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Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
I’m writing this week’s bulletin while still in my second to last day in Taipei, and I have a lot of thoughts. If you are willing to pull back the Buddhist veil of outward appearances (and appearances are very different from our practice of faith!) you begin to see the similarities at the core. Human beings trying their best to be good.
History well will look back on the Venerable Master Chin Kung, whose third anniversary of his death we commemorated this week, as the most influential person/force in the restoration of Chinese religion and culture after its dismantling by Communism. He taught Buddhist teaching (dharma) four hours a day for 62 years, and established multiple international foundations to bring back the identity of Asian people. Like Ezra and Nehemiah restoring the law of Moses to the Hebrew people after the great exile, or modern day efforts to rediscover “Hinduism” after the disastrous English occupation of India, this is historic.
One of the privileges I had this weekend was to observe a 2,000 year-old Confucian Ceremony of Remembrance for their Ancestors which was held at the city convention center. Ritually very different from us (to say the least), it was the ultimate eastern All Souls’ Day.
Confucius, like Master Chin Kung, saw that the wisdom of the ancients was being forgotten over the generations, so he went about all of Asia to record the traditions and philosophy of 5,000 years of sages. None of his writings were original to him, he was the scribe. He understood the way of Heaven and Earth: the character ru, which means “Confucian,“ is a combination of the character ren, which means “human,” and the character xu, which means “requirement,” meaning “the requirement to be born as a human being.”
His thoughts have educated generations of Chinese children and become an essential core of traditional Chinese culture. They will continue to benefit future generations and all humanity.
What is the way that can help people in the world have peaceful minds, love one another and live in harmony, cooperate harmoniously regardless of whether their status is high or low, despite privation or absence of justice?
Confucius said, “Filial piety is the essence of virtue and the source of teaching.” The highest virtue of the ancient emperors was filial piety, which is the root of all virtues and from which comes education. Filial piety here is meant the honor and respect that people have for their parents and ancestors. Once my identity is established, in my self awareness I am also aware of my responsibilities. Education is the foundation of culture and its lifeline.
Therefore, the deep meaning of filial piety is that this universe, with its endless time and infinite space, is one—one entity of life that stands together through good times and bad—and inextricably linked. In this shared body, the love between parents and children is the origin of love that is inherent in each person’s true nature. To carry forward this selfless love and to love all people is, as the ancient Chinese saying goes, “All within the Four Seas are siblings.” By promoting this kind of sibling love, we can achieve harmony in the universe.
This is very consistent with the early Fathers’ understanding of the unity of God’s creation of one Mankind and our Christian doctrine of the Body of Christ.
In the Analects by Confucius is read: “A virtuous and wise person should focus on the root. When the root is established, the Way will grow. Filial piety and fraternal love are the root of benevolence.” This means that a moral person should emphasize the root of everything and start from there.
With the root, people can establish a correct outlook on life. Being filial and respectful to our parents and revering our teachers is the essence of benevolence.
All human beings are facing various serious challenges. If everyone has a grateful heart, does not forget their roots, respects teachers and their teachings, and emulates the virtuous, then society will be stable and the world will be peaceful.
The Lord be with you.
Summer is here!
Please note: due to summer schedules, there will be NO 7AM Mass on Wednesday–Friday July 23–25 and Monday–Tuesday July 28–29.
Registration for Religious Education classes for the 2025-2026 school year have begun. Please visit our link on the parish website.
Thank you to all who have responded to our request to reduce our parish envelope costs. If you are receiving offertory envelopes but don’t use them or no longer wish to receive them, please contact our parish office so that we can remove that service from your registration file. Remember Second and Special Collections can be done electronically through Faith Direct.
You are warmly invited to an informational meeting on Sunday, July 27 after the 9am and 11am Masses in the Bradican Room. Come learn more about our parish-wide Week of Service Project, Rise Against Hunger, and how you and your family can get involved. Contact: Rick Caporali – rcaporali@stbernpar.org.
Set sail on the S.S. American for a hilarious romp on the high seas with Anything Goes! Featuring unforgettable tunes, this classic Golden Age musical guarantees a night of delightful entertainment. Get ready for laughter, romance, and fantastic tap-dancing sailors! Performances are Thursday, July 31 thru Saturday, August 2 with performances each evening at 7pm. There is also a matinee performance on Saturday, August 2 at 1pm. Tickets go on sale July 15 (online) and will be available after all Masses on July 16-17 and 23-24 at a discounted price. All performances are at Bishop Ireton High School. Tickets are valid for any one performance.
FAITH FORMATION
Living the Liturgical Year:
This weekend’s gospel tells us when Jesus had taught his disciples to pray the Our Father and how we should approach God, the Father. Teach your children the meaning of each line of the Our Father by doing different activities like making a heaven collage or “God is with us” pin. You can find instructions here: https://flamecreativekids.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-lords-prayer-crafts-games-and.html
Registration for 2025-2026 ~Registration for Religious Education will close on July 31. Get your children registered now! Continue your child's growth in the faith by signing them up for classes in 2025-26! Our class sessions will be on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and we will again offer our Special Religious Development class on Saturday mornings for students with special learning needs (SPRED) and our Family Faith Formation classes once a month on Sunday afternoons (for grades K-5) where parents take a larger role in their child's faith formation. Registration information can be found in the Religious Education page of the parish website https://stbernpar.org/religious-education-copy/ or the QR Code in the bulletin boards.
Who should register? All currently registered students, including all Confirmation 2025, Confirmation 2026, and students preparing to receive First Eucharist next school year.
Questions about your child's registration? Call the Religious Education Office or contact the staff via email.
Volunteers for 2025-2026 ~ As we prepare to plan for the upcoming Religious Education school year, please discern if you would like to help. We are in need of Lead Catechists and aides. If interested, please contact the Religious Education Office or fill out the Volunteer Form on the website. You will also find the QR Code at the bulletin board.
WOMEN'S MINISTRY
Come and enjoy warm fellowship and great food. No need to RSVP. For more information, please email us at women@stbernpar.org. Monday, August 4, is our next Dinner with Friends at 5pm, at Saratoga Pizzeria, 8050 Rolling Road. We meet for this casual meal in addition to our normal dinner on the 1st and the 3rd Monday of every month.
Our next monthly meeting will be Tuesday, August 12 with Friends at 5pm, at 7pm in the Bradican Room. Summer is travel season: time to explore the world with family and friends. We will hear about recent adventures from several of our members. Come enjoy their stories and get some ideas for your next trip.
YOUTH MINISTRY
All rising 6th through 8th graders are invited to our last Summer Drop-In! Join us July 30th for fun, games, friends, and of course, ice cream! We will meet from 6:45-8pm in the gym.
High School End of Summer Social - 5 August
All rising 9th-graduated 12th graders are invited for a bonfire, S'mores, and games on the rectory patio from 7-8:30pm. Contact grace for more information - gmee@stbernpar.org.
To learn more about our middle and high school ministries,
please contact Grace Mee, gmee@stbernpar.org
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
As you know this weekend, I am in Tainan City, Taiwan at a conference of Pure Land Buddhists. It is called the “Ceremony for the Third Year of Venerable Master Chin Kung’s Nirvana.” Master Chin Kung was a great international leader in interreligious dialogue and, like Pope Francis, found his emphasis in the one human family. Pure Land Buddhism has at its center the figure Amitabha, infinite light, who created a heavenly realm where ordinary people can strive for enlightenment.
My short talk is printed here, to the right, so that you may know what I’m up to this weekend. I’ll take pictures.
But what I’m most thinking about this weekend is that I’m missing the opportunity to personally promote our Summer Theatre Program’s production of “Anything Goes.” Since the end of the school year, 47 youth, 6th grade through rising college freshmen have really worked and shared their talent. Last weekend we had a rehearsal for the understudies and I couldn’t believe the depth of talent in this group of youth who are giving everything to this show. I am grateful to them, and for them and their families who have given most of a summer so that they could create this amazing company. You will be truly amazed at how talented they are, it will feel like a discovery. I hope you will buy tickets for performances next weekend.
I am also grateful to and for the volunteer staff and directors who have worked more than we’ll ever know in this labor of love. They get no salary, except to be able to see talent emerge and grow in these young people, become confidence, and build community by their shared love of the arts.
Special thanks to Bill Molino, Executive Director and Producer; Jess Sannito, Producer; Liz Couchman, Director; Maggie Rabe, Music Director; and Jenny Roegner who choreographed the musical including getting 47 actors (some experienced) to tap dance like a Broadway production. Also to Kathryn Weabley, Assistant Director, Emma Krause and Ally Hamilton, Company Managers, and Josie Smith, Production Intern.
The Lord be with you.
Summer is here!
Please note: due to summer schedules, there will be NO 7AM Mass on Wednesday–Friday July 23–25 and Monday–Tuesday July 28–29.
Registration for Religious Education classes for the 2025-2026 school year have begun. Please visit our link on the parish website.
Thank you to all who have responded to our request to reduce our parish envelope costs. If you are receiving offertory envelopes but don’t use them or no longer wish to receive them, please contact our parish office so that we can remove that service from your registration file. Remember Second and Special Collections can be done electronically through Faith Direct.
Set sail on the S.S. American for a hilarious romp on the high seas with Anything Goes! Featuring unforgettable tunes, this classic Golden Age musical guarantees a night of delightful entertainment. Get ready for laughter, romance, and fantastic tap-dancing sailors!
Performances are Thursday, July 31 thru Saturday, August 2 with performances each evening at 7pm. There is also a matinee performance on Saturday, August 2 at 1pm. Tickets go on sale July 15 (online) and will be available after all Masses on July 16-17 and 23-24 at a discounted price. All performances are at Bishop Ireton High School. Tickets are valid for any one performance.
FAITH FORMATION
Living the Liturgical Year:
On July 20, we celebrate the feast day of Korean martyrs St. John (Ioannes) the Baptist Yi Kwang-nyol and St. Lucy Kim. The founding and spread of Catholicism in Korea had rested on the backs of the laity. Catholicism was introduced to Korea through translated texts brought back from China by Korean scholars and nobility sharing their faith and baptizing others. Their resilience in the face of persecution and unwavering faith serves as an example to the enduring strength as followers of Christ. You can celebrate the feast day with your children by eating some Korean food, like dumplings (mandu) and bulgogi, and reading about one the hundreds of Korean martyrs here, as each of them has a story of their own: https://www.cbck.or.kr/en/CatholicChurchInKorea/103-Korean-Martyr-Saints?page=3.
Registration for 2025-2026 ~Registration for Religious Education will close on July 31. Get your children registered now! Continue your child's growth in the faith by signing them up for classes in 2025-26! Our class sessions will be on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and we will again offer our Special Religious Development class on Saturday mornings for students with special learning needs (SPRED) and our Family Faith Formation classes once a month on Sunday afternoons (for grades K-5) where parents take a larger role in their child's faith formation. Registration information can be found in the Religious Education page of the parish website https://stbernpar.org/religious-education-copy/ or the QR Code in the bulletin boards.
Who should register? All currently registered students, including all Confirmation 2025, Confirmation 2026, and students preparing to receive First Eucharist next school year.
Questions about your child's registration? Call the Religious Education Office or contact the staff via email.
Volunteers for 2025-2026 ~ As we prepare to plan for the upcoming Religious Education school year, please discern if you would like to help. We are in need of Lead Catechists and aides. If interested, please contact the Religious Education Office or fill out the Volunteer Form on the website. You will also find the QR Code at the bulletin board.
WOMEN'S MINISTRY
Come and enjoy warm fellowship and great food. No need to RSVP. For more information, please email us at women@stbernpar.org.
Monday, July 21, is our next Dinner with Friends at 5pm, at Saratoga Pizzeria, 8050 Rolling Road. We meet for this casual meal in addition to our normal dinner on the 1st and the 3rd Monday of every month. YOUTH MINISTRY
All rising 6th through 8th graders are invited to our last Summer Drop-In! Join us July 30th for fun, games, friends, and of course, ice cream! We will meet from 6:45-8pm in the gym.
High School End of Summer Social - 5 August
All rising 9th-graduated 12th graders are invited for a bonfire, S'mores, and games on the rectory patio from 7-8:30pm. Contact grace for more information - gmee@stbernpar.org.
To learn more about our middle and high school ministries,
please contact Grace Mee, gmee@stbernpar.org
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
Some clergy of the Burke-Springfield area meet monthly just to check in and learn what is going on the community. We met this week to plan our upcoming interfaith Thanksgiving prayer service (which we will host here Tuesday, November 25!) and another program in which our congregations hopefully will participate called Faith250, coming together to discuss secular texts (“The New Colossus,” the Declaration of Independence, “America the Beautiful,” “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?”) to rediscover and nourish core values that make us America. It starts with the clergy group, then expands to our respective congregations, finishing with a large gathering/potluck of area churches, synagogues, mosques and temples to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation. Watch for details as they come.
With this planning came a rich discussion and I thought I might float some of these ideas for your reflection about where we are as a people today.
The framers of the Constitution never intended the Constitution to take place in a vacuum, something just to be litigated. It happened alongside the human and moral formation (granted, largely Christian) that happened in houses of faith.
Today with each successive generation becoming more and more “unchurched” across the wide range of houses of worship and faiths, “community” has changed. Society is red or blue, divided right down the middle, and the divide sadly has also entered religion, in many ways that are either “red” or “blue.”
Surveys have shown across the board that people simply are less and less likely to trust anyone or anything – churches, leadership, or institutions. I think this is because the human and moral formation which had been rooted in faith communities is no longer central. The Constitution is not a religious document, but it has become the focus of bitter fighting, as if over words of a contract.
We might even claim to be tethered to faith by some particular religious affiliation, but how many of us actually know why? To have a rule is good, and it is good to follow a rule, but faith in my own life didn’t come to life until I began studies in the seminary. There I found out it was actually okay to question everything – healthy, even. I found that the remarkable thing about Catholicism is that there is a reason why we believe and do everything we believe and do. If you don’t search, you won’t find; if you don’t ask, you won’t learn. Who I am is so much more than simply words on a page that I recite. It is the Spirit behind our limited human attempts to express the Good, the True and the Beautiful which we need to touch, and to touch us. Of course, in faith language, this is God.
Confronted with the question who am I? or who are you?, it is easier to deflect the question by engaging judgment on another. Who really is an American? a Catholic? We have introduced division.
Do you believe it is possible to live in a community which follows a rule of life revealed by God and suspends judgment on each other, rather focusing on how I can grow in goodness, and how we can grow together in goodness? A community where there is no exclusion, no minority. I do. I have to become my brother’s keeper, a good Samaritan, an offering to God that is pleasing to him.
Next weekend I will be giving a short talk at a conference of Pure Land Buddhists in Tainan City, Taiwan. It is called the “Ceremony for the Third Year of Venerable Master Chin Kung’s Nirvana.” Master Chin Kung was a great international leader in interreligious dialogue and, like Pope Francis, found his emphasis in the one human family. Pure Land Buddhism has at its center the figure Amitabha, infinite light, who created a heavenly realm where ordinary people can strive for enlightenment.
My short talk is on what I call “The American Experiment” and the Spirituality of Interreligious Dialogue. Hopefully I will print it in next week’s bulletin in case you are interested in what I will be saying.
The Lord be with you.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
Recently I was talking with a baptized Christian who is considering joining the Catholic Church through the OCIA Process. (Yes, not a typo - see p. 7.) He had many questions and found aspects of the Church confusing. I said, “I know, right?”
It was interesting how most of his questions weren’t about doctrinal matters, even the stereotypical ones that you might presume divide Catholics and other Christians. For example, he was raised with, and has always had, a very strong faith in the real presence of Jesus in Holy Communion. You might be surprised how many non-Catholics truly do believe. He was very thoughtful, considering that marriage really should be considered a sacrament by everyone and not just Catholics. Maybe we would be better at it.
I find often, rather, most questions are about practice. Why we do what we do and how we don’t agree sometimes. His last congregation never sang more than two verses of the songs. That is a choice that a pastor or community makes. Here at Saint Bernadette we sing all the verses. I explained that the songs are important prayers that the people actually get to own and it wouldn’t be right to take the words out of their mouths at Mass.
He had noted that music styles vary radically between parishes in the Catholic Church, as much as they do among different denominations. I explained that here, we try to provide a wide repertoire of music that is reverent and able to touch peoples’ hearts, is singable and beautiful, and appropriate for the feasts or seasons. Music can be our Amen!, our praise, our confession of faith in different ways. Our music director, David, puts a lot of time into planning liturgy.
He had questions about how people receive Holy Communion. He did some looking in the internet for explanations and found a lot of ugliness: truly, a house divided over Communion. I told him that there are official teachings of the Church that we follow here. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that the proper posture for receiving Holy Communion is standing, although individuals may kneel if they desire. It is the general sense of the Church that we be united, not divided, by our postures and practices, one Body of Christ coming forward united by singing a Communion song. When I was a kid we were always taught that you stand when an adult enters the room out of respect. I think this is thing of the past, though.
It is also customary to bow or make some reverence to Jesus before receiving. This is a good practice. He asked me why everyone doesn’t do this. Certainly, I explained, we must always remind the assembly of the need for total reverence when encountering the Lord in this way, but it is okay if you don’t make an outward gesture. When the reform of the Mass was promulgated by the Second Vatican Council (we learned in the seminary), the bishops in the United States declared that we would kneel before Communion when the priest says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...” You may have noticed when you travel to other countries that this is only the case in the United States, who introduced this reverence as part of the Mass so that all make it.
He also had read much about receiving the Host at Holy Communion and found this maybe the most confusing thing. Again, divided by Communion... He said some claim Communion in the hand to be evil and that for centuries the Church received on the tongue. Well, there is more to this than can be covered here. From earliest times people received Communion in the hand. Then, for centuries it was rare that people received it at all and it became more of a pious practice, which risked losing the understanding that we receive not merely for the sake of receiving, but to become Christ’s Body actively in the world.
When you look for things on the internet, first of all I go to the official Church teachings themselves, not some crazy opinion page. There are plenty of those! You can’t know the intention of the writer. The USCCB website is a good resource, as is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Either way of receiving Communion is considered perfectly acceptable. Any irreverence that might come from either would be due to a lack of catechesis or misinformation by others.
The Lord be with you.
Summer is here!
Please note: due to summer schedules, there will be NO 7AM Mass on Wednesday–Friday July 23–25 and Monday–Tuesday July 28–29.
Registration for Religious Education classes for the 2025-2026 school year have begun. Please visit our link on the parish website.
Thank you to all who have responded to our request to reduce our parish envelope costs. If you are receiving offertory envelopes but don’t use them or no longer wish to receive them, please contact our parish office so that we can remove that service from your registration file. Remember Second and Special Collections can be done electronically through Faith Direct.
Set sail on the S.S. American for a hilarious romp on the high seas with Anything Goes! Featuring unforgettable tunes, this classic Golden Age musical guarantees a night of delightful entertainment. Get ready for laughter, romance, and fantastic tap-dancing sailors!
Performances are Thursday, July 31 thru Saturday, August 2 with performances each evening at 7pm. There is also a matinee performance on Saturday, August 2 at 1pm. Tickets go on sale July 15 (online) and will be available after all Masses on July 16-17 and 23-24 at a discounted price. All performances are at Bishop Ireton High School. Tickets are valid for any one performance.
FAITH FORMATION
Living the Liturgical Year:
On July 16, we celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel who St. Simon the brown scapular. Our Lady promised him that “whosoever dies in this garment shall not suffer eternal fire.” One fun thing to do is making treats that contain “carmel” (caramels). You can also find other activities and videos on Catholic Icing’s site. https://www.catholicicing.com/celebrating-our-lady-of-mt-carmel-feast-day-with-kids/
Registration for 2025-2026 ~ Registration is now open. Continue your child's growth in the faith by signing them up for classes in 2025-26! Our class sessions will be on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and we will again offer our Special Religious Development class on Saturday mornings for students with special learning needs and our Family Faith Formation classes once a month on Sunday afternoons (for grades K-5) where parents take a larger role in their child's faith formation. You can register through the link on the parish website on the Religious Education page. You will also see the QR Code in the bulletin board in the narthex and outside the church.
Who should register? All currently registered students, including all Confirmation 2025, Confirmation 2026, and students preparing to receive First Eucharist next school year.
Questions about your child's registration? Call the Religious Education Office or contact the staff via email.
Volunteers for 2025-2026 ~ As we prepare to plan for the upcoming Religious Education school year, please discern if you would like to help. We are in need of Lead Catechists and aides. If interested, please contact the Religious Education Office or fill out the Volunteer Form on the website. You will also find the QR Code at the bulletin board.
WOMEN'S MINISTRY
Come and enjoy warm fellowship and great food. No need to RSVP. For more information, please email us at women@stbernpar.org.
Monday, July 21, is our next Dinner with Friends at 5pm, at Saratoga Pizzeria, 8050 Rolling Road. We meet for this casual meal in addition to our normal dinner on the 1st and the 3rd Monday of every month. YOUTH MINISTRY
All rising 6th through 8th graders are invited to our Summer Drop-Ins! Join us July 2nd, July 16th, and July 30th for fun, games, friends, and of course, ice cream! We will meet from 6:45-8pm in the gym.
All rising 9th - graduated 12th graders are invited to join us! • July 8 - Game Night - Ice cream sundaes and fun in the youth room - 7-8:30pm, • July 23 - King’s Dominion Day - $39/ticket, volunteers and drivers needed!,
• August 5 - End of Summer Social - bonfire, s’mores, and games on the rectory patio - 7-8:30pm.
To learn more about our middle and high school ministries,
please contact Grace Mee, gmee@stbernpar.org
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
I’ve been wanting to write an article about Catholic Relief Services, a charity that I personally support, and how they have been impacted in the first half of this year. CRS was established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 82 years ago, to be the global heart and hands of the Church in her outreach to the poor and marginalized. Now that our country’s commitment to foreign aid has significantly changed, CRS’s funding has been cut and they face an uncertain future.
The impact of the halt in USAID funding is profound. Projects have been terminated which guarantee food security for families who can’t put food on the table. A leader of one organization who assists CRS in farming and irrigation projects says that as a result, poverty will only increase. These are communities where young people are going to lose opportunities or end up living in an eternal cycle of poverty and, most probably, will end up immigrating. CRS works with more than 1,000 local partners like this.
Today, the organization works in over 120 countries with both faith-based and secular nonprofits. CRS was one of the largest recipients of USAID funding, which made up nearly two-thirds of its total budget. That money was used to distribute lifesaving food aid, prevent the spread of infectious disease, and run community development programs.
Sean Callahan, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, asks, “Why are they doing it?” If the U.S. doesn’t want migrants, why would you stop investing here so that people have fewer alternatives?
“We had over 130,000 metric tons of American food sitting in warehouses overseas, and we couldn’t distribute it. Vaccines, polio vaccines for kids, we had them in the clinic. We couldn’t give them out. Treatment for HIV and AIDS, at first, some of that was frozen, so we can’t give antiviral therapy to a mother or a child.”
Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development: “I think the best evidence that USAID works is how quickly people started dying when it went away.
We also know that U.S. assistance gets where it’s meant to get to because we track it really carefully. That’s not to say there’s no fraud and there’s no abuse in the system. And there certainly have been failed aid programs over time.
But the portfolio, if you look at the record as a whole, of U.S. assistance for this fraction of a percentage of the federal budget, I think it shows a massive success.
In 2023, the U.S. government spent about 70 billion on foreign aid, or just about 1 percent of the federal budget. But now, Kenny says, the longstanding relationships that aid organizations like CRS formed with local partners will suffer, organizations like the Justice, Development and Peace Initiative in Northeast Nigeria.
In 2017, with CRS support, the group expanded their scope to emergency humanitarian work as a response to civilians fleeing militant group Boko Haram.
Fr. Vincent Okoye, Executive Director: “I actually fear for the future because it would mean that all the gains with the humanitarian interventions and the targeted programs, if they are not sustained, we will lose all that progress, and I’m afraid of what it will lead to.”
He explains. At such a time when we change our minds and decide to fund feeding and education programs again worldwide, there won’t be the people there who will know how to run a program. We’ll have to start from scratch. Even if that happens, this damage is permanent.
Sean Callahan’s greatest fear is “that people will start feeling that Americans don’t care anymore, that we have stopped caring for other people. That puts us in a very weakened position around the world. The American ethos will be lost and it will take many, many years to build that up. We have earned this reputation over many, many years. It’d be a shame if we destroyed it in a very few number of months.”
CRS emphasizes the moral responsibility of the U.S. to assist the most vulnerable and believes that ending these programs weakens peace, stability, and prosperity, and leads to greater suffering and higher costs in the future. The cuts have damaged the trust between the U.S. and the global community, potentially leading to a loss of allies. Please include CRS in your prayer intentions.
The Lord be with you.
Summer is here!
Registration for Religious Education classes for the 2025-2026 school year have begun. Please visit our link on the parish website.
ECHO is looking for volunteers 13 years old or older to help stuff 1300 backpacks with school supplies. These will be distributed before school starts to families in need of assistance. Please see today’s bulletin for more information.
Thank you to all who have responded to our request to reduce our parish envelope costs. If you are receiving offertory envelopes but don’t use them or no longer wish to receive them, please contact our parish office so that we can remove that service from your registration file. Remember Second and Special Collections can be done electronically through Faith Direct.
FAITH FORMATION
Living the Liturgical Year:
This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. It is a major feast that commemorates the lives and contributions of the two apostles. Saint Peter is the “rock” on which the Church was built. He was our first pope. Saint Paul had a great conversion and helped in establishing the early Church. One of the best way to celebrate this special feast is to go to Mass and say a special prayer for our Pope Leo XIV, priests, and bishops. Another thing you can do with your kids is by making Saints Peter and Paul cupcakes. Instruction and decorations can be found at this link. https://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/2011/06/saints-peter-and-paul-cupcakes.html
Registration for 2025-2026 ~ Registration is now open. Continue your child's growth in the faith by signing them up for classes in 2025-26! Our class sessions will be on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and we will again offer our Special Religious Development class on Saturday mornings for students with special learning needs and our Family Faith Formation classes once a month on Sunday afternoons (for grades K-5) where parents take a larger role in their child's faith formation. You can register through the link on the parish website on the Religious Education page. You will also see the QR Code in the bulletin board in the narthex and outside the church.
Who should register? All currently registered students, including all Confirmation 2025, Confirmation 2026, and students preparing to receive First Eucharist next school year.
Questions about your child's registration? Call the Religious Education Office or contact the staff via email.
Volunteers for 2025-2026 ~ As we prepare to plan for the upcoming Religious Education school year, please discern if you would like to help. We are in need of Lead Catechists and aides. If interested, please contact the Religious Education Office or fill out the Volunteer Form on the website. You will also find the QR Code at the bulletin board.
WOMEN'S MINISTRY
Come and enjoy warm fellowship and great food. No need to RSVP. For more information, please email us at women@stbernpar.org.
Monday, July 7, is our next Dinner with Friends at 5pm, at Saratoga Pizzeria, 8050 Rolling Road. This casual meal in addition to our normal dinner on the 1st and the 3rd Monday of every monthYOUTH MINISTRY
All rising 6th through 8th graders are invited to our Summer Drop-Ins! Join us July 2nd, July 16th, and July 30th for fun, games, friends, and of course, ice cream! We will meet from 6:45-8pm in the gym.
All rising 9th - graduated 12th graders are invited to join us! • July 8 - Game Night - Ice cream sundaes and fun in the youth room - 7-8:30pm, • July 23 - King’s Dominion Day - $39/ticket, volunteers and drivers needed!,
• August 5 - End of Summer Social - bonfire, s’mores, and games on the rectory patio - 7-8:30pm.
To learn more about our middle and high school ministries, please contact Grace Mee, gmee@stbernpar.org
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
I came across this 2021 article by Kelly Marcum, a writer for the National Catholic Register, addressing the post-pandemic world. I think there are greater things today that people may be fearful of, so I thought I would reprint it here.
The world says it wants you to be fierce. Daily planners and coffee mugs enjoin you to “own your day” and bumper stickers command you to “speak truth to power.”
It’s all a lie.
The world wants you afraid. The Father of Lies, whose only field of operation is our fallen world, wants you afraid. Alas for him, aside from having already lost the war, he is at a stark disadvantage as he fights. He cannot create — he can only distort. He cannot replace virtue with anything of his own, so he is forced to adapt, to twist the world’s definition of good to suit his needs. Our world still values courage — thus you must never think you are actually living in fear. You must feel as though you are indeed being bold and empowered while you cower.
It is insidious fear, whispering lies, that tells a woman she must be able to kill her own child, and that she cannot succeed without that right — but the world says it is empowerment.
It is fear that is preventing an entire generation from committing to marriage and family — the world applauds their free-spiritedness.
It is fear of engaging in the world that keeps perfectly healthy individuals living in their two-dimensional bubble behind a Zoom screen — but it has been rebranded as heroic action.
Fortunately, as he has throughout the millennia, God gave the world a saint for such a skittish time as this.
On Oct. 22, 1978, 43 years ago today, Pope St. John Paul II, then the newly-elected Vicar of Christ, looked out at the throng gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his inaugural Mass, and urged them: “Be not afraid.” These words would become a familiar refrain in his papacy, but in reality, they had long defined his life, and would so until his death in 2005. St. John Paul II was fearless. When he defied the Nazis as part of the Polish cultural resistance, when he spoke tirelessly against the evils of Communism, when he forgave his would-be assassin, and when he spent his final years succumbing to illness, his courage never faltered.
For the nearly three decades he led the Catholic Church, John Paul II’s bold proclamation of the faith loomed larger than life, a vibrant witness in a world battered by a century of global wars and genocides. His joy and courage never wavered because he was not their source. Christ was. In that first homily of his papacy, he aptly captured the cultural despair of a post-Christian world, and pointed to the antidote:
“So often today man does not know what is within him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often he is uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt which turns into despair. We ask you therefore, we beg you with humility and trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of eternal life.”
Throughout his life, John Paul II fought back against a world broken by fear and despair. His life and legacy exist as a great refutation of Satan’s lies and fear mongering. Notably however, he did not dwell frequently on the enemy in his words, though he was always aware of the threat. Instead, with unwavering faith in the Resurrection, he lived his life in tremendous joy, even through his long years of suffering and illness.
John Paul II had seen evil in action. He knew precisely where the weakness and violence of men could lead. But he also knew to whom the victory already belonged, and he had no time to waste living in a prison of fear. Moreover, he had no interest in seeing anyone else fall into such snares. Speaking to a crowd of young people in 1999, John Paul II encouraged them:
“Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. … Do not be afraid to be holy! Have the courage and humility to present yourselves to the world determined to be holy, since full, true freedom is born from holiness. This aspiration will help you discover genuine love, untainted by selfish and alienating permissiveness.”
In these troubled times — and no, they are not unprecedented, for plagues, wars, injustices and hedonism are not unique to our age — we can thank God for the witness of St. John Paul II, and for the reminder that the victory has already been won.
The Lord be with you.