The CatholiCity Message

Volume VII, Number 20 – December 8, 2003

Dear CatholiCity Citizen,

Your Christimas gift is still very much needed. This year's Tax Drive is off to a good start, but unless you join in now now, we'll fall short of our goal of the $110,000 needed to keep CatholiCity online. Here are the initial "returns":

(DATA REMOVED: NO LONGER CURRENT)

Okay, none of us enjoys paying taxes. We'll tell you straight out: countless souls depend on your response right now. Our professional staff keep our city online, and each man is trusting in your generosity.

We'll have more details below, but if you want to help put us over the top, here's what to do:

1. MAKE AN ONLINE DONATION:
https://secure.catholicity.com/donation.html

2. BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR:
https://secure.catholicity.com/monthly.html

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

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

CatholiCity Gift
2003 Christmas Tax Drive
PO Box 26101
Fairview Park, OH 44126

And now, why should you help?

SOULS HANG IN THE BALANCE
Today we went to Confession, Mass, and spent time in Adoration asking Jesus to inspire you to say Yes. After seven years of sometimes incredible struggles online, we believe that souls who otherwise may have chosen to go to hell will instead choose to go to heaven if you help us now.

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.

Every year we receive thousands of letters and messages telling us this apostolate had dramatic impact on the lives of real folks. Protestants become Catholics. Husbands start fasting for their wives. Numerous fallen-away Catholics return to the sacraments, especially Confession.

Babies are born because parents become open to life.

70,000 Citizens pray regularly together through this 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 Catholic truth that we boldly 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. 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 Donors we need? Will you be one of the thousands volunteer "taxpayers" we need to make a one-time gift?

YOU'VE FELT IT
All year long we offer you and countless others free Catholic tapes, CDs, and books, free commentaries, free news, this Message, great offers from other Catholic apostolates, fast personal 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 together.

Have you felt this? We hope you have.

We feel it. While praying about this last week, we saw you in our mind's eye. Imagine we're with you now. Will you help?

You might remember how we stuck together for the 2000 Elections, how we prayed together during 9-11 and before the war in Iraq, and how we offered hope during the Church scandals while the mainstream media trotted out the usual anti-Catholic rhetoric.

Are you one of the thousands of men from over 40 countries who joined E5 Men this year when we introduced it to you?

Did Chris West's "Marriage and the Eucharist" or another talk we sent you enrich your faith?

Have we made you laugh? (Or wince, or smile?) Have you prayed with us? Do you want this to continue for others?

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 seven 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.

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 starving And 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. (Or print this email out and throw it into your "bill" pile.)

MONTHLY HEROES
Please prayerfully consider becoming a monthly donor. We need only 100 more Catholics to make this commitment 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.

Will you be one of these 100 heroes?

HOW MUCH DO WE NEED?
Last year we asked for $150,000. This year much less because we made the technical improvements and upgrades as a result of your generosity. Our two full-time workers make a combined salary of $97,000.

Our high speed T1 line costs thousands more, plus other utilities.

MORE NEW VISITORS
Our visitors have roughly doubled since we unveiled our new "superfast" version. During big secular or religious events (such as the war in Iraq) our traffic increases dramatically. Our CatholiCity Message reaches 70,000 families–the most popular Catholic e-letter in the world. Visitors from Canada and other countries are growing rapidly.

The point is, if you helped out during last year's tax drive, your investment was a wise one.

NEW FOR 2004
We've got some exciting new initiatives planned for 2004. We're juiced about a new initiative that is going to explode in Catholic families. As with E5 Men last year, we're not yet free to reveal the details but we can tell you it's Big Big Stuff and can only be done effectively through CatholiCity.

TWO OR THREE MILLION REASONS
We rose again in Search Engine placement, and we believe we might triple our visitors in 2004. We will make sure we won't lose our personal touch while improving the 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 in 2004.

LET US PRAY
You're the best. We'll update you soon. Please join your fellow CatholiCity Citizens in prayer:

"Our Father, we ask you with simple words to send the Holy Spirit to guide me and my fellow CatholiCity Citizens during this year's tax drive, even if my only contribution is to pray for generosity from others.

Guide the workers at CatholiCity. Help us reach more souls with the Truth. Help us introduce more people to the Catholic Church, to Mary, to your Saints, and always, always, to Jesus Christ.

O Sinless Virgin Mary, we reconsecrate CatholiCity for 2004 on this day when the Church proclaims your Immaculate Conception. O mother, we need you!

Saint Michael, protect us! All the Saints in Heaven, pray for us. Saint Joseph, be our spiritual father. Amen."

Finally, thank you for considering helping us out this year, even if you decide otherwise.

Have a happy and holy Christmas. We promise we will show our gratitude by working hard and working smart, with charity towards all, in leading all souls to heaven, by the grace of God...

With Christ,

Your Servants at CatholiCity