4/13/2024 St. Junipero Serra Walking PilgrimageSt. Junipero Serra Walking Pilgrimage Last year, I joined a group of 300 people who celebrated our own St Junipero Serra in a big way. We walked from Mission Santa Barbara to Mission San Buenaventura along the El Camino Real. We walked, we sang, we prayed, we talked, we made new friends, all in his honor. And I want you to join me this year! I was so nervous beforehand. Could I really walk 35 miles in just two days? That is way more than 10,000 steps a day! And I’m old and a little overweight and a couch potato. But I really wanted to do this. I am a big fan of St. Junipero Serra – I wanted to honor him. I also loved the idea of the walk, getting to smell the roses and take in the details of that quick 35-minute drive we take for granted. So, I started training. I did my 10,000 steps every day (about 5 miles); wearing the shoes I planned for the pilgrimage. On weekends, I walked farther and longer until I made 10 miles a day. I felt privileged to participate in this weekend event. The St. Junipero Serra Walking Pilgrimage was expertly organized. Numerous priests, monks and sisters walked the whole route and provided spiritual leadership. We attended Mass each day and learned about St. Junipero Serra, and we even carried a relic from St. Serra himself! Volunteers saw us safely across every street crossing and ensured we stayed together and on the correct route. A trailer of “pleasant” port-a-potties was always there when you needed it. Knights of Columbus provided delicious meals. We enjoyed frequent snack breaks, with plenty of time to rest and rejuvenate. We camped overnight in the school yard at St. Joseph’s in Carpinteria. We traveled light – our camping supplies traveled on a van, ready and waiting for us in Carpinteria, and again in Ventura. Please consider joining me in this unique opportunity to honor St. Junipero Serra. We’re telling you now, early, so you have plenty of time to get out your walking shoes and start training. I look forward to seeing you on the Pilgrimage! Siempre Adelante! A fellow parishioner, Stevie Garcia Fourth Annual Saint Junipero Serra Walking Pilgrimage Save the Date: August 10 - 11, 2024 For more information and to register: www.stserrapilgrimage.org Registration opens after Easter and closes on July 4 Fun fact – St. Junipero Serra was establishing Missions during the same years George Washington was founding our country! 4/10/2024 Robert (Bob) Foster
4/5/2024 Seeing Isn’t Always Believing Christ is risen! We celebrate the Easter season with great joy at the gift of new life God has given us. However, I would imagine that many of us have not beheld the true face of Jesus as he is in Heaven, nor have we seen the Risen Lord like his disciples did in today’s Gospel. I know I have not (at least not yet). Yet Jesus calls us to believe even if our eyes have not seen him. Not only that, but we are also to have peace in the midst of our suffering knowing that he is there, even if our eyes fail us. When we look upon the Eucharist, our eyes tell us, “It’s just a piece of bread and some wine.” Yet the eyes of faith and the eyes of belief know that it is Jesus. Not metaphorically, not symbolically, not in any muddied fashion, no. The Eucharist is Jesus. It is his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The King of All Glory lowers himself, taking the form of bread and wine, that we might be close to him. What a gift and a humbling reality. God, who created all things, chose to become bread and wine for the rest of time for you, for me, for all of us. What can motivate such humility and sacrifice? Only love. Love is the Lord’s Commandment, to love others as he loves us. The 10 Commandments are certainly a guide for us to love. Jesus himself affirmed them. In our second reading, St. John affirms them as well, saying that we love God when we obey his commandments. Also, the Holy Spirit guards not only us who are washed in Baptism and sealed in Confirmation, but also guards God’s Word in the Gospels and the Bible. The commandments are the blueprint for love and God is the Divine Architect who created the wonderful world we live in. We live in this great universe that God has made. We are called to love God and love neighbor. We are called to be of one mind and heart in our love and life, that guarded by the Holy Spirit we may know the truth and believe, even though we might not see. Let the house of Padre Serra say: God’s love is forever! Alleluia! Riley Paolella Parishioner |
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