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“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
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- on Rome 24/10 – Day 2: Lights (video): “A read who studied with Fr. Foster years ago took a stab at the long inscription. These inscriptions can be…”
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Considerably less. There are a half-dozen I check daily. This is one of the few.
My patron is St. Dismas, the Good Thief, so I try to beg, borrow, and if needed, steal any good idea that’s not nailed down. Hence I browse some Catholic blogs more when I need some material. :)
The same as ever. I’m a college student, always looking for something to get my mind off of finals, papers, what have you.
I think I use them more, find lots of good references, but I’ve been around long enough to know who has good info and who’s full of hot air. Although even the latter can be entertaining. :-)
I somehow did not discover the wonders of the blogosphere until this summer, but it seems that I’m looking at blogs more and more every day!
I really enjoy reading blogs. I have about 10 of them on Google reader that I check at least once daily. Yours is at the top of the list. Well, on MY list it is, but Google lists them in alpha order. I read them from the bottom up!
Keep blogging!
On the rise, unfortunately. I keep adding new ones to the list. There’s simply too much to keep tabs on though and some with plenty of overlap with others. Just sifting through them and selecting articles to read later is taking more and more time. Hmm, perhaps a New Year’s resolution…
I’ve actually been trying to slim down the amount I read blogs quite a bit. I think it’s working to some extent, but I still find too much time wasted on reading things that aren’t necessary to what I need to do.
However, this blog is one of the “Permanent RSS Fixtures.”
Funny you should ask, Father.
Increasingly, the only blogs I tend to check out any more are Church-related.
I first found out about this site a few weeks ago, and I’ve been checking it out ever since. Good stuff – thank you for running it!
It’s coming to a point where there is a lot of cross-pollination amongst the blogs I read. There is still plenty of original content and original spins on each.
The thought crosses my mind that there are whole other “networks” of quality Catholic blogging that I don’t even know of (yet). I look forward to expanding my bookmarks and seeing Catholic blogging increase and improve.
It really is cool that here, a priest is blogging, etc., and the whole twitter thing is something else. I’m not into twitter, and don’t really understand it to begin with, but it’s good to see a priest is staying abreast of popular means of communication.
You may want to write an article or short book about the role of contemporary technological modes of communication and its use in the priesthood and ministry. A conference presentation is a must!
My pastor, who is quite old and about to retire, sometimes puts in text-message type things that deal with Jesus or a parable or prayer in the parish bulletin. The kids get a kick out of it.
Technology is changing all the time, it’d be good for a comprehensive report on how priests are using it to communicate with the flock.
I read fewer blogs than this time last year, certainly. Also I make much heavier use of my google reader than I used to – it streamlines things. I’d say my blog reading is more focussed than in the past.
WDTPRS was one of the first blogs I cottoned on to, and it’s still one of the best.
Hope that’s useful,
Al
I’m getting fussier about time I spending reading blogs. Periodically I go through my bookmarks and clean them up. I have three regulars – Charlotte was Both, this blog, and the Musica Sacra forum. Maybe twice a week I’ll quickly check out others.
And I’m always getting sidetracked by other peoples’ links.
More for me. My siblings use blogs to keep in touch and show off pictures and videos of their kids. Other than that, I have been reading this and a few other Church-related blogs more frequently (especially this one).
I used to read lots of political blogs, but I’m kind of an elitist when it comes to politics and I think I know more than everybody else, so I have stopped checking those as often. :-P That, and I’ve come to see Christ as the solution to most of the problems in our society, and so I am not as interested by less effective strategies that ignore God.
I’m at the high phase of the blog-reading wave. I’ve been into blogging for a very long time and I’ve noticed that interest in blogs in general and in particular blogs waxes and wanes. Current trend is less news and political blogs, more Catholic blogs and sports blogs.
I’m trying to look at blogs (and write my own) less, and read whole books more.
Trying, not succeeding. Heck, not even trying that hard…
I used to check in here frequently. But honestly, I do not have time nor desire to know what does the menu really say. There was a spat when the food and beer hit the posts too frequently for me to dig through. I love both, but I normally don’t read about them.
I love your column, but if the prayers do not say anything that day, don’t give into the idea that you have to say anything. Some of the blogs I check in with, that are most substantive, only post every few days.
with netvibes, it is easy to keep track of blogs. I have several different tabs to make it easy to sort. Since I was raised and taught with burlap and Jesus loves you in Sunday School, your blog has been so refreshing and instructional. Especially about the TLM and tradtion. I found your blog when I searched on our new pastor Fr Bud Roland. Finally, I can no longer receive the Eucharist in the hand. I just want to ask Fr Bud to bring TLM to his new parish. But it may only be a few of us who would like it.
My blogging habits wax and wane, but I still check and read the same several every day. How much I participate in the comboxes and discussion threads depends on how much time I have to make an appropriate comment and as I’ve “matured” as a poster, I try to think carefully about what I post, so as not to contribute to the culture of negativity, etc., that can be a problem out in the “blogosphere.”
I have noticed that I rely on certain blogs to keep me on the “cutting edge” of what’s being talked about. For instance, I had mentioned to our liturgy staff during a meeting the possibility of the whole ACORN/CCHD controversy based on blog chatter long before it became an issue addressed by the Archdiocese. They shrugged it off, but as we all know, about a week or two before the scheduled collection it became a seriously hot topic that required a published statement from the Archbishop. I never said anything more about it, but since then if I mention something I’m hearing out there in the ether, others seem to take my comments a bit more seriously.
@Bill Haley,
I for one love reading about what Father is cooking or drinking. It’s nice to know that one can be a serious-minded Catholic and still enjoy the things God gives us to make us happy.
I have a list that I am sure to check daily; one or two that I check more than once a day (this one is included in that mix!).
Recently, I have been making a conscious decision as to which blogs I am keeping and reading in Google Reader.
This has allowed me to concentrate on those blogs I deem essential and important for me to read.
WDTPRS is a the top of the list of “must reads” for me on a daily basis.
I look forward to the gamut of posts that Fr Z posts — from the serious to the not so serious.
I admit I look forward to and like reading and seeing the photos of Fr Z’s day to day life – the cooking / the Sabine Farm / the birds and yes even Savage Chickens cartoons – – -Great Stuff!
I have read about the Twitter movement replacing Blogs, and I don’t see the situation as Twitter or Blogs —rather Twitter ( or something like it) and blogs.
I always spend less time reading blogs during Advent; especially since having children. There are so many lovely Advent things participate in and Christmas preparations to be done.
Less than before…
I’ve cut back on the number of blogs I read regularly.
Not nearly as much as the days leading up to the publication of Summorum Pontificum.
Most blogs are pretty hackneyed, and I can stand the main-line news media. I tend to read specialized stuff. WDTPRS is the best Catholic blog in my opinion, and I read it every day. It is orthodox and balanced, and it has not forsaken charity (unlike a few Catholic blogs I could mention but won’t, out of charity). I am sure writing and managing this blog is a huge effort, Father. Thank you very much.
I read blogs much more now that times are tougher for faithful Catholics. My feed aggregator makes it a simple process to scan 600 posts a day — so you bloggers out there . . . make your post titles descriptive and your content easy to scan! :-)
Ever less, since the election. It’s like coming off a bad trip, and I need to demediate.
More.
A lot more.
The number of blogs I read daily is in the double-digits, with this being the first I visit daily, and the one I check back on most often. TNLM is my second favorite blog.
I should be cutting back, but I don’t wanna.
I check NLM, Rorate Caeli and WDTPRS daily…hoping everyday to read of an agreement between Rome and the SSPX.
Since switching to Google Reader, I’ve been reading more blogs, but still try to remain particular in what I read.
I check the same number of blogs each day. The core group – WDTPRS is the hub- doesn’t change , but I experiment with others. As long as they contribute reliable , interesting info. and are well written they are added to my list.Some need only be accessed every few days given the nature of their content
Its hard to find good ones these days. Good meaning relevant, interesting, and frequently updated.
This is it for me!
I am pretty narrowly focused on this one and a small selection of other Catholic blogs. Your PODCAzT has drawn me back into the podcast fold. I was a pretty early fan of podcasts, when I was making a long weekly commute for work. When that ended, so did the car time during which i listened to them. But yours is a must-hear, and like another post-er above, I have been downloading the back catalog and loading them in my iPod.
Keep up the good work in both media! (Next step, I’d imagine, might be a video PODCAzT ??)
More blogs. I am a college student who does all her work on-line. So, yeah.. avoidng finals. I have about 30 blogs I check regularly, most about my vocation (wife/mother) but a lot about the Church, too. I am a recent convert from Protestantism, so I have almost no Catholic support. The blogs are my fellowship…? :) Too much information, yes? God bless you, Father.
Father,
I can honestly say that I do not check any blogs but this one. I never could really “get into it” if you know what I mean. I used to read some other blogs, but as soon as I read this one, I was impressed with the wealth of knowledge on it. I really love your blog, Father, so please keep it up, because as a more traditional Catholic, I tended to be almost neglected on other sites (I will refrain from saying any names to protect the innocent) and as soon as I found this one, I knew I was at home.
Thank you for all that you do for the traditionalist Catholic community, Father!
John P.
Eh, about the same. I check yours, Mark Shea’s (CAEI), and Barb Nicolosi’s (COTM) regularly; Fr. Longenecker’s often, Amy Welborn’s sometimes; Curt Jester and Shrine (Holy Whapping) now and then. At this season of my life; sometimes get more stuck on some than on others.
Rachel, I hear ya! but in a slightly different way. Blogs have become a good way for me to keep in touch not only with news/Catholic news, but with Things Catholic, which I miss after having lived in the Catholic-culture-intense Twin Cities.
I look at blogs more often including WDTPRS, American Papist, The Anchoress, National Review’s The Corner, Commentary Magazine’s Contentions, Hot Air, Hugh Hewitt, Mickey Kaus’ Kausfiles. I look for news and views about the Catholic Church, politics, economics, and current event commentary.
Thanks for all that you do.
Over all less since the election. I continue to read my main religious pick’s. WDTPRS continues to be #1!
About the same. Not commenting much, just taking everything in.
Check Fr Z, Rorate Caeli, and New Liturgical Movement.
Used to check Vox Nova but found myself arguing too much
I follow a lot of blogs via RSS, but only a few catch my attention depending on the topic at hand. Any comments I make are (hopefully) safe, legal (at the moment), and (thankfully) rare.
This blog provides me with the information as we get no ‘sheparding’ in this diocese. Thank God for Catholic blogs and Catholic sites. I will admit that I read only blogs written by Priests. They are good learning tools and so interesting that I have a few windows open on the side to do quick research on something that catches my eye.
~90% of my time online is on Google Reader (RSS / Atom feeds)
…so blogs i guess
Yours is the only one I check on a regular basis, but there are a couple others that I read on occasion (and which I keep meaning to keep better track of). School really cramps my style when it comes to blogs and podcasts, so I have to spend the holiday catching up.
I love that in the Catholic blogosphere I am quite normal, thank you, so I find myself hanging out there more frequently. Like many of you, that would not be the case in our nearby parish. I am picking up more blogs as time goes on – pretty much only Catholic ones that Fr. Z has mentioned. In this house, Fr. Z has home page status & thus has also hooked my husband & our 16 & 14 year-old (pretty much daily).
We like the birds & the farm. And the 16-year-old loves the podcasts. She thinks your voice is amazing and has uploaded many onto my MP3 player. Many, many thanks for this blog.
I’m trying to be on the Internet less, in general. Message boards are my particular addiction. Anyway, I’ve taken up sewing and knitting and I’m trying to keep busy in meat space.
If “these days” means Advent, then yes, I’m currently spending rather less time on blogs. Not reading all the ones I usually read and not posting to my own (except in Latin). Obviously retaining WDTPRS on the must-read list, though. :)
much less but worried I’ll miss out on something vital like the ‘instruction’ etc.
I read Fr.Z daily. Looks like I read a lot of the same blogs as others on here, hot air, the corner, lucianne, American Papist, and yes, freerepublic. Still reading them as much as I ever have, which is probably too much!….
I only read blogs that deal with matters of faith. I check about four or five each day. I’ve always been a bit wary of blogs as they can be such a sop to vanity; I mean, who CARES where the Bloggers family went camping at the weekend, apart from their family? The tendency to blog on anything and everything as if the blogger’s views really matter that much is what keeps me away from them. I always avoid blogs written by people who define themselves by their children: ‘Mom of twelve’-type names. Well, I’m a mother too, and I am sure it’s a wonderful thing, but not necessarily something complete strangers will find interesting. Each to his own of course!
There is an art to writing blogs; it helps to have interesting material, but since most ‘scoops’ will be taken up by many people, a blog must have something extra. For all its lack of visual material and simple layout, I enjoy Fr Mildew greatly. He has good insights, is not pompous or waffly (his entries are never that long) (in fact the larger print is easier on the eye) and there is a gentle self-deprecating humour. Fr Mildew is retired and not in the best of health, and he is thus freer to say what he thinks. Do go over and spike his stats, there has been some interesting discussion about Thomas Merton recently and his contemporary Blessed Cyprian Tansi.
Fr. Z,
I’m a college student that recently got addicted to a few blogs (yours being one of em). Combine that with my procrastination and…I’m addicted lol. But keep blogging Fr! Yours is my favorite.
More at present because it’s cold outside!!
Pleased to read Calleva’s comments about ‘Fr Mildew’. Yes the larger print is great on his blog and I am sure we all wish him a speedy recovery from his present illness.
I suppose I’m like most people here, in that there’s a limited number of blogs that I read. A lot of Catholic blogs are devoted to “church chat,” simply posting other people’s articles with clever witticisms of their own. I fail to see the value-added in that. Creative Minority Report does this exceptionally well (as opposed to doing it badly, which most do), and thus may be the most under-appreciated Catholic blog out there. Most people still gravitate to the same two or three writers out there for the past five years, which have devolved into a mecca for endless (and often mindless) combox chatter. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t read blogs to sift through the same arguments over and over again. The great thing about WDTPRS, is that in a year where liturgical matters have shot through the roof as a focus for a niche audience, this blog is the epicenter of what’s going on. We know that if a liturgical abuse, or other such concern is raised, someone in Rome is reading it the same day. That level of being in touch would have been unimaginable just five years ago. Rorate Caeli does the same thing, and reasonably well, but there’s something special about actually putting your real name behind something. I think they even named a virtue for it.
This year has been an election year in the USA, so political blogs have been big. I can go to Hot Air and link to pretty much everything. Also, I recommend Confederate Yankee, one of the few political blogs with the audacity to raise the level of discussion, and keep it there.
I look for good writing. I look to be informed. I look for people who make me think. I don’t look for a coffee klatch. I can get that in real life.
But hey, that’s just me.
Less. Far too busy these days.
I visit blogs considerably less than I did in the early days of the blogosphere, when I blogged daily. I still blog some on two different sites, but other than this site, NLM, and a very few others, I rarely bother with blogs any more. The Net is a terribly useful tool, but it’s also an all-consuming force which, if left unchecked, can rob us of the pleasures and benefits of reading the kind of books and articles that demand our sustained attention.
Right now, the season is busy with music, gatherings, extra holiday stuff to do, I am forced to reduce computer time.
I still check your blog daily Father. I appreciate the civility and topic discipline that you enforce in the comboxes. I find that your site, and a couple of others, offer the most efficient method of knowing what’s going on.
It takes discipline to stay off the ‘net as there are so many interesting Catholic blogs and conservative news sites – plus a couple of social sites.
Funny you should ask…I had a lengthy conversation recently with the director of a well-known successful catholic internet education institution. We discussed how the sentiments have changed drastically about Catholicism on the ‘net. Just a few years ago, Catholic institutions had little interest in the power and reach of the ‘net. She regularly presents to groups and institutions looking for support and collaboration – on a trip to Rome a few years ago there was little interest at the American College, for instance. Today Catholic internet influence is far more pervasive, downright useful and should be more aggressively leveraged.
I second the above comment by Bird Feeder: “You may want to write an article or short book about the role of contemporary technological modes of communication and its use in the priesthood and ministry. A conference presentation is a must!”
Father, I’d love to hear your experiences, research and comments on how Catholic institutions and individuals view the ‘net today, and your insight on how Catholics can benefit from growth in this area and in what direction.
My friend is very interested in growing her reach of catechetical influence and very much would like to know your thoughts.
I look at blogs much less. This one is the only one I read daily. I have found most blogs to have such a nasty tone they are not worth bothering with. If somebody doesn’t have charity what good is anything else they do?
I visit this blog, Curt Jester and Dom Bettinelli’s blogs regularly. I only visit a couple of forums on a regular basis.
Dear Father,
I am reading more Blog content. I stumbled upon the American Papist first and then discovered Google Reader. The Papist lead me to other blogs and eventually yours. I save your Blog till last when I check “G” reader, because I enjoy it most. I change my subscriptions occasionally, adding and subtracting (Vox Nova – ughh) based on what appears solid or at least not anti-catholic. I’m too newly faithful to be exposing myself to rubbish. I use ZENcast Organizer to keep up with podcasts; haven’t discovered how to pull your podcasts down yet.
Thank you for your effort here Father.
Thanks to Sage for Firefox (SageToo, actually) I have close to 200 blogs tracked. This one is in the top ten of daily (more like hourly) reads, along with CMR, Whispers, Deacon Kandra’s and Deacon Wright’s. But the season at hand has put a huge dent in the reading, let alone writing.
Would that there was a Catholic aggregator on the order of Fark, picking things up from right, left and center and allowing for a wide range of combox chatter. It would make the gathering and gleaning far easier. Hint-hint, wink-wink, nudge-nudge!
Less… much less! I am down to your blog and one other on education. I hope to pick up the three or four others I follow regularly after the Advent season, when I have a bit more time.
Good question. I’m not quite sure… though I *have* severely curtailed my secular blog reading, and focused on ones related to the Faith, and to Pro-Life…
Less.
Early adapter – now much,much less.
Just because there is more access doesn’t mean the number of great writers has increased…unfortunately.
I agree with some previous posters: I read mostly priests’ blogs and often find that what they have to say I need to hear.
Likewise, the lack of charity on some blogs is a terrible temptation to trouble (okay, so I like alliteration). I rarely post, preferring instead to read and think. The last time I posted–months ago–was on this blog.
Thank you, Father Z, for all you do.