Session VI, Boundaries and Electronic Media, Part A
iSpeech.org
Sister Marysia: Part A: Erosion of Professional Decorum and Convent Enclosure
“[T]he Internet radically redefines a person’s psychological relationship to time and space. Attention is riveted on what is tangible, useful, instantly available; the stimulus for deeper thought and reflection may be lacking… Moreover, as a forum in which practically everything is acceptable and almost nothing is lasting, the Internet favors a relativistic way of thinking and sometimes feeds the flight from personal responsibility and commitment… Yet human beings have a vital need for time and inner quiet to ponder and examine life and its mysteries… Understanding and wisdom are the fruit of a contemplative eye upon the world, and do not come from a mere accumulation of facts, no matter how interesting. They are the result of an insight which penetrates the deeper meaning of things in relation to one another and to the whole of reality.” (Pope John Paul II, Internet: A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel, # 4 World Communications Day, 2002)
Consider this example:
A sister was concerned that she prays for the needs of the world. She would be on the computer in the early morning checking for current news. Whenever there was a question of what the current news report was, sister was able to give a detailed update. She would often have her email open during the day to avoid missing new messages; some messages were work related and other messages were not.
The effect? She was late with her “ordinary” work or if she did get it in on time, it would be “under the gun” that she would get it done. When the issue was addressed by her superiors, she could not see how it was affecting her work. Whenever a project was given, she would first want to research it online. This can be helpful, but even when making a simple certificate for a teen retreat, it had to be a special down-loaded photo that took an exorbitant amount of time to create. Sister’s decision to ignore her superior’s directives on her use of the Internet in the apostolate impeded her ability to function harmoniously and effectively in the apostolate. Her focus was “perfectionism”—staying current gave her a sense of security or a sense of power…not true self-worth or self-governance.
Inappropriate familiarity with strangers or acquaintances can erode the boundaries between work and recreation, i.e., the erosion of professional decorum.
Religious can become over-involved with family while living at their convent through email, i.e., the breakdown of the convent enclosure.
Consider this example:
A sister became anxious if she did not email her family to let her parents know what happened during the day at the convent and apostolate. She felt compelled to email her family every evening for fear that they would worry about her or become angry if they did not hear from her.
She was not saying anything inappropriate, but this communication controlled some of her attention and was detrimental to her vocation. Email and Internet can become distracting at the very least, and can erode a sister’s prayer and community participation.
Mother Agnes Donovan, S.V. and Sister Mary Elizabeth Wusinich, S.V. in The Foundations of Religious Life, p. 27-28, wrote:
“Touched by God’s love, called into a deep, personal relationship with him alone as the source, center, and goal of one’s life, the person who hands [his or] her life completely over to the Lord to be set apart for him alone gives up worldly riches, the possibility of exclusive affection with another human being, and makes the supreme sacrifice of his or her own will. What is left is the person—stripped of any status gained from family background, education, worldly achievements, or possessions acquired. Admittedly, the renunciation of many natural human goods can be the source of personal suffering, but a suffering offered for the world in union with Christ, and a sacrifice that does not overwhelm hope. This very renunciation of temporal goods, made in freedom for the sake of the eternal, gives moral authority to the witness of hope offered by religious to the world.
If religious life is engaged fully and authentically, the joy and freedom found in the midst of obvious renunciations is itself a powerful witness to the world. How is such joy and freedom possible? It is precisely through this letting go, and in the purification of heart that follows, that the deepest yearnings of the human heart are awakened: infinite love enduring beyond death, mercy that heals all wounds, and certain hope in eternal life.”
source
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