Pope on Dei Verbum: “God speaks to us as friends”

At today's general audience, the first of Leo XIV's catechesis on the documents of the Second Vatican Council. ‘Words are not only used to exchange information, but to reveal who we are. Let us not fail to set aside time for prayer and meditation in our daily and weekly lives as Christians.’

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - ‘God's revelation has the dialogical character of friendship and, as in the experience of human friendship, it cannot bear silence, but is nourished by the exchange of true words.’ Pope Leo XIV said this today, addressing the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall for the Wednesday general audience.

In the new cycle of catechesis dedicated to the documents of the Second Vatican Council – announced last week – the pontiff today began this journey by speaking about the dogmatic constitution Dei Verbum, promulgated on 18 November 1965, which addresses the theme of divine revelation and the importance of reference to Sacred Scripture in the life of the Church.

‘It is one of the most beautiful and important documents of the Council,’ he commented. ‘Dei Verbum reminds us that Jesus Christ radically transforms man's relationship with God, which from now on will be a relationship of friendship. Therefore, the only condition of the new covenant is love.’

It is precisely friendship that the Pope uses as the lens through which to re-read the entire history of Revelation: ‘An ancient motto,’ he recalled, ‘said: “Amicitia aut pares invenit, aut facit”, “friendship either arises between equals, or makes them so”. We are not equal to God, but God himself makes us like Him in His Son.’

For Leo XIV, the constitution Dei Verbum reminds us that God speaks to us with a word "that is different from chatter: the latter remains on the surface and does not create communion between people, while in authentic relationships, words are not only used to exchange information and news, but to reveal who we are. Words have a revelatory dimension that creates a relationship with the other. Thus, by speaking to us, God reveals Himself to us as an Ally who invites us into friendship with Him.‘

’In this perspective,‘ he continued, ’the first attitude to cultivate is listening, so that the divine Word can penetrate our minds and hearts; at the same time, we are called to speak with God, not to communicate to Him what He already knows, but to reveal ourselves to ourselves."

This is the purpose of prayer, in which we are called to live and cultivate friendship with the Lord. ‘This,’ Leo XIV continued, "is achieved first and foremost in liturgical and communal prayer, where we do not decide what to hear from the Word of God, but He Himself speaks to us through the Church; moreover, it is accomplished in personal prayer, which takes place in the interiority of the heart and mind. Time dedicated to prayer, meditation and reflection cannot be lacking in the Christian's day and week. Only when we speak with God can we also speak about Him."

Human experience, however, shows us that friendships can end even because of a series of daily oversights, which erode the relationship until it is lost. ‘If Jesus calls us to be friends,’ the Pope concluded, ‘let us not leave this call unheard. Let us welcome it, let us take care of this relationship, and we will discover that friendship with God is our salvation.’