With so much polarization and division right now, this is worth reflection, from the Holy Father’s recently released Fratelli Tutti:
“Approaching, speaking, listening, looking at, coming to know and understand one another, and to find common ground: all these things are summed up in the one word “dialogue.” If we want to encounter and help one another, we have to dialogue. There is no need for me to stress the benefits of dialogue. I have only to think of what our world would be like without the patient dialogue of the many generous persons who keep families and communities together. Unlike disagreement and conflict, persistent and courageous dialogue does not make headlines, but quietly helps the world to live much better than we imagine.
Some people attempt to flee from reality, taking refuge in their own little world; others react to it with destructive violence. Yet “between selfish indifference and violent protest there is always another possible option: that of dialogue. Dialogue between generations; dialogue among our people, for we are that people; readiness to give and receive, while remaining open to the truth. A country flourishes when constructive dialogue occurs between its many rich cultural components: popular culture, university culture, youth culture, artistic culture, technological culture, economic culture, family culture and media culture”.
Dialogue is often confused with something quite different: the feverish exchange of opinions on social networks, frequently based on media information that is not always reliable. These exchanges are merely parallel monologues. They may attract some attention by their sharp and aggressive tone. But monologues engage no one, and their content is frequently self-serving and contradictory.”
To read the entire text of Fratelli Tutti (for free): http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html
It seems like a natural progression to go from Pope Francis to St. Francis:
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.”
For further consideration, with regard to social media and the importance of “dialogue,” here are some modern “Commandments” –
- “I the Lord am your God.” Thou shalt stop taking so many selfies.
- Thou shalt proofread before thou posts.
- Thou shalt not post vague, whiny rants.
- Thou shalt not give into “overly compulsive posting disorder.” (Take a break!)
- Thou shalt live in the moment.
- Thou shalt not post a photo of every meal.
- Thou shalt not subtweet about thy neighbor, nor malign thy neighbor.
- Thou shalt not show online public displays of affection.
- Thou shalt post more about “loving concern for others” and less about controversial issues.
- Thou shalt have nothing to hide from family, friends, or employers.
