I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago, where the concept of "googling God" and the benefits of social media were discussed. It was very well done and I appreciated the information and ideas that were shared. This conversation, plus the recent revival of our Campus Ministry Twitter account and the establishment of a live Mass feed for St. Patrick Church in Moxham, has gotten me to think about how reliant we are on technology today. Less than 5 years ago, most people scoffed at the idea of a Facebook account and yet, over 500 million active users exist today. The same can be said for Twitter, blogs and every other type of social media that continues to surface.
The role and importance of technology has changed the way that most people in our, or younger, generations communicate today. I remember when AIM was big and I would message my brother sitting in the same room, on a different computer. We laugh or get disgusted at the impersonal nature of such "discussions," but the reality is, a lot of people rely on their text messages or Facebook walls to communicate any more.
I share all of this because as a campus minister, there is a fine line and a necessary balance that should be established between meeting students where they're at through social media and meeting them where they're at in person. I cannot dream (nor would I ever wish) of the day that we can "fully and actively" participate in the sacrifice of the Mass by individual webcams. A ministry of presence should exist where the people are at, but I don't think we can discount the reality that people, our community, exists in places other than the internet too. While social media has grown rapidly, it has not, nor should it ever, replace the living person.
If we think about the sacraments, they are all communal and sensory by nature. We feel and smell and hear and see how all created reality is capable of manifesting God. How are we living as Christ and embracing the transcendent if we are limiting ourselves to technological communication? Don't get me wrong, it is necessary and a beautiful witness to the progress of humanity and society, but it should not be our only great testament.
I would encourage you to e-mail a friend today and then visit a neighbor in person. By building authentic discussion in chat rooms and in person, I have no doubt we will continue to discover God among us, both at home and on campus. Amen.