I am a second-generation native Californian, which means my children are third- and my grandchildren are fourth-generation Californians.

California

I live 20 minutes from the beach,  and  I can hear the fireworks from Disneyland go off every night at 9:30. The “Big A” Anaheim Stadium is a stone’s throw away from us. Our grandson Will skis at Big Bear almost every weekend during the winter. Our state is a model of gracious living that has been ruined by liberal politicians.

The Liberals

Our state has accumulated astronomical debt because of frivolous, mismanaged spending. Our current politicians are more concerned about saving a fish than allowing water to help its citizens. They are too busy spending our tax dollars on making sure that inmates, including those on death row, receive a sex change. I know it’s referred to as gender reassignment  (only God can do that) because that makes it sound more acceptable. Four million of our tax dollars have been set aside for “gender reassignment” for inmates, and that includes non-citizens.

Climate Change

For the love of God, do not blame climate change for these fires. These fires are due to the lack of resources our governor has tied up by failing to allow money to clear the brush and to provide water. Yes, of course he is going to conduct an investigation, but guess what? We will be paying for that as well. The Liberals are all about “Climate Change,” so California has a budget of 54 BILLION for this as well! I don’t know about you, but the forest and all the wildlife that has been affected but these fires has sickened me. So go ahead and build a passage over the 405 freeway for the wildlife to cross. Sadly, many of these beautiful animals have died or have been displaced because of the fires. By the way, California’s budget for the wildlife crossing was 61.5 million dollars!

Migrant Services

Our governor proudly boasts that California is a  “sanctuary state.” Since 2023 we taxpayers have paid 159 million dollars for services for migrants. These are people who have entered our country illegally. We have laws for this:  you want to become a naturalized citizen, no one should be exempt.

California has allocated $20 million to bring women from out of state to abort their babies.

Diversity Equity Inclusion

The Los Angeles Fire Department is a perfect example of DEI. They wanted to make sure that all was fair in their hiring. No one cares if you’re a man or a woman in an emergency! Guess how much money we spent on this? One billion dollars! This information is from the Center of Organizational Research Education.

California”s budget to train teachers on LGBTQ issues is 3 million dollars! Do we really need this?

The Homeless

The kinder name for this epidemic is “unhoused.” Our governor, along with the Los Angeles mayor, have together wasted 827 million dollars. The homeless numbers have increased by 3% this year. For 20 years I headed a homeless outreach in Los Angeles. These are hurting souls who lost their way; they need spiritual direction and love, not fancy housing with a gym and coffee bar. They are, because of their, drug abuse mentally unstable. We need to open more mental hospitals for psychiatric evaluation and rehabilitation.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, in 2023  13, 909 fires were started by the homeless.

The Saints

I am Catholic and by the providence of God all up and down our coast are saints’ names: (This is from a previous Blog that I wrote several years ago.)

Saint Juan Junipero Serra

When Juan Junipero Serra arrived in Alta California, his purpose was to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism. He brought with him a small specimen of a grape vine; he needed this to grow grapes for the wine used in the consecration of the host. Juan Junipero Serra, more than anything, was true to his Catholic beliefs. He was in his 50s when he first began his apostolic missionary work in California. He had one goal in mind: to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to teach the Indians about farming and cattle ranching. Father Serra was born in Mallorca, an island off of Spain. He was a university professor before he made his way to Mexico, his first mission. His calling was to convert the indigenous people of Mexico to the Catholic faith, but he was also called to plant churches. The world of the Aztecs was so much more ostentatious than that of  the Indians in Alta California. The churches in Mexico were more elaborate and ornately decorated because of the gold and silver resources available to them. The missions in California were simple, beautiful, and functional, built with adobe brick to sustain earthquakes and fires.  I thank God for Saint Juan Junipero Serra for making our state hallowed ground. He consecrated nine of the 21 missions, and all are still operating parishes to this day. So many other contributions came because Father Serra answered his call to serve. Though he was only able to see the completion of nine missions, his work continued through the hands of other missionary priests.  The Mission San Antonio de Padua was the first to manufacture red tile roofs, which are still very much a part of California’s architecture.

Santa Ana

Santa Ana was named for St. Anne, Jesus’  grandmother, who comes from the lineage of David. She was the mother of Mary, who is the Mother of God.

The Santa Ana River runs from the San Bernardino Mountains, makes its way through Riverside County, and cuts through the Northern Santa Ana Mountains via Santa Ana Canyon. The river continues through Orange County to its final destination, the Pacific Ocean.

Our tumultuous winds are also named after Santa Ana, and one of the main arteries running through California is called the Santa Ana Freeway  (Interstate 5).

San Francisco

St. Francis of Assisi was one of  our most prolific saints; he loved nature and personified peace. St. Francis was born to a noble family and, for the first part of his life, he lived in sin. He was a “party animal.” Everyone who knew him loved him because he was gifted with a beautiful personality. He was known to always be happy; he was a charming leader. Francis was hand picked by God, Who spoke to him in a dream to redirect his life. One day he was praying at the San Damiano Church in Assisi. He heard Christ speak to him from the Crucifix saying, “Francis, repair my church.” At first Francis thought that Jesus was speaking of the San Damiano Church, but Jesus  was speaking of the Catholic Church. Francis renounced all  his wayward ways and his wealth to serve the Lord. He is one of my favorite saints, not only because he is the patron saint of animals, but because of him the Catholic churches in the Holy Land are under the custody of the Franciscans.

Sacramento

Our state capital bears the name of the Blessed Sacrament. For Catholics this is the body of Christ! A few years ago I took a tour of our state capital. I walked into the rooms where life-changing decisions take place, where our elected officials take the role of orchestrating  the laws of this great state. I remember praying and thinking what a great opportunity it is to serve this  state. Directly to the left of the capital building, conveniently located to the east, is the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, where some legislators pray before making decisions.

What happened since the first mission in San Diego was built over 250 years ago? The people of our beautiful state have slowly drifted away from God. It’s almost as if an earthquake hit us in slow motion; we never saw it coming, so we never prepared for it. So here we are, still standing on hallowed ground. It took awhile to recognize the damage caused by removing God and replacing Him with all these feel-good demigods. We need to reclaim our state and re-establish what God intended when He sent the first missionaries.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I pray for all the firefighters who are tirelessly working to save lives and to contain these fires. These firefighters are also saving the lives of wildlife. My heart is broken by the selfish acts of our politicians and I know You, Lord, will judge them accordingly. Let all the saints from San Francisco to San Diego pray for us! Amen.

Do you remember the story in the Bible about Jacob wrestling with God?

Jacob

Jacob was destined for a great inheritance, even though he was the second-born son in the birth order.  God told his mother Rebekah that Jacob would receive the special blessing.

It all started after the Christmas Mass. My throat was feeling a little raw, so after leaving church I went to bed. Not wanting this illness to escalate, I decided to  drive myself to Urgent Care, but by the time I arrived they had already closed. The following day, just as I suspected, my condition worsened. This time Mike drove me to Urgent Care. Nothing too serious but, because of my age, I was given a seven  day’s dosage of antibiotics.

Mask

I have a tendency to misjudge others for wearing masks, especially if they are in a car driving by themself. I hated the whole mask mandate during COVID and was so excited when the ban was lifted. When I give out Holy Communion at Mass to people who insist on wearing masks, it is my responsibility to be sure that that person has removed the mask and ingested the host.

I learned a lesson about mask wearers; it’s not my business as to why they choose to wear a mask. I found myself wearing a mask when walking into Urgent Care. I did not want to compromise the health of others, and now I somewhat understand why people wear masks. There are exceptions to the rule and a small percentage of these mask wearers are suffering from some type of paranoia or phobia. To those few random people, free yourselves of all fear!

Sicker

It’s Saturday night 10:57 p.m. and I can’t sleep. Normally most of my writing for this Blog is inspired by the readings or homilies from the daily Mass.  But due to the cough and slight fever, there was no way I could attend Mass.

My hacking cough sounds like an elderly old man who has spent his entire life smoking and finally paying the price for his youthful pleasures. In the past, muscling through these illnesses was always a breeze…not anymore!

Old And Sick

Jacob, our 12-year-old grandson, was sick last week but that did not stop him from attending the Boat Parade or spending the night at a friend’s house. It took him one full day of rest to recover. Not me.  Today is day five, my laundry is piling up, the floors need to be cleaned, the sheets need changing, and at this point none of this is going to get accomplished anytime soon.

Mike has been making all the meals and keeping the kitchen clean. He really took the “in sickness and in health” part of our vows to a new level. How he keeps up with my lamenting is a miracle.

The Changing World

Another misjudgment on my behalf is prescription medication. Homeopathic has always been my preference, but now I have to set up timers for the special medication I need to take three times a day. And that does not include the thyroid medication, plus the antibiotics and cough syrup. I refused to get any type of flu or COVID immunizations because from my own experience I know for a fact that a dirty  flu shot caused my autoimmune condition. All these immunizations are products of China.

Feast Days

I have missed the feast days of Saint Stephen, the first martyr, Saint John, the Apostle and Evangelist, The Holy Innocents, martyrs and today, Sunday, December 29th, the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Saint Stephen

In Acts Chapter Seven, Saint Stephen, the first Christian  martyr, is introduced. Stephen was assigned to oversee the daily distribution to the widows of the community. The Word of God was spreading, so Jewish priests were also being converted.  As in all cases, as soon as the spread of Christianity occurs, Satan comes in with a vendetta to destroy the work of God. Thus Stephen was accused of blasphemy. Because of the tenets of the highest Jewish court, the Sanhedrin could not tolerate that Stephen was placing Jesus above Moses.

In one of the longest narratives written in the Bible Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, explains the historic  transition from Jewish beliefs to Christianity. The words that flowed from deep within him captured the truth of how the Israelites disobeyed God so many times. The members of the high court knew that Stephen was exposing their uncircumcised  hearts and ears.

In 2025 the situation will remain as it was 2,000 years ago. Some will come around, while others will continue to live a life walking around with scales over their eyes. If we  could all take into account the beautiful act of martyrdom from Saint Stephen, we would understand why he, without fear, preached the truth.

Telling The Truth

Saint Stephen, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, was given one of the greatest platforms to preach the Word. He was completely aware of the venomous character of the Sanhedrin and how they would react to his preaching, but that only fueled the fire in him to spread the Gospel further. He also knew that being a witness and exposing truth to these stiff-necked leaders would cost his life.

As they ordered his stoning, the Sanhedrin witnessed the calm demeanor of  Stephen.  As the sky opened up to welcome him home, his last words were: