There are a few bloggers I've met in person, and have found, that although we attend different parishes, we are all part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church...and I am blessed for having met them.
There is something different about Catholic bloggers; we do not have the same "superficiality" of other internet sites, for we bond primarily through our faith.
Last summer, at the Called to Lead conference, I met a Methodist Pastor who was converting to the Catholic Church. She commented that even at their own conferences, even though many of them knew each other in person, had perhaps studied together, etc., they did not have the unity that exists among Catholics. She was amazed at the Catholics all coming together from different states, different parishes, different dioceses, all sharing in our faith, uniting in our faith, and recognizing one another as family although we had never met. She was amazed at how she was embraced, even with her nametag of "Pastor Jxxxx", and she was so taken aback (in a good way) by the joy of the persons attending this conference.
Recently, I met a gentleman in the waiting room of a Tires Plus who noted the book I was reading. This happened to lead to a discussion on religion, and he commented that we Catholics really take our faith seriously. His comment was not denigrating; more as one that sought answers...why was God so important to us? Why do we make such a big deal out of Him? What do Catholics have that others don't? Why do we take our faith so seriously - why is it so integral to how we live our lives?
We Catholic bloggers "get it." We understand that we're SUPPOSED to make a "big deal" out of God, and we are SUPPOSED to take our faith seriously. We understand that it is Jesus Christ we emulate, not the world. It is the Church that teaches us how to be like Jesus, how to follow Jesus, and how to go make disciples of all nations.
And so, when we "meet" even via the blogosphere, we recognize there is a larger Church; there is a unity which defies the political agendas of nationality and secularism. We recognized Christ in each other, and that our Mission does not belong to our countries, nor is it limited to our parishes or cities, but it belongs to God. We see each other as brothers and sisters, and we extend this "family" to other serious Christians as well.
We meet each other first through our stories, and no matter what our focus, it is our faith that brings us together. This isn't like other internet "relationships". It is connecting, as Pope John Paul II told us to do, via modern day technology, and expanding Christianity over the globe.
So, without further ado, here is a list of bloggers I'd love to meet:
Angela Messenger
Terry Nelson at Abbey-Roads2
Snoring Scholar
Ironic Catholic
The Curt Jester
Happy Catholic
+Veritas+
There are indeed others, so don't feel slighted, anyone!
I HAVE met these wonderful people:
Cathy of Alex, the Recovering Dissident
Ray Marshall of Stella Borealis
Mitchell and Judy of Our Word
Erin, of Bearing Blog
Faithmouse
And some others.
The Catholic blog community is indeed a parish, a worldwide parish, so here are some of the priests out there who provide their voices and authority:
Father Z. (Rome)
Father Martin Fox, Bonfire of the Vanities
Don Marco, Vultus Christi
Father Finigan, UK, The Hermeneutic of Continuity
Father V.
I wish I had the time and space to list everyone, for the list is long.
Thank you to all of you for the work you do and the witness you provide. None of you will ever have any idea how many souls your words have touched.
15 comments:
Adoro, cool post! The funny thing is that sometimes I feel I know my blog buddies better than the people in my parish.
OH!
I'll have to edit this in later...but from what I saw, Happy Catholic started it, Snoring Scholar contiued it...and I'm sure there are others out there carrying out this unofficial meme!
I'll edit tomorrow.
And I know what you mean...I really do think we bloggers could FILL a parish and do amazing things.
Maybe we already do?
~ Adoro
Good Post (as usual), Adoro.
I wonder how many of those are living in our area.
I don't think Angela or the Happy Catholic are.
+Veritas+, is Mary Gibson, the famous "Roamin' Roman", now a UST graduate and gainfully employed in a local parish as Faith Formation Director.
I know who the I.C. is, and she lives in Minnesota, but I'm sworn to secrecy and if I told you anything more, I'd have to kill you all. [GR]
The Curt Jester lives in Florida, I believe. I don't know anything about the "Snoring Scholar."
There is a Father Dana Christianson who is in the Sioux Falls, SD, Diocese and blogs at "White Around the Collar." A bit far for an evening out (unless he owns a Cirrus airplane with a parachute).
Father Z has his "Sabine Farm" someplace in Wisconsin, maybe around Eau Claire, where he visits regularly, and occasionally celebrates Mass at St Agnes in St Paul when he is in the U.S., a few times a year.
Father Fox is near Dayton, OH.
But Cathy of Alex has a Confirmation coming up for herself and was thinking of putting on a celebration bash, on or around the Big Day. It might be time for another the Minnesota Vicariate of St Blog's Parish to get togethere again.
So many bloggers, so little time! Wouldn't it be fun? I now have so many places in the country I'd like to go just based on bloggers I know ... and you're among them! :-)
Ray: Thanks for the reminder. I need to get my head out of the snow and get on with any bash plans I want to throw together.
Adoro: I'm so happy to know you. You give me so much joy. You were the first person I reached out to during my reversion process and you mean a lot to me.
Ray, Veritas and I have e-mailed here and there, haven't had a chance to meet up yet. Maybe one day I'll head down to the parish she works at and say hello! :-)
Julie D. I'm not sure where you hail from, but if you want to come to MN, wait until May. It's nice then.
Cathy. - I didn't realize I was the first person you reached out to! Wow. How did THAT happen?! And dear, your friendship has been a blessing to me.
~ Adoro
Ray, you are right, I am not from MN. I live in Canada.
The REAL consoloation: we'll all KNOW each other and LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER ... in the TRUE ever after!
Well I certainly feel a certain kinship with those in the blogosphere who hold firmly to the teaching of the Catholic Church. And those of you who I don't meet down here (which is most all of you), I absolutely will meet you live-and-in-person, further up and further in.
Warren
smk and Warren: Beautiful sentiments, just beautiful.
Alot of these blogs/bloggers have been great! Its like a big ole support group in a very strange way. Thanks for all you've done!
Ray, thanks for your secrecy. You're good at it! Yo ha ha ha.
Adoro, I have a surprise for you sometime....
And thanks for naming me, by the way! I'm tempted to do this meme, but there are so many I'd be curious to meet, I'm feel bad about leaving anyone out. So I'm resisting, at the moment.
I still think this meme proves we need to have a Catholic bloggers convention of some sort. Better yet, a pilgrimage. Preferably in MN. :)
Proof I am in MN...-6 freakin' degrees by my thermometer right now. Sigh.
I think we should have a pilgrimage to a major shrine. May I suggest the Martyr's Shrine in Midland Ontario. (Yes, I'm canadian too, like Angela. I live in Toronto.)
http://www.martyrs-shrine.com/
To those of you who are from Minnesota, have I mentioned how much I love Minnesota? You guys are honorary canadians in my book. Ya even have great local microbreweries. I could not live in a place that did not have good beer, and a sense of humour.
Warren
Bethski - I know what you mean!
Ironic - I don't think I can LIST everyone I want to meet. Although my sidebar is a good indicator, even it doesn't yet contain all the blogs I read/ people I would love to meet.
Ultra - Awww...shucks. So you're a fan of Summitt? I've got some Winter Ale in my fridge...no..my garage. It's a nice refrigerated garage, but sort of contained so as to prevent freezing!
Here in MN, I think it's now ALMOST as cold as it is in Canada right now.
And I love the idea of a pilgrimage, and a convention, little of both. We've done a mini-bloggers-convention here in MN, and it's really time for another one.
Boy this is getting to be a small world. Being I was born in Duluth, we always seem to be flooded with Port Arthur/Ft William folks (Thunder Bay-ites to you youngsters) down for their shopping trips, seeming to find more variety in U.S. stores than they do at "the Bay."
As my blog tries to concentrate on news (and a bit of imprimatur'd gossip), maybe Angela or Ultra can give us some links to explanations as to what has happened with the Canadian Parliaments? Are they possessed?
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