“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. This is more than a temporal coincidence: the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God has ecumenical value, since the Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity.

The various communities will find their own ways to mark this Sunday with a certain solemnity. It is important, however, that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word. On this Sunday, it would be particularly appropriate to highlight the proclamation of the word of the Lord and to emphasize in the homily the honour that it is due.”
“The Bible is the book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity.
The word of God unites believers and makes them one people.”
“A profound bond links sacred Scripture and the faith of believers. Since faith comes from hearing, and what is
heard is based on the word of Christ (cf. Rom 10:17), believers are bound to listen attentively to the word of the Lord, both in the celebration of the liturgy and in their personal prayer and reflection.”
“May the Sunday of the Word of God help his people to grow in religious and intimate familiarity with the sacred
Scriptures. For as the sacred author taught of old: “This word is very near to you: it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance” (Deuteronomy 30:14).
(Given in Rome, at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, on 30 September 2019.)

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