The Twitterverse

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah" by Jules-Joseph-Augustin Laurens. DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI / Getty Images

Gospel Reading for today, 7/17/18:  Mt 11:20-24

"Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum:

Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the nether world.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

I don't know what it is.....
Maybe it is because I have faced my own mortality too many times in my life?
Maybe it is because I have way, way, too much time on my hands?
Maybe, just maybe, it is because I now tend to listen and hear and see things and just soak them in and file them away in the back of my brain and don't respond to them. You would think that in this day and age of social media that the last option would be a true testament of enormous willpower. I'm here to tell you that it isn't. Some remarks are just too nasty, ignorant or downright evil to even bother to respond to. Why get yourself in an uproar with someone that you will never meet in person. You aren't going to change their mind anyway. Right?....

What is it that I'm noticing? It is how mean and nasty everyone seems to be becoming. What I have found by sitting back and observing is just how torn our society is today and how lacking it is in direction on how to be a good Christian and avoid the pitfalls of, well, just about everything that is out there. Normally, I don't dip my toes into any political discussions because, let's face it, I talk about religion and Jesus ALL the time. I can't alienate all of my friends and family by adding politics in there too so those opinions I keep to myself.

What is becoming glaringly obvious to me now is that these are perilous times we are living in, and time is of the essence for evangelization and bringing people to Christ. Social media is a perfect way to reach them. People, especially non-Christians, need to be pulled out of despair and  taught about the saving power of Jesus. Christians  need to be boosted up by the boot strings, well more like combat boots, so that their faith remains rock solid. Sadly, more and more people seem to be focused on what others are doing and saying and not spending enough time on what they themselves are saying and doing. (I include myself in that equation btw). Be aware of what is going on in the world, but be even more cognizant of the state of your own soul. When you die and face judgment, Christ isn't going to ask you what you thought of Trump's presidency, nor if you liked Hillary better. He is going to ask you what YOU have done and said about others and what YOU accomplished in your life. YOU will be accountable for everything that you uttered, or typed. I have to remind myself of that all the time.

I have found a few priests, on Twitter, that are steeped in theology (and they are pretty funny too). They lift my spirits and my soul and I highly recommend them to anyone who is seeking some solid guidance and a few laughs each day. Of note are, Fr. Harrison Ayre @christian_state and the other is Fr.Goyo @FrGoyo. We all need to just take a breath and relax for a minute so do yourself a favor and follow these gentlemen. For me, it is nice to have an anchor of faith, kindness and a chuckle or two and I think that you will find them beneficial to your life as well. They are a breath of fresh air in a stagnating society.

Peace, Love and God bless you all.

Mare

BTW ~ as for the nasty Nellies you encounter out there? Pray for them.