Commentary
Forming a Conscience in the Internet

Those of us who use the Internet as part of our daily life, whether in the family, in our workplace, or in our business, often forget that we belong to the information-rich sector of world society and that there are more of those who do not have the same privilege as we do. Because of our highly professional lifestyle, we tend to forget that there are still so many much more people who are not only uneducated but even suffer poverty, hunger, malnourishment, homelessness, and lacking the many basic necessities of life. There is a culture of poverty out there that we do not see often because the culture of technology we are immersed in often blinds our eyes to these realities. Although we may see on our monitor screens the poor situation of a people, it is really not enough just to vicariously experience it. There is a spiritual grace and benefit that can be received from God when we see His face in the poor that we encounter on the street and make an effort to reach out to him: especially in those who are forced to beg in order to have something to eat.

Our conscience starts to form when we see the face of Christ in the poor. His face is seen in the laborer who works his body almost to the point of sheer exhaustion in order to earn the daily wage necessary to buy food for his wife and children. And let us not forget the classic big sacrifices of the working mother who needs to balance herself between her husband, her children, her work and career, and the attention sometimes her own working-mother friends also need from her. But to top all this, what can really be termed noble and heroic are the sacrifices being made by those courageous men and women who work abroad in order to send money back home so that their family can have food to eat and their children can have the tuition money needed for their education. Unfortunately, with all this sacrifice, we may sometimes sadly hear of news that someone's body is being flown back home in a coffin not knowing the cause of death - thus doubling the agony of the family and all the loved ones related to the victim. It is like Christ giving His life once again so that others may live.

If many of us join the lists and the forums in the Internet - especially those that are Catholic or Christian - our Christian conscience can be formed from out interactivity with others in the Internet. If you join a Catholic prayer list, you learn that it is not only the literally poor of the information-poor society who suffer so much but also those who have access to the Internet. Even the Internet public have their share of sufferings also: financial difficulties, problems in marriage, conflicts in the family, legal entanglements in employment, and many more suffering from dread diseases and terminal illnesses.

If you wish to more how people are sharing in the suffering of Christ by the witness of their very own lives on the other side of your computer monitor, you can join Holy Spirit Ministries. You may want to volunteer part of your time to extend a helping hand to those who are requesting for prayers, spiritual support and words of encouragement for the problems, difficulties, trials and tragedies they are experiencing in their lives. If the words of Christ in the Gospel touch our lives, heal us, and change us for the better, then a simple message to others in a list or forum done in that same spirit of the Gospel can also touch, heal and change their lives for the better.