The Holy See Calls Bloggers to Rome the Day after the Beatification of John Paul II

Using these technologies we are called to do 'marvelous things' for the Lord and His Church

How fitting that Blessed John Paul II's last letter was on the new communications technologies.  The scheduling of this gathering of bloggers the day after the beatification of Blessed John Paul II is a sign that Blessed John Paul II is still at work, from his place in the heart of the eternal communion of love. 

P>VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - On May 1, 2011, the Venerable John Paul II will be raised to the altar. The day after, the  Pontifical Councils for Culture and Social Communications have issued a summons to bloggers the world over to gather in Rome. The Press release explains the purpose of the gathering:

"The aim of the meeting. is to allow for a dialogue between bloggers and Church representatives, to listen to the experiences of those who are actively involved in this arena, and to achieve a greater understanding of the needs of that community. The meeting will also allow for a presentation of some of the initiatives to engage with new media practitioners being taken by the Church, both in Rome and at the local level.. The meeting is taking place on the day after the Beatification of Pope John Paul II in order to take advantage of the likely presence in Rome of many bloggers."

The last apostolic letter of John Paul II was released on February 22, 2005 and  entitled "The Rapid Development" In it he wrote, "Do not be afraid of new technologies! These rank "among the marvelous things" -- "inter mirifica" -- which God has placed at our disposal to discover, to use and to make known the truth, also the truth about our dignity and about our destiny as his children, heirs of his eternal Kingdom." It was addressed to "those responsible for Communications" and to all the faithful. 

As millions were praying for his recovery he was becoming his message. His last days were a prophetic sign that God's power is still, in the words of the Apostle Paul "made perfect in weakness." That elderly, wise, disabled frail giant, poured himself out for the Lord and His Church to the very end. That end became a beginning of a new way of serving the mission. In his last formal writing he revealed the beating of his holy heart for the "New Evangelization." In the closing of the letter he used the words with which he began his service to the Church and the world into which she has been sent to continue the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ; "Be Not Afraid!"

He pointed to one of his earlier encyclical letters "The Mission of the Redeemer", wherein he referred to the world of communications as one of the "Aereopagi" of modern culture. The "Aereopagus" was a public square in Athens where the ancient of Greece would discuss the weightier issues of the day with the goal of discovering the truth. St. Paul discoursed with these Greeks (See, Acts 17) in a now famous example of how Christians are sent into every culture to engage the age with eternal truth through dialogue. Pope John Paul II, faithful to his namesake, the Apostle Paul, was positioning the media and the new communication technologies as an opportunity for believers of our age, to do just that.and a whole lot more.

Noting that this letter was written "more than forty years after fruitful progress in the wake of the Decree "Inter Mirifica"", the groundbreaking Decree of the Second Vatican Council on Social Communications, he concluded by playing upon the literal translation of the Latin Title of that Decree promulgated by Pope Paul VI. "Inter Mirifica" means "Marvelous Things!" He was not afraid of the internet or the growing integrated media platform which it has opened. He saw these communications technologies as "marvelous things" to be used for the mission of the Church.

Never before have we been able to send the liberating message of the Gospel and the beauty of the treasury of Catholic Christian teaching throughout the whole world in "real time." John Paul wrote: "the Church is not only called upon to use the mass media to spread the Gospel but, today more than ever, to integrate the message of salvation into the "new culture" that these powerful means of communication create and amplify. It tells us that the use of the techniques and the technologies of contemporary communications is an integral part of its mission in the third millennium." (par.2)

The first part of the letter deals with the need for the conversion of the medium by the message. There is no doubt that the potential presented by these new technologies can be used for good or for evil. That is where our capacity for freedom is so integral to the task. This medium will be used as a tool by human persons. It will either be used by those who proclaim the liberating truth of the Gospel or those who use it to enslave others in the chains of sin and the delusion of evil. The choice is ours. The Pope wrote:

"The world of mass media also has need of Christ's redemption. To analyze with the eyes of faith the processes and value of communications, the deeper appreciation of Sacred Scripture can undoubtedly help as a "great code" of communication of a message which is not ephemeral, but fundamental for its saving value. Salvation History recounts and documents the communication of God with man, a communication which uses all forms and ways of communicating. The human being is created in the image and likeness of God in order to embrace divine revelation and to enter into loving dialogue with Him.

"Because of sin, this capacity for dialogue at both the personal and social level has been altered, and humanity has had to suffer, and will continue to suffer, the bitter experience of incomprehension and separation. God, however, did not abandon the human race, but sent his own Son (Cf. Mk 12:1-11). In the Word made flesh communication itself takes on its most profound saving meaning: thus, in the Holy Spirit, the human being is given the capacity to receive salvation, and to proclaim and give witness to it before the world. (par. 4)"

Christians have the opportunity to use these "marvelous things" to bring the whole world to the foot of the Cross of the Word made flesh, through that Cross to the empty tomb, and through the waters of Baptism, into the new world of the Church. Jesus, the Blessed John Paul wrote, is the great "Communicator of the Father" (par. 13). This communication from the Father, of the Son, in the Holy Spirit, is meant for the whole world:

"The communication between God and humanity has thus reached its perfection in the Word made flesh. The act of love by which God reveals himself, united to the response of faith by humanity, generates a fruitful dialogue. Precisely for this reason, making our own in a certain sense the request of the disciples, "teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1), we can ask the Lord to help us to understand how to communicate with God and with other human beings through the marvelous communications media. In light of so decisive and definitive a communication, the media provide a providential opportunity to reach people everywhere, overcoming barriers of time, of space and of language; presenting the content of faith in the most varied ways imaginable; and offering to all who search the possibility of entering into dialogue with the mystery of God, revealed fully in Christ Jesus."(par.5)

Blessed John Paul II emphasized human freedom and its extraordinary potential. Christians are set free by Jesus Christ in order to exercise our freedom rightly. We can only become the new persons we were re-created in Christ to become through giving ourselves to the Lord and then, living in the communion of the Church, offering that gift of self for the sake of the world. In this way we become, in a spiritual sense, "co-redeemers" with Christ. This process of entering into His redemptive mission involves a re-creation, a transfiguration, of the human person.

We are to spread the embrace of Christ to the whole "world" into which God still sends His Son through His Church. All men and women are called to live in the new home of the human race, the Church. The Church, in the language of the early fathers, is the world reconciled and the world transfigured. Jesus Christ is the full communication of the Father, revealing who God is and who we are all intended to become in Him.

These new integrated media technologies can become "marvelous things"  in John Paul's words,  "Thanks to the Redemption, the communicative capacity of believers is healed and renewed. The encounter with Christ makes them new creatures, and permits them to become part of that people which he, dying on the Cross, has won through his blood, and introduces them into the intimate life of the Trinity, which is continuous and circular communication of perfect and infinite love among the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

"Communication permeates the essential dimensions of the Church which is called to announce to all the joyful message of salvation. For this reason, the Church takes advantage of the opportunities offered by the communications media as pathways providentially given by God to intensify communion and to render more penetrating the proclamation of His word. The media permit the manifestation of the universal character of the People of God, favoring a more intense and immediate exchange among local Churches, and nourishing mutual awareness and cooperation.

"We give thanks to God for the presence of these powerful media which, if used by believers with the genius of faith and in docility to the light of the Holy Spirit, can facilitate the communication of the Gospel and render the bonds of communion among ecclesial communities more effective. (par. 6)"

Using these technologies we are "to communicate with the Power of the Holy Spirit". Of course we will be opposed. No-one ever said that following Jesus Christ would be easy or free from opposition. However, there is no other way to live, once we have been grasped by the One who emptied Himself for us we are invited to empty ourselves for Him and those whom He loves. (See, Philippians 2) This should be undertaken with faith. John Paul wrote:

"Do not be afraid of being opposed by the world! Jesus has assured us, "I have conquered the world!" (John 16:33). Do not be afraid even of your own weakness and inadequacy! The Divine Master has said, "I am with you always, until the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Communicate the message of Christ's hope, grace and love, keeping always alive, in this passing world, the eternal perspective of heaven, a perspective which no communications medium can ever directly communicate, "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). (par. 14)

How fitting that Blessed John Paul II's last letter was on the new communications technologies.  The "marvelous things" of the new media technologies are ours to be used for the continuing redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. We must never be afraid of them but learn them and use them with excellence and dedication. The scheduling of this gathering of bloggers the day after the beatification of Blessed John Paul II is a sign that Blessed John Paul II is still at work from his place in the heart of the eternal communion of love.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online