7 Ideas for Celebrating the Word of God in the New Year

Photo Credit: Aaron Burden

In his recent Apostolic letter Aperuit Illis, Pope Francis established the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time as the Sunday of the Word of God. As we celebrate the inaugural feast on January 26, here are a few ways to follow Pope Francis’ call to make Scripture a part of everyday life throughout the new year. 

1. Become more in tune with the lectionary. This liturgical year, the Church focuses our attention on the Gospel of Matthew. In God with Us: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, popular Catholic speaker and author Edward Sri offers an accessible, engaging Bible study on the Gospel of Matthew. You’ll grasp the important themes of the Gospel with helpful review questions for personal and group study. 
2. Prepare for Sunday Mass by reading the Gospel beforehand. Leroy Huizenga’s Behold the Christ: Proclaiming the Gospel of Matthew will help you key into the lectionary and meditate more deeply on Scripture. Structured for easy navigation to each Sunday’s reading and a short reflection, the Bible will come to life for you like never before.  
3. Discover where we got the Bible and meet the people who defended the Gospel it conveys. In our newest study, The Bible and the Church Fathers, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how the Bible took form and how to read it in relationship to Tradition and, in particular, the Sacraments. 
4. Grow closer to the Eucharist with the Word of God. The home of the Bible is the liturgy, and the heart of the liturgy is the Eucharist. Draw near to the Blessed Sacrament with The Eucharist in Scripture, a six-lesson Bible study hosted by Scott Hahn. 
5. Do a group Bible study for Lent. The Word is living and effective—and there’s no better way to bring this truth to life than by sharing it with friends. Get a group of friends together to read the Bible. Think about offering your home or your talents, or if you already have a group, suggest one of our Journey Through Scripture series for your next study: The Bible and the Church Fathers, The Eucharist in Scripture, Genesis to Jesus, The Bible and the Virgin Mary, and The Bible and the Sacraments.  
6. Help your priest focus more on preaching the Word of God. Priests are so often bogged down by a million tasks that they can’t devote as much time as they’d like to homily preparation and personal study. Send them on retreat with the Catholic world’s top Scripture scholars and theologians at a St. Paul Center Priest Conference. Registration is now open for the 2020 Priest Conference East and 2021 Priest Conference West. 
7. Invite Scott Hahn to speak at your parish. Dr. Hahn travels the country offering day-long conferences focused on bringing Scripture into our daily lives. See if he’s speaking near you or invite him to your parish.