Yesterday this blog reached 10,000 hits! I only began this year on 29th July and while that may be rather small fry in the Catholic blogosphere I have found that, as well as helping me to express myself and think things through, it is a great source of strength and support. A priest in a parish can feel a bit on his own for all sorts of reasons in these days and a priest who tries to bring orthodox practice and teaching back to parish life can feel that he is struggling against insurmountable odds without much support from places it might be expected to come from. The knowledge that many are reading this blog and giving me positive feedback, even just in the sense that the numbers have increased week by week, does lend some support and comfort to this particular priest - so thank you.
My hope is that it might also be a support to others and that my own parishioners are among the readers so that it is also a catechetical tool and a way of speaking about the every day matters of faith and practice that builds on the preaching and practice in church. It really began by accident as we wanted to disseminate some video footage of a lovely Mass we had here, helped by the fantastic music provided by our sometime choir master and music director and the servers and sacred ministers who came to help. Again, it was a modest affair in many ways because our church is not a great cathedral but it just goes to show what can be done to enhance our experience of the liturgy and raise our hearts and minds to the Lord. My thanks as well to a parishioner from a previous parish who set up the original blog template for me.
Be assured Father, that there are many of us out here who appreciate your efforts and support you through the blog and in our prayers. You are far from alone and I’m sure you touch many people through your work – many that you may never see or meet in this life. After so many years of uncertainty and muddled teaching, people are hungry for sound doctrine and example.
ReplyDeleteKeep it coming!
Ad Multos Bloggos!
ReplyDeleteFather
ReplyDeleteI wrote a comment in August to say that I thought that I would enjoy your blog and am not disappointed.
Of course as your readership increases you will need to be careful to stay out of trouble.
Thank you and good luck
Peter