Mass tweeting

I have a confession to make: I have a Twitter account.  I sporadically update, but I find the majority of information posted by the people or organizations I follow very interesting.  Some of it, I could live without knowing, but that's the nature of things.  I don't have a problem with several tweets per day from the accounts I follow.  However, this past week I encountered something that I was very disappointed in.  There are at least two people, if not more, affiliated with Catholic News Service that are attending World Youth Day in Madrid; one particular person tweets from the CNS account.  This person was tweeting during the Opening Mass, keeping everyone updated on the different moments of the liturgy.  

I experienced a few reactions during this time: I was at work, so it was neat to know what was going on and how this Mass differed from others; The thought that, "I'm sure that it will be broadcast again, either on tv or the web, so I can see for myself; You're tweeting during Mass?! Really? Instead of updating, why not concentrate on prayer during the Mass? Seriously, folks.  The third reaction was the most dominant, sort of a disbelief, sadness and irritation put together.  You're distracting yourself and others when doing this, no matter how subtle you think you are.  Sure, it's a different experience than the Masses you're used to in your parish, that doesn't mean worshiping and praising God and praying take the backseat to novelty.  

I'm sure the person tweeting meant well, and may have not even thought of distracting herself and others from the focal point of the Mass.  Hopefully, the person does think of it and refrains from doing so in the future.  It has been stirring about in my mind and it makes me wonder.  Do I ever let my social media sites (whether it be Twitter or Facebook, or even my blog) get in my way of praising and worshiping God with my life and my prayer life?  The unfortunate answer is, "yes."  So there are times that I need to refocus and evaluate how much time I spend on the sites, how I use the sites, and my interaction with other people on the sites, in order to concentrate on God more fully.  So, I'm going to ask you to ask yourself the same question: What gets in your way, whether it be social networking sites or work or school, do you want to remedy that, and how are you going to remedy it?