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I’d like
to say that I am absolutely a product of my American culture. Just like most
people, I get very excited when something new is about to come out. This was a
trait that has been with me for as long as I could read. I grew up in an era
when personal computers (PCs) were on the rise in family homes. It was also the
era when personal gaming consoles were becoming more common in American
households. New technology was revolutionizing the world in the late 1980s, and
it would be a trend that would continue at an unprecedented rate.
As an
adult, I look fondly upon my memories of childhood. I, of course, enjoyed long
hours of playing outside with my family and friends; yet, I also enjoyed the
challenges and storylines presented in video games. I remember being torn between
riding my bike with my good friends, or staying inside and attempting to beat
Super Mario Brothers for the 100th time. Usually my mother made the
decision for me by giving my younger brother and me $1 and telling us to walk
up to Kmart at the end of the street to buy something for ourselves.
As I grew
older, the graphics and complexity of video games grew substantially with each
passing year. My parents would always sacrifice as best as they could in order
to help their three boys get the latest system that all of their friends and
cousins were playing. As you can imagine, Christmastime was much anticipated
every year when gaming companies like Nintendo, Sega or Microsoft would release
their next-gen system. It was all the talk, especially among boys, at schools
all over America. It still is.
Now, as a
Catholic priest, I cannot help but look back on those moments of gaming and ask
myself, “why?” Why were video games so encapsulating to me as a youth? Was
there some redeeming quality to which I can now point as an adult? Every time I
have a chance to reflect upon these questions I begin by thinking about the
skills with which playing video games help gamers.
- 1. Hand-Eye Coordination: This is probably the most quoted excuse gamers give to their non-gaming counterparts.
- 2. Reaction Speed: Because so many things are happening on the screen all at the same time that require the gamer’s attention, in order to win, the gamer must often act fast.
- 3. Reading: Really? Reading? To go off of personal experience, a cousin of mine actually learned how to read by reading subtitles in video games. He would get help with the words he could not understand. To this day I would say that he is an excellent reader.
- 4. Problem Solving: Most video games, whether or not people notice, contain a series of complex problems to be solved. Each gamer becomes a detective trying to solve these problems.
- 5. Imagination: This is probably my favorite point. Video games immerse their players into a world that is created, mostly, out of pure imagination. When people play video games they get to enter the skin of someone or something else. As they play, a story enfolds right before their eyes. It is an interactive story, whereas reading a book is more of a passive endeavor.
Now, I
must say that the Church has always preached moderation. Temperance is one of
the cardinal virtues, after all. Games can have addictive qualities. I remember
doing a presentation a few years ago about the effects of video game addiction,
and there are some alarming statistics. This is why I caution that self-control
is a very important characteristic for anyone to develop, especially in a world
that seems to have limitless distractions.
Recently,
I must admit, I was in conversation with a group of students from the grade
school on the very topic of video games. Being not as connected as I used to
be, I always enjoy hearing about the games that are popular with the youth
today. At some point in the conversation, one of the students’ faces turned
from excitement to a look of nervousness. I could tell that he wanted to say
something.
“Fr.
Chris,” he eventually began during a lull in the conversation. “My class is
going to confession tomorrow, and I’m pretty nervous.” The others in the group
nodded their agreement. “Is there anything that I can do or that you can say to
make it a little easier to go,” he asked me.
I’ll admit
that the student caught me a bit off guard. I wasn’t quite sure how we went
from talking about video games to talking about the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. With all of their eyes on me, I said a quick prayer asking God
to help me give the group an explanation that was adequate enough to at least
make things a little bit easier for them. “Before I begin my response to you, I
want to let you know that there is a point that I will eventually make. Just be
patient,” I said to them. “When I was younger, there was a feature in video
games and consoles that I really liked,” I began, as they all looked at me
intently. “This feature actually has a lot to do with the Sacrament of
Confession.” As I said this, I know I had their complete attention. “When you
lose in a video game on a certain level or to a certain boss, most of the time
a question pops up on the screen. What is that question?” I asked.
“Would you
like to retry,” replied one of the students.
“That’s
exactly the question I was thinking about. But what happens if you hit ‘retry’
and play the level the exact same way as before?” I asked.
“You lose
again,” replied all the students.
“Well, in
real life, God gave us a real-life reset button. It is called the Sacrament of
Confession. In a video game, when you lose, you have to figure out what you did
wrong in order to win. We have to do the same thing in real life,” I continued.
“You don’t just come to the confessional, say your sins and leave without
really thinking about what you did wrong. You have to strategize.”
I learned
very quickly as a young priest that, when you have all the eyes of a group
looking back at you, they are immersed in what you are saying. At this point, I
had the entire group of students looking very intently at me. In all honesty, I
knew that this explanation was absolutely a gift from the Holy Spirit. I was
just blessed to be along for the ride.
I took a
breath and continued. “Because God is very merciful, He is always willing to
forgive you and give you another chance, but you have to be willing to admit
what you did wrong. The priest is there to help you strategize a little bit,
but you’ll learn the best strategy to defeat the temptations of your life
through prayer and your relationship with God. As the priest says the words of
absolution, God is giving you another chance to try again.”
“What if I
mess up again?” one of the students asked.
“You come
back to the confessional to try again. You admit what you’ve done wrong and you
approach life differently,” I said. “In life, what do you think our goal is?”
I will
admit that I am very well- known to smile a lot, but I had an
extra- big smile on my face as one of the students
responded: “To become a saint.”
I could
not have been more pleased with how my conversation transpired with my students
that day. Occasionally I will have one come back to me and tell me that our
conversation helped him or her understand the Sacrament of Confession so much
more. They also tell me that they try to explain it to their friends or family
the same way that I explained it to them. As a priest, I am elated when
students walk away learning something new, but words do not even seem adequate
to explain the satisfaction I feel when a student tells me that they used what
I taught them to teach others.
In those
moments, I realize that I have helped create new evangelists.
And on
that particular day, a group of students learned that “game over” does not
always mean “the end.” The real-life “reset button” is a new opportunity to
strategize and “try again.”
Short version of the Video:
