The CatholiCity Message

Volume VI, Number 22 – November 1, 2002

Dear CatholiCity Citizen,

Your financial help is still very much needed. This year's appeal is off to a promising start, but unless you join in now, we'll fall short of our goal of the $120,000 needed to keep CatholiCity online. Here are the initial "returns":

(INFORMATION REMOVED: OUTDATED)

Okay, none of us enjoys paying taxes. We will tell you boldly: the eternal destinies of countless souls depend on your response right now. We'll have more details on the "nut and "bolts" below, but if you want to join in, here's what to do:

1. TO MAKE AN ONLINE:
http://www.catholicity.com/support/donation.html

2. TO BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR:
http://www.catholicity.com/support/monthlydonor.html

3. TO PRINT OUT A DONATION FORM TO MAIL IN:
http://www.catholicity.com/support/monthlyform.html

4. TO MAIL IN A DONATION WITHOUT A FORM:
Make your check payable to "CatholiCity" and send to:

CatholiCity Gift
2002 Tax Drive
PO Box 26101
Fairview Park, OH 44126

And now, why should you help?

SOULS HANG IN THE BALANCE
We just spent time before the Blessed Sacrament asking Jesus to inspire you to respond generously. We're concerned because after seven years of often difficult struggles online, we know that souls who otherwise may have chosen to go to hell will instead choose to go to heaven if you help us now. It's that simple.

Every year we receive thousands of letters and messages telling us CatholiCity has had dramatic impact on the lives of real people. Protestants become Catholics. Husbands start going to Mass. Numerous fallen away Catholics return to Confession and the sacraments. Single Catholics find spouses. Babies are born when parents become open to life. 70,000 Citizens pray together through our CatholiCity Message and our online Novenas–and prayer changes the world.

Souls are saved.

BUT CATHOLICITY DOESN'T HELP ME
It very well may be that you yourself have only benefited slightly from CatholiCity or that you are new to our unique online apostolate; we ask that you keep in mind the countless "seekers and surfers" who otherwise will never be exposed to the bold Catholic truth that we present free-of-charge, no strings attached.

Will you help these "seekers" find the Truth?

YOU, NOT THE OTHER GUY
Please don't be fooled by the devilish notion that "the other people" reading this will respond. Yes, we always tell you that CatholiCity Citizens are the best, and you are the best precisely because you take the serious business of evangelizing souls personally. Your decision today will make a difference. Even if your gift is "small" in the eyes of the world, it's big to us.

Will you consider becoming one of the hundreds of new "monthly" heroes we need? Will you become one of the thousands of volunteer "taxpaying" Citizens we need by giving a one-time gift?

YOU'VE FELT IT
All year long we offer you and countless others free Catholic tapes, CDs, free books, free commentaries, free news, the CatholiCity Message, great offers from other Catholic apostolates, fast responses to your Customer Service inquiries, the best Catholic links, and so much more. We give everyone a sense of community–the feeling that we're in this struggle for souls together. Have you felt this? We hope you have.

Remember how we stuck together for the 2000 Elections, how we prayed together during 9-11, and how we kept you informed and tried to offer hope during the current Scandals while the mainstream media trotted out the usual liberals and anti-Catholic rhetoric?

Have we helped you laugh? Have you prayed with us? Have you fallen more in love with your Faith, even in "small" ways?

Do you want this to continue for other souls?

YOU SAVED US BEFORE
Jesus said, "Give freely what has been given to you." That's our mission as Catholics in a nutshell. In fact, the Tax Drive originally started five years ago when you lobbied us for a once-a-year opportunity to help financially. Many of you remember "saving the City" back then, and you're still with us today.

ONE DAY PER YEAR
For 364 days a year we give you everything we have. Just once a year, we ask for your voluntary support. Today is that day.

IT FEELS GREAT
It really does feel great to make a donation to a Catholic apostolate that is so effective in reaching souls who otherwise would go without help. Please don't be shy about sending what "the world" considers "small gifts" of $3, $5, $10, or $25. Many of you can afford to send much more, from gifts of $50 or $100 to thousands of dollars. Go for it!

If you tithe 10% or part of your family's income, please consider including us today.

MONTHLY HEROES
Please prayerfully consider becoming a monthly donor. We need hundreds of Catholics to make monthly donations to reach our goal. It takes just a couple of minutes for you to authorize us to do this securely with your credit card, and you can "drop out" at any time if your financial situation changes.

DOUBLE THE VISITORS
Our visitors in 2002 have roughly doubled since we unveiled our new "superfast" version in January. During the Church Scandals and the Luminous Mysteries announcement, our visitors increased significantly. The CatholiCity Message reaches around 70,000 families worldwide–the most popular Catholic e-newsletter in the world.

If you helped out during last year's tax drive, your investment was a wise one. The workload, of course, has increased with new visitors, but last year's tech upgrades and the growing experience of our small but dedicated staff has allowed us to keep up without adding more workers.

NEW FOR 2003
We've got some exciting new initiatives planned for 2003, including increasing our original Commentary content. we're very excited about a new online apostolate that is going to blow your doors off. It won't cost much, but we're not quite at liberty to reveal the details (we're working in partnership with another apostolate on it). We can tell you it's the kind of thing that will transform marriages and families dramatically–and can only be accomplished effectively through CatholiCity.

TWO OR THREE MILLION REASONS
As we continue to rise in Search Engine placement (for example, we are the first link offered by Google for "Deal Hudson," "Catholic Novels," and many other terms), we believe we might double our visitors in 2003. We don't want to lose either our personal touch or the high-quality of our services. We're sure you don't want us to miss this golden opportunity to serve two or three million new souls next year.

LET US PRAY
Will you help us? we know you will. CatholiCity Citizens are the best. We'll have an update for you on how far along we are to reaching our goal as soon as possible.

So please join your fellow CatholiCity Citizens in prayer:

"Dear Father Almighty, you are the One who has given us everything we have–our life, our children, our families, our friends, our homes, our food, our jobs, our country, our material blessings, our beloved Church. You have given us Your Son, Jesus, Who gave us everything on the Cross, and continues to give us everything we need for salvation through the Catholic Faith."

"Please, heavenly Father, we ask you in the simplest way, send the Holy Spirit to guide me and my fellow CatholiCity Citizens in contributing to this year's tax drive, even if my only contribution is to pray for the generosity of others in this worthy cause. Please guide the workers at CatholiCity. Please help all of us reach even more souls with the materials, truth, and services which will help them enjoy eternity with You. O Gracious Virgin Mary, we reconsecrate CatholiCity to your Immaculate Heart. Please intercede for CatholiCity Citizens! Saint Michael, protect us! All the Saints in Heaven, pray for us! Amen."

Our warmest thanks. We promise that we will express our gratitude by working hard and working smart, with charity towards all, leading all souls to heaven, by the grace of God.

With Christ,

Your Friends at CatholiCity