During the Mass, Pope Francis formally conferred the ministries of lector and catechist upon eight women and three men from South Korea, Chad, Jamaica, Brazil, Bolivia, Germany, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The ministries themselves have also been shaped by Pope Francis in recent years. The pope changed Church law in January 2021 so that women could be formally instituted to the lay ministries of lector and acolyte.
Pope Francis established the ministry of catechist as an instituted, vocational service within the Catholic Church in May 2021. The ministry is for lay people who have a particular call to serve the Catholic Church as a teacher of the faith. The ministry lasts for the entirety of life, regardless of whether the person is actively carrying out that activity during every part of his or her life.
In his homily, Francis asked people to think about whether they are making enough room for the Word of God in their lives.
“Amid so many books, magazines, televisions and telephones, where is the Bible?” he asked. “In my room, do I have the Gospel within easy reach? Do I read it daily in order to be faithful to my path in life?”
The pope encouraged people to always carry the Gospel with them, either on their phone or to physically carry a small pocket-sized copy of the Gospels, adding: “If Christ is dearer to me than anything else, how can I leave him at home and not bring his word with me?”
Taking the time to read the Bible can help prevent us from the trap of “concentrating on our own thoughts and problems rather than on Christ and his word,” he said.
Pope Francis created the Sunday of the Word of God in 2019 on the 1,600th anniversary of the death of St. Jerome, who famously translated the Bible.
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The Sunday of the Word of God is celebrated in the Church each year on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time since 2020.
“The word of God unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit,” Pope Francis said.
“Christ’s word not only liberates us from the burdens we bear, past and present; it also makes us mature in truth and in charity. It enlivens the heart, challenges it, purifies it from hypocrisy, and fills it with hope,” he said.
Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.
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