The Outlook Exchange e-mail program is out at Notre Dame. While the students are okay, since they have another program, all faculty and staff are email-less, and have been since about midnight. Some people are saying that it won't be back up until tomorrow--who knows? But I do know that being without email is deeply disconcerting. I'm used to the pings that confirm my existence. And to the constant newness within the familiarity. The million-dollar-lottery email could be around the corner (oh, wait the spam filter took care of that).How many times a day do you check email? Are you addicted? Do you put up one of those "on vacation" disclaimers and check anyway? If you're sleepless in the middle of the night, do you check your email, "just in case"?Maybe I need a web retreat. What would be an Ignatian approach to email, anyway?

Cathleen Kaveny is the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor in the Theology Department and Law School at Boston College.

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