Hope does not disappoint

It was three hours of continuous reading, with 60 readers and a large audience, confirming that the idea of ​​reading one or more books of the Bible from cover to cover is a profound, moving, and interesting experience worth discovering and repeating at least once a year.

On the evening of September 19th, around 7:30 PM, an actor from the Arsenale della Speranza theater workshop, dressed as a messenger and traveler, entered the large space set up for the 15th edition of the Continuous Reading of the Word, carrying a papyrus scroll.
After passing through a small crowd, the messenger then ascended to a stage and proclaimed several verses from the Apostle Paul's long letter to the community of Rome, the Letter to the Romans, the biblical book chosen for this year's Reading.

At the verse "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit..." (Rom 5:5), Paul's messenger invited all those present—people of different backgrounds, ages, groups, and movements, gathered for the initiative—to walk through an ancient Roman setting toward the lectern with the book of the Bible.

The first to read was the Archbishop of São Paulo, Dom Odilo Pedro Scherer, followed by radio journalist Milton Jung, the Councilor for Social Policies, Eliana Gomes, the Vice Consul of Italy, Marianna Haddad, the representative of the Vila Prudente favela, André Silva, and then the guests from the Arsenale with difficult stories behind them, the children of the Piazza, volunteers, and many other relay runners of the Word who, in some way, represent the people of God, in all its forms.
At a time when we are being hit by a great wave of division, hatred, and violence that seeks to lead us to the elimination of others, for 15 years this initiative has been an invitation to physical encounter, to the exercise of silence, to contemplate the face of the other and to listen to them as they give voice to the Sacred Word. This, in itself, already means deepening our reading of the Word and putting it into practice.


The video of the 15th Continuous Reading of the Word, broadcast on the evening of September 19, 2025, is available on the Arsenale della Speranza YouTube channel.

The Fraternity of Sermig in Brazil
photo by José Luiz Altieri
NP October 2025