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Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
Last weekend we celebrated one of my favorite liturgies of all the year: 122 girls and boys in our parish became one with all of us for the first time in the perfect way that we can only know united in the Body of Christ. Congratulations! The Gospel was about when the disciples were fishing on the Sea of Galilee, though they could not tell who Jesus was by his appearance, they knew with certainty it was Jesus on the shore because of his action. Jesus communicated his presence and worked his wonder by his action.
Suddenly the miracle happened, there was an abundance of fish where there had been none, the net did not tear and the disciples were able to bring all of them to shore. “It is the Lord!” proclaimed Saint John.
These children for the first time entered into the Holy of Holies, that place where the Most High dwells in our humanity. They are not members of that Body of Christ begun in baptism, now literally the case by the reception of Jesus’ Body. It still looks like bread, but we know otherwise, because of Jesus’ saving actions. We are called to be Christ: people will not know us by our appearance; they will know Christ by our actions.
Walk the talk: there are too many people who wish to appear differently than they truly are. Once found out, the damage is done and people are confused. May our witness be true to the One Whom we receive everytime we come to the Table and open our hands and our hearts to truly welcome the presence of Jesus, to live in us.
It was a miracle unfolding before our eyes last weekend, as the work of Incarnation continues. The Incarnation, of course, is the moment (of the Annunciation) when, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Son of God entered our human-ness. Our humanity. He became one of us. His life as God and Man are inseparably present to us in the Eucharist (“Holy Communion”) as, by the power of the same Spirit earthly food becomes heavenly Food, God’s life in Jesus literally flows through us. We are awakened, a new creation. The Incarnation of Jesus is continued forever in his people who open themselves to this first Communion, and every Communion to follow. He is our life. Congratulations, boys and girls.
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I have received several letters of concern from members of the parish who express their apology, even embarrassment, that they can’t give a lot to our parish capital campaign. Please, if you are worried about this, don’t worry. These things are for those people who can at this time: from each, according to their ability to give. I have witnessed personally and heard stories of many of you whose comparatively small gift is courageous and powerful and inspiring. Thank you. Pray for the success of our parish campaign and the life of our parish community.
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Again this weekend we will be selling beautiful annuals in 6” pots for your garden. We had a lot of fun selling in the rain last weekend, perhaps this weekend it will be better. All of our beautiful flowers are 100% natural and, in many cases, medicinal. They were selected for their habits (which is also how you should pick your friends): their ability to spread, their tolerance of dry situations and their ability to bloom all the way to frost. They make great Mothers’ Day gifts (in case you are still looking for something to give Mom).
I want to thank Nathan Carver, owner of Carver Custom Landscaping who beautifully maintains our parish grounds, for a great day going to Isle of Wight week before last to pick up these 1200+ annuals and 75 hanging pots. (Alas, the hanging pots sold out last weekend.) It was a hot day, and I don’t know when I have been so tired at the end of a day. It took us four and a half hours to load his trailer, and I was grateful that our youth were at the parish when we returned, or we would still be unloading it. Nathan is a generous friend and hard worker and we owe the success of our Work Camp fund-raiser to him. Please, if you see plants still looking for a home after Masses this weekend, adopt some. $7 each, three for $20.
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Finally, take a moment and check out the ads at the back of the bulletin. These folks help underwrite the cost of this bulletin with their advertising. Get acquainted with our advertisers, and the next time you might be looking for one of their services, remember their contact information is on the final pages of this bulletin. Thanks.
God bless you.