Easter(n) Promises: The Threefold Office of Christ

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

Photo:www.st-takla.org

A couple of weeks ago, I started to read some of the homilies by Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture. I have thoroughly enjoyed his vision and understanding of the importance of culture and communication for the mission of the Church, specially pertaining to the new evangelization. He sees culture as something that unites people as well as an encounter with the Word of God which leads to communion, solidarity and dialogue.

In his writings and tweets (@CardRavasi_en), he often refers to our mission as coming from our baptismal promises – our Easter promises. He states that we must integrate our Christian identity into all of life. That identity has authenticity in Christ. We are baptized into Christ, and through baptism we enter into his threefold office: We are called to share in his priestly, prophetic and kingly office (CCC 897).

Twitter Through the Lens of the Exercises

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

When words are invented out of the sheer impact or popularity of a phenomenon, we know that such an event has “arrived”; its status is of such importance that our language needs to adapt to it. For example, to google something is to search for its meaning on the internet by using the Google search engine. Another example is to tweet; while this word has its origin in the sounds made by birds, it mainly refers to the action of sending short messages through the social media platform that is Twitter. When a friend of mine recently told me that she was giving up Twitter for the Season of Lent, it dawned onto me that Twitter has reached a point where it is considered by many as an object of indulgence, one that creates a sort of dependency on its users.

For those of you who have had the chance to know me as a person, I may come across as a sort of a severe critic of social media; after all, I am one of that dying breed who does not own a Facebook account by choice. What would such a person have to say about the quickly-evolving world that is social media? For starters, the fact that I am writing this blog entry should serve as evidence that I am not that big of a Luddite; nevertheless, a critical look at our media of communication is necessary. While using it in moderation is commendable, understanding the intentions behind it is the next step.

Positive and Frustrating Experiences around Evangelization on the Internet

By Brother Daniel Leckman, S.J.

tele.communication.net

For this entry, I'd like to muse about the Catholic Church and communications. More specifically, how do we communicate faith to a secular world that is slowly losing the art of elaborate and refined communication of complex ideas (which are needed to communicate the faith!), and that instead is more interested in “sound bites” and the 20 second summary of a complex issue?

Those of us who who have come to believe that Christ’s salvific love for us brings all people to new life and restores us to God’s light seem to be almost boxed out in this world and, as many agnostics and atheists would claim, have become irrelevant.

The Tweets of the Saints

By Eric Hanna, S.J.

stpeterslist.com

If some of our favourite saints had used Twitter, this is what their tweets might have looked like.

One month ago

@Augustine I was a Manichean *before* it got all mainstream and popular. Bleh, maybe I'll try something new.

@Hildegard grrr... headaches again. And not just administrative ones.

@Nicholas I'm a bishop! I do not go #ho-ho-ho. At least not that often.

@Aquinas Major Drama! Mom doesnt want me 2B friar, has locked me up in tower. Could this month get any worse?