You Cannot Save Souls After Ten Minutes

I say this without fear or reservation: I am not a fan of long homilies.

There are, of course cases when long homilies are acceptable. In far-flung barrios when catechism or masses are not daily or even weekly fare, and people trek a good number of hours to come to mass to get inspiration, a long homily can be beneficial. Like walking with a purpose, the sumptuous feast is the object of the long journey.

But in much more ordinary circumstances with the decreasing ability to listen forever, those in the business of preaching should remember that they have their whole lifetime to explain the profound meanings of a Scriptural passage.

In fact, these scriptural texts are repeated several times during a single year, in cycles for weekly masses or Sunday worship. One should not feel obliged to explain everything tackled for semesters in Theology, and cram them up in less than an hour.

The effect is death: like a murdered corpse insidiously chopped to fit a box. You kill both your point and its recipients. The spirits of the ordinary churchgoer, I assure you, are already somewhere else, like lost souls roaming the earth.

I am one of those whose spirit drifts into oblivion when listening to a bishop speaking for hours without focus, or a priest in a monotonous voice who can’t make a decent landing after taking off on a topic. I recall Macbeth, in Scene V (in this context, it isn’t life, but the preacher.)

“Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”

How many of us, wish we could just say that, if only it is acceptable to do so. How many times, I bit my tongue. If not for the virtue of patience, I could have bled to death.

For fear that this is a complaint, there are solutions. Fr. Joseph Galdon SJ, my teacher in Juniorate taught us two tenets.

First, the law of love. Preparing for a homily is charity. Pity the congregation who endures you. You should not be the cause of their suffering.

Second, the signs of the times. You cannot save souls after ten minutes. Reality, not the ideal, shouts the fact: the Word of God is interesting, don’t make it sound that it’s not.

So, he gave us a basic outline.

TS. Topic Sentence. Write in one short and simple sentence what you want to say. Tell it to them.

DEV. Development. Explain the topic sentence briefly. Do the rule of three for balance. Three short points or three examples. These will add relevance and depth.

TST. Topic Sentence with a twist. Repeat the topic sentence but end with a bang. A question is great. A call to action engages. A short remark is unforgetable.

And carry an outline, or type it. It should not exceed one page. It is good to practice humility: only some are gifted speakers.

Jesus offered us life forever more.

What should be eternal is life. Not homilies.

What Photos to Post on Social Media

Images are great for adding some personal zest to a website. It creates an approachable impression on your site – or you – but use them wisely. Discern which pictures among your hundreds of digital coverage of an event should be for public consumption.

1. Use a good photo of yourself. Avoid the mug shot like those you use on IDs and passports. They are usually not flattering. If you don’t have a good colored photo of yourself, a black and white or a sepia colored photo certainly adds charm – especially if you want your high school classmates to still recognize you. 

But if you really don’t have one, stick to a logo or an initial temporarily. Don’t forget that anyone can view your profile image on Facebook, so avoid inappropriate photos!

2. Don’t damage your reputation. We easily forget that what we post or say on Facebook or Twitter is viewable by anyone in the world especially when we’re in the social media bubble.

So if people come across your profile and wall, and they see uncompromising photos of you, the photos will damage your reputation. You will become the object of gossip, or worse, you might lose your job or a potential opportunity. A photo speaks a thousand words.

In fact, potential job seekers who see your posts may not hire you. You might be a threat to the company’s network of working relationships: a photo is solid evidence.

The same way with your status messages or tweets. If they are whining, complaining, negative, and aggressive, then people in your network would unfriend, unfollow, or hide you from their news feed.

The golden rule applies to photos of or with others. Do unto others what you want them to do unto you.

3. Take a general evaluation. Remember that an over-all impression of photos, tweets or status messages is as damaging as a single message or image, take time to go through your timeline, wall or albums. Or get a friend to do it. It is important to see how you’re coming across in general. 

4. Stay positive and inspiring. If you whine, send a personal or direct message to a specific friend who actually cares. We cannot deny that friendships in Facebook are often thin.

5. Discern before you post. With photos, post pictures that are worthy of memory. Before you post, think about those who will view them. Some photos like that of our immediate family may be better seen only by family members, then use the security button to select who can view them. There are predators too, so don’t expose children especially to them.

But the best rule is this: when in doubt, delete.

How to Use Social Networks without the Ego

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged priests to blog. This year, he blesses social media and networking. In his message during the Catholic Church’s celebration of the 45th World Day of Communications (2011), he said, “I would like then to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible” (Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age).

How do we get the ball rolling? This is not just for beginners but for those who are in these social networks. How do we build up our sites without being about ego?

Start with your name. We begin with who you are. We do have a personality or a persona that is associated with our name or our expertise. For example, once you hear the name Michael Jackson, you associate him with pop music of the 80s. You do not think of waltz or New Age or Original Pilipino Music (OPM).

The same thing when we blog: what can you share? In what are you good at? Your name or the name of your ministry should be associated with something worthwhile. The extension your name has may be important: Dr, Engr, PhD, Sr., Fr., SJ, OP etc. They give your ‘persona’ a certain credibility if you talk about a topic in your own field.

And then within your social network, you protect your reputation, profession or service genre. Be mindful too of the people you represent like one’s congregation, organization or professional colleagues.

Why is it important to have this ‘persona’ in the internet? Because social media is the way to the future. People now have transparent relationships. We can have our own niche in cyberspace; like putting up our own office where people can go to and consult. We are programmed to recognize faces than abstract images for profile picture or avatars. Our DNA are oriented towards real people than texts like archaic pseudonyms writers took in the past.

Those in the upper echelons of technology said that the people with the greater connection and network will be the ones who will be most influential in immediate future. This is the direction of the world. And if we would like to contribute in building the Kingdom of God, we first follow Jesus: Go and preach to all nations. Then, from it flows heeding the Pope: go and blog! Go and facebook! Go and tweet! Everyone now can preach across the globe! (Above is a picture of facebook friends connections around the world.)

But the Holy Father also cautioned us this year, “It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives,” he wrote. Our online lives are not at par with our personal ties. Nothing beats face-to-face relationships.

To me, social networks should enhance and enrich what we already have. Social networks should bring people towards a more direct involvement and engagement with the world. Thus, we can use our social networks to advocate human rights and to help in the awareness of violations done all over the world. We have seen how social networking influence media and politics.

Second, set up a facebook page and/or a twitter account. If you’re in a ministry, you can set up a page for your specific ministry. Since each page needs a ‘face’ you can set it up with your name on it (advisable) like Bishop Antonio Tagle DD of the Diocese of Imus in the Philippines who has his own work in media. (Mine is here.)

You can also use your ministry such as the Jesuit Communications Facebook Page. But be sure that it is owned by your whole team, or else, should you decide to transfer to a new job, someone can take over as the administrator of the page.

And then, you can set up a twitter account so that the people whom you pastor can receive updates. It can supplement the announcements after communion, save you some money from mobile text brigades and spare you some free time from email blasts. (Mine is here.) Or if you want an online bulletin, you can use Tumblr which is a free platform with lots of themes to choose from. Tumblr is micro-blogging so it is easy to use. (Mine is here.)

Third, focus on great content. In all social networks, this is the most important. Have something to say. Have something to share. If you hold a doctorate in sociology, then give the world the perspective of a sociologist; if you are a teacher in philosophy, then help us understand how people today regard the world. (Mine is here.) You’ve got to be follow-able.

You can answer these two questions to FOCUS: Follow One Course Until you Succeed (Mari Smith).

1. What experience do you want your audience to have when they come in contact with you on your page or twitter? What would you like the people to feel when they land on your page or check your tweets? Would you like them to feel positive, challenged, inspired, optimistic? Do you strengthen or weaken their sense of God?
2. What would you do to get your message across? What is best for your targeted audience: do they like to read or watch videos? Do they like reading long texts or short ones?

We sometimes want to put everything out. But take a closer look: in the process of friendships, self-revelations are done little by little. We are first known for something. And then we branch out.

In social media, we first find our niche. And when we are known in that niche, we can move on. Simple: have you ever been overwhelmed by a person who puts all the cards on the table the very first time you’ve met? The best stories have movement. The skilled storyteller gives out information one by one until it reaches the climax.

I believe the most beautiful story is the history of salvation. But it is up to the storyteller of today to make the stories exciting or otherwise.