Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

This week I finished signing all of the annual end-of-year statements to parishioners who gave during the past year.  First, thank you for sticking with us and giving to the offertory and second collections despite the difficulty and uncertainty of this past bizarre year, when we haven't been together as much. I am grateful to many who are so generous.  Pastors have all been worried about keeping as active as possible and paying salaries and benefits.  We have been able to keep things going well, thanks to you.

These letters are statements for charitable giving in case you itemize deductions for charitable gifts on your taxes.  In other years we have sent letters also to those who have no recorded gifts, but decided not to do that this year so as not to be misunderstood.  If you didn't get a letter from us and did give to the parish last year, please contact us so we can make any needed corrections.

Also, not to tell you what everybody already knows, but we have had a lot of delays with our local post office, sometimes receiving things over a month late.  If you need the end-of-year statement right away, you are welcome to call and we can print one for you to pick up.

This is the time of year when fundraising goes into full swing!  Please don't be upset, but I must beg, especially this year.  To help simplify the schedule and assist in your consideration of options for support, here is a short list of fundraising coming up:

•  This week—Feb. 2-3—is the Day of Giving for Catholic Schools.  It is a day when we send out the request to extended school families, school alumni, and parishioners to give an annual gift to the operating expenses of our school.  You could think of it as a "Go Fund Me" day for Catholic education.  If you can help, it is truly helpful.  Our goal is $25,000, and we hope to grow this each year.

•  Next weekend—Feb. 6-7—is Commitment Weekend for the Bishop's Lenten Appeal.  Our parish goal for 2021 is the same as last year, $465,000.  Last year's Appeal happened just as the pandemic was beginning and we are hoping that this primary funding source for diocesan operations doesn't take a hit due to economic concerns.  We will have envelopes available next weekend for the in-pew process (please bring your own pen!) or you can make a pledge online.  We will have instructions at Masses and on the website this weekend.

•  We totally missed our School Auction last year, an event that we really rely on financially.  Tickets go on sale Feb. 8 for a very nice grab-n-go dinner to eat during the online streaming Live Auction on Mar. 20.  The silent auction will be live online Mar. 8-20.  Please let's start getting the word out!

Of course—don't forget!—the Capital Campaign continues as we draw near to the conclusion of the three-year pledge period, with about $1.5 million yet needed to be pledged.  I had hopes on the billion dollar lottery...

God bless you.

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In accordance with the Governor’s Phase 3 and Arlington Diocese Guidelines, we welcome you and your family back to Saint Bernadette. For specific instructions for attendance click the "New Guidelines for Attending Mass" video link below.

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

January 18 to 26 has been the octave of Christian Unity, or the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, for over 100 years.  It's a time when we reflect on the sad divisions resulting in more than 30,000 denominations in the world, all believers in Jesus Christ.  Generally speaking, all are baptized with the same baptism and all are brothers and sisters.  500 years of division in western Christianity are seen from today's perspective not as religious in nature, but having been motivated by social and political divisions which crept into the Church and did damage.  Power corrupts.

If we were honest, looking at the many deep and bitter divisions within our Church, we would have to say that it is only by the grace of God and our unity with the Pope that we are still here.  And there seem to be profound cracks there, too, as a post-truth era and disrespectful cancel culture creep into the Church and do damage.

But what on paper seems to divide us the most is actually what unites us, both within the Church and with other Christians.  It is the Eucharist, Christ's forever offering of himself to the Father.  We, as members of his Body, now continue his offering on the cross and his risen glory when we actively recall in thanksgiving our redemption through his saving act at the Mass.

It is we the baptized, head and members (participating as we are able), who make up the totus Christus, the whole Christ, as Pope John Paul II taught, and all members must take part for this offering to be complete.  It is for this reason that the differences which divide us are sinful, and we must take up the work of dialogue to heal the divisions. It is we who impede the work of the salvation of the world when we can not gather around the altar.

For centuries prior to the second Vatican Council there was a deep divide between the clergy and the laity.  Although they are ministerially distinct by nature of sacrament (head and members, as John Paul II said), you can't have the Body without both.  By virtue of our common baptism, we also are anointed with the priesthood of the faithful.  All of us.  There is still a clericalism in our Church culture today that would seek to emphasize a superiority of the clergy. Though real, the distinction does not mean unequal.  True, the priest presides at the altar with a distinct role.  It is Jesus who performs that miracle at every Mass and the priest is a particular instrument of that institution, calling the Holy Spirit upon the gifts and using Jesus' own words.  But the description traditionally referring to the priest, in persona Christi, must necessarily also include you, the lay faithful.  We gather in sacred remembrance with thanks and praise, and together are Christ, offering himself out of love to the Father.

This is the calling we have been given.  There is no greater exercise of love and selflessness, there is no greater source of unity whose witness is so deeply needed today.

God bless you.

Catholics nationwide are preparing to pray 9 Days for Life, the annual pro-life novena beginning this year January 21.

In the Catholic Church, a ‘novena’ consists of prayers over nine successive days. This por-life novena is an opportunity for recollection and reparation in observation of the anniversary of the Roe vs Wade – Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the United States.

The overarching intention of the novena is the end of abortion. Each daily intention highlights a related topic and is accompanied by a reflection, educational information, and suggested daily actions. The novena encompasses the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on 22 January.

All are invited to sign up. Participants can receive the novena in English or Spanish via email or text message or access it online. Participants can share their pro-life witness and invite their social networks to pray on social media with the hashtag #9DaysforLife.

Here are the links to subscribe to the 9 Days for Life Novena email notifications.

English – Flocknote Notifications

Spanish – Flocknote Notifications

To receive text notifications instead of email, please do the following:

English – Text 9daysforlife to 84576

Spanish – Text 9diasporlavida to 84576