Well, this blog has been up for one year. 475 posts! (Because I [used to] have no life...)
Now it's slowing down quite a bit, obviously. Partly because I've said a lot of what I wanted to say, have fleshed out my own opinions, my personal philosophy on all this, partly because I've come to terms with the status quo, know the ideal I'm fighting for and the justice of this cause, and thus don't have to worry about its immediate materialization. That I've made peace, for now, with a career (and, in some sense, a sort of ministry even) outside the mainstream institutional Church helps too in that regard (though if they think they're rid of me, they've got another thing coming). They can't take my relationship with God or my personal spiritual development away from me, bad liturgy and a dysfunctional clergy or not.
The best thing about the past year has probably been the friendships I've made networking with people through the blog, the conversations with my own friends that have inspired my posts (or, conversely, conversations inspired by my posts), and the wonderful diversity I've found hiding behind the facade of the "conservative" monolith. I sometimes like to imagine it as my own little flock, except no one is "in charge," we're all a Society of Sinners shepherding each other as best we can under the protection of the Good Shepherd.
We aren't so alone after all. There is clearly still an incredible interest in Catholicism and tradition, and not just the crazies, not just the neocons and traddies. God is very much alive. There is an incredibly rich dialogue taking place among at least some people, facilitated no doubt by this wonderful Internet we now have at our disposable, and I'm always excited to see it even when I also disagree or have a face-palm or eye-roll moment reading some of it, even when I get frustrated or exasperated. The attempts by certain factions to monopolize the conversation...have been a monumental failure, Deo gratias!
I would like to thank my readers who have continued to read and support me. I still have ideas left, and get new ones all the time. Not all of them are fully-formed enough yet to make posts, but I'm always thinking and I doubt my ideas are through developing yet, though I have pretty strong sense of vision (if you couldn't tell!) I'll continue commenting on things when I feel like it and recommending good things other people write too (because there is a ton of good stuff being produced these days, it's an exciting time in the Church). And you'll probably have to put up with some more of my eccentricity, inside humor, musical tangents, and personal esoterica (you know who you are!) which you've all been so patient with in the past and indulged me in.
So we'll see how this evolves in the next year. By then, I should have some disposable income and would like to actually start doing something constructive and concrete with these ideas and this growing network of supporters, so any ideas on that are appreciated, I intend to keep up my correspondence with readers who contact me privately, and I hope people keep reading even if I'm in sort of a dry stretch busy with outside life. I have nothing but hope and optimism that, if we avoid ultimate philosophical cynicism (perhaps the greatest temptation for our "type" of thinker), great things are going to happen in the future. I've seen too many miracles already.
Now it's slowing down quite a bit, obviously. Partly because I've said a lot of what I wanted to say, have fleshed out my own opinions, my personal philosophy on all this, partly because I've come to terms with the status quo, know the ideal I'm fighting for and the justice of this cause, and thus don't have to worry about its immediate materialization. That I've made peace, for now, with a career (and, in some sense, a sort of ministry even) outside the mainstream institutional Church helps too in that regard (though if they think they're rid of me, they've got another thing coming). They can't take my relationship with God or my personal spiritual development away from me, bad liturgy and a dysfunctional clergy or not.
The best thing about the past year has probably been the friendships I've made networking with people through the blog, the conversations with my own friends that have inspired my posts (or, conversely, conversations inspired by my posts), and the wonderful diversity I've found hiding behind the facade of the "conservative" monolith. I sometimes like to imagine it as my own little flock, except no one is "in charge," we're all a Society of Sinners shepherding each other as best we can under the protection of the Good Shepherd.
We aren't so alone after all. There is clearly still an incredible interest in Catholicism and tradition, and not just the crazies, not just the neocons and traddies. God is very much alive. There is an incredibly rich dialogue taking place among at least some people, facilitated no doubt by this wonderful Internet we now have at our disposable, and I'm always excited to see it even when I also disagree or have a face-palm or eye-roll moment reading some of it, even when I get frustrated or exasperated. The attempts by certain factions to monopolize the conversation...have been a monumental failure, Deo gratias!
I would like to thank my readers who have continued to read and support me. I still have ideas left, and get new ones all the time. Not all of them are fully-formed enough yet to make posts, but I'm always thinking and I doubt my ideas are through developing yet, though I have pretty strong sense of vision (if you couldn't tell!) I'll continue commenting on things when I feel like it and recommending good things other people write too (because there is a ton of good stuff being produced these days, it's an exciting time in the Church). And you'll probably have to put up with some more of my eccentricity, inside humor, musical tangents, and personal esoterica (you know who you are!) which you've all been so patient with in the past and indulged me in.
So we'll see how this evolves in the next year. By then, I should have some disposable income and would like to actually start doing something constructive and concrete with these ideas and this growing network of supporters, so any ideas on that are appreciated, I intend to keep up my correspondence with readers who contact me privately, and I hope people keep reading even if I'm in sort of a dry stretch busy with outside life. I have nothing but hope and optimism that, if we avoid ultimate philosophical cynicism (perhaps the greatest temptation for our "type" of thinker), great things are going to happen in the future. I've seen too many miracles already.
1 comment:
I will keep reading and I will stay in touch. :)
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