VERBUM DOMINI

Verbum Domini conclusion

Verbum Domini part 1 section 1

Verbum Domini part 1 section 2

Verbum Domini part 1 section 3

Verbum Domini part 2 section 1

Verbum Domini part 2 section 2

Verbum Domini part 2 section 3

Verbum Domini part 3 section 1

Verbum Domini part 3 section 2

Verbum Domini part 3 section 3

Verbum Domini part 3 section 4

Verbum Domini part 3 section 4

VERBUM MUNDO
The Word of God and interreligious dialogue (117 onwards)

• The quickened place 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.

• The Church also looks with respect to Muslims, who adore the one God.

• 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.

• The ancient religions and spiritual traditions of the vatious continents contain values which can greatly advance understanding between individuals and peoples. Frequently we note a consonance with values expressed also in their religious books... In Hinduism the sense of the sacred, sacrifice and fasting

• Dialogue would not prove fruitful unless it included authentic respect for each person and the ability of all freely to practise their religion (religious freedom)




Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 3 section 3

VERBUM MUNDO
The Word of God and culture (109 onwards)

• God does not reveal himself in the abstract, but by using languages, imagery and expressions that are bound to different cultures

• 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.

• The whole Church expresses her appreciation, esteem and admiration of those artists "enamoured of beauty" who have drawn inspiration from sacred texts. ... Many of them have helped to make somehow perceptiblein time and space, realities that are unseen and eternal.

• Among the new ways 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 personal contact which remains indispensable.

• In the world of the Internet which enables millions 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"

• Inculturation is not to be confused with processes of superficial adaptation, much less with a confused syncretism


Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 3 section 2

VERBUM MUNDO
The Word of God and commitment in the world (99 onwards)

• 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

• 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 (politics, human dignity )

• 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.

• Christ "is our peace", the one who breaks down the walls of division.

• Religion can never justify intolerance or war. We cannot kill in God's name ! Each religion must encourage the right use of reason and promote ethical values that consolidate civil coexistance.

• 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."

• From St Paul... Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

• Youth is a time when genuine and irrepresible 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.

• If we let Christ into our lives, we loose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are t e doors of life opened wide... When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return.

• 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.

• 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.

• We also need to recognize and appreciate the fact that the poor are themselves agents of evangelization.



Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 3 section 1

VERBUM MUNDO
The Word from the Father and to the Father (90 onwards)

• We cannot keep to ourselves the word of eternal life given to us in our encounter with Jesus Christ: they are meant for every one... Everyone today, whether he or she knows it or not, needs this message. It is our responsibility to pass on what, by God's grace, we ourselves have received (apostolate)

• The First Christians saw their missionary preaching as a necessity rooted in the very nature of faith

• Many of our brothers and sisters are baptized but insufficiently evangezed.

• The need for a new evangelization must be valiantly reaffirmed in the certainty that God's word is effective.

• 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 (apostolate ad fideam)

• The word of God is the saving truth everybody wants to hear

• On the one hand the word must communicate everything 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 (apostolate)

• 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 gat company of the ecclesial community"



Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 2 section 3

VERBUM IN ECCLESIA
The word of God in the life of the Church (72 onwards)

• Catechesis must be permeated by the mindset, the spirit and the outlook of the Bible and the Gospels

• A knowledge of biblical passages, events and well known sayings should thus be encouraged.

• Enable every member to realize that history of salvation is also a part of his or her own life.

• Need 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'

• Christian laity live out their specific vocation to holiness by a life in the spirit expressed in a particular way in their engagement in temporal matter and by their participation in earthly activities

• Part of authentic parenthood is to pass on and bear witness to the meaning of life in Christ... Spouses are the first to proclaim God's word to their children

• The Synod urged that every household have its Bible, to be kept in a worthy place and used for reading and prayer

• Women have an ability to lead people to hear God's word...they are messangers of love, models of mercy and peacemakers; they communicate warmth and humanity.

• Need for a prayerful approach to the sacred text as a fundamental element in the spiritual life of every believer

• Understanding Scriptures demands, even more than study, closeness to Christ and prayer.

• The prayerful reading of the Bible, personal and communal, must always be related to the Eucharistic celebration.

• To whatever degree we are united with Christ, we are united to one another, and the supernatural life of each one can be useful for the others (communion of saints).

• I urge that Marian prayer be encouraged among the faithful, above all in life of families, since it is an aid on meditating on the holy mysteries found in the Scriptures.

• The Holy Rosary ponders the mysteries of Christ's life in union with Mary. It is fitting that the announcement of each mystery be accompanied by a brief biblical text

• The Angelus allows us to commemorate daily the mystery of the Incarnate Word

• It is a Marian prayer traditionally recited at sunrise, midday and sunset. Can help us grow authentic love for mystery of incarnation

• Peace which is Christ himself, born of Mary for our salvation.

• The Synod Fathers recalled the felicitious phrase which speaks of the Holy Land as the "Fifth Gospel". How important it is that in those places there be Christian communities, notwithstanding any hardships!

• 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



Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 2 section 2

VERBUM IN ECCLESIA
The liturgy, privileged setting for the word of God

• The liturgy is the priviliged setting in which God speaks to us in the midst of our lives

• Every liturgical action is by its nature steeped in sacred Scripture.

• See that all faithful learn to savour the deep meaning of the word of God which unfolds each year in the liturgy... This in turn is the basis for a correct approach to sacred Scripture.

• The liturgy of the word is a decisive element in the celebration of each one of the sacraments of the Church

• In salvation history there is no separation between what God says and does. His word appears alive and active. ... In the liturgical action too, we encounter his word which accomplishes what it says.

• The profound unity of word and Eucharist is grounded in the witness of Scripture (cf. Jn 6; Lk 24)

• Unless we acknowledge the Lord's real presence in the Eucharist , our understanding of Scripture remains imperfect

• The Church has honoured the word of God and the Eucharist with the same reverence, although not with the same worship

• St. Jerome speaks of the way to approach Scriptures and the Eucharist : "... For me the Gospel is the Body of Christ;... When we approach the [Eucharistic] Mystery, if a crum falls to the ground we are troubled. Yet when we are listening to the word of God , and His Word and flesh and blood are being poured into our ears yet we pay no heed, "

• All those entrusted with the office of reading should be truly suitable and carefully trained. The training should be biblical and liturgical, as well as technical

• The homily is a means of bringing the scriptural message to life... It should lead to an understanding of the mystery being celebrated... Generic and abstract homilies should be avoided as well as useless disgressions 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 compeling desire to present Christ, who must stand at the center of every homily.

• He is undoubtedly barren who preaches outwardly the word of God without hearing it inwardly.

• The role of Scriptures in the sacraments of confession and anointing of the sick is often overlooked.

• Avoidi the the danger of the celebrations of the word being confused with celebrations of the Eucharist : "on the contrary, they should be privileged moments of prayer to God to send holy priests after his own heart".

• Popular piety can find in the word of God an inexhaustible source of inspiration, insuperable models of prayer and fruitful points of reflection.

• Our is not an age that fosters recolection; at times one has the impression that people are afraid of detaching themselves, even for a moment, from the mass media.

• Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us... Our liturgies must facilitate this attitude of authentic listening.

• "The reading of the Gospel is the high point of the liturgy of the word".

• Concern should be shown for Church acoustics, with due respect for liturgical and architectural norms

• Churches should give a place of honor to the Sacred Scriptures, even outside of liturgical celebrations.

• No text of spirituaty or literature can equal the value and riches contained in Scriptures

• Responsorial Psalm is also the word of God... Should not be replaced... Most appropriate that it be sung

• Prefernce should be given to songs which are of clear biblical inspiration ... I think in particular of the importance of Gregorian chant


Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 2 section 1

VERBUM IN ECCLESIA
The Word of God and the Church

• 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 Church draws life not from herself but from the Gospel.


Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 1 section 3

The Interpretation of Sacred Scripture in the Church

• Without faith there is no key to throw open the Sacred text... It is impossible for anyone to attain knowledge of that truth unless he fist has infuse faith in Christ, which is the lamp, the gate and the foundation of all Scripture.

• We can never read Scripture on our own. We come up against too many closed doors and we slip too easily into error. It was written by the People of God for the People of God ... Only in this communion can we truly enter as a 'we' into the heart of the truth God wants to convey to us.

• Access to a proper understanding of bibcal texts is only granted to the person who has an affinity with what the text is saying on the basis of life experience

• "the study of the sacred page should be the very soul of theology"

• The history of salvation is not mythology, but a yrue history, and it should thus be studied with the methods of seious historical research.

• An attitude of respect, esteem, and love for the Jewish people is the onlyn truly Christian attitude in the present situation, which is a mysterious part of God's wholly positive plan.


Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 1 section 2

Our response to the God who speaks

• We were created in the word and we live in the word; we cannot understand ourselves unless we are open to this dialogue.

• In this dialogue with God we come to understand ourselves and we discover an answer to our heart's deepest questions

• The Book of Psalms, where God gives us words to speak to him

• Man's sin is essentially disobedience and refusal to hear

• 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.

Back to Index file

Verbum Domini part 1 section 1

The God Who Speaks

• 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.

• 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.

• This realism is particularly needed in our own time when many things in which we are tempted to put our hopes, prove ephemeral. Possesions, pleasures and power show themselves sooner or later to be incapable of fulfilling the deepest yearnings of the human heart.

• 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.

• The Son himself is the Word became small - small enough to fit in a manger. He became a child, so that the word could be grasped by us.

• 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 that 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.

• 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.

• Since he has given us his Son, his only word (for he posseses no other), he spoke everything at once in y¡this sole word - and he has no more to say...

• Private revelations... Whose mission is... to help live more fully bt it in a certain period of history.

• Private revelation is an aid to this faith, and it demonstrates its credibility precisely because it refers back to the one public revelation.

• We cannot come to understand the meaning of the word unless we are open to the working of the Paraclete

• Ultimately, it is the living Tradition of the Church which makes adequately understand Sacred Scripture as the word of God

• Althouth the word of God precedes and exceeds sacred Scripture... It contains the divine word "in an altogether singular way".

• 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

• Christ experienced the silence of the Father when He was on the Cross (My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?)... God also speaks by his silence... Is the situation of all those who, having heard His word, must also comfront his silence. God's silence prolongs his earlier words.

Back to Index file

Verbum Domini conclusion

CONCLUSION (121 onwards)

• I wish once more to encourage all the People of God, to become increasingly familiar with the sacred Scriptures.

• The greater our openness to God's word, the more we will be able to recognize that today too the mystery of Pentecost is taking place in God's Church.

• The proclamation of the word creates communion and brings about joy. ... This joy is an ineffable gift the world cannot give. Celebrations can be organized but not joy. According to the Scripture, joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.


Back to Index file