BISHOP KALUMBA LAUNCHES THE DIOCESAN YEAR OF THE WORD OF GOD

Rt. Rev. Valentine Kalumba, OMI, Bishop of Livingstone, today 18^th January 2020, launched the Diocesan Year of the Word of God, whose local Diocesan theme is “Year of the Word of God: Read, Share, Celebrate and Live it”.

At the celebration of the Holy Mass, attended by the Priests, Religious Sisters and the Lay Faithful, the Bishop stated that during the Year of The Word of God, everyone in the Diocese, should spend quality time on the Scriptures. “We need to make a decision about the Word of God preached to us. Make a decision. Let not the Word of God come and it just passes through”.

The Local Ordinary emphasised that the Scripture should permeate every sphere of human life. As such, the Word should impact positively on one’s political life, given that the year 2020 comes before the National General Elections of 2021. “We don’t want to see what happened in Sesheke [Parliamentary Bye-Elections –Political Violence] to happen here in Livingstone. We want you to be united.” He noted that the Catholic Church is made of different members belonging to various political groupings. “Let Christ influence us…..politics has been there, the Church has been there….leave politics aside – In the church we are all Catholics (Christians)”.

The Bishop equally had a message for the Priests, the Ministers of the Word of God in the Diocese, to take seriously the Preaching and Sharing of the Word of God. The Bishop specifically addressed the Priests: “May be we don’t preach well. Preach the Word of God well. Prepare the Word of God. The people of God have the right to listen to a good homily. Let’s not be boring. Be on fire”.

In the meantime, Sr. Ewa Piegdon, SSpS, the Diocesan Bible Ministry Coordinator is highly excited about the launch of the Year of the Word of God in the Diocese. She narrates that the “Year of the Word of God is a very significant event making us all aware of the vital importance of the Word, which is God’s greatest gift, the source of life and means of encountering the Lord in a personal and communal manner.”

To ensure that Scripture takes a priority in people’s lives in the diocese, the respected Sister states that a number of Bible-oriented activities have been lined up in the Diocese. Among them: Making the Bible readily accessible and available, commissioning the Lectors for various Parishes, Enthronement of the Bible in Churches and homes, Regular Bible Workshops for Adults, Youth and Children, Bible quizzes and dramatization of biblical passages and Biblical Programmes on local Radio.

Reflecting on the year ahead, Morris Maliwa, a youth, from St. Francis’ Parish felt encouraged by the message of Aperuit Illis (he opened their minds), by Pope Francis, summarised for the congregration by Fr. Imasiku Ngalama: “The Bible cannot be just the heritage of some, much less a collection of books for the benefit of a privileged few. It belongs above all to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words”. Morris notes the all-inclusiveness of the Word of God. As such, the youths feel not left out in the application of the Word in their daily lives.

For Stella Yambani, a married woman from Our Lady of Angels Parish, the Year of the Word of God, provides an opportunity to read, pray and study the Scriptures in Families. “I will make sure as a family we share the Word of God before we go to bed. I will make sure that my children should be able to live the Word of God, by reading it and acting on it every day”, narrates Stella. Having reflected on the Homily of the Bishop, stella like any other catholic, felt moved, to have the confidence in the Word of God.

The Catholic Church throughout the world celebrates the year of the Word of God, to mark the 10th anniversary of Verbum Domini– Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Exhortation on ‘The Word of the Lord’, and the 1600th anniversary of death of St Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin.

Following this Diocesan launch, all parishes in the Diocese will on Sunday 26^th January, 2020, launch the Year of the Word of God.