Today's Live-Streamed Mass

Worship Aid for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

 The second collection next week is for Parish Special Needs

 Unfortunately, there will be no 7 am Masses for May's second and fourth weeks. 

 Phase II of our parish Capital Campaign, “Behold, I Make All Things New,” is underway. We have a packet for every registered family in the parish. If you haven’t already done so, please go to the bins arranged alphabetically by last name. Please don’t leave without picking up your packet! We have a packet for every registered family in the parish. Please be on the lookout; Capital Campaign packets will be mailed in the coming days. As you know, we hope to complete this $3M+ pledge process by the end of May, so we ask you to prayerfully consider what you can do for our new Parish Life Center. Our community life is in your hands.

 Our Catholic Women’s Group will meet this Wednesday, May 10, at 7 pm in the Bradican Room. Back by popular demand is an evening of chair yoga followed by healthy snacks. Come enjoy some gentle stretching and mindful movement to calm your mind and lift your spirits. For more information, please email us at women@stbernpar.org.

 Mothers’ Day Novena Mass cards are available for remembering moms, grandmothers, and anyone who has been a mother to you – living or deceased. All intentions will be included at all Masses for nine days beginning on Mothers’ Day (Sunday, May 14). Envelopes are available in the vestibule and the office and enclosed in the offertory envelopes.

 The St. Lucy Spring Food Drive is coming up! The St. Lucy Food Project collects and distributes food where it is most needed in the Diocese. Our St. Lucy Food Drive will be held at all Masses on May 20 & 21. The blue bags and lists of required items will be handed out the weekend of May 13 & 14.

 The Knights of Columbus will be handing out Project Manger envelopes after Masses on May 13 & 14. “A Woman’s Choice” pregnancy center in Falls Church serves over 1,000 families each year by helping mothers continue to choose life during pregnancy and providing assistance after birth, and by purchasing baby cribs for mothers in need. Please take an envelope and read the flyer. If you can support a donation, please send it in the envelope provided, or donate online, as described in the flyer. All funds collected go to the purchase of cribs and are 100% tax-deductible. Thank you in advance for your generosity and support for mothers in need.

 The Summer Theatre Program is back for its 28th exciting summer. Announcing auditions for the Wizard of Oz! Auditions are on Monday and Tuesday, May 15 & 16, at 7 pm in the gym. Join Dorothy and her friends on their exciting journey with witches, munchkins, good friends, lions, tigers, and bears (Oh my!) in this summer's production of The Wizard of Oz. Auditions are open to all current 6th-12th grade students. Students who cannot attend in-person auditions can submit a video audition on or before Wednesday, May 17. No experience is required. Please consider joining this great community of young people throughout our parish and the region. For more information about the program, auditions, and the summer ahead, please visit our website at www.summertheatreprogram.org or email info@summertheatreprogram.org. Wizard of Oz is produced through a special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.

 Our Novena to the Holy Spirit begins Friday, May 19. We will pray the novena prayers at the end of each Mass, and you will find the text of the prayers in next week's bulletin as well as on the parish website's announcements page.

 Concerts at Saint Bernadette presents the Northern Virginia Chorale Sunday, May 21, at 7:30 pm, in their program “Love, Laughter, and Song.” With this concert, the Chorale bids farewell to their artistic director of over 40 years, Robert S. Webb, Jr., with some of the greatest and most enjoyable American choral music ever written: Aaron Copeland, Randall Thompson, Morton Lauridsen, current sensation Shawn Kirchner, and an arrangement of What a Wonderful World are only some of the highlights. The concert is free, no tickets are required, and a free-will offering will be accepted. Contact David Mathers at dmathers@stbernpar for more information.

 The Saint Bernadette Pro-Life Committee invites you to pray the rosary and be a witness to the sanctity of life on Tuesdays or Saturday mornings in front of the abortion facility on Sherwood Hall Lane in Alexandria. We legally, peacefully, and respectfully gather for an hour at around 10 am. Please email Tom Palumbo at tompalumbo@outlook.com to sign up.

 Join Bishop Michael Burbidge, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson (United Methodist VA Conference), Bishop Leila Ortiz (ELCA Metro DC Synod), and Bishop Mark Stevenson (Episcopal Diocese of Virginia) as we pray for Christian Unity. The prayer service will take place on Tuesday, May 23, at 7 pm at Saint Ann Catholic Church, 5300 10th St. N, Arlington. All Christians are invited! A light reception will follow. 

 Tuesday, May 23, a Mass and Healing Prayer Service is scheduled for 7:30 pm at Holy Family Catholic Church, 14160 Ferndale Road, Dale City. Fr. John Melmer of Saint John the Beloved Church, McLean, will preside. Confessions will be available. This liturgy comes through the diocesan Catholic Healing Ministry. For more information, contact Grace Sims at 703-981-4620.

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

This week we will be attending the National Workshop on Christian Unity, an annual gathering of ecumenical leaders which has been taking place for nearly 60 years. This year we meet in Milwaukee from Sunday night to Thursday afternoon.

The Workshop began before the close of Vatican II with some Catholic priests who invited Episcopal clergy for a dialogue. Out of these beginnings today, there are five national networks that lead the Workshop: Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, United Methodist, and Evangelical. I have served as president of the Catholic network beginning my 12th year.

When I started as Director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the diocese in 2001, we would have attendance at the Workshops of about 350. This week we will have about 140, which is more than we have had for the past several years, obviously, due to the pandemic. It is a work that requires dialogue and relationships, and without the in-person connections – just like any community – real damage was done. In the meantime, there are new people in such roles, and introductions are difficult, even within networks, not to mention between them.

Say a prayer for all of us this week. The work of Christian Unity is more challenging, especially now with the shifting positions of the churches on sexuality, marriage, and gender. The Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist churches, as we know them, have all experienced deep schisms because of disagreement on these issues. Pray for us to dig deep into the Tradition of Christianity, recognize the truths that lie at the heart of faith and worship, and resolve to seek unity despite differences. It might seem that only God can solve this mess we are in... I believe that is true. And because we know that it is Jesus’ will that we be one (John 17:21) – so important to him that he prayed for this between the Last Supper and the Cross – we also know that God can make it happen despite our weakness and error, if we leave space for the Holy Spirit in all our deliberations and activities. Nothing is impossible for God, and I know he will reveal the way to full, visible Communion for all those who are baptized. We need you to pray earnestly for us this week that there will be a new Pentecost and God’s message will be so clear that all will recognize what must be done.

As we come out of the pandemic, this will be a vision objective also for Saint Bernadette, to strengthen and establish bonds of fraternity and collaboration between our parish and our neighbors, both those who are brothers and sisters by baptism as well as those who are brothers and sisters in our human family.

One final note: on May 11 this week, the National Emergency declaration for COVID-19 finally comes to an end. It has been in place for more than three long years and we have been very careful. COVID is a virus that will always be with us; like others, it is now proven able to be controlled with medication and good practices. As of May 12, we will discontinue the use of hand sanitizer during Communion at Masses.

The Lord be with you,

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

We chose to change the theme of Phase 2 of our Capital Campaign from “Make All Things New” previously to “Behold, I make all things new.” These are Jesus’ own words in the 21st chapter of the Book of Revelation. After a time of great trial and difficulty, victory and peace are restored to all God’s creation. By changing the title, we have shifted our focus from ourselves and toward Jesus, through whom all things are possible:

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them [as their God]. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.” 5 The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.”

It is one of my favorite passages of all of Scripture; it speaks of fulfillment and completion and gives us hope for the peace we all desire so much. God is with us, always! He will dwell with us in our place. The old order of sin, pain, and death is no more. All things are new.

Last weekend members of the parish spoke at all the Masses, and personalized, informative campaign packets were available to be picked up by all parish families. For those of you who spoke at the Masses and helped distribute packets, Thank You! Thanks also to the over 500 parish families who picked up their campaign packets.

This weekend we will continue the process of distributing packets. Be sure to stop by the counters in the vestibule, where you will find bins with everything in alphabetical order to speed up the process. If you are not registered, ask for a packet that has not been personalized.

This critical second phase of our campaign will raise a minimum of $3M+ in gifts and pledges for our Parish Life Center, which will put us over the top of our projected $7M+ budget. Once complete, this center will provide the space we already need and allow for expanded and new ministries. Our fellowship opportunities will be plentiful as our parish family will have more space to gather, grow friendships, and build community.

Please pray for the success of the campaign and prayerfully consider your gift/pledge to the campaign. Once you have decided upon your commitment, please return your pledge card to the office, return it by mail, or place it in the offertory basket at Mass. Pledges are counted as cash! If we have all our pledges in by the end of May, our goal is to present our financial plan and project to the Diocese in June.

The Lord be with you,

Today's Live-Streamed Mass

Worship Aid for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

 The second collection next week is for Parish and Facilities Maintenance. 

 Unfortunately, there will be no 7 am Masses for the first, second, and fourth weeks of May. During the first week, Fr. Rich and Fr. Don are at priests’ convocation, and in the second and fourth weeks, Fr. Don will lead the National Workshop on Christian Unity and retreat.

 Phase II of our parish Capital Campaign, “Behold, I Make All Things New,” began last weekend. We have a packet for every registered family in the parish in the vestibule after Masses. If you haven’t already done so, please go to the bins arranged alphabetically by last name. Please don’t leave without picking up your packet!

 Mothers’ Day Novena Mass cards are available for remembering moms, grandmothers, and anyone who has been a mother to you – living or deceased. All intentions will be included at all Masses for nine days beginning on Mothers’ Day. Envelopes are available in the vestibule and the office and enclosed in the offertory envelopes.

 The St. Lucy Spring Food Drive is coming up! The St. Lucy Food Project collects and distributes food where it is most needed in the Diocese. Our St. Lucy Food Drive will be held at all Masses on May 20 & 21. The blue bags and lists of required items will be handed out the weekend of May 13 & 14.

 Just a reminder that our school and Religious Ed. Students will receive their First Holy Communion next Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 9 and 11 am.

 The Summer Theatre Program is back for its 28th exciting summer. Announcing auditions for the Wizard of Oz! Auditions are on Monday and Tuesday, May 15 & 16, at 7 pm in the gym. Join Dorothy and her friends on their exciting journey with witches, munchkins, good friends, lions, tigers, and bears (Oh my!) in this summer's production of The Wizard of Oz. Auditions are open to all current 6th-12th grade students. Students who cannot attend in-person auditions can submit a video audition on or before Wednesday, May 17. No experience is required. Please consider joining this great community of young people throughout our parish and the region. For more information about the program, auditions, and the summer ahead, please visit our website at www.summertheatreprogram.org or email info@summertheatreprogram.org. Wizard of Oz is produced through a special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.