Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time (June 15, 2018): What is the Lord up to now?

Today’s Readings:

1 Kings 19:19-21
Psalm 16:1b-2a and 5.7-10
Matthew 5:33-37
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061618.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/18_06_16.mp3

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the Evil One.”

Good News Reflection: What is the Lord up to now?

I’d like to share with you the newest exciting developments happening in Good News Ministries.

As you probably know, I went away last month to write the first draft of my book, Tears for Abba. It was also a time of personal prayer and reflection, discerning God’s direction for Good News Ministries and reassessing what we’ve been doing, where it’s potential for growth lies, and what to put aside to make time for new developments. Throughout the month of May, interesting things unfolded that I had not anticipated. Such as: I found myself in an increasing role as a consultant on how to use Virtual Reality technology for my parish and for a caregiving agency.

Unbelievable developments in Virtual Reality

For my parish, on Wednesday this week I taught a workshop to the school’s vice principal and a few teachers about using Virtual Reality (VR) in the classroom. I’ll soon photograph a VR virtual tour of the school. And I’ve been asked to spearhead a complete VR photo record of parish facilities (I’ll shoot the photos, someone else will do the time-consuming  work of labeling everything). Although this is not overtly faith-based, God’s been opening doors and energizing me to proceed. It’s amazing how everything is unfolding.

For the caregiving agency (Aegean Home Health Care), which is owned by a couple of deacons, one of whom is an old friend, I’m helping them develop a service for the elderly using VR for reminisence therapy and to give the homebound an escape from feeling imprisoned in their homes by handicapped bodies. (We’re looking for someone to hire in the Tampa area who will become the agency’s first VR Activities Director. Know anyone?) No doubt I’ll be giving workshops someday on how to provide this service as a parish ministry. (How about your parish?)

I’ve found myself serving as a VR consultant in a surprisingly expanding way. With little effort, one thing has  led to another. Now is one of those rare times when God works fast and coordinates everything so completely that the only thing I have to do is pay attention and respond.

I was astonished to discover that the Enemy hates where this is going. I had thought that my VR consulting “work” (it’s too fun to call it “work”) was just a little, temporary aside from my ministry work. But my first meeting with the two deacons was attacked from every which way. For example, minutes before they arrived, my laptop broke, blocking me from showing my PowerPoint presentation about how VR helps the elderly. I couldn’t open the lid more than 10 degrees! Miraculously, it did open after I kept praying the name of Jesus over it. It was quite busted, but the screen was intact. Then the office internet went down. And that’s not all that interfered, but you get the idea. By divine help, we still had our meeting and the two deacons were set afire with the idea of ministering to the elderly with VR.

Since then, my involvement has grown. This past Monday, I was invited to serve as a consultant to Centertec, which is putting together a product that provides everything needed for taking VR experiences to the elderly, 30 at a time, in assisted living facilities and nursing homes.

Then on Tuesday, I met a woman who works for Unofficial Cardboard, a company that makes inexpensive VR  viewers. She and I share the excitement of VR’s future and a passion for turning the “WOW!” of it on in people’s minds. She is a Christian and understands what a difference immersive experiences can make in a person’s faith life. Like me, she wants to raise awareness and inspire many more people to try VR. So, her graphics artist is going to design a VR viewer for Good News Ministries! I’ll show it to you on her website, where you will have the opportunity to buy one for just $9.95 — and (PRAISE THE LORD, WHOOHOOOO!) she will donate $3 of every sale to Good News Ministries! (Yes, they will ship it anywhere in the world.)

I have the distinct impression that this is just the beginning of what God has planned, don’t you? Just think, two years ago when I made GNM’s first Virtual Reality Retreat, I had no clue that the Lord would lead me into these other directions of VR uses. Interesting, huh? Watch as this development continues to unfold!

© 2018 by Terry A. Modica

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