“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16 NRSV
It is the sending out outlined in Matthew 10:16 that inspires the founding of Fleece Media. There are a few ways that the above verse has inspired us to embark on this project. It is first in that we are sheep, we recognize our own place in the world and live as such. It is also the wolves, in our knowledge of the world. It is finally in who we are, in what it means to us to be like serpents and doves.
We are the sheep, not the Shepherd. This simple truth is an integral piece to our approach in this media project. As its founders, we are two lay individuals. We are not reaching out as authoritative priests or bishops preaching to a flock, we are students and moderators. We seek to start relevant discussions in the modern Church as members of the laity rather than hand down lessons from a place of authority. We recognize ourselves to be members of the same flock hoping to connect others to the Good Shepherd, Christ.
This is our goal: to connect. We intend to use our media platforms and expertise to bring Catholic faithful together. We are always open to expansion and collaboration in order to promote this community. Through our efforts, we seek to reach individuals who do not have the support of a local Catholic community in their life so that they might not feel alone in their pursuit of Christ.
This is especially important to us as we recognize the modern-day wolves that take many forms in today’s media, distracting us from the Lord. We know how easy it is to get lost in the multitude of streaming services that create endless entertainment. We have been caught up in the endless scroll on social media and comparing ourselves to people living their “best lives.” These dangers of distraction, envy, and self-deprecation are only some of the most common wolves instigated by the Internet; there is also bullying, pornography, and the preditors that also exist online. We seek to provide support and refuge from these wolves.
By being wise like serpents and innocent as doves, we seek to use our talents to the best of our ability to reach out and share our faith.
It is in our experience and education that we seek to be wise as the serpent. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent’s shrewdness and an association with knowledge was established. We seek to wisely use our knowledge not to lead others astray but rather to help people better understand our Lord and His Church. We hope to accomplish this through weekly blog posts covering topics from the saints and our thoughts on certain prayers, to what the Church actually says on social issues and the pastoral struggles present in the Church today. These posts will be more educational with quotes, references, and other resources. Our blog’s mission is not to be a summation of the Church’s 2000 years of Tradition but rather a jumping point for further study for readers interested in diving deeper into their faith.
Innocence has a bit of a negative connotation nowadays. We talk of innocence as lacking experience or knowledge of modern culture as if what the world offers in pop culture is ever able to fulfill us. We believe that innocence is a good thing. It’s original Latin context simply means to “not harm”. In a Catholic context, it is living a virtuous life, that is a life without sin. We want to encourage innocence in a world where a life of virtue is wholly counter-cultural. We plan to do this with an inspirational and self-reflective social media presence that contrasts the negative online culture. We will do this in three daily postings: morning Gospel reflections, sharing of inspirational quotes, and with a Salesian Good Night each evening. The Gospel reflections seek to encourage Christian action throughout the day. The inspirational quotes will move the reader to reflect on their spiritual life. Finally, the Salesian Good Nights, an idea started by St. John Bosco, will reflect on the day’s activities, either the personal activities of the author or the world events, to bring to light the good in the world and how we might live the Gospel in it.