For the first weekend of Lent this year, I spent my entire weekend on a Silent Retreat at a local retreat center. I had zero technology (not even my Wisephone), no internet, and no other voices by my side except the Voice of the Lord. My biggest takeaway from the retreat is something that started to hit me one year ago, at the start of Lent last year. One major issue I noticed in my own spiritual life is that I tend to listen to “Godly People” on Podcasts more than I actually listen to the Voice of the Lord! When I had a smartphone, I listened to SO many podcasts that other Catholics produced, but then I would get to the end of day after day and realize, “I never REALLY prayed today". That's an issue.
First, we really have no clue how holy someone who has a podcast or social media platform is. You do not see their actual journey to holiness the way God does. I cannot tell you how much energy of my life has been wasted because I deemed myself so unholy because I did not measure up to (what looked like) someone else's holiness or perfect life on a digital platform. I still wrestle with how I feel about people overly sharing their personal life on platforms. A huge part of what I want to do is help people navigate receiving online inspiration in a way that inspires them (not into the comparison trap), because the root of the issue is not the platforms, it's our thoughts & our own lack of prayer life. I am constantly praying about how much God is asking me to share my personal journey with Him on my podcast, blog, and more! I do recognize that God does so much through people sharing stories with each other; however, there is a balance on the receiving end that needs to happen right now.
Second, no matter HOW holy anybody is, nobody is God but God! That kinda seems “duh”, but God deserves our time more than anybody else! Albeit people that you follow on social media or listen to their podcast, OR people you see EVERY DAY that you know IN REAL LIFE! If you are not praying every single day, that needs to change TODAY. Not tomorrow, BUT TODAY! The devil will tell you “just wait. you can do it tomorrow”. If you are listening to podcasts first thing in the morning, but make it to the end of that day and have not prayed, ask yourself, “do I need to prioritize that podcast over praying?”.
Lastly, who do you know IN REAL LIFE that inspires you? Another facet of what I want to do is create a blueprint for my generation to “rebuild the village”. The lack of village is a huge part of why I think we all feel that we “need” these online communities! I touch on this in my podcast episode with Chris Kaspar, the Founder of Techless. Ask yourself, am I listening to people on a podcast or Instagram more than I'm calling a friend who lives down the street? If so, how can that switch. Vulnerability thrives and is best received in these relationships
The voices of Godly People are SO GOOD because in our current society, they are needed more than ever! However, God's voice in your daily prayer life trumps those voices. Sometimes, the robotic habit of putting on a podcast takes up precious time that we could be spending with Jesus, and that is a huge reason I believe SO MANY young people think they do not have time to pray (another lie of the devil).