Use it, don’t lose it this Lent

In today’s digital world, having 24-7 access to resources in the palm of your hand creates incredible opportunities to forge spiritual habits that will endure beyond Easter Sunday

By Sherry Hayes-Peirce
Special to the Hawaii Catholic Herald

As Lent approaches many people will spent Fat Tuesday binging on what they are “giving up” for the 40 days of our journey to Easter. Twitter has been tracking what people are giving up over the past ten years, and social media is now surpassing the default of chocolate.

There have been countless articles citing the benefits of practicing a social media “blackout” to help us be more spiritual during Lent.

For instance, a Life Teen writer outlined one of the reasons for giving up social media, saying, “I want this Lent to fill me up with God, not fill me up with negative messages that limit the Spirit within me.”

Another article from The Washington Post cited a noted Catholic University professor, Christopher Ruddy, as saying fasting is not about deprivation but connection. “A Facebook fast can help us do that. It’s a way to refocus on the fact that social media is our servant because sometimes, it can feel like social media is our master.”

Just as some people give up things that they love like chocolate as a sacrifice but also to lose weight, a fast from social media serves as a digital detox for those addicted to it. Yet when Lent is over, they relapse. Our Lenten Journey is to experience a transformation that transcends the 40 days, not just a detour that leads us back to the same broken road we traveled before.

So instead of giving up social media let’s explore ways that social media can help you answer the Lenten call to pray, fast, give and repent.

No matter what one chooses to do or give up in order to draw oneself closer to Christ during Lent there are three things to consider to be successful:

• Discern elements of your life that negatively impact your relationship with Christ.
• Choose an option to breakdown that barrier which you can easily fold into your busy life.
• Get an accountability partner or tool that’ll help you stick to your goals.

If our goal is to be filled up with God, social media offers an awesome well of resources to find strength for the journey during Lent. In fact, many Catholic organizations are designing content to engage followers during this sacred season.

Social

Dynamic Catholic’s “Best Lent Ever” has grown in popularity because people simply sign-up for a daily devotional email to land in their inbox, and the message can be consumed by the subscriber when they have time during busy days. These devotional messages are also posted on the Dynamic Catholic Facebook page so followers can see them directly in their newsfeed.

Bishop Barron is also offering Lenten reflections via links on his Facebook page.

This year one of my favorite social media campaigns is the “InstaLent Photo Challenge” from Busted Halo. It’s like a spiritual “throwdown” or challenge. They provide a list of 40 things for you to capture in a picture and share on your social media.

I’ve created a Hawaii version inspired by Busted Halo’s InstaLent challenge. The goal is to post a daily image to your Instagram account that represents the word of the day.

Take a look and tag #HILent2019 in your posts if you take up the challenge.

Another great online resource is the Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl campaign for Lent. For many generations the “Rice Bowl” has been synonymous with sacrifice. It now has an app that allows users to track personal sacrifices, donate to the charity, and make meals for days of fasting and abstinence. The social media twist is that CRS shares the contributions from top givers around the world on their pages.

Prayer

A convenient time for daily prayer will vary based on your lifestyle, and setting a notification to do it, is easy. Pick a prayer partner to add another level of accountability.

One of my favorites is the Loyola Press Facebook page titled “3 Minute Retreat.” The retreats are also available as an app and online to ensure they are accessible to everyone.

Another great one also comes from the Jesuits from Britain, “Pray As You Go,” which is on Twitter and audio-based platform, Sound Cloud.

And there’s the new Magnificat Lenten 2019 app that provides digital accompaniment.

Repent

YouTube has a number of videos that can help you practice the Ignatian daily practice of the “Examen.” The ignatianspirituality.com website “From Ashes to Glory” and “Lunchtime Examen” provide a weekly focus to examine your conscious.

Your local parish will also offer a communal penance service, and the MyParish app offers a great examination of conscience to prepare you for a good confession.

Another way to focus on living a holy life is to download the “The Imitation of Christ” audiobook from Audible.com. The book is 7 hours and 23 minutes long, so if you listen to the book for 11 minutes a day, you will finish this 200-page book by the end of Lent.

Sacrifice

So many focus on simply sacrificing something temporal for Lent, but our faith calls upon us to lend our time, talent and treasure to glorify the Lord with our life. We are called to “Be Bold. Be Catholic” and yet for so many we do it offline only.

This year let the sacrifice be to share your faith journey versus your life journey on social media. Follow pages that grow your faith life versus your fantasy life.

Spend more time focusing on feeding your spirit by attending mass every Sunday of Lent and at least one or more days during the week. This will be sacrificial to get up a little earlier or forego an activity you really enjoy to attend Mass, spend time in adoration or say the rosary. Lend your talents to your parish, a ministry or homeless shelter for free during the season of Lent!

Almsgiving

Parting with our treasure is probably the hardest thing to do for those of us struggling to make ends meet. Still we spend money on a lot of things daily or weekly that we could instead redirect towards helping the needy.

Consider giving up coffee, fast food runs, a night at the movies or something that is not a necessity and using the CRS Rice Bowl app sacrifice tracker, an old school rice bowl, or a jar to collect the money you save from the aforementioned sacrifices and donate the money you would have spent to charity.

Journal

Lastly, documenting your journey by writing about your spiritual growth during Lent. And, yes, there’s an app for that! Actually there are many, but my favorite is Hallow because you choose a 5-, 10- or 15-minute spiritual mediation and journal activity. The app is designed by Notre Dame grads who base much of the design in concert with Calm and Lectio Divina. There is also Momento, Five Minute Journal, or you could just develop a habit of noting your experience as an entry on Google Calendar or Evernote.

Sherry Hayes-Peirce is the CEO of Communication Consultants Inc. and the “chief inspiration officer” at Church Social Tips.