Everywhere I look on the Catholic interwebs the past few weeks, I see one major theme: leisure, or purposeful and restorative rest for our bodies and souls. From Pope Leo XIV to my favorite Substack writers to witty reels on Instagram, we are suddenly laser focused on leisure time.

On social media, we become digital neighbors. And if social media makes us digital neighbors, then accessible social media is one way we practice love of neighbor. As Pope Francis beautifully expressed: “Communication is really about realizing that we are all human beings, children of God. I like seeing this power of communication as ‘neighbourliness.’”

Relationship and connection are at the heart of the Christian life. We were not created to be alone but were created for relationship. Yet as our world becomes more virtual, it becomes harder and harder to connect deeply with one another. How do we form connections when everyone around us is staring at their phone?

We either love or despise Valentine’s Day. The modern culture seduces us into believing we need lavish romance, decadent chocolates, expensive bouquets, and most importantly tall-dark-and-handsome Prince Charmings to woo us into bliss! We are set up to be disappointed with unrealistic expectations of ourselves and our partners, and of course we know that forced love is never true anyway. We can and should celebrate love and even romance, but what does that look like?