5 Ways to Use Social Media During Lent
Let’s face it, Lent is a popular time for people to give up social media and the internet, or simply try and reduce screen time. This provides quite the challenge for a new Communications Director. While everyone can benefit from less distractions and mindless “surfing” there are meaningful ways you can use social media to deepen your Lenten journey and connect on a more faithful level with friends and family. Here is my list of Top 5 recommendations.
1) Choose a specific time(s) each day to review, share, and enjoy social content
Put the device down when your family members are telling you about their day, leave the phone in another room while you are at the dinner table. Leave it in your car or purse when sharing a meal or even coffee with a friend. These are times meant for meaningful interactions in person. The feed can wait, the posts will still be there when you get back. You can; however, gain from going online and starting your day by reading a positive reflection or finding a new prayer to share at dinner, researching project ideas that explain alms giving to a toddler and learning who is in need of your prayers today.
2) De-Clutter your fans, friends, and feeds
Do you have a friend list a mile long of people whom you haven’t shared a live conversation in years? Do you have a few friends or pages you’ve liked in the past that often post crude language or content? Hide them or “unfriend” for 40 days of Lent and then re-evaluate what they offer after Easter.
3) Think before you post
Let’s face it, we’ve all posted thoughts a little too casually from time to time that neither serve a great purpose, nor offer real value to an online group. Make a commitment during Lent to be mindful of the content you post, like or share. Before you hit enter, ask yourself does it offer gratitude, build someone else up, or evangelize the faith? If yes, then Share It!
4) Take a step outside your comfort zone to evangelize
Nothing scares Catholics more than the thought of evangelizing their faith. It’s a muscle we just aren’t used to flexing, but it’s time. We are called to the New Evangelization. Go forth and proclaim the Gospel, yup that even includes Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The content that we like and share is viral, it has an impact on people and while you may never know who needed to see a simple message of God’s love to get through a tough day or open their heart and come back to the Church- it happens. Need some ideas for simple steps:
- Retweet the Pope @Pontifex
- Share a favorite quote from a Saint
- Share a link back to our website or another with a post like “Hey Catholic Mom friends have you signed up for the Holy Heroes daily Lenten email, it’s great to share with the kids. We are loving it at our house!”
- Post “I’m joining the new Moms’ Ministry next week, who’s coming with me- Bonus- it’s an awesome way to earn your Catechism hours”
5) Post or tweet an offer to pray
I have to admit this wasn’t my idea, but it’s so good! John Lim shared this on Verso L’Alto blog. I like this because it not only begs you to take that evangelization step we talked about earlier, but it has transformational power for you and those that take you up on it. Here’s how it works, you write a post on Facebook that states that you are upping your prayer hours during Lent (and not just for your favorite on American Idol) you are offering to pray for the intentions of friends online. They simply add their intentions as a comment and your daily prayer list builds.
Bonus- Get prayerful on Pinterest
My favorite online obsession these days is Pinterest, and I’ve been building out boards focused on Lent, Faith, Mary, and more. St. Dominic’s has a few boards too. I’m doing some of the searching for you, everything from home decorating ideas, crafts, recipes and inspiration. Looking for family ideas for Lent, just search “catholic family lent” and wa-la!
Have a blessed Lent!
~Erin Jacobs
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this superb
blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about
this blog with my Facebook group. Talk soon!
I needed to thank you for this fantastic read!!
I definitely loved every little bit of it. I have you saved as a
favorite to look at new things you post…
I am in fact delighted to read this website posts which carries plenty of valuable data, thanks
for providing these kinds of data.
Best home animal is Cat !
Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the images
on this blog loading? I’m trying to figure out if its a
problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
This design is wicked! You obviously know how to keep a reader amused.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well,
almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really loved
what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!
With havin so much content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My site has
a lot of unique content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but
it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my permission. Do you
know any solutions to help reduce content from being ripped off?
I’d really appreciate it.
magnificent points altogether, you just gained a
new reader. What might you recommend about your publish that you
simply made a few days ago? Any sure?
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be
really something that I think I would never understand.
It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I am looking forward for
your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!
Thanks for sharing your info. I really appreciate your efforts and I am waiting for your further post thank you once
again.
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this
fantastic blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS
feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this site
with my Facebook group. Talk soon!
Right now it looks like Movable Type is the preferred
blogging platform available right now. (from what I’ve
read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
Have you ever thought about including a little bit more than just your
articles? I mean, what you say is important and all.
However imagine if you added some great pictures or video clips
to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and clips, this site could undeniably be one of the best in its field.
Superb blog!
Major thankies for the blog.Really looking forward to read more.
You could certainly see your skills within the work you write.
The sector hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who aren’t
afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about coconut oil.
Regards
I always emailed this blog post page to all my contacts, as if
like to read it then my friends will too.
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to assert that I get
in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I will be subscribing to your feeds
and even I achievement you access consistently fast.
haha, I love Lady Gaga! She’s such a great artist.
If some one wants to be updated with most up-to-date
technologies therefore he must be visit
this web page and be up to date all the time.
certainly like your web-site however you need to test the
spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with
spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to tell the reality however I’ll certainly come
again again.
Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating
it but, I’d like to shoot you an email. I’ve got some suggestions for
your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it expand over time.
Great post.
Hi there! This is kind of off topic but I need some
advice from an established blog. Is it very hard to set up
your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick.
I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks
It’s not my first time to pay a quick visit this site, i am browsing this web page dailly and get good data from here
daily.
I was recommended this website by my cousin. I am not
sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my difficulty.
You’re amazing! Thanks!
I do accept as true with all the concepts you have introduced for your post.
They are very convincing and can certainly work. Still, the posts are very quick for newbies.
May just you please extend them a little from next time?
Thank you for the post.
Una mujer de 42 años pierde parte de la visión del ojo izquierdo por culpa, supuestamente, del impacto de un bola de goma lanzada por los Mossos d’Esquadra durante la manifestación de ayer en Barcelona con motivo de la huelga general. El GL0 -LL es un modelo que la policía compró el año pasado al precio de 1.800 euros la unidad para tener una alternativa al lanzamiento de las pelotas de goma y con el argumento de que al no rebotar no había tanto peligro de hacer daño. Dos jóvenes denuncian el ataque de los antidisturbios cuando se habían alejado de los manifestantes y se iban a comer – Ella estudia Química y él es maestro de primaria.
Las principales averías que sufren las lavadoras son por uso y desgaste de piezas., lavadora no coge agua, lavadora no responde al programador, lavadora no desagua, lavadora pierde agua, goma de tambor rota, puerta de lavadora no abre, lavadora hace mucho ruido, lavadora no arranca. Nuestro servicio técnico de lavadoras Zanussi, están disponibles de lunes a viernes de 9 a 20h y sábado de 9 a 2h en la reparación de electrodomésticos. Nuestras reparaciones en Barrio de Salamanca están garantizadas por escrito en los materiales empleados como en la mano de obra.
Howdy, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam remarks?
If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything
you can suggest? I get so much lately it’s
driving me mad so any support is very much appreciated.
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I in finding this matter to be actually one
thing which I think I’d by no means understand. It seems too complicated and very
huge for me. I am taking a look forward for your subsequent post, I’ll attempt to get the dangle of it!
Wonderful article! That is the type of info that are meant
to be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for now not positioning this submit
higher! Come on over and seek advice from my website .
Thanks =)
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your blog.
It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to
create your theme? Outstanding work!
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the issues.
It was really informative. Your site is extremely helpful.
Thank you for sharing!
Appreciating the persistence you put into your
website and detailed information you provide.
It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same
old rehashed information. Fantastic read! I’ve saved
your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
That is a very good tip especially to those new
to the blogosphere. Brief but very accurate info… Thanks for
sharing this one. A must read post!
Hi there, I found your site by means of Google at the same time as searching for a similar matter, your site
came up, it seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Hi there, just become alert to your blog through Google, and located that it is really informative.
I am going to be careful for brussels. I’ll appreciate for those who proceed this in future.
Lots of other people will likely be benefited from your writing.
Cheers!
I savour, lead to I found just what I was having a look for.
You have ended my 4 day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day.
Bye
This is a good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere.
Brief but very precise info… Thank you for sharing this one.
A must read article!
We’re a bunch of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our
community. Your site offered us with valuable info to work on. You’ve performed an impressive process and our whole neighborhood will probably be
thankful to you.
If some one wants to be updated with most up-to-date technologies
after that he must be go to see this web page and be up to date everyday.
What’s up, I desire to subscribe for this weblog to obtain latest updates, thus
where can i do it please assist.
Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO?
I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains.
If you know of any please share. Cheers!
Sea cual sea su avería, bien sea en un frigorífico Lynx de última generación en modelos más antigüos, nuestros técnicos solucionarán su avería con la misma eficacia y rapidez, haciendo que su frigorífico aparato de frío, funcione como el primer día de su compra. Uno de nuestros técnicos le visitará para evaluar el problema, detectar el origen del mismo y ofrecerle las posibles opciones. El segundo error es no haberse informado bien de la marca INDESIT y del Servicio Técnico.
I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be just what
I’m looking for. Would you offer guest writers to write content for you?
I wouldn’t mind publishing a post or elaborating on some of
the subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome site!
Excellent site you have got here.. It’s hard to find excellent writing like yours these days.
I honestly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Some really nice stuff on this website, I really enjoy it.
When I initially left a comment I appear to
have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now
on every time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment.
Perhaps there is an easy method you are able to remove me from that service?
Thank you!
Paragraph writing is also a fun, if you be acquainted with
afterward you can write otherwise it is difficult to write.
I blog quite often and I truly thank you for your content. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I will take a note of your site and keep checking for new information about once a week.