With one eye on people who do not yet know the Gospel (mission ad gentes)
and another on those belonging to a secularized post-Christian world,
Benedict XVI yesterday published his apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini
(The Word of the Lord) , two years after the synod of bishops dedicated
to "The Word of God in the life and mission of the Church."
According to some analysts, the massive volume (almost 200 pages) is
the most important Church document on the Holy Scriptures, since the
Second Vatican Council’s Dei Verbum. In it the steady hand of the simple yet profound theologian, Ratzinger is clearly visible.
He
has not produced a bureaucratic document, but a real book for
meditation, a tool capable of renewing the life of Christians starting
from a greater familiarity, knowledge, reading and praying, of the
Bible.
In some places there are even suggestions on how to implement
this meditation (lectio divina, n.. 86-87), how to prepare a homily (No. 59), how to foster silence (n. 66).
Although published on November 11, the document is dated September
30, Memorial of St. Jerome, scholar and translator of the Bible into
Latin (Vulgate), quoted abundantly by the pope for his faith in the
close bond between the written Word of God and the Body of Christ in the
Eucharist.
Benedict XVI, taking as his reference the Prologue of John's Gospel ("The Word was made flesh"), divides Verbum Domini into three sections.
The first, entitled "Verbum Dei ", highlights the Trinitarian
dimension of Christian revelation, stressing that the Christian God used
"human words" to communicate to men; that the Word of God is not "a
written and mute word" but that of God made man. There are also sublime
passages on the Word of God who communicates himself in the created
universe, that unites the deep beauty and dignity of all that exists and
the great thirst for the absolute that exists in the hearts of all men
(see n.8-10) .
The text then moves on to the " unprecedented and humanly
inconceivable novelty " of the Word of God made man, Jesus Christ, who
communicates with his life the very life of God, until the "silence of
the cross” and resurrection.
Against all mythical reduction, the Pope states that the word of God
is a "person" and against all private reduction he states the word of
God can only be understood within the Church's living tradition. For
this reason, he warns against two dangers in reading the Scriptures,
that of secularism, which sees in the Bible only historical records of
the past, without any present relevance and that of fundamentalist
spiritualisation of the meaning of scriptures- practiced by various
Protestant sects - which threatens literalism without the use of reason
(see nos. 34-36). As a model for a fruitful reading of the Word of God
(and a sound interpretation), the pope lists several saints, including
Therese of Lisieux, Teresa of Calcutta, the martyrs of Nazism and
communism (see paragraph 48).
The second section, "in Ecclesia Verbum" explains the vitality of the
Word of God in the life of the Church, stressing the importance of the
liturgy of the word, the Eucharist, the Psalms, meditation, silence as a
means of encounter between what God says to man and what man says to
God. Benedict XVI does not fail to give suggestions for hymns (by
retrieving the Gregorian chant), on church architecture, the structure
of the altar and and apse, on ways in which homilies must be prepared.
Honour for the Word of God is also obtained by making it known to and
studied and loved by the faithful and of all vocations in the Church,
consecrated and married.
Benedict XVI suggests prayers like the rosary, the Angelus, Eastern
prayers such as the Akathist Paraklesis, which help to ponder the
mysteries of Christ's life (No. 88) and gives ample space to the value
of pilgrimages to the Holy Land the places where Jesus lived.
Together
with the Synod Fathers, he thanks the Christians of that land, subject
to enormous difficulties and defines the Holy Land, "the fifth Gospel"
(n. 89).
The third section, "Verbum Mundo", highlights the wide range of
Christian’s mission, "recipients" but also "messengers" of the Word of
God: by taking part in the salvation and the hope offered by Christ,
they spread through word and witness the "Logos of Hope": " 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"(see No. 91).
The Pope emphasizes that the Word of God is "disruptive" and not just
"comforting" (No. 93), which implies an explicit proclamation of the
mission, not just a "suggesting shared values to the world" (n. 98).
Benedict XVI thanks " Christians who have not yielded in the face of obstacles and even persecutions for the sake of the Gospel", especially in Asia and Africa, and asks everyone to raise their voice so " the governments of nations guarantee everyone freedom of conscience and religion "(n. 98). He also calls for increased efforts to witness of the faithful in those nations, "a once rich in faith" that "are losing their identity under the influence of a secularized culture" (No. 96-97).
Closley linked to the theme of announcing the Gospel, are pages
devoted to dialogue with various religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism,
Confucianism and traditional religions. In the first part of the pontiff
had already stressed the importance of reading the Old Hebrew Testament
and recognizing "the authority of the sacred Scriptures of the Jewish
people"(No. 40), even here, the pope emphasizes the close relationship
between Christianity and Judaism (No. 117). Contrary to what some media
reports have claimed, Pope Benedict XVI does not condemn the
relationship with Islam, but it evaluates it asking members of all
religions to work to ensure " authentic respect for each person and the ability of all freely to practise their religion"(No. 120).
The final paragraphs are a call to Christians to embark on a mission ad gentes
and a "new evangelization", in those places where the Gospel "suffers
from indifference” and an invitation to those who are not Christian, or
have drifted away from the church or faith, 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) (No 124).
For the full text of the Apostolic Exhortation, click here: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.pdf
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