A Final Goodbye

Almost ten years ago I (somewhat blindly) decided to start this blog, with very few expectations for what it would become.   At that time, I was still working on my graduate degree in theology, unmarried, and had no children.  I had a lot more time on my hands and found myself routinely frustrated by the lack of Catholic bible information on the internet.  A truly dangerous mix!  At that time, most of the really good blogs or websites devoted to actual bible editions and translations were authored by our Protestant brothers and sisters.  Many of them were very good and informative, though most of them have not been updated in years.  They gave me the inspiration to start The Catholic Bibles Blog back in August, 2008.  It has been a very good ten years authoring this blog.  I would have never guessed that I would been able to interact with so many of you, from many different countries and traditions.   Some of you have been commentating on this blog from very early on. 

I have also been blessed to participate in a number of interviews with many of the people who work tirelessly to provide Catholics with better translations, editions, and study tools.  I have a much greater respect for the translators, editors, and publishers who are devoted to building up Catholic bible literacy in the English speaking world.  It is not an easy job and it comes with very few accolades.  Most often, people complain!  (I know, I was one of them.) 

But, really, who would have thought that in these ten years there would be an NABRE, a beautifully bound and republished Knox Bible, The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition with Deuteros translated from the Nova Vulgata, an approved NLT-CE and ESV-CE, and a forthcoming full RNJB?  And, of course, we are still waiting on a few others, right Ignatius Press?  So, who know what the future holds.  How about an NIV-CE or NASB-CE?  Ha!  Or, how about a premium Catholic Bible to match the brilliance of the most recent Cambridge NRSV Reference Bible w/Apocrypha? 

It has been a pleasure posting and interacting with all of you.  One of my goals for this blog was to make sure that it would be a place without a lot of the toxic bickering we see so often in social media, forums, and society in general.  I truly wanted all to be welcome to express their view point, always in a charitable tone of course.  Now, I haven’t always succeeded at that, but I have done my best and most of you have done the same.  To those who I may have offended or been short with, I offer my apologies.  But to all of you who have interacted with me through the blog or by email, I thank you for your contributions, kind words, and encouragement.    Some of you I have had the pleasure to meet in various ways, and a number of you I consider friends.

Yet, here we are, ten years later.  Life has changed, interests have changed as well.  It is time for me to move on and close shop.   Time to go dream it up all over again in different places and spaces.  So, thank you sticking with this little bug of a blog for the past ten years!  Keep on reading your bibles!  Keep on supporting those many small Catholic publishers who need to hear from you, both through your encouragement and financial support.  May God richly bless you as you read, pray, and study the written Word. 

"A final comparison. One can drink wine as it is and swallow hard or one can drink it mixed with water and enjoy it; hence, a book is good when it's written, but better when it's read. And so it is with mine."

-2 Maccabees 15:39 (The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition)