What a crazy week on The Catholic Guy Show! To recap:

- Lino and Fr. Rob get a new producer named Scott, who is married with two kiddos, according to our friends at twitter.com/linorullidotnet. Work has been nutso busy this week, so I haven't got a chance to hear much of Scott, except for yesterday when Fr. Rob was "lashing out" at him for asking a more educated question than the priest did (Which Wine Bar did you go to, as opposed to Fr. Rob asking if Lino went to McDonalds on a date).

Scott has prior radio experience, which should certainly help him keep up with Lino and Fr. Rob. Scott, we pray for your sanity and wish you the best!

- Fr. Jim Chern is going on a pilgrimage...we think. Fr. Jim is adamant that he's going, but Fr. Rob and Lino have a side bet they made on-air Monday where Fr. Rob gets $100 or so if Fr. Jim drops out. Personally, I think a bet like that is ridiculous and just makes everyone look mean, so I really hope Fr. Jim goes on the trip. It will be good for Fr. Jim and the listeners to hang out for a week.

You can find out more about the pilgrimage at www.catholictraveler.com.

We should be thankful that God has allowed Fr. Jim to go in the pilgrimage. Being the chaplain on a college campus is probably one of the more time-consuming jobs a priest can have, especially when you're the only one. The kids need Fr. Jim more than radio show listeners, and the fact that he is so devoted to them speaks volumes about the integrity he has.

- As far as other news goes, it's about time for our annual predictions for 2012! Over the next few days, we'll recap what we got right and wrong in 2011, and we'll offer some predictions for 2012. It should hopefully be a good year, and I pray to God we don't lose any other staff members!

When I was growing up our parish priests were Benedictine monks from a local monastery. Because of this, my image of priests were of old men. Men with grey hair, balding, and wrinkles. As such, my image of priest for most of my life were of old men. Not exactly someone that I could really associate with.

So Lino and crew played Lino's Casting Couch on the show today, with the movie being about St. Paul and St. Barnabas, the missionary journey they took, and their split (which occurred when Barnabas wanted to take John Mark, who abandoned them on the first trip, on the second trip: Paul hated the idea). A lot of good suggestions, with one caller suggesting Mark Wahlberg as Paul, Matt Damon as Barnabas, and Matthew Mcconaughey as John Mark. In the end, Lino went with Joe Pesci as St. Paul, Morgan Freeman as Barnabas, and Yoko Ono as John Mark (she split up the Beatles, why not split up this team as well?). As for Fr. Jim, his choice was Wahlberg as Paul, Damon as Barnabas, and Pauly Shore as John Mark, while Maureen McMurray chose Wahlberg and Shore as well, but taking Liam Neeson for Barnabas' role.

Since this movie probably won't get made, we'll have to settle for a crudely photoshopped Movie Poster instead. Not the best quality, but oh well, it's not like I get paid to do any of this :) And how can you go wrong with giving the Peabody-winning three-time Emmy winning producer Lino Rulli top billing?

I was driving today, listening to Lino read today's blog by Dustin about our friend, Fr. Rob "I secretly love the Luminous Mysteries and John Paul the Great" Keighron. The topic about his appearance and age came up in the discussion. I don't remember the exact words, but I think the conclusion was Fr. Rob is a decent looking guy you'd tell your friends has a "good personality." So, I was thinking about my upcoming blog about Fr. Jim.

Let's face it, ladies (and gentlemen). Fr. Jim Chern is a good-looking man.

(Let it be known that I would love to see how much Fr. Jim blushes when reading this)

I once noticed on Facebook that someone had commented that he is a "Father What-a-Waste", implying that it's a waste for a good looking man to be a priest and live a life of celibacy. I strongly disagree with this label. Don't get me wrong, people. I think he's a looker, too (yes, I am still happily with my boyfriend). I would hardly call Fr. Jim a "What-a-waste".

For those of you who don't know, Fr. Jim is the Campus Minister at Montclair State University (I know, we all thought he had the easy life and just came to let the Catholic Guy Show crew joke with him once a week).

Think back to your college years. For some of us this is pretty easy. For others, not so much (if you were born by the time Lino was in college, raise your hand. That's what I thought.). How inclined were you to actually admit that you're a Catholic, let alone attend Mass or even think about celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

When I was a student at Trinity University, our campus minister my first two years was an Oblate priest named Fr. Tom (whom we affectionately called 'Padre'). Padre had a great way with college students - he found ways to relate the homilies to college life (I'll never forget him relating the Wedding Feast at Cana to a frat party and a guy offering to turn water into beer). Due to Padre's increasing duties at his parish and with his order, he had to stop serving as our campus minister after my sophomore year, and things just weren't the same without him.

Here's why I strongly believe that Fr. Jim Chern is nothing near a "Fr What-a-Waste". With the relativism that is so prevalent in our world, we need men like Fr. Jim to step up and be the hands & feet of Christ for college students. During college, young adults are (usually) away from their parents and their comfort zone they might have had at their high school or their home parish. It's men like Fr. Jim Chern that step up and keep these students celebrating the Sacraments in the Catholic Church. It's men like Fr. Jim Chern that show students that the call to the priesthood is for real men (and even the good-looking ones). Men like Fr. Jim Chern are proof that you can still enjoy a slice of pizza, a pint of beer, and a baseball game (well, for those of you that like the Yankees) and wear a Roman collar, serving in Persona Christi.

On the show, I love hearing Fr. Jim on Friday's. I miss his answers to "Who's More Catholic?" (and I admit I usually voted for his answers just to put a minor dent in Lino's pride). I get a kick out of how he has been helping Lino evaluate potential dates from his online dating adventures and his casual references to "Jersey Shore". (How many priests do you know who know who Snookie is?). I love that when I listen to to Fr. Jim on the show, it's easy to forget that he's a priest. He sounds like one of the crew's friends who just stops by the show on Fridays to hang out with the gang.

But like Fr. Rob, Fr. Jim is a man who has chosen to lay down his life for Christ and the Church. Literally. (If you've never attended a priestly ordination, I strongly suggest it and you'll see what I mean). He still finds time to enjoy a Yankees game (I won't fault him for that one ... it's just proof that we're all human) and have a laugh with his friends. He is a man that gives us faith that, in spite of the current turmoil, Christ will keep the promise He gave Peter in Matthew 16 ... that the gates of hell will not prevail against us.

So, Fr. Jim -

Thanks for accepting God's call to the priesthood. Thanks for keeping up with "Jersey Shore" so you can be cool with the college students (even though you secretly love it). AND thanks for letting Lino & the crew pick on you every Friday on the show to help us remember that priests don't have to be ugly.

And, always remember ... "He must increase, I must decrease." - John 3:30 (I just had to mention the time I corrected your Bible knowledge on your birthday).

I'll tip my Astros hat towards the Jersey Shore tomorrow in your honor.

Thanks for all you do -

Kristan (forever the Houston Astros fan)

From Fr Jim via Facebook:

Fr Jim Chern - I know it's not Friday - but I'll be on LINO RULLI'S "THE CATHOLIC GUY SHOW" - Monday 4-7 PM EST on Sirius Sat Radio/XM Sat Radio's THE CATHOLIC CHANNEL - tune in Sirius 159/XM 117 or www.thecatholicchannel.org - CALL IN 1-888-322-8465

What's going on?

I really enjoyed Christine answering the phones. She was a breath of fresh air from all the boys in the studio. She seemed humble as well, never wanted the spotlight. We really wish you would have talked more though: your cutting wit and jokes were always spot on. You definitely had comedic timing.

Now that she's gone, we can reveal that for her one year anniversary of working on the show, we at Catholicguyshow.com were going to hold "Christine Appreciation Week (CAW)." It would have been really simple, nothing fancy. Just sending a bouquet of flowers from the fans and encouraging everyone who called in to take 5-6 seconds to tell Christine that they appreciate what she does.

But, she is gone. No flowers. No compliments.

No more Christine.

Oh, the plug I referred to? On my side podcast, Church Echoes, our own Rev. Jim Chern talks about 10 years of the priesthood. Fun moments, like a singing mishap, and much more grave matters, like working at a parish 15 miles from NYC when the Sept. 11 attacks happened. You can access Church Echoes at www.thecabin.net/podcast, or directly at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/churchechoes. Or search for dustin Faber on iTunes.

Done plugging, back to our every day lives :)

From facebook:

Fr. Jim to Lino: "Well Lino, Sunday has come and gone, the Archbishop has visited and left, and fortunately I am not infested with your illness. I guess my immune system is more manly and stronger than your germs..."

Fr. Jim is simply awesome.