On 1600th anniversary of St. Jerome’s feast day, Pope Francis issued a new moto proprio titled Aperuit Illis, and invited the world’s Catholics to contemplate the Word of God even more deeply, by adding a new Sunday to emphasize it annually. The pope quoted St. Jerome in his opening paragraphs to the Letter: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”
Henceforth, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time will now become the Sunday of the Word of God.
More from Pope Francis’ announcement:
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.
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With this Letter, I wish to respond to the many requests I have received from the people of God that the entire Church celebrate, in unity of purpose, a Sunday of the Word of God. It is now common for the Christian community to set aside moments to reflect on the great importance of the word of God for everyday living. The various local Churches have undertaken a wealth of initiatives to make the sacred Scripture more accessible to believers, to increase their gratitude for so great a gift, and to help them to strive daily to embody and bear witness to its teachings.
The Second Vatican Council gave great impulse to the rediscovery of the word of God, thanks to its Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, a document that deserves to be read and appropriated ever anew.
Learn more:
Read the Holy Father’s Letter, Aperuit Illis, announcing this update to the Liturgical Year, in its entirety at the Vatican website.
Coverage from Vatican News is found here.
The statement from the USCCB, affirming the news of the new document from the pope, is here.
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Posted by Pat Gohn, Editor.
Image credit: Keep Smiling Photography / ShutterStock 588422063
