DIGITAL WITNESSING AND THE PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD OF GOD

DIGITAL WITNESSING AND THE PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD OF GOD

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke (Schoenstatt Father)

The Word of God is central to the life of the Church and the proclamation of this gospel message is at the very heart of the Church’s ministry (Luke 24:46-49). What this means is that the Church has the mission to bring others to the knowledge of the Word of God. But it is sad to note that most often, very many of us fall into the error of thinking that preaching the Word is a duty that is reserved solely for the ordained members of the Church. That is not so! Preaching the Word is our common duty as Christians by virtue of our baptism. As Christians, we are all called to be witnesses to the gospel message. But in this period, we find that it has become difficult for many of us to carry out this mandate in the traditional manner. The Churches are closed and the faithful do not gather as usual to share and to listen to the Word of God. So, preaching the Word is facing a challenge as a result of the present pandemic.

But irrespective of the challenges that this pandemic has posed, I feel that it has also afforded us the opportunity of looking for new alternatives of continuing our work. As such, the corona virus pandemic is a challenge but also a great opportunity. It has closed our usual door of bringing the Word of God to the people but has also opened the window of the digital media through which we can continue to propagate the gospel message. Apparently, this pandemic has brought about a cultural shift in the way that the Word is administered and we Christians should seize the opportunities that the digital world offers for carrying out our ministry to and for the Word of God.

Surely, there are many ways that we can be present on the media, but preaching the Word is one of the basic Christian ways of being present in the media world. Gone are the days when the media was seen as something worldly; something that is opposed to our Christian way of life. The Church must be fully involved all over the world, where God acts and where the people are, that is everywhere. Now, our age and our people are thoroughly mediated and so, the media continuously shape their values and choices. Cyberspace has thus become a new mission field. Therefore, in order that the Church excels in her ministry of spreading the word of God, she has to take the gospel of Christ, the Head, to the members of his body where they are. This then entails that in the exercise of our baptismal duty of proclaiming the word of God, Christians should learn the language of the media; know how the communication media work upon the fabric of society and also learn the techniques of their use.

The media has come to stay and in most cases, we may not have control over how our people use these media platforms. On the media, we find varied contents including those that are harmful to the spiritual growth of our people. Since we do not have control over these contents, what we can do therefore is to take hold of the media and ensure that our people learn from us the right things for their spiritual growth. We have to use our social media handles/ platforms to propagate our Christian faith, to preach the gospel message of Jesus and to refute errors from those thwarting the message and leading the people astray.

To do this is very simple. Our social media platforms, handles or accounts should be our second pulpit. We should not feel ashamed to put Jesus and our Christian faith in the face of the people (cf. Matt. 10:33). One single post has the power of saving a soul. We have to let the world know our identity as Christians and our mission as the preachers of the gospel. Another thing to note is that what is expected of us Christians is not merely to use the media, but to convert the Christian message in the language of the media, in a way that today’s mediated media-influenced people find it meaningful and acceptable. Principally, in this new digital form of pastoral outreach, priests and the lay faithful alike are called to an apostolic versatility that impels them to adapt to new situations by becoming ‘all things to all people’ (cf. 1 Cor 9:22). It is line with this that the Pope emeritus, Benedict XVI in his message for the 45^th World Communications Day says that:

To proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious contents into different media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, sites, Whatsapp and so on - this addition is mine), but also, to witness consistently, in one’s own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preferences and judgments that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of specifically.[1]

Today, the digital marketplace has provided different voices through which the Church can carry out her mission of evangelization, and priests/ Christians are called to make ‘astute use’ of these occasions and to be faithful witnesses. As a matter of fact, cyberspace is now the new pulpit, from where the priests/ Christians proclaim the Gospel to a much broader gathering of people. Nonetheless, the Pope advises that the same principles and message that would make a priest a good communicator at the ambo still apply. Most notably, the attention of the priest/ Christian is drawn to the fact that more often than not, the gospel message can challenge some of the ways of thinking typical of the web. Thus, the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its ‘popularity’ or from the amount of attention or commendation it receives. We must make the Gospel known in its integrity, instead of seeking to make it acceptable or diluting it. It must become daily nourishment and not a fleeting attraction.

Finally, in the employment of this new means of preaching the gospel, we Christians should guard against the danger of abuses. According to the Holy Father, we do this by ensuring that “these technologies are used in a competent and appropriate way, shaped by sound theological insights and reflecting strong priestly-Christian spirituality grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord.”[2] To be precise, priests are not being asked to become first and foremost, webmasters, graphic designers, or gadget geniuses. Rather, every Christian including priests should become ‘competent’ enough to do what it takes to establish a presence, whereby our Christian/ priestly heart can establish heart-to-heart contact with the teeming number of people in every divide of the world, and where our preaching and teaching of the faith may quench the yearnings of the people of God.

References

Jacob Srampickal. Communications Formations. Mumbai: St Paul Press, 2012.

Benedict XVI. “The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service    of the Word,” message for the 44th World Communications Day (Vatican, 16 May2010),             :https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedictxvi/en/messages/communications/do            cuments/hf_ben-xvi_mes_13100124_44th-world-communications-day.html, accessed          14/07/2020.

Benedict XVI, “Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age,” message for the    45th World Communications Day, http://www.catholicbishops.ie/2011/05/30/church-    celebrate-45th-world-communications-day/ accessed 14/07/2020.

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[1] Cf. Benedict XVI, “Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age,” message for the 45th World Communications Day, accessed 24/10/2017, http://www.catholicbishops.ie/2011/05/30/church-celebrate-45th-world-communications-day/.

[2] Benedict XVI, “The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word,” message for the 44th World Communications Day.