NOTES...
Greetings from Tijuana! Many Readers have asked me, WHY? Why this big project now? Why when the economy is difficult and money is tight, would you venture into this now? It is simple, they are selling at firestorm prices... they are desperate to sell. When the economy is good, they are not going to want to see and, if they do, they will sell at a MUCH HIGHER PRICE. The need is so great. I am overwhelmed at the situation in which we live. Sometimes I wish that things didn't affect me. It is hard to believe sometimes that Tijuana is the fourth largest city of Mexico (competing with Monter¬rey to be third). Yet fourth largest city it is with almost four million inhabitants. The city is awash with contradictions. At once it is wealthy, some of the richest people in the nation have their homes in very posh and lovely well-manicured colonias protected by private police and from the incursion of the rest of the popula¬tion, and they live a very nice life. And most live very far from God. Then there is a very small middle-class. They tend to be the factory managers and small business own¬ers. Perhaps they suffer the most from the swinging and unstable economy. They try to life the US American dream of owning a home (paying a mortgage), having a de¬cent car (payments) and having a credit card or two. They struggle to get (and keep) their kids in private schools and protect them from the social instabilities prevalent in Ti¬juana (and America) today. They fight against teen pregnancy, drug addiction, alcoholism, crime and all the things the rest dread – the only difference is the middle class is… well, in the middle: Neither here, nor there. Their battle is for a piece of the pie without owning the pie! They want something better for their kids and for themselves without the institutional social structures that allow that helping hand. They also war with God. Religious practice can be very important to many people in the middle class. And to all-too-many of them, they really are disinter¬ested or feel “outside” the religious experience. The notion of sitting every Sunday in Mass is beyond the majority of them. They attend Mass for the eventual socio-religious events (quinceñeras, weddings, sacraments, etc) The poor have become “fodder” for the evangelicals and the cults. There is even a big “sede-vacantist” sect that has its share of follow¬ers. La Iglesia Apostolica, Luz del Mundo, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons are all making their inroads (in big numbers) especially among the lower class. They play on the ignorance and the easy avail¬ability of ministers of their groups to attract. The personal attention afforded really helps them to con¬vince people to leave the church. I could go on and on... and I prob¬ably should to give you a flavor of the situation. But that is the reason for the Haci¬enda. We need a center of evange¬lization. We need a place where we can use music and massive events to bring the people to Christ. The stadium will be built with the interest of bringing the Holy Father to Tijuana -- a powerful font of evangelization and grace. A private company is willing to fund the joint project on the land with the Archdiocese so they can bring the World Cup soccer match to Tijuana (one hand washes the other). Come. Help me with $ 100. a day, we will feed you physically and spiritually in a semi-private directed retreat in English or Span¬ish for one to seven days (or more if you choose). You will be safely picked up at the border or San Diego Airport and driven securely and safely to the retreat center. You will have a private room with bath. YOU WILL LOVE IT and you will help to build this great work. You'll be a part of this history. Then, you’ll go back and tell all of your friends and they will come too and we’ll fill this place for the glory of God and build the retreat center for the people of Tijuana. Come and see. Stay, you will love it. ~Fr. J. David