Can you hold, please?

Hello?

Hi, how was your day?

Who is this?

It's your mother! What do you mean who is this?

Oh, hi. Was'up?

What's up? How was golfing?

I'm not here, leave a message.

My nephew recently bought a new cell phone and created the above (in red) as his voicemail message. My sister had heard him set it up. When she called him a couple days later, she had forgotten the set up and started talking as if he was live. In fact, we've all fallen for his message. Teenagers! *grin*

We have become so dependent on being 'connected' through technology (cell phone, text messages, email, voicemail, call-waiting, caller-id, web-cam, and even blogs), that we have actually become disconnected. We are constantly using technology to talk to each other that person-to-person contact is becoming a rarity. For example, I rely heavily on the computer and email at work due to the nature of my job. I am also contacting my customers via phone. In other words, I am in constant contact with my customers through technology. I find even the meetings I attend are becoming shorter, time-wise, and packed with so much information that it is often difficult to get beyond the meeting agenda. It can become so easy for me to only use email and my computer rather than the phone (which voicemail itself can become annoying) or personal visit.

Gone were the days of visiting others in their offices or even at lunch or after work. Even if we try to use the phone to contact other agencies or companies, many companies will try very hard to prevent customers from connecting with a live person and we get stuck in automated voicemail hell.

Can you imagine if God answered our prayers through automated voicemail? It may have options such as this:

To request prayers, say 'Supplication'

If you need specific help with your life, say 'Subvention'

If you are seeking general help, say 'Assistance'

If you need comfort, say 'Consolation'

To request a miracle, say 'Methionyl­glutaminyl­arginyl­tyrosyl­glutamyl­seryl­leucyl­phenyl­alanyl­alanyl­glutaminyl­leucyl­lysyl­glutamyl­arginyl­lysy­glutamyl­gycyl­alanyl­phenyl­alanyl­valyl­prolyl­phenyl­alanyl­valyl­threonyl­leucyl­glycyl­aspartyl­prolyl­glycyl­isoleucyl­glutamyl­glutaminyl­seryl­leucyl­lysyl­isoleucyl­aspartyl­threonyl­leucyl­isoleucyl­glutamyl­alanyl­glycyl­alanyl­aspartyl­alanyl­leucyl­glutamyl­leucyl­glycyl­isoleucyl­prolyl­phenyl­alanyl­seryl­aspartyl­prolyl­leucyl­alanyl­aspartyl­glycyl­prolyl­threonyl­isoleucyl­glutaminyl­asparaginyl­alanyl­threonyl­leucyl­arginyl­alanyl­phenyl­alanyl­alanyl­alanyl­glycyl­valyl­threonyl­prolyl­alanyl­glutaminyl­cysteinyl­phenyl­alanyl­glutamyl­methionyl­leucyl­alanyl­leucyl­isoleucyl­arginyl­glutaminyl­lysyl­histidyl­prolyl­threonyl­isoleucyl­prolyl­isoleucyl­glycyl­leucyl­leucyl­methionyl­tyrosyl­alanyl­asparaginyl­leucyl­valyl­phenyl­alanyl­asparaginyl­lysyl­glycyl­isoleucyl­aspartyl­glutamyl­phenyl­alanyl­tyrosyl­alanyl­glutaminyl­cysteinyl­glutamyl­lysyl­valyl­glycyl­valyl­aspartyl­sryl­valyl­leucyl­valyl­alanyl­aspartyl­valyl­prolyl­valyl­glutaminyl­glutamyl­seryl­alanyl­prolyl­phenyl­alanyl­arginyl­glutaminyl­alanyl­alanyl­leucyl­arginyl­histidyl­asparaginyl­valyl­alanyl­prolyl­isoleucyl­phenyl­alanyl­isoleucyl­cysteinyl­prolyl­prolyl­aspartyl­alanyl­aspartyl­aspartyl­aspartyl­leucyl­leucyl­arginyl­glutaminyl­isoleucyl­alanyl­seryl­tyrosyl­glycyl­arginyl­glycyl­tyrosyl­threonyl­tyrosyl­leucyl­leucyl­seryl­arginyl­alanyl­glycyl­valyl­threonyl­glycyl­alanyl­glutamyl­asparaginyl­arginyl­alanyl­alanyl­leucyl­leucyl­lysyl­glutamyl­tyrosyl­asparaginyl­alanyl­alanyl­prolyl­prolyl­leucyl­glutaminyl­glycyl­phenyl­alanyl­glycyl­isoleucyl­seryl­alanyl­prolyl­aspartyl­glutaminyl­valyl­lysyl­alanyl­alanyl­isoleucyl­aspartyl­alanyl­glycyl­alanyl­alanyl­glycyl­alanyl­isoleucyl­seryl­glycyl­seryl­alanyl­isoleucyl­valyl­lysyl­isoleucyl­isoleucyl­glutamyl­glutaminyl­histidyl­asparaginyl­isoleucyl­glutamyl­prolyl­glutamyl­lysyl­methionyl­leucyl­alanyl­alanyl­leucyl­lysyl­valyl­phenyl­alanyl­valyl­glutaminyl­prolyl­methionyl­lysyl­alanyl­alanyl­threonyl­arginyl­serine.' [Tryptophan Synthetase. Formula C1289-H2051-N343-O375-S8]

If you would like to thank and praise God, say 'Thanksgiving' and we will immediately direct you to one of God's angels.

Yet, this technology has been a blessing. It enables people from other cities, states, and countries to contact each other. Friends and family who are thousands of miles apart can talk and see each other like never before. Through a web-cam and microphone, the internet connects father to son, daughter to mother, and husband to wife. Even those away at war can connect with loved ones back home. Before technology was prevelent, this contact was only through 'snail mail' letters and photographs. Technology has provided the means to create a smaller world, so to speak. But it has also created a crutch for those working or living in the same city or even neighborhood. It has provided a way to communicate without connecting.


Prayer is our person-to-person connection to God. 'The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is He who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; His asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.' (CCC 2560) The Catholic Church heavily relies on person-to-person contact, which God desires each and every day. Prayer is what keeps us connected to Heaven. In fact, the Mass is actually a very long series of prayers, thus one reason (but not the main reason) why some call it 'Heaven on Earth.' Mass teaches us how to pray...contrition, listening, praising, thanksgiving, and requesting are all part of the Mass.

Our prayer keeps us connected with our Lord and Savior, and He will only accept person-to-person calls. A friend of mine asked me about my email address, what 'kneemail' meant. 'Knee mail' is prayer. My 'prayer-mail' to God on my knees. It is my direct contact with the One who made me and desires to know me, personally. I am certainly glad that God desires a personal relationship with each one of us. Can you imagine trying to request a miracle through the automated voicemail.? *grin*