Communicators of Hope

In most countries, World Communication Day is usually celebrated on Ascension Sunday or sometime in the second half of the month of May. However, in other countries, the National Bishop’s Conference can set a date other than May when it is usually celebrated by the Church, or leave the diocese to determine the month when to celebrate this annual event.

For pastoral reasons, the Archdiocese of Davao opted to celebrate World Communication Day sometime in mid-August.

Although, the Archdiocese’s celebration of World Communication Day is still in August, I thought I should not pass this opportunity to write something about it, at least to set the tone and to remind us also that we will be celebrating this event two months from now.

This year’s theme is Sustained by the Spirit, Communicate hope - which also echoes the Church’s preparation on the great jubilee – this year being dedicated to the Holy Spirit.

The Pope affirms that “Christian communicators will communicate hope credibly if they first experience hope in their own lives, and this will happen only if they are men and women of prayer.”

The experiential approach in communicating Christian values proves to be a very effective way of reaching out to people. We cannot communicate something we do not believe in, or something we do not possess in ourselves. Even if we succeeded in doing so, we know we sounded hollow even to our own ears.

We can only be effective communicators when we allow the Spirit to lead us and take hold of our lives. The environment we live in is constantly changing; the means of communication is continuously evolving. Though the Gospel remains the same, its manner of proclamation should go with the changes of the times.

The message of the Holy Father is a challenge for us Christian communicators to make us even more aware and committed to this great responsibility entrusted on us.

When we speak of communication, we cannot but speak also of media, since media are means used in communication supposedly meant to enrich our lives and bridge the gap that divide us from other people. However, we are also conscious of the fact that it is not always so. Media oftentimes isolate and manipulate us and promote in us a culture of consumption and waste.

Again, the challenge is ours. In the hands of a Christian communicator, media are effective and necessary means to make the Good News more alive and appealing to people.

As the Holy Father further stressed, “it is the task of communication to bring people together and enrich their lives, not to isolate or exploit them. The means of social communication, properly used, can help to create and sustain a human community based on justice and charity; and, in so far as they do that, they will be signs of hope.”