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
