” “"God’s word applies forever, by bringing it into ourselves we bring eternal life into ourselves". With these words, Benedict XVI ended today’s general audience in front of about 20 thousand devotees. The Pope spoke off the cuff in the final part of his catechesis, asking himself "what can we learn from Saint Jerome". "First and foremost he answered to love God’s Word, to love God’s Word in the Scriptures". "Ignoring the Scriptures is tantamount to ignoring Christ" warned the Pope, paraphrasing one of the milestones of Saint Jerome’s philosophy because every Christian is called "to a lively dialogue with God’s Word, given us through the Scriptures". "A dialogue, this one, that "must always have two dimensions": it must be, according to the Pope, above all "a truly personal dialogue, because God speaks to each one and has a message for each one". This is why, explained the Pope, "we must read the Word not like a word of the past, but as the Word with which God speaks to us and has something to say to each one". "But, not to fall into individualism specified the Pope, as he explained the other essential dimension of such dialogue , we must understand that God’s Word was given us to build communities that will guide us in this journey". (continued)” “
