I Hope in Your Word
This weekend will be the sixth year we are celebrating the Sunday of the Word of God.
Pope Francis has chosen as this year’s theme the words of the Psalmist: I hope in your Word [Ps.119:74]. 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.
The Universal Church is celebrating 2025 as a Jubilee year with the theme Pilgrims of Hope.
‘A jubilee, that knocks on the door every 25 years and prompts us to take life seriously, offers the opportunity to keep our eyes fixed on the hope that evangelical realism brings.’ [Archbishop Rino Fisichella] This ‘Sunday of the Word of God’ allows all of us to take seriously Jesus’ invitation to listen to, and to cherish, his Word. In this way we offer the world a witness of hope that allows one to move beyond the difficulties of the present moment. We need to cherish the Word of God and become familiar with the Word of God. It is an essential part of our liturgy. It prepares us to receive the Word made flesh in the Eucharist. When the Word is proclaimed at the Ambo, we are encountering Christ Himself, the Eternal Word made flesh, speaking to us through the inspired words of Scripture. It is a sacred moment, a time to open our hearts and minds to the voice of the Lord, allowing His truth to penetrate our souls and transform our lives. May we always approach the Liturgy of the Word with reverence, attention and a desire to be transformed by the living Word of God.
We normally refer to those of us who read at Mass as readers. In Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter ‘Aperuit Illis’ (2019), he recognised the importance of the Ministry of the Proclamation of the Word in the liturgy. He called them Proclaimers of the Word. I would like to thank all those who in our parish who are Proclaimers of the Word (Readers).
I encourage you to pray the Sunday readings in advance of the reading, through schemes such as the St. Beuno’s Outreach weekly Prego leaflets, Bible Alive, and Lectio Divina.