Greetings my brothers and sisters in Christ,
It seems like ages since the last Newsletter was released. Actually, it has been 15 months. Some have asked why the Newsletter was suddenly discontinued. Please allow me to explain some of the reasons.
Most Catholic websites have a number of paid workers or volunteers to maintain their websites. The operation of Catholic Doors Ministry is managed by one volunteer, myself. There are no paid full-time employees. There is no office from which volunteers can be recruited. Everything is done out of a residential suite. With limited manpower resources, the ministry was no longer capable of keeping up with the work that had to be done to modernize the website.
The next question you most likely have is, "What work?" Catholic Doors Ministry has no financial support from the Church. It raises its own funds through Google Adsense advertisement on the website. Most likely you have noticed a top and bottom advertisement banner on each webpage. When someone clicks on one of those banners, the ministry receives a small commission. This was all going fine until Google decided to change one of its rules. It gave webmasters a few months' notice that websites that were not mobile friendly, they would be unlisted from their search engine. Listing priority would be given to websites that are mobile friendly. That meant, every webpage on the website of Catholic Doors Ministry had to recoded, line by line, all 10,000 of them. Well it was finally done, working at it seven days a week, long hours, sometimes during the night, and it took one year to complete the job. Now, hopefully I have not missed a webpage. If you find one, let me know and I will immediately convert it so it is mobile friendly.
While the above was being done, emails still had to be answered, support for the Mission in India had to continue, some material was still added to the website such as homilies, some prayers, etc...
The Google changes has had a dramatic impact on the website. Traffic wise, Google did cut back in its referrals to Catholic Doors Ministry through its search engine. The traffic dropped by 50% overnight and it presently has settled at about 35% of what it was 18 months ago. The fund-raising has suffered the same impact... a drastic reduction in revenues. Please, do not get me wrong. This is not a request for financial assistance.
Catholic Doors Ministry has never had to worry about finances because the Lord has always provided more than the ministry needed for its small annual expenses related to the maintenance of a website. In fact, Catholic Doors Ministry has donated thousands of dollars in money and/or religious goods to different organizations, Churches, Schools, Senior Homes, etc... Last year, Catholic Doors Ministry spent $25,000.00 on 2,000 Children Illustrated Bibles that were donated to the Knights of Columbus for distribution to the children at local Schools. This year, by the grace of God, the ministry has received a donation of 4,150 free Children Illustrated Bibles from "Aid to the Church in Need". These were also distributed to the children in local Schools through another Chapter of the Knights of Columbus. Every year for the past few years, the ministry has distributed over 80,000 Holy Cards to promote the faith. Also, Rosaries and Rosary parts were distributed. Such is some of the charitable work of Catholic Doors Ministry that no one sees or hears about because it is rarely mentioned.
While most organizations want your money for their wages, Catholic Doors Ministry has never paid one penny in wages. And the Lord Jesus has blessed this ministry abundantly for its dedication in serving those who hunger for spiritual foods without seeking something in return from them.
In August next year, this ministry will be 20 years old. It started in 1998 AD with 8 Bible courses and weekly Sunday homilies for the priests who needed help in their ministry of preaching on Sundays. Now, if you look at the index of the website at http://www.catholicdoors.com, you will see how much the Holy Spirit has helped with the growth of this beautiful work that draws thousands of visitors every day of the year. Thank you God for your blessings.
Before closing, I would like to highlight a few things about the website. They are:
Future homilies are available on the website up to November 26, 2017, the Feast of Christ the King. You may view some or all of the homilies at http://www.catholicdoors.com/homilies/index.htm
The website now has 3,737 English Prayers at http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/index.htm
Novenas, nearly 400 of them, continue to be popular. To shorten the link to the list of Novenas, I registered a new Domain Name. Just type TreasureofNovenas.com in your browser and you will be taken directly to the right webpage on my website.
Questions and Answers about the faith continue to be popular. The website now as 1459 answers to questions regarding the Catholic faith. If you are looking for answers to questions related to Godparents, please visit "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) at http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/index.htm
Another location wehre you can find answers to questions on the website is in the Bible Courses category. For example, there is a course on "The Role of the Godparent." That course, available free on the website, answers many questions regarding Godparents. To see the list of topics, please visit http://www.catholicdoors.com/courses/index.htm
Finally, on behalf of the Diocese of Kannur, I would like to thank all the past supporters of their mission in India among the poorest of the poor. Fr. George has indicated that most months, his Diocese is blessed with some Mass Stipends and/or donations to help them with their ministry of evangelizing. Your continued support of this mission is greatly appreciated, especially considering the fact that some parts of the Americas are now being re-evangelized by priests from countries like India and Africa. If we do not support these priests and their education in the seminary, we will reach a point where no priests will be available to provide us with the Sacraments. To support the Diocese of Kannur, please visit https://www.catholicdoors.com/missioninindia/massstipends.htm
Thank you for your time. May the month of November be one of rich spiritual blessings for you and your loved ones. Jesus died for you. Show your appreciation of His love by your good works towards the growth of the Church.
In the love of Jesus and Mary,
Jonn Miller,
Webmaster.
Our mailing address is:
Catholic Doors Ministry
P.O. Box 7615
Saskatoon, SK
S7K 4R4, Canada
October 28, 2017
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