Today, we start our third annual three-part series on the internet, social media, and smartphones, particularly when we’re young. Two years ago, 548 of us responded to an informal survey, and we found that 69% of us said that smartphones/devices are a concern for our family; 82% felt we needed to use our phones better (the other 18% were lying!). Two years later, have things gotten better?
In 12 years here at St. Anthony’s, I’ve watched people grow from Kindergarten to Grade 12, from Grade 7 to the end of university, or from Grade 12 to 30-years old, and now some of their parents are telling me their children are far from Jesus, and there’s regret and deep heartache. They thought their children were doing well spiritually. For 20 years as a priest, young adults themselves tell me something is wrong because they were closer to Jesus in elementary school. And the internet hasn’t helped: 1) because of the content: a lot of the content we consume is superficial and even sinful; 2) According to this book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize: “The Internet, by design, subverts patience and concentration. When the brain is overloaded by stimuli… attention splinters, thinking becomes superficial, and memory suffers. We become less reflective and more impulsive” (ix-x), and that makes it very difficult to cultivate a quiet heart that can encounter and love Jesus.
The First Reading begins: “Thus says the Lord: ‘So you, O son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me” (Ezek 33:7). In 598 B.C., the Babylonians invaded Jewish territory and the prophet Ezekiel was one of thousands captured and exiled. The reason the Jewish people suffered was because they didn’t follow God. But, because He loves everyone, He spoke to those who would listen, and Ezekiel was to pass on God’s warnings, to be a ‘watchman.’ St. Gregory the Great says that “a watchman always stands on a height so that he can see from afar what is coming”.
It’s the responsibility of priests to see what’s coming and warn people. Throughout the years, parents tell me their Grade-2 children love Jesus and really believe in Him. However spiritually, I can see further down the road. These children have a Grade-2-level faith, not mature faith. They aren’t morally strong enough for the temptations coming: All the pornography on the internet, the selfishness, the addictive habits. Today, I am trying to warn you lovingly, those I’ve known for years: I believe you’re spiritually overestimating yourselves and your children’s defenses. I do not say this to condemn, but to love. I can’t stay silent while a cultural tsunami sweeps away our next generation.
Dr. Arthur Brooks, a devout Catholic and professor at Harvard in the science of happiness, says that life online teaches this philosophy: Love things, use people, worship yourself. Generally speaking, when we use our devices, are we training ourselves to love things, use people, or worship ourselves? Yet Jesus teaches: Love people, use things, worship God .
As a community, we’re being warned: Praying before meals, before bed, and going to Mass every Sunday are good but not enough. If you wait until Grade 8 to get a smartphone, you’re not doing anything special. We’ll get to the positive solutions, but, calling out the problem is part of the solution, so this isn’t just being negative.
God continues: “If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked person shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand [Ezekiel will be responsible]. But if you warn the wicked person to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, they shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life’” (Ezek 33:8-9). The role of priests and parents is to change ourselves first, then warn those we love to turn away from evil and sin. If we don’t warn people, we’re guilty of a sin of omission.
There must be a balance between affirming and warning each other. Yet I think we need to turn up the heat on this issue because things are not getting better. When some priests and sisters say, ‘What can you do?’ they’re not speaking like prophets. One solution is to preach about it at Mass—I’m trying to improve. Parents say, ‘It’s so hard. My kids don’t listen.’ Yes, it is hard, and I don’t know what it’s like. But I do know what it’s like to try to guide 1057 people closer to Jesus and sometimes it feels like agony because some people don’t care—that agony is a temptation. In reality, the Holy Spirit has given more strength than I realize to lead others; the Holy Spirit has given parents more strength than you know to lead your children. And, young people, if your parents say, ‘Put away your phone, it’s dinner,’ put it away. Why argue? Why make family life harder? Just put it away and love your family. The Holy Spirit has given you strength.
Fr. Anil Prakash D’Souza, O.P., doctor of theology and formatore for seminarians, writes that, throughout the world, young men discerning God’s call to the priesthood are struggling with phones, because, when there’s free time, they fall back into bad habits. And Fr. Anil makes a confession: “I struggled with this demon for years: the endless checking, the compulsive scrolling, the distraction from what mattered most. I set timers, deleted apps, made rules for myself. They helped briefly, but the compulsion always returned. Then something changed. When my life turned toward concrete purpose — work that demanded my full energy… people who needed help… the demon’s hold began to weaken… The boredom vanished… I was no longer running from meaninglessness; I was running toward something magnificent.
His solution is what he calls a ‘compelling life,’ consisting of intellectual engagement, spiritual depth, apostolic creativity (to save souls), physical discipline, and meaningful relationships.
Dr. Brooks’ son, as a teenager, had a combination of boredom and depression, fueled by Instagram, etc. At 18, he couldn’t answer the two questions his father asks his Harvard students, ‘Why are you alive?’ and ‘What would you be willing to give your life to?’ So his father told him not to waste time and money at university. Instead, for a year and a half, he worked on a farm in Idaho, 16 hours a day for $11 an hour. A year later he joined the marines. When finished, 23-years old, he was married with a child. Now 26, he has two children, and he and his wife want to have six. His answers are concise: Why are you alive? ‘Because God made me to serve others.’ What would you be willing to give your life to? ‘I would give my life for my family, my friends, the Christian faith, my fellow marines, and the United States.’
Things can get better. We need to challenge each other. I’ve asked our youth leaders (Youth Ministry, Faith Labs, choirs, and altar servers) to take our youth ministry to the next level, with more focus on Jesus and following Him, sharing our testimonies, and inviting those who have never heard about Jesus to encounter Him.
Alpha starts in two Thursdays, Sept. 17, 2026 and it’s sort of an antithesis to online culture: you sit down face-to-face, you share a warm meal together, an engaging film, and talk about questions that matter: Why am I here? Is there a God? Does my life have purpose? There is zero pressure, zero judgment, and complete hospitality. Here’s an invitation:
Please invite anyone you know who’s exploring faith: ‘Have you heard of Alpha? It’s a free dinner, a video about faith, followed by a discussion. And there’s no commitment.’
When we leave today, in the spirit of graciousness, if someone on the team offers you a card, please politely accept it, or use your phone to take a photo of it.
Fr. Anil wrote, “The moment I surrender the vision [of a compelling life] through discouragement, fear, or laziness, the demon [of endless checking and scrolling] returns with greater force. I have felt it. That is why I speak with urgency. This is not theory; it is what has saved my own soul.” God the Father loves us and is warning us, to turn away from a demon to find the compelling life in Christ.