Vote Parousian

My Friends,

Cory Bordelon from the UL Parousians has informed me that "Arrival: The Parousian Weblog" was nominated for the Catholic Blog Awards in the following categories:
# Best Apologetic Blog
# Best Group Blog
# Best New Catholic Blog
# Best Overall Catholic Blog
# Best Political/Social Commentary Catholic Blog
# Best Written Catholic Blog
# Most Informative & Insightful Catholic Blog
# Smartest Catholic Blog

This is an incredible honor. Thanks to everyone involved in the nominating process. There are many worthy blogs nominated, including quite a few that inspire us. In sincerity, I am not sure our content is in the same league as certain blogs receiving nominations in the same categories.

Because we are just a small group of friends who have the ambition of bringing together Catholic scholars and students in an effort to redeem intellectual life, we are asking our readers to vote for us.

In the long run, it is our hope to have a journal of the revival of Catholic intellectual life, a scholarship and fellowship program, national and regional conferences, a speakers' program, chapters near and far networking likeminded Catholic thinkers. Thus far, we have students meeting in homes, giving presentations and leading group discussions, contributing to this blog on occasion, making pilgrimages to local points of Catholic interest, and giving reasoned witness to the faith in the classroom. The first chapter at LSU has been able to lend itself out to help establish groups at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Florida. The Parousians have done this on student budgets with all of the routine pressures of college life. What we hope to do is well beyond our means, but so was everything else we have already done. The Catholic Blog Awards are not the fairy dust covered answer to our every wish upon a star, but in a small but significant way, the nominations are helping us establish recognition and credibility beyond our little corners of the world in Louisiana and Florida.

These awards will be chosen by anybody willing to register and vote here.

Remember, the Parousian blog is the candidate of change and hope and experience, able to do the job from day one. Our blog never voted to raise your taxes. And we love babies. Please vote for us.

All kidding aside, if you think our content is worthy, please vote for us. But if you are aware of more worthy content, please consider voting for us still based on our potential. These awards do not mean too much in the real world, but perhaps our little effort here on Arrival may leak outside of cyberspace and actually have effect in bringing the New Evangelization into ivory towers across the lands if certain students, professors, or charitable givers follow a link when the awards are announced.

And as you can tell, we are more concerned with finding people to share in our mission than actually winning an award. Regardless of if you vote for us or not for these awards, there are other ways you can vote Parousian. If you know anybody who might be interested in standing with us in our mission, please send them a link to our blog and ask them to contact us by e-mailing parousians@gmail.com . That's a vote of confidence in both the Parousians and the person you e-mail.

Likewise, no matter if you can give us a vote of confidence or not, we are asking all of you to stuff heaven's ballot box by remembering to write in "Parousians" among your prayer requests. That election operates under the rules of Chesterton's democracy of the dead. The Parousians yield to our forebearers and honor their traditions. We are all Catholics here, and every member of the Communion of Saints is welcome to vote in this one. The Parousians are partial to St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Therese, and Pope John Paul the Great, but all of you willing to ask for the intercession of St. Jude on our behalf have our blessings.

Again, thanks to the Catholic Blog Awards for honoring our blog with nominations and providing yearly recognition to hard working Catholic bloggers everywhere.