Finally, at home in Monterey

Well, friends, it's been a long time between postings.  Last week, I moved into my new offices at the historic Diocese of Monterey, California.  I'll be doing a variety of things here, from teaching to supervising to, well, whatever the bishop wants me to do!  I finally got internet connectivity and so now I'm able to get back to the blog.

Monterey holds a special place in our hearts, since we lived here back in the late 1970's when I attended Russian language school here at the Defense Language Institute during my days in the Navy.  Yesterday I drove by the school and, of course, very little remains of those old buildings!  I've also been spending time at the Naval Postgraduate School, so I feel very much reconnected to my Navy roots.

So, what shall we talk about?  If anyone is reading this and has any suggestions, questions, or topics you'd like to discuss, reply to this post and we'll give it a go!

Seven of the twenty-one Franciscan missions founded along the California coast by Fr. Junipero Serra are located within the Diocese of Monterey.  In fact, one of them serves as the diocesan Cathedral, which is across the street from our diocesan offices.  Not a bad view, and with that I'll end this post.

Moving Out, Moving In. . . .

Sorry for the long delay in posting.  My last reflection was posting on the Easter Vigil, and I hope that everyone is having a transformative Easter season!  As we gradually experience this tranformation of new life, we here are living that transformation on many personal and professional levels as well, so the liturgy and life are truly wedded.

During Easter Week, I flew to Nashville to address the annual convention of the National Association of Deacon Directors (NADD), and had the chance to spend some time with a friend from college who is now the Bishop of Nashville, Bishop Dave Choby.  It was good to visit with him and to sip a little Jack Daniels and share a few stories from "the old days".  Then I flew home to assist and preach at the Baccalaureate Mass for the graduates, families, faculty and administration of Saint Leo University.  It was quite an honor to preach the Mass, presided over by Abbott Isaac Camacho, OSB, since this was my last official act as a member of the faculty of the University.

Actually, that's not quite true: the following day I taught my last graduate class for Saint Leo: the deacon candidates' class in the Diocese of Orlando.  And the highlight of that was a Mass with the candidate community, and again, I was privileged to preach.

This past week, then, I moved out of my University office (which was about half the size of the office depicted in this photo!), and my wife and I are packing up for our move to the Diocese of Monterey, California!  It will begin with a drive up to Charleston, SC, where I will spend the day with the diaconate community there, and then head out due West until we hit California!

So, keep us in prayer as we begin yet another chapter in our adventure of life and discipleship.  Now that the school year is ended, I'll be posting more regularly!