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Announcements ~ March 11, 2018
It’s time for the Parish to support our Biennial Saint Bernadette School Auction. Please join us April 14 for a wonderful evening with a beautifully catered dinner, live and silent auctions. Tickets are $75 per person or a table of 10 for $650. Alumni tables welcome! We will begin highlighting auction items next weekend. Our goal is to raise $100,000 to provide excellence in Technology and the Arts. Auction committee members will be selling tickets this weekend or you may visit stbernschool.org to purchase tickets online and for more information about opportunities to underwrite, sponsor or advertise in our auction program. Please join us for our Lenten Soup Suppers and Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent. Soup supper begins at 6:30pm in the school cafeteria, English Stations in the Church at 7:30pm and Spanish Stations in the Chapel at 7pm. Bring the whole family to enjoy good soup and fellowship and then spend time walking the way of the Cross with Jesus. Our Parish Penance Service will be March 20 at 7pm, a time that we will have at least a dozen priests (English and Spanish) who will be here for you. Please plan to come. The Bishop’s Lenten Appeal is in full swing and we are asking every household in our parish to support this appeal to the extent you are able. The BLA funds many programs, services and ministries that serve people in need. Don’t forget every new donor or gift over last year’s gift will be matched by a challenge gift. We are 71%: Thank you for your wonderful support of our diocesan mission.Fr. Don's Weekly Letter ~ March 11, 2018
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
In the excerpts we could include from Pope Francis’ Lent Message for 2018, there is a line that has stuck in my mind all week: “What I possess is never mine alone.”
How far such this is from our experiences of voices in our world! The meditation deepens: our lives do not belong to us; our bodies do not belong to us; our world does not belong to us. Dialogue with the world on these topics does not end well. Yet you and I both know well that all belongs to God. Even our free will belongs to God, we still have a free choice about what to do with all these things, even though they still all belong to God. Precisely because all of these things belong to God and we are merely stewards of these gifts (merely! as if it weren’t the most highly exalted honor given to us), we are liable to judgement for what we do with them. For how we use our bodies, our minds, our wealth, our environment. God cares. If he did not, none of this would make any difference.
Yet, in a wondrous way, since we belong to God, in his community of love we also belong to each other. Sin is real, and is real damage to the relationships which make us human persons. Therefore, we have obligations for one another: “Love one another as I have loved you...” We must care. To not care is somehow to forfeit your humanity.
The organism that God has set as steward over all his creation is called “human.” You and I are surely members of that organism, but not as individuals. There is a great difference between “member” and “individual.” Individualism is impossible for humans, as it would be impossible for a branch to stay alive if it were to be somehow separated from the vine.
Our human experience of this organic creation of God is called community. Community and individualism are opposites, as are good and evil. They can’t be mutually present without violence, oppression and war. Community requires members that give, not take, who live not for their own survival, but the survival of each other, even laying down one’s life, if necessary, for the other. “There is no greater love.” If all of this sounds really Christian to you, then you are on the right track. Unfortunately, the world is not listening.
Our lives—every moment of our lives—are filled with opportunities to do something meaningful as humans to build community with all the things we have even though they don’t belong to us. Simple kindness, or grand acts of grace and generosity, or willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of others—these are ways we grow more fully human and, in the Body of Christ, in divine grace as well. Slowly we can heal the wounds of our world.
The greatest hope of this, I believe, is in the right formation and education of new generations of the faithful, to extend what we know to be true to those who need to learn. The formation of our children and youth is the most important work of the people of God who have discovered their giftedness and the corresponding responsibility that comes from the gifts. As adults, many of us have not discovered or realized this yet—and we are working on that. In the meantime, however, you and I need to make our priority the education of our children and youth through the parish mission of Saint Bernadette Catholic School and Religious Education.
We have an opportunity coming up next month with our School Auction, when we can provide for our children the things that are needed, gifts that are intended for all to share. We are trying something new this year for the Auction, ending the separation of a “school” and a “parish” community (just another expression of individualism) and making this one work of love for our young members. This is no longer an event closed to school families: we call upon the members of the one Saint Bernadette Community of parishioners to respond.
This weekend I am going to beg at all of the Masses: if there is no other charity to which you will contribute this year, please buy a $75 ticket for the future of our children, come enjoy a nice dinner, a wonderful evening of community, and even have a chance to bid on some of the more than 200 really good items which will be offered in the silent and live auctions. Make this a priority: it is for the children, as is all that we do at the School. Parish and school: come together as one, stewards of the resources that God gave us for a purpose. Let us discover a new reality of the loving concern for one another that will fulfill us as members of God’s creation. Let’s sell out 350 tickets.
God bless you.
Announcements ~ March 4, 2018
It’s time for the Parish to support our Biennial Saint Bernadette School Auction. Please join us April 14 for a wonderful evening with a beautifully catered dinner, live and silent auctions. Tickets are $ 75 per person or a table of 10 for $ 650. Alumni tables welcome! We will begin highlighting auction items next weekend. Our goal is to raise $100,000 to provide excellence in Technology and the Arts. Auction committee members will be selling tickets the weekend of March 10 and 11 or you may visit www.stbernschool.org to purchase tickets online and for more information about opportunities to underwrite, sponsor or advertise in our auction program
We invite prospective families to visit our next Open House, Thursday, March 8, 6-7pm. If you have any questions, or would like to schedule a tour of our wonderful school, please contact our Registrar, Mrs. Cynthia Johns at cjohns@stbernschool.org
Please join us for our Lenten Soup Suppers and Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent. Soup supper begins at 6:30pm in the school cafeteria, English Stations in the Church at 7:30pm and Spanish Stations in the Chapel at 7pm. Bring the whole family to enjoy good soup and fellowship and then spend time walking the way of the Cross with Jesus.
The Bishop’s Lenten Appeal is in full swing and we are asking every household in our parish to support this appeal to the extent you are able. The BLA funds many programs, services and ministries that serve people in need. Don’t forget every new donor or gift over last year’s gift will be matched by a challenge gift. We are 71%: Thank you for your wonderful support of our diocesan mission.
Fr. Don's Weekly Letter ~ April 2018
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
Our parish celebration of 40 Hours Eucharistic Adoration and Parish Mission last week was truly the best I can recall. I thank all who worked at making it such a success: all our liturgical ministers, music ministers (one of the nicest Taize services I recall), those who attended liturgies and came for adoration, those who came to hear Fr. Chris’ beautiful and poignant and inspiring talks in the evenings. I felt like our parish grew a lot during this holy time, like we really made Lent matter with our efforts. Thank you.
It was also a powerful time for me in really approaching Lent and “settling in” spiritually in the season. It all seems to center around a meditation, strong meditation, I had on the Sacred Scripture story of Abraham and Isaac. A month ago we were on our bus driving through the Jordanian mountains nearing Petra and off to the left, in the distance a small white monument was visible on a distant peak, the tomb of Isaac. Isaac, as did most Israelites, died in the desert after crossing the Red Sea and before crossing the Jordan River into the promised land.
My reflection: here is the scene when God asks Abraham to make a sacrifice of his son, Isaac. Imagine what is going on in the mind of Abraham: why would God, after making a miracle of Isaac’s birth in the old age of Abraham and Sarah, now make this senseless demand of the boy’s life. Perhaps the old proverb “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away” was already in his mind. But why? He and his son are walking to the mountain of sacrifice where he will make an altar on the highest rock and take the boys life. The same mountain, we know later, where David will choose to place the Temple and build his city Jerusalem, the same place where Solomon builds the great Temple of God 1,000 years later. The same Temple where Jesus is brought by his parents Mary and Joseph, where he will walk and preach as an adult, overlooked by the Antonia Fortress where he will be condemned to death, 2,000 years later. The same mountain where, after the Temple is destroyed by the Romans in 70 and the land is conquered as before by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans, now by yet another people, the Moslems, who build a great domed mosque on the very same rock from where their prophet, Mohammed, is said to have been taken to heaven. The same mountain in today’s old city of Jerusalem which is the most desired spot of major world religions and a center of greatest conflict.
Everything in the Old Testament points forward to Jesus, and so we continue with Abraham and Isaac. The conflict in Abraham’s mind between the loss of his beloved son and his trust in God had to have been unbearable. But now consider what Isaac is wondering, thinking, as he accompanies his father to the mountain carrying the wood for the fire on his back. He asks Abraham: “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “My son,” Abraham answers, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” Then the two walked on together (Gen 22:7-8).
I wonder if the boy knew that he was the sacrifice? And that he was about to be the offering of greatest faith? At this time Abraham’s faithfulness yet may not have been an expression of love, but perhaps that time together in relationship, coming to know one another, that must come before faithfulness turns into love. Only the angel stops Abraham from obeying God’s request, since Abraham did not withhold from God even his son, his only one.
Prefiguring the central act of love in our faith, the sacrifice of the Cross, we see that the Father does not withhold from us even his only beloved Son. And what must be going on in the mind of Jesus even in the Garden of Gethsemane as the soldiers are already on their way to arrest him: Father, can this cup be for me? Is this what you really want, he asks as fully a human being, despite knowing and being the deep love of God himself as fully divine. Ultimately it is the same conflict that is played out in every place at every time. Which is more important, me? Or you? And Jesus on the Cross, and Jesus in our actions and words (we pray) continues to show that selfless love of God to our world that often seems lost and broken, wandering and confused, wounded and murdered. The answer lies in a love that has to be stronger than any sin, stronger than any suffering or stupid thing that people do. God loves, as Father Chris said, and nothing we can do can make him love us less, and nothing we can do can make him love us with a more perfect love. Our part in this relationship is to live simply, humbly, faithfully, as his beloved.
God bless you.
Announcements ~ February 25, 2018
Please join us for our Lenten Soup Suppers and Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent. Soup supper begins at 6:30pm in the school cafeteria, English Stations in the Church at 7:30pm and Spanish Stations in the Chapel at 7:00pm. Bring the whole family to enjoy good soup and fellowship and then spend time waking the way of the Cross with Jesus. Please plan to join us for our 40 HOURS’ Eucharistic Adoration which will begin Sunday, February 25 following the 5pm Mass. Please see page 8 for the full schedule. Adoration is a time of grace and blessings not only for the individual who sits in the Presence of the Lord, but also for the parish who sponsors it. Please make visits to the Blessed Sacrament throughout these days; if you can sign up for an hour or half-hour, please add your name to the sign-up sheet in the church vestibule. The Bishop’s Lenten Appeal is in full swing and we are asking every household in our parish to support this appeal to the extent you are able.The BLA funds many programs, services and ministries that serve people in need. Don’t forget every new donor or gift over last year’s gift will be matched by a challenge gift. We are waiting to learn of our progress this week. Please join us for our monthly Taizé Prayer Service, Monday, February 26, 2018 at 8pm. This month will be especially prayerful, in that it will take place during Adoration, following the evening Parish Mission Talk. Come pray for Christian unity in our community and in the world. All Christians are warmly invited; invite your friends!Fr. Don's Weekly Letter ~ February 25, 2018
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
It is not my intention to beat a dead horse, as my mom used to say, but I think we could continue our meditation from Masses last weekend on the nature of reparation and how we can help one another during Lent and all the year. (By the way, the word “Mass” should always be capitalized!)
As I work with other Christians and come to know Catholicism better, I realize that there are some basic things we probably take for granted. One of these things is our ability to “offer up” something for the good of others. We heard this a lot when we complained about something at home: “Offer it up!” Whenever I have a particularly menial task or an experience of suffering, I was taught as a small child, you can offer up the tedium, or discomfort or suffering for the poor souls in purgatory. Everything is offerable. The perfect example is when we offer the sacrifice of the Mass for one particular intention named for each Mass—of course, there can only be one announced intention and stipend, but we can personally add any number of intentions because the value of the Mass is infinite.
Because of the doctrine of the Communion of Saints (something all Christians claim in the Creed), we are profoundly connected. The church triumphant in heaven is able to help us, the church militant on earth, as well as the poor souls in purgatory. Those in purgatory are helpless, themselves, and rely entirely upon the Communion of Saints for their purification—upon us and the saints in heaven.
Such offerings aren’t a way to buy our way into heaven, as had been misunderstood and misrepresented by many at the time of the Reformation, but they are surely effective ways to care for one another by making reparation—repair—for the damage we ourselves have done by sin, and the damage of others. Most Christians will admit to the benefit of praying for one another, but will not dig any deeper than that. Catholics believe that our prayers, sacrifices, offerings and sufferings may be intentionally applied for the benefit of others, and bring about real healing and salvation.
Remember? When we break our our neighbor’s window he might forgive, but someone has yet to pay for the repair of the window. Because of the confusion in the late Middle Ages due to the abusive sale of indulgences, the theology behind the practice was also thrown out—as they say, the baby was thrown out with the bath water.
I was starkly aware of this one time I was at a Catholic funeral with a Protestant pastor friend. When the awkward moment of Communion comes, when you feel the pain of separation because we are unable to receive Communion together because of our differences in faith and life. I turned to my friend and said that, when I received Communion, my intention would be to receive it for both of us, to offer up whatever grace I would receive and ask God to apply it to him. He looked at me with utter incomprehension. I realized then that this idea has been lost to entire families of Christianity.
If you think about it, this is a deep, powerful loss. We have a potential here we seldom use. We must always remember that when we receive Communion we can ask God to apply the grace to our children who no longer practice the faith. We can willingly accept suffering as an effective remedy of reparation for anyone—the soul in purgatory who needs it the most, for those who harm us, for those who are lost in addiction and despair, for the hopeless, for the “nones” and the indifferent, for the poor lost person who somehow thought it necessary to do violent harm at a school or acts of terror anywhere in the world. We can pray them out of their darkness, and use our own grace to help make reparation for the damages they have done.
This is the point I want to make most clearly today: in the face of all this senseless genocide, terrorism, violence, shooting and inhumanity that people unleash on one another, we may be individually powerless to change their choices, but we are powerful in tipping the scales from evil back to good by our own prayers, sacrifices, and acts of charity. This idea of making reparation for others is a very selfless act in itself, an act of charity, because we would most often likely pray for our the reparation of our own sins. But to offer it up for others is most like Christ, himself. The heart of the Church.
This finds its most perfect expression when we pray for those who don’t even realize they need our prayers the most. Those who are most lost, or in distress, who see no other course than sin. Let us use this valuable time in Lent to do something about it through Christ’s redeeming love.
God bless you.
Announcements ~ February 18, 2018
Please join us for our Lenten Soup Suppers and Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent. Soup supper begins at 6:30pm in the school cafeteria, English Stations in the Church at 7:30pm and Spanish Stations in the chapel at 7:00pm. Bring the whole family to enjoy good soup and fellowship and then spend time waking the way of the Cross with Jesus. Please plan to join us for our 40 HOURS’ Eucharistic Adoration which will begin Sunday, February 25 following the 5pm Mass. Please see page 8 for the full schedule. Adoration is a time of grace and blessings not only for the individual who sits in the Presence of the Lord, but also for the parish who sponsors it. Please make visits to the Blessed Sacrament throughout these days; if you can sign up for an hour or half-hour, please add your name to the sign-up sheet in the church vestibule.
Mark your 2018 calendars for upcoming classes on Sunday mornings with Fr. Don, “Sunday School for Adults,” beginning this Sunday, February 18, between the 9am and 11am Masses: 10-11am. We can realistically fit a 15-week series of adult classes between now and mid-June. Watch the calendar, classes will be held most Sundays. Please see page 7 for the tentative schedule. The Bishop’s Lenten Appeal is in full swing and we are asking every household in our parish to support this appeal to the extent you are able. The BLA funds many programs, services and ministries that serve people in need. Don’t forget every challenge gift. We are waiting to learn of our progress this week.Fr. Don's Weekly Letter ~ February 18, 2018
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
It’s time to let time slow down a little. Like we say when we start any retreat: leave the noise behind, let the cares of the day move into tomorrow. Become aware of yourself, your posture, your breathing, be mindful of your experiences and be grateful for everything. Allow yourself a space to step out of the concerns of the present moment, all the distractions and things that fill your mind, and think about God. About his love for you. About his complete goodness and beauty that fills you.
It’s possible that you may immediately discover that you have some work to do to make that beauty immediately evident in the witness of your life. For that goodness to shine in your words and your acts. That is why you have to pay attention. That is also why we have time in Lent to bring about change.
If someone were to ask me what prayer really is, I would say this: it is paying attention. It is easy to get sleepy, to get distracted with self, to decide that nothing’s going to happen anyway. But the gift of perseverance (fortitude - all you confirmandi?) is the one gift that will allow us not to get drowsy as we stay attentive to the presence of the Lord. Focus!
This is not intended to be a one-page spiritual handbook for the season of Lent, but I would like to at least provide a few starting points.
Turn down the volume. Too much noise! and often it is we who are always the ones doing the talking. Silence is the richest place for the mind who seeks answers, the heart who seeks love. Today you could also say “unplug.” The other day I forgot and left my phone in the office for an entire evening. What if I needed to speak with someone? What if I needed someone’s address? Or directions to get somewhere? I was shocked at the way this nervous energy robbed me of my peace. On the Olympics the other night we were told that Korea has the greatest number of treatment centers in the world for addiction to technology. Unplug, and seek the peace as you recenter yourself within yourself, not in your social media or latest news, or constant download of so many things that only scatter you, not bring you together.
Once there, ask the Holy Spirit to do what he wants to do, to say what he wants to say. Then, simply look and listen intently for the answer. Just pay attention. He is speaking all the time and we are like people in the city who can’t see the stars because of all the wasted light that fills the air. The solution? Get out of the “city” for a minute, to that place where the stars so fill the sky that they look like Christmas lights all over the winter trees.
This light surrounds us all the time, though we usually aren’t aware of it. You could also call it grace. It permeates and reveals God’s creation. Once you are aware of it, you can begin to be aware of your own resistance to this light, or even shadows that you cast in this light because of sin. Sin can be so intense that it blocks God’s light/grace altogether.
Saint John Paul II once said that the greatest loss of our time was the loss of our sense of sin. Sin is a real problem—most people today can still understand the concept of corporate sin, for example, in the way we harm our environment or one people persecutes another. Our individual sin is just as real, and deadly. You might be surprised how many times people will come into confession with a sincere feeling that they need to confess, but simply can’t come up with anything. Lent is also a time for us to recover a sense of our sin, to pay attention! It might be possible to say “I can’t think of anything,” but it isn’t possible to say “I haven’t sinned.”
One sin that few people think about today is selfishness. We live in a time that is so very self-centered. One of the most vivid memories of our time in the Holy Land (unfortunately) was when we were in the chapel, the very place where Jesus’ cross was placed upright into the rock of Calvary within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Our group was solemnly venerating the site as a group of young adults came through the chapel, very noisy, and almost without stopping turned their backs to the altar, lifted their phones, took selfies with Calvary in the background, and left as quickly as they came. Didn’t see that coming. Lent is a time for us to look at ourselves, not as everyone else sees us in a photo, but how we really look within. The humility of the moment is enough for our hearts to reconnect with God, realize the power of a divine relationship with him, and celebrate his presence, not ours. His promise that will never be revoked, the renewal that we know will come on that last day when all is perfectly fulfilled. Happy Lent.
God bless you.
Announcements ~ February 11, 2018
This weekend is Commitment Weekend Plan to support the work of the Catholic Church in the annual Bishop’s Lenten Appeal: “Living in Faith~Giving in Gratitude” Your generosity is what makes our Church’s response possible.
The St. Lucy Project food drive is being held this weekend. Please drop off your filled bag before 5 pm Sunday, Feb. 11. More information on other opportunities to support those in need can be found on page 13. Thank you for your support. February 14: Ash Wednesday Mass Schedule, 6:30 & 9am, 12noon, 6:30, & 8pm in Espanól. The collection on Ash Wednesday is for the Churches in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information visit, usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/central-and-eastern-europe/collection/ Mark your 2018 calendars for upcoming classes on Sunday mornings with Fr. Don, “Sunday School for Adults,” beginning 1st Sunday of Lent, February 18, between the 9am and 11am Masses: 10-11am. We can realistically fit a 15-week series of adult classes between now and mid-June. Watch the calendar, classes will be held most Sundays. Please see page 4 for the tentative schedule. Please plan to join us for our 40 HOURS’ Eucharistic Adoration which will begin Sunday, February 25 following the 5pm Mass. Please see page 7 for the full schedule. Adoration is a time of grace and blessings not only for the individual who sits in the Presence of the Lord, but also for the parish who sponsors it. Please make visits to the Blessed Sacrament throughout these days; if you can sign up for an hour or half-hour, please add your name to the sign-up sheet in the church vestibule.Fr. Don's Weekly Letter ~ February 11, 2018
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
David Mathers, at our staff meeting on Monday, said, “Ten days until Ash Wednesday... well, there goes 2018.” We are flying through the year: look quick so you don’t miss something! Last summer “next March” seemed like such a long time ago. In two weeks we will begin breaking ground on a second Preschool classroom. I would like to invite all of you parishioners to be our PR committee and talk up the fact that we will be adding 20 more places in our school. Get the word our far and wide, we now have more room.
The reasons for a second Preschool classroom are clear: The success of children’s education is far greater if they have a good foundation in a good Preschool. Also, If we want to strengthen enrollment in Kindergarten and fill future grades it is important to build the school community from the start. And so the work begins March 1.
This week we will be learning the first draft of the construction schedule. In addition to the preschool, from the closing of this school year to the start of 2018-1019, we hope to complete an expansion of much-needed administrative space in the school. The vestibule and offices will be enlarged, and we will accommodate real offices for our registrar, counselor, assistant principal and curriculum coordinator, as well as improved, larger spaces of our clinic and teachers’ lounge. My favorite addition is that we will even have a public restroom for visitors! And we will be able to add a conference room for meetings, something that simply doesn’t exist right now, either.
I wrote about these things a year ago, and the work has been progressing slowly until today. It will be fun to see the progress now from week to week.
Once the school administrative space is completed, we plan to start right in on the parish offices, probably after this summer. If you recall, we will add five offices, open up a more welcoming reception area, add an elevator for accessibility to all floors, especially the second floor where we will open up offices and make a nice choir practice room. The elevator will be a nice transition from the lower parking lot up to the level of the church entrance.
All of this, of course, comes at a pricetag. Future work on the church, building much-needed meeting spaces, renovating the parish/school kitchen and the dream of a parish hall will be conversations for the future.
For now, let us focus on our goal for the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal: $455,000. We will be giving weekly updates on how we are doing as the Appeal continues. Here is the secret: It doesn’t have to be a few that pay a lot for the many. It can be the many who each pay a little that adds up to a lot. I ask this year, as I have done in the past, that every family participate in some way in this Appeal. Please fill out your envelope and send it in. If you are a member of St. Bernadette, then be a member and take responsibility as a member who does their part for the good of the whole. Please.
When we reach our goal, we will let you know. We will know we have done our part for our diocesan church, and then we can save up and use whatever extra resources there may be for parish projects.
It is interesting: these are the things you never think about when you are in the seminary. Classes are so rich and inspiring, we are filled with the zeal of giving to our people the wonderful formation that we receive. But a parish is also a business, and you don’t really think about that until you are trying to plan, practically, how to make all this work. Please be patient with me, and generous to God.
God bless you,
