In the kingdom of the blind...

...I'm the leader of our parish's bible study.

Really.

Stop shaking your head. Now. I've been begging for this for years, and now we have one. "How about you do it, Dale?"

Ooookay. But I'm actually pretty enthused about it.

We are using the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, and we're starting with Matthew. It was either that or the Little Rock study, and I was persuasive in advocating for the Ignatius. People want some honest, full-bore Catholicism. It can be done!

Plus, they were willing to pony up the cash, which was gratifying. It also meant a road trip to Domino's Farms in Ann Arbor to pick up enough volumes to equip the group (currently 10 and counting--we might have 15). Thanks to the Michigan Department of Transportation (Motto: "We're In Charge Of The Roads In Hell, Too!"), a 45 minute excursion turned into a 2.5 hour trip to Gehenna in the PriceMobile, complete with interstate closures and one-lane bottlenecks out the yin-yang. But we got there 20 minutes before closing time. Memo to Tom Monaghan: Put up a sign that tells people where Domino's Farms is. I swear, there's one sign and it rests on the ground, all of a foot high.

Don't be shy, Tom. Nobody's seen the Noid for years.

Monday we have our first actual meeting, covering Matthew 1-2. We're pretty much starting from scratch, knowledge-wise. With one exception, everybody is a biblical blank page. And, with three exceptions, it's all women. This follows two straight months advertising for persons interested in participating. Hey, guys: why not get off your dead a***s and do something other than warm a pew on Sunday?

But it was a lively, heartening organizational session, and it looks like a good group. I'll keep you updated.