Based on the writings of their founder, Blessed James Alberione, the Daughters of St Paul have created the "Canticle of Praise for the Media in Today's World." This special prayer helps us to see the technological inventions for communication as gifts of God to be used wisely in order to uphold the dignity of every human person and to proclaim the truth, beauty, and goodness of God.
Canticle of Praise for the Media in Today's World
based on the writings of Bl. James Alberione, SSP (Founder of the Pauline Family)
May you be praised, Lord God, for the printed word--bread for our minds, light for our lives.
We give thanks for the talents and dedication of all who serve the truth in love, and for all whose technical and professional skills make possible the production of books, newspapers, magazines, and reviews.
We celebrate, Lord, the modern marvel of television, which brings into the heart of our homes the joys and pain of all human living. Music, drama and laughter are shared in ways undreamed of in the past.
May you be praised, Lord God, for radio, which soars on the wings of the wind and provides for each nation an immediate channel for news, views, and entertainment and a means of offering to the listening world its own distinctive voice.
We celebrate, Lord, the writers, artists, directors, and all those whose gifts light up both theater and cinema and provide audiences with a heightened awareness of their human condition.
We celebrate the wonder of digital communications which manifest a new iconography that links people around the globe in solidarity of faith, hope, and love.
We thank you, Lord God, for the unending Pentecost of your creative Holy Spirit which enables your sons and daughters to be afire with your truth, beauty, and goodness.
May the blind see, the deaf hear, and the poor receive justice through the proclamation of the Good News via today's media.
Together let us rejoice in the God-given talents and the creative gifts of those who promote the dignity of the human person and who build communion among peoples the world over through their dedication and love. Amen.
© Daughters of St Paul, USA, Pauline Center for Media Studies. All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
Sr. Nancy is the Director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies and a Media Literacy Education Specialist. She has degrees in Communications Arts and a Masters in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary. She has extensive experience in the creative aspects of social media, print media, radio and video production as well as in marketing, advertising, retail management and administration.
Sr. Nancy has given numerous media mindfulness workshops, presentations and film retreats around the country to youth, young adults, catechists, seminarians, teachers and media professionals helping to create that dialogue between faith and media. She is a member of NAMLE (National Association of Media Literacy Educators), SIGNIS (World Catholic Association for Communicators) and THEOCOM (Theology and Communications in Dialogue) and board member of CIMA (Catholics in Media Associates). She is the author of a theology of popular culture called, A Sacred Look: Becoming Cultural Mystics from Wipf & Stock Publishing. Sr. Nancy is a theologian, national speaker, blogger and film reviewer.