Social Media And Ritual Theory

A Christian Perspective: Social media provides a way for Christians to connect with other Christians around the world allowing them to provide each other friendship, love and support. Christians believe strongly in the power of community, in fact, it is an understanding that one cannot change the world without interacting positively with others. Some Christians may live in remote areas of the world or in countries that are predominately non- Christian therefore, social media sites may allow them to connect and feel part of the Christian community regardless of their location.

First, in my personal life I’ve witness what Turkle has stated every time I go on social media i see like of communication on dates, party, and even family dinners. Using social media you can create somebody that everyone like and that would cause you to be afraid to call someone because you might expose yourself. In the article Sherry believe “At the screen, you have a chance to write yourself into the person you want to be …”and “When you cultivate this sensibility, a telephone call can seem fearsome because it reveals too much”. This quote shows that society are too comfortable with virtual messaging that they get scared of talking on the phone because there's room for mistake. Second example that shows that virtual messages aren't improving our skills in communication is the 17 year old Audrey who describe to us that after every practice she would get into the van that her mother was driving and just sit there with no interactions, and the fact that they went days without talking to each other.

If you rolled south from Jacksonville, FL on I-95 in the mid-late eighties you were bound to see a larger than life billboard of the Monk’s Vineyard. The small former restaurant, now a wine shop, is located on the historic St. George Street, a pedestrian-only thoroughfare, at the epicenter of downtown St. Augustine, our nation’s oldest city. Nestled amongst other restaurants, art galleries, quaint shops and attractions, the Monk’s used the expensive billboard, plus some expensive, ineffective print media to spread the word and build their brand before the age of the internet and social media. In the book, “Social Media: Dominating Strategies for Social Media Marketing with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram” author Michael

In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret: and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the

Lawyers for the victims have obtained a 69-page document outlining sexual abuse protocol. This document written in 1962, possessing the seal of Pope John XXIII, blatantly states the church should be protected at any cost and those who choose to ignore the secret of the Holy Office are in jeopardy of excommunication. There are also questions concerning poor judgment applied at the Diocese level:

The media loves this because they now have positive things to say about the Pope and Catholic Church that has been riddled with controversy after controversy beginning with the Vatican Leaks scandal. The media portrays him in a very positive light due to his liberal stances on controversial topics. However, they do not hesitate to point out that he is still indeed the Pope and the head of the Catholic Church and that no matter how cool he may come off, he still is in charge of a strict and regulated religious institution. In an article by Vox regarding the Pope's stance on Global warming, it was mentioned that he was “deeply critical of both our technological mindset and modernity's utilitarian propensities.” This means that even though he supports technology, he does not trust the way that people implement it into their daily lives. In another article by Vice, they write that while the pope may have a twitter, he has not watched television in 25 years. The media will show the pope in a positive light saying that he is at least trying to connect with the youth, as they are our future, but the media also tells us that we are not to be fooled. The Pope is still the head of the Catholic Church and will maintain to preach Catholic teachings; the only difference is that he is endorsing a more liberal approach to running the Catholic

In our day and age, an underlying suspicion is arising that Facebook and social media are bad for us. Tony Reinke, the senior writer for Desiring God, makes this clear in his article “Why We Should Escape Social Media”. Although Reinke agrees with the notion that social media is an inherent problem, he dismisses the resolution to completely quit social media as the wrong approach to the predicament. In Reinke’s mind, the main problem with social media is that it prevents us from attaining a true sense of solitude and silence. Reinke insists that a modern fear of silence exists: “In the silence, nothing about us remains hidden; everything bubbles again to the surface.

For example, the current pope of the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis, taking a step toward making the Catholic Church more inclusive and acceptable by reshaping some of its old ideologies which, as a result, causing him to be criticized because he is moving away from the Church’s old ideas. Moreover, Pope Francis renewing the Church’s stand on homosexuality, gender and many social aspects that created a boundary between young people and the church. In order to be more accessible to young people, Pope Francis is part of many social medias that are hugely popular among millennials and became a success in reaching those young adults. Pope’s success in reaching those young people and spreading the reformed ideas of the Catholic Church to young people has proven by the data of The Washington Post where it shows “a majority of Catholics saying that the Church is in touch with them - a reversal from two years ago, when 6 in 10 said the Church was out of sync”. It suggests that Pope Francis is moving away from some of the old social ideas of the Church in order to reform it. Pope’s process of bringing back the millennials to the Church could be a great example for other religious leaders to identify the reason of their millennials

The Catholic church has been declining in active church membership in the recent times. Catholic leaders are concerned about this because, a low amount active practitioners will result in fewer active practitioners in the future. There are numerous reasons for this, but the main reason for this occurrence is that many people, especially younger people tend to disagree with the values of the church and their stance on social issues. For example, people tend to have unfavorable views on the church due to their stance on gay marriage, divorce/remarriage, and birth control. However, the solution to combat this problem is to encourage church leaders to be more liberal and less traditional with their teachings. Although the church leader, pope Francis

The parish nurtures this innate motivation to work for the Church in several ways; first, there is daily morning prayer for the staff. Whoever is around and desires to participate gathers at the front desk where a short prayer reflection occurs. In addition, Fr. Creagan encourages daily Mass; these practices spiritually nourish the staff members. It would seem natural for this community to exist within a parish

His purpose behind calling the council is similar to Pope Francis’ current ministry in that they both aimed to focus on the needs of the people of world and to guide the Church as the Shepard. Unfortunately, Pope John Paul XXIII did not live to see the end of the council, but it was continued on by his successor Paul VI. Similar to Pope Francis, Pope Paul VI is an advocate for the saying “actions speak louder than words”, making it his main focus of his papal reign. Following in the footsteps of Pope Paul VI, Pope Francis is currently on a mission to challenge the Church to a life devoted to simplicity by focusing on humility first, followed by trust in God’s providence. Through his organizational gifts and diplomatic skills Pope Paul VI was able to steer the council to its ultimate conclusion with the promulgation of sixteen significant texts. These sixteen texts all had an important influence on the life of the Church which included four constitutions, nine decrees, and three declarations. One decree in particular is carried out in Pope Francis’ papal reign which is the Decree on the Mass Media. Dissimilar to his predecessors, Pope Francis has established a

There has been a new renewal in the Catholic Church since Argentina’s Bishop, Father Francis, became the new Pope. This renewal appears evident when listening to the Pope’s speech on homosexuality. Many of the world’s approximately one billion Catholics were shocked that he is taking a liberal stance in the Church and opening the Catholic community to these supposed sinners. However, it is important to consider why people still view Pope Francis as an open-minded Pope, especially since he has shown similar stances as his predecessors. This reaction to the Pope and interpretation of his stance as not fully opposing homosexuality is mostly due to the press defining Pope Francis as the “good” Pope and his predecessor as the “bad” one.

Mass is the source and summit of a Catholics life. It is where we come together every Sunday as a church community to not only pray but offer God our praise, deepest thanks and forgiveness of our sins. When we go to Mass we encounter the richest encounter we can have with God. It is where we listen to God’s words, have a personal and closer relationship with him, receive Jesus in the Eucharist and share in Jesus’ mission to the world. There is more to

But Pope Francis wants to be equal to everyone, like the Catholic and the Church. "We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods," said the 76-year-old pontiff, who came to power in March after the sudden resignation of Pope Benedict. " . Pope Francis doesn’t like how his time being the Pope is being spent. "The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time," he said. "We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards." Pope Francis’s comment should make bishops and some church leaders should take charge on social issues and make a

Pope Francis’ ongoing journey as the head of the Roman Catholic Church has been unforeseen. In this time of significant change in social standards, the Catholic Church has also progressed forward as seen by the decision in electing its most recent head, Pope Francis. Pope Francis’ unique background, approach, and positions on issues has renewed the standards and redundancies of his title and thus distinguishes him from past popes.