Lent is the Church's yearly penitential "training camp." We go back to the basic Christian practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving (acts of charity) to refresh our relationship with God and our fellow human beings who were made in God's image and likeness. Take a look at
Matthew chapter 6 often this Lent.
Here are five Lenten ideas for "techie" Catholics:
1) GO COLD TURKEY - disconnect for 40 days. No Tweets, no FB posts, no LinkedIn updates, no email, no texts...nada! Spend the time you would have spent on technology in prayer. This is for the strong willed though; be warned - it isn't easy!
2) PRAISED BE JESUS CHRIST! - change your PC, iPad and Smartphone "backgrounds" to an icon of Jesus for Lent and Holy Week. Say "Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!" every time you see Him. Then offer a prayer for His special ones - the poor, the homeless, the persecuted, aborted children, victims of war, the forgotten elderly, etc.
3) TWEET AND FACEBOOK JESUS - make it a point to tweet or post to FB something about Jesus and your faith everyday during Lent. This is a good time to examine your "techie" conscience too...are you using technology to proclaim the Gospel or simply for personal gain?
4) PHOTO PRAYER - randomly go through your digital pics and say a prayer for everyone you see. Does someone in your photo album need a call from you? a note? an email? a visit? forgiveness?
5) A DOLLAR FOR THE POOR - every time you post a photo of yourself, or your cute kitty, or your amazing dog, give a dollar to Catholic Charities or
Catholic Relief Services.
Happy Lent!
from your friends at St. Benedict's Parish, Amherst NY.
