Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

Last week we celebrated the National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony for eighth graders.  It was so good to be doing something familiar honoring excellence in our students, though in ways appropriate for these different times.

I was inspired by the explanations of the five pillars our students are challenged to fulfill.  This stuff is not just for kids; we adults need to refresh our own minds and lives with these values.

Scholarship
Scholarship is a commitment to learning, seeking the light of knowledge and understanding of the truth of the ages. As the sunrise of knowledge widens, the horizon of one’s world is enlarged with each additional bit of information. Scholarship knows of the past, learns from the present, and plans for the future. It interprets vast treasures for the improvement of the human race. Excellence in scholarship reveals not only that one’s store of knowledge has been increased, but also that the individual has endeavored to make the most of the opportunities at hand. Knowledge is both necessary and useful; it can be acquired in only one way, and that is through diligence and effort. May this longing for useful knowledge become part of your life, for the pursuit of knowledge is never ending.

Leadership
Leadership should exert a wholesome influence on the community.  In taking the initiative in work and leisure activities, the real leader strives to train and aid others to attain the same objective.  The price of leadership is sacrifice—the willingness to yield one’s personal interests for the interest of others.  A leader has self-confidence and will go forward when others hesitate.  No matter what power and resources may exist in a country, they are ineffectual without the guidance of a wise leader. The world will always need people of vision and understanding who can lead the masses into ways of progress and peace.  The light of leadership is always needed to guide us out of darkness; thus, to lead is a responsibility of each of our members.

Citizenship
Citizenship is the obligation that each member of society faces to live up to the ideals given to us by the founders of our country.  The responsibilities each of us has to our home community, our state, and our nation are many.  As good citizens, we are bound to live up to the laws and guidelines which unite us as a civilized society.  Good citizens work together.  Good citizenship requires that we remain strong and vigilant in protecting the freedoms and rights that have been granted to us and in preventing injustice from entering our lives.  The light of citizenship should shine through all members of the community.

Service
Our lives are illuminated by the brightness and joy of service, the unselfish devotion which gives itself to the need of the individual, of the community, and of the nation. Service often does not flaunt itself in glowing colors. Its true beauty lies in the simple giving of oneself, one’s time and ability where ever there is a need. The world is full of self-will, self-justification, and self-love, which are the foundations of the world’s ills. Today the world needs individuals who, following the example of Christ, can rise above the tides of the times and serve man unselfishly. May you practice this giving of yourself to others. May we be committed to the idea of volunteering our time and abilities to the creation of a better tomorrow.

Character
Character is the force within each person which gives us our individuality.  Character makes us who we are.  It distinguishes us from others.  Without character, we cannot respect ourselves or hope to attain the respect of others.  It is this force of character that guides us through life and, once developed, grows steadily.  Character is earned and not given.  It is the product of constant action, striving daily to make the right choice.  Character requires self-control.  By demonstrating qualities such as respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship, we may hope to prove by example that we value character.
As I participated in the ceremony, I realized that these are things so simply defined yet not considered often in their own right.  Let's make these objectives for our lives here and now.

God bless you.

Click here to Reserve A Seat (Español)
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.

            Worship Aid for Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Parish Office will be closed on Wednesday 11 November in observance of the Veteran's Day. The office will return to normal operations on Thursday, 12 November at 8:30am.

 New Sunday Mass schedule - Saturday Vigil 5pm, Sunday Masses at 7, 9, 11am, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm .Live-streaming Masses 5pm Vigil (will remain available through Sunday), 9am Masses Monday-Friday, and 8am Saturday. With the additional Mass on Sunday starting this weekend, all are required to exit the church right at the end of Mass so that there is a full half-hour for sanitizing the church.  Then we can re-open the building 30 minutes before the next Mass.

 CATHOLIC CHARITIES St. Lucy Project is in GREAT NEED OF FOOD! On Saturday, 21 November, Saint Bernadette will once again host Drive-Thru Food Drive.”  A St. Lucy Food truck will be parked on our parish parking lot from 10am to 2pm to receive food donations. For those who may wish to support the program with a financial donation, please make checks payable to CCDA with St. Lucy Project in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Catholic Charities, 8426 Kao Circle, Manassas, VA 20110. Many thanks and blessings.

 We will kick off this year’s Saint Bernadette Giving Tree Program later this month. Due to safety concerns with purchasing, delivering and pickup, the program has moved ONLINE. Please visit the our announcements page for more information on participating organizations and instructions. We encourage everyone to take this opportunity to help those less fortunate. No items will be accepted here at the Church. Plan to make your donation/gift available to the organization by noon on December 14, to ensure delivery by Christmas. Remember, the most fulfilling way to enjoy Christmas is to give!

 Beautifully handcrafted olive wood religious goods from Bethlehem will be for sale after all Masses under the school canopy, November 14–15. A perfect gift from Bethlehem will complete your shopping list for Christmas and help support our brothers and sisters surviving in the Holy Land! 

 There will be two Masses celebrated on Thanksgiving Day at 8 and 10am. Be sure to make reservations.  Due to our current COVID protocols we kindly invited to bring non-perishable food items to the St. Lucy Project Drive-Thru Food Drive on 21 November—no food will be collected at Masses this year. Join us and begin the day with prayer and thanksgiving.

 We kindly ask that you reserve your places for Mass so that we can manage capacity and provide a safe environment for everyone. As Mass attendance limits begin to fill, we will seat those with reservations first.  Walk-ins will be accommodated once those with reservations are seated. You can find how many have already made reservations in advance by visiting the website.

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

A psychologist I am not, but after a lot of years of pastoral counseling and celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation, I'm surprised how much people are not talking about the present reality of being in the ninth month of pandemic restrictions and the prospect that this train is currently out of control, as we add 100,000 new cases a day.

Silence often speaks louder than noise.  When confronted with trauma, human beings have three options generally to choose from:  to fight, to flee, or to freeze.  Since we have no way to fight this and it seems that there is no plan to do so, and since there is nowhere to go, it seems we are frozen.  We are living through a global trauma—granted, we are much more fortunate than many because it hasn't been complicated by fires, or tornados, or hurricanes—but this will be something that is already changing the course of the world.  It is significant.

I believe the effects of pandemic as trauma something we have to address as a community.  There are already huge long-term effects.  But when we are in the middle of corporate trauma like this, there are certain avenues that can mitigate long-term damage.  We are all in this together—I am especially concerned about the ways this will shape the future lives of our children.

First, it does no good to deny it, or dismiss it, or minimize it.  This only intensifies the anxiety of those who find themselves in an unsafe place in the middle of the storm.  It is vital that we be honest about how we are feeling and be compassionate, even caring, for those who are in distress.  I've worked with victims/survivors of abuse for years and know that the first step to healing is to know that your story can be heard and accepted.  It must be spoken for the healing to begin.  This is, actually, the way any sort of community is formed, and why our world today is so divided, such a mess:  everyone is talking and no one is being heard.
Everyone needs to know they are in a safe place, especially children.  Even the current Covid pandemic is an opportunity to build resilience.  Knowing they are not alone, they can avoid the state of fight/flight/freeze for which the solution is often dissociation.  Children - and adults - who are unable to process a reality that is threatening can most easily just check out.  It can become a way of life.  Later in life for many adults this turns into substance abuse or other forms of addiction.

I asked a psychologist friend of mine this week if she thought this was something we should address as a community.  She said absolutely.  To not talk about it is to do damage.  Our children need to be taught to regulate their emotions, to stay present in the present moment.  This, she said, can be done in a variety of ways.  The most effective means, she said, are sadly those things which are being cut from public school budgets:music, art, and physical movement are ways that all of us can be grounded in the present moment and establish a physical memory of what it is like to be mindful of the  present moment. She says that these creative modalities can be grounding practices to keep us from "checking out."

Another grounding practice is prayer and meditation, but not the kind of prayer when you just keep repeating memorized words over and over.  Sometimes that can just add to stress.  Meditation: spiritual awareness of being in the present moment through basic methods of centering calm—breathing, focus on the presence of God, usefulness of Scripture or sacred imagery—are ways to regulate emotions and be mindful.

She also said that all of us need to focus on what we can do, not what we can't.  It is too easy right now to mourn the loss of so many things that we could do in the time when we did things.  We are still powerful in our abilities to reach out, to console, to be kind, to serve one another in simple ways that can bring healing and peace.  We need this so much, and we are the ones who can make it happen.

My friend suggested some resources you might investigate.  After our conversation I went on YouTube and found many, many interesting videos on trauma and PTSD, childhood trauma, and ways of healing.  She suggested two websites in particular:  for anxiety management for children, www. gozen.com; and the work of the Center for Mind Body Medicine and Dr. James Gordon, at www.cmbm.org.  He has a very interesting program for healing entire communities.

Maybe we could start a related ministry in the parish?

God bless you,

Click here to Reserve A Seat (Español)
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.

            Worship Aid for the Solemnity of All Saints

 New Sunday Mass schedule - Saturday Vigil 5pm, Sunday Masses at 7, 9, 11am, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm .Live-streaming Masses 5pm Vigil (will remain available through Sunday), 9am Masses Monday-Friday, and 8am Saturday. With the additional Mass on Sunday starting this weekend, all are required to exit the church right at the end of Mass so that there is a full half-hour for sanitizing the church.  Then we can re-open the building 30 minutes before the next Mass.

 Please remember all our loved ones at all Masses during the 9 days starting All Souls Day, November 2^nd. Remembrance envelopes for All Souls Novena Masses are available in the church vestibule. There is also a downloadable intention form on our parish’s website announcements page. Please return your intentions to the office before November 1^st.

 Safely We Rise Against Hunger – November 11-14 . Please plan to join Christ Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Saint Bernadette Catholic Church and School, Rise Against Hunger and volunteers from the community to SAFELY to purchase, pack and distribute life-changing meals. OUR GOAL: PACK 75,000 LIFE-CHANGING MEALS. We have made numerous changes to this event following the CDC's guidelines for COVID-19 safety; but what will always stay the same is the warmth and joy of working together to made a positive difference in the world. Visit our promotional page Safely We Rise Against Hunger here to learn more about this event and to sign-up for one of several volunteer opportunities available between October 26-November 14. Pre-Event Volunteer Opportunities start October 26

 We will kick off this year’s Saint Bernadette Giving Tree Program later this month. Due to safety concerns with purchasing, delivering and pickup, the program has moved ONLINE. Please visit the our announcements page for more information on participating organizations and instructions. We encourage everyone to take this opportunity to help those less fortunate. No items will be accepted here at the Church. Plan to make your donation/gift available to the organization by noon on December 14, to ensure delivery by Christmas. Remember, the most fulfilling way to enjoy Christmas is to give!

 CATHOLIC CHARITIES St. Lucy Project is in GREAT NEED OF FOOD! On Saturday, 21 November, Saint Bernadette will once again host Drive-Thru Food Drive.”  A St. Lucy Food truck will be parked on our parish parking lot from 10am to 2pm to receive food donations. For those who may wish to support the program with a financial donation, please make checks payable to CCDA with St. Lucy Project in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Catholic Charities, 8426 Kao Circle, Manassas, VA 20110. Many thanks and blessings.

 We kindly ask that you reserve your places for Mass so that we can manage capacity and provide a safe environment for everyone. As Mass attendance limits begin to fill, we will seat those with reservations first.  Walk-ins will be accommodated once those with reservations are seated.  The 10am Mass is nearing capacity, so we encourage all to consider other Masses which are much more lightly attended.  You can find how many have already made reservations in advance by visiting the website.