Verbum Domini: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church

Pope Benedict XVI says 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.” In this apostolic exhortation—an extended reflection on the work of the Bishops’ Synod on the Word of God in 2008—the Holy Father affirms that the word of God is at the heart of our faith and at the heart of every activity in the Church. He calls for an increased emphasis on the Bible in catechesis and pastoral work, and recommends lectio divina, or prayerful reading of Scripture, so that all believers can encounter Christ in his the living word. And because the Church by its nature is missionary, what we have received through the word we must proclaim to the world. “With this Apostolic Exhortation,” Pope Benedict writes, “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” (Verbum Domini, 5). “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.’” —Verbum Domini, 72