Why Substack?

I Want to Believe

Well, my buddy Ralph Strangis has badgered me for months now to get on Substack. He’s got a pretty good Substack himself, and I’ve even written a few things for it. I’m trying to save his soul while he’s trying to get me on Substack. Hopefully we’ll both win in the end.

Anyway, I am not an early adopter of anything. My car is a 2013 Toyota. It’s in my nature to drag my feet; that’s why I have hesitated until now. No Substack for me, not yet another “platform,” has been my line. But now I think it’s time.

Honestly, I’ve been looking for a way to wean myself off social media. The debilitating behavioral addictions that have come with it, not to mention the toxicity of so much of it, have made me want to find an off-ramp. Why can’t I just log off, who knows? Dopamine, narcissism, etcetera I am sure have something to do with it. Anway, maybe Substack will be different, maybe better. I want to believe.

But why anything? Why Substack? I do want a place to post and share the things I write. Homilies, columns, essays are all part of my game, and I do like to share those things with those who want them. If you hear a homily, where can you find it? Like a column? There’s more stuff you can read. All that will be here. That’s what I’m talking about; that’s why I’m interested in Substack. I do have a

website, but Substack brings with it a better method of distribution. It just seems like a better vehicle for all that. That’s why I want to give it a go.

So, if you want to follow along, please do. Subscribe if that’s your thing. I will try to get into a rhythm to make it worth your while. I hope to post not only Sunday homilies and the various columns and essays I write for different publications but also maybe daily homilies along with other such florilegia that goes with being a busy and odd sort of Catholic priest. I hope you enjoy it.

pax,

Fr. Joshua