{"id":948,"date":"2014-05-31T10:51:27","date_gmt":"2014-05-31T15:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/?p=948"},"modified":"2015-08-02T15:35:10","modified_gmt":"2015-08-02T20:35:10","slug":"how-to-stay-sane-in-st-blogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/2014\/05\/how-to-stay-sane-in-st-blogs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stay Sane in St. Blog’s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

We\u2019ve got a new round of Catholic internet drama going, and it hardly matters what the excitement is this time. \u00a0I\u2019m keeping my nose out of it, because otherwise my post will lose its perennial freshness. \u00a0Ever ancient, ever new \u2014 that\u2019s Catholic craziness for you.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, for those who haven\u2019t sworn off \u00a0iGossip and taken up gardening or macrame, here\u2019s my three top tips for keeping your head on straight and your friendships in order, even when someone\u2019s wrong on the internet.<\/p>\n

1. Remember Who\u2019s Talking<\/h2>\n

The Catholic internet is composed of two groups of people:<\/p>\n

A. Calm people. \u00a0To wit: Jimmy Akin, and then this one really sweet mom lady who posts pictures of her kids eating solemnity-themed cupcakes. \u00a0There might be a third.<\/p>\n

B. \u00a0Hotheads. \u00a0That\u2019s the rest of us.<\/p>\n

Oh, I know, even now you\u2019re rushing to either dissect a Church Father or quick find an obscure Catholic holiday your children can celebrate with costumes made out of paper plates, so that you can squeeze into Category A. But admit it: If you take a strong interest in controversial topics like politics, liturgy, or catechesis, you probably have just a touch of opinionated fireball inside that cool, calm exterior. \u00a0Maybe more than a touch.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the clincher:\u00a0Those other hotheads you\u2019re reading right now? \u00a0They are living in a completely differently world than you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been given a view down the shirt of every staff member of your parish; she\u2019s been informed one time too many that her ankles are a near occasion of sin. \u00a0He attends St. Simon & Garfunkel\u2019s, and has been twitching every since they went to an all-harmonica Mass three years ago; your parish bulletin is now published almost entirely in Latin. \u00a0Because people complained Greek was too hard. \u00a0Your religious ed program consists of, \u201cPick a color you really love. \u00a0Share with your friends how it makes your feel.\u201d \u00a0Their religious ed program consists of, \u201cYou may get up off your knees as soon as you have the Vulgate memorized. \u00a0Then you may work on your diorama of the fires of Hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m joking, kids, I\u2019m joking. \u00a0But seriously: Very many times, the source of the argument among faithful Catholics is not a radically different understanding of the faith; it\u2019s a dramatically different experience of how the faith is lived in their corner of the universe.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even if you and the other keyboard-jockey both attend the same parish and the same Mass, the two of you have different backgrounds. \u00a0Different playground traumas. \u00a0Different incidents that color your view of the Church. \u00a0Consider the possibility that your worthy opponent has good reasons for being so wrong-headed.<\/p>\n

2. Try to Talk Your Friend Off that Ledge<\/h2>\n

One of the highlights of my internet life is seeing how many people who think I\u2019m absolutely, horribly, wrong about something are perfectly ready to engage in productive dialog, if I take a genuine interest in what they have to say and why they say it.<\/p>\n

(I know, some of you shuddered when you heard the word \u201cdialog\u201d. \u00a0Listen: It can be good. \u00a0It\u2019s not always a code word for \u201cnamby pamby faithy-ism.\u201d \u00a0Respectful conversation can be a fruitful means of getting closer to the truth \u2013 iron sharpens iron and all that.)<\/p>\n

The mark of a crazy person isn\u2019t the odd temper tantrum or hot-button topic. \u00a0Everyone has their bad day, bad week, bad decade. \u00a0It happens. \u00a0Have you tried gently asking a few questions, or did you go on the counter-attack? \u00a0I know the counter-attack urge, I understand it, trust me. \u00a0(See: Hothead.) \u00a0But don\u2019t be shocked that someone gets defensive when you go on the offense. \u00a0It is the mark of Christian maturity to resist when the hotheads try to work you into a lather.<\/p>\n

And if you did go on the offensive (see: Hothead, Takes One to Know One), from that moment on you\u2019ve got to consider every harsh word in your little brawl to be just a bad night at the pub. \u00a0You engaged. \u00a0You were part of the problem. \u00a0Brush yourself off, go home, sleep off the hangover, and try to be friendly next time. \u00a0Give your sparring partner the same charitable benefit of the doubt you\u2019d like extended towards yourself.<\/p>\n

3. Let Go of the Envy<\/h2>\n

Blogging, Facebook, Twitter . . . these media all require us to put ourselves out there. \u00a0There\u2019s nothing inherently sinful about being a person who has a knack for marketing. \u00a0Don\u2019t begrudge someone their one big talent. \u00a0Don\u2019t assume that, \u201cI have to make my writing pay because I\u2019d fail out of engineering school in half an hour,\u201d is \u00a0the same thing as, \u201cI possess an enormous ego.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do people who depend on writing to earn a living have to be utterly focused on bringing the paycheck in? \u00a0Yes they do. \u00a0Just like people who depend on plumbing or electrical work or writing software have to be focused on keeping their profession profitable. \u00a0Everyone has to eat. \u00a0But just because the construction company has to watch its bottom line doesn\u2019t mean that every foreman is a self-centered money-grubber who\u2019d happily see your children crushed to death during breakfast, just so long as your account is paid in full and your check has been cashed.<\/p>\n

A concern about page views or advertising revenue or book sales can be a professional hazard. \u00a0But a professional hazard does not make every professional hazardous.<\/p>\n

Take pleasure in the work that you do, and take pleasure in the success of others who do similar work. \u00a0There is a massive need for evangelization. \u00a0Our mission at St. Blogs is to colonize cybersapce. \u00a0Scratch the internet, find a faithful Catholic. \u00a0That\u2019s the goal. \u00a0Get out there, be that Catholic.<\/p>\n

Have a great weekend.<\/p>\n

\"File:V&A<\/a>
St. Paul wants YOU to preach the Good News. \u00a0But possibly in some other corner of the known world, if the two of you can\u2019t quite get along.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Artwork by Raphael [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Update: Someone inquired where the term \u201cSt. Blog\u2019s\u201d came from<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>Great place to find piles of good reading.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve got a new round of Catholic internet drama going, and it hardly matters what the excitement is this time. \u00a0I\u2019m keeping my nose out of it, because otherwise my post will lose its perennial freshness. \u00a0Ever ancient, ever new \u2014 that\u2019s Catholic craziness for you. Meanwhile, for those who haven\u2019t sworn off \u00a0iGossip and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,7,51,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-craziness","category-evangelization","category-forgiveness","category-rant-o-rama"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Stay Sane in St. Blog's<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We've got a new round of Catholic internet drama going, and it hardly matters what the excitement is this time. \u00a0I'm keeping my nose out of it, because\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/2014\/05\/how-to-stay-sane-in-st-blogs\/\" \/>\n<meta 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