Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

When you think about the end times, the end of the world as we know it, the second coming of Jesus Christ, what is your immediate response?  I think the most common reaction people have is dread, or just prefer not to think about it.  I propose to you that this is a vestige of a childhood reaction that we, perhaps, have not thought through as adults.  When I was a child I never would have imagined that our world might someday be indifferent to it.  I’ve asked a couple of people I know, and a couple of acquaintances.  I told them I was going to write a piece on the end of the world.  “What is your reaction to prophecies about the end of the world?”  One simply said we are not to know the day and the hour.  Another said that we are already in the end times.  Another said she didn’t want to think about it.

My parents were fixated on it.  On being ready.  They would subscribe to cassette recordings and publications that would predict the next date the world would end and we would have this cloud of dread over us as the date approached.  We gritted our teeth and imagined the worst God could do to punish our evil world.  The day would come, and then it would be yesterday, and I would wonder: what happened?  Why didn’t the end come?  Then the predictors would publish the next date it would happen.  It was not a happy part of childhood.  Finally after I had finished college I told my parents on the phone that if they continued to talk about it I would hang up the phone and stop talking to them.  Enough is enough and I’d had enough.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still think about it, though.  Jesus is pretty clear that this world isn’t supposed to last forever.  It is true, we won’t know the day or the hour, but we should care about the day and the hour.  We should think about it.

If, in fact, Jesus is our brother, the one who died in love to save us, then we might consider being glad to see him, especially in his terrible glory.  If we connect his coming a lot of suffering and disaster—things like earthquakes, tidal waves, raging fires, terrible storms, a broken earth, genocide, nations against nations, false idols, senseless violence or a generation that has rejected Jesus—as fearful as these things may be, all we need to do is watch the news.  These aren’t news stories we can blame on opinion or politics, they are happening now.  Perhaps they have always happened in previous generations or eras, we don’t know from personal experience because our life is so short.  But if we consider this article of faith as adults (“he will come again to judge the living and the dead...”), we will recognize that his coming will be a remedy for all these evils, moral and natural, that surround us.  “He shall be peace...”  His voice will be familiar, in the midst of whatever might be going on around us, we will be home.

It is true, we won’t know the day or the hour, but we can be working on recognizing his voice so that it will be familiar; we can become comfortable in the life of the Church as our home.  We must care about the state of our relationship with God on that day and hour.  We can’t control the fire, but we can work on inflammability, that core calm that is God’s presence.
You see, Jesus has already done all the work.  It isn’t our job to alter God’s plan of salvation—certainly, not to delay eternal life.  For this?  That white garment of baptism you received is fireproof.  But you have to keep it on, and not take it off every once in a while, and you have to keep it clean.  We underestimate the power of this flameproof white garment.  (If you know someone who has put off baptism, now is a great time to talk about it!)  It is important.

When I was growing up we didn’t talk much about having a relationship with God.  I guess we called him “Brother” and “Friend,” but it seemed to me that all that was up to him, too.  I was not taught that one of the powers of the common priesthood of the faithful from baptism was to be actively involved and participating in the work of salvation itself.  I am an agent of renewal and re-creation in God’s plan for the earth.  And now as an adult, I understand Jesus’ words, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain...(Jn 15:16)” as a tangible call to do something with the calling I have received.  Many are called, few are chosen (Mt 22:14).  It is not just enough to be satisfied with the call, it demands a response.

My mom always used to say that hell is paved with good intentions (unfulfilled).  Someone wrote me an email quoting St. John Chrysostom saying that the road to hell is paved with the skulls and bones of priests.  I looked it up; some say it might have been St. Athanasius but there seems to be no source document.  As I think of these end times, the only way that might be true is if I didn’t maintain my baptismal garment and sincerely encourage you to do the same.  Let us pray for one another that we not be put to the test.

God bless you.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Wishing everyone a wonderful and grace-filled holiday filled with warmth and love.

 Please note:  there will be only one Mass on Thanksgiving Day at 10am.  All are asked to bring non-perishable food in bags to the Mass and bring all of it up in front of the altar at the time of the Offertory during Mass.  We will then put the food in the Saint Lucy food truck after Mass.  Thanks for making this thankful offering a success!

 Christmas GIVING TREE begins this weekend in the Church Vestibule! Our annual tradition of taking tags and returning gifts will benefit many local and regional charities and institutions!  Please see page 8.

 This weekend - Olive Wood Religious Goods from Bethlehem will be for sale in the church vestibule after all Masses. Please support our brothers and sisters surviving in the Holy Land!  Please see page 7 for more details.

 2018 Saint Bernadette Parish Calendars - Please pick up a beautiful parish calendar which can be found on display in the church vestibule (one per family).

Mark your calendars!

December 8, Saturday: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. The Mass schedule is a little different as the Holy Day is a Saturday: Vigil Masses Dec. 7 at 6:30pm (English) and 8pm (Spanish), Dec. 8: 6:30 and 9am, Noon.
December 12, Wednesday: Special bi-lingual Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas and the unborn, 7:30pm.
December 14, Friday: Our parish Advent Lessons and Carols, 7:30pm.  Please see page 7.
December 15, Saturday: Diocesan Simbang Gabi Mass and Reception at Saint Bernadette, 7pm.
December 20, Thursday: Parish Advent Penance Service, with many visiting priests! Begins at 6:30pm.

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

Every year we are strongly encouraged by the diocese to do an offertory enhancement program.  I’ve seen the letter that Fr. Larsen sent out every fall.  It had a strong message that our salvation depends on our generosity—probably a true message, but it seemed a little strong.  Instead, for the past two years, we have published a ministry catalog and annual report, asking you to commit to praying, serving, and giving.  We sent out follow up letters last week to all who responded, 216 families out of 4,100, and I realized that the program has nearly completely failed.  There seemed to be little interest in increasing giving, most people committed to about $10, some $20 a week in the offertory, if there was any financial commitment indicated at all.

I realized that we will probably go forward from here in following years with the program that is prescribed by the diocese.

For my family, supporting the Church was always important.  In my homilies last weekend I recalled how we were probably poor when I was a boy, though we didn’t dwell on it much.  My dad took college classes at night, my mom made our clothes, we rarely ate out.  If we did it was on very special occasions.  But my dad would always take a $20 bill on Sunday morning and put it in the envelope, saying this was for God.  In those days $20 was a lot of money.  And we would all take turns who got to put it in the basket at Mass.  It was this witness of my dad and his commitment that probably played some role in why my brother and I are priests today.

We are grateful for anything you can give to the parish and our mission in Springfield.  Without your gifts we would not be able to meet payroll for our staff that is already stretched to capacity working for you.  We have little outreach in the community, but do what we can with the hours available.  What the Church is able to accomplish depends completely on you.

It is not like this in most countries, and as our parishioners become more international in origin it is probably really important to say this:  We receive no subsidy from the diocese or the government for anything we do.  In most countries the properties are owned and maintained by the government and there is not a developed program of offertory giving because many things are covered by taxes and federal funding.  There is nothing like that here in this country.  Also, with the difficult situations in which many dioceses find themselves today with regard to abuse of minors and corruption (fortunately, to my knowledge, not here in the diocese of Arlington), it needs to be said that funds received by parishes are kept in individual accounts for those parishes.  Debt that may result from a lawsuit or something is not taken from parish accounts.  (One way you could be sure of this is if you make a restricted gift, a gift for a specified purpose, the building fund, for example.  This money may not be used for anything else.)

We are who we are because of your generosity, and we do what we can do because you make it possible. 
 
With regard to Faith Direct, many parishes have found that electronic giving becomes a more dependable and steady income source for the parish.  Here, more of the offertory is received electronically than in the basket on Sundays.  As I have thought about this these few days, recalling my dad and the Sunday envelope, I wonder if the next generation will even understand the need to give to the Church and the importance of giving if the visible giving of parents is no longer seen.  I haven’t really thought this through completely yet, but maybe electronic giving isn’t so helpful in the long term.

I can only give you my word that we are responsible and transparent with your generosity, supporting the work of the Church and reaching out to those in need through diocesan and parish programs as much as we are able, and ask you to continue to give.  Please consider this our annual offertory appeal, it’s done.

Sometimes I hear people say that all the Church ever does is ask for money (often at the time of the annual Bishop’s Lenten Appeal).  Every diocese in the United States has an annual appeal of some kind to support the salaries and programs of the Church—and they have to ask because, otherwise, people don’t give spontaneously.  Catholic Charities would not be successful without the annual Christmas Collection, the chancery would not be able to provide the many services to Catholics and the greater community.  It literally depends on those who give, that others might receive.  As we come into this Christmas season, let’s count our blessings and in gratitude for the many things we have, consider how much we might be able to support others. We give to need, but more importantly, we need to give.

God bless you.

 Help care for elders. “Thanks to support from the Retirement Fund for Religious, we are now in a much better position to care for our elders,“ writes a religious sister. Your donation helps her religious community and hundreds of others provide for aging members and plan for long-term needs. Please give to this week’s Retirement Fund for Religious collection.

 Christmas GIVING TREE begins next week, November 17 in the Church Vestibule! Our annual tradition of taking tags and returning gifts will benefit Catholic Charities, Christ House, ECHO, Project Gabriel/Project Rachel, ServiceSource, Saint Ann’s Center for Children, Bethany House and Refugee Resettlement!

 November 17-18 Olive Wood Religious Goods from Bethlehem will be for sale in the church vestibule after all Masses.  Please support our brothers and sisters surviving in the Holy Land!  Please see page 7 for more details.

 Calling All New Parishioners — Welcome to St. Bernadette! You are an important part of our community and we’d love to get to know you. Please stop by the Welcome table after the 9 and 11am Masses. Join us for coffee and donuts and help us welcome you into our great community. This is a new ministry. Questions? Want to help? Contact Kelly at tomandkellysmith@verizon.net

 Mark your calendars!

December 8, Saturday: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass schedule for December 7-8 will follow.
December 12, Wednesday: Special bi-lingual Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas and the unborn.
December 15, Saturday: Diocesan Simbang Gabi Mass and Reception at Saint Bernadette, 7pm.
December 20, Thursday: Parish Advent Penance Service, with many visiting priests! Begins at 6:30pm.