Lent donations appeal, with a personal touch

This time, the donations appeal has a bit of a personal element, in addition to it being timely for Lent. As ever, any donations I may receive will be used for the blog and related social media efforts, by which I attempt to inform readers about current events in the Catholic Church in and around the Netherlands, to share my opinions about said developments and always to try and communicate the facts behind the headlines.

But wait, there is more.

On March 24th I will marry my fiancée of four years. Anyone who is or going to be married, will know that the preparations for a wedding require a lot of work and time. And, obviously, also money. And that’s just for the day itself. Our life together will only truly begin then. Your donation will also go some way in easing the financial demands of that joyous, and, to be fair, really rather exciting, day.

If you enjoy and appreciate my blog, please consider making a one-time contribution via the PayPal button below or in the sidebar. In addition to my ramblings here, I am also available for writing or translation jobs for your media or purpose of choice.

My gratitude will be great, and I will remember my donors in my prayers. Via PayPal you can add any comments or wishes to your donation. I will take these seriously, of course, and make sure that your donation will be used according to your wishes.

Advertisement

‘t Is the season… – Christmas giving

At Christmas we share with others, giving from what we have. Maybe this blog could also be the recipient of some kind donations this season.

With your donations I can continue bringing news, translations and opinions about the Catholic Church in the Netherlands and countries around it, as well as some of my personal reflections which may be of some benefit to others. You never know, right?

As we enter the eighth year of this blog, I remain grateful for the visits here and the sharing of my blog posts (with due credit, of course) in other media. I think it is important to provide an objective and positive voice about the faith, especially as it is lived in my part of the world, in the wider world.

Donors will obviously be remembered in my prayers.

Donations may be made via the PayPal button below (one is also always present in the left sidebar). In your donation, it is possible to make a specific request or purpose for the money.

A heart for Mary

On behalf of the hermitage and shrine of Our Lady of the Garden Enclosed, a unique place of prayer and spiritual care, I am sharing the following message that the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Garden Enclosed placed on its Facebook page today It would be fantastic if even one reader of this blog would be able and willing to contribute to the sole contemplative religious establishment in the Diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden. There is no place where the motherly care of the Mother of God does not read, not even what Brother Hugo, the hermit of the place, calls “the North Pole”.

“We ask your attention for the following. Our Lady of Warfhuizen still lacks the heart with seven swords which is so characteristic … for a “Mother of Sorrows.”

As confraternity we think that is unacceptable, but we are a penniless organisation, so simply ordering one is something we can’t do. Now, in Naples we found one which would be ideal. It costs €430 [$595 – MV], an amount of money that we think should be possible to collect if all loyal devotees of Our Lady of the Garden Enclosed would contribute a small amount.

Hence this call: help us give Mary a heart and donate a contribution on bank account NL45TRIO0198535724, in the name of “Broederschap O.L.V. vd Besloten Tuin in Glimmen, the Netherlands, quoting HART VOOR MARIA.”

If it is easier, donations may also be made via my PayPal account in the left sidebar. Do state with your donation that it is intended for the heart of Mary. I will make sure your donation is passed on to the confraternity.

For more information on Our Lady of the Garden Enclosed, the shrine, pilgrimages, the confraternity and what makes it unique, go here. The website is available in Dutch, French and English, and in the near future, additional languages will be added.

Some may wonder, why spend such a large amount of money on what is a piece of decoration? An answer to that question would have to include the fact that we spend money on what and who we love, and that nothing in the shrine is simply an object (from the lights on the ceiling to the brooms in the cupboard, everything has a function). The heart pierced with seven swords reflects the essence of who Mary is as the Mother of Sorrows. In the first place it refers to the passage from the Gospel of Luke:

“Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed – and a sword will pierce your soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.'” (2:34-35)

Tradition later expanded this piercing of Mary’s soul into the seven sorrows:

• The prophecy of Simeon quoted above
• The flight into Egypt
• The loss of the Child Jesus at the Temple
• Mary meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary
• Jesus’ death on the Cross
• The piercing of Jesus’ side, and Mary receiving His body in her lap
• The body of Jesus being placed in the tomb

These experiences, terrible for any mother, show us how Our Lady of Sorrows can be a comfort and example to people who suffer, as she does at Warfhuizen. The heart with seven swords shows us who she is for us, an identity given her because of her unique role in salvation history and Jesus’ life on earth.

The shrine at Warfhuizen continues to attract increasing numbers of pilgrims from all over the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and beyond. It is a small and intimate place, but rich in symbolism, comfort and prayer. You can help complete it further.

Translation changes

I have remade the Translation page of this blog, and split it in two: one page for the translations into Dutch and one for those into English. On the pages I have sorted the various texts by author, making it all look a bit tidier and easier to search. The collection of texts is by no means complete, of course, due to time constraints on my part.

I know some of you appreciate my translation work, which is certainly encouraging and a good reason to continue. I also accept donations, if you feel like supporting me in some other way. Click on the PayPal link below or in the left sidebar to do so. It will be much appreciated (which does not mean that other forms of support are any less appreciated, of course).

Stats for March 2013

What a month it has been. Beginning with the farewell of Pope Benedict XVI, we rode the waves of the sede vacante, the conclave and the election of Pope Francis, and various other events that added some lines to this blog. All in all, it took quite some work to keep these pages filled as things developed, so I hope that a few days of less communication is forgiven. But all the effort brought its own reward, as there was interest from across the globe in my writings. In total, I could chalk up 15,933 visits to these pages. That’s triple the number of a regular quiet month. Thank you!

On to the top 10 of most popular blog posts of March:

1: Countdown to papal Twitter launch 745
2: Meeting of the Popes 431
3: Enter the electors 329
4: The fall of Cardinal Piacenza 318
5: Continuity – Pope Francis’ coat of arms 214
6: Church teachings – the clash between authority and respect 147
7: ‘Bel Giorgio’ takes over the household 82
8: First Sunday – the Dutch cardinals in Rome 80
9: Holy Week 2013, an overview of cathedral celebrations 79
10: The seagull vigil 77

March has been crazy as far as the blog was concerned. I write these words in my free time, which is not always available in abundance. If you like what you read here, and appreciate the information I try to provide and keep as up to date as possible, think of making a donation to this blog’s upkeep. You will find a PayPal donation button in the left sidebar, and also below. Any donor can count on prayers and much appreciation from my part, and will contribute to a continued Catholic voice in new media.

Stats for November 2012

And so the liturgical year draws to a close as we mark the start of the new one tomorrow, and this blog happily marked the 200,000th visitor some weeks ago. 200,000 visits since I began almost three years ago? For some blogs that is next to nothing, but for me it is a reason to be grateful. Thank you.

Onward to the top 10 of last month, when we saw 6,262 visits.

1: Intolerable tolerance 103
2: “On the edge, but not marginal” – Fr. Radcliffe on the “official Church” 90
3: Maranatha – a Catholic future for Tilburg’s students 68
4: Papal attack on the Nativity ox and ass 64
5: A second Red Dawn risies 56
6:In gratitude – Brother Hugo makes his perpetual vows 46
7: Het probleem Medjugorje 45
8: Adoro te devote, two versions and a translation 39
9: Hope at the Catholic Youth Day – the Catholic voice stirring? 38
10: Criminal or careless? Bishop Gijsen accused in Iceland 37

You can contribute to this blog as well, financially or otherwise, and a donation via the Paypal button below is a very welcome gift.

Stats for October 2012

With 6,938 visits last month, we’re back on the rise again after the summer slump. Thank you for your continued attention and interest, readers! Without much ado, let’s take a look at what interested you most, in the top 10 of most popular posts of October:

1: The Catholic voice 93
2: Synod of Bishops – Day Two 90
3: Synod of Bishops – Day Five 78
4: Back to Malta – an appointment with question marks 77
5: The little consistory 75
6: Participants, programs and indulgences – details of the Synod released 70
7: End of mission – Bishop Willigers passes away 68
8: Sexual abuse – the double standards of the state 57
9: Council survivors 55
10: Synod of Bishops – Day Nine 48

Lastly, as blogging, however much fun it is, is an investment of my time (albeit one I gladly make), I would like to draw your attention to the possibility of supporting this blog financially. There is a Paypal button in the left sidebar, and also at the bottom of this post. But any form of support, spiritually and practically, is very much appreciated.

Stats for September 2012

With 5,448 visits last mont, the summer slump didn’t really end until the last week of September. But now that the pope is back in the Vatican and the work in the local dioceses is really starting up again, I expect the coming months to be busier. Not least because of the Year of Faith and the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation set to begin this month.

Anyway, on to the past month’s top 10 of most read blog posts!

1: Unhappy priests? 83
2: Het probleem Medjugorje 61
3: Adoro te devote, two versions and a translation 58
4: Ecumenism, not as easy as it seems 49
5: Risky trip – Pope to Lebanon 45
6: The bishop and the blogger 42
7: Cardinal watch: Cardinal Baldelli passes away & Words from beyond – Cardinal Martini’s last interview 40
8: Kirchensteuer – sacrament for sale? 39
9: Bishop Liesen on EWTN 35
10: The case of Jesus’ wife, and why it matters (or not) 33

Again some old and some new, with some interesting trends when it comes to search terms used to find my blog. Bishop Jan Liesen has been much searched for, as has Belgian Cardinal Julien Ries, the late Cardinal Baldelli and the first lines of chapter 13 of the Gospel of John, which relate the foot washing of the Apostles by Christ.

Meanwhile, my gratitude remains for the continuous readership my blog draws, which is an indispensable form of support. Another form of support may be give via the button below, for those so inclined. Be assured of my gratitude and prayers for all those who choose to do so.

Stats for August 2012

As always, August is slow month when it comes to blogging, which was compounded this year by some personal circumstances which prevented me from blogging more. The total number of visit remained stuck at 5,508, the lowest number since last December. Still, there have been a few posts of interest, as the top 10 shows.

1: The Michelle Martin case – Christian charity? 81
2: Het probleem Medjugorje 79
3: “It was not I who gave you the breath of life” – death merchants at the door 73
4: Adoro te devote, two versions and a translation 69
5: The male side of ‘being Church’ 65
6: Pussy Riot: free speech or scandal? 64
7: In the face of anger, Abp. Léonard about the PoorClares of Malonne 52
8: Cardinal watch: Cardinal Shan Kuo-Hsi passes away 50
9: ‘Catholic’ education – dropping the C 42
10: On the edge of Europe, welcome home 41

Thanks to all who linked or referred to my blog via their own blogs or social media websites.

And also, of course, thanks to all who chose to contribute in some way, financial or otherwise, to the continued existence of my blog. If you are one who may be willing to contribute financially, you may do so via the Paypal link in the left side bar, which is copied below:

Thank you, and here’s to much interesting posting in September!

Stats for June 2012

Over the past months, more than 7,000 page views per month have become standard, and so it was in June, when the total reached 7,690. As ever, thank you, dear readers, for your time and attention.

Without any further ado, on to the top 10 most read blog posts! No real standouts this time.

1: Adoro te devote, two versions and a translation: 91
2: New priests (and one to offer one of his first Masses in the Extraordinary Form): 82
3: Euro 2012 is gearing up, and Father Vlaar is at it again: 78
4: Letter to the German Bishops’ Conference: 77
5: Why am I Catholic?: 71
6: Nothing new under the sun – old heresies resurface: 66
7: Het probleem Medjugorje: 58
8: Ordination days coming up: 57
9: Council survivors: 56
10: Youth and new evangelisation as Augsburg gains an auxiliary: 47

Some have already found their way to the Paypal button in the sidebar. Once again, thanks so very much for your gracious donations!