latest announcements

 Please subscribe to receive email notifications of announcements and other parish events.

Subscribe
Subscribe to this content and receive updates directly in your inbox.
Name
Email

Streaming Mass Announcements for the Week of 2 August 2020

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.


NEW MASS SCHEDULE

SATURDAY VIGIL 5pm - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 4:30pm - live-streamed for Sunday

SUNDAY 7am, 10am, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm - In-Person in the Church

MONDAY through FRIDAY 

8am - live-streamed
9am - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 

8am - live-streamed and In-Person in the Church


Click here for the video explaining our "New Guidelines for Attending Mass at Saint Bernadette
"


STREAMING SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY MASSES

         Worship Aid for the Nineteeth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Community Mass for the Eighteenth Friday in Ordinary Time


Community Mass for the Eighteenth Thursday in Ordinary Time


Community Mass for the Eighteenth Wednesday in Ordinary Time


Community Mass for the Eighteen Tuesday in Ordinary Time


Community Mass for the Eighteenth Monday in Ordinary Time 

 

fleur cross logo Bishop Burbidge is inviting the faithful of the Diocese of Arlington to join with him in a Novena to Our Lady which begins on 6 August to entrust healthcare workers and all who suffer from or have died from COVID 19 to the intersession of the the Blessed Mother. Links to the novena prayer can be found here or on the sidebar to the left.(english) (español)

fleur cross logo Please help us better serve you. We kindly ask that you register for Mass so that we can mange capacity and provide a safe environment for everyone. As Mass attendance increases, we may be required to seat those with a reservation first.

fleur cross logo 
Please Note: Sunday Mass live-streams now starting at 4:30pm. We are working on a plan to move more permanent camera equipment into the church itself and start live-streaming Mass there, hopefully soon.  
 
fleur cross logo We rely on your offering to the weekly collection to continue parish ministries. We humbly ask for your continued financial support.  Please consider Faith Direct. Thank you for your generosity. 
 
fleur cross logo English Classes, Citizenship, GED and ESOL for Childcare Classes are online this year.  Registration is already open.  Classes begin online September 1.  Call to register:  Catholic Charities Education and Workforce Development Office, 571-208-1572 or ewdl@ccda.net.
 
fleur cross logo Please remember Bishop’s dispensation of the obligation for attending Mass is in effect indefinitely. We will continue live-streaming at every day to provide continued access for those who cannot or are not yet comfortable attending Mass in person. Masses Monday through Friday are live-streamed at 8am and in the church Monday through Friday at 9am, Saturdays at 8am. 
 

fleur cross logo If you haven’t, please view our “How to Attend Mass Video.”If you didn’t have a reservation today, please do so in the future. Once the church starts to fill up this will guarantee a seat and help to keep everyone safe by managing capacity levels and help supply the needed information to contact trace individuals attending a particular Mass should someone test positive.  Thanks for your attention to these safety measures.

Fr. Don's Weekly Letter ~ 2 August 2020

 

 0802330 page4

Streaming Mass and Announcements for the Week of 26 July 2020

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.


NEW MASS SCHEDULE

SATURDAY VIGIL 5pm - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 4:30pm - live-streamed for Sunday

SUNDAY 7am, 10am, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm - In-Person in the Church

MONDAY through FRIDAY 

8am - live-streamed
9am - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 

8am - live-streamed and In-Person in the Church


Click here for the video explaining our "New Guidelines for Attending Mass at Saint Bernadette
"


STREAMING SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY MASSES

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
fleur cross logo 
Please Note: Sunday Mass live-streams now starting at 4:30pm. We are working on a plan to move more permanent camera equipment into the church itself and start live-streaming Mass there, hopefully soon.  
 
fleur cross logo We rely on your offering to the weekly collection to continue parish ministries. We humbly ask for your continued financial support.  Please consider Faith Direct. Thank you for your generosity. 
 
fleur cross logo English Classes, Citizenship, GED and ESOL for Childcare Classes are online this year.  Registration is already open.  Classes begin online September 1.  Call to register:  Catholic Charities Education and Workforce Development Office, 571-208-1572 or ewdl@ccda.net.
 
fleur cross logo Please remember Bishop’s dispensation of the obligation for attending Mass is in effect indefinitely. We will continue live-streaming at every day to provide continued access for those who cannot or are not yet comfortable attending Mass in person. Masses Monday through Friday are live-streamed at 8am and in the church Monday through Friday at 9am, Saturdays at 8am. 
 

fleur cross logo If you haven’t, please view our “How to Attend Mass Video.”If you didn’t have a reservation today, please do so in the future. Once the church starts to fill up this will guarantee a seat and help to keep everyone safe by managing capacity levels and help supply the needed information to contact trace individuals attending a particular Mass should someone test positive.  Thanks for your attention to these safety measures.

Fr. Don's Weekly Letter ~ 26 July 2020

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

As you might imagine, we are in a lot of meetings right now about going back to school in a few weeks.  So much to get done yet, and a lot of policy to write.  We need to come back, but we need to come back and be safe.

I have been criticized by a few (that I know of) for introducing much more caution into the way we have returned to Masses in the church.  It has been a point of disagreement that we have to wear masks while together, although in a webinar this week Bishop Burbidge made it clear that masks are to be worn.  We see even civil officials becoming more clear on this, that we must keep each other safe.  I have heard from so many more people that the way we are insisting on order makes them feel comfortable to return.  People who give it a try seem to be coming back.

Last Sunday the 10am Mass was nearly at capacity, only a couple of empty pews.  Ushers asked a few people to sit in shorter pews so that a large family could be seated.  In these cases the reservations system will be necessary.  When you go to make a reservation it will be clear online if there is any space left at the Mass you wish to attend.  Don't worry, there is still a lot of space in all the other Masses.  At the Masses that are fully reserved, there will be no longer the option to simply walk in and get a seat.

For this reason, also, we will continue to lock the doors as Mass begins.  Some people have been arriving later in the past few weeks.  A few minutes before Mass begins, the reservations of those who have not yet arrived will be offered to people who may be waiting without a reservation (so far, however, nearly all those who make reservations have attended).  The church being full, we will lock the doors.

Anyway, after much reflection and planning, we have decided to open the school without requesting any variance from CDC guidelines.  We will strictly follow the rules about six feet, masks, continuous sanitizing, as careful as we can be.  Things are going to look very different, but we have to give it a try.  Some schools have requested exceptions but we have decided not to take any chances.  I would much rather be accused of being too careful than careless.

Bishop said we might expect some community criticism, as we received from some people when we stayed open one Sunday longer in March than other area churches/congregations, accused of putting our community at risk.  For this reason, I would like to give a quick sketch of why we feel that coming back to school is, at least, possible for us at this time.  Of course, things can change overnight, but at least for now, we plan to move ahead.It is my understanding that our area is successfully controlling the spread of COVID-19, even though we were considered the hot spot in Virginia only a couple of months ago.  It is true that the numbers in Virginia overall are going up, but this is largely caused by uncontrolled spread in Hampton.  If we experience a spike, we will be flexible, fully ready to go 100% virtual if necessary.

It is also my understanding that in a recent poll the majority of teachers in the county schools indicated that they didn't want to go back to school, concerned about the risk of working with so many students in potentially uncontrolled situations.  So far we have been able to demonstrate a readiness that helps our teachers feel safe based on proven best practices and our commitment to them as well as to the students.

The other ingredient that makes full return so difficult for the public schools is how to get tens of thousands of students to school and still practice safe distancing on school buses?  This is the truly impossible task, to get the kids to school and home with an already-challenged transportation system.

We polled our parents to learn their preferences between 5-day in person classes, MWF in person/TTh remote, TTh in person/MWF remote, or 5-day remote plans.  As of today, we are able to grant everyone’s first choice.  Amazing.  And we had so many 2nd graders who wanted to attend 5 days in-person that we are adding a third cohort to our 2nd grade. We will have three Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade cohorts/classes!  We will be sending out confirmations to parents within the next two weeks.  If we are able to accommodate a change, we will, but it will depend on the classroom space.

We have been blessed with large classrooms. Each classroom has been reviewed for the number of desks that can be spaced 6-feet apart. The maximum number of desks in each classroom will be 16-18 (13 for Pre-K). Some will hold fewer children, so we are limiting the class to that safe distance. Every student will be learning from their teacher live – so the remote learners are seeing what the class sees and hearing what the teachers say all at the same time.

I am so grateful to the hard work accomplished this summer by our amazing team:  Barbara Dalmut, our principal, assistant principal Kelly Brinley, Kristie Meyers and Rick Caporali.  We will call upon all our faculty and staff in the next weeks to clear all the stuff out of the classrooms and make room for our kids to come back to school.  Keep us in your prayers so that we do what is needed for success!

God bless you. 

 

Streaming Mass and Announcements for the Week of 19 July 2020

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.


NEW MASS SCHEDULE

SATURDAY VIGIL 5pm - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 4:30pm - live-streamed for Sunday

SUNDAY 7am, 10am, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm - In-Person in the Church

MONDAY through FRIDAY 

8am - live-streamed
9am - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 

8am - live-streamed and In-Person in the Church


Click here for the video explaining our "New Guidelines for Attending Mass at Saint Bernadette
"


STREAMING SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY MASSES


        Worship Aid for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Saturday in the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Friday in the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Thursday in the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Wednesday in the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Tuesday in the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Monday in the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Mass for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (New Time 4:30pm)
         Worship Aid for the Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time 


ANNOUNCEMENTS

fleur cross logo 
Please Note: Sunday Mass live-streams now starting at 4:30pm. We are working on a plan to move more permanent camera equipment into the church itself and start live-streaming Mass there, hopefully soon.

fleur cross logo This is the last weekend to give a Spiritual Bouquet to Deacon John in thanksgiving for his service at Saint Bernadette Church. Spiritual Bouquet cards still can be downloaded from the parish website announcements page. We will then present the Bouquet to him before he departs the weekend of July 18-19. Thank you, Deacon John, for your service to us at Saint Bernadette and your inspiring witness to the Catholic Faith. May God continue to bless and guide you and Mary Ann as you prepare for the new chapter of your journey.

fleur cross logo CATHOLIC CHARITIES St. Lucy Project is in GREAT NEED OF FOOD! On Friday, July 24, Nativity Catholic Church will host a “Drive-By/Drop-Off Food Drive.”  A St. Lucy Food truck will be on site from 10am to 2pm to receive food donations. Please use the first entrance to the parish parking lot.  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. You can find the complete list of needs requested HERE.

fleur cross logo Confessions have moved to the school gymnasium. The process will be the same as before, however pentitents can now get out of the sun by lining up under the school canopy. Three stations will be set up in the gym and all are asked to continue to be vigilant about masks and social distancing. All persons will be asked to exit using the doors at the far end of the gym.

fleur cross logo We rely on your offering to the weekly collection to continue parish ministries. We humbly ask for your continued financial support.  Please consider Faith Direct. Thank you for your generosity.

fleur cross logo Please remember Bishop’s dispensation of the obligation for attending Mass is in effect indefinitely. We will continue live-streaming at every day to provide continued access for those who cannot or are not yet comfortable attending Mass in person. Masses Monday through Friday are live-streamed at 8am and in the church Monday through Friday at 9am, Saturdays at 8am.

fleur cross logo If you haven’t, please view our “How to Attend Mass Video.” If you didn’t have a reservation today, please do so in the future. Once the church starts to fill up this will guarantee a seat and help to keep everyone safe by managing capacity levels and help supply the needed information to contact trace individuals attending a particular Mass should someone test positive.  Thanks for your attention to these safety measures.

Fr. Don's Weekly Letter for 19 July 2020

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

Some of you have heard me speak in homilies about my work with ecumenical and interreligious affairs for the diocese.  In addition to being the director of this office for the diocese, I also currently serve as the president of the national association of diocesan directors, CADEIO.

We just finished our two-week-long annual Institute of continuing education, this year treating Interreligious Leadership.  As you know, our relationships have pretty much gone on Zoom with this pandemic, and I was skeptical that this would really work.  Well, it did.  We brought together 15 diocesan directors from all over the country - California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Virginia, New York, Connecticut - as well as speakers from Rome, London, Denmark and all over the U.S. - for a series of talks about the faith of various religions and the relationship that the Church has with them.  Most people don't even know what the Church teaches about the many forms of worship in the world, which often becomes obvious when people criticize Pope Francis' loving outreach to people of other faiths.

I'm going to plan a way to include a quote from Church teaching in the bulletin now and then which you might find surprising.  I'll end this letter with one today.

Anyway, we ended the Institute with a long discussion of what lies at the root of so many issues today, whether it be religious prejudice and intolerance, or racism, or political polarization.  The problem is ignorance.  As I type this word right now the word "Ignore" jumps off the screen.  Ignorance is something we choose, at least, those of us who have the resources to know better.  Knowledge is abundantly more available everyday with the advances of technology and we really don't have any excuses.

People in the Church are largely unaware of their own teachings, let alone the teachings of other faiths.  I was fascinated to learn this week that what has been taught as Hinduism isn't accurate—even what we find in our own textbooks in schools.  It is an interpretation by Christian England who, when colonizing the Mughal and Maratha Empires, summarized into a single religion dozens of ritual cultures they did not understand. This then was taught back to the people of modern-day India in English-only speaking institutions and universities.  The generational traditions were interrupted and many subsequent generations don't even know the real religion of their ancestors.

Similarly in our Church, we have those who are seeking to rewrite history and change the context of our modern day faith.  The truth of faith is hard to trace as it weaves through all the blogs and posts and comments on the internet.  The only standards we have that are certain are Scripture and the official magisterial teaching of the Church, who is responsible alone for determining the faith of the Church.  Nevertheless, even after decades of consistent teachings of all the popes, we have some in our Church culture today who want to forbid dialogue with people of other religions.
Pope Francis is trying to focus the Church on her mission of evangelization.  Many people read "evangelization" as seeking others' conversion, but Pope Francis simply reads our mission as making Christ known.  People of faith are to serve the community.  To do this is to open the door for the Holy Spirit to touch other hearts to see something in us they may be seeking.  But for this to happen we have to know each other and be in a relationship of dialogue.

Francis speaks of the dialogue of fraternity, a human foundation which should be the starting place of relationship, the bond that is necessary before dialogue can be meaningful.  It is a way of looking at humanity that goes beyond today's enshrinement of individualism and begins to see the human being as a person.  "Individual" and "Person" are not the same.  Just like you can't be a dad if you don't have a child, you can't be a person without being in relationship with another.  It is a way of looking outside of ourselves and getting involved in social solidarity.  Encounter, acknowledgement, accompaniment.

In dialogue, when I have shared Christ with people they are always pleased, interested.  Knowing about Jesus is not threatening.  I have given talks during dialogues about what we mean by prayer, by holiness, by saints and angels.  People are fascinated.  You realize that they don't know any more about us than we know about them, and what we think we know probably isn't accurate or may be even stereotypical.  The only solution to this kind of ignorance, ignoring each other, is dialogue.  Dialogue was one of the principle themes of Vatican II—up until then the Church was pretty much involved in a monologue.

"That they may be able to give this witness to Christ fruitfully, (Christians) ought to be joined to the people of their time by esteem and love, and acknowledge themselves to be members of the group of people among they live... they ought to know well the religious and cultural traditions of others, happy to discover and ready to respect seeds of the Word which are hidden in them...  As Christ himself...so also his disciples should know the people among whom they live, establish contact with them, and learn by sincere and patient dialogue what treasures a bountiful God has distributed among the nations of the earth."  Dialogue and Mission, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, 1984, paragraph 27.

God bless you.

Streaming Mass and Announcements for the Week of 12 July 2020

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.


NEW MASS SCHEDULE

SATURDAY VIGIL 5pm - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 4:30pm - live-streamed on for Sunday (change begins this weekend)

SUNDAY 7am, 10am, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm - In-Person in the Church

MONDAY through FRIDAY 

8am - live-streamed
9am - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 
8am - live-streamed and In-Person in the Church


Click here for the video explaining our "New Guidelines for Attending Mass at Saint Bernadette
"

STREAMING SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY MASSES

           Worship Aid for the Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Saturday in the Fifteen Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Friday in the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Thursday in the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Wednesday in the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Tuesday in the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time


Community Mass for Monday in the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Mass for the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (New Time 4:30pm)
         Worship Aid for the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time


ANNOUNCEMENTS

fleur cross logo Please Note: The 5:30 live-streaming Mass will begin at 4:30pm, starting this weekend, July 11.
We are working on a plan to move more permenant camera equipment into the church itself and start live-streaming Masses there, hopefully soon.

fleur cross logo Give a Spiritual Bouquet to Deacon John in thanksgiving for his service at Saint Bernadette Church. Spiritual Bouquet cards are available in the vestibule of the church or can be downloaded from the parish website announcements page. If you are unable to come to the church to pick one up, feel free to write your own and send it to Deacon John here at the parish. We will then present the Bouquet to him before he departs the weekend of July 18-19. Thank you, Deacon John, for your service to us at Saint Bernadette and your inspiring witness to the Catholic Faith. May God continue to bless and guide you and Mary Ann as you prepare for the new chapter of your journey.

fleur cross logo Beginning Saturday, 11 July, Confessions will move to the school gymnasium. The process will be the same as before, however pentitents can now get out of the sun by lining up under the school canopy. Three stations will be set up with 6' social distancing markers indicated on the floor. All persons will be asked to exit using the doors at the rear of the gym. 

fleur cross logo Times are uncertain but we rely on your offering to the weekly collection to continue parish ministries. We humbly ask for your continued financial support.  Please consider Faith Direct.Thank you for your generosity. 

fleur cross logo Please remember Bishop’s dispensation of the obligation for attending Mass is in effect indefinitely. Our Saturday morning Masses will be live-streamed only for the month of June. Saturday 5pm Mass will be in-person in the church as before and we will continue live-streaming at 5:30pm to provide continued access for those who cannot or are not yet comfortable attending Mass in person. Masses Monday through Friday are live-streamed at 8am and in-person in the church Monday through Friday at 9am, Saturdays at 8am. 

fleur cross logo  If you haven’t, please view our “How to Attend Mass Video.”If you didn’t have a reservation today, please do so in the future. Once the church starts to fill up this will guarantee a seat. Also, reservations are required in an effort to keep everyone safe. By doing so, we can manage capacity levels and help provide assurance that we have considered you (and your family’s) personal safety according to the department of health’s recommendations. In the unfortunate event someone becomes ill or reports to us that they have tested positive, the reservation system will help supply the needed information to contact trace individuals at minimum by Mass.

Fr. Don's Weekly Letter for 12 July 2020

 Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

Although I'm writing this the night before we will actually celebrate the Easter Vigil sacraments, I want to congratulate and welcome to our community a wonderful group of friends that we have had the privilege of journeying with this past year in the RCIA program.  Last September really seems like a long time ago tonight, maybe it is a good thing to not remember so clearly how things were before the pandemic.  For sure, nobody could have imagined how Easter would unfold as a silent, but empty tomb.  He is risen!  And tomorrow we will celebrate baptism, confirmation and first Eucharist.  Tomorrow we welcome to full Communion Stanley Haas, Aaron and Sarah Hoffman, Claudia Iacampo, Kirby Langley,Thalia Luna, Sean Parr, Maria Porras, Ed Ross, Laura Ryan, George Sarker,  Jason Schwendenmann, Chad Smith, Terry Valeriano, and Lisa Vu.  I hope I have everyone on the list here - we have had several other RCIA people who have already celebrated sacraments or are still waiting: Ryan Emmons, Anthony Hardenburgh and Larry Harris.  A warm welcome to all of you, when things get back to normal hopefully we will have time to catch up with all the greetings and farewells.

IMG 8419Speaking of farewells, our Deacon John Carlisle and his wife Mary Ann will be with us for the last time next weekend.  It is hard to say goodbye to good people, and especially difficult to be so limited in the way in which we can express our appreciation.  If only we could have a reception for you, John and Mary Ann.  But it is important to be near family and Texas for you will be going home.  We wish you our very best and promise you our prayers as you begin this new chapter in life.  I hope you go with many fond memories of Virginia.Also, you may have seen in the bulletin, we are going to be catching up with all the First Communions and Confirmations that had to be postponed this past year.  For the next four Saturdays, we will have capacity liturgies in the church at 11am and 2pm, which will give enough time for the cleaning company to come in and sanitize for the next Mass.  Unfortunately, the church will not be open in between, as it is now closed between Masses on Sundays.  

At the Masses when I presided last weekend I thanked everyone for being so good about doing what is necessary to keep our liturgies safe and orderly.  For those I missed, thank you.  Many of us have age or medical issues which demand safety.  Even if we don't, it seems that the virus is becoming less discriminating with regard to age.  It is so imperative that we remain vigilant and not become lazy about being careful to take care of each other.  The only line of defense right now seems to be attentiveness to wearing face coverings and keeping physical distance between us.  This is going to be, as Bishop Burbidge said in the beginning, not a sprint but a marathon.  You must also be generous in self-care.  Finding things that comfort and give peace are important to pay attention to, even if you are very busy and have many responsibilities.  Otherwise stress and anxiety can cloud our attention.

We are in a much more difficult place than we were when everything went away in March.  But we know the simple solution.  Wash your hands, wear a mask and be sure to wave to each other.  This is not a political issue, it is a matter of love.

I had a fascinating visit with a Hindu friend the other evening, I was at Durga Temple making a video for my interreligious institute which is being held online last week and this week.  He had an interesting way to think of the anxiety and concerns in our present moment.  Consider yourself as a bubble floating on the ocean, he began.  You can't control your movements or direction, the ocean is so much greater and in control.  So we get distracted about unimportant things because we feel powerless.  That bubble over there:  why is it bigger than me?  Why am I so uncertain about life, about what is happening?  Those other bubbles seem so sure of themselves.  My friend said the secret to escaping anxiety and fear is to realize that you are made of exactly the same stuff as the ocean.  Actually you are the ocean.  You are a part of that power, that direction that you seek.  It is the story of the Body of Christ.

God bless you.

 

Streaming Mass and Announcements for the Week of 5 July 2020

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.


NEW MASS SCHEDULE

SATURDAY VIGIL 5pm - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 4:30pm - live-streamed on for Sunday (Change)

SUNDAY 7am, 10am, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm - In-Person in the Church

MONDAY through FRIDAY 

8am - live-streamed
9am - In-Person in the Church

SATURDAY 
8am - live-streamed and In-Person in the Church


Click here for the video explaining our "New Guidelines for Attending Mass at Saint Bernadette
"

STREAMING SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY MASSES

         Worship Aid for the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Saturday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Friday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Thursday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Community Mass for Monday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Mass for the Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
       
Worship Aid for the Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time 


ANNOUNCEMENTS

fleur cross logo Please Note: The 5:30 live-streaming Mass will begin at 4:30pm, starting this weekend, July 11. We are working on a plan to move more permenant camera equipment into the church itself and start live-streaming Masses there, hopefully soon.

fleur cross logo 
Give a Spiritual Bouquet to Deacon John in thanksgiving for his service at Saint Bernadette Church. Spiritual Bouquet cards are available in the vestibule of the church or can be downloaded from the parish website announcements page. If you are unable to come to the church to pick one up, feel free to write your own and send it to Deacon John here at the parish. We will then present the Bouquet to him before he departs the weekend of July 18-19. Thank you, Deacon John, for your service to us at Saint Bernadette and your inspiring witness to the Catholic Faith. May God continue to bless and guide you and Mary Ann as you prepare for the new chapter of your journey.

fleur cross logo Saturday Morning In-Person Masses will resume on Saturday, 11 July. The Parish signup page has been updated to reflect the additional Mass.

fleur cross logo Beginning Saturday, 11 July, Confessions will move to the school gymnasium. The process will be the same as before, however pentitents can now get out of the sun by lining up under the school canopy. Three stations will be set up with 6' social distancing markers indicated on the floor. All persons will be asked to exit using the doors at the rear of the gym. 

fleur cross logo Times are uncertain but we rely on your offering to the weekly collection to continue parish ministries. We humbly ask for your continued financial support.  Please consider Faith Direct.Thank you for your generosity. 

fleur cross logo Please remember Bishop’s dispensation of the obligation for attending Mass is in effect indefinitely. Our Saturday morning Masses will be live-streamed only for the month of June. Saturday 5pm Mass will be in-person in the church as before and we will continue live-streaming at 5:30pm to provide continued access for those who cannot or are not yet comfortable attending Mass in person. Masses Monday through Friday are live-streamed at 8am and in-person in the church at 9am.

fleur cross logo  If you haven’t, please view our “How to Attend Mass Video.”If you didn’t have a reservation today, please do so in the future. Once the church starts to fill up this will guarantee a seat. Also, reservations are required in an effort to keep everyone safe. By doing so, we can manage capacity levels and help provide assurance that we have considered you (and your family’s) personal safety according to the department of health’s recommendations. In the unfortunate event someone becomes ill or reports to us that they have tested positive, the reservation system will help supply the needed information to contact trace individuals at minimum by Mass.

Fr. Don's Weekly Letter ~ 5 July 2020

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

This Independence Day weekend, let us pledge our allegiance to the flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

We say the pledge every morning at the start of the school day and sometimes I think, like prayers can be, we say the words and don't necessarily think about what we are actually saying.  The whole American experiment was a gathering up from the roots of a collective justice and freedom that placed the needs of the nation above the needs of the individual.  It is the same as what happens in the Church:  we set aside our personal requirements for the good of the Body, because members of the body find their identity because they are members, not vice versa.  Democracy is a community, not simply a system to ensure the rights of the individual.

Especially today in the midst of this growing pandemic (if only that word growing were something of a past conversation and not a present and future reality!) we recognize that our temporary discomfort is what is required if we are to gain control over the spread of this virus for the good of all.  Once again, the individual must necessarily make sacrifice for the good of all.  It is a very familiar theme for Christians, because it is the example of Jesus himself.

The very first paragraph of the Federalist Papers, written by Alexander Hamilton to the people of New York in order to convince them to adopt the Constitution, reads thus:

"AFTER an unequivocal experience of the inefficiency of the subsisting federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force (emphasis added). If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind.

"This idea will add the inducements of philanthropy to those of patriotism, to heighten the solicitude which all considerate and good men must feel for the event. Happy will it be if our choice should be directed by a judicious estimate of our true interests, unperplexed and unbiased by considerations not connected with the public good. But this is a thing more ardently to be wished than seriously to be expected. The plan offered to our deliberations affects too many particular interests, innovates upon too many local institutions, not to involve in its discussion a variety of objects foreign to its merits, and of views, passions and prejudices little favorable to the discovery of truth.

"Among the most formidable of the obstacles which the new Constitution will have to encounter may readily be distinguished the obvious interest of a certain class of men in every State to resist all changes which may hazard a diminution of the power, emolument, and consequence of the offices they hold under the State establishments; and the perverted ambition of another class of men, who will either hope to aggrandize themselves by the confusions of their country, or will flatter themselves with fairer prospects of elevation from the subdivision of the empire into several partial confederacies than from its union under one government."

When we studied these texts in college I did not find these words to be particularly prophetic, but I do now.  Or, maybe the simple reality is that humans have not changed in 230 years, and therefore the same obstacles remain.

Our independence as a nation requires a liberation from slavery to the self.  Truth is true, and what contradicts it is not truth.  And it applies to all.  This is the most fundamental bond of a community, the north star that guides it. The rest is opinion.

We pray especially this weekend that factions might cease.  That we treat each other as brothers and sisters of one family.  That we will see the end of reckless living that has no regard for others, that care for each other and for our common home truly might become a core value around which our activities are inspired.

God, we pray for an end to hate and division, for a renewal of our minds and the will to love despite difficulty and sacrifice.  And we ask you to bless our nation that is so wounded.  Help us to gather together with nations throughout our suffering world to seek solidarity and charity based on sincere, mutual concern for the welfare of the poorest and most vulnerable among us.  God, bless our America.

God bless you.