CNS photo/Paul Haring

Bishops of the World Gather for XII Ordinary Synod

EXPERTS

Synod Will Urge Renewal of Biblical Theology
By Sister Sara Butler, M.S.B.T.

“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ,” said St. Jerome. No one who believes in Jesus Christ is content to be “ignorant” of him and his mysteries, but many Catholics are not well acquainted with the Scriptures, and so they miss out on a God-given means of entering into greater intimacy with him. Some may be content to listen to the readings proclaimed at Sunday Mass. Others may prepare for Sunday Mass by studying the Gospel that will be proclaimed. The more fervent may also use the weekday readings appointed for Mass for personal prayer and meditation. But how many undertake the study the Bible book by book, or attempt to follow the major biblical themes through both Testaments? Do not many protest, like the Ethiopian eunuch, “How can I understand unless some one guides me?” (Acts 8:31)

Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has opened the treasures of the Bible more lavishly through the reform of the Lectionary. Biblical scholars have provided Catholics with access to the biblical text and its message, and theologians have re-examined the biblical foundations of the Church’s doctrinal heritage. The Synod will assess various methods of introducing believers to a deeper knowledge and love of the Scriptures and identify the obstacles to doing this. It will undoubtedly encourage the renewal of biblical theology and promote the practice of lectio divina as a shared experience of God in prayer that results from a common listening to the Word.

When the Risen Lord opened the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, they exclaimed, “Were not our hearts burning within us!” (Luke 24:32) May the work of the Synod refresh our desire to encounter the Lord more profoundly in his Word so that out hearts too may “burn” with faith and love.





The Synod on the Word of God
By Msgr. Timothy Verdon
Canon of Florence Cathedral and Invited Expert to the Synod

All Christian life is grounded in God's word as revealed in Scripture. Indeed, to understand Christ, who is the center of our life, we have to continually grow in our understanding of the words of Scripture, since He is the Word made flesh. A man or woman ignorant of Scripture would not be able to recognize the Lord, to see his beauty, to hear his call.

The reality in the Catholic Church is that too many of the faithful remain functionally ignorant of Scripture, preferring to leave its study and analysis to 'specialists'--theologians, biblical scholars, priests. Yet the Second Vatican Council urged all believers to grow in their familiarity with Holy Scripture, increasing liturgical exposure to the Old and New Testaments with a three-year cycle of readings, as opposed to the more limited one year cycle previously used. In a world that poses ever new and more complex moral problems, and at a time when European and Amercan Christians see themselves challenged by the claims of other religious systems, it is particularly important to accept the Council's invitation to grow in the knowledge of our own 'foundation texts', which indeed constitute an essential part of our identity.

Scripture, which is God's living word, in any case is always relevant; even when it treats historical situations of the distant past, it offers structural insights into how to approach contemporary questions. Scripture indeed is a privileged 'place of encounter' with the Holy Spirit, and the surest point of departure for interior prayer.

The Synod wants to explore the ways in which Church ministers can help the faithful to discover the scriptural Word of God, love it, apply it in their lives and let it shape their commitments and relationships. Great attention will be given to the challenge of preparing priests and deacons to preach at Sunday Mass in a way that helps people understand the deep meaning of the Scripture proclaimed and how to make them live in our everyday experience.

Other aspects of Scripture's influence will also be considered: the relationship of the Bible to sacred art, for example. My own field, art history, indeed requires great sensitivity to the ways in which, in different periods of history, people have read and understood Scripture.



AUDITORS

Statement on the 12th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church
By Carl A. Anderson
Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus

By convening the Synod of Bishops on the Bible, the Holy Father is calling us back to the most basic witness of our Catholic faith. For in Scripture we find in written form God’s revelation to his people, culminating in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This Synod focusing on Scripture is an important event for the Church, and for laypersons in particular, in view of the widespread relativism in our societies, and the persistent questions about the relevance of an ancient book in today’s technological world.

The Synod on the Bible also invites us to explore more deeply the true nature of the Church, the community Jesus formed to hand on his words and teachings from one generation to the next. The Church, through its teaching authority, is the authentic interpreter of the Word of God, preserving it in its integrity and proclaiming it anew to every age and nation.

To highlight the role of the Church in regard to the Bible will be key in reaching out to the many individuals who feel the pull of faith yet see no reason to become members of the Church.

As Pope Benedict XVI stated in his reflection on the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, “The Church and the Word of God are inseparably linked. The Church lives on the Word of God and the Word of God echoes through the Church, in her teaching and throughout her life (cf. Dei Verbum, 8).”

In simple terms, Scripture may be described as a chronicle of God’s relationship with mankind, or an extended love letter expressing God’s steadfast mercy, despite our many transgressions. It is this love and mercy, for which the world yearns, that we seek to proclaim through this Synod of Bishops.

Note: Carl A. Anderson was also appointed an auditor of the Synod of Bishops convened in 2001 on the theme “The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World” and again in 2005 on the theme “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church.”




Statement on my participation in the XII General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
By Sister M. Clare Millea, A.S.C.J.
Superior General, Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I welcomed the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI to participate as an Auditrix at the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops with great joy, deep gratitude and a fair amount of trepidation. It is indeed a privilege to take an active role in this important ecclesial event, fully aware of my own limitations but eager to communicate the commitment of women religious to living and proclaiming the word of God in our communities and ministry.

My personal study of the Instrumentum Laboris has led me to refocus my own personal prayer life as prayerful listening to and acting on the Word of God proclaimed and celebrated in the daily Eucharistic Liturgy. I have invited all the communities of my Congregation, present in 13 nations of North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia, to recommit themselves to personal and communal practice of lectio divina, and to discover new ways to collaborate with their local church in introducing and companioning others in Biblical study and prayer.

As I currently visit our religious communities in Latin America, I am pleased to note the Sisters’ desire to follow the Synod proceedings and to promote the guidelines that will ensue. All of our local communities will enthrone the Scripture in their chapels during the Synod and will accompany the proceedings with their prayer. We have also initiated a concrete gesture of solidarity to help promote the Synod’s goal. Our schools and other ministries throughout the world are planning a campaign to purchase Bibles for catechists and families with whom our Sisters work who lack the means to obtain one and who are willing to take part in a biblical faith journey with us.

Together with all the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I await this Synod with joyful hope.