"Say the Word and My Soul Shall be Healed"

Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. This year, the Church will celebrate Catechetical Sunday on September 19, 2021, and the theme is: “Say the Word and My Soul Shall be Healed." Those who the parish community has designated to serve as catechists will be called forth to be commissioned for their ministry.

These online resources are offered free of charge to all interested individuals and to serve the needs of diocesan leaders. Many of the resources are also of interest to parish catechetical leaders and catechists, youth and young adults’ ministers, Catholic school principals and teachers, as well as other individuals who provide faith formation to diverse age groups and settings.

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September 19, 2021

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Green Vestments
Readings: Wis 2:12, 17-20; Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8; Jas 3:16—4:3; Cf. 2 Thes 2:14; Mk 9:30-37
Theme: Say the Word and My Soul Shall be Healed
Spanish: Una Palabra Tuya Bastará para Sanarme
Vietnamese: Xin Chúa phán một lời, thì linh hồn con sẽ được lành mạnh
Tagalog: Sabihin po lamang ninyo at gagaling na ako

Catechesis of the Image

Christ Healing the Blind, ca. 1570

This image by the famed artist, El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), illustrates the Gospel account of Christ healing a blind man by anointing his eyes.

The past year has highlighted the urgent need for healing--physical, spiritual, emotional--in ourselves and in our world. As our world struggles to heal, complete healing is not possible without Jesus as the Divine Physician. When our souls heal, all heals, despite our suffering.

The words we pray at Mass, “Say the Word and My Soul Shall be Healed”, have the power to remind us of, to open our eyes to, the healing that Jesus offers us in the Eucharist which is essential, eternal, and ever open to us. We humbly ask him to say the word, and with that prayer, we have faith that, with the fantastic and improbable prospect of Jesus entering under our roof, our souls shall be healed.