Why a blog?

Bl. Junipero Serra, Mission Dolores, San Francisco

Even among Catholics, who are sometimes categorized as anti-technology or technologically impaired, there seems to be a glut of blogs. So why add another to the mix?

When I have visited other parishes or attended conferences outside of the state, I usually expect some negative reactions when I say that I am from California. No, I'm not suprised that people have negative impressions of California; having grown up in western states composed of people who generally disliked the left coast, I under- stand the wariness. Word association usually brings up a host of all kinds of unpleasant images: land where plastic surgeons and lawyers proliferate, home of self-satisfied and wealthy liberals who preach what they themselves, with their suvs and charter jet trips to Cuba, cannot do (I especially like the land rovers with the "Save Tahoe" bumper stickers...heh). 

And there are plenty of Californians who fit those descriptions. Yet in that alternate history, the one that few of us learned in school, California was one of the first areas of the country to be "baptized." How many states have a mural like this in their first state capitol?

There are many Catholics in California who are trying to live faithful lives in the midst of an increasingly secular and hostile culture. It is my hope that this site may be a meeting place, one dedicated to prayer and the conversion of hearts and minds in this state, and a place where we can give thanks for the blessings and good things that we have received here. The sun is shining, the olive leaves are shimmering in the wind, and the grapevines are beginning to undergo bud-break. Not too shabby.

Blessed Junipero Serra, pray for us!

Read the Catholic Encyclopedia entry for Fr. Serra here.