In one of my recent posts, A Convergence of Passions, I outlined how my career progressed from media to technology-centric and then, ultimately, a combination of the two. Much to my surprise, the convergence continues, this time, bringing my professional and personal lives together in an integration I could have only hoped for.
While at Franciscan University, I was fortunate to study Communications from not only a technical perspective but also from the perspective of the Catholic Church. During my sophomore year, I read Communio and Progressio, a 1971 pastoral letter instructing Catholics on the Church’s teaching on Social Communications and encouraging them to embrace new forms of media and leverage them for good. This struck me as significant, especially in so far as the Church specifically encouraged the young to embrace new technologies. It was this motivation that piqued my passion for media and my overarching goal to be “in the world but not of the world.”
Venturing out after graduation, I was pulled more and more toward technology and found myself applying this mandate to my new career field. My calling shifted from leveraging media for good to leveraging internet and web-based technologies for good. Of course, given that the internet is often referred to as “new media,” this was anything but a stretch. You can imagine as the technology and media sectors have converged in my professional life, I’ve felt as though this “jump” had been validated. That said, one aspect was lacking. While my work has been beneficial to society by playing a role in enhancing productivity, optimizing businesses, and eventually creating jobs, it has lacked the supernatural element I have always found intriguing.
Today I am proud to announce I will be heading to the Vatican later this month to leverage my experiences in technology and media for an even greater good. The Pontifical Council for Social Communications will be holding its first-ever symposium for the Foundation of Evangelization through the Media. The purpose of the conference is to gather “Church leaders, entrepreneurs of high potential projects for evangelization through the media, and major business personalities” in order to “help the Church meet the challenge of having a stronger presence in all media.” Having received the formal invite to the symposium only five days after posting “A Convergence of Passions,” I can only stand in awe of the plan God has for my life and the lack of awareness I have to what it is. I have been truly blessed and can only pray that I am able to respond to his calling. My life continues to converge before my eyes.