On August 6, 1965, the Beatles released an unexpectedly honest cry to the world: Help. John Lennon confessed that the song was a real release, almost an involuntary prayer amid overwhelming fame. Curiously, today—when “public life” seems to be both a universal stage and a small window open on our social media—that same cry continues to resonate. Help could be the soundtrack for so many who seek meaning, emotional stability, authentic connections, or simply a place to breathe. And although none of us are John Lennon, we all carry within us some silent cry for help.
Perhaps that is why we begin this month aware of our own spiritual hunger and thirst. We live at such a dizzying pace that prayer sometimes seems like a marathon. And yet we need it deeply. Sometimes we rely on ancient prayers that have accompanied generations, we participate in the liturgy that nourishes the People of God, we spread beloved devotions… All of this helps, but nothing replaces a direct encounter with the Gospel, with the living Word of Jesus. Prayer with the Word of God strengthens our faith, gives us criteria for understanding life, and creates among us a communion that is not born of abstract ideas, but of a revealed testimony that we share. And, as God always does, that encounter propels us beyond ourselves: toward the real world, especially toward those who need us most.
And here the story takes a curious turn. Because just three months after that Help, on November 18, 1965, the Second Vatican Council promulgated the Constitution Dei Verbum. In it we find, almost as a theological response to the song, a luminous certainty: Sacred Scripture contains God’s answer to humanity’s deepest thirst. The Word is not a message lost in time; it is living water that continues to descend upon the earth of the heart, as the prophets describe. That the Word has been definitively revealed to us in Jesus does not mean that we have already fully embraced it. That is why we still live with fear, injustice, and death. The water has already fallen from the sky, but it is still penetrating the earth. And yet, every time we welcome it, we experience God’s surprise: in the concrete face of Jesus, the Father shows his work and entrusts us with his Spirit to renew the world. The Word is alive, in action—and we are part of this process of welcoming.
It is in this context that the Pope’s intention for January 2026 arrives: “Let us pray that prayer with the Word of God may be nourishment in our lives and a source of hope in our communities, helping us to build a more fraternal and missionary Church.”
Rather than adding a new task to our monthly schedule, this intention invites us to walk with the Word as an indispensable companion in our prayer. The Church has always insisted that Christians should have broad access to Scripture—not only for intellectual knowledge, but so that the Word may be welcomed into life, woven into ecclesial communion, and a source of daily discernment. For Christian truth is not imposed as a finished formula: it is renewed each day in the silence of prayer with the Scriptures.
This calls for a simple and renewed attitude: listening to God in order to live better. Let not a day go by without listening to the Word. Let that Word become action. Because the Word prayed illuminates, transforms, warms the heart, and gently impels us to mission.
To live this intention, we propose five concrete paths—simple, practicable, and deeply fruitful:
- Make daily contact with the Scripture: read a short passage from the Gospel each day and keep a phrase to repeat throughout the day.
- Dedicate one day a week to praying with the Gospel: read, meditate, pray, and contemplate a biblical text without rushing.
- Let the Scriptures accompany you at work or school: choose a phrase that will enlighten your decisions.
- Share the Word with your family or community: set aside a moment for a biblical phrase or reflection.
- Transform the Word into concrete actions: let prayer become life: comfort, listen, serve.
May the Word be, this month, the water that descends and finds space to fertilize our land—and may our small help always find a response in the God who speaks and remains.