The Word of God, the Local Ordinary of Juba Archdiocese said, would help transform the lives of the commissioned proclaimers.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/South Sudan/Juba
Zambia
FSP members serving in Zambia’s Archdiocese of Lusaka animated the Sunday of the Word of God Mass in two Parishes of the Metropolitan See: Mary Mother of the Redeemer Parish, Matero, and St. Mary's Assumption Parish, Chilanga.
Sr. Metrine Nafula told ACI Africa that both celebrations were “successful, with a vibrant participation from the Christians.”
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Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Zambia/Lusaka
“The preparation (for the celebrations) served as a reminder to the people of the importance of celebrating the Word of God, and as an invitation to all to give an important place to the Word of God both in church and in their lives,” Sr. Nafula in the Monday, January 22 interview.
The Kenyan-born FSP member recalled the message of Fr. Prince Nyambose, the Assistant Parish Priest of Mary Mother of the Redeemer Matero Parish, who, in his homily, emphasized the importance of allowing the Word of God to transform lives. She said, “If we genuinely listen to the Word and allow it to speak to us, we cannot remain the same.”
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Zambia/Lusaka
Sr. Nafula further recalled that parishioners at Mary Mother of the Redeemer Matero Parish were encouraged to own a Bible in every family and to build their faith on the Word of God.
A day before the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God Mass, the Lusaka-based Pauline Sisters joined the choir and lectors at Mary Mother of the Redeemer Matero Parish in preparations for the day.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Zambia/Lusaka
The Sisters had also printed out spiritual materials in Chichewa to cater for one of the Holy Masses celebrated in the local language.
Sr. Nafula narrated that during the Mass, dancers and some choir members joined in the Bible procession.
“The Bible was raised for all to see, and a litany for the Word was chanted by the entire congregation, led by the choir,” the FSP member told ACI Africa, adding that after the chant, Fr. Prince invited the congregants to venerate the Bible before he enthroned it.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Zambia/Lusaka
Pauline Sisters in Zambia also held book exhibitions and saw a rise in the sale of their published spiritual materials.
Addressing the boom in the sale of spiritual materials on the Sunday of the Word of God, Sr. Nafula said, “We had a book exhibition and had the Bibles on sale. We gave the New Testament and Psalms an offer price, and many parishioners took advantage to ensure each had a Bible and even got some for friends.”
Malawi
In the Southern African nation of Malawi, FSP members collaborated with the Biblical Apostolate Committee of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe under the leadership of Fr. Henry Zulu to animate the Sunday of the Word of God.
“Most of the Parishes here in Lilongwe celebrated this day in a special way,” Sr. Beatrice Njau says in a report shared with ACI Africa on Monday, January 22, and adds, “We had a beautiful experience at St. Patrick’s Parish in Area 18, here in Lilongwe.”
Credit:Daughters of St. Paul/Malawi
Sr. Njau has described the preparations leading to the January 21 celebration as having been “intense”.
“Firstly, we worked on the Rite of the Enthronement of the Word of God by translating it into Chichewa, which is the National language of Malawi and commonly used during the liturgy. This translation facilitated by the Biblical Apostolate Committee was shared and used in the parishes,” the FSP members says about an activity that she adds involved “a series of meetings” with Fr. Zulu, who is the Parish Priest of St. Patrick’s Parish, and lectors.
Credit:Daughters of St. Paul/Malawi
The procession of the Word of God, done at the beginning of Holy Mass in Lilongwe Archdiocese, “was done in all the three masses as this Parish has a good number of Lectors who are over fifty in number,” the Kenyan-born FSP member says in her report, and continues, “The choirs came in handy in animating the liturgy with appropriate biblical songs. They also beautifully sung the Litany to the Word of God.”
She goes on to describe January 21 at St. Patrick’s Parish as having “had a colorful character as most of the Christians wore the Bible Nsalu/Kitenge (wrapper).”
Credit:Daughters of St. Paul/Malawi
“Since the Enthronement of the word of God has several significant moments every stage was handled with grace and a brief explanation. The Christians were genuinely elated by this wonderful experience of having a moment to stop and reflect on the Word of God, to honor it and more especially renew their deep commitment to reading, meditating, and actually putting into life the lessons that they receive from it,” Sr. Njau shares.
She adds referring to Fr. Zulu and Fr. Samson Kunkumbira, “The Priests who celebrated (Holy) Mass made it a point to help Christians reflect on the significance of the word of God. They especially echoed the theme proposed for this year, remain in my Word, (John 8:31).”
Credit:Daughters of St. Paul/Malawi
“Many Christians took the opportunity to buy a Bible or Books related to Scripture from the Book Display mounted by the Daughters of St Paul,” the FSP native of Kenya’s Nairobi Archdiocese further says in her report shared with ACI Africa.
Credit:Daughters of St. Paul/Malawi
She concludes, “Indeed this was a day in which the people were able to renew their Faith in the Word of God and most remarked how wonderful it is to celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God at the beginning of the year as it serves as an encouragement to them to continue being faithful in reading, meditating and living the life-giving lessons.”
Zimbabwe
In the Catholic Archdiocese of Harare in Zimbabwe, FSP members spearheaded the animation of the Sunday of the Word of God at the Assumption of our Lady Parish.
In a note shared with ACI Africa, Sr Marie Chantal Musabyimana said that the animation involved the Enthronement of the Word of God, a “first experience” for the Parishioners of the Zimbabwean Catholic Parish.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Harare/Zimbabwe
“We had to go and introduce what we usually do during the Sunday of the Word,” the Rwandan-born FSP member said in the January 21 note, hours after the event, and added, “Due to the language barrier, we had to do a lot of explanation and fortunately the rite was translated to Shona, which is the local language.”
She continued, referring to the Enthronement rite, “It was accepted positively; a big number of people attended and participated fully … It was indeed a great day.”
Kenya: Nairobi Archdiocese
In the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi in Kenya, the Pauline Sisters, also referred to as the Daughters of St. Paul, participated in a “joyous celebration” of the Sunday of the Word of God at Our Lady of Visitation Makandara Parish.
“Approximately five hundred Christians were present for the celebration. The event was marked by a vibrant procession of the Word of God, accompanied by singing and dancing by the PMC children,” Sr. Mary Mutahi told ACI Africa in reference to members of the Pontifical Missionary Childhood at the Kenyan Parish.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Kenya/Nairobi
Sr. Mutahi added that the litany of the Word of God at the Parish was sung, during which the Christians were invited to venerate the Word of God.
The Holy Bible was then reverently enthroned in front of the altar, the Kenyan-born FSP member serving at Paulines Publications Africa (PPA) in Nairobi further said in the Monday, January 22 note to ACI Africa, adding, “Adjacent to it, a smoking pot with incense created a liturgical atmosphere, fostering an ambiance of prayer and devotion.”
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Kenya/Nairobi
The people of God at Our Lady of Visitation Makadara Parish were urged to embrace the daily reading of the Word of God “as a means to attune themselves to the Divine voice,” Sr. Mutahi recalled, and added that the liturgy concluded with a commitment from the Christians present pledging to regularly read and reflect on the Word of God.
The Kenyan FSP member, who made her perpetual profession in June 2022 said that the presence of the Pauline Sisters at the Kenyan Catholic Parish gave those in attendance the opportunity to acquire copies of the African Bible and The Holy Gospels, a pocket-sized edition containing the four Gospels.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Kenya/Nairobi
The pocket-sized edition of The Gospels, she said, enables easy carrying, facilitating the reading of the Word of God at any moment throughout the day.
According to Sr. Mutahi, the Sunday of the Word of God celebration “not only reaffirmed the significance of the Word of God in the life of the Christian community, but also provided practical tools and encouragement for a more profound engagement with Sacred Scriptures in daily living.”
Kenya: Mombasa Archdiocese
In Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa, FSP members facilitated the animation of the Sunday of the Word of God at St. Patrick’s Kilifi Parish, beginning with a Seminar on January 20, and the enthronement of the Word at Eucharistic celebrations.
“The Ritual of Enthronement of the Bible in St. Patrick’s Parish was left to the creativity of the proclaimers (Lectors),” Sr. Olga Massango told ACI Africa in an interview, and described the Lectors as “the main protagonists of this day due to their ministry in the Church as well as the Evangelization Commission.”
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Kenya/Nairobi
The Enthronement of the Word of God was done in all Eucharistic celebrations at St. Patrick’s Kilifi Parish, including those at the outstations: St. Peter Clever Catholic Church, Tezo, and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Mtondia, Sr. Massango said in the Monday, January 22 interview.
“It had a common sketch,” the Mozambican-born FSP member said referring to the Enthronement of the Word of God at the Kenyan Catholic Parish under the leadership of Fr. Marsalius Okello, who, she recalled, “had encountered the Daughters of St Paul in Holy Ghost Cathedral in Mombasa where years back we had celebrated a Bible Day for the Deanery and for PMC and animated the Novena to Pentecost among other activities.”
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Kenya/Nairobi
The ritual was characterized by “Procession of the Bible at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word and Enthronement in a place decorated beforehand, Invitatory Litany, Blessing of the Proclaimers, and Prayer of the Commitment to the Word of God,” the Nairobi-based Daughter of St. Paul said about the events of January 21, Sunday of the Word of God at St. Patrick’s Kilifi Parish.
Pope Francis instituted the Sunday of the Word of God in his Apostolic Letter, Aperuit Illis on 30 September 2019, the liturgical Memorial of St. Jerome, on the inauguration of the 1600th anniversary of his death. It is marked on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Kenya/Nairobi
In the January 22 interview, Sr. Massango told ACI Africa that FSP members have welcomed “all the biblical activities with joy, enthusiasm and apostolic boldness” since the 15 September 1920 Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XV on St. Jerome, Spiritus Paraclitus, in which he relaunched the Biblical Apostolate ahead of the 500th death anniversary of the “Greatest Doctor divinely given to the Church for understanding the Bible”.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Kenya/Nairobi
According to the Mozambican FSP member, their founder, Blessed James Alberione, “was part of the Biblical Movement” in his native country of Italy, and “learned from people of influence during his time” in undertaking the Biblical Apostolate.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/Kenya/Nairobi
“Our Founder together with the first Pauline generations promoted the Days of the Gospels, Weeks of the Gospel, Bible Days, and the League of Continuous Reading of the Word of God as to take the Gospel to every family and let it be the centre and inspirer of their life,” she told ACI Africa.
Sr. Massango continued, “Our constant concern is: “How can we bring the Bible closer to the people? How can we help our people understand the centrality of the Word of God in their life?”
ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/South Sudan/Juba
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/South Sudan/Juba
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/South Sudan/Juba
Credit: Daughters of St. Paul/South Sudan/Juba
