I decided to keep blogging not out of any sense of obligation. After all, to whom am I obligated? My decision was based exclusively on how much I missed blogging regularly. In addition to being what I've taken to calling "a vehicle of growth" for me, I find writing enjoyable. I make no claim to be a gifted or even very good writer.
I don't do much free form writing these days. Sometimes, when something strikes me, I'll post something on culture, society, or politics. After the inaguration this past January, I composed a few posts about where I stand on matters political and economic. Frankly, my views haven't changed since I was quote young. Essentially, I am a pretty socially conservative social democrat. As such, I'm not a fan nor am I a member of either major party (or any political party- though in the past for "tactical" reasons I have been registered as both a Republican and as a Democrat).
I dislike both major parties for different reasons but also for some of the same reasons. I take my political cues from the social teaching of the Catholic Church. This makes me a political outsider. My faith doesn't just inform but shapes and forms my politics.
Even though I've considered conscientiously abstaining from voting, something I think is a legitimate moral stance, I vote in each an every election. Voting requires the use of prudential reason. Being a purist will get you nowhere politically.
Enough about all of that. Politics exhaust. Politics are provisional- "provided or serving only for the time being. synonym: temporary." As a Catholic, I believe it's helpful to take the long view. The Church has survived every political system in which she has found herself for more than 2,000 years. Either Jesus is Lord or He isn't. Which side of that dilemma you choose makes all the difference in the world!
Including this one, Καθολικός διάκονος boasts 156 posts this year! That is the most since 2016, when I put up 161. In future, I envision somewhere between 140-150 post per annum. But, who knows? Readership on my "Blogspot page" has been encouraging. Sure it's a bit of an ego boost to see that people read what I write. I'm only human after all.
Most of my posts are homilies. It seems a shame to prepare and deliver them once and consign them to oblivion. More than an ego boost or a dopamine hit, it is my prayer and sincere hope that those who read what I post find it encouraging, challenging, consoling, thought-provoking, useful in some way.
2025 was a fairly eventful year. Political chaos, the likes of which this country has not seen since the nineteenth century, ensued in January. Flooding the zone results in drowning. I see what we're experiencing as the logical conclusion of the drive toward the imperial presidency, which was more than fifty years in the making. Maybe we're simply having a stress test for our constitutional order. The death of my dearly beloved and much misunderstood and maligned Pope Francis on Easter Monday was an event. As was the selection of Pope Leo XIV as Pope Francis' successor. Adding to the latter event, Robert Prevost is from the U.S. Oddly, Ozzy Osbourne's death seems very culturally significant.
Each year there are losses along the way. Positing "a way" implies we're on our way somewhere. It is absurd to view the grave as our destination. You don't just have a destination but a destiny. Noneheless, an invitable aspect of aging (I'm not old, just not young anymore) is these losses pile up. Even as someone with hope, it is sometimes hard to bear the weight of loss. The good news is, I don't have to. Someone else has already borne that weight!
Looking ahead, I plan to continue posting most of my homilies and, on those Sundays I don't preach, a reflection on the readings for that week. I plan to continue the Friday traditio. I wavered a bit on the past month or so. I still have some news to reveal when the time is right. I hope to put up a few more posts on various topics. For the first time in a few years, I am reading the Bible in a Year- not a podcast, but actual reading according to a chronological reading plan. This will easily generate some (hopefully) thoughtful posts.
While I celebrated 20 years since starting this blog this past August, this coming July will mark twenty years since I began blogging in earnest. As a look at the history of my "Blogspot page" (how quaint to a Substack titan!) will show, I began this effort, which I originally entitled Scott Dodge for Nobody in August 2005. It wasn't until nearly a year later that I changed the name to Καθολικός διάκονος and started posting regularly.
So, 2026 will be a year of change and transition for me. It took me nearly the whole of 2025 to properly discern and decide to make some significant changes. I am grateful that I had the time necessary. I can honestly say that I am excited. I look forward to the New Year. I hope you are too, dear reader. I hope I can continue to extend my diaconal service through my little "Blogspot page."
Enjoy New Year's Eve. Blessings as 2026 begins. We'll catch up on the other side of midnight!
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