Dear Sisters and young women in formation, In the beautiful message of Pope Francis for the 54th World Communications Day, two sentences offered me particular inspiration for this letter: Each of us knows different stories that have the fragrance of the Gospel, that have borne witness to the Love that transforms life. Our own story…
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The family: an environment in which we learn to communicate
Pope Francis
The family is not a subject of debate or a terrain for ideological skirmishes. Rather, it is an environment in which we learn to communicate in an experience of closeness, a setting where communication takes place, a“communicating community”. The family is a community which provides help, which celebrates life and is fruitful. Once we realize…
Read more »Hope
Pope Francis
Hope is the humblest of virtues, for it remains hidden in the recesses of life; yet it is like the yeast that leavens all the dough. We nurture it by reading ever anew the Gospel, “reprinted” in so many editions in the lives of the saints who became icons of God’s love in this world…. Read more »
Communion
Pope Francis
By virtue of our being created in the image and likeness of God who is communion and communication-of-Self, we carry forever in our hearts the longing for living in communion, for belonging to a community. “Nothing, in fact, is as specific to our nature as entering into a relationship one with another, having need… Read more »
The quality of mercy
The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes. (The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I)
Listening
Pope Francis
Listening is much more than simply hearing. Hearing is about receiving information, while listening is about communication, and calls for closeness. Listening allows us to get things right, and not simply to be passive onlookers, users or consumers. Listening also means being able to share questions and doubts, to journey side by side, to banish… Read more »
A community
Pope Francis
A community is that much stronger if it is cohesive and supportive, if it is animated by feelings of trust, and pursues common objectives. The community as a network of solidarity requires mutual listening and dialogue, based on the responsible use of language. Pope Francis
Communication
Pope Francis
Communication has the power to build bridges, to enable encounter and inclusion, and thus to enrich society. How beautiful it is when people select their words and actions with care, in the effort to avoid misunderstandings, to heal wounded memories and to build peace and harmony. Pope Francis
From the “Crowd of Solitudes” to the Technologies of Community
Usually, we think of the media–above all the digital and social media–from the perspective of a weakening of bonds. As André Caron and Letizia Caronia pointed out a few years ago in a good book: if two people go out to dinner and each one has their own cell phone, then in fact it is… Read more »