The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini of Pope Benedict XVI (2010) puts forward the issue of the causative power of the Word of God in the liturgy (VD, 53, 56). The document teaches that during the celebration of the liturgical rites we are dealing with the Word of God which accomplishes what it says (cf. VD, 53).
The biblical message presents us with God as speaking and acting. In the Bible the Word of God has a creative power, thus its essential attribute is its inseparable connection with action. “But when the fullness of time had come” (Gal 4,4), actualizing itself the Word of God turned into the living Gospel in the person of Jesus Christ. Incorporated in Christ the salvific action was consolidated and entrusted to the Church, which through the liturgy prolongs it in time, so that the faithful can unceasingly experience the Lord’s presence “until he comes” (1 Cor 11,26). The salvific presence of Christ in the celebrations of the Church sets the parameters for the performative character of the Word of God in the liturgy.