Upon the occasion of my ordination to the priesthood by Bishop Hastrich, in may 1981, I never dreamed that the day would ever arrive when I would have to provide basic spiritual direction concerning the use of television. Nevertheless that is exactly what has happened! How times have changed!
     
After all these years in the priesthood, it is difficult not to be negative about television, because I have seen the harm it has done to individuals, to families, and to spiritual life. There is no denying the harm that has been done to individuals, especially to the young. Television is a most powerful influence during these formative years of youth. Evil programs have an evil effect upon impressionable young minds, programs which are deliberately designed to provoke the imagination, stimulate the emotions, arouse the passions, and tempt the senses, causing impure thoughts which lead to impure actions.
     
With total disregard for Christian morals, television programs adversely affect and influence human behavior, values and a person's whole frame of mind. More often than we realize, there are diabolic messages and images projected into many of these programs our young folk watch. There are even cartoon shows that subtly instruct young children with values of the New Age. Television present to our young an alluring artificial fantasy world which is unreal, along with an idol worship of unfit role models who present a bad example for youth. If a parent is having problems with an adolescent, it might be advisable to investigate the type of programs, video games, or movies that young person has been watching.
     
In the family, television disrupts natural communication and relationships between husband and wife, and between parents and children. In the sacred confines of Matrimony, husband and wife are able to communicate effectively without words, but television disrupts this intimate process of communication. In addition, television cuts off family members from each other, and isolates them in their own private little worlds, destroying family communication and relationships. Moreover, television is cause of depression among high school girls and boys, young couples and families. They feel they simply cannot compete with what is presented on the TV screen.
     
Today, every diocese is confronted with so many annulment cases - but if a young couple got married after four years of high school television, it is not surprising that there might be a legitimate case for annulment. The impact of television upon spiritual life is devastating. Since the spiritual life of a family cannot remain unharmed by television, there is doubt whether a Christian family should even permit a TV set into their homes. Television, by its nature as a means of electronic communication, can interfere with prayer life, because prayer is itself a communication - a spiritual communication with the Almighty. If TV is interfering with family prayer, then too much TV is being watched in your home! Frequently today, a young member of a family will complain to his parents that he does not want to go to Sunday Mass because he finds it boring and he does not get anything out of it; if he has been watching TV all week, with the most provocative entertainment and hyper stimulation, it is not surprising he does not find Mass interesting because he approaches Sunday Mass as simply another form of entertainment. The average preacher cannot compete with television. In the long run, perhaps it might be more beneficial to a family, to have the TV set replaced by a family altar and a picture or statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
     
Along with spiritual direction concerning television, the question arises as to whether television is, in itself, evil or neutral. Perhaps this is a question which can never be resolved completely.  Objectively, by itself, television could be considered neutral. By it's nature, however, television is a very passive form of entertainment, allowing for little interaction, stagnating the intellect and motivation, creating passivity and indifference. In current practice and circumstances, actual use of television is so bad that it can lead to evil. It can accurately be said that television, in fact, attacks a person through the world, the flesh and the devil. If nothing else, it has become an instrument of mind-control, manipulative of human behavior, presenting a very materialistic philosophy of life.
     
During one of my sermons about television, I had no way of knowing there was a TV salesman sitting in the congregation. After my sermon, you can be sure he had a little sermon for me! This leads us to the practical question of spiritual direction concerning television. Now that the situation has been presented, I have to maintain that the best advice is simply: Do not keep a television set in the house! If a family feels that it must have one, then it should be only for serious reason, and with strict regulations for it's use.

The following guide lines should be followed:
1) Pray! It is reassuring to know that television has a Patron Saint - St. Clare of Assisi.
2) Review your family's TV watching continually and carefully. Constant vigilance must be the rule.
3)Work with organizations which promote the moral climate of television.

Source: Fr. Joseph Coulu, Ave Maria Magazine.