About a year ago I posted here on why I did not have Facebook. I said you would not see me on Facebook soon since I didn’t think there was any positive ministry I could do there (you can read the rest here). Things have changed. I just checked, and among Time Magazine’s 100 influential people in the world, and only 38 have more influence than I on social networks (Klout of 66 – same as the guy who founded Instagram). That’s a little bit of a change.
This transformation happened in a few steps. Last fall I began a blog (youth ministry not Regnum Christi Live) and it seemed that I should just repost the articles in other places online. So I opened a twitter account and then just put myself on Facebook. I figured, now I’ll get tons of people reading my blog. It didn’t happen.
I began asking a few brothers who’d had a little more success for ideas. They gave me a few and I started getting a few followers. Then when Pope Benedict Resigned, I thought maybe we could send him a whole bunch of tweets thanking the Pope. When I asked people on twitter, I got a bunch of positive responses so we went ahead. We sent over 30,000 tweets with #ThanksPontifex.
We kept going: in May we did #PrayTheRosary and for the feast of the Sacred Heart we did #ITrustinU. We got this last one to the number 3 spot on “trending topics” for the entire USA for the 3pm EDT hour. In fact we almost doubled the tweets in one hour we’d had in the previous 2 to 7,760.
Doing this, I have discovered how many Catholics are out there who want to do something good but just need a small impulse. I have also realized the value of the team; I said “we” above because only with a team could these things be done. I have worked together with several people but the biggest help was from a couple in New Jersey, Dr Brian and Esmerelda Kiczek. We helped each other out to learn how to do some of these things better (we fall but this way only one of us falls).
I worked with the Kiczeks since late February doing these things yet I had not asked them specific spirituality – I knew they had started some online prayer groups but that was all. When writing this, I asked them. They said they were auxiliary members of the Legion of Mary. Then I realized that this is a perfect example of how movements can cooperate. We saw each other as good Catholics going towards the same goal and helped each other reach it. We’ve never had some pow-wow about how much is Regnum Christi, how much is Legion of Mary or who gets the credit (Jesus does) – and I doubt we ever will.
My Twitter: @22Catholic
The Kiczeks Twitter (they have several more for their various prayer groups): @DrBrianKiczek and @EsmeraldaKiczek
Brother Matthew, it helped me realize I’m not the Catholic in the world who cares passionately about living my faith, pursuing holiness, and caring more about Christ than the ambient culture. It was a thrill to participate! Thanks for giving us a chance to do that! Best wishes on your upcoming ordination to transitional diaconate (and ALL your classmates).
Thank you so much for the mentions, it is an honor to work with you. Your story about the opening an account in FB is much like ours, at first we did not think it could work to evangelize, spread the word of God, etc.. but we gave it a try and it has been very helpful. It has been only one year since we open our twitters account and we have met some wonderful people like you who are on fire for the Lord. You have only started and I know there many great things for you to do. You are in my daily prayers. God bless you. Your sister in Christ, Esmeralda
Happy to be a part of this, and of any way to get devout Catholics working together. We are not alone, on twitter or FB or anywhere else – just too silent, sometimes.