Media - Digital evangelization.

Digital evangelization. "Sent to transcend borders" (55th General Chapter)

No one could imagine that the world context would radically change in 2020 due to the pandemic, a reality that made us rethink our way of "being" with the other, our way of "reaching out" to the other, making stronger and more demanding the call of the 55th General Chapter “… to transcend borders”.

After a time of silence and prayer, of search and discernment, we felt the need to "transcend", to get out of the known, to break schemes, to go beyond our fears, to seek new methods, to open ourselves to new horizons ... that is when the pandemic became an opportunity: a KAIROS.

Evangelizing through the Social means of Communication has been for us, for a long time, a constant invitation, embodied in our documents: “To enter the world of the Social means of Communication, assuming them as« new places of evangelization » through which the announcement of the Word becomes effective…”[1]. The pandemic made this invitation an imperative, which moved us to find creative ways to live and spread the faith. Today we can say that DIGITAL EVANGELIZATION WAS NEVER AS NECESSARY AS IN THESE TIMES!

We have made many efforts to venture into this medium, sharing through different digital platforms: videos, prayers, celebrations, live broadcasts, among others. However, we cannot think that Digital Evangelization consists only of that, we must respond to the existential concerns experienced by our brothers and sisters to whom our evangelization is directed, as Saint John Paul II said: “a New Evangelization: new in its ardor, methods and instruments. Seeking to respond to the needs of today's world people ”.[2]

We are urged for a digital evangelization that "speaks of God to men" and allows us to grow in faith. The challenge that we face today is to go from “digital users” to “digital evangelizers”, capable of creating “digital content” that is in tune with the needs of people and generates an interaction from the Gospel.

We are urged for a digital evangelization that "speaks of God to men" and allows us to grow in faith. The challenge that we face today is to go from “digital users” to “digital evangelizers”, capable of creating “digital content” that is in tune with the needs of people and generates an interaction from the Gospel.

The director of Catholic Link, Mauricio Artieda, proposes four very interesting keys for all digital evangelization:[3]

• To Connect faith with life: “to connect the mysteries of faith with reality ... what can this tell you, how it can feed you spiritually, how it has transformed the way you relate ... To help them understand the beauty that faith brings to their lives”.
• Christian realism: "Everything that is beautiful, everything that is good, everything that is true is Christian in the first place ... We must not be afraid to enter into dialogue with different realities and rescue what is beautiful, true and good that they have."
• Communicate from our vulnerability: “when we communicate from our vulnerability, people open their hearts, connect with us much better, wounds are a more direct path to the love of God”. "Open up and communicate."
• Help people to be free and choose for themselves: "Look at the richness of reality and choose ... I’ll help you; I will promote your ability to choose."

A digital evangelization project must have an identity, it becomes the perspective from where you build your message, the spirit you want to transmit, and from there create digital content that generates empathy and allows interaction. It is important to answer the question: what do I want to achieve? To Whom do I want to address? If there is identity in my evangelizing project, there will be identification and dissemination of it. Linked to identity is the way, how do I want to evangelize on the networks? it is the technical, the creative.

With these guidelines, let us continue creating spaces for digital evangelization, getting closer to people and announcing the Good News of the Kingdom, "in time and out of time."

Text: Sr. Rocío Cuéllar D.

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