Fr. Don’s Weekly Letter ~ 14 September 2025

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

I used a quote by Pope Francis in my homily last week that has stayed with me. Do you remember as we watched him walk completely alone through an empty Saint Peter’s Square at the height of the pandemic, and the world watched Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the front, locked doors? Kneeling there he prayed to God a prayer of confession for how we have not been good stewards of the gifts we have received, not heeded unprecedented levels of suffering, wars and injustice, not listened to the cry of the poor or of our ailing planet. He said, “We carried on regardless, thinking we would stay healthy in a world that was sick.”

I hear it all the time in the confessional. I was talking to a friend of mine who is a pastoral care counselor who spoke about the general reality in the therapeutic community. We are living in a time of uncertainty, confusion, and despair. So many people who do not know what to do. They are “stuck.”

I’m working on planning the Burke/Springfield Interfaith Thanksgiving Prayer Service (HERE! Tuesday, November 25 - mark your calendars!) and came across a song while I was gardening last week. I don’t think I had heard it before, but it will be the song for the combined interfaith choir. The song is “Thankful,” sung by Josh Groban.

Somedays, we forget to look around us. Somedays, we can’t see the joy that surrounds us. So caught up inside ourselves, we take when we should give. So for tonight we pray for what we know can be; and on this day we hope for
what we still can’t see. It’s up to us, to be the change, and even though we all can still do more, There’s so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves, there’s so much sorrow. It’s way too late to say I’ll cry tomorrow. Each of us must find our truth, we’re so long overdue.
So for tonight we pray for what we know can be; and everyday, we hope for what we still can’t see...

The solution is to get out of ourselves, and discover something greater. Enough! The solution to depression is not mindless busy-ness. In fact, that often makes it worse. But ask the question: what would you be doing? What can you do to make a difference? What is important to you? What kind of world – what kind of Church – do we leave for our children?

The therapeutic response for a person in distress is to identify their values. And their boundaries. Ask if they hold themselves accountable? And focus on gratitude to God who has given us so many things we forget on a daily basis to acknowledge. Share that knowledge and faith will grow. Faith that is shared grows many times faster than when I am alone.

The same question applies to a parish community on Parish Life Weekend. Have we identified our values? Our limits? Do we hold ourselves accountable for the life of this parish family?

So what do we do about that? The answer is to do something. Actions reveal the integrity of our words. Act, and just do the next right thing.

This weekend is Parish Life Weekend, perhaps you’ve heard. What I do know is that nothing will happen if we don’t act. The challenge to you this weekend is to consider this place where you belong, and your part in making it stronger and more beautiful, all of us together. Through a deeper commitment to the spiritual life. Through a deeper commitment to care for someone or serve others in Church work. Through a deeper commitment to help our parish afford our vision to grow in prayer and service to God and each other.

Pages 14-21 in this bulletin are reprinted from a previous year, a reflection on discipleship (and the four pillars of hospitality prayer, formation, and service) and its authentic expressions. Please review it.

Also, I hope everyone has received our Parish Renewal Handbook, Ministry Catalog and Annual Report. Please read it. We did a lot of work to produce it!

Prayerfully consider how we will discover something greater than ourselves in the coming year. “See,” Jesus says, “I make all things new.” He does that through our service as the living members of his Body in this place, in this time, as we work together to advance the work of salvation.

The Lord be with you,