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THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD.

60th Word Day of Social Communications

17/05/2026.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Juba celebrated the Solemnity of Ascension of the Lord and the 60th World day of Social Communications under the theme: Preserving Human Faces and Voices. The mass was officiated by His Lordship Santo Loku Pio, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba; He encourage people to Hear what the angles said as Christ left, that they should not look up; Christ will return just as they had witnessed him going; nevertheless, the mission given to the Apostles is to go out and preach, baptize all who believed in the name of the Father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. this He said is the work given to us; all of us are commissioned.

below is the full text of his homily:

The solemnity of the Ascension signifies the start of the church’s journey. The Church as a moving instrument towards the intended destination to where the father is. With the resurrection, the Church started its long journey to where it belongs and always in the company of the master. That is why it is always said, The Church is Divine, for Christ is its master; and Human for it is entrusted to his Apostles and disciples, to us.

According to St. Augustine, the church recognizes two kinds of life as having been commended to her by God. One is a life of faith, the other a life of vision; one is a life passed on pilgrimage in time, the other in a dwelling place in eternity; one is a life of toil, the other of repose; one is spent on the road and the other in our homeland; one is active, involving labour, the other contemplative, the reward of labour. All of the first life is lived in this world, and it ends here with this imperfect world, while the second life have no end and that was why Christ said to Peter, Follow me.

The Gospel of Mathew (Mt 28:16-20) and the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-11), recounts how Jesus entered the glory of his eternal Father. This feast of the Ascension invites us to look to the earth, to people among whom, we are and called to make present the works of the master. As such, the church of the resurrection is the church that is not to look up, but fully focused on the path and mission to new life as true witnesses. We are given a chance to practice the very charity Christ himself taught us by the help of the Holy Spirit, the teacher and guide.

The 2^nd reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesian (Eph. 1:17-23), completes the message that even though we must keep our eyes on earth, we know that human life is not enclosed by it nor does it end within the narrow confines of this world. With Jesus giving the farewell discourse to his disciples as time has come for him to ascend into the new life, after experiencing our own, which landed him on the cross.

The disciples must start moving on with the steps of the new life that he taught them, so that, they too will overcome the cross. In this new journey, the disciples are to receive the Holy Spirit, which will make them more of disciples not only in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria but to the ends of the earth.

Remember, he told Peter, feed my lambs, sheep; love one another as I loved you. Care for one another, wash the feed of one another, take charge of your calling(vocation) and all that I taught you and you will follow me where ever I go. So, our life is not limited here on earth, we are on move to our Lord’s throne the same way he went. And he said, I will be with you, yes to the end of ages.

As we embrace this mission of being witnesses to the ends of the earth, we must now be able to show the world that Christ is alive in me and so in us. We are called to holiness of life, and so invite others to the holiness as well, ready to preach Christ amidst suffering and death, knowing that the down of the resurrection is awaiting all of us.

The Holy Spirit will help us to reach to the very end of our mission as witnesses to truth, justice, peace, love and care to our fellow humans and to the creation, always producing the fruits of the Holy Spirit. +++

Today will also celebrate, together with the universal people of God the world’s communication day under the theme: “preserving Human Voices and faces”. The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV said, in his message for the 60th world day of social communication and I quote; “Our faces and voices are unique, distinctive features of every person; they reveal a person’s own unrepeatable identity and are defining elements of every encounter with others; faces are Sacred. God who created us in his image and likeness, gave them to us when he called us to life through the word he addressed to us. This word resounded down the centuries through the voices of the prophets, and then became flesh in the fullness of time. We too have heart and seen this word (cf. I Jn. 1:1-3), in which God communicates his very self to us, because it has been made known to us in the voice and face of Jesus Christ the son of God.

Hence; preserving human faces and voices, therefore, means preserving this mark, this indelible reflection of God’s love. The work of communicators, journalists is a work that builds: it builds society, it builds the Church, it makes everyone go forward, provided that it is true. Nevertheless, we need to ask ourselves, are you true? Not only in the things you say, but you inwardly, in your life, you true?” it is a challenge. To communicate what God does with the Son, and the communication of God with the Son and the holy Spirit it must be true. To communicate something divine and of divine nature, the human face and voices. What are you saying about what you see and hear, in you and around you? Are you true?

This celebration of the world communication; is being celebrated at different moment and levels in the history of humanity, with the world still wounded by wars and violence, by shedding of so much innocent blood including our own country. Recently in Lo’bonok, Lirya, Mundri East etc. For the last 13 good years, unnecessary killing of our innocent people has been taking place all-over our country. Most of whom are Women, children’s innocent villagers who don’t know even why they are killed and why they are forced out of their villages to die of hunger elsewhere in the PoCs or the refugee camps and in the bushes. How long should these continue? And why?

Therefore, I would first like to say thank you to all the communication workers who risks their own lives to seek out the truth and to report the horrors of wars and unjust treatment of the human faces. “I wish to remember in prayer all those who have sacrificed their lives in this last year, one of the most lethal for journalists. Let us pray in silence for your colleagues who have signed their service with their own blood”.

I would also want to remember, together with you, all those who are imprisoned merely for having been faithful to the profession of journalist, photographer, video operator, for wanting to see with their own eyes and for trying to report what they have seen. There e many of them; I asked those who have the power to do so, to free all unjustly imprisoned journalists. May a door be open for them too, through which they may return to freedom, because the freedom of journalists increases the freedom of us all. Their freedom is freedom for all of us.

Many do say, that the freedom of the press and freedom of thought be defended and safeguarded along with the fundamental rights to be informed. Free, responsible and correct knowledge is a legacy of knowledge, experience and virtue that must be preserved and promoted. Without this, we risk no longer distinguishing truth from lies; without this. We expose ourselves to growing prejudices and polarizations that destroy the bonds of civil coexistence and prevent fraternity from being rebuilt.

Journalism is more than a profession; it is a vocation and a mission. The role played by Angel Gabriel the heavenly journalist in the holy Scripture. Communicators have the fundamental role for our society today, in reporting facts and in the way in which you report them. We know the language, attitude and tones can be decisive and make the difference between communication that rekindles hope, build bridges and open doors and communications that instead increases division, polarizations and simplifications of reality.

Communication is a peculiar responsibility; it is a precious task. Communications’ tools of trade words and images. But before these are study and reflection, the capacity to see and listen carefully; to place yourselves in the position of those who are marginalized, of those who are neither seen nor heard, and also revive, in the hearts of those who read, listen and look at you, the meaning of good and evil and a nostalgia for the good that you report and by reporting it, bear witness to; and this need courage.

You need to have, and speak of the importance of courage to initiate the change that history demands of us, the change necessary to overcome lies and hatred killing our nations and people. It is true, it takes courage to initiate change which means to have heart; it is that inner drive, that strength that comes from the heart that enables us to face difficulties and challenges without being overwhelmed by fear.

If we fail in this task of preservation, the digital technology threatens to alter radically some of the fundamental pillars of human civilization that at times are taken for granted. Freedom is the courage to choose. Let us take the opportunity today to renew, to rediscover this courage. The courage to free the heart from what corrupts it. Let’s place respect for the highest and most noble part of our humanity at the Centre of the heart, let us avoid filling it with what decays and makes it decay.

We need media literacy, to be educated on the components of information sharing, with well trained and honest information engineers; full of courage, to bring about the communion of enlightened hearts that can feel the face and the voices of others, without turning blind eye to critical issues, complexities and risks.

The Pope concluded by saying; though the digital technology can assist us, let us not renounce our ability to think. Kindly, some journalists end up relaying on the (Al) Artificial intelligence and technology for judgement, that is not enough; Al must be guided by human intelligence not the other way round. Do your works with dedication.

Let us congratulate all our media practitioners, congratulations our journalists, wherever you might be, and may the Lord bless you all.

+In the name of the father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit. Amen. +