Return to God’s Word Rather than Social Media’s "violence of words": Pope Francis

Pope Francis confers the lay ministry of catechist upon nine people during Mass for the Sunday of the Word of God on Jan. 21, 2024. Vatican Media

In his homily, the pope pointed to how history shows us the power of God’s word in the lives of the saints.

“We think of the first monk, St. Anthony, who, struck by a passage of the Gospel while at Mass, left everything for the Lord. We think of St. Augustine, whose life took a decisive turn when God’s word brought healing to his heart,” Francis said.

“We think of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, who discovered her vocation by reading the letters of St. Paul. And we think too of the saint whose name I bear, Francis of Assisi, who, after praying, read in the Gospel that Jesus sent his disciples to preach and exclaimed: ‘That is what I want; that is what I ask, that is what I desire to do with all my heart!’ Their lives were changed by the word of life, by the word of the Lord.”

Pope Francis underlined that for the same thing to happen in each of our lives “we need to stop being ‘deaf’ to God’s word” and to start spending time in prayer with sacred Scripture.

Pope Francis presides over Mass for the Sunday of the Word of God in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 21, 2024. Vatican Media

“We cannot do without God’s word and its quiet and unassuming power that, as if in a personal dialogue, touches the heart, impresses itself on the soul, and renews it with the peace of Jesus, which makes us, in turn, concerned for others,” the pope said.

“It calls us to set out with him for the sake of others. The word makes us missionaries, God’s messengers and witnesses to a world drowning in words, yet thirsting for the very word it so often ignores. The Church lives from this dynamic: Called by Christ and drawn to him, she is sent into the world to bear witness to him,” he said.

Pope Francis presides over Mass for the Sunday of the Word of God in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 21, 2024. Vatican Media

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 laypeople 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.

Mass for the Sunday of the Word of God in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 21, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA

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?”

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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 presides over Mass for the Sunday of the Word of God in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 21, 2024. Vatican Media

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.

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.