I wanted to stop and take a moment to thank all of you. Sometimes it’s easy to forget, when the comment boxes get rowdy, and everyone is upset about what’s going on, that 1P5 doesn’t just have an audience.

We have a community that spans the world.

If you’re reading this, it means that most likely, you’re the kind of person who genuinely cares about what is good and decent and right, and no matter what the obstacles are, you want to see truth prevail.

The emails I get from some of you are amazing. The self-sacrifice is, too. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I’m humbled by it. I literally find myself asking God how we have been blessed to be the recipients of such good-hearted generosity and support.

Since my fundraising appeal last night, we’ve doubled our progress toward our monthly goal from 27% to 64%. You’re moving the mountain! But while I am always blown away by the kindness of those who financially support us, it’s the human side of that story that I really want to accentuate.

We just received a large donation from someone who suffers from several disabilities, and whose family is in need of prayer. He described it as, “not much.” Where I come from, it’s more than much. I even contacted him to make sure it wasn’t a mistake, an extra zero typed into the form. It wasn’t. I was floored.

And then there are the countless souls who send $5, $10, or $20 (or more) and always add a little note that says, “It’s not much” or “I wish it were more”.  These people are giving from their substance. Please, never think that your help is insignificant. Everything counts. I have a habit that I’ve developed that every time I see a notification that a donation has been made, I say a little prayer for the person who did it. It is my ardent hope that God will reward you for your generosity.

I’ve also heard back from people who want to support us financially but can’t. People who are out of work or struggling financially. Elderly people on fixed incomes. People supporting adult children who are going through crises. One person who is actually homeless, and about ready to give up on God. Another who previously gave up on God until the prayers of his family brought him back to the faith – but not before laying him low and causing him to lose his very successful business enterprises.

Please pray for these people. Please pray for their families and needs and intentions. Please pray for all of our benefactors and all of our readers and everyone praying for us. By that I mean, let’s pray for each other. We are in this together. All of us. And we are not just a few.

From where I sit, I look every day at numbers. I see the statistics, the traffic, the site visits. I see the countries they come from and the links they follow to get here. I moderate the comments. I can tell you that as we approach the second anniversary of our founding on August 1st, we have already served up 7,292,377 pages of content to 1,471,787 unique visitors from around the globe. To give you some perspective, Michigan Stadium can hold 109,000 people and is the third-largest stadium in the world. It looks like this when it’s full:

Multiply that by almost 14, and that’s how many people have come to see us here since we got started on the Feast of St. Peter in Chains, 2014. Now imagine all of those people all praying for each other, and for the mission of helping the Church to be restored to her former glory. Think of the power of that many people, praying, sacrificing, beseeching God, and supporting each other. Many of us have come to this place, myself included, out of a need to feel as though we are not alone. The numbers tell us the truth:

YOU. ARE. NOT. ALONE.

Our community is real, and it is everywhere. Men and women from every walk of life across the globe who love their families, their parishes, their Catholic Faith, and would do anything they could to see the glory of the Church restored. Men and women who put their faith in our little upstart publication to be the David against the Modernist Goliath.

The weight of that duty is heavy on my shoulders, but the encouragement is powerful. Our work, our efforts, our success, are born aloft on your prayers every bit as much as on your contributions. Our success or failure depends principally on our faithfulness to God.

Let’s find ways to not just come and read content and leave, but build on our community so we can do more things together for the good of the Church and the world. It’s my promise to you that I’m going to do my best to find ways to add features to our apostolate that will allow better collaboration. We may not know each other’s names or faces, but we should feel each other’s presence and carry each other in prayer.

I pray that God will bless all of you in abundance. I offer my sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been a benefactor to this cause, both financially and spiritually. (If you still want to help us to meet our goal this month, we’ve got 36% left to go.)

We’ll catch up this month, then deal with next month’s expenses when we get there. As Our Lord said, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.” (Mt. 6:34). Good advice. Just like the advice that came right before it: “Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt. 6:33)

The idea that there are so many of us in this common cause is something I don’t reflect on enough. I’m so grateful to have an actual army of supporters and friends. It’s incredibly encouraging, and we can all use some of that right about now.