Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican Media
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “The salvation Jesus bestows on us is not yet fully realized. We know this. Yet wars, injustice, pain and death will not have the final word. The Gospel never disappoints”.
In St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Francis presided over the Holy Mass on the occasion of the VI Sunday of the Word of God, established in 2019 by the Pontiff himself. The Celebration also marked the conclusion of the three-day event dedicated to the Jubilee of the world of Communication.
When we hear the Gospel, the words of God, the Pope suggested, “it is not simply a matter of listening to or understanding them, no. They must reach our hearts and bring about what I said, “amazement”. The word of God always amazes us; it always renews us. It enters our hearts and always renews us”. In fact, “the whole Bible speaks of Christ and his work, which the Spirit makes present and active in our lives and in history. When we read the Scriptures, when we pray and study them, we do not simply receive information about God; we receive his Spirit, who reminds us of all that Jesus said and did. In this way, our hearts, inflamed by faith, wait in hope for the coming of God”.
“Let us respond with ardor to the joyful announcement of Christ! The Lord, in fact, did not speak to us as silent listeners, but as witnesses, calling us to evangelize at all times and in all places”, concluded the Pope who then conferred the ministry of Lector to forty lay men and women, from various nations: 4 from Albania, 3 from Argentina, 5 from Austria, 1 from Bolivia, 4 from Brazil, 5 from the Philippines, 1 from Iceland, 6 from Italy, 5 from Mexico, 1 from Poland, 5 from Slovenia.
According to the rite, each of them received a copy of the Nova Vulgata Bible: “We are grateful to them and we pray for them. We are all praying for you. Let us commit ourselves to bringing the good news to the poor, proclaiming release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, letting the oppressed go free and announcing the year of the Lord’s favour”.
After the celebration, the Pontiff appeared in St. Peter's Square for the Angelus prayer. And on the eve of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, which this year coincides with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Pope Francis recalled the horrors of the Shoah, during which “many Christians also died, including numerous martyrs. The horror of the extermination of millions of Jews and people of other faiths during those years can neither be forgotten nor denied”.
The Pontiff then turned his thoughts to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which "is causing the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world, with dramatic consequences in South Sudan too. I am close to the peoples of both countries and I invite them to fraternity, solidarity, to avoid any kind of violence and not to allow themselves to be exploited. I renew my appeal to those who are at war in Sudan for them to put an end to hostilities and to agree to sit at the negotiating table. I urge the international community to do all it can to get the necessary humanitarian aid to the displaced people and to help the belligerents find paths to peace soon”.
The Pope also drew attention to the situation in Colombia, in particular in the Catatumbo region, “where clashes between armed groups have claimed many civilian lives and displaced more than thirty thousand people. I express my closeness to them and pray for them”, added the Bishop of Rome, who did not forget that today is World Leprosy Day: “I encourage all those who work on behalf of those afflicted by this disease to continue their efforts, also helping those who heal to be reintegrated into society. May they not be marginalized!” (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 26/1/2025)
