I think I am ending this blog. It has been 10 years.
People are interested in on the hour news, perhaps not so much in random Catholic pics and miscellanea.
Remember, what was done, was done for you. There is much work to be done.
In our own generation we have witnessed a radical shift in culture. In previous generations, everything was looked at from the experience of Christianity. I have tried to reflect that in this blog.
In olden days, everyone had to contend with the Catholic religion. Unfortunately, that world is rapidly disappearing. With increasing momentum, a new yet antiquated force is pressing in and displacing Christian culture from the world. This force is paganism.
I somehow feel called to pray more. Civilization seems to be sliding off the edge. We will need to spend more time in prayer and fasting.
John 1:41: "He findeth first his brother Simon, and saith to him: We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ."
Let us pray!
JPSonnen
John
ReplyDeletedo you best to keep the blog alive. I enjoy it and find it comforting and well,just a good read. You provide great photos and vids and useful information on lots of things. You keep us, who like you, fear for our culture, upbeat and forward looking. dont stop.
I am sorry if you stop. Your blog always has a unique historical pictorial perspective and I will miss your pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the many beautiful pictures, comments and news. God bless you and you are right we must pray more and fast as that is the only way anything will get better.
ReplyDeleteDear sir: I write you from Argentina. I've been following you for the past 3 or 4 years, here and in your instagram account. I cant express they way in which your witnessing of the Gospel --as a Catholic, as a man and as a husband-- you have edified myself and much probably many others. I admire the hope, love and joy you transmit towards our Mother Church, the Roman Pontiff, Tradition, and Catholic culture. I also admire the great pictures and in high quality we are able to enjoy here. Some of them I've even used in my own blog (credit to you, of course).
ReplyDeletePlease, don't leave!
In Christ,
Jeronimo
I have always enjoyed visiting your blog. Thank you! I hope you continue to post.
ReplyDeleteGod bless
+JMJ+ amr
Ten years is a very good investment.
ReplyDeleteWhen I became interested in online Catholic activities of the faithful kind, yours was one of the first blogs I encountered. As a regular visitor inspired by your obvious appreciation of the transcendentals, your and a couple others' blogs inspired me to start a blog (... six years and counting).
If you do decide to end your blog, you can do so knowing that you have drawn attention to many important aspects of Catholic life and civilized society in a way that has been timely and compelling and of considerable spiritual benefit to those of us in the Great White North and beyond. In other words, you have certainly earned a break.
Other bloggers (Dr. Jay of Philothea On Phire, for example) who have transitioned from blogging have cited a similar reason for their departure. That is, a desire to pray more and to make more time available to follow more intensely the Church's spiritual disciplines. The more I read such statements, I am inclined to think that such departures are an indication of a (super)natural progression.
An excerpt from Dr. Jay's parting statement (Thursday, December 12, 2013): "The time has come for me to say farewell to the world of blogging. For me, it is time now to focus more of my time and attention on living a life of prayer and penance. That, really, is my “calling”, and I know it. There are others who are called to blogging; and I know you will all keep up with the good, orthodox, faithful Catholic bloggers out there!"
Whatever your decision, I offer my gratitude for the true, good and beautiful things you have captured and presented online over the years for us thirsty souls.
Peace be with you. Prayers offered for you for wisdom.
—The Catholic Sacristan
I for one, have found this blog a source of encouragement and inspiration over the years. The hour to hour news will come and go, but it has been great to peruse this fascinating (and ever timely) tribute to our Catholic faith and the culture which it formed down the long centuries.
ReplyDeletePlease continue this apostolate. It helps! I love all the wonderful posts! Thanks
ReplyDeleteKeep going, John. Many of your posts are very edifying and there is much people will never see anywhere else. I have thought about ending my missionary blog many times, too, especially lately since numbers are dwindling like never before. But I will keep posting since there is nobody who treats that topic.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your blog. With all the bad things happening in the church, it has always been a joy to see a positive message from someone who obviously understands what is happining.
ReplyDeleteThank you John for many years of wonderful posts. Those from time you were living in Rome were particularly interesting, but all have been enjoyable. You were here when nobody was, God bless you for that.
ReplyDeleteI follow every single one of your posts by RSS reader and have been delighted with your offerings over the years. I enjoy the images as well as the information, especially about Rome, that you've shared. I would be sorry to see you leave the blogosphere!
ReplyDeleteThank you JP. In prayer together.
ReplyDeleteMay God bless you and keep you from all evil.
Stay Faithful and fight a good fight on what manner ever you wish, but do it for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ivan Tomas
ReplyDeletePax et bonum!
I am a fan of your blog. It would be better not to discontinue the blog. I always check your blog if you have new updates re: our faith. :)
In a modern era of technology and fast-paced lives, let the transmission of our faith be adapted also through manifold forms of communication.
:)
Pax Christi Veniat
Fatima"with the rosary pray for the pope the bishops and the priests. Akita 50 yrs later "with the rosary pray for the pope the bishops and the priests"
ReplyDeleteDear John,
ReplyDeleteI look at your blog regularly and have done so for a number of years. I have learned a lot about Catholic culture in Italy and also really enjoyed your pictures from Mexico and Canada.
I have also used a number of the YouTube videos you have posted with my classes (I am a Religious Education teacher from Scotland).
Thank you for your blog. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it and will miss it when you stop posting.
May God bless you and your family.
JP Cecil
Dundee
Scotland
Don't quit, please! I'm a daily follower and this blog is such a source of inspiration for me and my husband.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Minnesota homeschooling mother of 6, with no hope of European or Canadian travel. My family has enjoyed your blog for 10 years, hearing about it from Fr.Z's blog. It's so interesting to learn thru your photos that Catholic culture used to be everywhere.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all: Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job at promoting awereness of the richness and complexity of catholic ritual and material tradition. As an Atheist interested in history, I have followed your blog with delight for many years.
The quality of your posts declined after you moved away from Rome. Instead of "special access" photos, more and more endless latin texts, self made memes and right wing propaganda started to pop up. And for that, there is indeed no great reason to come here.
I hope that after a pause you will restart your blog, and that with more dedication to your mission than ever :)
�� I have really enjoyed reading your blog and will miss your reflections and pictures. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCatherine
I, for one, will miss your blog if you end it.
ReplyDeleteIt needs to continue.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing about this blog was always the fantastic photographs from your tours and pilgrimages. I certainly think it would be great to keep it going, even if that's the only thing that gets posted, a series of photos when you go somewhere. You shouldn't feel compelled to put something up every day or every few days just for the sake of having a post. People can subscribe or use the RSS feed; I wouldn't think many people browse to the site itself habitually just to see if a new post is up, so going to less-frequent posting shouldn't cause people to lose track of the blog altogether.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading it.
ReplyDeleteI've followed your blog since 2010, learned many things, saw many things that I would not have seen anywhere else on the net with the exception of the New Liturgical Movement or Father Z's blog. Thanks for it all. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteIt should continue. I am interested in Catholic pictures and culture. That's what makes this place fun, interesting, and unique.
ReplyDeleteI have always enjoyed your posts, John, and thank you for the attention you have put into every one of them, but you should do what is best for you. Post often, less often, or wrap it up. Whatever is best for you is what I - and others - should respect!
ReplyDeletei've enjoyed your blog for years. I hope you continue
ReplyDeleteI've really enoyed visiting your blog over the years. It has deepend my love for the Church and the beauty of the Faith and helped me to learn more about its traditions- giving me a glimpse into the vanishing world of our forefathers. The times today are indeed dark but keep fighting the good fight! God bless you for your good work here. Please pray for me as I approach ordination to the transitional diaconate. In Him, Shawn.
ReplyDeleteDear Brother in Christ, if I may offer a few poor thoughts at random:
ReplyDelete1) I hope you will continue with your blog. I think you achieve many fine things here, giving us a view of the many Blessings which the Holy Spirit has presented to the Church in Her artwork etcetera throughout the centuries. Not many blogs perform your function. I tend to think of your blog, somewhat, as an oasis of beauty!
2) You manage to communicate a most excellent faithfulness with never a hint of compromise to worldly thinking or bitterness. Your mind is not "on many things," it is on the Lord. This sight is a balm.
3) However, speaking only for myself, I would be just as happy if you reduced your rate of blogging so that you have more time for prayer and family and so forth. I sometimes wonder how blog and other writers avoid burn-out, so much do they post. For example, I wonder why more authors do not take the seasons of Lent and Advent to reduce, or halt, from writing. Sometimes, the field must lie fallow.
In short dear Brother in Christ, I hope you may favour us with more of your work but I would well understand if the ratio of writing, prayer and family needs to change. I myself, in recent weeks, have felt led to turn to other gentler things, away from a constant focus on the unholy misery that seems to ooze from Rome in this present day. I know you will weigh the issue well. The lambs know the Voice of their Master; know Where He Calls!
The Holy Will Alone Be Done!
Your brother in the Lord,
John McKeown
YES it should continue! I love this site....
ReplyDeleteWe will miss you and your wonderful pictorially informative blog.
ReplyDeleteWe also understand the times and the need for increased prayer and penance.
God Bless you and your family, wherever God leads you.
Blog is appreciated and needed.
ReplyDeleteSir,
ReplyDeleteI have known your blog for many years now. I cannot remember when I found it, but this blog has always been one of my favorites when I was researching about Catholic traditions and other related rituals. Your dedication in finding out about our Catholic Heritage is always appreciated not just by me, but also for thousands, if not millions, of people around the world.
While it is sad that you do not get as much feedback for the work you do, it would be another tragedy for another blog devoted to Catholicism to retire. Others have come and gone, and each that I've found online have always been memorable and wish that they were still active, in some way.
If you wish to retire, so be it. However, a vacation from it wouldn't be too bad, given that there's still more material out there to report and share with your audience.
Please reconsider! Instead of stopping, maybe re-evaluate what other things you would like to post on your blog. It'd be interesting seeing a future "ORBIS CATHOLICUS TERTIUS"
Hope it works out well, whatever you decide. :)
I just found your blog!!
ReplyDeleteBut I can see why you wonder if your hard work is being appreciated.
Many blessings.
I don't think I've ever posted here before.
ReplyDeleteThis being said I've enjoyed this blog immensely. I've prayed for you and your beautiful family for years and be not afraid, I'll continue to do so. This being said, I hope you'll upload every now and then, or start another blog from a Catholic family perspective.
Funny story, before I discerned out of the seminary, I showed your blog to my fellow seminarians and even to our rector! You've been a light of tradition in a dark world of "progress".
Oremus pro invicem!
Maybe you should just post less often, and those prayer-empowered posts can accomplish good for that the kingdom of the Sacred Heart come. In any case, God bless you.
ReplyDeletePlease do not end this blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you, JPSonnen!
ReplyDeleteCompletely understand and support your desire to spend more time in prayer and contemplation. But thank you soooo much for these years of amazing photos of Rome and from around the world. It's been such a pleasure to have this blog on my favourites, and I have enjoyed checking back often. Wishing you all the best!!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to read great new posts!
ReplyDeleteJohn, I enjoy your blog very very much~ Please keep this blog going!
ReplyDeleteDon't leave us!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNever give up. You have to keep posting. I love and hate this blog for the same reason (IT PREACHES THE TRUTH!).
ReplyDeletePlease continue your good work! We all need the inspiring and uplifting images and stories you post!
ReplyDeleteAdelante, no abandone. Si tiene fuerza, no lo deje. Hace mucho bien.
ReplyDeleteSalve, Iohannes. First, you must do what is best for your family and your soul. I hate to see it go, as you will seem more remote, but that is selfish. :) You will know what to do in time. God bless you, and thank you for all the blogging years! And more. Deo gratias. - I.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite blogs, both with your local content from Minnesota and your indispensable ability to find Catholic content found no where else in the blogosphere. Pray always, blog when you have time :) If you are at the Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse WI ever let me buy you a beer!
ReplyDeletePlease continue this blog. I have been enjoying it for years. I enjoy the historical information as well as the presentation of current locations and events. It helps to give me a perspective that i do not find in many other sites and helps to provide an insight into many traditions that have fallen away. As far as I know there is no other blog that provides this information and insight. May God reward you for reminding us all of the rich traditions that have surrounded out Catholic Faith for centuries.
ReplyDeleteKeep it. Its different.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the world cannot survive without YOU!
ReplyDeleteTo the Catholic Hemingway.....never back down!
ReplyDeleteI'm quite a bit to the left of Hilary but I love your support for Latin and your pics of Rome. I must commend you for your presentation of the trip to the Holy Land. Keep the blog alive in whatever form!
ReplyDelete