Youth Ministry: January 2011 

Devotion Deception

By Mary Lou Rosien

With the popularity of the internet and texting, chain letters have gone viral.  Something that was once an inconvenience has become intrusive, upsetting and sometimes down right scary.  In my opinion, some of the worst offenders are the so-called Christian or Catholic letters.

There are letters that tell you St. Theresa will grant you a wish if you forward on the email.  That of course disturbs me, because the saints don’t grant, “wishes.” They do, we believe as Catholics, pray with us and for us in times of need.  Then there are the letters that threaten harm if you don’t forward them. Young people agonize over these things, often forwarding these notes and letters out of fear.  There is one that contains a beautiful picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe that contains a threat like this.

I think by far, the one that upsets me the most, however, is one I just received.  It contains a beautiful prayer about God’s love for me and help in difficult times.  So far, so good.  Then it goes on to say that if I love the Lord (I do) I should forward it, but if I love the devil (I certainly do not) to close the email. I’m sure the person who sent it to me was trying to encourage me and I don’t hold them responsible, but it would be helpful to reevaluate our thinking about these texts and emails.

Another similar issue, I have discovered, is the emergence of certain (non-Church approved) devotions.  Some of these devotions demand that a certain letter or object be carried to protect oneself and that something evil will happen if that letter or object is not in one’s possession!  That is not what the Catholic Church teaches. Even approved objects, such as rosaries, scapulars, or relics, are never required for acceptance as a Catholic. Any letter or devotion presented should be carefully read and investigated for Church approval before it is propagated.

One of my daughters has an anxiety disorder that causes her to over-think and get stuck on issues such as these.  She has even become physically ill worrying about these chain letters.  As Catholic educators, I believe we need to help our students sort out what is real, verses what is just a stupid threat that cannot be taken seriously.  Too often, our kids are worried about these things in private.  An open discussion about this and other cyber-communication issues (see this month’s Help for Catechists column) may assist our students in sorting through all the misinformation out in the technical-abyss. God bless.

Mary Lou Rosien writes from North Chili, NY.  She is the author of Managing Stress with the Help of Your Catholic Faith (OSV Publishing). Email her at mrosien@rochester.rr.com.