A Bridge to Community
July 27, 2025
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of the prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -1 Thessalonians 5:16-23
As we continue the Jubilee Year of Hope, this weekend we celebrate the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Influencers. From the earliest days of Christianity, evangelists and missionaries have used the cultural touchpoints, languages, and means of communication of various places and times to proclaim the Gospel message. One thinks of St. Paul’s preaching in the Areopagus in Athens (Acts of the Apostles 17:16 31) and St. John’s appropriation of the Greek term Logos (Word) in explaining the meaning of Jesus’ Incarnation (John 1:1-14). In the 20th century, the Chinese Catholic author John C.H. Wu used the Eastern concept of Tao to translate Logos when he translated the Gospel of John into Literary Chinese. In the 17th century, the French priest Fr. Henri Nouvel spent his first year in the New World learning Native American languages and later lived among the Wendat (Huron) people at Mission Saine-Maire in Midland, Ontario and the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people at St. Ignace Mission in order to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to the Indigenous Peoples of North America. Fr. Nouvel celebrated the first Catholic Mass here in Midland on December 7, 1675.
Just as Fr. Nouvel was a pioneer in the “New World” of his time, proclaiming the message of universal redemption in Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are called to be missionaries of the Gospel message in the time of the greatest revolution in human communication since the invention of the printing press: the computer/internet age. At Assumption Parish, we recognize the importance of digital evangelization. Our live stream Mass on Sunday mornings, led by Max Schneider and a dedicated group of teenage volunteers, ensures that our traveling, sick, and homebound parishioners can pray along with us on Sunday mornings. Over the past year, we have updated our parish website and hired Anna Martin in the position of Evangelization Liaison to be our own “digital missionary.” She has increased our social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Flocknote, etc. Please wish Anna a happy Jubilee Day this weekend (as well as a happy feast day of her patron saint, St. Anne—Mary’s mother and Jesus’ grandmother—on July 26)! In order to spread the message of Jesus in our times, we must be able to communicate using the latest digital means.
However, what technology gives with one hand, it seems to take away with the other. The promise of new avenues of communication and connectivity in the internet age is often threatened with the specter of the increasingly easy availability of selfishness and depravity, which threatens the soul of our humanity and polarizes and isolates us from each other. Technological advances (AI, transhumanism, new forms of eugenics, etc.) can be read as a modern retelling of the disastrous story of the Tower of Babel in the Bible (Genesis 11:1-9) or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Technology can be a wonderful tool of human stewardship, sharing the truth in love and bringing people together globally; however, we must always remind ourselves that technology is not and cannot ever be our salvation. Our only hope for true human fulfillment and eternal life is through the gift (Grace) of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.
“We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life . . . we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellow ship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” –1 John 1:1, 3
Therefore, as we strive to use modern technology and means of communication to help people encounter Jesus, we always keep before our eyes the truth that a social network is not yet a true community. Even though the beginning of St. John’s Gospel proclaims Jesus as the eternal Word of God, he is not merely an idea, but became flesh to come to assemble a beloved community of people for the glory of God, to share in God’s life, and to transform our world according to God’s love (“on earth as it is in heaven”). A true community is not primarily digital or intellectual, but flesh and blood, a shared common life. For example, a parishioner visited the office this week who had recently lost her mother. Those of us on staff each gave her a hug, helping her know that she is not alone in her grief. This fully personal encounter is impossible online, even with a “hug” emoji. That’s why attendance and participation at events like weekly Mass and this past month’s Food Truck, Neighboring Night, Blood Drive, Catholicism Clarified series, and Loons game is so important. They gather people of different ethnicities and heritages, education levels and social classes, political viewpoints and life experiences together as embodied people in the same time and place to worship, learn, serve, and live together as a beloved, sacramental (spiritual and material) community, breaking down the barriers of isolation and selfishness. They make our neighborhood, area, and world a better, more loving place.
As we celebrate the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Influencers, may we continue to be inspired by the missionary spirit of St. Paul and the other Apostles, John C.H. Wu, and Fr. Nouvel to spread the “joy of the Gospel” to all people through our deeds and words, online and in person. May we use the newest means of digital and social communication to help people encounter Jesus and grow in love with God and neighbor. May the new forms of digital media and social networks become a bridge to deeper friendship and truly human community among all people.