The members of the Pauline Family in Manila launched the Month of Word with a 3pm Eucharistic celebration in Our Lady of Sorrows Parish on September 3.
SSP provincial superior, Fr. Joe Aripio, presided the Mass with Fr. Domie Guzman and Fr. Cian Marquez concelebrating.
Present during the opening Mass were the Society of St. Paul, Daughters of St. Paul, Pious Disciples, Pastorelle, aggregate Institute of the Holy Family and Pauline Cooperators.
The month of September has been designated as Month of the Word for the entire Pauline Family as per recommendation by the Superiors General of the five religious institutes of the Pauline Family.
Quoting Pope Francis, the Superiors General stressed the significance of celebrating the Word of God in our life and of making its message known to everyone.
“It would be beneficial if every Christian community, on one Sunday of the Liturgical year, could renew its efforts to make the Sacred Scriptures better known and more widely diffused. It would be 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. Creative initiatives can help make this an opportunity for the faithful to become living vessels for the transmission of God’s word. Initiatives of this sort would certainly include the practice of lectio divina, so that the prayerful reading of the sacred text will help support and strengthen the spiritual life…” (7 MM).
The Bible is the precious heritage that the founder, Blessed James Alberione, had given to the members of the Pauline Family. He stressed that the word of God must be disseminated to everyone in whatever means possible –whether “through film or print, through radio or records…or other forms” that modern technology provides.
Various initiatives to mark the event have been lined up in various regions across the country where members of the Pauline Family are present.
The celebration of Month of the Word will culminate on September 24 with a Mass in the Sanctuary of St. Paul at the SSP compound in Makati.
