Patch Blog: Hawaiian Shirts from Behind the Pulpit? Not me.

It is hard to believe that it has almost been a year that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was blessed with a new leader, Archbishop Jose Gomez. As I travel in and about the various parishes I can't help to sense a feeling of spiritual healing within the lives of the faithful. Much of this can be attributed to a good archbishop who courageously took over the reins of a archdiocese tainted by scandal. Much of my observation has been at the cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

For the past six months I have made the cathedral my new parish. What I love most about it is its diversity and its constant flow of tourists from around the world. As I roam the grounds I am taken a back at those who comment about my habit.

While it brings a spiritual connection to the faithful it also brings many questions about who Padre Pio is. This experience proves the people are grasping for something that was once loved, embraced and to which helped bond them to the church.

However the fact of the matter still remains that there is a myriad of task at hands existing within a priesthood that has run a muck.

Upon the arrival of Archbishop Gomez one can't help to notice a great deal of priest who were members of the Cardinal Mahony's, "Good ole boys club" turning into Chameleons while in the presence of Archbishop Gomez. Smiling ear to ear and telling the Archbishop what he wants to hear and then going back to their parishes and doing just the opposite. Standing at their pulpits and using their own homegrown theology and completely disregarding the teachings of the Catholic church. Pastoring their parishes in Hawaiian shirts while the "Good Sisters" dress in their lay attire trying to embrace what they vowed never to embrace. Completely destroying what their founders worked so hard to build. As we Catholics watch the church slowly crumble to the ground.

As a lay brother who sits in the pew and observes and committed to bringing the people to God and doing so wearing a habit in a modernistic world it becomes a mission of good vs evil.

Today I urge all Catholics to unite in prayer and thanksgiving for the good men and women who are committed to the religious life, who continue to follow Christ in a timeless traditional fashion, while living in a modernistic world. God bless these men and women who continue to bring God to the forefront of our lives. And good riddens to the religious orders who have failed God and their commitments.

Religious like myself who wear our habits and Roman collars as a symbol of our love for God and church. For the true religious that God see's as his disciples.

Br. Christopher Sale B.P.P.