COEXISTING WITH MY iPHONE

 

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research organization, as of 2019 96% of Americans owned a cellphone. The other day I was forced to leave the elite 4% and get an iPhone. We have switched credit card banks, and the new card pretty much demands that I have an iPhone that can receive text messages, take pictures of receipts, and who-knows-what-else. 

"So what? What's the big deal?" Well, I now have to figure out ways of keeping the ironically named "cell" phone from invading my monastic cell and my time. For example, only the credit card company has my new phone number, yet I've already received phone calls from Denver, Maryland and New Jersey and elsewhere. 

I admit that I liked having the phone when I went to get some routine bloodwork done yesterday. I had made an appointment online and filled in all my information ahead of time. So when I walked into the office I just walked up to a scanner and swiped my phone's screen (an image of a funny-looking box made up of black-and-white squares) and immediately saw all my information already displayed. A few minutes later my phone pinged and a text message invited me to step up to the window to begin my appointment. So, I'm learning to make an uneasy truce with the stranger in my room.

As 96% of you know, an iPhone can kidnap your attention and supply you with essential news bulletins about non-events that you don't care about, and can let you research topics that you would never even have thought about otherwise. Well, I figure that I have enough trouble fighting all the distractions that normally come my way without adding a tidal wave of full-color instantly available useless information. 

People have been able to contact me for years via landline telephone and email. So far I've never regretted the lack of "instant" news from anyone.  

Maybe a gPhone?

St. Benedict insists that God, who is present everywhere, is constantly trying to communicate with each of us. The monastic life is designed to help clear the channels of communication by reducing the noise generated by possessions, self-will, pleasure-seeking and so on, by encouraging an environment of silent listening, meditation on Scripture, and introspective prayer. So, where does my new iPhone fit into this environment? 

This Lent I'm going to concentrate on spending time with my God-Phone. I'll be listening more carefully for messages from the Lord as they arrive from all sides: a kind gesture from a brother monk, the news of a friend's death from Covid, a phrase from Scripture during morning meditation. Like all those "urgent" calls and texts on my iPhone, God's messages often come at inconvenient times, and can even be unwelcome (e.g. as I look at someone's facial expression and realize that I'm being selfish and unreasonable). 

So, as I continue to make peace with my iPhone (I'm thinking of learning how to make and answer phone calls with it this week), I'm committing myself to spending much more time with my gPhone.

Have a peaceful Lent!