April 26, 2014

I have a habit of writing reminders to myself on little scraps of paper, sticky notes or in the margins or inner covers of books.  These usually are fantastic, awe-inspiring and pithy ideas for homilies, evangelization projects or other ministerial inspirations that I want to expand on at a later time.  There are two problems with this though (I was going to say ‘only’ two problems, but who am I kidding!) – (1) I lose the notes AND, when I do find them at a much later time – (2) I can’t read my own handwriting!

Welcome to my world!

This morning I found a note tucked in my wallet - head-lined GV²: Witness (scribble) Faith on a piece of scrap paper from my office desk.  There was also something that looks like ‘Apples to your life’ then something about ‘no potatoes’. So this is either a grocery list or an addendum to the Gospel Voices Project that’s been playing on my mind since before Holy Week.

I believe the internet is a powerful tool for evangelization. Everywhere we look, people are looking at their smartphones, iPads or laptops.  These are the constant cultural companions for so many people; serving as their main source of communication, information, socialization and entertainment.  I believe it is imperative for the Church and especially for our parishes to have a presence on the internet.

We are all witnesses to the decreasing number of people sitting in the pews.  While it may give us more room to stretch out during mass, it is a warning sign for the Church (that’s all of us, disciples that we are), that we need to do a better job of following Jesus’ mandate to “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

One of our task and challenge as disciples in the new evangelization is to discover new and creative ways of reaching out to the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Using the internet is only one of the many channels open to us, but we need to have a presence and a competence, so we can compete effectively with the myriad messages that clog the atmosphere. 

The evil-one works hard at tempting people away from God’s love with many distractions and false promises.  Jesus relies on each of us to be His voice, His hands, and His feet to bring about His continuing mission of salvation for all God’s beloved children.

Peace,

Deacon Don