Back in January this year, Pope Francis gave us his message for this Day, he said: “...Too often today, communication generates not hope, but fear and despair, prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred. All too often it simplifies reality in order to provoke instinctive reactions; it uses words like a razor; it even uses false or artfully distorted information to send messages designed to agitate, provoke or hurt...Hope, in fact, is not something easy...Hope is a hidden virtue, tenacious and patient. For Christians, it is not an option but a necessary condition...I dream of a communication capable of making us fellow travelers, walking alongside our brothers and sisters and encouraging them to hope in these troubled times. A communication capable of speaking to the heart, arousing not passionate reactions of defensiveness and anger, but attitudes of openness and friendship...Be meek and never forget the faces of other people; speak to the hearts of the women and men whom you serve in carrying out your work. Do not allow instinctive reactions to guide your communication. Always spread hope, even when it is difficult, even when it costs, even when it seems not to bear fruit. Try to promote a communication that can heal the wounds of our humanity. Make room for the heartfelt trust that, like a slender but resistant flower, does not succumb to the ravages of life, but blossoms and grows in the most unexpected places…All this you can do, and we can do, with God’s grace, which the Jubilee helps us to receive in abundance. This is my prayer, and with it, I bless each of you and your work.” (CBCEW) There is a Second Collection for the World Communications Sunday this weekend 31st May/1st June to help support this work.