Surf for the spirit. (you may be right).I ENJOYED READING "NET GAINS: HOW THE INTERNET IS changing the church" (October) by Renee M. LaReau, and I wanted to share a few thoughts. Like many of your readers, I stay away from chat rooms, but I regularly surf the Net To browse the Internet. The most common Internet browsing today is done on the Web. Before the Web, the Internet was "surfed" via Archie, Gopher, WAIS and other search facilities. See surfing and how to access the Internet. for news, information, and resources to enhance my faith life and education. I am disabled, so this invaluable tool has helped me when I couldn't physically go places to do research. Last Lent I started visiting Sacred Space sacred space, n space—tangible or otherwise—that enables those who acknowledge and accept it to feel reverence and connection with the spiritual. , which has helped me immensely. When I am stressed out, I visit this site and find an oasis of prayer and quietude. Also, I am now in my sixth week of the 34-week online Ignatian spiritual exercises retreat through Creighton University Sitting on a 108-acre campus just outside Omaha's downtown business district in the Near North Side neighborhood, the University currently enrolls about 6,800 students. Creighton is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. . Because of the spiritual tools I have found on the Web, I now go to Mass more often, I receive the sacrament of Penance penance (pĕn`əns), sacrament of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Eastern churches. By it the penitent (the person receiving the sacrament) is absolved of his or her sins by a confessor (the person hearing the confession and conferring the on a regular basis, and I am now working with a spiritual director. Between my online and off-line prayer, I'm spending more time with God than I ever have in my life. I am finally experiencing what it means to be in the presence of God all day long. I view the Internet as a tool and a jumping-offpoint. It is not a replacement for real community. I use the fruits of what I receive online in my parish community and in my personal relationships. Paula Zimmermann San Francisco, Calif. My favorite My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. Catholic Web sites, Ecumene, Catholic-Center, Mirlo, Godde Words, Illuminare, and Vatican II-Doc, all at yahoogroups.com, have provided me with an experience opposite to what LaReau has written. Contrary to the style of Web sites that list link after link to documents, articles, and meditations, these sites are people-oriented with the e-mail conversational format. While friendships are made among individuals, no list vies to be a replacement for actual parish communities, as most, if not all, members are already involved in their own churches. All of the groups have fostered the educational spirit of the Catholic Church with questions, discussion, insights, and opinions offered by members with ample time for reflection. People who come to these groups are not looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. spirituality. They are already spiritual people who deepen their faith and broaden their minds with the interested support of other Christians through theology, Bible study Bible study may refer to:
Movement toward unity or cooperation among the Christian churches. The first major step in the direction of ecumenism was the International Missionary Conference of 1910, a gathering of Protestants. , and the general study of the Catholic Church. Through the Internet, I have learned more about the church in three or four years than I have in my earlier four decades through my parish or diocese. Anne Malcolm Middlefield, Conn. |
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