Synodevaders - 25 oktober 2008
The assembly, convoked and gathered by the Spirit to hear the proclamation of the Word of God, is transformed by the same action of the Spirit that is manifested in the celebration.
In fact, there, where the Church is, Lord's Spirit is; and where the Lord's Spirit is, the Church also is (cf. Saint Irenaeus, "Adversus Haereses," III, 24, 1).
The synodal fathers reaffirm that the liturgy is the privileged place in which the Word of God is fully expressed, both in the celebration of the sacraments as above all in the Eucharist, in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the liturgical year. The mystery of salvation narrated in sacred Scripture finds in the liturgy its own place of proclamation, listening and acting.
For this reason, it is imperative that:
-- The book of sacred Scripture, even outside liturgical action, has a visible and honorable place in the church.
-- Silence should be encouraged after the first and second reading and after the homily is finished, as suggested in the General Order of the Roman Missal (cf. No. 56).
-- Celebrations of the Word of God are provided, centered on the Sunday readings.
-- Readings of sacred Scripture be proclaimed from worthy liturgical books, namely the lectionaries and the Gospel, to be treated with the most profound respect for the Word of God they contain.
-- Highlight the role of the servers of the proclamation: readers and cantors.
-- Men and women lectors be adequately formed, so that they can proclaim the Word of God in a clear and comprehensible way. The latter must be invited to study and witness with their life the contents of the Word they read.
-- The Word of God be proclaimed in a clear way, with control of the dynamics of communication.
-- Persons for whom the reception of the Word of God, communicated in the usual way is difficult as well as persons with sight or hearing disabilities not be forgotten.
-- Competent and effective use be made of acoustic instruments.
Moreover, the synodal fathers feel the duty to remind of the grave responsibility of those who preside over the Eucharist so that the texts of sacred Scripture are never substituted by other texts. No text of spirituality or literature can have the value and wealth contained in sacred Scripture, which is the Word of God.
