S Using Technology to Build Up the Kingdom of God By Clifford Hennings, OFM
FATHER FRANK JASPER, OFM
I
t’s funny how life works. If you would have asked me about the role of digital technology in society early last March, I would have spoken of its perils. I would have told you that young people spend far too much time on social media. I would have bemoaned how isolated we all have become because of it—how important it is that we encounter people in the flesh, to be there in person. I would have argued how we need to be near each other, even touch one another. I say it’s funny, because these days I am singing a different tune. As the world continues to grapple with the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, we are being asked to do what is unnatural for us. We are being asked to stay apart and avoid going out. How happy I am that we are living in a time where connection can mean the push of a button. I, along with so many others, have found an avenue for ministry in this technological landscape—Zoom calls to students, Skype Tools of technology may calls with couples preparing for marriage, online be used to build up the Masses and lectures. These are the tools currently kingdom of God or to at hand for the sowing of God’s word. They may be used to build up the kingdom of tear us apart. Their value God or to tear us apart. Like any tool, their value is found in how they are is found in how they are used and who is holding used and who is holding them. Consider the cross. It was a sign of humilithem. ation and guilt in the ancient world. Yet, in the hands of God, the cross became the means of our salvation. Our modern world is rapidly evolving. What the future will look like, we can only guess. However, I am certain that God’s power to transform cannot be outdone. As the world provides new tools for communication, we need to be a part of it. Where we see such tools being used to spread misinformation, let us spread the Gospel. Where technology is used to drive consumerism, let us use it for charitable works. Where trolls seek to bully our youth, let us speak words of encouragement and the love of God. In other words, let us become the tools in God’s hands. If we do that, the kingdom of God will certainly flourish—either in real life or online. In the following pages, we take a look at both the blessings and challenges that come with being a disciple of Christ in the digital age.
Clifford Hennings, OFM
Father Clifford is a Franciscan friar from the St. John the Baptist Province. He has been serving as the associate pastor for St. Monica-St. George Parish in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the past four years. He also works with the parish’s Newman Center, the Catholic campus ministry for the University of Cincinnati, located nearby.
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