The Church in Australia celebrates the Sunday of the Word of God on the first Sunday in February. Pope Francis established the day, which is devoted to “the celebration, study and dissemination” of the Word of God.

To respond to the Pope’s call, the Cathedral parish organised some simple initiatives that centred on each of the Sunday Masses at the Cathedral and the Assumption Church. Drawing from the Australian Catholic Bishop’s resources, the Prayer of the Faithful, opening remarks and homilies had a particular focus on the Word of God.

The Gospel procession was extended and a beautifully coloured Book of the Gospels was used in the proclamation of the Gospel.

To support the liturgy, the Cathedral liturgical group in conjunction with the Chancery staff sought to make available the newly printed Bathurst Diocesan Bible to parishioners.
The Bible was an initiative of Bishop McKenna.

Over the weekend 47 bibles were purchased by parishioners. The cost of the Bible was a donation and while the retail cost is usually $20, many people donated a little more than the retail cost. Happily, many other people made a smaller donation or indeed received the Bible for no cost.

The aim of the initiatives over the weekend was to bring to people’s attention the importance, foundational nature and availability of the Word of God. The feedback that was received was that people were keen to engage or re-engage with the Word of God and this was in part facilitated by the availability of a Bible.

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David Nelson
Liturgical Ministries Director (p/t)
Cathedral Parish of Ss Michael and John