Proclaim Good News to the Poor
This week, Pope Francis speaking to Church communications professionals emphasized the need for a human-centered approach to communication, especially in spreading the Gospel.
He reflected on the concept of ‘networking’ harkening it back to the biblical imagery of Jesus’ call to Peter to ‘become a fisher of men.’ He said that responding to Jesus’ invitation requires ‘skills, knowledge, and resources’ to build a network that can provide information that frees people from ‘the sea of despair and disinformation.’
‘Let us think of how much we could accomplish together — thanks to the new tools of the digital era and to artificial intelligence — if instead of turning technology into an idol, we were more committed to networking,’ the pope said.
When I read this, I felt a deep sense of comfort and assurance, as I believe, this is what I am trying to accomplish with this humble newsletter. And you, my friends, are part of the network. How can we do this together? How can we use this humble newsletter to ‘free persons from the sea of despair and disinformation?’
I believe the pope captured the meaning of the line from this week’s Gospel Luke 4:14-21 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anoited me to proclaim good news to the poor.’ The good news to the poor is to free them from the sea of despair and disinformation.
This encouragement from the pope has given me a new drive. It has also challenged me to a mission ‘free persons from the sea of despair and disinformation.’ I must write in a way to engender hope. I must also be brave enough to challenge disinformation.
As I reflected on his line I thought of everday persons who struggle to make ends meet, those dealing with loss of loved ones and broken relationships, those dealing with anxiety on the way forward, persons caught up in addiction - as a network of fisher folk we are called to help them recognize that Jesus is walking with us and giving us the grace to be pilgrims of hope.
Friends, I encourage you to join me in this anointed endeavour. Let us accept Pope Francis’ challenge. You can do this by sharing the publication to your network, you can also adapt the message to your own style and give it your personality, you can speak the message to family members, co-workers and friends.
I hope to expand the content and the network. I have already added:
The pastoral website
The audio podcast
The weekly publication on Creating a Prayerful Sustainable Hygge Home
I am also hoping to find an entertaining way to use video.
The pope also spoke of having resources. I thank my paid subscribers. However, at present this is not enough to fund maintenance, growth and new communication tools like video. I appeal to the entire network, to try and help me source funds. They are used solely for the growth of the ministry.