Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

Almost weekly now I am being contacted by parishioners and staff regarding emails and texts they are receiving requesting gift cards or other kinds of assistance. This most recent chain of texts (at left) shows just how clever these scammers have become.

I know pastors all over the country to whom this is happening, too. And good-hearted parishioners here have bought gift cards online and sent them, never to get the money back. Some of you here at Saint Bernadette! In one case it was two $500 gift cards before I could stop it.

Please know, that if I ever have a personal request for assistance of any kind I would never make one so disrespectfully as with a text message. I will call. But also, always, always, check the email address. If it is not from frdonrooney@stbernpar.org, it is not from me. They make up fake ones that can fool you. One time it came from frdonrooney-stbernpar.org@gmail.com. Not from me.

Another thing I've been wanting to mention is the notable increase of people begging for money on the street. I don't know if you have noticed, but the signs they hold are all very similar, block letters, same size, etc. It seems a little too organized to me.

I also have long wondered how there can be as many victims of human trafficking as statistics say and for them to not be more visible among us. I have learned recently that it is quite possible that they could be standing right in front of us at intersections. I found this on the National Human Trafficking Hotline:

"Victims of human trafficking have been found in sales crews or peddling and begging rings, where they work long hours each day soliciting money or selling products such as magazine subscriptions, trinkets, or cleaning products. Traffickers confiscate most or all of the victim’s earnings make the victims dependent on the controller for transportation and housing. Begging and peddling rings may include U.S. citizens, immigrants, adults, or children.

"Sales crews typically recruit U.S. citizen youth ages 18 to 25, with promises of travel, a care-free life, and the ability to make a lot of money. A "crew" consists of an average of 3 to 40 youth, under the direction of a manager, who moves the crew from city to city every few weeks. Crewmembers receive a small daily stipend of $8 to $15 or less, to cover the cost of meals and personal items. Violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, pressure tactics, and abandonment in unfamiliar cities are common."

I wonder if there is anything we can do. I don't know what a possible solution might look like, or how people can be freed from these circumstances. Maybe we can give them contact information to Catholic Charities. Is there an alternative we can offer? My college roommate's mom, Joy, would drive around with the back of her SUV always filled with nonperishable groceries and give each beggar a full bag of food instead of money. It might be a conversation worth starting.

Easter blessings. The Lord be with you,

STREAMING SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY MASSES

Today's Live-Streamed Mass

Worship Aid for the Third Sunday of Easter

 Due to the priests' schedules, there will be no 7am weekday Masses this week or next week, May 2-6 and May 9-13.

 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 are also included in the offertory envelopes.

 Buy your colorful flowering baskets and annuals for your flower beds from our Youth Ministry the weekend of May 7-8 in front of church, just in time for spring planting. Funds raised will help support this years' Workcamp.

 On Saturday, May 21, Saint Bernadette is conducting a drive-thru food drive for hungry kids. A Saint Lucy truck will be in the front parking lot to receive donations from 9am to 1pm..

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

Last couple of weeks was a welcome change from the past couple of years or three. Not only was I invited to take a tour of the beautifully renovated Temple of The Latter Day Saints, but I participated in my first face-to-face dialogue with the Vaishnava Hindus last Saturday, and spoke at an iftar, the evening breaking of the Ramadan fast, at the Pakistani Embassy last Wednesday. Our world is filled with beautiful diversity.

I may have mentioned it in a homily, and I spoke about this at the Hindu-Christian Dialogue, how a young priest recently asked my why I was involved in dialogue with people of other faiths. I didn't have the best answer at the time, something about advancing mutual understanding and eradicating false stereotypes, breaking down the divisions caused by xenophobia that are so common today.

In a real sense, it is a quest to replace ignorance with knowledge. But the reason I am involved is much more. I have discovered that the way our heart seeks for and aligns with the divine is the same for all people. Relationship with God is exactly the same for every person. It can't be otherwise, it is how we are wired. When I encounter another person who is actively engaged with the Divine, especially if they are willing to share such a personal thing, I grow in my relationship with God. We are strengthened. When I see authentic holiness in another human being, I grow in holiness.

There was a document published by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in the Vatican in 1991, Dialogue and Proclamation, which speaks of the four dialogues we enter into as human persons. These are:
• the dialogue of life, in which people of different faiths and spiritual traditions strive to live in an open and neighborly spirit – includes socializing and hospitality;
• the dialogue of action, in which people of spiritual commitment and faith collaborate with others in building a just society – includes service and working for justice;
• the dialogue of religious experience, in which people steeped in their spiritual traditions share their ways of searching for God or the Absolute – includes prayer, worship, celebration;
• the dialogue of theological exchange, in which specialists seek to deepen their understanding of other spiritual heritages.

The first is simply a sharing of space in this place and time, accompanying one another, as Pope Francis would say; the second, a sharing of compassion when we realize the purpose of life is service; the third, a sharing of the movement of our hearts, or soul to God; and the fourth is the academic one we usually think about between theological experts.

But it is more than just a selfish seeking of deeper personal holiness for yourself. The shared experience of dialogue is something that exalts all involved! Imagine what could happen if we sought to witness the holiness of each other and the world could become a holy place.

Easter blessings. The Lord be with you,

STREAMING SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY MASSES

Today's Live-Streamed Mass

Worship Aid for the Second Sunday of Easter

 Join us for Divine Mercy Devotions Sunday, April 24, at 3pm in the church.

 On Tuesday, April 26 we will celebrate our patronal feast of Saint Bernadette (observed) with a special Mass at 7pm

 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 are also included in the offertory envelopes..