PARISH PRACTICE JOHN DEEHAN
Formed by the Word D
In his recent exhortation Verbum Domini, the Pope said that Scripture is one aspect of the ‘symphony of voices’ through which God communicates with us. Here, a priest reflects on how we can learn to be better listeners
uring the course of the coming liturgical year, we will read in the Gospel of Matthew (13:52) the words of Jesus, “Every scribe who
has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” The scribe, in this context, is the disciple who truly hears the Word of God and under- stands it. Pope Benedict’s recent apostolic exhortation on the Word of God, Verbum Domini, following the twelfth Synod of Bishops, will not attract the attention of journalists searching for sensation. But pastors who take the time to read and
reflect on it – and it is not a quick read – will find that it offers a real treasure chest of insight that could provide significant resources for helping set the tone of their parish in the coming years. Perhaps it is a happy coincidence that this document on the Word of God is offered to us at the beginning of the year of Matthew, the scribe and evangelist who focuses on Jesus as the fulfilment of Scripture and the handing on of his mission to the Church. There is a joy and freshness about this document even when it is not breaking new ground. It will remind us of what we have known about, but not consciously adopted, and encourage us to persevere in or begin afresh our efforts to make our parishes true schools of the words and Word of God. The apostolic exhortation is composed in three parts. In the first part, the Pope states the fundamentals. He reminds us that Christians are not just “People of the Book” but that Christianity is a religion of the Word of God. The text of Scripture, though fundamental, is one aspect of that “symphony of voices” through which God communicates, beginning with Creation. He quotes St Bonaventure’s “every creature is a Word of God, since it proclaims God” – the setting in which the entire history of the love between God and his Creation develops – and culmi- nating in Jesus Christ. We are reminded
that “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a definitive direction”. When we read the Bible, we must bear in mind that “the Word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text”. Its interpretation is not just an intellectual process but a lived one, in which the saints have much to teach us, too. In the lives of the saints, we see how people can allow themselves to be shaped by the Word of God through listening, reading and assiduous meditation. The second part of the document speaks of the Church as a reality which is defined by its acceptance of the Word of God and the living relationship with Jesus Christ to which every member of the Church is called. The Church is the home of the Word; it is to be a good listener of the Word, and the liturgy is the privileged setting in which we hear and respond to the God who speaks to us. However, in the celebration of all the
TO DO
Rememberthat the mission of proclaiming the Word of God is the task of all the baptised
Be aware that Christ himself is present as he speaks to us in the Scriptures and that he wishes to be heard
Include more silence in the Liturgy of the Word to encourage the congregation to engage with the Scriptures
sacraments, there is still work to be done if everyone is to appreciate fully the place of the Scriptures in the liturgy. Our attention is drawn to the performative character of Scripture, which we need to rediscover in the liturgy. In other words, we do not sit before the readings of Scripture as passive specta- tors, but rather as singers in a choir who are stimulated to utter forth in song. As the notes and words provoke the performance of the song, so the Word of God creates a holy people who are deeply in tune with God. In the celebration of the Eucharist, “the proclamation of God’s Word entails an acknowledgement that Christ himself is present, that he
speaks to us, and that he wishes to be heard”. In this light, the document stresses the importance of training readers not just in the art of reading but in a deeper under- standing of the Scriptures and the nature of the liturgy. The homily, too, should bring the Scripture message to life in a way that helps
people realise that God’s Word is present and at work in their everyday lives. The Pope also stresses the importance of periods of silence after the Scripture readings. The Holy Father calls, too, for a “biblical apostolate” in parishes and other groupings, not in the sense of another parish organisation, or another parish activity, but as a means of letting the Bible inspire all pastoral work. This is not about adding meetings here and there, but examining what we do and asking ourselves if it is truly concerned with fostering a personal encounter with Christ. In the final section, Pope Benedict reminds us that the mission of proclaiming the word of God is the task of all the baptised, and no believer should consider themselves dispensed. A consciousness of this needs to be revived in every parish, family and movement. Proclamation of the Word creates communion, and brings about joy, a joy the world cannot give because it is God’s gift to the world. Over the coming year, parishes will be
invited to prepare to use the new translation of the Mass. This is a golden opportunity for us to look again at what we are actually doing when we come together to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist, especially the Liturgy of the Word. Old habits die hard. For hundreds of years before the Second Vatican Council, the Liturgy of the Word was experienced as a doorway one had to wait at in order to adore at the elevation or, in more recent times, to receive Holy Communion. If one arrived by the Offertory, one had still satisfied the obligation to attend Mass. Those who did not really grasp the spirit of the conciliar liturgical reforms themselves did not transmit that spirit to the next generation – so there is work to do. Pope Benedict refers to the passage in St Jerome where he says that we worry if a crumb of the Sacred Host falls, but have no concerns if we are not acquainted with the Scriptures. Our focus as we prepare for the new translation should be on the rationale behind the way we celebrate our liturgy and the importance of the Scriptures.
■Fr John Deehan is parish priest ofSt Thomas More, Eastcote, in the Diocese of Westminster. (See Henry Wansbrough, page 6.)
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