2025-01-10-eEdition

PAGE 4 THE CATHOLIC WEEK JANUARY 10, 2025 he Jubilee Year 2025 is upon us, and Pope Francis has asked that we all attempt to be "pilgrims of hope" to witness to the love and power of Jesus Christ in the world today.What does that mean in practical terms? How am I to be a pil- grim of hope to the world? The Oxford dictionary defines a pilgrim as one who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons. Pilgrim can also mean one who journeys through life.This is the aspect of "pilgrim" that's captured in "pilgrims of hope." We are all pilgrims on the journey of life, looking forward to being with God forever in heaven once our earthly life is over. There are many complexities to the journey of life.We may sometimes be tempted to fall into nostalgia about "simpler times" or "the way things used to be." One aspect of 21st- century life that can compli- cate the journey is the digital landscape. How can we be pilgrims of hope when it comes to the digital media culture? How do we cultivate an attitude of hope when so much media, especially social media, seems self-centered, introspective and anything but hopeful? Even more importantly, how do we encourage the young, who are so immersed in digital everything, to buck the self- ish trend and be a hopeful and faithful presence in their online interactions?The answer lies in fostering an attitude of media mindfulness and putting some practices in place to help us out of the digital rabbit hole when we find ourselves falling in. With some determination and effort, these suggested prac- tices can bring us a sense of hope as we journey every single day through the digital landscape. If we, as adults, learn these prac- tices, they can offer us hope as we endeavor to teach the young how to navigate our media world as followers of Jesus.  Bring your faith and values to bear within the digital landscape. It takes practice, but asking ourselves if what we're doing online is helping us grow in our relationship with God and with others can give us the pause we need to look at the way we use media. Stopping ev- ery once in a while and doing an examination of conscience about our online activities can be spiri- tually healthy and hopeful.  Practice discernment. Pope Francis, in many of his writings, has emphasized how crucial discernment is to our spiritual lives. Asking the Holy Spirit to help us understand what it is God wants of us is desirable in all areas of life, but especially in our digital lives. Is what I'm watching, reading, listening to, interacting with, in line with God's holiness?  Be critical thinkers. Apply- ing critical thinking skills to our digital lives and the messages that we get from the media we experience means that the nega- tive aspects of media can have less influence on our ways of thinking.When we bring media messages into conversation with the values we hold as Christians, recognizing what is good and worth keeping and what we want to discard becomes easier. This is especially hopeful for parents trying to instill respon- sibility in their kids for the way they use media.  Hope implies a trust that God has things in hand, that he is in charge and is with us on the pilgrimage of life. Hopefully, we've had experiences that have shown us just how much God holds us in love. Other experi- ences, however, may have us wondering where God is. Using these tips give us hope that even in our media and digital interactions, God is present and leading our life's pilgrimage.  If our online lives are out of balance, other parts of our lives will be, too, especially our relationships, and that includes our relationship with God. Being a "pilgrim of hope" encompasses all aspects of our life journey. As we set off on this jubilee year, let's take up the challenge to incorporate the vir- tue of hope into our own digital landscape. — Sister Hosea Rupprecht, a Daughter of St. Paul, is the associ- ate director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies. erry Christmas, again— or I should say, “still.” It is still Christmas until Jan.12 with the Baptism of the Lord. We spent nearly four weeks preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus, Our Savior. This was necessary so that we could be prepared to love Him more completely. We can give our- selves most completely when we are free from anything hold- ing us back. I certainly find it necessary to detach myself from the things that distract me or cause me to withhold my heart from God. As we continue to celebrate this season of Christmas, we are encouraged to make efforts to become more freed from our attraction and attachment to this world. We are made for union with God. He made us precisely so that we could be united with Him in heaven for all eternity. We don’t exactly fit here, so long as we try to be ful- filled by the created world, we will be setting ourselves up for disappointment.The pleasures of this world are passing. Think back to the best Christmas present you received last year. If you can even remember a particular gift, I would be willing to bet that you can’t remember a gift from two years ago. My point is that the pleasures of this world will never bring us happiness and joy. They will amuse or aid us in some way, but true happiness seems to be found elsewhere. Let us remind ourselves that we are made for union with God. He made us to be with Him, and He intended for us to be completely filled by being with Him. Humanity chose to reject this union and God allowed it. God is giving us His Grace so that we can draw nearer to Him. Our entire life is a preparation for heaven and should be focused on becoming like God so that we can enter into complete union with Him for all eternity. The season of Christmas gives us a bit of a nudge and reminds us that God came to earth to rescue us. This rescue mission came at a very high price. Let’s celebrate the gift of union with God and work to become people worthy of Heaven. — Pat Arensberg is the Direc- tor of the Office for Evangeliza- tion and Family Life. Email him at parensberg@mobarch.org. For more information concerning the events of this office, visit us at mobilefaithformation.org BEST OF THE BLOG Pat Arensberg Let us remind ourselves that we are made for union with God GUEST COLUMNIST Being 'Pilgrims of Hope' in the digital landscape T M Sister Hosea Rupprecht 9$1&( 0F&2:1 &216758&7,21 &203$1< ,1& *HQHUDO &RQWUDFWRU &RQVWUXFWLRQ 0DQDJHPHQW WK $QQLYHUVDU\ )DLUKRSH $/ ZZZ YPFLQF QHW 3DUWQHULQJ LQ WKH ,QGXVWU\ 6LQFH 6FHQLF +Z\ Custom designed jewelry DESIGN IN JEWELRY 4503 Old Shell Road Mobile, Alabama Hours 9:30 - 5:00, Mon. - Sat. PAT, DANNYAND TONY CLARKE PH. (251)342-6303 Gold Art Lola Gomez/CNS Pope Francis, after opening the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, gives his homily during the Christmas Mass at Night Dec. 24, 2024.