Saintly Surfers Praise Divine Waves in California

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

Fawad Yacoob, from left, of the Islamic Society of Orange County Rev. Christian Mondor and Rev. Matt...

Fawad Yacoob, from left, of the Islamic Society of Orange County Rev. Christian Mondor and Rev. Matt Munoz walk to the surf during the Blessing of the Waves ceremony at the pier in Huntington Beach, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. On a warm, picture-perfect morning in Huntington Beach, people have gathered on the sands to ask God for tubular waves, a killer swell and a safe return to shore at the beachfront town's first blessing of waves. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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So Sunday at dawn, on the 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 St. 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.

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One of the event's organizers, Father Christian Mondor, helped kick off the proceedings by thanking God (or "The Big Kahuna," as he also addressed him) for righteous waves and a killer ride for all the surfer babes and dudes assembled before him.

"May they hang 10 on thy oceanic bounty and, if it be in accordance with thy gnarly plan, may they not wipe out," he concluded, reading from a tongue-in-cheek poem written by Los Angeles Times reporter Dana Parsons.

Meanwhile, the audience broke out laughing when Munoz began his blessing by announcing: "I'm not Jesus. I need a surfboard to walk on water."

(For the record, with brown hair that cascades well past his shoulders, a flowing beard, a beatific face and his priestly robes, Munoz does bear a striking resemblance to depictions of Jesus.)

But there were also moments of seriousness, as when Mondor, the 83-year-old vicar emeritus of St. Simon and Jude Parish, added his own prayer: "Praise be you, creator God, for the gift of sea and sand and endless surf that brings us joy of body and soul. Help us always care for this great ocean so that we and generations to come may enjoy its beauty and power and majesty."