He is risen! (...and so can we!)

We’ve had abundant rain storms, one after another, filling our dry creek beds, and causing the Arroyo Calleguas, at the bottom of the hill, to run for days and days. And our hillsides are greener than they’ve been for years. They’re covered with lupine, morning glories, poppies, giant coreopsis and black-eyed-susans. It has been wonderful to see our hills so alive, after so many years of dry gold earth tones.


And what a gruesome drought it was!


The barrenness of the dry years may be a kind of metaphor for our hearts. We’ve come out of a hard stretch. In the Covid years, we’ve lost some people who were dear to us. And our world can be wearying: Our country can be so divided. It’s like dry and barren soil. Our economy has so many pressures on it. It’s like an oak tree, dying by the inch. Our climate seems to be warming. It’s like a shadeless, shelterless Santa Ana windblown ridge line. Our news is so often negative and filled with violence. We can count on the news being alternately dark and angering. But can we allow these grim realities to be the only story of our time?


Why would we?


Easter invites us to reevaluate everything. As so many elements of life have returned to our new normal, we just might want to reconsider how we might even press on to something better than normal. Our Christian response to what Jesus has done in laying down His life, only to pick it back up again, is to renew our own lives, and the soul of the world around us. We have to be the rain! We are alive with a God-given purpose, redeemed by Jesus, loved by the Father, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to affect the world around us, to bring a weary world to hope and life in God – in essence, to do for the world what the rain has done for our countryside. And it’s happening. There are so many people doing good things, beautiful things, but we won’t find their stories in our news programs.


The hungry receive food, here in Camarillo – check out the St. Mary Magdalen Pantry and Many Meals, both of which are sustained by Padre Serra Parishioners. The homeless are sheltered and taught new trades and financial management skills – investigate the RAIN project here in Camarillo, financially supported by Padre Serra Parishioners. Children are learning that they are beautiful, and important, and beloved by their Creator – check out the faith formation program staffed by volunteers from Padre Serra Parish. The infirm and the sick are being visited and comforted – being uplifted by the efforts of Eucharistic
ministers of Padre Serra Parish. The grieving, those with enduring pain, and the
dear, but often worn out, caregivers are receiving care – look into the Padre Serra support groups.

There is a lot of quiet good happening, and it is, indeed, life giving and as hill-greening as our winter rains. Be a part of this goodness, this God-ness. 

May this Easter may be a time of renewal and life for you and your families!


​Fr. Patrick
Pastor 

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