Thursday, February 26, 2009

We Need Your Feedback

Dear Friends,

We need your feedback and perspective.  Because of the relatively rapid growth in readership of this humble work, this blog will be the feature of a much larger Catholic web site in the near future.  They have asked us to outline the most important aspects of how we are serving you and the Church.  We thought it might be a good idea to get your perspective. We would be grateful if you could take a few seconds to tell us how has this blog resulted in tangible benefits to you and your faith.  Feel free to answer one or all of these questions or just give us any response you think might be helpful.  You can use the comments section of this post to provide your input.

  • What do you like most about the blog?  
  • Has it helped your prayer life or your faith?  If so, how?
  • Has it helped you build your relationship with Christ?
  • Have you passed it along to a friend?  If so, why?
  • What has been the most tangible benefit to you?
  • Is there any way we can improve our service to you and your faith in the future?
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help us out!

In Christ, Dan

14 comments:

  1. I have been reading this blog less than a week. It is very rich in ignatian spirituality from both a contemplative and how-to perspective. I especially liked the postings on marriage spirituality. WOW! I am telling everyone I know about this blog. And Fr. John's work is always strong. The artwork is stunning. The only thing I can say, is keep up the good work because this is a very strong, very original, beginning.

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  2. I come here because I need spiritual direction. I have been unable to find someone in real-life that I can trust, that is faithful to the magisterium of the Church, who is willing to be my spiritual director. Here, I know I will get the truth. I have been praying to find spiritual direction for a long time, and this seems to be the best answer I have found.

    As a busy mom of 5, I am constantly on the move, my direction often changing at a moments notice. The on-line availability of this blog fits easily into that kind of schedule.

    I love the in-depth teaching on various topics. Better than a headline, and two paragraphs. This postings have given me food for thought.

    I will admit, it is hard to take the chapel with me. :) Haven't quite figured out how to work around that, yet, but I'm thinking on it!

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  3. I like the fact that this blog is BALANCED and SOLID and POSITIVE and PROFESSIONAL - there really itsn't anything else like this out there. It has helped my personal prayer life and life with Christ. I am a Spiritual Director and what I have found most helpful is the ability to forward some of this info. so that people can read for themselves and analyze themselves. Site could be a bit more userfriendly so that wehn you go to prayer, for example, there is a list of topics and you could click on the topic of interest rather than having to scroll down through everything. Have you thought of starting a subscription service for spiritual directors or those (could even be anyone interested in the spiritual life) that is formative, current, etc. I love what Dan adds and I love Fr. John and the Legionaries.

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  4. I am responding to your questions as to how are you helping me in my spiritual quest. Well, I really enjoy reading your email each day. It gives me something to reflect upon and pray about each day. I look forward to seeing what topic you will bring up, some of which I have thought about and some which I should think about. I enjoy reading Fr. John's responses to the average person's questions. Thank you for having such an enlightening site!

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  5. Thank you for your hard work and generosity! Above all we appreciate the pragmatic nature and deep simplicity. We find the format user-friendly. Growing in love for Christ and living the Faith in practical ways is the focus. We have passed it on to many seeking formation. It is so easy to complicate or trivialize things in our world; so again, the profound simplicity is a breath of fresh air.

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  6. Aloha:

    - What do you like most about the blog?
    that it focuses on spiritual direction.

    - Has it helped your prayer life or your faith? If so, how?
    To be honest, I have been busy with other things. But this Lent your blog is on my to read list for help in my prayer life.

    - Has it helped you build your relationship with Christ?
    It will as I visit it more daily.

    - Have you passed it along to a friend? If so, why?
    I posted your post about a Spouses' Examination of Conscience because as a Catholic wife and mother, these are the areas of our spirituality that interests me.

    - What has been the most tangible benefit to you?
    I'll have to get back to you on that one.

    - Is there any way we can improve our service to you and your faith in the future?
    Seems fine the way it is now.

    Thanks,
    Esther

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  7. Fr. John and Dan,

    You are both doing a great job with this blog.

    What do you like most about the blog?
    - I also like the focus on spiritual direction and discussions about prayer.

    Has it helped your prayer life or your faith? If so, how?
    - It has helped in the sense that the posts provide guidance in prayer and have helped overcome some obstacles in my prayer.

    Has it helped you build your relationship with Christ?
    - Yes in that it has helped me in my prayer life

    Have you passed it along to a friend? If so, why?
    -Yes; I passed the marriage posts on to the otehr members in the marriage ministry at our parish; one of the members had recommended The Better Part to my wife, and both were glad to learn about the blog.

    What has been the most tangible benefit to you?
    -Having a daily source for reflections and for guidance on prayer.

    Is there any way we can improve our service to you and your faith in the future?
    - Has Fr. John thought about doing a spiritual direction podcast? I've heard Fr. John on The Inner Life on Relevant Radio and really enjoyed his discussions. I would enjoy hearing him discuss various topics via a podcast or audio post on this site (or other outlet, e.g., iTunes)

    Again, this blog has been a great source for me personally, and I thank you both for your excellent work.

    God Bless

    -Scott S

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  8. I think this is great. I love The Better Part, and think the explanation of meditation itself is worth the price of the book. I have read many, many books on prayer and that is the best explanation ever. We need more of that kind of help. As someone else said, it is difficult to find a good spiritual director and this absolutely fills a need in the Catholic community. We need as much info and guidance as possible. While having your own Spiritual Director is best, of course, well trained ones are few and far between. Please, Please continue

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  9. I am a new Catholic, and this blog helps me to get to know the different aspects of Catholic prayer tradition. It also seems quite solid, it seems like you know what you are talking about. A daily input on prayer (and other spiritual matters) is good. Helps us to focus on God, even develop our prayer life!

    I do the web page for my church, and I have added you on our blog-roll because I would like to recommend you to others.

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  10. I have only been reading your blog for a short while, but I love it! I find every article to be solid and inspiring. I especially have beneficted from the Marriage Spirituality articles and all of Father John's Q & A. Your articles about jornaling have been a confirmation for me that my own (untrained) pursuit of journaling is on the right track. may God bless your work - I look forward to more!

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  11. As the wife of Scott S above- I agree with what he said. I'm very glad he found this site and shared it with me.
    I especially like the mix of posts from Dan and from Fr John.
    Thank you so much for your work and God Bless you

    Jill S

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  12. Thank you so much. This daily email is another moment of the day that I can talk to Jesus. The topics have been so pertinent.
    Examples - distraction in prayer and helping your spouse to heaven.
    Kee up the good work. AMDG/JMJ

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  13. This is the only blog I belong to and it is a wonderful part of my getting on the comp. I look forward to reading each time I log on. It reminds me of many things I should know and is an encouragement to my daily activities. Thank you.

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  14. Dear Fr. John, I have only know about the site for the last two months and I have greatly benefited. I have since subscribing restarted spiritual direction. I also at times use the material for my meditation and we are actually praying as a couple every evening since begining of lent.

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Dear Friends - If you wish to submit a question to Father John, please see the "How can submit a question" post for guidelines. Your comments and feedback are more than welcome!