New observance should inspire Catholics to take a deeper interest in the Scriptures, Fr. Cassidy says
DETROIT — Catholics going to Mass this Sunday will have all the more reason to ponder the liturgy’s Scripture readings, as Pope Francis has declared the third Sunday of Ordinary Time as “Word of God Sunday.”
The pontiff made the announcement in September 2019 that the special day — Jan. 26 this year — should be devoted to “the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God,” the Vatican said.
The timing puts it around the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul — Jan. 25 — something Fr. Richard Cassidy, a professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, said makes it all the more appropriate.
“St. Paul is the greatest exponent of the word of God after his conversion,” Fr. Cassidy told Detroit Catholic. “He came to proclaim the words of Christ, getting to the heart of Jesus Christ’s message.”
St. Paul’s letters compose the largest single grouping of sacred Scripture in the New Testament, “so what better day to have 'Word of God Sunday' than approximate to the Conversion of St. Paul, the greatest author of sacred Scripture of the New Testament,” Fr. Cassidy said.
Aside from celebrating St. Paul, and the 13 letters he wrote that contribute to the New Testament, Fr. Cassidy said Pope Francis wants Catholics to use the occasion to further reflect on how the Scriptures ground their faith, especially after the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Before Vatican II, the liturgy usually consisted of one reading from one of St. Paul’s epistles before a reading of the Gospel, Fr. Cassidy said. Today, Catholics are familiar with a reading from the Old Testament — or from the Acts of the Apostles during Easter — a reading from the New Testament, and then a reading from the Gospel.
The changes were meant to provide a greater variety and to connect Jesus’ salvation of mankind with the promises explained in the prophesies of the Old Testament, Fr. Cassidy explained.
“Pope Francis wants us to really reflect on the treasure we have,” Fr. Cassidy said. “So as we go through the year, we go through the readings in the Scriptures, but on this Sunday, we especially emphasize the treasure we have.”
Since the Second Vatican Council, Fr. Cassidy said there has been a greater emphasis on studying the Scriptures, something he believes makes the Catholic Church intellectually and spiritually deeper.
“As a professor, I have classes of instruction in the Scriptures with a great variety of seminarians and lay students, so that every single student, lay or clergy, are deeply grounded in the sacred Scriptures,” Fr. Cassidy said. “In another class I teach, on Pauline literature, it’s wonderful to see deacons, candidates for the diaconate, those involved in parish ministry, all studying the letters of Paul, immersed in these letters.”
While Fr. Cassidy hopes “Word of God Sunday” will inspire Catholics to delve into the Bible themselves, he also hopes parishioners will prayerfully consider taking a formal class or study under the guidance of a professor.
“In my opinion, the Church has made great strides in biblical studies with the resources we have, especially around the readings of the Mass,” Fr. Cassidy said. “I don’t advocate Catholics plugging into the Bible without guidance. The book of Amos, for instance, is a very powerful book, but it's complicated, so I don’t advocate diving right into Amos. But with proper study materials, or a course at Sacred Heart with Dr. Peter Williamson (another professor of sacred Scripture) or with the Catholic Biblical School format at parishes around the archdiocese, people can delve into the rich treasures we have in the Scriptures to strengthen and enrich their faith.”
