“Look to the East!” Gandalf, the wizard admonished Aragorn as they battled in Helm’s deep in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Saga, “The Two Towers.” Indeed, the sequel to the “Fellowship of the Ring” ended on a hopeful note as the forces of good overcame evil in that epic battle.

With the Christmas Season over, people are looking to the new year with much hope. Although it’s good to look back to the past and learn from its lessons, what matters most now is the present, and the future which we are preparing for today.

A good piece of advice is to always look to the East where the Sun rises – signalling a new day. How many times have we welcomed the dawn and observed its colourful hues, thankful that we are still alive and can love and not waste away in regret for having neglected the people around us? We are thankful to have reached 2012 in spite of predictions of doomsayers, natural disasters, and the rise and fall of tyrants and new leaders. Yet one thing remains constant: God’s word, essence of love – eternal truth whose message cuts cross through time, space, and all borders, and which we can incarnate in our lives, thus allowing ourselves to be transformed into Living Words.

But where does, and where can the Word reside? The upcoming message of Benedict XVI deals with it. The Pope has chosen an unusual theme for the World Day for Social Communications in 2012 which will be observed in most countries on May 20, Ascension Sunday: Silence, or “Silence and Word = A Path Of Evangelization.” In the thought of Benedict XVI, silence is not presented simply as an antidote to the constant and unstoppable flow of information that characterizes society today, but also as a necessary factor for its integration. Silence, precisely because it favors habits of discernment and reflection, can thus be considered primarily as a means for welcoming the Word.

Last year we celebrated the 40th year of Communio et Progressio, the pastoral instruction on social communications published in 1971, produced by a group tasked by the Second Vatican Council’s Fathers.

It was prepared with much love and concern for journalists and for all humanity as well, which can today employ these new means of social communications. One can appreciate how, in the 1970’s, at the time of the promulgation of the document, although computers and social networking through the internet were just starting, the drafters of the council document had already foreseen the importance of the tools for social communication and drafted guidelines for the preservation of human dignity, as well as indicated the real goals of communication, i.e., unity and the brotherhood of humanity.

Going over the document, one can almost feel the joy and excitement of the Council Fathers over the advent of these new communications media.

Communio et Progressio is really a landmark document in the world of modern journalism as it situated the modern means of communication within the great plan of God so that “all may be one” as Jesus prayed for before his death.

In line with this Council document, and to celebrate its 40th anniversary, New City conducted a workshop on October 15, 2011, to highlight the aspiration and inspiration of the Second Vatican Council to help journalists in their Christian and human values-formation.

This first-ever workshop, held for 40 journalists of Palawan upon the request of the Association of the Palawan Media Group, was indeed historical. Their feedback reflect openness to a new kind of journalism which centers on relationships and dialogue, focusing on the human person, and always at the service of the Higher Truth. Newly coined terms from this workshop emerged, which may lead to further developments in the science of communication like the term “background journalist” – which refers to a highlighting of the message, rather than of the messenger, and which contrasts with modern trends in media where media practitioners often focus on themselves rather than on transmitting a message of truth, thus overshadowing sincerity, the truth, and brotherhood.

In line with New City’s desire to remain in the background so that its message of peace and unity goes beyond borders, we eagerly look forward to the Pope’s message to journalists which will be made public next January 24, 2012, the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, patron of Journalists.

Like the three Magi, who, in their search for the new born King, looked to the East, saw the star and, upon seeing it, experienced an indescribable joy (Mt 2:9-10), we too can look to the East where the sun rises daily, where darkness is first overcome by light, and we can do this in silence and loving vigilance, believing that He has already vanquished darkness through His death and resurrection.