Go here to read the story. In the aggregate Catholic social media sites are having an impact, particularly with the young. Everyone here: contributors, commenters and readers are a part of this work.
Say not the Struggle nought Availeth
By Arthur Hugh Clough
Say not the struggle nought availeth,
The labour and the wounds are vain,
The enemy faints not, nor faileth,
And as things have been they remain.
If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars;
It may be, in yon smoke concealed,
Your comrades chase e’en now the fliers,
And, but for you, possess the field.
For while the tired waves, vainly breaking
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light,
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly,
But westward, look, the land is bright.
And with that, PopeWatch is on Easter hiatus until April 21.
Very good news. Still losing more than we gain, but every little bit helps.
[…] Jesus Celebrate His Final Passover on its Proper Night? – Deacon Frank at Catholic StandPopeWatch: Doing the Work The Pope Isn’t Doing – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at TACatholicSocial Media & Personal Research Driving […]
Traditional heritage of Catholicism. Contemporary apologists.
Yes, that is how it was for me.
I was attracted to the Church of the Crusades, the Church of Charlemagne. The Church that stood in the breach with kings at Vienna but also stood against kings when kings were wrong.
I was wooed by CS Lewis and Tolkien, much without the knowledge of being wooed. Later, more formal apologists followed.
I can honestly say that no member of the higher clergy was instrumental in my conversion. (I only started watching Bl. Fulton Sheen *after* I had begun my sessions with a good old priest, and at that point death had already come for the Archbishop.) It was of no consequence to me at all that JP II was pope. Never had an interest in the Catholic youth movement or the fact that he skiied. No bishop loomed large enough, for good or ill to have much impact. History had already taught me that they were transitory, and Dante taught me that some of them were quite… damnable.
I came almost despite the efforts of the modernist Church to tambourine and to casual away the grandeur of Our Lord. I’d always thought that was atypical, that most converts were coming in the modernist door. Perhaps that is changing. Perhaps it was never true in the first place…
Any place where I say “I came” is not exactly true. He called- repeatedly, persistently, patiently, uncompromisingly. I can take but small credit (if any) for finally surrendering.
Bravo to the excellent content found on the net.
The Spirit of Saint Maximillian Kolbe lives on in social media. His use of print and airways to do both evangelize and catechize was a blessing for Poland. Warning listeners of the dark clouds amassing in Germany pre 1938.
The following is AI generated;
Evangelization and catechesis are not mutually exclusive; they are complementary and should work together. Evangelization provides the foundation for catechesis, by initially introducing people to Jesus Christ and inviting them into a faith relationship. Catechesis then provides the necessary instruction and formation to deepen that relationship and enable believers to live out their faith more fully. In essence, evangelization can be seen as the seed of faith, and catechesis as the nurturing that helps that seed grow into a strong tree.
It was heartbreaking to hear words from Rome that downplayed the importance of evangelization and equally heartbreaking the suppression of the traditional Latin Mass.
Just maybe the opposite effect is beginning to be realized via the Internet. A thirst for traditional respect and honor to be given to God in the Holy sacrifice of the mass, as well as continual adult formation.
St. Kolbe….pray for us.
Great news.
Father Mike Schmitz Bible in a Year was the #1 podcast on Apple Podcasts in all categories, in January 2021 and again in January 2022, for a total of 24 days.
The appeal of Catholic apologists going mainstream is phenomenal. There are also endorsements from big name Hollywood personalities such as Mark Wahlberg and Patricia Heaton publicly expressing their faith on their social media channels – this cannot be underestimated in helping the Faith go viral.
Sometimes that’s all it takes to light the spark of curiosity and the Holy Spirit does the rest.
I suspect also that the high level of immigrants in England along with first and second generation born British people has left them feeling disconnected with the Church of England, more so now that King Charles (a divorcee) is its head and the family has had its fair share of scandals and dysfunction. It’s also abit too woke.
The Catholic Church offers stability and comfort and reliability like no other Church has or ever will. It truly is Universal.
Quite similar to my case, Optimist. Attracted by all that was and gradually being disappointed by what now is, other than the Sacraments, which even Church hierarchs can’t ruin completely.
Frank-
“which even Church hierarchs can’t ruin completely.”
Good thing to remember as the circuses continue!! Hold fast.
Today (the 16th) is my 30th year anniversary in the Church; at the age of 65, after searching for that Higher Power of the 12 Steps, and reading “Who Moved the Stone” I became convinced that the Resurrection was true, and therefore Christ was the Messiah that I, as an agnostic Jew, had thought was only a fable. All this to the delight of my wife, a cradle Catholic and to the consternation of my scientific friends. It was all “Top Down to Jesus” and it’s taken 30 years to get down to my heart. But it has come slowly. As Pascal said in the memoir about his Wager, even if you “don’t believe” but participate in the rituals, belief does travel to the heart. I think there’s a Jesuit saying “fake it if you can’t make it.’ Praise be to You Jesus Christ.
Wonderful story bob. I’ve heard it said that if you act like you have faith, eventually the act becomes a reality. Many a martyr was a pagan, and inspired by the courage of the Christians under persecution went to join them.