Using this Blog

Several people have suggested that some form of how-to might be helpful. This page should offer user-friendly instructions on how to participate in this blog in an easy and meaningful way. Well- easy at least. You determine how meaningful it is!

• The Challenge of Pope Benedict XVI for Priests to Use Internet
• Posting comments
• Subscribing to the blog
• Other frequently asked questions

The Challenge of Pope Benedict XVI for Priests to Use the Internet

Responding adequately to this challenge amid today’s cultural shifts,
to which young people are especially sensitive,
necessarily involves using new communications technologies.
The world of digital communication,
with its almost limitless expressive capacity,
makes us appreciate all the more Saint Paul’s exclamation:
“Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16)

The increased availability of the new technologies
demands greater responsibility
on the part of those called to proclaim the Word,
but it also requires them to become become
more focused, efficient and compelling in their efforts.

Priests stand at the threshold of a new era:
as new technologies create
deeper forms of relationship across greater distances,
they are called to respond pastorally
by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word…

Using new communication technologies,
priests can introduce people to the life of the Church and
help our contemporaries to discover the face of Christ.
They will best achieve this aim if they learn,
from the time of their formation,
how to use these technologies in a competent and appropriate way,
shaped by sound theological insights and
reflecting a strong priestly spirituality
grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord.

Yet priests present in the world of digital communications
should be less notable for their media savvy than for
their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ.
This will not only enliven their pastoral outreach,
but also will give a “soul” to the fabric of communications
that makes up the “Web”.

–Benedict XVI, 44th World Day of Communications

Posting Comments

When you read a post, you’re doing so from one of two places. The first possibility is that you’re on the homepage. If you are, the address bar on the top of your screen will say “http://heartsonfire33.wordpress.com/“.

The second possibility is that you’re on a “post page“. If that’s the case, the address bar will say something like “http://heartsonfire33.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/hello/“.

See the difference? Take a look now and figure out where you are. This page is not the homepage. Notice that the way the link is written looks much like the post page. It includes the site itself (heartsonfire33.wordpress.com), but it also includes something additional (/my-writing/) Now let’s post a comment.

Special Preliminary Instructions if You’re on the Homepage

If you’re reading a post from the homepage, scroll down to the bottom of the post you’d like to comment on. You’ll see a small, underlined bit of text that either says “Leave a comment” or “X comments” (where X, of course, is any number). Click on the link.

Leaving a comment

Now, if you’ve started from a post page or if you’ve done the special instructions above, you should see big bold text: “Leave a Reply“. Under that text is a box where you can type your comment. Go ahead- type whatever you want (in a spirit of charity). When you’ve finished, the only final step is to figure out how to post it.

Submitting the comment

You have a few choices here. The standard choice is to post as a guest. If you do that, you must type your email address and name into the boxes under the reply box. The second choice is to log into a WordPress account- but if you have one, you’re probably not reading this! Twitter and Facebook work the same. If you want to leave a message using those accounts, just click on the correct button, then log in. It will take you back to the box.

After logging in or typing out a name and email address, all you have to do is hit “Post Comment”. That’s it. Your comment will be submitted for review, then posted.

Subscribing to the Blog

Go to the very bottom of any page. Look on the far left. Add your email address and click on “Sign me Up”. Then check your email and follow the instructions in it.

You can also easily subscribe just by leaving a comment! Follow the instructions above, then before you hit “Post Comment”, make sure to tick the little box that says “Notify me of new posts via email”. Once you submit your comment, you’re a subscriber.

If you have an RSS reader you can subscribe with the link on the homepage. Scroll down a bit and look to the right. You’ll see a link that says “RSS – Posts”. Just click on that, then click on “Subscribe to this feed” (or whatever your particular reader says). Internet Explorer and Firefox both double as RSS readers.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

Answering Polls

Nothing could be easier than answering a poll. Click in the circle next to the answer you want, then click “Vote”. Done.

Adding to Favorites/Bookmarking

This is different based on your browser. This list should help.

Playing Videos

It’s safe to play videos here. You will only find videos hotlinked from reputable sources. No virus will infect your computer unless Youtube itself gets infected! (Which is pretty unlikely.)