I use my phone a lot. I use my computer a lot. I use them when I actually need to, and when I’m just really bored. There are tons of videos and studies and people complaining that our generations use the phones too much – and I can see how that is. During Lent a couple years ago, I gave up Instagram because I realized that scrolling through my feed was the first thing I did each morning, instead of saying ‘Hey God, thanks for today!’ But working on this website, the app, and the newsletter I’m starting to understand what it means to have a Christian life. It’s about finding Christ in every person, in every action, in every thing – including technology. |
But there’s also a challenge to go beyond our screens. The new platforms are just that – platforms to network, to get information, to learn so that we can come and join a larger community of other catholic young adults, so that we can walk in our faith with people that going through similar transitions and choices. That’s the call for us isn’t it? To search for God in our own lives, and then go beyond ourselves to share the goodness? That’s what I hope this site, the app, the newsletter will do – be something that helps us see God in everyone, in everything, and everywhere.
This past year, I found myself not praying as much as I used to. Experiencing my first year of college, I realized I had dropped my nightly prayer routine. I was close to Him, but I just wasn’t talking to Him as much. So I followed a new account on Instagram, one that posted quotes and prayers, and that became my prayer routine throughout the day. That’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about this new launch (and not just because I worked on it). It’s something that I can find God in. It’s not about cutting out technology from my life but rather having my usage of it become something that serves Him. I think it’s an impressive step by those in the Diocese – they want to meet us young adults where we are. The website, the app, and the newsletter are all designed with our generation, and all its differences in mind: what looks cool, what’s more fun to use, what would be something that we would want to explore? |