With headphones stuffed into ears, devices fused into hands, and images and advertisements invading eyes and ears without ceasing, today's frontier is more New York City than Cheyenne. Our students don't walk home to vacant, green lands with grazing cows and rows of corn; they drive past Subway and Jack n' the Box, Ford dealerships and Best Buy. In their free time, many of our students tan themselves in the glow of the iPad or the violent movements of a video game. And what kind of games? On the retreat I mentioned above, a few seniors spoke about one game in which a player can tie a prostitute to a train track. Consider the contrast: St. Ignatius of Loyola opened up shelters for reformed prostitutes; now, students at schools inspired by his faith play games that involve killing them.
In today's frontier, houses of worship are not simple churches but tiny cathedrals retrievable from pockets, christened "smart phones."
Link (here) to the full article by Matt Emerson is an '04 graduate of Saint Louis University and a graduate of Notre Dame Law School (2008). He teaches sophomore scripture and assists with campus ministry at Xavier College Preparatory in Palm Desert, CA.
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