Importance of the Sunday of the Word of God reiterated

Robert Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament in the Vatican, re-echoes the reminder of Pope Francis of the importance of the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God, which falls on January 24 this year.

In his note issued last December 17, 2020, Cardinal Sarah recalls, “The Sunday of the Word of God, instituted by Pope Francis and to be held every year on the third Sunday of Ordinary Time, reminds us, pastors and faithful alike, of the importance and value of Sacred Scripture for the Christian life, as well as the relationship between the word of God and the liturgy.”

Cardinal Sarah who heads the said Congregation reminds the clergy and all the faithful of the theological, ritual and pastoral principles found in the Ordo Lectionum Missal for review in order to get back to the meaning of this Sunday.

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is that commission in the Vatican that handles everything about the celebration of the liturgy in the Latin Church. Its function was originally exercised by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, set up in January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V.

Pope Francis issued his Apostolic Letter “Motu Proprio” entitled Aperuit Illis last September 30, 2019 instituting the Sunday of the Word of God: “I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God. This Sunday of the Word of God will thus be a fitting part of that time of the year when we are encouraged to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity.”

In response to this reminder, the local churches in the Philippines headed by the Episcopal Commission on the Biblical Apostolate of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines suggests various activities, most of them online due to our situation in this pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Archdiocesan Bible Apostolate of Davao encourages all families to have their Bible enthroned this month of January. Other related activities may be followed through the Archdiocesan Bible Apostolate of Davao facebook page.