For Lent, give up your aul smartphones, parish urges

MASS-GOERS are being urged to switch off their smartphones for Lent.

Parishioners in Navan, Co. Meath, are being urged to ‘reconnect with their families’ for the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday by talking to one another rather than texting and browsing.

The recommendation is listed in the recently published Navan & Johnstown ‘Invitation for Lent 2019’ and urges church-goers to ‘reduce screen time in order to increase family time’.

And Fr Robert McCabe, curate in St Mary’s, Navan, said he hopes parishioners will make a permanent lifestyle change, rather than just putting down their devices during Lent.

‘Lift up hearts, not mobiles’

He said: ‘Everybody can benefit from spending less time on their phones and laptops, and using that time to communicate instead with their families.

‘Even members of the clergy are guilty of being on their phones too much, and Pope Francis himself has highlighted this point when he chastised priests and bishops who take pictures with their mobiles during Masses, saying they should lift up their hearts rather than their mobiles.’

Fr McCabe, a former chaplain with the Defence Forces, said mobile phone etiquette has even been introduced in the pre-baptism courses he runs in his parish. He explained: ‘One of the things we stress in the course is that just one person should be taking photos of the baptism, whilst everyone else relaxes and enjoys the occasion.

‘If people are holding up their phones to take photos of the event, then they are not properly engaging with it. The same can be said of weddings. The last thing a bride wants to see as she walks down the aisle is loads of people taking photos with their phones. The only person that should be taking pictures is the wedding photographer.’

While Fr McCabe acknowledges that some people – including those on call for their work – are not in a position to turn off their smartphones, he insists we could all benefit from spending less time staring into our devices.

‘A good description of phones that I’ve heard is that they are “weapons of mass distraction”. If you’re in a position to switch them off, then do so and use that time positively,’ he said.

‘I hope people will heed this message during Lent, and that people will make changes for life, and not just for this period. People are spending too much time in the virtual world, and need to come back to the real world.’

Navan appears to be at the heart of efforts to get us to ditch our smartphones, as P. Clarke’s pub in the town has been offering a free pint for every customer who puts away their phone – in an effort to revive the old pub atmosphere of bygone times.

This follows claims from relationship experts that the habit of using your mobile phone too regularly is leading to break-ups.

Therapist Tony Moore, who runs Talking Point Counselling in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, said recently: ‘If you end up spending every minute on your phone, updating your Facebook status and sending photos, it could be the last straw that triggers a break-up, because the time you’re spending online is time you’re not talking to each other.’

Last a month, a survey by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network found that although many schools have banned the use of smartphones during school hours, more than a third of head teachers said they experienced problems as a result of pupils using such devices.

‘Weapons of mass distraction’