Dialogue with God:
Reading & Praying
with Sacred Scripture

Dialogue with God: Reading & Praying with Sacred Scripture is a 12-page booklet describing how Catholics can incorporate the Church’s traditional principles of lectio divina into their regular Scripture study. In Aperuit Illis (Instituting the Sunday of the Word of God), Pope Francis writes: “Pastors can also find ways of giving a Bible, or one of its books, to the entire assembly as a way of showing the importance of learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with sacred Scripture, especially through the practice of lectio divina.”

Pope Francis established the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time to be devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the Word of God. His apostolic letter was published on September 30, 2019, the feast of St. Jerome and 1600-year anniversary of the saint’s death. St. Jerome, who translated the Latin Vulgate Bible from Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, is famous for saying “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

In Aperuit Illis, the Holy Father calls attention to the unbreakable bond between Scripture and the Eucharist, citing Verbum Domini (The Word of the Lord):

“The sacramentality of the word can thus be understood by analogy with the real presence of Christ under the appearances of the consecrated bread and wine. By approaching the altar and partaking in the Eucharistic banquet we truly share in the body and blood of Christ. The proclamation of God’s word at the celebration entails an acknowledgment that Christ himself is present, that he speaks to us, and that he wishes to be heard.”

The next celebration of the Word of God will be Sunday, January 21, 2024.