PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE PROMOTION SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD Liturgical-Pastoral Resource 2020 Thanks are expressed to Mons. Antonio Pitta for the exegetical comment on Mt 4:12-23. Picture Sources: Introduction Cover: The Osservatore Romano. Giuseppe Lacerenza: pag. 4/5, 42, 44/45, 49, 55, 61, 69, 70, 78, 82, 84. Giacomo Perego: pag. 6, 13, 14, 27, 52, 66, 92. Edizioni San Paolo: pag. 17, 20, 24, 31. Shutterstock.com: pag. 10/11 (GoneWithTheWind), 19 (Riccardo De Luca - Update), “The various communities will fi nd their own ways to mark 23 (Jantanee Runpranomkorn), 32 (Frippitaun), 37 (GYG Studio), 40/41 (Prostock-studio), this Sunday with a certain solemnity”. 65 (Andrey_Popov), 75 (Konstantin Christian), 81 (Dream Perfection), 86 (Chat Karen Studio), 88 (Colombo Nicola). Pope Francis’ words in the letter Aperuit illis, which establishes The Publisher is available to those asking reserved the Sunday of the Word of God, help us to understand the rights not found. importance of this Pastoral Resource. This resource has been prepared for parish communities and those who gather for the Sunday celebration of the Holy Eucharist, so they may live this Sunday more intensely. We need to make the Eucharistic celebration a real time of encounter, where believers know they are called by the Spirit to celebrate together the mystery of the © EDIZIONI SAN PAOLO s.r.l., 2020 Piazza Soncino, 5 - 20092 Cinisello Balsamo (Milano) death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Listening to the Word www.edizionisanpaolo.it of God it is a good that sheds light on the path of our life and Distribuzione: Diffusione San Paolo s.r.l. Piazza Soncino, 5 - 20092 Cinisello Balsamo (Milano) allows us to be fed by the Word and by the Body and Blood of Per i testi del Papa © Libreria Editrice Vaticana Christ, supporting and strengthening us to be witnesses in the Attached to Credere this week world. Site Manager: Antonio Rizzolo Weekly registered at the Court of Alba il 23/10/2012 n. 4/12 This resource can help meet these needs and, perhaps, help make Poste Italiane S.p.A. the Eucharistic celebration a solemn occasion for rediscovering S.A.P. – D.L. 353/2003 L. 27/02/04 N. 46 – a.1 c.1 DCB/CN the joy of celebrating the mystery of our salvation as a believing © PERIODICI SAN PAOLO s.r.l., 2020 people. via Giotto 36, 20145 Milano www.credere.it ? Rino Fisichella Finished printing in December 2019 Printing: Mediagraf SpA Noventa Padovana (Padova) 2 3 What is the Sunday of the Word of God? “I greatly desire that God’s word be increasingly celebrat- ed, known and disseminated…(Misericordia et misera, 7). With these words at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis encouraged the Church to put Sacred Scripture ever more at the centre of her life and its pastoral activi- ty. Moreover, the Word of God possesses that “dynamism” and is “unpredictable in its power” (Evangelii gaudium, 20:22), able to speak to the heart of man to help him dis- cover and encounter the merciful love of God (Evangelii gaudium, 128). For this reason, in his Apostolic Letter at the conclusion of the Jubilee of Mercy, the Holy Father hoped that “every Christian community, on one Sunday of the liturgical year, could renew its efforts to make the Sacred Scriptures better known and more widely diffused. It would be 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 e misera, 7). Throughout the world, for years now and with great response from the faithful, a Sunday or a certain time of the year has been dedicated to the Bible: “It is now common for the Christian community to set aside moments to refl ect on the 6 7 WHAT IS THE SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD? SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD great importance of the Word of God for everyday living. Gospels for this Sunday, in all three the liturgical cycles, The various local Churches have undertaken a wealth of speak of the beginning of the ministry and preaching of initiatives to make the Sacred Scripture more accessible to Jesus, the Word made fl esh (Jn 1:14). believers, to increase their gratitude for so great a gift, and to help them to strive daily to embody and bear witness to In every local situation, the most suitable and effective its teachings” (Aperuit illis, 2). Responding to the many ways can be planned to live this Sunday in the best way requests he received, so that the whole Church, with its possible, helping “The People of God grow in religious and great wealth of traditions and local initiatives, can walk intimate familiarity with the Sacred Scriptures. For as the together and in “unity of purpose”, Pope Francis, with the sacred author taught of old: ‘This word is very near to you: Apostolic Letter Aperuit illis, established a Sunday of the it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance’ liturgical year dedicated to Sacred Scripture in the life of (Dt 30:14)” (Aperuit illis, 15). the Church: the Sunday of the Word of God. Each year the third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted “to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God” (Aperuit illis, 3). It is no coincidence that the Holy Father chose to sign the Letter on September 30, 2019, the liturgical memorial of St. Jerome, which marks the 1600th anniversary of the death of this important translator and commentator of Scripture, to which we owe the expression: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”. Sacred Scripture has always been a bridge for dialogue and an important bond with other Christian denominations and with other religions. It is signifi cant, from this point of view, that the Sunday of the Word of God has been chosen to take place at a time in which the Church celebrates the Day of dialogue between Jews and Catholics and the Week of Christian Unity, giving it great ecumenical value and communion (Aperuit illis, 3). Among other things, the 8 9 THE WORD OF GOD IN THE LITURGICAL CELEBRATION “The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body” (Dei Verbum, 21). When we proclaim the Word, we carry out an ecclesial act: we do not do anything on our own, but participate in the mission of the Church, of which we are part. “The Bible cannot be just the heritage of some, much less a collection of books for the benefi t of a privileged few. It belongs above all to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words” (Aperuit illis, 4). It is important to understand the various elements and gestures that are directed towards the Word of God in the liturgical celebration in order to live it to the fullest. 10 11 THE WORD OF GOD IN THE LITURGICAL CELEBRATION SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD I “lThe “places” and the “books” of the Word of God One of the main purposes of the Sunday of the Word of God is to regain familiarity with the Holy Scriptures. In fact, the Christian community is built upon and is recognized by it: “Regular reading of Sacred Scripture and the celebration of the Eucharist make it possible for us to see ourselves as part of one another” (Aperuit illis, 8). For this, it is necessary to inhabit all those “places” in which the Word of God is encountered, and to know the books that bring out its importance within the celebration. The place: the ambo The importance of Sacred Scripture, affi rmed by Vatican II Council, certainly extends to the place where it is proclaimed. The introduction to the Order of the Readings for Mass states that the place of the Word must correspond to its dignity and points to the relationship to the altar. At Mass, it must be clear that the table of the Word of God and of the Body of Christ is prepared. The ambo reminds us of the altar in that the Word proclaimed from the ambo is made “fl esh” on the altar. We can rightly speak of “two tables”: that of the Word and that of the Eucharist. The biblical ancestor of our present-day ambo could be the wooden pulpit that Ezra built for the solemn reading of the Law, for the Feast of Booths around the year 445 BC. In the Book of Nehemiah we read: “And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden pulpit which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; and when he opened it 12 13 LA PAROLA DI DIO NELLA CELEBRAZIONE LITURGICA SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God; and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (Ne 8:4-6). Ezra stood on a pulpit, built specifi cally to express the dignity that the Word possesses when it is proclaimed.