"Come and See": theme for World Day of Communications
The theme for the 2021 World Day of Social Communications chosen by Pope Francis echo the words of the Apostle Philip, so as to recall that communication consists in "encountering people as and where they are".
The words “Come and see” are central to the Gospel. Before the Gospel is proclaimed, prior to words, there are "looks, testimonies, experiences, encounters and closeness. In a word, life."
These words, from the Gospel of John (1, 43-46) were chosen by Pope Francis, with the subtitle “Communicating, encountering people as and where they are”.
Here is the full Gospel passage: “The next day, after Jesus had decided to leave for Galilee, He met Philip and said, ‘Follow me’. Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth’. Nathanael said to him, ‘From Nazareth? Can anything good come from that place?’ Philip replied, ‘Come and see’”. (Italics from Vatican News website)
World Day of Communication Prayer 2021
and to set out in search of truth.
Teach us to go out and see,
teach us to listen,
not to entertain prejudices
or draw hasty conclusions.
Teach us to go where no one else will go,
to take the time needed to understand,
to pay attention to the essentials,
not to be distracted by the superfluous,
to distinguish deceptive appearances from the truth.
Grant us the grace to recognize your dwelling places in our world
and the honesty needed to tell others what we have seen.
Pope Francis
Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the 2021 World Communications Day
- Come and See
