Catholic Media Association honors Mark Saucier for reflections
Mark Saucier has received national recognition for his perennial reflections in The Catholic Missourian.
The Catholic Media Association (CMA) awarded him second place in the “Best Regular Column — Scripture” category of the 2023 Catholic Press Awards.
The awards, which highlight work published by CMA members in 2022, were announced June 9, during this year’s CMA convention in Baltimore.
Commenting on the three reflections submitted for consideration on Mr. Saucier’s behalf, the CMA judges stated: “Exceptional retelling of scripture in a relatable human scope. Succinct summary effectively reveals the value and power of human endeavor when it
aligns with scripture.”
The three submitted reflections were: “High and mighty,” published Feb. 18, 2022; “Open-ended” from April 1, 2022; and “What you did not do” from Sept. 3, 2022.
“Tucked away in an inconspicuous corner of each issue our paper is a psalmist, scholar, theologian, observer, purveyor of wisdom and compassionate friend, all rolled into one,” said Jay Nies, editor of The Catholic Missourian.
“We’re grateful for the CMA’s recognition of the hard work and insight Mark puts into every reflection he writes,” said Mr. Nies. “And we’re all the more grateful to Mark for consistently figuring out new ways to challenge us, build us up and make us think. It just keeps getting better.”
Mr. Saucier, a member of Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City, has been a fixture of The Catholic Missourian’s Viewpoint page for 23 years.
He served for many years as diocesan communication director and most recently as director of the Missions Office before retiring in 2020, after 43 years of employment with the Church.
He continues to write the reflections in retirement.
A pastor in northern Missouri asked him in the Jubilee Year 2000 to write a series of short spiritual reflections to be published during Lent in a local newspaper.
The editor of The Catholic Missourian asked for permission to republish those articles, and Mr. Saucier continued writing them.
They quickly became a highly sought-out feature.
He has now written more than 800 reflections, none more than 400 words in length.
An archive of his work since 2018 can be found online at catholicmissourianonline.com/mark-saucier.
“Doing the columns has changed me,” Mr. Saucier stated in 2020. “It has made me much more introspective. It’s made me pay closer attention to the significance of people and events in my life.
“Then, when you sit down to write about it, you have to take it as deep as it will let you and try to express it in ways everyone can relate to,” he said.
His topics range from Scripture to theology to literature to current events to everyday conversations and experiences.
Offerings that generate the strongest feedback focus on experiences such as the birth of a grandchild, the sickness of a parent, the death of a friend or the arrival of a new phase in life.
“Most people, as least those of a certain age, can relate to those kinds of experiences,” he said in 2020. “So, it’s not about me, it’s about people seeing these kinds of things in their own lives.”
Ana Rodriguez-Soto, chairwoman of the CMA Awards Committee, said the entries that receive honors each year reflect the wide variety of topics covered by CMA member publications.
“Catholic journalists focus on people — all God’s people — and how God’s presence in the world is made visible through them and with them and in the outstretched hands of those who call themselves Catholic and Christian,” she stated.
