Pope Francis through Motu Proprio Apostolic Letter “Aperuit Illis”, published on 30 September 2019, instituted the third Sunday in ordinary time as the “SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD”. The letter reads:

“At the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I proposed setting aside “a Sunday given over entirely to the word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people” (Misericordia et Misera, 7). Devoting a specific Sunday of the liturgical year to the word of God can enable the Church to experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world…

With this Letter, I wish to respond to the many requests I have received from the people of God that the entire Church celebrate, in unity of purpose, a Sunday of the Word of God. It is now common for the Christian community to set aside moments to reflect on the great importance of the word of God for everyday living. The various local Churches have undertaken a wealth of initiatives to make the sacred Scripture more accessible to believers, to increase their gratitude for so great a gift, and to help them to strive daily to embody and bear witness to its teachings…

Consequently, I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God. This Sunday of the Word of God will thus be a fitting part of that time of the year when we are encouraged to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity. This is more than a temporal coincidence: the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God has ecumenical value, since the Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity.”

Responding to this, we in Bhattiprolu, Christ the Redeemer Church, on 26th January celebrated the Sunday of the Word of God. The celebration included Bible Procession, Enthronement of the Holy Bible followed by Holy Eucharist and breaking of the Word, etc. In his homily Fr. Santhosh preached on the importance of the Word of God in our day today life. People who still did not have a Bible had the privilege to get it on the occasion.