There’s a term in today’s language that applies to me: digital immigrant. Being born at the tail end of the baby boom, I did not own – nor did I begin using – a desktop computer until sometime after I was ordained a priest. Digital language is not my first language, nor is it something with which I’m most comfortable.
I like things that are tangible. I like to feel the page in front of me and have a sense of the size of a book. It is hard to use and integrate information when I am receiving it digitally. The information doesn’t stick as well. It’s the same with virtual meetings versus in-person gatherings. I find the latter more engaging and effective.
Daily we learn that brick-and-mortar stores are closing. One of the reasons is that more people are ordering products online. Often, those who express sorrow or are upset at the store closures are older. When interviewed, they say that they want to be able to feel and smell the product they’re buying. When they buy it online, they might discover that it is not what they had anticipated, thus requiring the hassle of returning it.
We’ve seen this in the banking industry where customers are being encouraged to do their interactions online. My bank has fewer branches as they’re directing customers to use the app more and more.
Positive impact for the Church
Even the Church has become app-oriented in some areas. We have GiveCentral (https://www.givecentral.org) and Faith Direct (https://membership.faithdirect.net) as options for making contributions. We are offering them because there’s a whole generation of digital natives whose initial approach to charitable giving is through digital communication tools. As they engage in the life of the Church, their financial support for its good works is more and more through their phones and computers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when everything in our parishes went online and Mass was livestreamed, technology allowed us to adapt to a difficult and unprecedented situation. One advantage was the potential for extending our reach – the ability to connect with more people, including the homebound and distant through livestreaming received on digital platforms and devices.
The downside is that our Church is a faith community where sacraments are most effective and fruitful when celebrated as intended – in person. Using the technology during COVID was a matter of “better than nothing.” It wasn’t ideal.
A positive impact of technology is that those whose phones and computers are a way of life can access catechetical material from sites such as Hallow (https://hallow.com) and Word on Fire (https://www.wordonfire.org). Nonetheless, the digital route abstracts things in a way that is challenging for us in the Church because we are a community of faith, for which evangelization is a hallmark.
The most effective way of evangelizing is through personal contact – people gathering together, accompanying each other on a journey, and talking to each other from their hearts. While evangelization also takes place – very effectively – in many forms in this digital world, being present face to face is an irreplaceable element.
Saints dealt with the unexpected
We’re living in an in-between world that is constantly shifting. The digital world is growing, the analog world is shrinking. We’re not quite sure how to deal with that. Other generations have also had to deal with shifts, e.g., shifting from an emphasis on the spoken word to the development of the printed word; and shifting from life in an agrarian culture to an industrial society.
Many of us don’t like dealing with the risk and uncertainty of transitioning to the digital world. Yet, we could do well by following the examples of St. Patrick and St. Joseph, whose faith and confidence in God sustained them in their in-between worlds.
They moved from the world they knew to another one to which God was calling them, which was one of surprises and challenges. For both, it was their confidence in the Lord, their grounding in faith, and seeking his wisdom and guidance, whether in dreams or through prayer.
In his mid-teens, St. Patrick was kidnapped from his home in Roman Britain, where his native language was Welsh, and sold into slavery in Ireland. He had to adapt to a new situation, including learning a new language.
Although he escaped after six years, he would discern a call from God to return to Ireland two decades later to begin evangelizing the people. This time of transition when the Irish embraced the faith was not without obstacles, but his faith sustained him.
We’re all aware of the unexpected events in the life of St. Joseph: his betrothal to Mary, her being with child, him taking on responsibilities of foster father, providing safety, support and education for Our Lord. While he may not have initially planned on those roles, buoyed by faith, he accepted them and adapted to what was a new world for him.
Patron of the internet
This digital world, particularly artificial intelligence, can make us feel unsettled, uneasy and unmoored. That might be why St. John Paul II named St. Isidore of Seville patron of the internet in 1997.
A doctor of the Church, Isidore, with his ability to collect knowledge and to encapsulate it into an encyclopedia, was instrumental in helping transition the culture from the Old World to the Middle Ages. However, he was not immune to challenges. As archbishop of Seville, Spain, he withstood threats, including those on his life.
While we do not know what the future holds, let us – especially the digital immigrants – find solace in the people of faith who passed through times of change in their lifetimes. Emulating their trust in God and openness to the work of the Holy Spirit, we will do the same.