February is Catholic Press Month.

Entering a church, we Catholics reach for the holy water font, dip our fingers in, and, with dripping fingers, make the Sign of the Cross.

Reading and viewing Catholic media has a lot of similarities with that act of blessing one’s self.

That wet-fingered Sign of the Cross at the church door is intended to be a reminder of our baptism.

Blessing ourselves should bring to mind the too-often below the surface realization about what it means to be baptized, to be a child of God, and, most importantly, what that implies, what consequences our baptism ought to have on the way we live our lives.

There is a similar intent behind Catholic newspapers, magazines, books, e-newsletters, websites, blogs and social media.

When they are in our mailbox — either the one the letter carrier delivers to or the one hidden inside a computer, tablet or smartphone — Catholic media are reminders that we are Catholic.

They ought to jog our memories about who we are — and whose we are.

A deeper experience

A blessing with holy water is filled with meaning about our Catholic identity. It reminds us of our mission in this world. As we bless ourselves we symbolically renew our commitment to live as Jesus taught us to and to bring his Gospel to others.

Although a ritual filled with symbolism, our holy water Sign of the Cross is, after all, only fingertip deep.

Catholic publications and electronic media, on the other hand, invite readers to dive into the deep end of the faith.

They not only remind us that we were baptized, that we belong to Christ and that this should affect all we do, they are filled with words and pictures and sound that enhance our knowledge about our faith and the world in which we practice it.

Catholic media tell the stories of the faith journeys of others, inspiring us, reaffirming our values, connecting and bonding us as a Catholic community, spurring us into collaborative action for the common good.

Looking at the world through a Catholic lens, Catholic media

enlighten our minds, broaden our perspectives and challenge us to be better followers of Jesus.

They share ideas that others may emulate, celebrate events that cheer the Catholic community, show us how others love their neighbors so that we might, too, and invite us to build God’s kingdom in our place and time.

Incredible variety

News stories, opinion columns, human-interest features, Scripture analyses, photos from around the block and across the globe that share the stories of Catholics engaged in their faith, multimedia shows, videos that warm hearts, Facebook pages and Tweets that connect and enlighten, blogs that clarify and nurture Catholic teaching — all are there in an amazing variety in Catholic media.

And Catholic media are even more convenient than your church holy water font.

Their blessings are readily available on your coffee table, laptop or cell phone at the turn of a page, the click of a mouse or the swipe of a finger on a touch screen.

Zyskowski is client products manager for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Communications.