A recent entry on the St. Brigid family blog page.
Belonging: St. Brigid’s family blog brings faith to the web
A recent entry on the St. Brigid family blog page.
WESTBURY — Couples from St. Brigid’s Church here are responding to a call from Pope Benedict XVI for Christians to “join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible.”
Since last fall, a half-dozen couples have begun offering their reflections on the Mass, faith, and everyday life on St. Brigid’s “Family Blog” which can be accessed at http://www.saintbrigid.net/blog/belonging. It features thoughts on riding the New York subway, observations on Denver Broncos’ quarterback Tim Tebow, and a mother wondering if she should skip Mass one Sunday in order to finish all her tasks for Christmas — she realizes that she shouldn’t.
“It gives me an opportunity to reflect on my faith,” said Barbara Cooper, one of the bloggers. “It has heightened my awareness of God in my life.”
The idea, said Msgr. Ralph Sommer, pastor of St. Brigid’s, sprung up last spring when he read a letter from Pope Benedict on social networking and the Internet for World Communications Day. “I was struck by the pope’s calling on Catholics to use social media to be witnesses for Christ to the world,” he said.
With help from students at St. Brigid/Our Lady of Hope Regional School, Msgr. Sommer made a YouTube video (http://youtube/KC3m-82wbbo) about the pope’s message, showing it at a parents’ meeting. Then, at an informal gathering last summer, Msgr. Sommer spoke to parishioners who were “looking for ways to share their faith” in a low-key, unobtrusive manner. Reminding them of Pope Benedict’s message, Msgr. Sommer suggested the Family Blog.
A blog (short for web log) is a personal journal published on a website. A blogger will usually post short essays on a regular basis and invite readers to post their own comments.
Jeannine DeGeorges jumped at the idea. “My son and I had started a blog for Lent,” said DeGeorges, a stay-at-home mother who previously worked as an English teacher. “I found it was an ideal ministry for me.”
Her husband, Jeff, an attorney, also got involved. “I find it interesting to hear other people perspectives — and there are so many different types of people in the Church, and it’s fascinating to see how that plays out,” he said.
One blogger recently recounted that her response to coping with personal difficulties and bad feelings, was “to eliminate it. Push it away. Grab at its opposite. Buy some ‘happy.’” On a retreat, however, her spiritual director advised her, rather than constantly trying to “pray away” her fear or worry, to “sit with it for a while.”
“When we do sit with it, and allow that it is already a part of us,” she commented, “we can be aware of Christ’s presence within us exactly as we are.”
Another blogger reflected on changes in the responses at Mass. “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
“I really like that,” he wrote. “I find the language particularly evocative, and personal. It makes me think of how my wife and I try to keep up our physical house, what’s under our roof.”
“And when I think of that, I think of other ‘houses/roofs’ I’m assigned to keep up. I think of the ‘house’ of my physical body;” his marriage, his family, and his public reputation. “When I think of these things in that way, it makes it more concrete and easy to grasp. How can I make what’s under these roofs suitable to invite Jesus in?”
St. Brigid’s launched its Family Blog in September. “We planned to run it through the end of the year and then evaluate whether to continue,” Msgr. Sommer explained. With daily readership ranging from no less than 40 to more than 100, according to Msgr. Sommer, they recently decided to continue. “Not only am I happy with the blog and what it offers to our parishioners,” he said, “but I see that it has enhanced the communications within families about their faith.”
“It’s good to see other people’s reflections,” said Jeff DeGeorges.
“It’s been a gift,” said Barbara Cooper. “Hopefully, the people who read it will continue the conversation.”
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