Page 23 - Built For Greatness - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching

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me and I let it lie dormant until further correspondence with Keith
prompted me to take some initiative. I contacted the Apostolic
Nunciature in Ottawa about the book and they suggested Keith
work through his local bishop, who happened to be Archbishop
José Gomez of Los Angeles.

I knew Archbishop Gomez because of the dinners he hosted for the
bishops during the Religious Education Congress each year. Still, I
was hesitant to bother him with the question of the book and again
let things be. However, I was planning a writing-vacation at Our
Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Newport Beach in January 2018, and
suggested to Keith we could meet while I was there. He informed
me in the meantime he had met the archbishop’s assistant, Fr.
Brian Nunes, and asked me to try to arrange a meeting with the
archbishop through him. Again, I was hesitant and did not act on
that suggestion.

When we met in January, I realized how devastated Keith felt
because of my lack of action on his behalf, and my lack of
appreciation of the five years and personal cost writing the book
had demanded of him. With that motivation, I made the phone call,
an appointment was arranged, and we found ourselves meeting
with Archbishop Gomez and Fr. Nunes for an exciting visit that
went well over the allotted time.

When Archbishop Gomez expressed both interest and support for
the project, I suggested the book needed to be revised into a more
developed format placing the scripture references partially written
out on the opposite page to each chapter of the Tao Te Ching.
Keith immediately agreed, and asked if I could do that.