Preach the Gospel from the Housetops

On the occasion of the 35th World Communications Day, The Holy Father gave the following message with the theme: Preach from the Housetops: the Gospel in the Age of Global Communication.com

The theme which i have chosen for World Communication Day 2001 echoes the words of Jesus himself. It could not be otherwise, for it is Christ alone whom we preach. We remember his words to his first disciples: “What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops” (Mt. 10:27). In the secret of our heart, we have listened to the truth of Jesus; now we


must proclaim that the truth from the housetops.

In today’s world, housetops are almost always marked by a forest of transmitters and antennae sending and receiving messages of every kind to and from the four corners of the earth. It is vitally important to ensure that among these messages the word of God is heard. To proclaim the faith from the housetops today means to speak Jesus’ word in and through the dynamic world of communications.

In all cultures and at all times – certainly in the midst of today’s global transformations – people ask the same basic questions about the meaning of life: Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after life? (cf. Fides et Ratio 1). And every age the Church offers the one ultimately satisfying answer to the deepest questions of the human heart – Jesus Christ himself, “who fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his high calling” (Gaudium et Spes, 22)

Therefore, the voice of Christians can never fall silent, for the Lord has entrusted to us the world of salvation for which every human hearts longs. The Gospel offers the pearl of great price for which all are searching (cf. Mt. 13:45-46). It follows that the Church cannot fail to be ever more deeply involved in the burgeoning world of communications. The global communications network is extending and growing more complex by the day, and the media are having an increasing visible effect on culture and its transmission.

Thus, the relationship between reality and the media has grown more intricate, and this is a deeply ambivalent phenomenon. On the one hand, it can blur the distinction between the truth and illusion; but on the other hand, it can open up unprecedented opportunities for making the truth more widely accessible to many more people. The task of the Church it to ensure that is the latter which actually happens.

The world of the media can sometimes seem indifferent and even hostile to Christian faith and morality. This is partly because media culture is so deeply imbued with a typically postmodern sense that the only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths or that, if there were, they would be inaccessible to human reason and therefore irrelevant.

In such view, what matters is not the truth but “the story”; if something is newsworthy or entertaining, the temptations to set aside considerations of truth becomes almost irresistible. As a result, the world of the media can sometimes seem no more friendly an environment for evangelization than the pagan world of the Apostles’ day. But just as the early witnesses to the Good News did not retreat when faced with opposition, neither should Christ’s followers do so today. The cry of St. Paul echoes among us still: :Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).

Yet, as much as the world of the media may at times seem at odds with the Christian message, it also offers unique opportunities for proclaiming the saving truth of Christ to the whole human family. Consider, for instance, satellite telecast of religious ceremonies which often reach a global audience, or the positive capacities of the Internet to carry religious information and teaching beyond all barriers and frontiers. Such a wide audience would have been the wildest imaginings of those who preached the Gospel before us.

What is therefore needed in our time is an active and imaginative engagement of the media by the Church. Catholics should not be afraid to throw open the doors of social communications to Christs, so that his Good News may be heard from the housetops of the world!

It is vital too that at the beginning of this new millennium we keep in mind the mission ad gentes which Christians entrusted to the Church. An estimated two thirds of the world’s six billion people do not in any real sense know Jesus Christ; and many of them live in countries with ancient Christian roots, where entire groups of the baptized have lost a living sense of the faith, or no longer consider themselves members of the Church and live lives far removed from the Lord and his Gospel (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 33)

Certainly, an effective response to this situation involves much more than media’ but in striving to meet the challenge Christians cannot possibly ignore the world of social communications. Indeed, media of every kind can play an essential role in direct evangelization in the media is in fact an important aspect of the inculturation of the Gospel demanded by the new evangelization to which the Holy Spirit is summoning the Church throughout the world.

As the whole Church seeks to heed the Spirit’s call, Christian communication have “a prophetic task, a vocation: to speak out against the false gods and idols of the day – materialism, hedonism, consumerism, narrow nationalism…” (Ethics in Communications, 31). Above all, they have the duty and privilege to declare the truth – the glorious truth about human life and human destiny revealed in the Word made flesh.

May Catholics involved in the world of social communications preach the truth of Jesus ever more boldly and joyfully from the housetops, so that all men and women may hear about the love which is the heart of God’s self communication in Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, and today, and for ever (cf. Heb 13:8).

*Anna Bagadiong, FSP*

The ABC’s of E-mail

What is e-mail

E-mail is a shortcut expression for “electronic mail.” It is defined as sending and receiving messages through a computer work. It is different from sending and receiving messages through verbal means (direct, or speaking on the telephone) or other means such as writing or typing letters and sending them through the post office, or sending telegrams or faxes. Sending through the post-office is now called “snail mail” because it is much slower.

What is needed for it to work?

You need :- a computer, a phone line, a modem, a network connection.

A modem is short for “modulator-demodulator,” a box like device connected to the computer and to a telephone line, that allows computers to communicate with one another, the faster the speed of the modem to transmit data through telephone lines, the better and more efficient the process of communication.

A ‘network connection’ means a group of connected computers that allows people to share information and equipment. It makes possible you insertion into the World Wide Web.

What is World Wide Web (WWW) is the fastest-growing and more user-friendly section of the Internet that lets you access text, graphics, sound, and even video through your computer. The network involves two things:

1 – The service provider or server: a company that connects individuals and business to the Internet for a fee. It is also called Internet Service Provider. One example of service provider is Skynet.net.

2 – the browser: software actually used to explore (or surf) the World Wide Web once you have accessed it. A server is likened to the key that lets you inside a house, and a browser is like the guide that, once you are inside the house, helps you to explore the various rooms.

What is an e-mail address?

An e-mail address identifies you as a user of e-mail, and it is what people use to send their mail to you. When you sign up for e-mail, you choose you e-mail address.

How does it work?

Assemble the necessary equipment. Choose your server and pay the required fee to be enrolled as a user. Choose also you browser. Apply for e-mail; take advantage of free e-mail offers. Supply the necessary information to enroll; choose your e-mail address and your password which assures privacy in your electronic correspondence.

When you are ready to send e-mail, ask someone who already is knowledgeable to guide you step by step in the process.

When people write you e-mails, their letters are stored in a mailbox which you should regularly open to see who has written you. By: M. Veritas Grau, FSP

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