CHURCH IN FOCUS:
Verbum Domini - 6
05 February 2012

In today’s programme we bring you the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, meaning, the Word of the Lord, of Pope Benedict XVI, which is a reflection on the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops held in 2008, devoted to “The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church.” This document which is being considered as the most important Church document on Holy Scripture since the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, published in 1965. Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, said that the purpose of the document is to communicate the results of the Synod; rediscover the Word of God – a source of constant ecclesial renewal; to promote the Bible among pastors; to help the faithful become witnesses of the Word of God; to support the new evangelization and ecumenical dialogue; and to foster ever greater love for the Word of God. It is addressed to the Bishops, Clergy, Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful and considers "the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church".
The new Apostolic Exhortation on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church is entitled Verbum Domini, meaning ‘the Word of the Lord’. It is an occasion to ask ourselves how deeply the new enthusiasm for the Bible encouraged by the Second Vatican Council has really penetrated. The Council document, Dei Verbum, is described in Verbum Domini as ‘a milestone in the Church’s history’. The apostolic exhortation repeatedly quotes from Dei Verbum and explains it. Five years ago the bishops of England and Wales, and of Scotland, produced a teaching document on the Bible entitled The Gift of Scripture, which marked forty years since Dei Verbum. The Synod document offers another opportunity to consider progress made and tasks which lie ahead. Verbum Domini has three parts: ‘the word of God’, ‘the word in the Church’, and ‘the word for the world’. The document benefits both from the rich theological contribution of Pope Benedict XVI and from the speeches and debates among the two hundred and fifty bishops, heads of religious orders and other participants in the Synod. This is a significant exercise in collegiality, and the propositions made by the Synod Fathers at the end of the Synod are very well represented throughout the document.
God stands revealed to us through creation and through the history of salvation. It is by the word of God that creation came to be. Consequently Verbum Domini can affirm that ‘the realist is the one who recognises in the word of God the foundation of all things.’ Faith is the right response to the God who addresses us. It is the living out of this faith which can challenge people’s negative perceptions of Christianity. The model for such faith is Mary, who is described as ‘the image of the Church in attentive hearing of the word of God’
The document considers different groups within the Church. Young people often have a particular readiness to hear and preach the word, but ‘they 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’. There is concern for those who suffer, who can receive encouragement from the word of God. ‘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.’ The Bible stresses God’s love for the poor. They are among the first people entitled to hear the proclamation of the Gospel, and they themselves can often give powerful testimony when they have learnt to entrust their lives to God. Protection of the environment is a final and major concern of the document. The Scriptures teach that creation is to be treasured and nurtured, and never treated as ‘raw material, to be exploited without scruple’. The Synod Fathers affirm that the word of God ‘gives rise to a new way of seeing things, promotes an authentic ecology and develops a renewed theological sensitivity to the goodness of all things’.
Brief sections are then dedicated to the word of God and culture, and to interreligious dialogue. There is a timely appeal for freedom to profess one’s religion and for ‘reciprocity in all spheres’ between religions. Verbum Domini proposes many new ways forward to encourage a fuller response by Christians to the word of God. It gives a full endorsement to the teaching of Dei Verbum, at the same time raising many new issues, among which perhaps the most remarkable is the call to allow the Scriptures to inspire pastoral work in all its variety and, in order to facilitate this, to provide appropriate biblical formation for all. This deepening love for the word of God ‘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’.
The Document Verbum Domini begins with the Statement: “The word of the lord abides forever.” Referring to the first letter of Peter it reminds us that this word is the Gospel which was preached to each one of us. With this assertion 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" and pitched his tent among us. This is the good news given to us. 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^th to 26^th 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.
Pope Benedict says that with this Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation he is readily responding to the request of the Synod Fathers to make known to the whole People of God the rich fruits which emerged from the sessions of the Synod and the recommendations which resulted from the common endeavour. Consequently, he says that he intends to revisit the work of the Synod in the light of its documents presented and discussed in the Synod, the original preparatory sections, 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 which the Fathers considered especially significant. In this way the Pontiff wishes 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 the Pope expressed his hope that the word will be ever more fully at the heart of every ecclesial activity.
The Pontiff says that before all else, he 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 the Synod Fathers, the Pope now addresses 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". St John, the Apostle speaks to us of hearing, seeing, touching and looking upon 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 the Pope says that he is encouraging 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, and a complete joy. And it is the Church's gift and inescapable 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, the Pope says that we confess with Peter that he alone has "the words of eternal life". 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.
Fr Eugene Lobo S.J.