Verbum Domini EN
POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
VERBUM DOMINI
ON THE WORD OF GOD IN THE LIFE AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH
on 30 September, the Memorial of Saint Jerome, in the year 2010, the sixth of my Pontificate

Headings

9999 POST-SYNODAL
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
VERBUM DOMINI

OF THE HOLY FATHER
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY,
CONSECRATED PERSONS
AND THE LAY FAITHFUL
ON THE WORD OF GOD
IN THE LIFE AND MISSION
OF THE CHURCH
1 INTRODUCTION
2 That our joy may be complete
3 From “Dei Verbum” to the Synod on the Word of God
4 The Synod of Bishops on the Word of God
5 The Prologue of John’s Gospel as a guide

PART ONE


VERBUM DEI

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh”


The God Who Speaks

6 God in dialogue
7 The analogy of the word of God
8 The cosmic dimension of the word
9 The creation of man
10 The realism of the word
11 Christology of the word

14 The eschatological dimension of the word of God
15 The word of God and the Holy Spirit

17 Tradition and Scripture

19 Sacred Scripture, inspiration and truth
20 God the Father, source and origin of the word

21
Our Response To The God Who Speaks

22 Called to the covenant with God
23 God hears us and responds to our questions
24 In dialogue with God through his words
25 The word of God and faith
26 Sin as a refusal to hear the word of God
27 Mary, “Mother of God’s Word” and “Mother of Faith”

28
The Interpretation of Sacred Scripture in the Church

29 The Church as the primary setting for biblical hermeneutics

31 “The soul of sacred theology”
32 The development of biblical studies and the Church’s magisterium

34 The Council’s biblical hermeneutic: a directive to be appropriated
35 The danger of dualism and a secularized hermeneutic
36 Faith and reason in the approach to Scripture
37 Literal sense and spiritual sense
38 The need to transcend the “letter”
39 The Bible’s intrinsic unity
40 The relationship between the Old and the New Testaments

42 The “dark” passages of the Bible
43 Christians, Jews and the sacred Scriptures
44 The fundamentalist interpretation of sacred Scripture
45 Dialogue between pastors, theologians and exegetes
46 The Bible and ecumenism
47 Consequences for the study of theology
48 The saints and the interpretation of Scripture


49
PART TWO


VERBUM IN ECCLESIA

“But to all who received him he gave power to become children of God”


The Word Of God And The Church

50 The Church receives the word
51 Christ’s constant presence in the life of the Church
The Liturgy, privileged Setting for the Word of God

52 The word of God in the sacred liturgy
53 Sacred Scripture and the sacraments
54 The word of God and the Eucharist

56 The sacramentality of the word
57 Sacred Scripture and the Lectionary
58 Proclamation of the word and the ministry of Reader
59 The importance of the homily
60 The fittingness of a Directory on Homiletics
61 The word of God, Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick
62 The word of God and the Liturgy of the Hours
63 The word of God and the Book of Blessings
64 Suggestions and practical proposals for promoting fuller participation in the liturgy
65 a) Celebrations of the word of God
66 b) The word and silence
67 c) The solemn proclamation of the word of God
68 d) The word of God in Christian churches
69 e) The exclusive use of biblical texts in the liturgy
70 f) Biblically-inspired liturgical song
71 g) Particular concern for the visually and hearing impaired
The Word Of God In The Life Of The Church

72 Encountering the word of God in sacred Scripture
73 Letting the Bible inspire pastoral activity
74 The biblical dimension of catechesis
75 The biblical formation of Christians
76 Sacred Scripture in large ecclesial gatherings
77 The word of God and vocations
78 a) Ordained ministers and the word of God



82 b) The word of God and candidates for Holy Orders
83 c) The word of God and the consecrated life
84 d) The word of God and the lay faithful
85 e) The word of God, marriage and the family
86 The prayerful reading of sacred Scripture and “lectio divina”

88 The word of God and Marian prayer
89 The word of God and the Holy Land

PART THREE


VERBUM MUNDO

“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart,

who has made him known”


The Church’s Mission: To Proclaim The Word Of God To The World

90 The Word from the Father and to the Father
91 Proclaiming to the world the “Logos” of hope
92 The word of God is the source of the Church’s mission
93 The word and the Kingdom of God
94 All the baptized are responsible for this proclamation
95 The necessity of the “missio ad gentes”
96 Proclamation and the new evangelization
97 The word of God and Christian witness

98
The Word Of God and Commitment in the World

99 Serving Jesus in “the least of his brethren”
100 The word of God and commitment to justice in society

102 The proclamation of God’s word, reconciliation and peace between peoples
103 The word of God and practical charity
104 The proclamation of the word of God and young people
105 The proclamation of the word of God and migrants
106 The proclamation of the word of God and the suffering
107 The proclamation of the word of God and the poor
108 The proclamation of the word of God and the protection of creation
The Word Of God And Culture

109 The value of culture for the life of humanity
110 The Bible, a great code for cultures
111 Knowledge of the Bible in schools and universities
112 Sacred Scripture in the variety of artistic expressions
113 The word of God and the means of social communication
114 The Bible and inculturation
115 Translating the Bible and making it more widely available
116 God’s word transcends cultural limits
The Word of God and interreligious Dialogue

117 The value of interreligious dialogue
118 Dialogue between Christians and Muslims
119 Dialogue with other religions
120 Dialogue and religious freedom

CONCLUSION


121 God’s definitive word
122 New evangelization and a new hearing
123 The word and joy
124 “Mater Verbi et Mater laetitiae”