I chuckled this afternoon while reading the latest from Pope Francis: “At one point during the Mass the priest says, ‘we lift up our hearts, he does not say, we lift up our phones.'”
When attending any Papal event, one quickly notices the high number of phones that are used to take pictures or videos. Is the “magic” of the moment lost in our desire to capture it forever? I believe it is.
The Pope criticized those who use their phones during Mass to look things up or chat with others. “The Lord is here with us, present. Many times we go there, we look at things and chat among ourselves while the priest celebrates the Eucharist… but it is the Lord!” The heart of the issue is that our phones are major distractions not just at Mass, but in general.
We are producing tremendous amounts of digital data. Do we ever go back to view our pictures? Maybe just once or twice? I do enjoy looking at my pictures from past trips, but still not that often. I suspect most pictures and videos taken are hardly ever seen again. When going on vacation in the past, we would take two or three rolls of film for a grand total 48 or 72 pictures. Now after a vacation, I can end up with over 1,000 pictures!
Photos may be taken inside Peter Basilica in the Vatican, making it at times feel more like a museum full of picture hungry tourists than a sacred place. I understand no picture policies at many holy sites, simply to reduce the circus ambiance that it can create.
Pope Francis concluded the audience this morning stating that the Eucharist will be the new focus of these weekly audiences for one year. So there is much more to come.
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