By Ronald Lyndon Lord Medina
Third Place Winner

The author is in Fourth Year - St Magdalene of Canossa at Canossa Academy, Lipa City, Batangas.

Does a huge number of online-society friends mean that one really has THAT number of friends? I don’t think so. It is not uncommon for us to add up as many persons as we can as our online friends just because of their face value. This is a misconception about online societies – that authentic friendships come with the higher number of friends. People today do not understand that these societies are gifts giving us the opportunity to have genuine dialogues, and thus, genuine friendships.

Whenever I think of genuine friendships, I always remember my experiences in Hong Kong where I represented our country for the Global Youth Conference. In a week’s span, I formed acquaintances with my fellow delegates, but of course I did not spend all of my available time for them because the conference required lots of careful planning each day. At the end of the conference and before leaving for the Philippines, I had the chance to get the delegates’ contact details. Thankfully, online messengers enabled me to engage in sincere conversations with my overseas friends. It was after the conference that these acquaintanceships involved into authentic friendships.

I find it very relaxing to recall the bonding moments that I had with my friends from Hong Kong. One distinct experience was the Yum Cha. I was very curious about this tea ceremony because of their display of strange traditions such as cleaning an already-clean eating utensil, tapping two fingers on the table whenever somebody pours tea for you, and other weird actions. I was worried for I had no idea what was going on until a nice, pretty delegate offered to assist me during the ritual. I found out that they do all these peculiarities as ways to show importance to their guests. I found myself taken aback for I realized that even if we have different cultures, deep inside we are alike. We are alike. We are alike in a way that we both show concern and love for others. We both possess the spirit of humanity.

As such, I was very much reminded of Jesus. He broke the norms and did everything to embrace the ‘outcast’ – prostitutes, lepers, the possessed, tax collectors, criminals, and sinners. He was the superman of His time. And thus, I wonder: If Jesus committed all those high-degree acts to embrace all the people that He could, how could He have evangelized if he had had the internet already before?

Honestly, I do not know. Still, thinking of this gives me inspiration on how I could be in this time and age. I’d like, in my little ways, to use this gift of technology to bridge the differences in nations and religions. I could never forget the articles that I read and the videos that I saw in the internet about children caught in conflicts in the war-torn areas of Mindanao. I do not see the war as an issue of religion. What I saw was a war caused by the failure to recognize the love embedded in the meaning of humanity. I admit that enacting solutions is beyond my capabilities as a student, but it is my desire to engage in these issues in a way that I can.

And thus I started making steps towards evangelization through technological initiatives. A member of my school’s catechetical organization, it is usual for my students to share their experiences and to ask advice from me through text messages. And also through text messages, I would listen to them, encourage them, and share my advice and biblical quotes to make them feel God’s love working its wonders. Furthermore, I often write for an online magazine where I share and spread the meaning of humanity, particularly of pressing issues like that of Mindanao and the CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) for farmers. Utilizing online social networks, I post blogs and reflections, and I share inspiring videos, pictures, and websites that would make a reader think of others and their faith. I felt glad every time I get comments from people who share my views - people I do not know personally.

I feel brave enough to say that I, in my time and age, am serving as God’s instrument in evangelizing, in spreading the faith, and propagating the spirit of humanity. I am making sure that I, equipped with the gift of technology, am doing my part to bridge the gaps between nations and cultures. All of these are for their sake, our unity, and God’s glory.