God & Gaming: Media Mindfulness Assessment.pdf

If you are a gamer, then this workshop will help you live virtuously with your gaming experience. If you know nothing about video games, then this will be an opportunity to delve into a world where over 3 billion people engage regularly. Through an overview of genres and samples of games, ministers and people of faith will discover how to use these media to engage young people to make choices based on virtues and faith values using the tools of media mindfulness and values assessment.
objectives:
• Develop a greater understanding of the gaming world
• Learn the tools of media mindfulness and values assessment
• Discover how to integrate these tools into faith formation programs

1. SR NANCY USSELMANN,FSP
bemediamindful.org
God, Gaming and
the Good Life
Media Mindfulness Assessment

2. POLL ABOUT GAMING

3. What is meant by
“the good life”?
GENERAL CULTURAL RESPONSE:
•Individualism
•Commercialism
•Relativism
•Hedonism
The good life?

4. “THE GOOD LIFE” OF BALANCE AND REASON
VIRTUES ARE HABITS FOR
THE GOOD OF OUR
WHOLE SELVES
VIRTUE LEADS TO HAPPY
LIVING
VICE CREATES
DISTURBANCE, FEAR, AND
ANXIETY
“What we do with what we have been given makes the good life possible or not.” —Fr Richard Gula, SSS

5. “The Good Life”
in Christ
…is friendship with God and we
grow in this friendship the more
we develop our character and
choose virtue
HOLINESS OF LIFE

6. Gaming Culture
Can influence habits formed in real life
and moral decisions both in the gaming
world and in-person interactions
PC
MOBILE
CONSOLE

7. Gaming Media
Mindfulness
1.Art of Agency - what is the main takeaway of the
game? Does it support a Catholic worldview?
2.Violence -Is it used gratuitously? What is the
purpose of violence in the game? To who or what
is it directed?
3.Darkness and Evil - Does it lead toward evil or
away from it? In the end, who wins? Is sin and evil
glorified? Does the good win out?
4.Religious Themes - What does it say about the
human person? About God and faith? About sin
and redemption? About love and hope?
MORAL LIFE

15. YES? NO?
DO VIDEO
GAMES HAVE
POWER OVER
PEOPLE TO
INFLUENCE
BEHAVIOR?

16. Going Deeper
“Let us remember that we are always torn between opposite extremes: arrogance challenges
humility; hatred opposes charity; sadness hinders the true joy of the Spirit; the hardening of the
heart rejects mercy. Christians continually walk along these edges. Therefore, it is important to
reflect on vices and virtues: it helps us to defeat the nihilistic culture in which the boundaries
between good and evil become blurred and, at the same time, it reminds us that the human
being, unlike any other creature, can always transcend itself, opening up to God and journeying
towards holiness.
The spiritual struggle, then, leads us to look closely at those vices that shackle us and to walk, with
the grace of God, towards those virtues that can flourish in us, bringing the springtime of the
Spirit into our lives.” —Pope Francis, Wednesday Audience, January 3, 2024
To Consider
How can I grow in virtue within the digital gaming culture?
What virtues do I need to nurture in my life to find greater peace and happiness?

17. VIRTUES AND GAMING
“THE GOOD LIFE” IN CHRIST
Tool and tactic to help us be critical
engagers of social media while making
concrete decisions about our usage
MEDIA MINDFULNESS CHOOSING VIRTUE
How do we treat others in and outside
the game? Do we balance our gaming
time with other responsibilities?
•Creating healthy
boundaries
•Discerning messages
•Knowing oneself

18. Prayer before Gaming
CLOSING PRAYER
Heavenly Father, you have blessed us with your presence in the world around us and in
the creative expressions of human ingenuity in the virtual world. As we engage with
digital games, we humbly seek your guidance and grace to uphold virtues that reflect
your divine nature.
Grant us the virtue of temperance so to have moderation and self-control in our
gaming experience and to balance our time between the virtual world and the
responsibilities of our daily lives.

Inspire in us the virtue of prudence so we may make wise choices in the games we play
and the way we play them, discerning that which uplifts our minds and spirits over that
which leads us astray.

Instill in us the virtue of fortitude so to persevere in the face of challenges and setbacks
encountered in our virtual adventures, and to be strong in our faith even when faced
with opposition.

Nurture within us the virtue of justice so we may treat our fellow gamers with fairness,
kindness, and respect as we seek to build communities of true communion.

Above all, may our actions in the virtual realm reflect the love and compassion of your
Son, Jesus Christ, who is our Way, Truth, and Life. May we emulate his example by
choosing to live virtuously so that we may find peace and happiness on this earth and
one day enjoy the reality of eternal life with you forever in heaven. Amen.
—(C) 2024 Daughters of St Paul. All rights reserved.

19. EVANGELIZATION
CHALLENGE
If you’re a gamer, invite a fellow gamer to pray with
you before you begin playing, using the Prayer
Before Gaming or another prayer. If you don’t
game, pray for gamers and creators of games.
TWITCH
DISCORD
REDDIT

20. Thank you for
participating in this
Workshop
God bless you!
Let’s stay in touch…
bemediamindful.org
[email protected]

21. EVALUATION
PLEASE TAKE 2 MIN TO DO THIS SURVEY