Taken from the Vatican website News.va here
Pope Benedict XVIth has released his message for the 46th World Day of
Social Communications which falls on May 20th today, in fitting with the feast of St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of Christian writers and journalists.
The theme he has chosen
this year is "Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization".
See my earlier post on this here .
See my earlier post on this here .
As we draw near to World Communications Day 2012, I would like to share with you some reflections concerning an aspect of the human process of communication which, despite its importance, is often overlooked and which, at the present time, it would seem especially necessary to recall.
It concerns the relationship between silence and word: two
aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate
and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep
closeness between people are to be achieved.
When word and silence
become mutually exclusive, communication breaks down, either because it
gives rise to confusion or because, on the contrary, it creates an
atmosphere of coldness; when they complement one another, however,
communication acquires value and meaning.
Silence is an integral element of communication; in its absence, words rich in content cannot exist. In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others; and we choose how to express ourselves.
By remaining silent we
allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself; and we avoid
being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being
adequately tested. In this way, space is created for mutual listening,
and deeper human relationships become possible.
It is often in silence,
for example, that we observe the most authentic communication taking
place between people who are in love: gestures, facial expressions and
body language are signs by which they reveal themselves to each other.
Joy, anxiety, and suffering can all be communicated in silence – indeed
it provides them with a particularly powerful mode of expression.
Silence, then, gives rise to even more active communication, requiring
sensitivity and a capacity to listen that often makes manifest the true
measure and nature of the relationships involved.
When messages and
information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to
distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary.
Deeper reflection helps us to discover the links between events that at
first sight seem unconnected, to make evaluations, to analyze messages;
this makes it possible to share thoughtful and relevant opinions, giving
rise to an authentic body of shared knowledge.
For this to happen, it
is necessary to develop an appropriate environment, a kind of
‘eco-system’ that maintains a just equilibrium between silence, words,
images and sounds.
The process of communication nowadays is largely fuelled by questions in search of answers. Search engines and social networks have become the starting point of communication for many people who are seeking advice, ideas, information and answers.
In our time,
the internet is becoming ever more a forum for questions and answers –
indeed, people today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions
they have never asked and to needs of which they were unaware.
If we
are to recognize and focus upon the truly important questions, then
silence is a precious commodity that enables us to exercise proper
discernment in the face of the surcharge of stimuli and data that we
receive.
Amid the complexity and diversity of the world of
communications, however, many people find themselves confronted with the
ultimate questions of human existence: Who am I? What can I know? What
ought I to do? What may I hope?
It is important to affirm those who ask
these questions, and to open up the possibility of a profound dialogue,
by means of words and interchange, but also through the call to silent
reflection, something that is often more eloquent than a hasty answer
and permits seekers to reach into the depths of their being and open
themselves to the path towards knowledge that God has inscribed in human
hearts.
Ultimately, this constant flow of questions demonstrates the restlessness of human beings, ceaselessly searching for truths, of greater or lesser import, that can offer meaning and hope to their lives. Men and women cannot rest content with a superficial and unquestioning exchange of skeptical opinions and experiences of life – all of us are in search of truth and we share this profound yearning today more than ever: “When people exchange information, they are already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals” (Message for the 2011 World Day of Communications).
Attention should be paid to the various types of websites, applications and social networks which can help people today to find time for reflection and authentic questioning, as well as making space for silence and occasions for prayer, meditation or sharing of the word of God.
In
concise phrases, often no longer than a verse from the Bible, profound
thoughts can be communicated, as long as those taking part in the
conversation do not neglect to cultivate their own inner lives.
It is
hardly surprising that different religious traditions consider solitude
and silence as privileged states which help people to rediscover
themselves and that Truth which gives meaning to all things.
The God of
biblical revelation speaks also without words: “As the Cross of Christ
demonstrates, God also speaks by his silence. The silence of God, the
experience of the distance of the almighty Father, is a decisive stage
in the earthly journey of the Son of God, the incarnate Word …. God’s
silence prolongs his earlier words.
In these moments of darkness, he
speaks through the mystery of his silence” (Verbum Domini, 21). The
eloquence of God’s love, lived to the point of the supreme gift, speaks
in the silence of the Cross.
After Christ’s death there is a great
silence over the earth, and on Holy Saturday, when “the King sleeps and
God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the
ages” (cf. Office of Readings, Holy Saturday), God’s voice resounds,
filled with love for humanity.
If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God. “We need that silence which becomes contemplation, which introduces us into God’s silence and brings us to the point where the Word, the redeeming Word, is born” (Homily, Eucharistic Celebration with Members of the International Theological Commission, 6 October 2006).
In speaking of God’s grandeur, our language will always prove inadequate
and must make space for silent contemplation.
Out of such
contemplation springs forth, with all its inner power, the urgent sense
of mission, the compelling obligation “to communicate that which we have
seen and heard” so that all may be in communion with God (1 Jn 1:3).
Silent contemplation immerses us in the source of that Love who directs
us towards our neighbours so that we may feel their suffering and offer
them the light of Christ, his message of life and his saving gift of the
fullness of love.
In silent contemplation, then, the eternal Word, through whom the world was created, becomes ever more powerfully present and we become aware of the plan of salvation that God is accomplishing throughout our history by word and deed. As the Second Vatican Council reminds us, divine revelation is fulfilled by “deeds and words having an inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them” (Dei Verbum, 2).
This plan of salvation culminates in the person
of Jesus of Nazareth, the mediator and the fullness of all revelation.
He has made known to us the true face of God the Father and by his Cross
and Resurrection has brought us from the slavery of sin and death to
the freedom of the children of God.
The fundamental question of the
meaning of human existence finds in the mystery of Christ an answer
capable of bringing peace to the restless human heart.
The Church’s
mission springs from this mystery; and it is this mystery which impels
Christians to become heralds of hope and salvation, witnesses of that
love which promotes human dignity and builds justice and peace.
Word and silence: learning to communicate is learning to listen and contemplate as well as speak. This is especially important for those engaged in the task of evangelization: both silence and word are essential elements, integral to the Church’s work of communication for the sake of a renewed proclamation of Christ in today’s world.
To Mary,
whose silence “listens to the Word and causes it to blossom” (Private
Prayer at the Holy House, Loreto, 1 September 2007), I entrust all the
work of evangelization which the Church undertakes through the means of
social communication.
From the Vatican, 24 January 2012, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales
Benedictus PP XVI
From the Vatican, 24 January 2012, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales
Benedictus PP XVI
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