Pope: the Word of God calls to conversion, heals, raises up

By Thaddeus Jones

Pope Francis presided over the Mass celebrating this year’s Sunday of the Word of God marking the theme from John’s Letter, “We proclaim to you what we have seen” (1 Jn 1:3). The celebration took place in St. Peter’s Basilica and included the conferral of the Ministries of Lector and Catechist on lay men and women from Italy, Congo, the Philippines, Mexico, and the UK. Pope Francis instituted the annual celebration in 2019, calling for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time to be devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the Word of God.

In his homily, the Pope recalled that in today’s Gospel we see how Jesus enters into His public ministry after a quiet life in Nazareth: He invites everyone to conversion, calls His first disciples, and gives the mission to spread the Good News of God’s boundless love for all. This “dynamism” shows us how “the Word is for everyone, the Word calls everyone to conversion, the Word makes us heralds.”

Word of God for all

Jesus is always on the move, an itinerant and pilgrim, visiting towns and villages, meeting and healing people, the Pope explained, saying “His feet are those of the messenger announcing the good news of God’s love.” The area by the Sea of Galilee where He began His preaching was a cultural crossroads of peoples of traditions, he observed, and this shows how Jesus “enlarges the boundaries” of proclaiming the Word of God not only to the righteous of Israel, but to all.

Proclamation priority

If the Word is “a gift addressed to everyone,” the Pope explained then it must become a “main priority” of believers as it was for Jesus. And may our preaching be with an open and “an expansive heart” to all, and not as a Church with a closed heart, "may this never happen." 

Transforming hearts

The Word of God then calls everyone to conversion, to change our lives, as we cannot remain the same after hearing its life-giving message, the Pope went on to say. The Word can even put us into crisis, he added, as it helps us see the light of God’s goodness and how to make room for it in our lives, whereas the inner darkness of vices and sins can struggle against it, something we must resist.

The Pope said we can simply place our life “under the Word of God,” not under our own tastes and preferences, but under the Word that shapes us, changes our lives, and calls us to unity.

Bearing witness in word and deed

Finally, we are called to bear witness to the Word of God that makes us heralds, the Pope concluded. As Jesus, walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, called Simon and Andrew to be His disciples, to follow Him and become “fishers of men,” we are also called now to meet our brothers and sisters in proclaiming the joy of the Gospel.

The Pope added that proclaiming the Word means bearing witness to it in our everyday lives in how we treat and care of each other, giving it flesh in who we are and what we do.

Thank you

At the conclusion of his homily, the Pope expressed his profound gratitude by saying “thank you” to all who proclaim the Word of God, putting it at the centre of their lives. He paid tribute to those who deepen their knowledge of the Word, the pastoral workers who spread the Word - including lectors and catechists, and especially those on whom he conferred these ministries at Sunday's liturgy. Finally, he thanked all the deacons and priests who help nourish God’s holy people with the Word by “meditating on it, living it, and proclaiming it” through their service and sacrifices.