After battling an awful cold for a couple days earlier in the week—facilitated, in part, by the below-zero temperatures in New York City— I fortified myself with Nyquil and Mucinex and boarded a plane early Thursday that took me to the scene you see above: sunny southern California. It was a welcome shock to my system. I’m feeling much better.
I’m here with my colleague Chris Kennedy, from CNEWA’s development office, as part of a pastoral visit to the west coast.
We had some time to kill before our rooms at the hotel were ready, so we grabbed a quick lunch at a local In-n-Out—a legend, of course, and a place I recall fondly from previous visits to California.
After lunch, we headed out to say hello to some longtime donors of our agency and express our personal appreciation for their support. One of them is a delightful woman named Anna, who came to California from Switzerland. She’s been giving to CNEWA for decades and spoke warmly of the agency’s work. She’s 97 years young.
We had some free time after our meeting, so Chris and I took a stroll through the Santa Monica promenade and on to the beach.
We’re definitely not in New York anymore.
Saturday, we head up the road to the Diocese of Monterey and St. William’s Parish in Atascadero, California, where I’ll be preaching about CNEWA at all the Masses over the weekend. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello!
And today we celebrate...