SVD
Generalate

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-8
1 Peter 1:20-25
John 1:1-18

Dear brothers and sisters,
It is a great joy to begin this thirtieth Dei Verbum Course 2026 here in Nemi, gathered as brothers from different countries, cultures, languages, and missionary experiences. Before we begin our studies, I invite you to place yourselves before the Word of God and, above all, to allow the Word itself to gather us together and form us as a community.

I would like to reflect briefly on three points arising from the readings proposed for this liturgy:

Encountering the Word anew
The first reading presents us with a fundamental moment in the history of the people of Israel. After the exile, Ezra gathers the people and proclaims the Book of the Law. The community encounters the Word of God anew and, from it, begins to rebuild its identity and its life (Their religious identity had previously been linked to the temple and the sacrifices performed there).

For the people of Israel, this encounter with the Word became a moment of profound renewal. Their relationship with God came to be understood ever more deeply through listening to his Word.

In the history of many of our countries outside Europe, the Catholic Church was, for a long time, the principal visible sign of the Christian faith. To be part of a Catholic community meant having received catechesis and the sacraments. In many contexts, the missionary arrived carrying the cross, but also supported by colonial power.

Today, however, we are invited to rediscover the centrality of the Word, which enriches our life and our participation in the community. Discovering the Word is fundamental to Christian faith in our time. To encounter it anew means, as in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, to rebuild and renew our community of faith on the basis of our relationship with the God who speaks to us personally and directly.

Being born anew through the Word
The living Word of God is the source of new life.

When Nicodemus went to meet Jesus at night, he heard from him that it was necessary to be born anew, to be born from above, of water and the Spirit (Jn 3:3-5).

The First Letter of Peter adds: “You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Pet 1:23).

The community of the baptized (those who have been born again of water and the Spirit) finds its identity precisely in its relationship with Christ, the Divine Word, the Word incarnate of the Father.

There is no other way to generate and sustain the life of the Christian community than by remaining united to him, the eternal Word. As Jesus reminds us through the image of the vine, branches separated from it cannot bear fruit (Jn 15:4).

Dwelling in the Word, while God dwells among humanity
The Prologue of John, so dear to our Founder and to us, Missionaries of the Divine Word, invites us to contemplate God’s movement toward humanity.

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (Jn 1:14).

God chose to dwell among us. He pitched his tent in the midst of humanity.

This movement of God toward humanity should awaken in us the desire to dwell in the same tent as the Lord (This differs from Peter’s desire to build three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah on Mount Tabor. Here, the focus is on dwelling with the Lord in his tent). He chose to make his dwelling among us; our response should be the desire to make our dwelling in him.

This means much more than studying, understanding, or dissecting every verse of the Bible. It is a matter of making our home under the same roof. It is daily companionship. It is closeness. It is a commitment of life. In other words, it is consecration.

Conclusion:
Dear brothers and sisters,
The tent is ready here in Nemi. During these two months, you will have the opportunity to dwell in it. Do not waste this time simply trying to become “experts” in the Bible. Make use of this time to dwell in the Word and be born anew.

And when you return to your ministries, become instruments through which people, too, may rediscover this Word. If your witness is authentic, the rest will be the work of the Holy Spirit.

And then, little by little, a new community may be born.

May it be so!

Fr. Anselmo Ribeiro, SVD
Nemi, 6 of September 2026