I often get asked if what I post on social media is “too Catholic” or if I consider my profile a “Catholic account”. And honestly, my relationship with Instagram is somewhat of a love-hate relationship. I’ll feel motivated to evangelize, to share my faith authentically and publicly, and other times, the content on my feed will leave me so discouraged that I delete my app or deactivate my account for months at a time. It looks a little something like this:

The simple answer to the questions above is no. I have an Instagram account that I use to share about my life, the biggest part being my identity as a Catholic woman. In learning the balance between talking prudently about my faith and my social experience online, I’ve found that these areas of my life don’t need to be compartmentalized. I used to think that I only had two options on social media: to post only “churchy” stuff or post “non-churchy” stuff. The normal, silly parts of my life with my friends and the more intimate parts of my prayer life are equally authentic and important to who I am as a daughter of God. Social media doesn’t need to be explicitly Catholic for it to be an expression of your love for Jesus!

There are so many accounts out there that spread the Gospel creatively and courageously through photography, art, fashion, and everyday life. When Instagram content leaves you defeated, I encourage you to follow accounts that bring beauty and color to the Christian life on social media. Here are some of my recommendations of Instagram accounts that are guaranteed to liven up your feed:

Art

Jen // The Son & Stars: @thesonandstars
As a southern California based Catholic creative, Jen captivates the heart of the Church through custom graphic designs that illustrate her personal encounters with Jesus and inspire an expression of faith through art.

Ali Hoffman: @theoodlesofdoodles
Ali’s gifts of doodling, lettering, and journaling bring beauty to the lives of the saints and encourage simple and humble ways to glorify the Lord with our gifts.

Antonio Ricardo: @arc.crtv
Antonio produces simplistic and symbolic designs for parishes, events, and organizations across Southern California and beyond with the intention of seeing the faith from a different perspective.

Paul: @paulsandovaal
Using multiple forms of art and media, Paul enhances Instagram with refreshing designs, photographs, and writings to fearlessly share the Gospel and love for Christ.

Fashion

Cecilia Jean Pappas: @ceciliapappas
By breaking the stereotypes of what it means to dress modestly and with dignity, Cecilia uses her platform to encourage young women to know their worth despite the demands and expectations of today’s fashion industry.

Meghan Ashley Styling: @meghanashleystyling
Meghan’s feed serves not only as a travel diary and photo album of her favorite churches around the world, but also as a style guide for young women to add creativity and color to their wardrobe without conforming to the expectations that to dress modestly as Catholic women is to dress dully.

Photography

Zach Fiedler: @zachfiedler
Using his gifts of photography to glorify the Kingdom, Zach captures the beauty of creation from surfing to the sacraments, allowing people to encounter the Lord by embracing his talents and serving the young Church with meaningful images.

Nick Bernard: @n1ckb3rnard
Nick’s Instagram feed captures both the silliness of everyday life with the raw and intimate encounters with Christ through the sacraments in an attempt to transform media culture by living authentically.

Jesus’ invitation for us to follow Him isn’t supposed to feel limiting, yet this area of our lives can sometimes be completely separated from our presence online. We don’t all have to be the future patron saints of social media, but rather, we can call upon the Holy Spirit to make us bold and sincere in our expression of our faith. Our love for Christ can and should be integrated into everything we do, so treat this as an early spring cleaning of your Instagram feed and seek out content that answers this universal call to holiness. And don’t be afraid to share your own unique gifts from the Father with your followers, too.

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash.