Keeping Up with the Bloggers...

Mea Culpa!  Mea Culpa!  Mea Culpa!

I have committed the most cardinal of sins when it comes to blogging...I've neglected the blog and haven't written in a couple of months.  I think I echo the sentiments of many who say, "Life just gets in the way."  So, with Lent in full swing, I am using this time to discipline myself a little more as I jump into the world of blogging with both feet.

Actually, it was a little more than just a Lenten discipline but rather I read the Holy Father's Address to Social Council.  You can find the article here (Benedict XVI's Address to Social Council) I found the lead-in quote to be a challenge to any of us who minister to anyone under the age of 35.  "It is urgent to reflect on the languages developed by new technologies."  If you follow the pope's annual communications day messages, he has spent the last couple of years recognizing the importance technological communications and social networking plays in the life of our young people.

Tools like blogs and social networks are the "printing press" of this generation.  Much the way the printing press changed how information, including the Good News, was spread, so too is the internet.  Most of recognize the need to be involved in and learn these new technologies well enough (I still can't figure out my twitter account!) to spread His message to our young people.  Old.......errr....traditional forms of communication are not being used by today's generation so if we want to reach out to them, to minister to them where they are at, then we must become comfortable with this technological realm they find themselves.  Even Pope Benedict XVI agrees with how technology is changing the culture.  Here is what he says:

"[I]mportant is the work carried out by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications to deepen the "digital culture," stimulating and supporting reflection for a greater awareness of the challenges that await the ecclesial and civil community. It is not just about expressing the evangelical message in today's language, but of having the courage to think in a more profound way, as happened in other times, the relationship between faith, the life of the Church and the changes man is experiencing. It is a commitment to help those who have the responsibility in the Church to be able to understand, interpret and speak the "new language" of the media in their pastoral endeavor (cf. "Aetatis Novae," No. 2), in dialogue with the contemporary world, asking oneself: what challenges does so-called "digital thought" pose to faith and theology? What are the questions and requirements?"


So what may you ask can you do to help spread the Good News?  How about post a status update or post a tweet (does one post a tweet or does one simply tweet???) with a Scripture quote or post a question that one of the Sunday readings raised for you.  There are endless possibilities.

I can't promise that I will update this blog every day, although I'm sure going to try.  But I can promise that like the Vatican, the Office of Faith Formation and its additional blogs will journey along side our youth and adults as we navigate cyberspace and how to use it to spread His Word!

Until next time...