Chatting with His Excellency Most Rev. Michael G. Duca

I went to a Diocesan Appeal meeting this evening at the church in Zwolle tonight. Bishop Duca was there, and it was a very nice gathering. But I may have come off as a wino.

A lady from church saw me with a glass of wine and asked me to get her one. I did. She took two sips and said "Ooooh, this is strong." She did not want to drink it, so she handed the glass back to me. Just then, they asked us to move into the next room for a video and a few words from the bishop. I had nowhere to place my wine, so I walked into the room with two glasses of wine and found a corner. I was well hidden until the bishop came and stood right next to me. I was the guy standing next to the bishop with two glasses of wine. Excellent! And we were standing on a platform higher than most of the room, so everybody could see me if they looked at Bishop Duca. Sad thing is, I barely got through one glass, because I didn't like it too much.

I spoke to the bishop for a little while and he is a very nice man with a clear idea of what he wants for the diocese. I like him a lot. Another cool thing is that a classmate of mine from law school, Matthew Tyler Long, is featured prominently in the video for the appeal. He is now Deacon Matthew and will be ordained to the priesthood on May 16.