The (sixth) Sunday of the Word of God

“The Sunday of the Word of God is a profoundly pastoral initiative with which Pope Francis wants to make it clear how important it is in the daily life of the Church and our communities to refer to the Word of God, a Word that is not confined to a book, but which remains ever alive and becomes a concrete and tangible sign.

The motto chosen by the Holy Father for the 2025 edition, within the Jubilee Year, is a verse from Psalm 119, “I hope in your Word.” It is a cry of hope: man, in a moment of anguish, tribulation, and confusion, cries out to God and puts all his hope in him…”

Liturgical and Pastoral Handbook     

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

Are you as surprised as I am that we are (already) preparing to celebrate the SIXTH “Sunday of the Word of God?” Or, perhaps, are you more surprised that this could be the first time you are hearing about the “Sunday of the Word of God?” For regular readers of this column, I think that I may owe you an apology because I don’t think that I have referenced or written about Pope Francis’ establishment, on Sept. 30, 2019, of an annual “Sunday of the Word of God,” on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. In his Apostolic Letter, Motu Proprio “Aperuit Illis,” he wrote:

“At the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I proposed setting aside ‘a Sunday given over entirely to the word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people” (Misericordia et Misera, 7). Devoting a specific Sunday of the liturgical year to the word of God can enable the Church to 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…”

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/papa-francesco-motu-proprio-20190930_aperuit-illis.html       

 I believe that all our priests and pastors, deacons and religious, along with our catechetical leaders, are aware of our Holy Father’s desire that the whole Church would participate in the celebration of the “Sunday of the Word of God.” Father Yojaneider Garcia, director of our Diocesan Catechetical Office, as he has done in previous years, recently sent a reminder and resources to our Catechetical Leaders:

Sunday of the Word of God – January 26, 2025
The Sacred Scripture is the heart of catechesis. The last Sunday of January is dedicated as the Sunday of the Word of God. It is an excellent opportunity to promote a deeper love and understanding of Scripture in catechesis. The CCC states, “The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s Word and Christ’s Body” (103). Below are some helpful resources in English and Spanish to assist you in planning activities:

USCCB 
Dicastery for Evangelization 

If, by chance, you are reading this and may be thinking, “We haven’t heard anything in our parish about the “Sunday of the Word of God,” I would like to share some of my experience having been a pastor and parish priest. There is a definite “rhythm” in parish life and activities over the course of a given year. Planning parish activities for mid-January can sometimes be a challenge, as everyone usually tries to “take a breath” and get some “R & R” after Christmas and the New Year. If the “Sunday of the Word of God” has struggled to “gain momentum” in its first five years on the Liturgical Calendar, I believe that its “position” on the calendar may have more of an impact than other possible challenges. It is also important to note that five (or six) years is a very, very brief amount of time in the life of the Church.

I believe that the “Sunday of the Word of God” will surely “gain momentum” and be recognized and celebrated by more and more individual Catholics, families, schools, and parishes as we move forward. It is possible that 20, 30, or 50 years from now, Catholics may “look back” and see Pope Francis’s establishment of this annual celebration as one of the more significant contributions of his papacy.

In my column last week, I mentioned that our transition from the print to a fully online version of The Beacon can help us appreciate some of the advantages of writing and reading online. Using “links” can help us experience the amazing amount of information available, literally, “at our fingertips.” In learning about and preparing to celebrate “Sunday of the Word of God,” clicking on a few links can get us “up to speed” on the history of this annual celebration and offer us many options and resources to better appreciate, as quoted above, “how important it is in the daily life of the Church and our communities to refer to the Word of God, a Word that is not confined to a book, but which remains ever alive and becomes a concrete and tangible sign…”

 Here are a few additional links:

  1. To a 2019 article reporting on Pope Francis’ establishing “Sunday of the Word of God.” 
  2. From the USCCB Website: “Understanding the Bible: 10 Points for Fruitful Scripture Reading,” “Frequently Asked Questions,” and many other excellent articles on the Bible.
  3. 5 Ways to Celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God.
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