Where do you want to go? China? Afghanistan? Paris? Moscow? Africa? Take your pick.
And don’t worry about packing your bags. No vaccines necessary. Leave your wallet in your pocket. And tell your family you’ll be home for dinner. Actually you can take them with you if you’d like. All you need to do is go sit down in front of your computer, say a prayer and step out into the untamed lands of the Digital Continent.
The Web has given Christians a new and vast mission field that needs missionaries.
“Perhaps one of the finest gifts which we could offer to Jesus Christ on the two thousandth anniversary of his birth would be that the Good News will at last be made known to every person in the world - first of all through the living witness of Christian example, but also through the media: ‘Communicating Jesus Christ: the Way, the Truth and the Life’. May this be the aim and commitment of all who profess the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the source of life and truth (cf. Jn 5:26; 10:10, 28), and who have the privilege and the responsibility of working in the vast and influential world of social communications.” - Pope John Paul II (31st WCD, 1997)
So we need to make the Good News known to every person through “the living witness of the Christian example, but also through the media”. And New Media gives us the power to combine both of those very effectively: To be a living witness of the Christian example using the media online.
With every tweet you send, status message you update, link you post on your wall, chat conversation you start, are you being a living witness? Are you making the Good News known?
And are you taking advantage of the opportunity to witness to people across the world who may not know the Good News? Maybe they’ve heard about Jesus, but they’ve never actually met a Christian. And not just a Christian who checks the box on their social networking profile, but one who lives the example of a Christian. One who lives an authentic, Christian life.
There are a lot of hungry people online from every single part of the world. They are hungry for the Truth. They are ready to meet a missionary. And there’s no need for brazen proselytization. You don’t have to go door-to-door anymore or travel to far-away lands. Just send them an IM. Introduce yourself. Make friends. Reach out. Be there for them. Share your life. Love them. It’s easier than ever before.
The call for us then is two-fold. First, live an authentically Christian life. Second, go on a mission and be home in time for dinner.
Comments
Post a Comment
I agree: “Thou shalt tweet, in the Name of the Lord, to the ends of the earth!”
I took it very seriously when Pope Benedict XVI asked us to use the new media to evangelize. It is, in all honesty, the only reason why I use Twitter, Facebook, and have a blog. :)
Proclaim the good news from the [digital] housetops!
As far as Facebook goes as a mission field: I thought it was at first. But now, I realize how easy it is for my “friends” to click me into hiding when they don’t like what I say. I think our culture is way too “in your face” AND “touchy” at the same time. The result is that on Facebook, no one has to really listen to anybody else, because with one click you can ignore someone and forget them, or worse “defriend” them, and you don’t even have to give any kind of reason. Most of the people who listen to my Catholic “statuses” and comment on them are already in agreement with me. Practically no one will even comment on statuses they don’t agree with. Or they might comment once, but if you alienate some one once, for SURE they’ll defriend you a second time. So, in actuality, I’m not sure how effective Facebook is. All my priest friends are very open about faith, of course, but the only people who listen to them are the people who already would be so inclined to befriend a Catholic priest in the first place.
Post a Comment
By submitting this form, you give The National Catholic Register permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.