The Internet and Christianity

“Friendship requires communication.” St. Francis de Sales

I recently completed my master’s degree online. I chose this university not because it was online but because it had a good program. I needed to work regularly and pay for the program and the online option was helpful. I did take some time off during the pandemic because I worked online, and I was overloaded with information at a point, and I needed a break. Eventually I finished and I graduated. Now I have begun a podcast series with the help from people who were surprisingly helpful. All this was done over the internet.

“It is our vocation to set people’s hearts ablaze, to do what the Son of God did, who came to light a fire on earth in order to set it ablaze with His love.” Bl. Frederic Ozanam

I use facetime often. I do zoom teaching and I keep in touch with people I know overseas. Even online retreats are available. I think often of the letters St. Paul wrote to the many early Christian communities. How he must have wondered about the response of these early Christians after the letters were sent. My grandmother used to write Italy and her family often with letters and she used to send money in the mail to defray the costs of them writing her back. It is a different world now and how much would be different if the internet and zoom calls would have been available to St. Paul and the early Church as they spread the Gospel. The internet would have connected early Christians in the Roman Empire very easily. Now we have this opportunity. Even the websites I write for give me the opportunity to share my experiences.

"There are two ways of keeping God’s word, namely, one, whereby we store in our memory what we hear and the other whereby we put it into practice what we have heard (and none will deny that the latter is more commendable, inasmuch as it is better to sow grain than to store it in the barn)” Bl. Jordan of Saxony

The internet can be friend or foe. People bully each other online and spread false information and fake news. This is terrible. However, I teach online, and the internet can be helpful. The Carmelites in the cloister I am friends with nearby edit my articles online and they keep in contact with me often using technology. There are so many websites that offer good information, and we can keep up with the activities of the Holy Father and other news throughout the Catholic Church. We know instantly what is happening in the Church and around the world. Now we can use the internet to spread the love God has for His people. Bl. Carlo Acutis used the internet to his advantage by logging Eucharistic miracles around the world by 2005. He could not visit shrines after a certain point since he was so sick. We have a wealth of information at our fingertips. We can maintain friendships online when at one time we would send letters and wait for a response. Sitting online and using social media for frivolous gossip and needless chatter does not please our Lord. I listen to Catholic Radio on Sirius XM. EWTN is also available online. There are many others. Most parishes have a website and every Catholic movement has the internet to inform its followers in some way.

“While the world changes, the cross stands firm.” St. Bruno

Yes, the world is changing. Yes, life is full of information and yes, we need to know what is true. However, we are not alone in our work. St. Martin de Porres offered himself to God if any work needed to be done. Each saint was ready to listen and follow although likely many might have objected initially. I want to do more for God and often I am not sure how. I am helped along the way by my community, my family, and my work. The internet can be a trap or a folly. However, it is not totally useless. How many Christians might have been helped if they had the internet to get information? Many Catholics live in isolation around the world, and they have technology to help them. We can use this to bring information to a hungry world.

“All are born as originals, but many die as photocopies.” BL. Carlo Acutis.