So Long, Pater Familias

Welp, another Catholic blog from the golden age of blogging bit the dust this spring. On May 13, Rob Marco announced he was wrapping up his blog Pater Familias. Rob had been a fixture in the Catholic blogging world going back to 2006 and had two other blogs prior to Pater Familias. It took me awhile to discover Pater Familias; there were several years when I was far too busy to read any Catholic blogs and it was all I could do to just keep this one afloat. I think I met Rob through his own persistent efforts to get to know me through the combox of own blog, and we eventually started communicating. It has been a fruitful friendship for which I am grateful. I have always found Rob's insights into Catholic life pervaded with a nitty-gritty, on the ground realism that seeks to get behind cliches and platitudes to dig into the core of what the struggle for holiness actually entails. I know many other people found Rob's ruminations an anchor of spiritual stability in a tumultuous time as well.

Most recently, I was privileged to work with Rob on getting his collection of essays published, Wisdom and Folly (Cruachan Hill Press, 2024), an anthology that represents the best of Rob's writing. If you liked Rob's stuff, I encourage you to get a copy.

In Rob's farewell post, Rob says, "I am not starting a Substack. I am not going to start writing for Medium. I am not creating a YouTube channel. I honestly don't know what the next step for me is." Until he figures out his next steps, Rob has been publishing pretty consistently over at Crisis, where I encourage you to follow his articles. And to Rob directly, I say, brother, thank you for the good work at Pater Familias and your previous blogs. If blogging is no longer your thing, I encourage you to spend some time in prayer and reflection on what sort of venue would best serve your talents and desires, because I absolutely believe God has more He wants to do with your writing.