WORLD COMMUNICATIONS SUNDAY

'You cannot not communicate'. (Paul Watzlawick)

Today the Church invites us to reflect on our deep human need to communicate—we have been entrusted with a message from Christ that, at times, appears counter-cultural. We are called to communicate GOOD news in a media world that seems to want to soak up negativity. We are called to bring good news to people who are confused; we are called to bring good news to situations of fear. We are called to bring the good news of Jesus Christ that welcomes all, and puts no limit on the love of God.

On this Sunday, we find ourselves in this 'waiting time' between the celebration of Ascension and the remembrance of Pentecost. On this day, scripture recalls that the disciples are still in their prayerful lockdown with Mary in the home of Eucharist, the Upper Room. They have to face that Christ has left them to return home; they are naturally scared and grieving as they share another type of Advent-they are once again WAITING in hope! Like many of us today, these disciples are confused and worried about their future; like us, they have to keep up a brave face for the sake of those we live with. Often the tears we shed are tears we cry in silence of our aloneness, as we do not want to upset those we love.

Back in January, Pope Francis introduced the theme for this year on the feast of the patron of journalists, Francis de Sales. This gentle saint, chosen as patron by Don Bosco for the global Salesian family, worked hard, during the trials of the Reformation, to proclaim the truth. For 2023, the Holy Father urges us to reflect on Ephesians 4:15, "Speaking with the heart. "The truth in love".

The call to speak with the heart, radically challenges the times in which we are living, which are so inclined towards indifference and indignation, at times even on the basis of disinformation which falsifies and exploits the truth.

(Pope Francis)

We all have an ultimate desire to communicate and to share our story with those we meet on the journey of life-we are also called to listen to their story too because communication involves a dynamic of sharing, as the Easter Story so vividly reminds us. The paradox of Covid-19 was that communication, for many, actually improved through social media: grandparents were able tell goodnight stories through Zoom. Students and pupils attended their classes and shared their work online. The Parish family were able to gather for virtual Eucharist every Sunday—though we missed that personal reception of the Eucharist. In the lockdown we had to be creative in our desire to tell the story. However, in our new freedom, we can share hands in friendship or offer that hug of all-embracing peace. Therefore, we are to communicate hope to our world where the future of humanity seems bleak, with industrial unrest, recession and unemployment looming. We are to communicate love to a world that displays elements of hatred with war and pettiness. We are to communicate peace to a world in confusion, just as Christ himself communicated it to his disciples, "peace be with you" (John 19, 21). We must communicate unity to a world so divided, as Christ prayed for it, "may they be one," (John 17, 21). We must communicate justice to a world with an unprecedented and scandalous gap between the poor and the rich. We must communicate Eternal Life to a world that reports death, in the Gospel today, Jesus talks of sharing his glory: his words are not of the Cross but of Easter Day.

"Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you" (John 17: 1)

In the waiting of Lent, "glory" is scrubbed from our liturgy so that the splendour of the Easter Vigil hits us even more: the joyous glory of Easter is revealed through flowers, hymns, white and gold vestments that obscure the broken, battered, and bruised Jesus, carrying the Cross to Calvary. However, as the pandemic has very strongly shown us, we cannot achieve glory without pain and hurt-that is the life-giving story that the Pope wants us to share with those we love, even more at this time of crisis. Christian life is not an eternal running through the fields, rich with flowers, singing 'Bind us Together!' I suspect that many of us share the experience and Christian reality of the Jesuit poet, Daniel Berrigan:

"If you want to follow Jesus, you better look good on wood!"

Use these times to share your story; children and grandchildren can learn more from you than an annual subscription to 'Ancestry.com.' You have so much to share, and the world is better for it, as Paul reminds his friends in Corinth:

You are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor 3:3).

In our sharing the lockdown of the disciples, we can become a stronger Church. We build each other up in confidence, trust and faith. Today is a good day to remember all those agencies of our Church that help us to share Good News', especially in an era of 'fake news': notice how politicians can twist truth to match their own agenda. Notice how an event can be manipulated to support the political stance of a media outlet—as the Pope has observed, even so-called Catholic media can push a political line. Thank God for the Salesian Office of Media and Social Communication in our own Province. In his glory, Jesus is our 'way, truth and life' (John 14:6) In his message for today, Pope Francis tells us:

Jesus warns us that every tree is known by its fruit (cf. Lk 6:44): "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (v. 45). This is why, in order to communicate truth with charity, it is necessary to purify one's heart. Only by listening and speaking with a pure heart can we see beyond appearances and overcome the vague din which, also in the field of information, does not help us discern in the complicated world in which we live. The call to speak with the heart radically challenges the times in which we are living, which are so inclined towards indifference and indignation, at times even on the basis of disinformation which falsifies and exploits the truth. (24/01/2023)

So today we have eyes to see the root of injustice in our society and ears to hear the eternal cry of the poor. Pray that we have the courage to bear the weight of those crosses placed upon us as we follow Jesus and may we have the strength and will to take up those crosses that are not ours. Today we are invited to embrace glory—do not be afraid to accept it as it is yours, just for the sharing!

Prayer for World Communications Sunday

O Mary, woman, and mother, you wove the divine Word in your womb, you recounted by your life the magnificent works of God. Listen to our stories, hold them in your heart and make your own the stories that no one wants to hear. Teach us to recognize the good thread that runs through history. Look at the tangled knots in our life that paralyse our memory. By your gentle hands, every knot can be untied. Woman of the Spirit, mother of trust, inspire us too. Help us build stories of peace, stories that point to the future. And show us the way to live them together.

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB

Photo by Nong on Unsplash