Sunday 24th May marks the 54th World Communications Day, on this day we celebrate communications and its role in helping to spread the word of the Gospel and the opportunities that it affords us to do so. This year, His Holiness Pope Francis, writes about storytelling, the theme for this year. Storytelling is an integral part to being human, it allows us to communicate, relate and bond together, share common stories and learn new ones too.
In the words of Pope Francis, “Often on communication platforms, instead of constructive stories which serve to strengthen social ties and the cultural fabric, we find destructive and provocative stories that wear down and break the fragile threads binding us together as a society.”
In this letter, his Pope Francis writes of the positive influences storytelling has on our everyday lives, but also of the exploitation that these messages sometimes carry.
In today’s world where communication continues to become ever so easy with the wide variety of social platforms, we must continue to strive to use it for good, rather than bad. Use your incredible ability to communicate with others to be constructive, respectful and to strengthen bonds with others.
We celebrate the Sacred Scripture on this day and the stories it provides us. The stories of God’s love and creation of humankind. We study these stories to learn of our faith but also of ourselves and who we should be. Stories can be deeper than just words and phrases, they are fundamental to one’s being and who they truly are. We reflect on this as we read Pope Francis’ letter:
“The history of Christ is not a legacy from the past; it is our story, and always timely. It shows us that God was so deeply concerned for mankind, for our flesh and our history, to the point that he became man, flesh and history. It also tells us that no human stories are insignificant or paltry. Since God became story, every human story is, in a certain sense, a divine story. In the history of every person, the Father sees again the story of his Son who came down to earth. Every human story has an irrepressible dignity. Consequently, humanity deserves stories that are worthy of it, worthy of that dizzying and fascinating height to which Jesus elevated it.”
Message of His Holiness Pope Francis, For the 2020 World Communications Day: Click Here
Prayer for Communicators
Lord, let the good news of your marvellous deeds fall on every ear,
And let all tongues rejoice in your wisdom,
Your compassion, your faithfulness,
And your love.
Make me bold and let me share your Word
With those you desire to reach.
As my heart overflows with your love,
Speak through me.
Let me proclaim your glory and your majesty,
And tell of the kindness you have shown your people.
This I ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
