Sunday of the Word of God 2026

The Sunday of the Word of God is a profoundly pastoral initiative to make it clear how important it is in the daily life of the Church and our communities to refer to the Word of God, a Word that is not confined to a book, but which remains ever alive and becomes a concrete and tangible sign.

The biblical expression chosen for the celebration of the seventh edition of the Sunday of the Word of God is taken from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians: “The word of Christ dwells among you” (3:16).

This Pastoral Handbook is intended to help and be offered to parish communities and those gathered for Sunday’s Eucharistic celebration, so that this Sunday may be resolutely lived.

Contents:

  • – Introduction, H.E. Archbishop Rino Fisichella
  • – The Word of God: A Source of Hope,
    Dom Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori OCist
  • – Pastoral Proposals
  • – Biblical Adoration
  • – Outline for the Eucharistic Celebration

INTRODUCTION

Archbishop Rino Fisichella
Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization

The biblical expression chosen for the celebration of the seventh edition of the Sunday of the Word of God is taken from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians: “The word of Christ dwells among you” (3:16). What we have received from the Apostle is not a simple moral exhortation, but the indication of a new way of living. Paul does not ask that the Word be merely listened to or studied; he wants it to dwel, that is, to take up stable residence, to shape our thoughts, guide our desires, and make credible the witness of the disciples. The Word of Christ remains a sure criterion that unifies and renders fruitful the life of the Christian community.

After the Holy Year, this motto remains for us a precious inheritance: an invitation addressed to the whole Church to place the Gospel once more at the centre, since every true renewal is born from docile listening to the Word. To welcome it means alowing ourselves to be accompanied by the One who does not deceive, because He gives life and hope. To be inhabited by the Word ultimately means permitting Christ to speak even today through our lives, so that every person may recognize His presence, which continues to iluminate the journey of history.

Every Christian and every community must rediscover the primacy of the Word of God. Its sincere and profound listening is an essential path through which human beings encounter God. When space is given to the Word, each person discovers that the Word of God dwels in the heart like a seed that, in due time, sprouts and bears fruit. Indeed, al of us are invited to nourish ourselves with the daily bread of the Word and, afterwards, to proclaim it to our brothers and sisters, for proclamation flows from the abundance of the heart, according to the Gospel saying: “from the fu lness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt 12:34; Lk 6:45).

It is particularly significant that this year the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God coincides with the celebration of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the day that concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Word that Christ addressed to Paul on the road to Damascus struck his heart so deeply that it made him the great evangelizer we know. Today it is up to us to ensure that the same Word reaches the ends of the earth, so as to transform the life of al peoples by dweling among us.