ChatGPT: A Tool for Catholic Creators

In a world marked by AI, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit, who “enables us to look at things with God’s eyes, to see connections, situations, events and to uncover their real meaning.”

ANTIQUA ET NOVA § 115

Everywhere you turn these days you are being confronted by AI. Even writing a simple email, AI is desperate to help, guessing at what you want to say before you have finished typing.

I have mixed emotions about AI, as I'm sure you do. Part of me just wants it gone, but I know that is not realistic. So I made the decision a year ago to lean in and learn what I can about AI.

ChatGPT

One of the best places to start your AI journey is with the FREE version of ChatGPT. It really is mind blowing what it can do to help you. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an advanced language model powered by artificial intelligence (AI). It generates human-like text based on the prompts you give it. Think of it as a digital assistant that can:

• answer questions,

• help with brainstorming ideas,

• refine your writing.

It does all this through a simple conversation. It can feel quite real, and trust me you will find yourself saying please and thank you.

What Can the Free Version of ChatGPT Do?

While the free version of ChatGPT is not as robust as the paid version - it will be more than adequate for your needs, at least early on. The free version is available to anyone with an internet connection.

Here are just a few things you can ask you new virtual parish assistant to work on.

• Generate ideas for social media posts.

• Draft prayers, reflections, or catechetical content.

• Assist with writing bulletin announcements and website copy.

A Few Things to Watch Out For

One of the main things to remember about the free version of ChatGPT is that it does not have access to real-time internet information and is limited to the data it was trained on, which is cut off at September 2021. But since the Church is 2000 years old, ChatGPT knows most of our history and tradition.

The other key to remember when using ChatGPT is that it sometimes gets it wrong! Depending on what you are creating you may want to confirm your facts, just to be sure.

ChatGPT In Action

To show you ChatGPT's capabilities lets put it to the test.

Step 1 - Give ChatGPT a prompt

The first step is to tell ChatGPT what you want it to do.

Since Easter is around the corner let's ask it for Facebook post ideas for the 6 weeks of Easter.

You are the communications person for your Catholic parish. You need to create 6 posts for the 6 weeks of the Easter season for the parish Facebook page. Please provide 12 ideas for posts so that there is a selection to choose from.

• Note that I told it what type of position it held and that it works for a Catholic parish.

• I told it the topic and the platform the ideas were going to be used on.

• I told it how many ideas I wanted and why I wanted so many. I could also have asked for 6 and if I didn't like all the suggestions I could have asked for 6 more - it's all about your preference.

Step 2 - Don't Get Whiplash!

I didn't actually time how long it took to give me the 12 suggestions, but it was most definitely less than a minute!! As I said above it's quite mind blowing!!

For the sake of space I won't paste all 12 suggestions, but here are the first 3 exactly how ChatGPT spit them out.

Here are 12 engaging and faith-filled ideas for your 6 weeks of Easter season Facebook posts. These ideas will help keep the joy of the Resurrection alive while encouraging parishioners to stay connected to their faith.

🎉 1. Celebrate the Joy of Easter (Week 1)

Post Idea:
🌸 “He is Risen! Alleluia!” Encourage parishioners to reflect on the joy of the Resurrection. Invite them to share how they celebrated Easter or what their favorite Easter tradition is.
Call to Action:
“How did you celebrate the joy of Easter this year? Share your family traditions in the comments!”

As you can see, it gives you

• the week to use the post,

• the post idea,

• the reasoning behind for the suggestion

• a call to action encouraging your Facebook followers to engage in the comments.

✝️ 2. Reflect on Divine Mercy (Week 2 – Divine Mercy Sunday)

Post Idea:
🕊️ Share a brief explanation of Divine Mercy Sunday and the promises Jesus made to St. Faustina. Include a reminder to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Call to Action:
“Join us in praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet this week. Need a guide? Here’s how to pray it: [Link or image with instructions]”

If you are not sure how to briefly explain Divine Mercy Sunday, just ask ChatGPT to please write a brief explanation. And then refine as needed. Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted in 2000 so ChatGPT will know all about it.

🕊️ 3. Pray for Peace and Renewal (Week 3)

Post Idea:
🙏 Encourage parishioners to continue the Easter journey by praying for renewal in their own lives and for peace in the world.
Call to Action:
“Let us ask the Risen Lord to bring peace to our hearts, families, and communities. How can we pray for you this week?”

Step 3 - Continue the Conversation

The third suggestion is ok, but it has little to do with the readings for the third Sunday of Easter. So I'm going to go back to ChatGPT and ask for something new. Here is my prompt.

While I like your third suggestion I would prefer it relate more closely to the day's gospel which is John 21:1-19.

And ChatGPT's response.

Got it! Since the Gospel for Week 3 of Easter is John 21:1-19—where Jesus appears to His disciples by the Sea of Galilee and asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?”—here’s a revised idea that ties in more closely:

🐟 3. Reflect on Jesus’ Call to Love (Week 3 – John 21:1-19)

Post Idea:
💙 In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” and then commissions him to “feed my sheep.” This moment of forgiveness and renewal reminds us that no matter how many times we fall, Jesus invites us back into relationship with Him.

Call to Action:
“How is Jesus calling you to show love this Easter season? Take a moment to reflect and ask, ‘Lord, how can I feed Your sheep today?’”

This version stays faithful to the Gospel passage while encouraging reflection and action. Would this work for Week 3? 😊

Now It's Your Turn

Now that you see how easy this can be, I want to encourage you to go try out ChatGPT right now. Start with easy questions about anything (e.g. 3 5-ingredient meals, 5 top places to visit in Rome) just so you can get a feel for how it works.

Good luck and have fun!

See ya soon! 👋

P.S. If you want to learn more about AI, I recommend checking out one of my favourite podcasts Michael Stelzner's AI Explored. He has great guests and always seems to ask the questions you were thinking about. While it is primarily about business, I have learned a lot and am able to translate what I'm learning to my work for the Church. And the best part - you can listen and then go to the website where he has conveniently taken all the notes for you!

P.P.S. Earlier this year, the Vatican released Antiqua et Nova, a doctrinal note addressing the "relationship between artificial intelligence [AI] and human intelligence" and offers reflections on the "anthropological and ethical challenges raised by AI". It's 117 paragraphs long and is a relatively easy read. You can also click here for a short video by EWTN.