturam adipiscantur, quae veluti nautica pyxis sit, quaeque cursum persequendum demonstret.³⁴¹ Idcirco testibus et magistris ii indigent, qui cum iis ambulent eosque dirigant ad amandum et vicissim Evangelium maxime cum aequalibus communicandum, dum ipsi veri credibilesque fiunt praecones.³⁴²

God’s word needs to be presented in a way that brings out its implications for each person’s vocation and assists young people in choosing the direction they will give to their lives, including that of total consecration to God.^[343] Authentic vocations to the consecrated life and to the priesthood find fertile ground in a faith-filled contact with the word of God. I repeat once again the appeal I made at the beginning of my pontificate to open wide the doors to Christ: “If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. … Dear young people: do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life”.^[344]

Est necesse ut Verbum divinum in suis quoque vocationum implicationibus ostendatur, ita ut iuvenes suis in vitae curriculis eligendis, in plenam etiam consecrationem, iuventur et perducantur.³⁴³ Verae ad vitam consecratam et sacerdotalem vocationes in Verbo Dei fideliter nanciscendo congruum reperiunt locum. Hodie etiam ianuas Christo reserandi invitationem, quam Pontificatum ingredientes fecimus, iteramus: « Qui sinit ut Christus intret, nihil amittit, nihil – omnino nihil quod vitam liberam, pulchram, insignem reddit. Minime quidem! Solummodo hac in amicitia ad vitam aperiuntur ianuae. In hac amicitia solummodo reapse praestantes humanae condicionis vires recluduntur ... Cari iuvenes, nolite Christum timere! Nihil Ipse aufert, et omnia donat. Is qui se ei tradit, centuplum recipit. Utique, aperite, Christo portas patefacite – et veram vitam invenietis ».³⁴⁴

The proclamation of the word of God and migrants

Dei Verbi nuntius et migrantes

105. The word of God makes us attentive to history and to emerging realities. In considering the Church’s mission of evangelization, the Synod thus decided to address as well the complex phenomenon of movements of migration, which in recent years have taken on unprecedented proportions. This issue is fraught with extremely delicate questions about the security of nations and the welcome to be given to those seeking refuge or improved conditions of living, health and work. Large numbers of people who know nothing of Christ, or who have an inadequate understanding of him, are settling in countries of Christian tradition. At the same time, persons from nations deeply marked by Christian faith are emigrating to countries where Christ needs to be proclaimed and a new evangelization is demanded. These situations offer new possibilities for the spread of God’s word. In this regard the Synod Fathers stated that migrants are entitled to hear the kerygma, which is to be proposed, not imposed. If they are Christians, they require forms of pastoral care which can enable them to grow in the faith and to become in turn messengers of the Gospel. Taking into account the complexity of the phenomenon, a mobilization of all dioceses involved is essential, so that movements of migration will also be seen as an opportunity to discover new forms of presence and proclamation. It is also necessary that they ensure, to the extent possible, that these our brothers and sisters receive adequate welcome and attention, so that, touched by the Good News, they will be able to be heralds of God’s word and witnesses to the Risen Jesus, the hope of the world.^[345]

104. Dei Verbum ad historiam et ad omnia nova quae ex ea oriuntur attentos nos facit. Quapropter Synodus, quod ad Ecclesiae evangelizationis missionem attinet, implicatae rei men-tem convertere voluit, quae ad populos migrantes spectat, quae his annis inopinatam magnitudinem attigit. Hic magnae prudentiae exoriuntur quaestiones, quae ad nationum securitatem necnon receptionem spectant, quae iis est praebenda, qui confugium, commodiores vitae, salutis operisque condiciones requirunt. Personarum multitudo, quae Christum non noverunt vel incongruentem eius habent imaginem, in christianae traditionis Nationibus domicilium stabiliter ponit. Eodem tempore personae ad populos pertinentes funditus christiana fide informatos, in Nationes demigrant, in quas necesse est ut Christi nuntius deferatur quaeque nova evangelizatione indigent. Hae condiciones novas facultates praebent Dei Verbum diffundendi. Hac de re synodales Patres edixerunt migrantes kerygma audiendi ius habere, quod eis proponitur, non imponitur. Si christiani sunt, congruo pastorali praesidio indigent, ut fides roboretur et evangelici nuntii ipsi sint praecones. Cum sint huius rei implicatae consciae, dioeceses, ad quas id spectat, operari debent, ut migrantium motus tamquam occasiones etiam habeantur ad novas praesentiae nuntiique rationes detegendas atque, pro cuiusque facultatibus, congruae receptioni et horum nostrorum fratrum curae provideatur, ut Bono Nuntio affecti, ipsi Dei Verbi praecones et Iesu Resuscitati, mundi spei, testes fiant.³⁴⁵

The proclamation of the word of God and the suffering

Dei Verbi nuntius et languentes

106. During the work of the Synod, the Fathers also considered the need to proclaim God’s word to all those who are suffering, whether physically, psychologically or spiritually. It is in times of pain that the ultimate questions about the meaning of one’s life make themselves acutely felt. If human words seem to fall silent before the mystery of evil and suffering, and if our society appears to value life only when it corresponds to certain standards of efficiency and well-being, the word of God makes us see that even these moments are mysteriously “embraced” by God’s love. Faith born of an encounter with God’s word helps us to realize that human life deserves to be lived fully, even when weakened by illness and pain. God created us for happiness and for life, whereas sickness and death came into the world as a result of sin (cf. Wis 2:23-24). Yet the Father of life is mankind’s physician par excellence, and he does not cease to bend lovingly over suffering humanity. We contemplate the culmination of God’s closeness to our sufferings in Jesus himself, “the Word incarnate. He suffered and died for us. By his passion and death he took our weakness upon himself and totally transformed it”.^[346]

105. Cum synodale opus agerent, Patres necessitatem etiam animadverterunt Verbi Dei universis iis nuntiandi, qui in dolore physico, psychico vel spiritali versantur. Etenim cum dolor adest, postremae de propriae vitae sensu interrogationes impellentes in animo hominis oriuntur. Si hominis verbum pro mali dolorisque mysterio cessare videtur atque si nostra societas bonam exsistentiam putare videtur solummodo si quibusdam efficientiae commoditatisque modis respondeat, Dei Verbum nobis revelat haec quoque rerum adiuncta blandum Dei amorem arcano « complecti ». Fides, quae divinum Verbum conveniendo oritur, nos adiuvat, ut aestimemus humanam vitam dignam esse quae plene vivatur, licet malo frangatur. Deus hominem creavit ad felicitatem et vitam fruendam, morbus autem et mors ob peccatum in mundum intraverunt (cfr Sap 2,23-24). Sed vitae Pater medicus ipse est hominis praecipue et non intermittit quin amabiliter in dolentem humanitatem se inclinet. Propinquitatis Dei verticem erga hominem dolentem in Iesu ipso contemplamur qui est « Verbum incarnatum. Nobiscum passus est, mortuus est. Per suam passionem et mortem sumpsit Ipse et funditus nostram debilitatem convertit ».³⁴⁶

Jesus’ closeness to those who suffer is constant: it is prolonged in time thanks to the working of the Holy Spirit in the mission of the Church, in the word and in the sacraments, in men and women of good will, and in charitable initiatives undertaken with fraternal love by communities, thus making known God’s true face and his love. The Synod thanked God for the luminous witness, often hidden, of all the many Christians – priests, religious and lay faithful – who have lent and continue to lend their hands, eyes and hearts to Christ, the true physician of body and soul. It exhorts all to continue to care for the infirm and to bring them the life-giving presence of the Lord Jesus in the word and in the Eucharist. Those who suffer should be helped to read the Scriptures and to realize that their condition itself enables them to share in a special way in Christ’s redemptive suffering for the salvation of the world (cf. 2 Cor 4:8-11,14).^[347]

Iesu propinquitas dolentibus non est intermissa: progrediente tempore Spiritus Sancti ope in Ecclesiae missione, in Verbo sacramentisque, in hominibus bonae voluntatis, in assistentiae operibus producitur, quae fraterna cum caritate communitates faciunt, verum Dei vultum eiusque amoris sic demonstrantes. Gratias Deo refert Synodus de fulgida ac saepe latenti testificatione tot christianorum – sacerdotum, religiosorum et laicorum – qui suas manus, suos oculos ac sua corda Christo, vero corporum animarumque medico, commodarunt et commodare pergunt! Cohortatur porro ut personas infirmas curare pergant, vivificantem Domini Iesu in Verbo et Eucharistiae praesentiam eis tradentes. Ad Scripturam legendam iuventur ac simul ad illud detegendum per ipsam hanc condicionem peculiari modo se participare posse dolorem Christi redemptorem pro mundi salute (cfr 2 Cor 4,8-11.14).³⁴⁷

The proclamation of the word of God and the poor

Dei Verbi nuntius et pauperes

107. Sacred Scripture manifests God’s special love for the poor and the needy (cf. Mt 25:31-46). The Synod Fathers frequently spoke of the importance of enabling these, our brothers and sisters, to hear the Gospel message and to experience the closeness of their pastors and communities. Indeed, “the poor are the first ones entitled to hear the proclamation of the Gospel; they need not only bread, but also words of life”.^[348] The diaconia of charity, which must never be lacking in our churches, should always be bound to the proclamation of the word and the celebration of the sacred mysteries.^[349] Yet we also need to recognize and appreciate the fact that the poor are themselves agents of evangelization. In the Bible, the true poor are those who entrust themselves totally to God; in the Gospel Jesus calls them blessed, “for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 5:3; cf. Lk 6:20). The Lord exalts the simplicity of heart of those who find in God true riches, placing their hope in him, and not in the things of this world. The Church cannot let the poor down: “Pastors are called to listen to them, to learn from them, to guide them in their faith and to encourage them to take responsibility for lives”.^[350]

106. Sacra Scriptura Dei praecipuam dilectionem erga pauperes et indigentes ostendit (cfr Mt 25,31-46). Patres synodales crebro necessitatem memoraverunt evangelicum nuntium, pastorum communitatumque munus, his nostris fratribus converti debere. Reapse « pauperes quidem, non solo pane, sed verbis vitae indigentes, iure gaudent qui primi omnium Evangelium sibi nuntiatum audiant ».³⁴⁸ Caritatis diaconia, quae nostris in Ecclesiis numquam deficere debet, cum Verbi nuntiatione et sanctorum mysteriorum celebratione coniuncta semper esse debet.³⁴⁹ Eodem tempore illud oportet agnoscatur et aestimetur quod ipsi pauperes sunt evangelizationis actores. In Bibliis verus pauper est ille qui totum se Deo committit et Iesus ipse in Evangelio beatos vocat eos « quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum » (Mt 5,3; cfr Lc 6,20). Dominus cordis simplicitatem extollit illius qui Deum suas veras divitias putat, in Eo suam spem ponit, non huius mundi in bonis. Fallere pauperes non potest Ecclesia: « Pastorum est, tum ut eos audiant et ab his discant, ut eos in fide conducant et apte cieant, qui suae historiae artifices exsistant ».³⁵⁰

The Church also knows that poverty can exist as a virtue, to be cultivated and chosen freely, as so many saints have done. Poverty can likewise exist as indigence, often due to injustice or selfishness, marked by hunger and need, and as a source of conflict. In her proclamation of God’s word, the Church knows that a “virtuous circle” must be promoted between the poverty which is to be chosen and the poverty which is to be combated; we need to rediscover “moderation and solidarity, these values of the Gospel that are also universal … This entails decisions marked by justice and moderation”.^[351]

Ecclesia sibi quoque est conscia quandam esse paupertatem ut virtutem, colendam quidem libereque eligendam, sicut tot sancti egerunt, atque miseriam esse, quae ex iniustitia oritur et nimio sui amore gignitur, quae egestatem famemque parit et contentiones alit. Cum Ecclesia Dei Verbum nuntiat, novit necesse esse, ut « virtutis circulus » foveatur inter paupertatem eligendam et inter paupertatem profligandam, dum denuo deteguntur « sobrietas et solidarietas, ut evangelica bona et eodem tempore universalia ... Id iustitiae electiones ac sobrietatis postulat ».³⁵¹

The proclamation of the word of God and the protection of creation

Dei Verbum et creati tutela

108. Engagement with the world, as demanded by God’s word, makes us look with new eyes at the entire created cosmos, which contains traces of that word through whom all things were made (cf. Jn 1:2). As men and women who believe in and proclaim the Gospel, we have a responsibility towards creation. Revelation makes known God’s plan for the cosmos, yet it also leads us to denounce that mistaken attitude which refuses to view all created realities as a reflection of their Creator, but instead as mere raw material, to be exploited without scruple. Man thus lacks that essential humility which would enable him to see creation as a gift from God, to be received and used in accordance with his plan. Instead, the arrogance of human beings who live “as if God did not exist” leads them to exploit and disfigure nature, failing to see it as the handiwork of the creative word. In this theological context, I would like to echo the statements of the Synod Fathers who reminded us that “accepting the word of God, attested to by Scripture and by the Church’s living Tradition, gives rise to a new way of seeing things, promotes an authentic ecology which has its deepest roots in the obedience of faith … [and] develops a renewed theological sensitivity to the goodness of all things, which are created in Christ”.^[352] We need to be re-educated in wonder and in the ability to recognize the beauty made manifest in created realities.^[353]

107. In mundo munus, quod divinum Verbum requirit, nos impellit ut novis oculis cernamus universum mundum a Deo creatum atque iam in se Verbi vestigia deferentem, per quod omnia facta sunt (cfr Io 1,2). Enimvero quaedam est responsalitas quam ut credentes et Evangelii praecones etiam erga creationem habemus. Revelatio, dum Dei de mundo consilium nobis manifestat, nos quoque inducit ut erratas hominis consuetudines reprehendamus, cum omnes res non agnoscit ut Creatoris signum, sed tantummodo materiam licenter tractandam. Sic in homine essentialis deest illa humilitas, quae sinit ut creationem tamquam Dei donum agnoscat, secundum Eius consilium recipiendam et usurpandam. Insolentia e contrario hominis, qui sic vivit perinde ac si Deus non esset, illuc fert ut exhauriatur et corrumpatur rerum natura, cum in ea creantis Verbi opus non agnoscatur. Hoc in theologico prospectu, Patrum synodalium sententias in mentem revocare cupimus: « Qui Verbum Dei suscipiunt, quod in sacris Scripturis et viva Traditione Ecclesiae testimonio elucet, novum res conspiciendi modum acquirunt et veram oecologiam promovent, quae radices agit imas in oboedientia fidei, ... per novos theologicos sensus quoad bonitatem omnium rerum, quae creatae sunt in Christo ».³⁵² Indiget homo novae institutionis de mirabilibus et vera pulchritudine percipienda, quae in rebus creatis manifestatur.³⁵³

The Word Of God And Culture

DEI VERBUM ET CULTURAE

The value of culture for the life of humanity

Culturae pondus pro hominis vita

109. Saint John’s proclamation that the Word became flesh reveals the inseparable bond between God’s word and the human words by which he communicates with us. In this context the Synod Fathers considered the relationship between the word of God and culture. God does not reveal himself in the abstract, but by using languages, imagery and expressions that are bound to different cultures. This relationship has proved fruitful, as the history of the Church abundantly testifies. Today it is entering a new phase due to the spread of the Gospel and its taking root within different cultures, as well as more recent developments in the culture of the West. It calls in the first place for a recognition of the importance of culture as such for the life of every man and woman. The phenomenon of culture is, in its various aspects, an essential datum of human experience. “Man lives always according to a culture which is properly his, and which in turn creates among persons a bond which is properly theirs, one which determines the inter-human and social character of human existence”.^[354]

108. Ioannis nuntius ad Verbi incarnationem spectans artissimum vinculum patefacit, quod inter Verbum divinum et humana verba intercedit, per quae nobis communicatur. Ex his considerationibus Synodus Episcoporum de necessitudine inter Dei Verbum et culturam multum disseruit. Etenim Deus non homini separatim posito revelatur, sed loquelam, imagines et signa sumendo, quae cum diversis culturis copulantur. De fecunda agitur necessitudine, quam magnopere Ecclesiae historia est testificata. Hodie argumentum hoc nova specie distinguitur, quandoquidem varias intra culturas diffunditur et solidatur evangelizatio atque occidentalis cultura proximis superioribus temporibus magis crevit. Hoc prae ceteris praestantiam culturae ut talis pro cuiusque hominis vita complectitur. Res culturalis enim, suis in multiplicibus adspectibus, ad elementum constitutivum humanae experientiae pertinet: « Homo continenter secundum culturam sibi propriam vivit, quae vicissim homines proprio vinculo devincit, cum inter-humanum socialemque characterem definiat humanae exsistentiae ».³⁵⁴

Down the centuries the word of God has inspired different cultures, giving rise to fundamental moral values, outstanding expressions of art and exemplary life-styles.^[355] Hence, in looking to a renewed encounter between the Bible and culture, I wish to reassure all those who are part of the world of culture that they have nothing to fear from openness to God’s word, which never destroys true culture, but rather is a constant stimulus to seek ever more appropriate, meaningful and humane forms of expression. Every authentic culture, if it is truly to be at the service of humanity, has to be open to transcendence and, in the end, to God.

Dei Verbum saeculorum decursu diversas culturas finxit, cum morum bona praecipua, magnifica artis opera et eximios vivendi modos efficeret.³⁵⁵ Itaque renovatam inter Biblia et culturas convenientiam prospectantes, culturae omnibus curatoribus rursus edicere volumus nihil eos timere debere, aditum Dei Verbo dantes, quod numquam veram culturam delet, sed continenter ad humanas formas reperiendas concitat, quae sint aptiores et insigniores. Quaeque vera cultura, quae ad hominem procul dubio attinet, transcendentiae, postremo Deo, patere debet.

The Bible, a great code for cultures

Biblia ut magnus culturarum codex

110. The Synod Fathers greatly stressed the importance of promoting a suitable knowledge of the Bible among those engaged in the area of culture, also in secularized contexts and among non-believers.^[356] Sacred Scripture contains anthropological and philosophical values that have had a positive influence on humanity as a whole.^[357] A sense of the Bible as a great code for cultures needs to be fully recovered.

109. Patres synodales momentum extulerunt inter culturae fautores congruae cognitioni Bibliorum favendi, etiam in coetibus saecularibus moribus imbutis et inter non credentes;³⁵⁶ in sacra Scriptura anthropologica et philosophica bona continentur, quae cunctam humanitatem proficienter affecerunt.³⁵⁷ Plene restituendus est Bibliorum sensus, ut magnus culturarum codex.

Knowledge of the Bible in schools and universities

Bibliorum in scholis et in studiorum universitatibus cognitio

111. One particular setting for an encounter between the word of God and culture is that of schools and universities. Pastors should be especially attentive to this milieu, promoting a deeper knowledge of the Bible and a grasp of its fruitful cultural implications also for the present day. Study centres supported by Catholic groups offer a distinct contribution to the promotion of culture and education – and this ought to be recognized. Nor must religious education be neglected, and religion teachers should be given careful training. Religious education is often the sole opportunity available for students to encounter the message of faith. In the teaching of religion, emphasis should be laid on knowledge of sacred Scripture, as a means of overcoming prejudices old and new, and enabling its truth to be better known.^[358]

110. Peculiaris ambitus, in quem Dei Verbum et culturae conveniunt, est schola et studiorum universitas. Singularem operam curent horum ambituum Pastores, Bibliorum conspicuam cognitionem provehentes, ita ut frugiferae etiam hodie culturales implicationes percipiantur. Studiorum sedes, a catholicis institutis promotae, peculiarem dant operam – quae agnosci debet – culturae institutionique provehendae. Neglegenda exinde non est religionis disciplina tradenda, adamussim hac de re institutis magistris. Multis in casibus haec una est discipulis occasio fidei nuntii attingendi. Bonum est per hanc doctrinam sacrae Scripturae cognitionem promovere, antiqua novaque praeiudicia amovendo, atque eius veritatis cognitionem proponendo.³⁵⁸

Sacred Scripture in the variety of artistic expressions

Sacra Scriptura in diversis artis formis

112. The relationship between the word of God and culture has found expression in many areas, especially in the arts. For this reason the great tradition of East and West has always esteemed works of art inspired by sacred Scripture, as for example the figurative arts and architecture, literature and music. I think too of the ancient language expressed by icons, which from the Eastern tradition is gradually spreading throughout the world. With the Synod Fathers, the whole Church expresses her appreciation, esteem and admiration of those artists “enamoured of beauty” who have drawn inspiration from the sacred texts. They have contributed to the decoration of our churches, to the celebration of our faith, to the enrichment of our liturgy and many of them have helped to make somehow perceptible, in time and space, realities that are unseen and eternal.^[359] I encourage the competent offices and groups to promote in the Church a solid formation of artists with regard to sacred Scripture in the light of the Church’s living Tradition and her magisterium.

111. Inter Dei Verbum et culturam vinculum effecit ut variis in provinciis opera gignerentur, peculiarem in modum in artis provincia. Idcirco eximia Occidentis Orientisque traditio semper artis effecta existimavit sacra Scriptura inspirata, sicut exempli gratia figurarum artificia et architecturam, litteras et musicam. De antiqua etiam cogitamus iconum loquela, quae ex orientali traditione gradatim in totum terrarum orbem diffunditur. Una cum synodalibus Patribus tota Ecclesia laudat, aestimat et miratur cunctos artifices « pulchritudinis amore incensos », qui ex sacris textibus artis consilia ceperunt; dederunt ipsi operam ut nostra templa decorarentur, nostra fides celebraretur, nostra liturgia locupletaretur atque eodem tempore multi eorum effecerunt ut aliquo modo in tempore spatioque invisibilia aeternaque percipi possent.³⁵⁹ Competentia instituta cohortamur ut in Ecclesia solidam artificum institutionem de sacra Scriptura sub vivae Traditionis Ecclesiae Magisteriique lumine iuvent.

The word of God and the means of social communication

Verbum Dei et instrumenta communicationis socialis

113. Linked to the relationship between the word of God and culture is the need for a careful and intelligent use of the communications media, both old and new. The Synod Fathers called for a proper knowledge of these media; they noted their rapid development and different levels of interaction, and asked for greater efforts to be made in gaining expertise in the various sectors involved, particularly in the new media, such as the internet. The Church already has a significant presence in the world of mass communications, and her magisterium has frequently intervened on the subject, beginning with the Second Vatican Council.^[360] Discovering new methods of transmitting the Gospel message is part of the continuing evangelizing outreach of those who believe. Communications today take place through a worldwide network, and thus give new meaning to Christ’s words: “What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops” (Mt 10:27). God’s word should resound not only in the print media, but in other forms of communication as well.^[361] For this reason, together with the Synod Fathers, I express gratitude to those Catholics who are making serious efforts to promote a significant presence in the world of the media, and I ask for an ever wider and more qualified commitment in this regard.^[362]

112. Simul cum necessitudine inter Verbum Dei et culturas coniungitur etiam momentum accurate ac sapienter utendi communicationis socialis instrumentis, antiquis et novis. Patres synodales hortati sunt ad idoneam cognitionem horum instrumentorum, rationem habendo de eorum celeri incremento necnon de variis gradibus interactionis, atque maiores vires insumendo ut qualificata peritia acquireretur variis in campis, praesertim in ita dictis novis instrumentis communicationis socialis, sicut exempli gratia in usu interretis. Significans iam datur praesentia ex parte Ecclesiae in provincia communicationis socialis, et etiam Ecclesiae Magisterium pluries de hoc argumento locutum est, incipiens a Concilio Vaticano II.³⁶⁰ Acquisitio novarum viarum ad Nuntium evangelicum transmittendum pertinet ad constantem propensionem evangelizatricem credentium, et hodie communicatio extendit rete quod universum orbem amplectitur et novum acquirit sensum Christi admonitio: « Quod dico vobis in tenebris, dicite in lumine; et quod in aure auditis, praedicate super tecta » (Mt 10,27). Verbum divinum, praeter formam typis editam, resonare debet etiam alias per vias communicationis.³⁶¹ Quapropter, una cum Patribus synodalibus, gratias agere cupimus catholicis qui cum peritia provehunt validam praesentiam in campo instrumentorum communicationis socialis, sollicitando usque amplius peritiusque studium.³⁶²

Among the new forms of mass communication, nowadays we need to recognize the increased role of the internet, which represents a new forum for making the Gospel heard. Yet we also need to be aware that the virtual world will never be able to replace the real world, and that evangelization will be able to make use of the virtual world offered by the new media in order to create meaningful relationships only if it is able to offer the personal contact which remains indispensable. In the world of the internet, which enables billions of images to appear on millions of screens throughout the world, the face of Christ needs to be seen and his voice heard, for “if there is no room for Christ, there is no room for man”.^[363]

Inter novas formas communicationis socialis maiorem in dies locum tenet hodie usus interretis, quod novum forum constituit in quo oportet Evangelium resonet, ea tamen conscientia quod mundus virtualis numquam substituere poterit mundum realem et quod evangelizatio virtualitate oblata a novis instrumentis communicationis socialis frui poterit ad instaurandas relationes validas tantummodo si deinde ad personalem occursum veniatur qui qua talis substitui nequit. In campo interretis, quo innumerae conspiciuntur imagines in frequentissimis scaenis interretialibus totum per orbem, emergere debet Christi vultus et vox eius audiri, quoniam « si Christo spatium non tribuitur, nec homini spatium tribuitur ».³⁶³

The Bible and inculturation

Biblia et inculturatio

114. The mystery of the incarnation tells us that while God always communicates in a concrete history, taking up the cultural codes embedded therein, the same word can and must also be passed on in different cultures, transforming them from within through what Pope Paul VI called the evangelization of cultures.^[364] The word of God, like the Christian faith itself, has a profoundly intercultural character; it is capable of encountering different cultures and in turn enabling them to encounter one another.^[365]

113. Mysterium incarnationis certiores nos facit Deum alia ex parte se communicare semper certa in historia, assumendo culturales codices in ipsa inscriptos, alia autem ex parte idem Verbum diffundi potest ac debet diversas in culturas, mutando eas ab intra, per hoc quod Summus Pontifex Paulus VI appellavit evangelizationem culturarum.³⁶⁴ Verbum Dei, sicut ceterum christiana fides, ita indolem ostendit prorsus interculturalem, capacem diversas culturas inveniendi et agendi ut eaedem inter se conveniant.³⁶⁵

Here too we come to appreciate the importance of the inculturation of the Gospel.^[366] The Church is firmly convinced that the word of God is inherently capable of speaking to all human persons in the context of their own culture: “this conviction springs from the Bible itself, which, right from the Book of Genesis, adopts a universalist stance (cf. Gen 1:27-28), maintains it subsequently in the blessing promised to all peoples through Abraham and his offspring (cf. Gen 12:3; 18:18), and confirms it definitively in extending to ‘all nations’ the proclamation of the Gospel”.^[367] For this reason, inculturation is not to be confused with processes of superficial adaptation, much less with a confused syncretism which would dilute the uniqueness of the Gospel in an attempt to make it more easily accepted.^[368] The authentic paradigm of inculturation is the incarnation itself of the Word: “‘Acculturation’ or ‘inculturation’ will truly be a reflection of the incarnation of the Word when a culture, transformed and regenerated by the Gospel, brings forth from its own living tradition original expressions of Christian life, celebration and thought”,^[369] serving as a leaven within the local culture, enhancing the semina Verbi and all those positive elements present within that culture, thus opening it to the values of the Gospel.^[370]

Hoc in rerum contextu intellegitur etiam valor inculturationis Evangelii.³⁶⁶ Ecclesia firmiter persuasa est de intrinseca facultate Verbi Dei omnes humanas personas attingendi in culturali contextu in quo vivunt: « Persuasio haec ex ipsis Bibliis provenit quae, inde a libro Genesis, universalem assumunt sensum (cfr Gn 1,27-28), quem servant deinde in benedictione cunctis populis promissa propter Abraham eiusque descendentiam (cfr Gn 12,3; 18,18) eundemque definitive confirmant, dum extendunt evangelizationem “ad omnes gentes” ».³⁶⁷ Quamobrem inculturatio non est permutanda cum processibus superficialis accommodationis neque cum confusione syncretismi quae minuit authenticitatem Evangelii quo facilius acceptabile reddatur.³⁶⁸ Genuinum paradigma inculturationis est ipsa Verbi incarnatio: « “adculturatio” vel “inculturatio” realiter erit quaedam incarnationis Verbi imago, cum cultura, transformata et regenerata ab Evangelio, sua in traditione efficit originales vitae, celebrationis, christianae cogitationis expressiones »,³⁶⁹ culturam localem ab intus fermentando, existimando semina Verbi et omnia quae in ipsa positiva inveniuntur, eam ad evangelicos valores aperiendo.³⁷⁰

Translating the Bible and making it more widely available

Bibliorum versiones ac diffusio

115. The inculturation of God’s word is an integral part of the Church’s mission in the world, and a decisive moment in this process is the diffusion of the Bible through the precious work of translation into different languages. Here it should always be remembered that the work of translation of the Scriptures had been undertaken “already in the Old Testament period, when the Hebrew text of the Bible was translated orally into Aramaic (Neh 8:8,12) and later in written form into Greek. A translation, of course, is always more than a simple transcription of the original texts. The passage from one language to another necessarily involves a change of cultural context: concepts are not identical and symbols have a different meaning, for they come up against other traditions of thought and other ways of life”.^[371]

114. Si inculturatio Verbi Dei pars est necessaria missionis Ecclesiae in mundo, momentum decretorium huius processus est diffusio Bibliorum per eximium opus versionis varios in sermones. Hac in re semper considerandum est operam versionum Scripturarum « initium habuisse usque a temporibus Veteris Testamenti, cum textus Hebraicus Bibliorum oretenus in Aramaicam linguam conversus est (cfr Ne 8,8.12), ac serius, in scriptis in Graecanicum sermonem. Nam versio semper est quiddam maius quam mera transcriptio textus originalis. Transitio ex una in aliam linguam necessario implicat commutationem contextus culturalis: conceptus non sunt iidem ac symbolorum pondus diversum est, quoniam generant relationem cum aliis mentis traditionibus aliisve modis vivendi ».³⁷¹

During the Synod, it was clear that a number of local Churches still lack a complete translation of the Bible in their own languages. How many people today hunger and thirst for the word of God, yet remain deprived of the “widely available access to Sacred Scripture”^[372] desired by the Second Vatican Council! For this reason the Synod considered it important, above all, to train specialists committed to translating the Bible into the various languages.^[373] I would encourage the investment of resources in this area. In particular I wish to recommend supporting the work of the Catholic Biblical Federation, with the aim of further increasing the number of translations of sacred Scripture and their wide diffusion.^[374] Given the very nature of such an enterprise, it should be carried out as much as possible in cooperation with the different Bible Societies.

Ex laboribus synodalibus deprehensum est quasdam esse Ecclesias particulares quae nondum habent Bibliorum integram versionem in propria cuiusque lingua. Quot populi hodie Verbum Dei esuriunt ac sitiunt, sed pro dolor hactenus fieri nequit ut iis « aditus ad sacram Scripturam late pateat »,³⁷² ut in votis fuerat Concilii Vaticani II! « Huius rei causa magni momenti habet Synodus, imprimis, ut periti edoceantur, qui se dedant Bibliis in vernaculos sermones convertendis ».³⁷³ Hortamur ut hoc in ambitu vires impendantur. Praecipue admonere cupimus ut sustineatur opus Foederationis Biblicae Catholicae quo magis augeatur numerus versionum sacrae Scripturae earumque accurata diffusio.³⁷⁴ Aequum est ut opus hoc ipsam ob eius naturam, efficiatur, quantum fieri potest, in cooperatione cum diversis Societatibus Biblicis.

God’s word transcends cultural limits

Verbum Dei praetergreditur culturarum limites

116. The synodal assembly, in its discussion of the relationship between God’s word and cultures, felt the need to reaffirm something that the earliest Christians had experienced beginning on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-2). The word of God is capable of entering into and finding expression in various cultures and languages, yet that same word overcomes the limits of individual cultures to create fellowship between different peoples. The Lord’s word summons us to advance towards an ever more vast communion. “We escape the limitations of our experience and we enter into the reality that is truly universal. Entering into communion with the word of God, we enter into the communion of the Church which lives the word of God. … It means going beyond the limits of the individual cultures into the universality that connects all, unites all, makes us all brothers and sisters”.^[375] The proclamation of God’s work thus always demands, of us in the first place, a new exodus, as we leave behind our own limited standards and imaginations in order to make room for the presence of Christ.

115. Coetus synodalis, disceptans de relatione inter Verbum Dei et culturas, percepit necessitatem confirmandi ea quae primi christiani experiri potuerunt inde a die Pentecostes (cfr Act 2,1- 13). Verbum divinum in diversas culturas et linguas penetrare valet et in iisdem exprimi, sed ipsum Verbum limites singularum culturarum transfigurat, communionem edens apud diversos populos. Verbum Domini invitat nos ut procedamus ad ampliorem communionem. « Exeamus ex angustis experientiis nostris ingrediamurque in illam realitatem quae vere est universalis. Dum accedimus ad communionem cum Verbo Dei, ingredimur in communionem Ecclesiae, quae vivit Verbum Dei. ... Quod sibi vult transire ex limitibus uniuscuiusque culturae in universalem unionem quae omnes congregat, omnes coniungit, omnes nos fratres efficit ».³⁷⁵ Idcirco annuntiare Verbum Dei semper primum a nobis ipsis requirit renovatam exodum, ut, nostris mensuris nostrisque angustis cogitationibus relictis, spatium in nobis Christi praesentiae tribuamus.

The Word Of God
And Interreligious Dialogue

VERBUM DEI ET DIALOGUS INTER RELIGIONES

The value of interreligious dialogue

Valor dialogi inter religiones

117. The Church considers an essential part of the proclamation of the word to consist in encounter, dialogue and cooperation with all people of good will, particularly with the followers of the different religious traditions of humanity. This is to take place without forms of syncretism and relativism, but along the lines indicated by the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration Nostra Aetate and subsequently developed by the magisterium of the Popes.^[376] Nowadays the quickened pace of globalization makes it possible for people of different cultures and religions to be in closer contact. This represents a providential opportunity for demonstrating how authentic religiosity can foster relationships of universal fraternity. Today, in our frequently secularized societies, it is very important that the religions be capable of fostering a mentality that sees Almighty God as the foundation of all good, the inexhaustible source of the moral life, and the bulwark of a profound sense of universal brotherhood.

116. Ecclesia agnoscit uti partem praecipuam proclamationis Verbi occursum et dialogum cum omnibus hominibus bonae voluntatis, ac potissimum cum personis ad varias hominum traditiones religiosas pertinentibus, vitatis formis syncretismi vel relativismi, iuxta normas designatas in Declaratione Nostra aetate Concilii Vaticani II et explicatas a subsequenti Magisterio Summorum Pontificum.³⁷⁶ Celer globalizationis processus, nostrae aetati proprius, adducit in condiciones cum hominibus diversarum culturarum et religionum artiore nexu vivendi. Agitur de providenti opportunitate ad exhibendum quomodo authenticus sensus religiosus inter homines relationes universalis fraternitatis promovere possit. Maximi momenti est ut religiones nostris in societatibus, saepe saecularismo affectis, mentem fovere valeant quae in Deo omnipotenti fundamentum cuiusque boni, inexhaustum vitae moralis fontem, sustentaculum altioris sensus fraternitatis universalis contueatur.

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, for example, one finds a moving witness to God’s love for all peoples: in the covenant with Noah he joins them in one great embrace symbolized by the “bow in the clouds” (Gen 9:13,14,16) and, according to the words of the prophets, he desires to gather them into a single universal family (cf. Is 2:2ff; 42:6; 66:18-21; Jer 4:2; Ps 47). Evidence of a close connection between a relationship with God and the ethics of love for everyone is found in many great religious traditions.

Exempli gratia, in traditione Hebraico-christiana invenitur singularis attestatio amoris Dei erga omnes populos, quos Ipse, iam in Foedere pacto cum Noe, uno ingenti amplexu congregat ac si esset « arcus super nubibus » (Gn 9,13.14.16) quosque, secundum oracula prophetarum, in unam universalem familiam colligere percupit (cfr Is 2,2ss; 42,6; 66,18-21; Ier 4,2; Ps 47). Revera, testimonia intimi nexus inter necessitudinem cum Deo et ethicam amoris erga omnem hominem deteguntur in multis magnis traditionibus religiosis.

Dialogue between Christians and Muslims

Dialogus inter christianos et muslimos

118. Among the various religions the Church also looks with respect to Muslims, who adore the one God.^[377] They look to Abraham and worship God above all through prayer, almsgiving and fasting. We acknowledge that the Islamic tradition includes countless biblical figures, symbols and themes. Taking up the efforts begun by the Venerable John Paul II, I express my hope that the trust-filled relationships established between Christians and Muslims over the years will continue to develop in a spirit of sincere and respectful dialogue.^[378] In this dialogue the Synod asked for a deeper reflection on respect for life as a fundamental value, the inalienable rights of men and women, and their equal dignity. Taking into account the important distinction to be made between the socio-political order and the religious order, the various religions must make their specific contribution to the common good. The Synod asked Conferences of Bishops, wherever it is appropriate and helpful, to encourage meetings aimed at helping Christians and Muslims to come to better knowledge of one another, in order to promote the values which society needs for a peaceful and positive coexistence.^[379]

117. Inter varias religiones, « Ecclesia cum aestimatione quoque muslimos respicit qui unicum Deum adorant ».³⁷⁷ Ipsi ad Abraham se referunt ac Deum praecipue oratione, eleemosyna et ieiunio verentur. Agnoscimus in Islamica traditione plurima esse imagines, symbola ac themata biblica. Prosequentes magni momenti operam Venerabilis Servi Dei Ioannis Pauli II, exoptamus ut necessitudines fiducia inspiratae, quae aliquot ante annos sunt initae inter christianos et muslimos, sinceri ac reverentis dialogi spiritu progrediantur et evolvantur.³⁷⁸ Hoc in dialogo, exoptavit Synodus, ut penitus inspicerentur sive reverentia vitae uti valoris fundamentalis, sive leges inalienabiles viri et mulieris sive par eorum dignitas. Prae oculis habita differentia inter ordinem socialem-politicum atque ordinem religiosum, religiones contribuere debent ad bonum commune. Synodus postulat a Conferentiis Episcoporum ut, ubi hoc opportunum visum fuerit et proficuum, occursus foveant mutuae cognitionis inter christianos et muslimos ad promovendos valores quibus societas indiget pro pacifico ac positivo convictu.³⁷⁹

Dialogue with other religions

Dialogus aliis cum religionibus

119. Here too I wish to voice the Church’s respect for the ancient religions and spiritual traditions of the various continents. These contain values which can greatly advance understanding between individuals and peoples.^[380] Frequently we note a consonance with values expressed also in their religious books, such as, in Buddhism, respect for life, contemplation, silence, simplicity; in Hinduism, the sense of the sacred, sacrifice and fasting; and again, in Confucianism, family and social values. We are also gratified to find in other religious experiences a genuine concern for the transcendence of God, acknowledged as Creator, as well as respect for life, marriage and the family, and a strong sense of solidarity.

119. Hoc in rerum contextu manifestare insuper cupimus reverentiam Ecclesiae erga antiquas religiones et traditiones spirituales quae in variis Continentibus exsistentes amplectuntur valores qui comprehensioni inter personas et populos magnopere favere possunt.³⁸⁰ Frequenter animadvertimus syntoniam cum valoribus manifestatis etiam in eorum libris religiosis, quales sunt, exempli gratia, vitae reverentia, contemplatio, silentium, simplicitas in Buddhismo; sensus sacralitatis, sacrificii et ieiunii in Hinduismo; necnon familiares et sociales valores in Confucianismo. In aliis quoque experientiis religiosis sinceram reperimus attentionem ad Dei transcendentiam, qui tamquam Creator agnoscitur, ad reverentiam quoque vitae, matrimonii et familiae necnon ad solidum solidarietatis sensum.

Dialogue and religious freedom

Dialogus et libertas religiosa

120. All the same, dialogue would not prove fruitful unless it included authentic respect for each person and the ability of all freely to practise their religion. Hence the Synod, while encouraging cooperation between the followers of the different religions, also pointed out “the need for the freedom to profess one’s religion, privately and publicly, and freedom of conscience to be effectively guaranteed to all believers”:^[381] indeed, “respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres, especially in that which concerns basic freedoms, more particularly religious freedom. Such respect and dialogue foster peace and understanding between peoples”.^[382]

Dialogus tamen fecundus non esset si authenticam cuiusque personae observantiam non contineret, ita ut ipsa libere suae religioni adhaerere possit. Quapropter Synodus, dum cooperationem promovet inter praestantiores diversarum religionum delegatos, « necesse item esse monet, ut omnium credentium libertas suam fidem profitendi et privatim et publice, sed etiam conscientiae libertas, in tuto collocentur ».³⁸¹ Nam « observantia et dialogus postulant mutuam aestimationem in cunctis aspectibus, praesertim in iis quae libertates fundamentales ac potissimum libertatem religiosam attingunt. Ipsi inter populos pacem fovent et concordiam ».³⁸²

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSIO

God’s definitive word

Definitivum Dei verbum

121. At the conclusion of these reflections with which I have sought to gather up and examine more fully the rich fruits of the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the word of God in the life and mission of the Church, I wish once more to encourage all the People of God, pastors, consecrated persons and the laity, to become increasingly familiar with the sacred Scriptures. We must never forget that all authentic and living Christian spirituality is based on the word of God proclaimed, accepted, celebrated and meditated upon in the Church. This deepening relationship with the divine word will take place with even greater enthusiasm if we are conscious that, in Scripture and the Church’s living Tradition, we stand before God’s definitive word on the cosmos and on history.

120. Hisce meditationibus ad finem vertentibus, in quibus colligere voluimus et altius illustrare divitias XII Coetus Generalis Synodi Episcoporum de Verbo Dei in vita et in missione Ecclesiae, iterum hortari cupimus universum Dei Populum, Pastores, sodales vitae consecratae atque laicos, ut studeant maiorem in dies consuetudinem cum sacris Scripturis excolere. Numquam est obliviscendum fundamentum cuiusque authenticae vivaeque christianae spiritualitatis esse Verbum Dei nuntiatum, acceptum, celebratum et meditatum in Ecclesia. Haec artior necessitudo cum divino Verbo maiore fiet impetu si certiores erimus nos, sive in sacra Scriptura sive in viva Ecclesiae Traditione, versari coram definitivo Dei Verbo circa cosmum et historiam.

The Prologue of John’s Gospel leads us to ponder the fact that everything that exists is under the sign of the Word. The Word goes forth from the Father, comes to dwell in our midst and then returns to the Father in order to bring with him the whole of creation which was made in him and for him. The Church now carries out her mission in eager expectation of the eschatological manifestation of the Bridegroom: “the Spirit and the bride say: ‘Come!’” (Rev 22:17). This expectation is never passive; rather it is a missionary drive to proclaim the word of God which heals and redeems every man. Today too the Risen Jesus says to us: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15).

Sicut in Prologo Evangelii secundum Ioannem contemplari possumus, omnis creatura sub signo stat Verbi. Verbum a Patre procedit et venit ut commoretur inter suos, et redit in sinum Patris ut secum ferat omnem creaturam quae in Ipso et per Ipsum est creata. Nunc Ecclesia vivit suam missionem in trepidanti exspectatione eschatologicae Sponsi manifestationis: « Spiritus et Sponsa dicunt: “Veni!” » (Ap 22,17). Exspectatio haec numquam est passiva, sed missionaria propensio ad nuntium Verbi Dei quod sanat et redimit omnem hominem: Iesus resuscitatus unicuique nostrum hodie iterum dicit: « Euntes in mundum universum praedicate Evangelium omni creaturae » (Mc 16,15).

New evangelization and a new hearing

Nova evangelizatio et nova auditio

122. Our own time, then, must be increasingly marked by a new hearing of God’s word and a new evangelization. Recovering the centrality of the divine word in the Christian life leads us to appreciate anew the deepest meaning of the forceful appeal of Pope John Paul II: to pursue the missio ad gentes and vigorously to embark upon the new evangelization, especially in those nations where the Gospel has been forgotten or meets with indifference as a result of widespread secularism. May the Holy Spirit awaken a hunger and thirst for the word of God, and raise up zealous heralds and witnesses of the Gospel.

122. Nostra igitur aetas magis in dies aetas esse debet novae Verbi Dei auditionis et novae evangelizationis. Praecipuum locum divini Verbi in vita christiana reperire ducit nos itaque ad detegendum altiorem sensum monitionum quae Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II vehementer repetere consueverat, nempe, ut continuaretur missio ad gentes cunctisque viribus susciperetur nova evangelizatio, maxime apud illas nationes ubi Evangelium oblivioni datum est vel indifferentiam patitur apud plerosque ob diffusum saecularismum. Spiritus Sanctus suscitet apud homines famem sitimve Verbi Dei atque ferventes praecones testesque Evangelii.

Following the example of the great Apostle of the Nations, who changed the course of his life after hearing the voice of the Lord (cf. Acts 9:1-30), let us too hear God’s word as it speaks to us, ever personally, here and now. The Holy Spirit, we are told in the Acts of the Apostles, set Paul and Barnabas apart to proclaim and spread the Good News (cf. 13:2). In our day too, the Holy Spirit constantly calls convinced and persuasive hearers and preachers of the word of the Lord.

Exemplum sequentes praeclari Apostoli gentium, qui vitam suam mutavit postquam audivit vocem Domini (cfr Act 9,1-30), nos etiam divinum Verbum audimus quod semper hic et nunc personaliter nos interpellat. Spiritus Sanctus, ut narratur in Actibus Apostolorum, segregavit Paulum una cum Barnaba ad praedicationem divulgationemque Bonae Notitiae (cfr 13,2). Similiter etiam in praesens Spiritus Sanctus vocare non desistit persuasos ac persuadentes auditores et praecones Verbi Domini.

The word and joy

Verbum et gaudium

123. The greater our openness to God’s word, the more will we be able to recognize that today too the mystery of Pentecost is taking place in God’s Church. The Spirit of the Lord continues to pour out his gifts upon the Church to guide us into all truth, to show us the meaning of the Scriptures and to make us credible heralds of the word of salvation before the world. Thus we return to the First Letter of Saint John. In God’s word, we too have heard, we too have seen and touched the Word of life. We have welcomed by grace the proclamation that eternal life has been revealed, and thus we have come to acknowledge our fellowship with one another, with those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, and with all those who throughout the world hear the word, celebrate the Eucharist and by their lives bear witness to charity. This proclamation has been shared with us – the Apostle John reminds us – so that “our joy may be complete” (1 Jn 1:4).

Quo dociliores erimus divini Verbi, eo altius deprehendere poterimus mysterium Pentecostes etiam hodie in actu esse apud Ecclesiam Dei. Spiritus Domini sua dona effundere pergit super Ecclesiam, ut perducamur ad plenam veritatem, nobis aperiens sensum Scripturarum et nos reddens in mundo praecones credibiles Verbi salutis. Sic redimus ad Primam Epistulam sancti Ioannis. In Verbo Dei nos quoque audivimus, vidimus atque contrectavimus Verbum vitae. Per gratiam accepimus nuntium quod vita aeterna manifestata est, ita ut in praesens percipiamus nos in communionem invicem inductos esse, cum iis qui nos praecesserunt in signo fidei atque cum iis omnibus qui dispersi in mundo audiunt Verbum, celebrant Eucharistiam, vivunt testimonium caritatis. Communicatio huius nuntii – memorat apostolus Ioannes – data est « ut gaudium nostrum sit plenum » (1 Io 1,4).

The synodal assembly enabled us to experience all that Saint John speaks of: the proclamation of the word creates communion and brings about joy. This is a profound joy which has its origin in the very heart of the trinitarian life and which is communicated to us in the Son. This joy is an ineffable gift which the world cannot give. Celebrations can be organized, but not joy. According to the Scripture, joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22) who enables us to enter into the word and enables the divine word to enter into us and to bear fruit for eternal life. By proclaiming God’s word in the power of the Holy Spirit, we also wish to share the source of true joy, not a superficial and fleeting joy, but the joy born of the awareness that the Lord Jesus alone has words of everlasting life (cf. Jn 6:68).

Synodalis Coetus nobis tribuit ut experiremur ea quae in Ioannis nuntio continentur: praedicatio Verbi creat communionem efficitque gaudium. Agitur de altiore gaudio quod profluit ex ipso corde vitae trinitariae quodque nobiscum in Filio communicatur. De gaudio agitur veluti ineffabili dono quod mundus dare nequit. Institui possunt festa, non autem gaudium. Secundum Scripturam gaudium est fructus Spiritus Sancti (cfr Gal 5,22), quod nobis concedit ingredi in Verbum et efficere ut divinum Verbum in nos ingrediatur, fructus ferens pro vita aeterna. Verbum Dei in virtute Spiritus Sancti nuntiantes, communicare volumus etiam fontem veri gaudii, non brevis et fugacis, sed gaudii quod provenit e persuasione solum Dominum Iesum verba vitae aeternae habere (cfr Io 6,68).

“Mater Verbi et Mater laetitiae”

« Mater Verbi et Mater laetitiae »

124. This close relationship between God’s word and joy is evident in the Mother of God. Let us recall the words of Saint Elizabeth: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Lk 1:45). Mary is blessed because she has faith, because she believed, and in this faith she received the Word of God into her womb in order to give him to the world. The joy born of the Word can now expand to all those who, by faith, let themselves be changed by God’s word. The Gospel of Luke presents this mystery of hearing and joy in two texts. Jesus says: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it” (8:21). And in reply to a woman from the crowd who blesses the womb that bore him and the breasts that nursed him, Jesus reveals the secret of true joy: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (11:28). Jesus points out Mary’s true grandeur, making it possible for each of us to attain that blessedness which is born of the word received and put into practice. I remind all Christians that our personal and communal relationship with God depends on our growing familiarity with the word of God. Finally, I turn to every man and woman, including those who have fallen away from the Church, who have left the faith or who have never heard the proclamation of salvation. To everyone the Lord says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).

123. Haec intima coniunctio inter Verbum Dei et gaudium plane in ipsa Dei Matre proponitur. Recordemur effatum sanctae Elisabeth: « Beata, quae credidit, quoniam perficientur ea, quae dicta sunt ei a Domino » (Lc 1,45). Maria est beata quoniam habet fidem, quia credidit, atque hac in fide accepit in proprio sinu Verbum Dei ut illud mundo traderet. Gaudium a Verbo exceptum, nunc dilatari potest in omnes qui in fide se mutari sinunt a Verbo Dei. Evangelium secundum Lucam duobus in locis ostendit nobis hoc mysterium audiendi et gaudendi. Iesus affirmat: « Mater mea et fratres mei hi sunt, qui verbum Dei audiunt et faciunt » (8,21). Atque prae exclamatione cuiusdam e turba mulieris, quae vult extollere ventrem qui portavit eum et ubera quae aluerunt eum, Iesus revelat secretum veri gaudii: « Quinimmo beati, qui audiunt verbum Dei et custodiunt! » (11,28). Iesus Mariae veram magnitudinem ostendit, aperiens sic etiam unicuique nostrum facultatem illam beatitudinem adipiscendi quae nascitur e Verbo accepto et perfecto. Quapropter in omnium christianorum memoriam referimus nostram personalem et communitariam consuetudinem cum Deo pendere ab incremento nostrae familiaritatis cum divino Verbo. Mentem denique Nostram vertimus ad omnes homines bonae voluntatis, etiam ad eos qui deflexerunt ab Ecclesia, qui fidem reliquerunt vel numquam salutis nuntium audiverunt. Unicuique Dominus dicit: « Ecce sto ad ostium et pulso. Si quis audierit vocem meam et aperuerit ianuam, introibo ad illum et cenabo cum illo et ipse mecum » (Apc 3,20).

May every day of our lives thus be shaped by a renewed encounter with Christ, the Word of the Father made flesh: he stands at the beginning and the end, and “in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17). Let us be silent in order to hear the Lord’s word and to meditate upon it, so that by the working of the Holy Spirit it may remain in our hearts and speak to us all the days of our lives. In this way the Church will always be renewed and rejuvenated, thanks to the word of the Lord which remains for ever (cf. 1 Pet 1:25; Is 40:8). Thus we too will enter into the great nuptial dialogue which concludes sacred Scripture: “The Spirit and the bride say: ‘Come’. And let everyone who hears say: ‘Come!’” The one who testifies to these things, says: ‘Surely I am coming soon!’. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”. (Rev 22:17, 20).

Singuli igitur dies nostri informentur oportet renovato occursu cum Christo, Verbo Patris carne facto: Ipse est in principio et in fine, « et omnia in ipso constant » (Col 1,17). Silentium teneamus ut Verbum Domini audiamus et meditemur, ut illud per actionem efficacem Spiritus Sancti omnibus diebus vitae nostrae in nobis morari, vivere et loqui pergat. Hoc modo Ecclesia iugiter renovatur et iuvenescit per Verbum Domini quod manet in aeternum (cfr 1 Pe 1,25; Is 40,8). Sic etiam nos ingredi possumus in magnum dialogum nuptialem, quo sacra Scriptura concluditur: « Et Spiritus et sponsa dicunt: “Veni!”. Et qui audit, dicat: “Veni!”. Dicit, qui testimonium perhibet istorum: “Etiam, venio cito”. “Amen. Veni, Domine Iesu!” » (Apc 22,17.20).

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 30 September, the Memorial of Saint Jerome, in the year 2010, the sixth of my Pontificate.

Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die XXX mensis Septembris, in memoria sancti Hieronymi, anno MMX, Pontificatus Nostri sexto.

BENEDICT XVI

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI