Feast of the Immaculate Conception
2012 CHRISTMAS APPEAL
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
We only ask for your help once a year and here's why: CatholiCity typically runs a large deficit by Advent because we give away up to $60 worth of free materials to every person who comes to us and because inflation (especially for shipping) has sent our costs soaring.
This year, the "bill" will be over $100,000.
You care about making converts, helping the fallen away return to the Church, and actively helping people choose heaven over the other place. I just spent an hour before the Blessed Sacrament imploring Our Lord and Immaculate Mary to inspire you to respond generously to this year's appeal.
It takes less than two minutes to make an online donation:
http://www.catholicity.com/support/donation.html
Just imagine meeting many souls in heaven (along with their heirs) who were converted through free CDs, booklets, novels, or web content that you helped subsidize! We are offering three wonderful gifts as a token of our gratitude:
CHILD JESUS FRIDGE MAGNET FOR EVERY DONOR
Every donor, regardless of amount, will receive a beautiful Child Jesus "fridge" magnet as a powerful daily reminder to pray every time your family members grab a snack or prepare a meal.
LAPEL PIN WITH YOUR $25 GIFT
For $25 or more, in addition to the magnet, you'll receive an utterly unique Child Jesus lapel pin. These are custom made for CatholiCity and have been blessed by a priest at St. John's Cathedral in Cleveland. (I have also touched them to my relic of the True Cross and first class relics of Saints Jude, Therese, Anthony, Maximilian Kolbe, Francis Xavier, and Joseph) A tasteful way to evangelize, this pin also makes a thoughtful gift for someone you love.
ART-HOUSE PRINT WITH YOUR $50 GIFT
Along with your lapel pin and magnet, you will receive an exquisite 8x10 Christ Child art-house print when you make a donation of $50 or more. Ready for framing with integrated double-matting on premium-grade stock, I know there is a special place for this image in your home.
You can see the Child Jesus magnet, lapel pin, and art-house print here:
http://www.catholicity.com/support/donation.html
THE 24 HOUR CONVERSION TOOL FOR MILLIONS
CatholiCity is always there for you, your family, friends, and most importantly, for anyone searching online for the truth -- every minute of every day since 1996.
Your generosity will ensure that hundreds of thousands of potential converts will continue to have the opportunity to receive our free life-changing CDs, novels, booklets, audio downloads, news, commentary, links, resources, and online prayers. (Many have told us that my CatholiCity Message alone is worth one donation per year -- almost as many as who are annoyed by this once-a-year appeal...)
TWELVE CENTS CAN ADD UP FAST
With overhead like insurance, computer tech, rent, etc, it costs around $2 to manufacture, process, package and ship a CD, book, or 10-pack of booklets (because of our large volumes, operational innovation, and cutting edge tech, that is still only a fraction of what it costs other charities and even secular companies).
Yet if we lose just 12 cents per item, that adds up to $120,000 for every million items, so you can see the fiscal tightrope we've been walking for over two decades.
NEW FREE BOOKLETS AND NOVEL PLANNED FOR 2013
We plan to invest tens of thousands of dollars to release five all-new free Catholic booklet titles early next year, including two I wrote specifically to persuade people to return to Confession after years or decades. They are ready to go to the printer and I am counting on your generosity to offset the daunting up-front costs.
Nothing like these Confession booklets exist, and if you help us distribute hundreds of thousands of copies, I am certain tens of thousands of people will return to this crucial sacrament. Over the next few years, these two booklets alone might help God bring more converts and reverts to the Church than through any other apostolic project in the English-speaking world. (I have also begun writing my fourth novel, which hopefully will be ready by summertime.)
TO MAKE YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CHRISTMAS GIFT ONLINE:
http://www.catholicity.com/support/donation.html
TO SEND A CHRISTMAS GIFT BY MAIL:
CatholiCity
2012 Christmas Gift
PO Box 26101
Fairview Park, OH 44126
HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU GIVE?
We know some of you can make an especially large one-time gift of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Whether it's $100 or $10,000, whatever your particular situation is, we know that giving a large gift will require a real sacrifice on your part. A holy nun once wrote me a letter that cut straight to my heart: "Saving souls never comes cheap," she said. Sister was not referring to money, but to the Cross.
So please discuss giving a large gift with your loved ones. In these days between the Feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe, please ask Mary if she wants you to make a particularly generous donation to help bring souls to our beloved Catholic Faith.
I also sensed again during prayer today that there are a few people in particular who can make a really big gift this year, perhaps in honor of someone close who was either converted or miraculously healed by God's grace through our novels or talks. Maybe you were inspired or healed.
Of course even a modest gift of $2, $5, or $10 when combined with thousands of others will help us reach our goal. Together we've distributed millions of free CDs, novels, and booklets over the past twenty-one years. With God's grace and your continued participation in our work, we will reach countless more souls in the next twenty-one.
If you cannot afford to help financially, please pray one Rosary and offer Communion for the success of this year's appeal. May you and your family have a blessed Advent, a holy Christmas, and a grace-filled 2013.
With Saint Joseph,
Bud Macfarlane
Founder and Executive Director
CatholiCity and the Mary Foundation
P.S. Here is my take on why the image of the Child Jesus on this year's fridge magnet, lapel pin, and art-house print is so powerful:
EMBRACING THE CHILD AND HIS CROSS
Click on the link below and gaze into Our Lord's eyes in this utterly unique portrait for a few moments and feel its sublime attraction:
There are literally thousands of pictures of Jesus as a man, and even as a baby, yet this rare image of Him as a boy has a power that singularly captures my attention then holds my heart more than any other. Your children and grandchildren need to see this Jesus in their homes. It makes the perfect family gift.
Look again. His arms are held up and out, inviting a warm embrace, but there is also a subtle sadness in his gaze, too, and now you understand his outstretched arms prefigure his brutal crucifixion. It is a perfect work of religious art because it conveys and connects us to its divine subject.
And it is our Christmas thank-you gift to you for being such a faithful and generous part of our work.
http://www.catholicity.com/support/donation.html
(All donations are tax-deductible.)
