Technology leads the way

By Sam Lucero
News and Information Manager

As a journalist in the Catholic press, a lot of my time is spent traveling around the diocese. Reporting on events taking place miles away requires a lot of driving.

Last August, I received a portable GPS navigation device. It mounts onto my car's windshield and plugs into the cigarette lighter. I just use the touch screen to enter a destination, choice of roads (fastest route, most use of freeways, etc.), and away I go.

GPS (global positioning system) is a satellite-based navigation system controlled by a network of 24 satellites. Placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense for military use, the GPS was made available for civilian use in the 1980s.

Today, portable GPS devices are one of the hottest selling electronic consumer items and are standard features on many high-end automobiles. It's an amazing gadget that has yet to fail in leading me to my destination. It even tells me how fast I'm traveling, and how far I have left to travel.

Before receiving my GPS, I relied on the free online Web mapping service, Mapquest, for directions. It was as easy as typing in my starting and ending locations and printing out directions.

Mapquest started as a map publisher and later began making maps with computers. As the World Wide Web evolved in the early 1990s, Mapquest found its niche online as the top mapping service. The name even found its way into our lexicon as a term to describe printing out directions from a computer ("I did a Mapquest").

Using Mapquest was much handier and more precise than the old fashioned way of taking directions over the phone. The drawback with phone directions was deciphering the handwriting while driving.

In the world of personal travel, technology advancements have made it easier - and more fun - to find our destination. But the spiritual traveler knows that tradition, not technology, leads us to our ultimate destination of everlasting life.

With the season of Lent just around the corner, it's time to turn to those traditions as we journey to the cross. The time-tested spiritual practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving provide the safe and sure path to Christ.

On Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent, use your GPS, Mapquest or hand-written directions to help you get to church.