Pope Francis establishes “Word of God Sunday”

In an apostolic letter released September 30, Pope Francis has declared that the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time will be devoted to the celebration and study of the Word of God.

(September 30 is the feast day of St. Jerome, who is known especially for his translation of Scriptures into Latin.)

The document is called Aperuit illis, from its opening words, taken from St. Luke’s Gospel, where the Evangelist describes how the Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples, and how “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

Recalling the importance given by the Second Vatican Council to rediscovering Sacred Scripture for the life of the Church, Pope Francis says he wrote this Apostolic Letter in response to requests from the faithful around the world to celebrate a Sunday of the Word of God.

Pope Francis invites local communities to find ways to “mark this Sunday with a certain solemnity.” He suggests that the sacred text be enthroned “in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s Word.” In highlighting the proclamation of the Word of the Lord, it would be appropriate “to emphasize in the homily the honor that it is due,” writes the pope.

“Pastors can also find ways of giving a Bible, or one of its books, to the entire assembly as a way of showing the importance of learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with Sacred Scripture.”

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The Bible is not meant for a privileged few, continues Pope Francis. It belongs “to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words.” The Bible cannot be monopolized or restricted to select groups either, he writes, because it is “the book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity.”

“Pastors are primarily responsible for explaining Sacred Scripture and helping everyone to understand it,” writes Pope Francis. Which is why the homily possesses “a quasi-sacramental character.”  The pope warns against improvising or giving “long, pedantic homilies or wandering off into unrelated topics.”

Rather, he suggests using simple and suitable language. For many of the faithful, he writes, “this is the only opportunity they have to grasp the beauty of God’s Word and to see it applied to their daily lives.”

The pope uses the scene of the Risen Lord appearing to the disciples at Emmaus to demonstrate what he calls “the unbreakable bond between Sacred Scripture and the Eucharist.”

Since the Scriptures everywhere speak of Christ, he writes, “they enable us to believe that His death and resurrection are not myth but history, and are central to the faith of His disciples.”

When the sacraments are introduced and illumined by God’s Word, explains the pope, “they become ever more clearly the goal of a process whereby Christ opens our minds and hearts to acknowledge His saving work.”

“The role of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures is primordial,” writes Pope Francis. “Without the work of the Spirit, there would always be a risk of remaining limited to the written text alone.”

The pope continues: “This would open the way to a fundamentalist reading, which needs to be avoided, lest we betray the inspired, dynamic and spiritual character of the sacred text.”  It is the Holy Spirit who “makes Sacred Scripture the living word of God, experienced and handed down in the faith of His holy people.”

Pope Francis invites us never to take God’s Word for granted, “but instead to let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with Him and with our brothers and sisters.”

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