Sunday, July 19, 2015

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 19, 2015

Greetings from sunny California. As I write this, I am sitting in Pittsburgh and preparing for my vacation. By the time you read this, I will be in Anaheim. As is my custom, I write my column in advance before going on vacation, which means that I have to do a little guessing as to what I’m going to tell you. This is my postcard to you, complete with the phrase, “Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here.”

As you may be aware, I plan my vacation around Major League Baseball. Each year I choose one or two ballparks where I have never yet seen a game and go watch baseball. As you read this note, I am in Anaheim to see the Angels play three games at Angel Stadium. From here I go to San Diego, where I will see four Padres games at Petco Park. This brings my total of ballparks seen to 34, including of course Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park. That leaves nine current parks for me to visit, though at least one team (Atlanta) is currently planning on building a new ballpark to add to my list.

In addition to the baseball, I enjoy touring the city. I usually do a web search for museums and other attractions. In fact, half the fun of vacation is in the anticipation and in trying to decide what I want to see and do at each place. I imagine that I will have to spend some time at Disneyland while in Anaheim. And while this is my first visit to Anaheim, I visited San Diego in 2003, the last year the Padres played at the old Jack Murphy Stadium. Among my activities that year was an afternoon bus ride to a foreign country. I can officially say that I visited Mexico, though saying I visited Mexico after an afternoon in Tijuana is like spending five minutes in the gift shop and saying that I had seen the Smithsonian Institute. I’m sure I will find many new things to do in San Diego, but there is one experience I was hoping to repeat. Last time I found a museum there dedicated to old computers, such as the Commodore 128 that I used when I was first ordained. Sadly, my Internet research tells me that this museum is no longer open.

Many people think of vacation as a time of rest. They probably think that my vacations are too frenetic. But for me, part of the vacation is the leisure to explore new things and new places, unencumbered by a schedule or by phone calls. As much as I love the daily activities of the priesthood, it is refreshing to get away and to do fun things. I consider my trip as a chance to discover more about the marvelous creation God has given to us. And yes, I enjoy the ballgames. As much as I love going to Pirates games, it is a fun change to go to a game where I am a neutral observer and don’t have to worry about whether my team wins or loses. Even that gives me a chance to be thankful to God for all His blessings to me.

So please pray for me during my vacation, and know that I look forward to resuming my ordinary activities – but not until I’ve had some extraordinary fun.
                                                                              Father H