Can Technology Help You Be Contemplative?

I have written before about the craziness of this multitasking world and how we need to slow down to connect with God.  Recently, I upgraded to an IPhone and wondered if I was caving in to the demands of the 21^st century.  However, owning a smartphone has positive aspects such as apps on the Divine Mercy, daily mass readings and the Bible.  You could even get an app for the Liturgy of the Hours.  My Iphone also has Taize songs and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.   So, it can save time to find meditations at your fingertips, as long as you are not tempted to look at Facebook and emails instead of prayers. 

We no longer need to open up devotional books when they are posted daily on your Facebook.  Friends email us with inspiring powerpoint presentations.  There are websites that can offer discussion boards and articles.  The sites that I have recommended here are all excellent.  Jesusofnazaret.com is administered by a Maronite Catholic monk who lives in Rome and has great articles, videos, discussions and links to an online TV site- www.jesusofnazaret.com.  My friend S.T. Martin runs a website dedicated to St. Therese and St. Joan of Arc (www.joanand therese.net).  There is a new site from a family member which is an online discussion on St. Ignatius and the 12 Steps (http://www.spiritualeg.com/).   A community of Poor Clare nuns that live near me write a marvelous blog that is known internationally - http://www.desertnuns.blogspot.com/.  It is interesting to read their spirtitual insights and about daily life at the monastery.

We can spend all day googleling to various websites for spiritual refreshment.  Still, a virtual mass is not the same as attending mass, and a virtual confession will not replace actual time with a priest.  My church instituted perpetual adoration this year and had us sign up for an hour a week or month to spend time with Jesus in the chapel.  Cell phones have to be turned off there, so it is extremely quiet.  Since my time is the 2^nd Friday of the month, I call it my Friday night date with Jesus.  When I first went to the chapel, I wondered how I would ever fill up an hour in prayer.  To my surprise, I enjoyed spending time alternating between contemplative prayer and the intentions of my friends.  When I later went to the car, I saw that an hour had passed and felt tremendous peace.  I intend to go to the chapel more often than my scheduled time.

Technology can be our friend in our quest for a deeper relationship with God, but we must use it with moderation.  It can also be an addiction that cannot replace worshiping at church, going to small groups and private prayer.  We still need to be connected with people and God through personal interactions instead of a few strokes at a keyboard.