Spiritual Reading and Online Consumption

I’ve noted before that I read a lot of articles from the internet each day. There is so much good writing, so many fascinating stories, a vast amount of social commentary, and tons of rich resources posted around the internet each day. As a Catholic, I’ve found a wealth of theology, Church teachings, homilies, and other fresh media that all serve as sources of spiritual formation. I’ve learned more about the Saints online than I have offline, and have been introduced to spiritual practices on the internet than have had immense effects in my day-to-day life. To someone who is serious about studying–and ultimately living–the life of Christ, the internet is filled with gold.

Yet while much material is available to help us advance deeper in the spiritual life, it can do so only if it is found and ingested. I mentioned before that the main way I find and ingest items of worth is through an RSS reader. Even with tools like RSS readers, though, the full power of the internet has hardly begun to be harnessed in our world. We are currently in the midst of a technological revolution, akin to–and maybe beyond–the advent of the printing press. Never before in the history of the world has so much information been available so quickly and easily. The spiritual resources available online to Christians are historical, but so are the corresponding dangers, as well.

This mass availability of resources on the internet–both spiritual and not–leads to one of three reactions by each of us:

1. Over-consumption – Symptoms include “internet addiction” (a serious and growing problem in many Asian countries) and “information overload” (a great danger, and one I may write about at another time.)
2. Disengagement – A rejection or belittling of the many resources offered and, I would argue, an incomplete stewardship of one’s own intellect and formation
3. Moderation – The fine balance found between the first two reactions, the level of which is unique to each person.

Each consumable resource in the world–be it alcohol, food, sex, etc.–can be reacted to by one of the above three reactions. The ideal reaction to every resource is “moderation”, but the difficultly being that levels of “moderation” differ for each us. To determine a level of “moderation” for spiritual reading and online consumption requires discernment, wisdom, and intimacy with God, three areas towards which we are naturally tempted to react with “disengagement”.

To grow in wisdom and deepen our spirituality through online reading, our level of “moderation” doesn’t need to be high. I explained to a friend that the amount of theology, philosophy, history, social commentary, spiritual edification, and entertainment I read online in an hour-and-a-half would take a twentieth-century scholar a week to locate and consume. Though my level of “moderation” for online consumption has varied many times, currently I spend about an hour-and-a-half reading, commenting on, and thinking through items online. I’ve determined this to be a moderate amount for me, though I daily question myself, probing for signs of intellectual lust or technological laziness. The discernment, wisdom, and intimacy with God needed to determine the “moderate” level of devotion to spiritual reading and online consumption are not one-time events; they require constant exercise.

As one component of the “spiritual disciplines”, “spiritual study” is one of many, and “internet reading” is only a sub-component of “spiritual study”. We know that we’re drifting into the undesirable reaction of “over-consumption” when other realms of life (family time, prayer, reading Scripture, community, etc.) begin to feel threatened or usurped.

Like I mentioned above, I’ve found that my current level of “moderation” is about an hour-and-a-half a day of online reading, six days a week. This, in my current state of life, is the limit of “proper use”. Seeking, as C.S. Lewis encouraged, to have a “child-like heart and an adult mind”, this level provides an adequate amount of online spiritual reading, social awareness, and entertainment for me. An hour-and-a-half each day may be too much for you, or it may even be too little. For you, fifteen daily minutes may be “over-consumption” while to another person one daily hour would be close to “disengagement.” We’re each wonderfully unique creations. Either way, the decision about how much time you allow yourself to spend online is an intensely spiritual one. As a follower of Jesus, how you spend your time is one of the greatest indicators of your spiritual life. How much–and what–you read (both online and offline) can be a main indicator of your spiritual vitality.

I love to read;  it is rarely a burden and most often a joy. And many other people don’t like to read or don’t know how to read well. Because of these realities, I recognize that I am to read for the sake of others. Selfish reading is the antithesis of our communal faith, especially when it comes to spiritual reading. I don’t read spiritual literature solely to satisfy my own gluttonous appetite for wisdom, but to share what I’ve discovered in the great writings of others. Just as God never gives us money, gifts, or blessings solely for ourselves, He never gifts us with spiritual insights and wisdom solely for our own benefit. We are blessed to bless others, materially and spiritually. We are transformed to transform.

One of my priest friends, Fr. Ed, told me a story about a mentor of his who was a fellow lover of reading. His friend had a study filled, wall-to-wall, with thousands of books. You could hardly walk across the floor because the books were stacked, opened, and spread out all over the place, many of them half-read. Fr. Ed asked his mentor, “Do you read all of these books?”. When his mentor confirmed that he did, Fr. Ed asked, “Why?”, the mentor responded, “Ed, if I can find one word of encouragement for one person out of all of the books in this room, it will all have been worth it.” That story demonstrates a main reason I consider online spiritual reading such a delightful duty.

Recognizing that most people won’t–or can’t–set aside an hour-and-a-half for online reading each day, I consider it a natural obligation to share and “point out” good stuff around the internet. Just as a seasoned African tour guide points out rare wonders in the vast savannas, I get excited to share with others great things I’ve come across.

A couple of months ago, I started “sharing” items through my RSS reader; you can check out many of the most interesting articles I’ve found on the right side of this blog. But, what I aim to do now is, on most weekdays, to post a short list of my favorite links from around the web. Many different blogs around the internet already do something like this, and I’ve found that I love exploring the links that different people offer. Each set of “favorite links” reflects the unique tastes of each compiler, meaning that the more compilers you read, the greater diversity of links you find as well.

I’m a young father and husband, a recently-converted Catholic, one who is passionate about social justice, and a voracious reader who works a day job as a mechanical engineer. You probably don’t share every one of those character traits with me. So these links will be–like my “favorite blogs” list–completely subjective offerings. But, what I do hope is that they reveal writings to you that you wouldn’t otherwise have discovered. I’m still having trouble navigating the treacherous waters between the shores of vanity (why should anyone care what links that I like?) and dutiful sharing (why wouldn’t you share these great links with others?). The path isn’t completely clear, but I think the ship should sail onward, regardless of the captain’s fear of vanity.

I hope these links will allow you to discover new things, new writers, and new websites to sink more deeply into God. As you determine your level of “moderation” in regards to online spiritual reading, I hope these links provide rich material to aid your formation. If anything, I hope they better enable you to grasp the best parts of the internet’s incredible resources and, as Lewis would say, help you go “further up, and further in” to our wondrous God.

(These words all refer to the consumption of online media, which is in many ways different than the production of online media. Writing blog posts, tweeting, or spending time on Facebook have their own discernment processes, dangers, and benefits. And of course playing video games online is a whole different beast.)