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Priests riding high on heavenly waves

HUNTINGTON BEACH - He may not be able to walk on water, but when the mood strikes, the Rev. Matthew Munoz can ride one gnarly, tubular wave all the way into the beach.

So Sunday at dawn, on the crystal-white sands of the town where the U.S. Surfing Championships were born nearly a half-century ago, Munoz and some two dozen fellow wave riders paused to thank God for all the joy the oceans have provided them.

Then, after the surfer's ceremonial blowing of a conch shell for good luck, the pastor of Orange County's Saint Irenaeus Catholic Church shouted out a hearty, "Let's surf!"

Clutching a board with an image of the Virgin of Guadeloupe inlaid into both sides, he led his flock and others in a race toward the water, diving in and paddling just as hard and as fast as he could toward the break.

The occasion was the Blessing of the Waves, a spiritual but at the same time decidedly lighthearted event organized by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange   Read Full Article...