Our youth group just finished an eight-day, grueling, whirlwind pilgrimage of all 21 Catholic Missions (thank you to all who helped raise the $7,000, making the trip possible). They saw with their own eyes the tenacity and grit of the early Franciscan priests who founded these centers of evangelization, which was then the frontier of the known world.

On the 5th day of the pilgrimage, we found ourselves at Mission San Carlos, a few blocks away from the famous Carmel Beach. Taking an old piece of driftwood that we found on the sand, we created a makeshift altar. Over 400 years prior, on that exact same shoreline, the first Mass ever offered in California took place in 1602. The weight of history was not lost upon us. Even though the homes that surrounded the beach was valued in the multimillions of dollars, the wealthiest people there were not the owner of those homes. Rather, the truly rich, where on the beach beginning an ancient ritual: "In the name of Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit..."