Phibsborough
The Bible is not meant for a privileged few, continues Pope Francis. It belongs “to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words.” The Bible cannot be monopolized or restricted to select groups either, he writes, because it is “the book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity.”
“Pastors are primarily responsible for explaining Sacred Scripture and helping everyone to understand it,” writes Pope Francis. Which is why the homily possesses “a quasi-sacramental character.” The pope warns against improvising or giving “long, pedantic homilies or wandering off into unrelated topics.”
Rather, he suggests using simple and suitable language. For many of the faithful, he writes, “this is the only opportunity they have to grasp the beauty of God’s Word and to see it applied to their daily lives.”
The pope uses the scene of the Risen Lord appearing to the disciples at Emmaus to demonstrate what he calls “the unbreakable bond between Sacred Scripture and the Eucharist.”
Since the Scriptures everywhere speak of Christ, he writes, “they enable us to believe that His death and resurrection are not myth but history, and are central to the faith of His disciples.”
When the sacraments are introduced and illumined by God’s Word, explains the pope, “they become ever more clearly the goal of a process whereby Christ opens our minds and hearts to acknowledge His saving work.”
“The role of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures is primordial,” writes Pope Francis. “Without the work of the Spirit, there would always be a risk of remaining limited to the written text alone.”
The pope continues: “This would open the way to a fundamentalist reading, which needs to be avoided, lest we betray the inspired, dynamic and spiritual character of the sacred text.” It is the Holy Spirit who “makes Sacred Scripture the living word of God, experienced and handed down in the faith of His holy people.”
Pope Francis invites us never to take God’s Word for granted, “but instead to let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with Him and with our brothers and sisters.”