By Father Peter Choy Wai-man
From January 24 to 26 this year, the Vatican launched the first major celebration of the Jubilee Year. Pope Francis invited representatives of Catholic social communication organisations from around the world to strive to become “pilgrims of hope” in today’s digital world and bear witness to the love and power of Jesus Christ.
As the name suggests, pilgrims are those who travel to holy places for religious reasons, but pilgrims can also refer to those on the journey of life. We are all pilgrims on the journey of life, looking forward to being with God in heaven forever after our earthly lives end.
We encounter many things in life that are beyond our control. Sometimes, we may become complacent, unable to keep up with the rapid pace of development, and fall into nostalgia and obsession with the “old days”.
The 21st century is a digital world. How can we become pilgrims of hope in the digital media culture? How do we cultivate an attitude of hope when so much media, especially social media, seems self-centred, closed off and hopeless? More importantly, how do we encourage young people who are immersed online to resist the trend of selfishness and remain hopeful and caring in their online interactions?
After three days of interactive exchanges, more than 100 participants felt that with determination and hard work, the following suggestions could give us hope as we traverse the digital realm every day. If we set an example as adults, our young people will know how to follow Jesus on the digital highway.
• Bring our beliefs and values into the digital realm. This takes practice, and it involves stopping often to examine the way we use media, ask ourselves if what we do online contributes to our relationship with God and others, and reflect if our online activities can lead to greater spiritual health and hope.
• Develop discernment. Pope Francis often emphasises the importance of discernment in our spiritual lives. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand God’s expectations of us in our lives, especially in our digital lives. Is what I watch, read, listen to and interact with in line with God’s will?
• Be critical thinkers. Let’s apply critical thinking to our digital lives to reduce the impact of the media’s negative effects on our way of thinking. When we combine media messages with the values we hold as Christians, it becomes easier for us to recognise what is good and worth keeping and what is to be discarded. For parents, it is particularly promising to see their children learn to take responsibility for their own media use.
• Hope means believing that God is in control and is with us on our journey through life. Although there are obstacles along the way, we want to know where God is. Hope makes us understand how much God loves us. Hope makes us believe that God is present and guides us, even in the virtual world of the media and digitalisation.
• If our online lives become unbalanced, so will other parts of our lives, especially our relationships, including our relationship with God. Being a pilgrim of hope encompasses every aspect of our journey through life. As we welcome this Jubilee year, let us take up the challenge to integrate the virtue of hope into our own digital environment.
