I’m currently enjoying the first family vacation that the Pearces have taken for five years. The last time we had a family holiday was back in 2004 when we had the great pleasure and privilege of being at St. Peter’s in Rome for the canonization of Gianna Beretta Molla and five other saints. We also spent several days in a quaint Tuscan villa just outside Lucca, thereby returning to the charming town where we had spent some of our honeymoon three years earlier. Now, eight years after the honeymoon, I find myself at Seal Beach in Southern California, staying with my in-laws. Although it may not have the same romantic credentials as Rome or Tuscany, Orange County has its own attractions. There’s a vibrant Catholic life in the area, including traditional liturgies and the nearby Norbertine Abbey. And there is, of course, the beach, which is within walking distance. 

While I relax, I trust that my absence from this site will be excused. I would, however, point you in the direction of the other recent posts on this site. The Murrays, Jef and Lorraine, are always worth reading and the two recent posts by Kevin O’Brien and Eleanor Donlon are simply delightful. Eleanor’s most recent post enlists the formidable figure of Roger Scruton to illustrate the aesthetic malaise at the darkened heart of today’s anti-culture. Kevin’s most recent contribution is simply sublime. It defeats the nonsense of radical relativism with the brilliance of logical analogy, and it does so with the disarming charm of Chestertonian humour. Read it!