Verbum Domini – Communio

The Word of God is everything: hearing what the WORD has to say

I am reading Verbum Domini with great eagerness. I am talking my reading seriously and trying to ponder what the Pope has given us as a path to Christ and to live as an authentic Christian today. Let’s recall the extraordinary address of Pope Benedict XVI on October 6, 2008 where he said:

“the Word of God is the foundation of everything, it is the true reality. And to be realistic, we must rely upon this reality. We must change our idea that matter, solid things, things we can touch, are the more solid, the more certain reality. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord speaks to us about the two possible foundations for building the house of one’s life: sand and rock. The one who builds on sand builds only on visible and tangible things, on success, on career, on money. Apparently these are the true realities. But all this one day will pass away. We can see this now with the fall of large banks: this money disappears, it is nothing. And thus all things, which seem to be the true realities we can count on, are only realities of a secondary order. The one who builds his life on these realities, on matter, on success, on appearances, builds upon sand. Only the Word of God is the foundation of all reality, it is as stable as the heavens and more than the heavens, it is reality. Therefore, we must change our concept of realism. The realist is the one who recognizes the Word of God, in this apparently weak reality, as the foundation of all things. Realist is the one who builds his life on this foundation, which is permanent.”

Scott W. Hahn, Covenant and Communion (2009), p. 22.

In another place we read:

You cannot put revelation in your pocket like a book you carry around with you. It is a living reality that requires a living person as the locus of its presence.

That is, the believer becomes real insofar as he becomes the Word by hearing such that he does it. That seems to be the only reality that perdures. Revelation is an act in which God shows Himself. Faith is a corresponding act of hearing and doing the Word heard. Outside of that, everything else perishes into nothingness.

J. Ratzinger, God Word: Scripture – Tradtion – Office, Ignatius (2008): 52.

Lectio Divina: 9 qualities of doing

At yesterday’s terrific conference on Lectio Divina, the keynote presenter, Trappist Brother Simeon Levia, monk of Saint Joseph’s Abbey, Spencer, MA, gave an incredible talk on doing the work of Lectio Divina at a conference on Lectio sponsored by Mario Paredes and his staff at the American Bible Society. Brother Simeon is an established Catholic thinker.

One central aspect of Brother Simeon’s talk was his development of 9 qualities of Lectio Divina. Please note, lectio divina is not the exclusive domain of professional religious, that is, the exclusive use of monks and nuns, even though a lot of artwork often limits itself to portraying monks doing lectio. My notes are an expansion of what he said about doing lectio divina:

1. It’s done leisurely, it is not a rushed process: give at least 30 minutes. There’s an open-endedness of doing lectio; it’s to be done in a slow manner, neither achievement nor goal-oriented. You might want to read Josef Pieper’s seminal book, Leisure: The Basis of Culture. By doing lectio in a leisurely manner one activates the deepest levels of the human heart opening the heart up to its potentiality. Brother Simeon said something crucial for me: doing lectio in a leisurely manner you return to Paradise where there’s an original delight in all things –God, His Presence, ourselves, the Other. Brother noted that in this category we are able to build “islands of leisure for all” in that we cultivate healthy relationships. Remembering that we are made for the other –be it for life in the Trinity and the other person– and not to cultivate healthy relationships we are prone to die. Pertinent, therefore, is to ask the question: How do I spend my free time and take delight in that time? With a style of life that prizes the use of time, how we use our time is a sacrifice. Time is a precious gift from God. If you are inclined to do things out of obligation: forget it. Moralisms don’t work here.

2. It’s ruminative, that is, you turn over and over in mind a word or an image like a cow chews her cud. One’s ruminating on words and images means that you stay close to the text until you deplete for the moment the energy of that word and/or image. Brother Simeon advocates our attention to the language (the grammar) of the text. Here words are important, not just ideas. If possible you would compare different translations of the Scriptural passage, and if you are really skilled, you’d consult with the Latin and Greek texts. There’s no reductive choice of words for this work.

3. Lectio is cordial. There’s a freedom of the heart to follow its own instincts. The point here is to allow the flourishing of the language of the heart to work over the language of the logic of reasoning. Brother Simeon used the image of a “logic of fire” where it sparks, it ignites flames that illuminate a path. A cordial reading of Scripture doesn’t allow the historical critical method to run one’s prayer (the aims of HCM and Lectio Divina are not same); Lectio is about something that is new, unique and at a deeper of awareness.

4. Lectio is contemplative, that is, lectio is “the listening heart.” “Contemplation” is a much misunderstood and abused word. It is needs to be liberated by so much clutter, let me tell you. When you think of contemplation you ought to think of being receptive to the transcendent. As I tell the students in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, the language that God most often uses is silence to express Himself. How much more do we need to remind ourselves that silence needs to be cultivated in order to know, love and serve God. Into greater silence we should walk if we are going to cut sin and falsehood out so as to live (abide) in Christ.

Think of what Saint Paul said: “Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory. Indeed, what was going to fade was glorious, how much more will what endures be glorious” (2 Cor. 3: 6-8).

5. It’s disinterested: there’s no predetermined goal or skills to be learned or analysis to be made. At this point the there’s no goal that’s not produced in freedom; the fruitfulness of the word is unknown in the apostolate but in prayer. The apostolate for so many is more important than adoring the Word. No apostolic work will be fruitful if not grounded and sustained in lectio and prayer.

6. Lectio is provocative. With the prayerful reading of Scripture we’re not looking for a soothing by-product. The provocative nature of lectio means that our reading ought to take us out of our comfort zone. Scripture should make us a little –perhaps a lot in some cases– uncomfortable. Scripture’s provocative nature makes us sacrifice our preconceptions and ideologies opening us up to new mentality, an new attitude by which we judge reality. As Brother said, “God seeks to call us out of hiding.” Think of God calling Adam from his hiding place where he demurs: I am naked.

7. Lectio is necessarily and crucially ecclesial. Our ability to encounter God through Lectio Divina is an act of gratitude. It is the Church who is the owner and guardian of Scripture. We receive the Scriptures from the sacred Liturgy in its proclaimed and written form and seen in the context of its historical, grace-filled (liturgical) and eschatological planes. The heart and mind of the Church is respected because the Bible is a gift of the Holy Spirit. When we say that lectio is ecclesial we also mean that it is inherently Christological and Marian. How could one read and pray with the Scriptures without thinking about it being Christo-centric: what converges is the reality of knowing who Christ is and how the Father sees his Son. Lectio is Marian because the Word is conceived in her womb, and Mary pondered the word in her heart. It is through Mary that we learn how to be silent, adoring, and faithful to God coming to humanity. Mary is the first church that lives the word in all its fullness.

8. Lectio is trans-biblical. This is a unique word formed by Brother Simeon by which he indicates that we are to allow the texts breath freely. Since the sacred Scripture reveals the hidden face of God in a unique and definitive manner. Allowing the Scriptures to live on their own, divine revelation is manifested according to the heart of God. Moreover, the sense here is that the Bible interprets itself: every part completes other parts.

9. Finally, lectio is mystagogical. Here is where lectio merits the adjective “divina.” The subjective is transformed by the objectivity and freedom of Grace. It is here that lectio divina realizes itself in its missio, its fruitfulness. The work done at this point can be expressed in this way: we become a living exegesis of the Word. The disciple learns from the Spirit on how to put on the mind of Christ; the Incarnation is born anew today. Recall: the Liturgy reminds us that today the Paschal Mystery has happened, today we are saved; today we are brought into intimacy with the crucified and risen Savior. And where does this happen: in me.

How close am I to Christ? How close is Christ to me? With mystagogy the disciple recognizes the Lord in Word, Sacrament and prayer. Knowledge, therefore, loves to be fruitful. Lectio that lives in this point knows in the deepest parts of the the soul a modest foretaste of heaven.

Brother Simeon was ordained to the priesthood in May of 2013 and he entered the Abbey in April 2003. Those who know him will say that Simeon is an accomplished author, preacher and retreat master, is currently serving as secretary to the Trappist Abbot General in Rome. He continues as editor of the Monastic Wisdom Series for Cistercian Publications.

Lectio Divina conference sponsored by American Bible Society

I am exceedingly happy to see the American Bible Society (ABS) responding so quickly to Pope Benedict’s encouragement to delve more deeply into sacred Scripture through the practice of Lectio Divina. The Pope spoke eloquently of Lectio Divina and its need for us to practice in his recent work on Scripture, Verbum Domini.

Mario Paredes who oversees the Roman Catholic section of the ABS has organized for today “a contemporary approach to the ancient method of Lectio Divina as a service both to and through the Catholic Church with a new Lectio Divina Bible and Manuel. ABS will inaugurate the new Lectio Divina program at an official kick-off” today at 11 a.m at the ABS headquarters.

Brother Simeon Leiva, OCSO, a monk of Saint Joseph’s Abbey, Spencer, MA, will deliver a talk titled, “A Contemporary Approach to Lectio Divina.”

Tarcisio Bertone’s homily for the feast of St Andrew at the Orthodox Cathedral of the Assumption of Astana, Kazakhstan

I am happy to be in Astana, capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan, this noble and vast country located in the heart of the Eurasian territory. I wish to express my profound joy at being able to visit your Cathedral of the Assumption, recently opened for worship. I greet everyone with affection, beginning with His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander and, while I thank him for his fraternal reception, I bring to him and to all of you the cordial greeting of the Holy Father Benedict XVI, praying that it be transmitted to His Holiness Kirill, patriarch of Moscow and All Russias. I then greet the other religious (and civil) authorities, the priests, deacons and faithful of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan. May this fraternal meeting of ours inspire a renewed impetus to join forces, so that in a not distant future we, the disciples of Christ, can proclaim with one voice and one heart the Gospel, message of hope for the whole of humanity.

The occasion of this agreeable visit to Astana is the summit of heads of state and government of countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which will take place in the next few days. This circumstance suggested to the highest authorities of Kazakhstan to address to me a cordial invitation to visit your land. In willingly receiving this deferent and appreciated gesture, I immediately thought of the joy of being able to go to a country in which there are ample possibilities for a peaceful and profitable religious coexistence. In this context, for us Christians the duty of reciprocal love is all the more urgent: we are called, in fact, to give witness to all, with words and works, that God is Love. In this connection, my presence also intends to be an encouragement to continue on the way of great respect and affection, which I know exists between the Orthodox and Catholic communities of Astana, as well as of other cities. Propitious occasions are not lacking, dear friends, of mutual support and of deepening of friendship.

Today, in this welcome meeting with you, I have the special joy of fulfilling the lofty task entrusted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, of handing you a fragment of the distinguished relics of the Apostle St. Andrew, which are venerated in Italy, in the city of Amalfi. This assignment, which I am honored to effect in the hands of His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander, comes in response to the devout request that his predecessor, Metropolitan Mefodji, and Archbishop Tomash Peta, Catholic Metropolitan, jointly addressed to Pope Benedict XVI. The Pontiff, gladly desiring to meet the ardent request, decided to send to the two respective Churches two fragments of the precious relics. This choice has a profound significance, in as much as is underlines the common veneration of the Apostles.

I am happy to stress that today’s event of handing the relic of St. Andrew, who you venerate, coincides in fact with the day in which, according to the calendar of the Latin Church, his liturgical feast is celebrated. Andrew was born in Bethsaida, at first he was a disciple of John the Baptist and then he followed the Lord Jesus, to whom he also led his brother Peter. Together with Philip he presented Christ himself to the Gentiles and pointed out the boy who carried the fish and the loaves. According to tradition, after Pentecost, he preached in different areas and was crucified in Achaia, Greece. The Gospel narrates that Jesus, “passing along by the Sea of Galilee, saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men'” (Mark 1:16-17). Andrew, hence, was the first of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus. Precisely on the basis of this fact, the Byzantine liturgy honors him with the name of Protoklitos, which means precisely, the first called.

The evangelical account continues specifying that “immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:18). It is this quick adherence that allowed the Apostles to spread the Word, the “good news” of salvation. Faith comes from listening, and what is heard is the Word of Christ, which still today the Church spreads to the ends of the earth. This Word is the indispensable food of the soul. It is said in the book of the prophet Amos that God will put hunger in the world, not hunger for bread, but to hear his word (cf. Amos 8:11). This is a healthy hunger, because it makes us seek constantly and receive the Word of God, knowing that it must nourish us for the whole of life. Nothing in life can have consistency, nothing can really satisfy us if it is not nourished, penetrated, illumined, guided by the Word of the Lord. Moreover, an ever more profound commitment of radical adherence to this Word, together with the support of the Holy Spirit, constitute the strength to realize the aspiration of every Christian community and of every individual faithful to unity (cf. Benedict XVI, Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, No. 46).

From the Gospel of St. John, we gather another important particular regarding the Apostle Andrew: “He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus” (John 1:41-43), demonstrating immediately an unmistakable apostolic spirit. To this end, St. John Chrysostom comments: “Andrew’s word is the word of one who anxiously awaited the coming of the Messiah, whose descent from heaven he awaited, who trembled with joy when he saw him arrive, and who hurried to communicate the great news to the others. See in what way he notifies what he had appreciated in a short time? Andrew, after having stayed with Jesus and having learned everything that Jesus taught him, did not keep the treasure to himself, but hurried to his brother to communicate to him the richness he had received. Look also at Peter’s spirit, from the beginning docile and quick in faith: he runs immediately without being concerned about anything else” (Homily 19, 1; PG 59, 120).

In the beautiful icon donated by Patriarch Athenagoras I to Pope Paul VI on Jan. 5, 1964, the two Holy Apostles, Peter the Coryphaeus and Andrew the Protoklitos, embrace, in an eloquent language of love, beneath the glorious Christ. Andrew was the first to follow the Lord, Peter was called to confirm his brothers in the faith. Their embrace under the gaze of Christ is an invitation to continue the path undertaken, toward that goal of unity that we intend to reach together. Nothing must discourage us, but we must go forward with hope, supported by the intercession of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, as well as by the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy, Mother of Christ and our Mother. Let us ask God with particular intensity for the precious gift of unity among all Christians, making our own the invocation that Jesus raised to the Father for his disciples: “that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21).

Saints in Verbum Domini

You may be curious to know the saints and blessed Pope Benedict references in Verbum Domini, or whose work he used.

The Pope said, “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” (48).

And, “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. Every saint is like a ray of light streaming forth from the word of God…” (49).

Who are the saints in Verbum Domini?

Mary, the Mother of God

Saint Peter
Saint John the Evangelist
Saint Paul
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Saint Bonaventure
Saint Thomas Aquinas

Saint John of the Cross
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
Saint John Chysostom
Saint Maximus the Confessor
Saint Jerome
Saint Gregory the Great

Saint Ambrose
Saint Augustine
Saint Anthony, Abbot
Saint Basil the Great
Saint Benedict
Saint Athanasius

Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Clare of Assisi
Saint Dominic
Saint Teresa of Avila
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Saint John Bosco

Saint John Mary Vianney
Saint Pius of Pietrelcina
Saint Josemaría Escrivá
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Saint Gaetano Errico
Saint Maria Bernarda Bütler
Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception

Saint Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán
Saint Ignatius of Antioch
Saint Elizabeth
Blessed Jordan of Saxony
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
Blessed Aloysius Stepinac
Blessed John XXIII

Plus, the Pope uses the works of Origen, Richard of Saint Victor and Hugh of Saint Victor, the last two are notable scholars and saintly men; Richard and Hugh are not saints but may be we can push their cause.

“Read the divine Scriptures frequently; indeed, the sacred book should never be out of your hands. Learn there what you must teach.”

Lectio Divina in Verbum Domini

In the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini released today, I immediately started reading the document for what the Pope had to say about lectio divina. You may recall the Pope’s remarks for the 40th anniversary of Dei Verbum in 2005, he said lectio divina will bring about a spiritual springtime in Church. His words were:

“the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart (cf. Dei Verbum, 25). If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church –I am convinced of it– a new spiritual springtime.”

No less than 16 times does His Holiness use the words lectio divina.

Here are some points of interest in Verbum Domini regarding lectio:

46. 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.

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. Indeed, “viva lectio est vita bonorum.” 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. It is certainly not by chance that the great currents of spirituality in the Church’s history originated with an explicit reference to Scripture.

82. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

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.”

Apostolic Exhortation “Verbum Domini”

The Pope released his post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini, following the 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Word of God. It’s available in eight languages in at least 200 pages.

Verbum Domini – English

Verbum Domini – Italiano

Verbum Domini – Español

The press conference:

At midday today
in the Holy See Press Office, the presentation took place of the Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation “Verbum Domini” of Benedict XVI, on the Word of
God in the life and mission of the Church.

Today’s press conference was
presented by Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for
Bishops; Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for
Culture, and Archbishop Nikola Eterovic and Msgr. Fortunato Frizza,
respectively secretary general and under secretary of the Synod of Bishops.

The
Apostolic Exhortation, which is dated 30 September, Memorial of St. Jerome, is
the fruit of the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,
which was held in Rome from 5 to 26 October 2008. The document, which has been
published in Latin, Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and
Polish, is made up of an introduction, three parts and a conclusion.

Achbishop
Eterovic explained how in part one, entitled “Verbum Dei”, the Pope
highlights both “the fundamental role of God the Father, source and origin
of the Word”, and “the Trinitarian dimension of revelation”.
Chapter one – “The God Who Speaks” – underscores “God’s will to
open and maintain a dialogue with man, in which God takes the initiative and
reveals Himself in various ways”. It also dwells on “the
Christological aspect of the Word, while at the same time underlining the
pneumatological dimension”. This section of the document also focuses on
the relationship between the Eucharist and Tradition, and on the theme of the
inspiration and truth of the Bible.

“Our Response to the God Who
Speaks” is the title of chapter two of part one. “Man is called to
enter into the Alliance with his God, Who listens to him and responds to his
questions. To God Who speaks, man responds with the faith. The most suitable
prayer is that made using the words which were revealed by God and are
conserved and written in the Bible”, said Archbishop Eterovic.

Chapter
three has as its title “The Interpretation of Sacred Scripture in the
Church”. The secretary general of the Synod of Bishops explained how
“Sacred Scripture should be, as the Dogmatic Constitution ‘Dei Verbum’
says, ‘the soul of sacred theology’. … The biblical hermeneutics of Vatican
Council II must be rediscovered, also in order to avoid a certain dualism
evident in secularised interpretations which could give rise to a
fundamentalist and spiritualist interpretation of Holy Scripture. Correct
interpretation requires complementarity in a literal and spiritual sense, a
harmony between faith and reason”. This chapter also examines relations
between Christians and Jews, noting that they enjoy “a very special
relationship … because they share a large part of the Scriptures”.

Part
two of the document is entitled “Verbum in Ecclesia”. Chapter one –
“The Word of God and the Church” – underlines how it is thanks to the
Word of God and the effect of the Sacraments “that Jesus remains
contemporary to mankind in the life of the Church”, said the archbishop.

“The
Liturgy, Privileged Setting for the Word of God” is the title of chapter
two, in which the focus turns to “the vital link between Sacred Scripture
and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist”. The importance of the
Lectionary is mentioned, as is that of the proclamation of the Word and the
ministry of reader, with particular emphasis being laid on the preparation of
the homily, a theme of great importance in this Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation.

Chapter three of part two concerns “The Word of God in the
Life of the Church” and highlights “the importance of biblical inspiration
for pastoral activity, the biblical dimension of catechesis, the biblical
formation of Christians, the use of Sacred Scripture in great ecclesial
gahterings, and the Word of God in relation to vocations”. Attention is
also given to “lectio divina and Marian prayer”, said the
archbishop.

Part three of the document published today has as its title
“Verbum Mundo”. It draws attention to “the duty of Christians to
announce the Word of God in the world in which they live and work”.
Chapter one – “The Church’s Mission to Proclaim the Word of God to the
World” – explains how the Church “is oriented towards the
announcement ‘ad gentes’, to people who do not yet know the Word, … but also
to those who have already been baptised … but need new evangelisation in
order to rediscover the Word of God”.

“The Word of God and Commitment
to the World” is the title of chapter two, which recalls how
“Christians are called to serve the Word of God in their most needy
brothers and sisters and, hence, to commit themselves in society for
reconciliation, justice and peace among peoples”.

Chapter three of part
three is dedicated to “The Word of God and Culture”. It expresses the
hope “that the Bible may become better known in schools and universities
and that better use may be made of the social communications media, exploiting
all the modern possibilities of technology. The theme of the inculturation of
Sacred Scripture is also linked to the translation and diffusion of the Bible,
which must be increased”, said Archbishop Eterovic.

“The Word of God
and Inter-religious Dialogue” is the title of chapter four. “Having
established the value and topicality of inter-religious dialogue, ‘Verbum
Domini’ … supplies some important guidelines concerning dialogue between
Christians and Muslims, and with members of other non-Christian religions,
within the framework of a religious liberty which involves not only the freedom
to profess one’s faith in private and in public, but also freedom of
conscience; in other words, of choosing one’s religion”.

In the
conclusion, Archbishop Eterovic concluded his explanations, the Holy Father
reiterates his exhortation to all Christians “to become increasingly
familiar with Sacred Scripture”.