The chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Social Communications of the Philippine bishops’ conference called on the faithful to “open their hearts and minds to the Lord” and to share the Good News.
“We are purveyors of the message of God, we are the preachers of Good News. So, on World Communications Day, I hope that one, you open yourself to the spirit of God; two, you begin to preach the Good News of God,” said Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr..
Ahead of the 57th World Day of Social Communications celebration on May 21, the bishop reminded baptized Christians that it is their duty to proclaim and introduce Jesus to all corners, especially to those who have no faith.
The theme for this year’s celebration — “Speaking with the Heart” — is inspired by the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, emphasizing the need for missionaries to speak from the heart to infuse the spirit of Christ’s love into the community.
Bishop Maralit acknowledged the challenges society faces in the field of communication.
“If we look deeply into what we have now, the world is so divided, communication has lost heart, it has lost faith, so what we are doing in the social communications ministry is an act of evangelization, truly bringing God back to communication,” said the bishop.
He appealed to the faithful to be vigilant in sharing any form of information on social media and to reflect on whether it aligns with Jesus’ mission of spreading the truth.
“Use whatever means of communications are available to us for good, and I believe that is what the intentions of the World Communications Day are, for all of us Catholics and believers, that we are all called to preach the good news of God,” said Bishop Maralit.
In his message for this year’s celebration, Pope Francis challenged the faithful to listen to every member of the community, as through communication, the Church is united in its journey.
