Web communities, mediations can help light Lenten path

Faith Online

Published: February 17, 2007

BY James Little
Special to Arkansas Catholic

During the season of Lent, many Catholics focus on meditation and growing in faith. Thanks to a number of Internet ministries, there are great free resources online to help lead us toward God this Lenten season.

If a dialogue with other Catholics would help you get more out of Lent, there are a couple of sites where you can ask faith-related questions and communicate with other people who share in your interests and struggles.

The first site I'd mention is AskFather.net, a ministry led by Father John Zuhlsdorf, a priest who currently lives in Rome and is a prolific blogger and newspaper columnist. Site visitors are invited to ask any faith-related question and actually are encouraged to remain anonymous. Several priests volunteer their time to answer the questions, which are all posted to the Web site.

To date, the priests have answered nearly 7,000 questions, so there's a large collection of writings to browse. (Ask Father: http://www.askfather.net)

"Father Z," as he is known, also is a moderator on the Catholic Online Forum, which is a popular place to "hang out" online and discuss Catholic issues. Unlike AskFather.net, where the answers are given by clergy, anyone can post questions or answers in the Catholic Online Forum.

The forum is very closely moderated to keep out the riffraff, but sincere questions and comments are given fair play. There's a wide variety of discussion topics: prayers and petitions, vocations, canon law, Mary, saints, pro-life issues, baseball and more. There's even a discussion area set aside for young Catholics. (Catholic Online Forum: http://forum.catholic.org)

Meditation and prayer

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that meditation "engages thought, imagination, emotion and desire," and strengthens our will to follow Jesus. If you're looking to spend more time this Lent in meditation and prayer, there are several Internet resources you might find helpful.

AmericanCatholic.org, which is operated by St. Anthony Messenger Press, offers a feature called Minute Meditations. Every day, this Web page gives a one-paragraph excerpt from a book in the publishing company's catalog. I'd recommend making Minute Meditations your Web browser's home page during Lent so every time you get on the Internet you'll be sure to find, as the site says, "a quiet spot in your busy day." (American Catholic: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Minute/)

FranciscianRadio.org features regularly updated audio programs. Many of the friars' meditations and sermons also are available in MP3 format, which makes it possible for you to take them with you on your iPod or to copy them to CDs. There also are several program episodes in Spanish. (Franciscian Radio: http://www.franciscanradio.org)

If your Lenten observance would be helped by structured prayer, eBreviary.com offers a downloadable Liturgy of the Hours. Some offices, including night prayer for each day, are free to download. Day and evening prayer may require a subscription. (Liturgy of the Hours: http://www.ebreviary.com)

If you've always wanted to attend daily Mass during Lent but simply can't work it into your schedule, you should check out the free Daily Mass Podcast. Produced by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the five-minute audio program includes each day's readings. Sure, it's no substitute for the holy Mass, but it is an easy way to read Scripture every day. (Daily Mass Podcast: http://www.usccb.org/nab/nabpodcast.shtml)

If you use the Daily Mass Podcast or otherwise are meditating on Scripture, you might find a Web site called The Journey helpful. This simple site offers a meditation on each day's Liturgy of the Word, which you can read on the Web or sign up to receive a free daily e-mail. (The Journey: http://www.daily-meditations.org)

James Little, owner of the Web design firm Mmerse, writes from Sherwood.

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