We live in times of great modern miracles. Never in the world has existed such a great speed of information. Never did one see the technical possibilities so advanced as now. Whatever thing that happens from the other side of the world is known almost at the same time through the whole planet. Just one click with a mouse of the computer sends to hundreds of destinations information about wars, threats, tsunamis or deaths. The world lives its scientific apogee. Researchers try to break the limit of ethics and of biological manipulation and of rediscovering the nuances of the human genetic code.

Never before was it so easy to know cultures and persons geographically distant and virtually present. It is easy for virtual companies to arrange even marriages on demand! Adding the characteristics of each participant and the probability of conjugal ‘combination’ is calculated through software online. Ultimately one hears talk of technological robots trained to manifest emotions.

In contrast never did one see a world so chaotic. Today with a simple button one can initiate an atomic detonation capable of starting the 3rd world war. The appeal to the mulitude arrives to cause fear, phobias  . . . it is more assured and pleasurable to lose hours surfing the internet. In the virtual world,: a collection of friends on Orkut, popularity guaranteed. In the real world: a collection of days in solitude in front of the a computer. Never, as now, did one hear talk of such depression, suicide, lost of the sense of life and the appeal to the use of drugs to divert from the tedium of modernity.

It is not a sin to approve the marvels of the moderns world. God does not condemn anyone who may try scientifically to save lives respecting them absolutely. There is no error of enriching onself knowing cultures and strengthening ties, virtual or not. What in fact is contradictory to the real change is the imaginary. It is foolish to exchange a hug, wipe away a tear of nostalgia for an emoticon. Using a text message, I can wwrite “I love you”, but nothing substitutes the faithful company of a loved person in difficult hours of life, of hands given, side by side, until death separate them. For more than the post modern era in the marvels with its discoveries, the man continues always the same, believing through loving and being loved. The Catholic saint. Augustine, who was born in Africa, converted through the prayerful tears of his holy mother after 30 years of hedonism and bohemia wrote: Lord you made us and we are yours! Our hearts are restless until they rest in You!” He had reason! All our curiosity through modernity, has just suffocated the interior center that does not want silence  . . .

We marvel ourselves with whatever modernity gives us. Still we do not forget that the things of the soul are not resolved with the click or an enter button of a computer. Our souls need something more. Someone more: God! He is the same yesterday, today and always (Hebrews 13:8) Always modern!
Your Brother,

Your Brother
Fr. Delton Filho
Assessor of Communication of the Diocese of Uruaçu, Brazil
Coração fiel (Faithful Heart) Community, Rialma, Goias, Brazil
Radio Program Mon-Sat 9:00 ET (USA)
Rádio Coração Fiel http://www.coracaofiel.com.br

Father Delton Filho is also a recording artist.

Translated from Portuguese