Today July 1

Today is the feast day of Blessed Junipero Serra (1713-1784), an important feast for all those who, like me, love and admire the California Franciscan missions. Fray Junipero Serra founded the following 9 missions:
San Diego 1768
Monterey/Carmel 1770
San Antonio 1771
San Gabriel 1771
San Luis Obispo 1772
San Francisco 1776
San Juan Capistrano 1776
Santa Clara 1777
San Buenaventura ` 1782
Twelve others were founded after his death, one of which I attended as a child, La Purissima. I still have pleasant memories of the lovely murals, dark wooden beams and historical museum there near Lompoc. Lovely.

Junipero is one saint that even a liberal revisionist historian could love. Well before his time he championed the rights of the Native Americans . . . and put his money where his mouth was. He walked to Mexico City, even though he was painfully lame, to establish the "Regulations," the first bill of rights for the Indians and the missions. The friars became their legal guardians. Junipero was left behind with them by the military ship that brought him. The Spanish government was tying to establish North America as a Spanish colony to beat the Russians to it first. Junipero would not leave his people, though he risked his life. He almost died of hunger.

A character like this should NOT be controversial, but that doesn't give the US enough credit! His statue was denounced for being in the National Statue Garden in Washington (or somewhere else official). Also, his depiction on a stamp was condemned by some. Why? Well, because he was Catholic, for one (separation of Church and state, you know), and also because being Spanish of that age (he was Mallorcan, actually), he is painted with the same brush as the colonialists and because of his practice of keeping the natives in the mission after their baptisms, to keep them free of the immorality of their old haunts.

He was tireless: he baptized 6000 souls and confirmed 5000, most without help. There was a severe priest shortage in the New World, you know. I wonder what he would think of the current "law" that no priest can say more than 3 Masses in a given 24-hour period. I doubt Blessed Serra kept to that law. And he's a saint! The way I look at it, it's like telling a physician (another professional) that he may not do more than 3 surgeries, or give 3 treatments, in a 24-hour period! You wouldn't tell a judge he couldn't hear more than 3 one-hour cases in 24 hours, nor that a lawyer couldn't try them. Now, if they CHOSE not to, well, that's one thing. You don't legislate heroics, but you respect them if they want to "go the distance." But that's just my opinion; I could be wrong.