Friday, May 25, 2018

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)

84 comments:

  1. With some sadness, and thanks which cannot be addressed effectively:
    Well done and deep gratitude.

    Sincerely,
    James

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  2. Tim, I understand as a father/husband why you would give this up. You have done an excellent job over the years and thank you! I will miss this blog as it is one of the best, if not the best on its topic.
    A final note regarding patristic. Maximus the Confessor's "On Difficulties in Sacred Scripture" was just released as #136 in the Fathers of the Church (FOTC) Series. At the end of the year #137 will be Cyril of Alexandria's Glyphera on Genesis. And Paulist Press will issue as #72 in the Ancient Christian Writers Paulist Press series Chromatius of Aquila's Tractates on Matthew. Finally, the grand prize of all - Oxford will release this fall Origen's Commentary on Matthew!

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  3. Tim, did you ever get Cornelius Lapide's Commentary. If so, could you comment on them. If not, does anyone who reads this blog have anything to say about binding, font, etc.

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    1. I tried to acquire a review copy with no success. Oh well. 😀

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  4. So long (Tim) and thanks for all the fish. [P.S. we'll continue this elsewhere ;-)]

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  5. Wow! Sad to see this all come to an end. I'm a more recent reader of this blog (last 2 or 3 years I think) But it has opened my eyes to the variety and value of all the different translations out there and has given me a whole new respect for translations I previously looked on with nothing but disdain.

    In fact, in recent months I think I may have finally settled on a daily reading bible, beginning with the RSV2CE, then to RSVCE, then the Douai/Confraternity, then the NRSV and then the KJV w/Apocrypha then the Knox, and finally....the NLT:CE! I had a compact NLT:CE (bought from you Tim!) sitting on my shelf, I had only ever thumbed through it a few times, but I decided I swap it in for my daily reading rotation for awhile and see what I thought. What a great and clear translation! I think this may be my daily reader for awhile to come (famous last words of course, right!)

    The point is though, no matter what translation I happen to be reading, is that the whole instinct to explore and try new translations, even those disparaged by others is my "tribe" of Catholicism so to speak, was given to me here in at this blog and I can't thank you enough for that Tim!

    That said, I've got a 9 month at home myself (sitting here drying out from an unsuccessful formula bottle feed as I type this, lol!) so I completely understand the need to step away and spend more time on your most important duties, as well as being present for all the joys that come from building a family. Thanks for all you've done and thanks for all the bibles, especially the NLT:CE!

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  6. P.S.

    I just listened to the blog theme song for the first time just now, Wow! SO EPIC!

    - ROCK ON!!!

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  7. Tim,

    I am sorry to see you close up shop, but I certainly understand. This blog has been an excellent almost-daily stop for me for the past three or four years. You provided an invaluable service, including a sane and interesting community of discussion.

    Thank you again for kindly replying to my emails and posting my Bible sales. Your absence will leave a void. I wish you and your family all the best. If you find yourself in south Florida, let me know. I'd be pleased to buy you a beer, coffee, or whatever you like.

    Blessings,
    Keith S.

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  8. This has been a wonderful resource for me. So, I thank you for your great work. In particular I've enjoyed reading the non-Catholic view point.

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  9. Thanks Tim for all the work you've done hosting this blog over the years. I've learned so much. I wouldn't have my beloved NOAB RSV with all my markings in it now, without this blog!

    God bless!

    Steve

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  10. Thank you for all the great things on this little part of the web. Good luck and may God Bless you and yours.

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  11. I've thoroughly enjoyed this blog over the entire 10 year run. You were instrumental in my discovery of The Message and the CEB, both of which I use every day. Also, as a fellow author, I hope you continue your writing efforts and wish you the best.

    Thanks for your time and efforts, Tim, and blessings to you and your young family.

    -Dwight Spivey

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    Replies
    1. All the best to you Dwight! Keep on reading the Message.

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  12. Timothy, it has been a great 10 years, most of which I have had the pleasure to follow! This blog was one of the only outlets I had to discuss my favorite versions of the Bible and to anticipate what would come in the future!. Prior to getting a smart phone (and facebook) three years ago, your blog was the first thing I checked online everyday! Though we have never physically met, I consider you and your family friends! And hope to hear from you in another venue in the future! Best of luck to you and your family!!!

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  13. Dwight, I am Tim's campaign manager and I endorse your statement.

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  14. Blessings to you and your family as well Rolf. Y

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  15. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into the blog. Blessings to you and your family.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, as well, Devin. In many ways, go farther back than anyone else!

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  16. Thanks Michael. I’ll be reading you over at Coffee & Canticles!

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  17. Thanks Tim! Your blog and all the commenters have been a real blessing. I will pray for you and your young family. Sharon

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  18. Tim,

    It will be sad to see you go. I stumbled across your site as a new Catholic, and you're more or less responsible for my reading the whole bible not once, but three times. I had never read the whole thing, not even as a Protestant. I wish you the best.

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    1. Erica, thank you for sharing that. Much appreciated.

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  19. Hello Timothy,

    Thank you for all of your endeavours on our behalf. It’s been an enjoyable ride. I’ve been reading your blog for years and I’m going to miss it but I can certainly understand why you might want to put her to bed. Thank you for everything!

    May the God of Peace make you perfect in Holiness.
    May He preserve you, whole and entire, Spirit, Soul and Body,
    irreproachable at the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Pax,
    John

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  20. Joy and good luck in your next endeavors! We will miss this fine blog.

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  21. Thank you for the kind words and for your contributions to this blog.

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  22. Timothy - thank you so much for opening my eyes to the variety of translations and thoughts about what makes an enjoyable catholic bible. This was a beautiful oasis of thoughtful commentary and a great community. I have been a long-time reader but never commented much. I will miss the daily updates in my feed. Best of luck to you and your family. God bless!

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  23. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can’t. I won’t allow it.

    Thanks for hosting. I’ll miss it here.
    - Eric

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  24. Gosh, Tim. I'm still kind of in shock and already missing my favorite blog. Thank you for helping me get so much more out of the Scriptures! God's richest blessings to you and your family, and great success to you in your future. Take Care.

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  25. Thank you Timothy,
    this has been a fantastic blog. I've learned lots by reading you and the comments.
    I'm gonna miss it.

    Javier
    Argentina

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  26. I have been a mostly quiet follower of your blog for several years and I have checked in on it every day. Definitely will miss it but totally understand you’re changing needs and situation. Thank you so much for everything! You helped me explore various translations of the Scriptures and who would’ve ever thought that the CEB would actually become my daily reading Bible?

    The Lord guard you and keep you
    The Lord turn his countenance upon you and grant you peace.
    The Lord bless you, Father + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!

    Deacon Dave

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    1. More CEB love! That is great. Thank you for the kind words and God bless you too!

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  27. Oh no! I've been lurking this blog almost daily! Ack! I NEED YOU!
    Oh well... Thanks for the awesome blog! It really helped me find some great translations and knowledge that I would be sadly lacking if it weren't for you. I pray that God will bless you and your family forever.

    Now, of course, I'm still gonna swing by this page every now and then, you know, just in case. I'll be able to let go of it eventually. D:

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  28. Tim,

    Thank you for your friendship above all. I appreciate the work you put into this blog, yet even more so the relationship we’ve established that has helped me grow as a Christian these last five or six years. Again, thank you.

    Peace,
    Jason

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  29. I am mostly a reader of your blog, but I will miss your blog all the same. Farewell and thank you for pointing out all the great translations of the Bible that are Catholic Church provides. Not only for Catholics, but for all people of good will. Your blog is proof that Catholics not only read the Bible, but cherish it.

    May God be with you always.

    Steve

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  30. I think we all knew this day was coming, but it is so sad to see it arrive. I am going to miss this blog so much. I understand why you need to move on, though. Keeping this going for 10 years has been a wonderful gift to all of us. Thank you!

    I hope some of us can keep the community going in some way, at least on Facebook, but of course, having a website elsewhere is important. What can be done on Facebook is limited. If anyone wants to try to do something, I certainly can help!

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    1. Thank you. Feel free to use this comment box to initiate something on FB if you want.

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  31. Actually, I'd be wiling to either take over this blog, or start a similar one, to tie in to the Facebook groups many of us are part of. I would prefer that I or someone else take over this one, to preserve the prior posts and build on them instead of starting from scratch. I don't know that I could produce all the content necessary to continue the blog as it has been at its strongest points over the years, but I would be open to managing it, providing some content as well as posting things written by others.

    Does anyone else have any thoughts about that? Pros? Cons? Other ideas?

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  32. First of all, Tim: Thank you SO much for everything you've done here. I found your blog 3 or 4 years ago, and like so many others here, it truly opened my horizons to studying the bible. I've learned a great deal and found helpful study resources through your posts and the insights of the community of people who comment here. You were a major force nudging me to question my bible tribalism and my irrational herd-like negative reaction to the NAB and the NRSV! Seriously, I cannot understate the importance of your blog for my journey. You have done a great service to the church here.

    In light of that, I concur with JDH's suggestion. I was considering suggesting the same thing. I would certainly be willing to help with continuing the blog. Changing to a new moderator (or moderators) certainly raises questions about how to handle the transition, how to ensure continuity, etc. But there's a lot of value in continuing this tradition and remaining in continuity with the blog archives that are so full of useful information.

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    1. Thank you. Always appreciated your comments.

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    2. I think this blog needs to go away, to be honest. Another might be the answer and certainly a greater social media presence seems like it would be the right thing to do if you both can get some people to start it up. And you are most welcome to promote it in these comments. But, this space will remain closed. I do not plan on deleting the blog anytime soon, so it will remain for the foreseeable future.

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  33. Tim,

    I've visited this blog only once in a while, but I found it to be the best and most interesting among Catholic blogs. Where else can you find so much information and discussion about the Catholic Bible? Nowhere that I'm aware of.

    Thank you for your patience. My comments were perhaps a thorn in your side. But hey, offer it up :)! God bless you in all your future pursuits.

    Tim

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  34. Tim,

    Thanks for reading these past years. And how could I not be patient with someone with as great a first name as your!

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  35. Heartbreaking but totally understandable Tim. Thank you for everything through all these years. I will miss this blog TERRIBLY :(

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  36. Good point! May we both live up to our names by always honoring God.

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  37. How do you all feel about starting a new blog, forming a Facebook group, or both? I'm on an extended hiatus from Facebook, so I strongly favor the idea of starting a new blog. It also has the ability to reach people through traditional internet searching in ways that social media doesn't.

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  38. It appears as though there is joy, sorrow and hope with Tim moving forward. He's given an example: Concern for Holy Scripture. As many can attest, there are a a good many sites which review Protestant Bibles (and the like) but very few of the quality and concern which this site has had regards to Catholic Bibles. I agree with Tim, the site should be closed. I, as some others, agree there need not be an end to such efforts, but a new effort, perhaps via a different medium. As Tim is allowing this site to remain (for the time being), until such an effort is begun, we shall only have the Comment section to communicate (yet this is not a very effective way to do so). If an individual, or a group seeks to begin a new venture, share that information with those who continue to view the Comment section, and move forth.

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    1. I’d also be happy to provide a link to a future site at the bottom of this last post. Just let me know.

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  39. Good to see Tim moving on. He's done us all a great service and well deserved each note if thanks and praise. There can be little doubt his decision to close the blog is well considered and done because he is ready to move on to knew things.

    Anyone can begin any blog on the same theme with various services on and off social media according to the preference of those initiating the new place. This blog will remain, hopefully for Tim's sake with comments Off otherwise our good friend will not be truly free :) So, with the archive in place and with plenty of great services available to those who wish to put the limited work in of setting it up and the massive work of maintaining it, the intention of this blog can go on and, most importantly so can Timothy.

    For my part, bless you my dear friend for all you've done, and as I joked above, thanks for all the fish.

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  40. If a new version of this was done on Facebook, I would sadly be unable
    to follow it because out of my own concerns, I am deliberately
    NOT a member of any social media.

    So I would be sad to see this website reincarnated as a Facebook group.

    I've treasured this website immensely since I first encountered it
    around 2010-2011 (?). Can't remember exactly when but it was in that
    time frame. I don't think I knew about it when it began in 2008, but
    within 2-3 years of that.

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  41. Tim,

    Thank you so much for running this community!

    It was an place for many of us to fall more deeply in love with scripture. For me, a huge part of it was discovering that it wasn't that I didn't like to read the bible, it was that I owned a bible that had a layout which stood between me and the text.

    The English speaking Church seems rife with factionalism these days, and the way you handled us in the comment section when we bickered and got on our high horses was gentle and firm.

    As the most vocal voices on the Catholic internet move towards more literal translations, I think you gave a great counterpoint--advocating for dynamic equivalence translations both literary (the Knox) and contemporary (NLT, the Message). The NLT and the Message aren't my cup of tea, but I've read a dozen comments over the years where people have admitted to not wanting to get one, and then falling in love with scripture all over again after they followed your openness to them. That's a great thing you did for those people/families.

    Christ's peace! Your students must be lucky to have a teacher so calm, curious, and open minded.

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    1. Bob,

      Thank you for your kind words. I truly appreciate them. I have grown myself and I think this blog has been a chronicle of that growth. All I can say is that it was honest.

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  42. Tim,
    I'm just now seeing this. I've always been a lurker here, learning much from yourself and the regular contributors. I thank you for your time and dedication to this over the years.

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  43. Thanks for the many years of hard work and prayer that you've given to God and the Church! This blog, your posts, the Catholic Bibles Blog community, the books/Bibles/software/etc. that I've read -- after learning of them via this blog -- have assuredly helped me to grow in my faith, and in my love of God, self, and neighbor. And hopefully my family, co-workers, R.E. catechumens, youth group kids, small group members, etc. have, therefore, also been enriched by this blog's existence over the years. I think that the Holy Spirit was glad to make use of Catholic Bibles Blog, and I share my personal relationship to the blog so that you might have an idea of some of the difference that you've made in people's lives. And, as the Holy Father says in Evangelii Gaudium, we must "[know] with certitude that all those who entrust themselves to God in love will bear good fruit (cf. Jn 15:5). This fruitfulness is often invisible, elusive and unquantifiable. We can know quite well that our lives will be fruitful, without claiming to know how, or where, or when. We may be sure that none of our acts of love will be lost, nor any of our acts of sincere concern for others. No single act of love for God will be lost, no generous effort is meaningless, no painful endurance is wasted. All of these encircle our world like a vital force. Sometimes it seems that our work is fruitless, but mission is not like a business transaction or investment, or even a humanitarian activity. It is not a show where we count how many people come as a result of our publicity; it is something much deeper, which escapes all measurement. It may be that the Lord uses our sacrifices to shower blessings in another part of the world which we will never visit. The Holy Spirit works as he wills, when he wills and where he wills; we entrust ourselves without pretending to see striking results. (EG 279)"

    God bless you and your family Timothy!

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  44. Tim,

    This blog has been a treasure to me and countless others. Best of luck on your future efforts!

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  45. Wow end of an era. Ten years in blog years is like 50 or something like that. Will miss the blog.

    Your 3rd paragraph about all the riches we have gotten since the start of your blog is a good reminder to feel grateful.

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  46. JDH, are you still interested in contributing to a new blog? I've been pondering what the best way forward. I'm wondering about the feasibility of doing a group blog with multiple contributors.

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  47. I will miss the blog, and am grateful for all you’ve shared.

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  48. I just wanted to say thanks for this blog... I discovered it only last year, coinciding with doing the RCIA course and you have provided so much useful guidance along my journey of discovering God.

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  49. Tim, I'll join the chorus in saying I hate to see the blog close. I discovered it probably 3-5 years ago, and only swung by on occasion, but always appreciated both the content and the tone of the site. May God bless you in the next chapter of your life.
    John Gillis (maybetoday.org).

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  50. I have created a new blog at http://catholicbibletalk.com

    I'm hoping it can serve as a forum to continue the community Timothy has fostered here. Feel free to comment over there on the first post, which expresses my appreciation for Timothy, and my desire to continue some part of his legacy.

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    1. Congrats on the new venture. Thanks for the shout out as well!

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  51. I have tried several times to go to CatholicBiblettalk.com and have been unsuccessful at finding the site. Any suggestions?

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  52. Hi Deacon Dave,

    It looks like you have an extra "t" in the web address. The correct link is: http://catholicbibletalk.com/

    If that still doesn't work for you, comment back here and I'll try to troubleshoot it for you.

    Marc

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  53. I have only just discovered this blog in the last couple of months and am quite sad to see it go! Thank you for your gentle and thoughtful writings, and service to the Christian community. I look forward to digging through your archives for a long time after this last post. Thanks!

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  54. Is there any hope that you will restart posting to this blog? Like many have expressed, I miss you.

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