On January 21—the Sunday of the Word of God—Pope Francis presided at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, during which he instituted men and women as lectors and cathechists.
“The word of God unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit, a power that draws people to God, like those young fisherman who were struck by Jesus’ words, and sends others, like Jonah, towards those distant from the Lord,” he preached. “The word draws us to God and sends us to others.”
“Brothers and sisters, may the Sunday of the Word of God help us to return with joy to the sources of our faith, which is born of listening to Jesus, the living Word of God, he continued. “Let us return to the sources, in order to offer to the world the living water for which it yearns and does not find, and while society and social media reflect the violence of words, let us draw closer to, and cultivate, the quiet word of God that brings salvation, that is gentle, that does not make a loud noise and that enters into our hearts.”
Copies of the St. Mark’s Gospel were distributed to the 5,000 people who attended the Mass.