“Word of God come down to earth,
Living rain from heav’n descending;
Touch our hearts and bring to birth
Faith and hope and love unending.”
These were the opening words to the entrance hymn we sang at my church today, in which we celebrated the Sunday of the Word of God.
In 2019, through his motu proprio Aperuit illas, Pope Francis established the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as the Sunday of the Word of God. I’m a little embarrassed to say that I didn’t remember this when I moderated a webinar on the Liturgical Press Liturgy and Life Study Bible just this past Friday! But in this way I am probably like most Catholics, in that the date of this observance is not yet firmly implanted in my memory. But it’s getting there… I could sense the Sunday of the Word of God is making its mark, in that today’s celebration reminded me of several good observances of this Sunday that we’ve had in years past.
The coincidence of having just spent time focusing on the Bible in this webinar, and now having experienced the liturgical observance of the Word of God Sunday, is one that is too good to miss. So, in conjunction with the Sunday of the Word of God, I’d like to share with you the recording of the webinar, which has just gone up on YouTube. You can view it here.
An astounding 950+ people from all over the world signed up to participate in this webinar (either to watch it in real time or to receive the recording to view it at a later date). The special guests are Professor John W. Marten, and Father Paul Turner, who editing and compiled the study Bible, and wrote the introductory texts. The connection between the Bible and liturgy is certainly a rich and important one, as the interest in this new book demonstrated.
This time in the liturgical year is especially apt for reflecting on the power and centrality of God’s Word. The opening weeks of Ordinary Time in the lectionary are rich with messages of call and conversion. The Sunday of the Word of God is not all that is going on at this time, of course. Perhaps some parishes celebrated the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens last Sunday or this Sunday, which would be altogether appropriate. Yet we do well to remember that the hearing of the Word is critical to each of these spiritual movements: call, conversion, repentance, and the embrace of a new mission in life, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Can the Word of God really be a vehicle for spiritual dynamism for our world today? The Second Vatican Council believed it. In the Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, the fathers affirmed that “the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons [sic], the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life.” [article 21].
Happy Sunday of the Word of God, everyone!