HONG KONG (SE): The second day of the Chinese New Year this year will also be celebrated as the Sunday of the Word of God. In his Apostolic Letter Aperuit illis of 30 September 2019, Pope Francis announced that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be celebrated as the Sunday of the Word of God.
The pope said that devoting a special day “to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God” will help the Church “experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world.”
It is not a new feast! After all, the Word of God is proclaimed at every Sunday Eucharist. Pope Francis is clear from the very first paragraph of this letter that the relationship between the Risen Lord, a community of believers, and sacred scripture is essential to us as Christians.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, told Vatican News on September 30 that added emphasis on the importance of the word of God is needed because “the overwhelming majority” of Catholics are not familiar with sacred scripture. He added that for many, the only time they hear the word of God is when they attend Mass.
“The Bible is the most widely distributed book, but it is also perhaps the one most covered in dust because it is not held in our hands,” the archbishop said. He added that with this apostolic letter, the pope “invites us to hold the word of God in our hands every day as much as possible so that it becomes our prayer” and a greater part of one’s lived experience.
The Sunday gathering to celebrate the Eucharist is the unique moment in the week where a community gathers in a particular place and when their communal identity is nourished by Word and Sacrament.
Pope Francis suggests in his letter that this Sunday is an ideal time to reflect on these issues. For priests, it is also a call to reflect once again on their preaching of the Word of God.
It is also important to discuss in the parishes to discern the ways and methods to promote the observance of the day and more importantly, to promote the promote Bible sharing.
This Sunday might well be an appropriate time to commission and bless those who serve the community as readers, and initiate new ones to this essential ministry.
The Pope speaks about Bishops celebrating the Rite of Installation of Lectors or a Commissioning of Readers. The ministry of Reader in a parish community could well be highlighted on this Sunday. Perhaps a formation session might be organised during this week for readers; new readers could be recruited; or those who have served the community as readers could renew their commitment and new readers begin their ministry.
As always, formation for this, or indeed any ministry, is crucial. A parish could have a commissioning of ministers of the Word during the Sunday Eucharist, or may decide to have a prayer of blessing.
If the parish community does not enthrone the Word of God every Sunday, maybe today is an opportunity to start.
In paragraph 3 of Aperuit illis, Pope Francis requests that “the various communities will find their own ways to mark this Sunday with a certain solemnity. It is important, however, that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word”.
Another way of nourishing the role of scripture is praying quietly together in a lectio divina style of prayer.
Pope Francis also encouraged people to read the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution, Dei Verbum (Word of God), and Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic exhortation, Verbum Domini, (The Word of the Lord) whose teaching remains “fundamental for our communities.” SE
