To be “pilgrims of hope” we need to communicate the Gospel of Christ through our words and actions. Communication is about bringing people together on a shared journey through stories and images that connect us. Communication is also about giving voice to the voiceless on the outskirts of humankind. Through truth- filled messages, we can build a more just and peaceful world and uphold the dignity of all people.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
Through the gentle spirit of St Francis de Sales, inspire us to communicate with love and hope. Help us to speak truthfully, listen attentively, and respond with compassion. May our words reflect Your grace and bring peace to our hearts and those around us. Strengthen our resolve to build bridges of understanding and to spread Your love through our words and deeds.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
TEACHING
From Pope Francis’ Message for the 57th World Day of Social Communications (2023):
“A brilliant intellectual, fruitful writer and profound theologian, Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva at the beginning of the XVII century during difficult years marked by heated disputes with Calvinists. His meek attitude, humanity and willingness to dialogue patiently with everyone, especially with those who disagreed with him, made him an extraordinary witness of God’s merciful love. One could say about him: “A pleasant voice multiplies friends, and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies” ( Sir 6:5). After all, one of his most famous statements, “heart speaks to heart”, inspired generations of faithful, among them Saint John Henry Newman, who chose it as his motto, Cor ad cor loquitur. One of his convictions was, “In order to speak well, it is enough to love well”. It shows that for him communication should never be reduced to something artificial, to a marketing strategy, as we might say nowadays, but is rather a reflection of the soul, the visible surface of a nucleus of love that is invisible to the eye.
“It is from this “criterion of love” that, through his writings and witness of life, the saintly Bishop of Geneva reminds us that “we are what we communicate”. This goes against the grain today, at a time when — as we experience especially on social media — communication is often exploited so that the world may see us as we would like to be and not as we are.
“May people who work in communications feel inspired by this saint of tenderness, seeking and telling the truth with courage and freedom and rejecting the temptation to use sensational and combative expressions.”
From Pope Francis’ Message for the 51st World Communications Day (2017):
“In Christ, even darkness and death become a point of encounter with Light and Life. Hope is born, a hope accessible to everyone, at the very crossroads where life meets the bitterness of failure. That hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5) and makes new life blossom, like a shoot that springs up from the fallen seed.
Seen in this light, every new tragedy that occurs in the world’s history can also become a setting for good news, inasmuch as love can find a way to draw near and to raise up sympathetic hearts, resolute faces and hands ready to build anew.
“The Spirit continues to sow in us a desire for the Kingdom, thanks to all those who, drawing inspiration from the Good News amid the dramatic events of our time, shine like beacons in the darkness of this world, shedding light along the way and opening ever new paths of confidence and hope.”
TESTIMONY
“I have been a journalist for 34 years. As a teenager I wanted to be a news reporter, having watched the likes of the late George Negus and Laurie Oakes on TV and read Michelle Grattan’s insightful stories in newspapers. I had the good fortune of getting a regional newspaper cadetship straight out of my journalism studies at the Queensland University of Technology. Working on a regional paper taught me about the role of communication in nurturing community life. Our newspaper not only reported on crime and politics, but more importantly got behind community festivals, arts events, sports activities, schools,
charities, environmental programs and economic development. It helped locals tell their stories to each other and in doing so produce the “first rough draft” of their local history. Having worked in media for the Anglican and Catholic churches, I can see the value of communication in building communities of faith across parishes, dioceses and organisations. I would encourage you to share your compelling, humorous, life-affirming and challenging stories with your parish and diocesan news editors and affirm the vocation of communicators in your midst.”
– Paul Osborne, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Media and Communications Director.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
For all who work in the field of communication – journalists, broadcasters, writers and public relations professionals – that they always seek to inform with wisdom and integrity.
We pray to the Lord.
For children, that they develop the skills to see through untruthful communication and embrace those words and images which give them hope, enlighten them and enhance the dignity of all.
We pray to the Lord.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
World Communication Day Messages Australasian Catholic Press Association
St. Francis de Sales – Saints & Angels – Catholic Online
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