In the Silence of the Internet - New Evangelizers

The Pope’s Message for the 46th World Communications Day has struck a deep chord with me and it speaks to each of us who are involved in spreading our Catholic faith.

For one thing, there’s the title: “Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization.”

In my years of interacting on the interwebs, there is silence of a sort, at least when I’m not yelling at my screen or ranting about what some fool (whose name may or may not be Sarah Reinhard) has said or done.

If I’m honest, though, I will admit to you that the internet is loud for me, even though I am a confirmed and rather psychotic extrovert.

There’s the noise in my head, an almost buzzing as I read and zip around, following links or thoughts or starting conversations based on what’s going on or being said.

There’s the noise of my fingers hitting the keys to respond.

There’s the noise of new message alerts.

There’s the noise of me yelling at the kids to just give me ONE MORE MINUTE.

(Oh wait. I wasn’t supposed to admit that.)

The fact is, though the internet appears to be silent in many ways, it’s a noisy endeavor. I like noise. My house is rarely silent, much like me.

Over the years, though, I’ve come to appreciate the early morning silence and I’ve started dedicating that time to God.

Though I fail, so often, at prayer, I’ve learned that I need to still myself. The best time, for me, is first thing in the morning, when the house is still dark.

As I continue on the path of the New Evangelization, which increasingly involves the internet and distance communication, I continue to need ways to balance the noise of my work with the silence that allows God to work through me. It is, indeed, the path of evangelization.
Copyright © 2012, Sarah Reinhard

Sarah Reinhard

Sarah Reinhard continues to be shocked and delighted that her life as a grown-up involve horses, writing, and sparkly dress shoes. In her work in the New Evangelization as a Catholic wife, mom, writer, parish employee, and catechist, she’s learned a lot of lessons, had a lot of laughs, and consumed mass amounts of coffee. She’s online at SnoringScholar.com and CatholicMom.com, and is the author of a number of books.