Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini

Abstract

The article is a presentation of Pope Benedict XVI's Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini, »The Word of the Lord«, which is the fruit of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that convened in the Vatican from 5 to 25 October 2008 to discuss the topic: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church. The document is composed of three parts, each inspired by the inex- haustible content of the Prologue of the Gospel of St. John. The first part, entitled Verbum Dei, is a reflection on the analogy of the Word of God to a hymn of many voices which finds its sublime synthesis in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Word-Made- Flesh (cf. Jn 1: 14), and on the hermeneutics of Sacred Scripture in the Church. The second part, entitled Verbum in Ecclesia, is devoted to the Word of God in the life of the Church. The best way to listen to and understand the Word of God is in the Liturgy, above all in the Eucharist, which is composed of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Word of God, the basis of every kind of spirituality in the Church, is the underlying reason for evangelizing those near and far, for missions, for charitable activity and for dialogue, all subjects which are further developed in the third part entitled Verbum mundo. The author points to the close connection between Verbum Domini and the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum of the Second Vatican Council, visible in the title of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation (cf. 1 Pt 1: 23-25; Is 40: 8). In addition, he highlights the various aims of the document in order to set forth the fruits of the XII Ordinary General Assembly; to rediscover the Word of God as the source of the Church's continual renewal; to give a Bible-basis to all pastoral activity; to allow Christians to become true witnesses of the Word of God; to undertake a new evangelization »in the certainty of the effectiveness of the divine Word« (VD, 96); to encourage ecumenical dialogue; and to foster greater devotion to the Word of God. For the faithful, the documents' goals are more than an obligation: they are an expression of the joy (cf 1 Jn 1: 4) of communicating to those near and far the unfathomable riches of the mystery of God-Revealed, so that all might have life in abundance (cf. Jn 10: 10).