Hajja Salesjana January-March 2021

H AJJA S ALESJANA 6 Remember these simple principles when scrolling through your social media feed: Social media, while being a great tool in connecting us with people around the world, can also lead us down a dark path of gossip, slander and a judgmental mindset. Our emotions can easily be “let loose,” and the anonymity of the Internet can shield us from the natural repercussions of uncharitable words. St. Francis de Sales, while he lived in the 16th century, wrote a profound spiritual work entitled Introduction to the Devout Life that contains a wealth of wisdom that can still be applied today, in the 21st century. For example, he writes, “Do not pronounce a man to be a drunkard although you may have seen him drunk, or an adulterer, because you know he has sinned; a single act does not stamp him forever … Noah was drunk once, and Lot, moreover, was guilty of incest, yet neither man could be spoken of as habitually given to such sins; neither would you call Saint Paul a man of blood or a blasphemer, because he had blasphemed and shed blood before he became a Christian … what assurance have we that he who yesterday was a sinner is the same today?” The temptation of social media is to see a news story or a friend’s post and immediately jump to conclusions, forming a negative view of that person with a single post. We all make mistakes and sometimes what we post will paint a negative picture of who we are. However, we can’t make a judgment based on what we see on social media. In fact, St. Francis would go so far as to try and make an excuse for the person, seeing them in the best possible light. When you hear evil of any one, cast any doubt you fairly can upon the accusation; or if that is impossible, make any available excuse for the culprit; and where even that may not be, be yet pitiful and compassionate, and remind those with whom you are speaking that such as stand upright do so solely through God’s Grace. Do your best kindly to check the scandal- bearer, and if you know anything favorable to the person criticized, take pains to mention it. It does us no good to point the finger at someone else, when we have made no effort to correct the faults in our own lives. We cannot see into the heart of another person, but we St. Francis de Sales’ guide to using social media by Philip Kosloski (Aleteia) PhotobyWindows fromwww.unsplash.com