What if St. Faustina had a Facebook??

Last evening I came across the same thing...it gets me every time.  Someone of the Catholic faith misrepresenting it over social media.  A misguided friend on Facebook.  And I came to the same dilemma that I, and I'm sure others, are faced with all the time:  What do I say?  Do I say anything?

Evangelizing over the Internet has some problems and absurdities that saints of the past just didn't have to deal with.  First off is the problem of tone.  For some reason, reading replies over the Internet brings out people's sensitive sides; if they read it slightly the wrong way, it is taken offensively, and their reply is tense, and the whole conversation goes downhill.  Second is misinformation.  Everybody thinks they are the expert at whatever they have started talking about over social media.  It always slightly amuses me how many "experts" there are about the current issues...fiscal cliff, gun control, what have you...in the statuses you read on Facebook.  Everyone has all the solutions. Third is the the ability to be anonymous, or at least hidden, in the world of the Internet.  Even if you say something out in the open on Facebook, you have the luxury of being at the other end of the computer.  You never have to face the person in real life if you really don't want to. 

So, as I looked at this particular post on Facebook, having both these problems in my mind and trying to figure out if/how to respond to this person over Facebook, I started thinking about the saints...if they had had Facebook, how would they have been?  Would they have responded?  What about "Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words?"  Would they have been meek or stern?  My thoughts went something like this...:

St. Pio of Pietrelcina would have used the poke button...a lot.
St. Peter would be "that guy" who wrote a comment off the top of his head without thinking about it and then had to apologize.
St. Faustina would have been admonishing of anybody who was misbehaving. (Something I love about St. Faustina is that she wasn't some weakling...the woman knew how to call people out!)
Nobody would want to talk with St. Thomas Aquinas on Facebook...he's always be asking questions and probably winning his argument.
G. K. Chesterton would be making a lot of those "Catholic Memes".
St. Gianna Molla would be all lovey-dovey and super cute on her husband's page on Facebook.
St. Martha would be updating us on her house cleaning.

Yes, the personalities of the Facebook saints would run the gamut, just as the personalities you find on Facebook now-a-days; there are the political activists, the pro-life activists, the ones with all the witty statuses that you wish you could top, the jokesters, the one's who get on barely once a month.  But when I wondered if they would address somebody who was erroneously representing the Catholic faith, I realized the universal response of the Facebook saints would be to address the issue...whether publicly or in a private message, heresy should not stand.

The New Evangelization is a great challenge to today's youth.  In a world that says do not step on toes, the New Evangelization is calling today's Catholics to be involved, even in social media, and not only represent themselves as faithful Catholics, but also address others who are fallen away or who are misinformed about the faith.  In the past, evangelization has been about Christians converting non-Christians...we are the first era of Christians re-evangelizing fallen away Christians.  That is what the New Evangelization is all about.  It's a tall order, and each of us will find our own way...but this way can never be one of condoning misinformation.  We are each called to be bold and stand for the Church against falsehood and slander.  In the Facebook world it might become a war of words (which I personally try to stay away from, as I'm not good at it)...it might mean someone "unfriends" you...it might mean a loooooong private email debate.  It might mean getting off of Facebook, getting away from the temptation to hide behind Internet anonymity, and meeting up with that friend in person to discuss the issue.  It might mean being sneaky and putting correct information on your own wall and tagging individuals that should read the article instead of directly attacking the misinformed.  Prayer, of course, but also proper response.  Evangelization takes on as many faces as their are personalities in the world.  But it is the vocation to which we are each called.