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Worship Aid for Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The 2025 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal mailing was recently sent to parishioners. The 2025 theme is “Abounding in Hope,” which reminds us of this great theological virtue that is rooted in Jesus Christ and the victory he won for us. The in-pew pledge weekend is March 1 - 2, or you can make a gift at: www.arlingtondiocese.org/BLA. Please indicate you are a parishioner here and it will count toward our parish goal of $560,000.
The second collection is weekend is for the Black and Indian Missions.
The diocese just announced dates for eucharistic ministry training and they are soon. If you are interested in serving in this ministry, please contact Fr Don as soon as possible.
Please join us on Monday evening 24 February at 7pm. for an evening of prayer for healing and hope. Fr. Cedric Wilson, Osa will present “Anxiety and the Spiritual Roadmap Forward
Concerts at Saint Bernadette presents the first concert of the 2025 season, welcoming the US Navy Band Chamber Ensemble on Friday, February 21 at 7:30pm, in the church.
All Saints Church (Manassas) has invited our parishioners to participate in their Multi Car Raffle. Tickets are being mailed to households in the next week A portion of the proceeds raised are granted back to our parish school. See today’s bulletin for more information.
Knights of Columbus Springfield Council 6153 will be hosting a Spaghetti Dinner and Trivia Contest Saturday, March 1 in the school cafeteria. Dinner is from 6–7:30pm followed by trivia until 9pm. Please join us, more details in today's bulletin.
Congratulations on a successful St. Lucy Food Drive last weekend. Through your generosity Saint Bernadette parish collected 4 tons! (8,055lbs) of food and an additional $ 850 in cash donations. It a huge help to the start of their month! The team at St. Lucy extends their sincere appreciation for the support from our parishioners.
Inclement Weather Delays and Closures
Saint Bernadette Parish and School follows the Fairfax County School System regarding closings for snow and other inclement weather. If public schools are closed, our school is closed and all activities on the campus for that day and evening are canceled. Please take this policy into account when scheduling use of Parish facilities during winter months.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
We have a few topics to consider this week.
1) First of all, I want to express my profound gratitude not only to the many volunteers who continue to serve our parish ministries where our parish finds its mission and purpose. Education, both in the school and religious education programs, provides a foundation for the future of our children. Our youth prograns, our adult formation programs, outreach to the poor -- all are necessary for our parish family to live into the Gospel which is so fulfilling not only for those we serve, but for ourselves, too.
All those who volunteer to enhance the quality and authenticity of our worship: musicians, choirs, altar servers, ministers of Holy Communion and lectors who deliver the Word of God whenever we gather. Just imagine what it would be like without you!
All those who serve on committees and councils -- you help us in our pastoral ministries to make the right decisions in seeking the will of God in our service.
Last weekend we had a wonderful celebration for you, but I also must express my gratitude to those who made it happen. Parish Staff all turned out to thank you for supporting our vocations and careers. Dr. Burgess and some teachers from the school came to serve our volunteers, reversing the roles at least in this hope that we can bring you joy with our Night of Gratitude celebration. We can’t do our jobs without your help. A few photos from our Night of Gratitude can be found on pp. 10-11.
2) I have the happy role of reporting in on the success of our Parish Center. We have met with the architects and our schematic drawings are underway. Design drawings will follow that will need to be finalized before they are given to engineers who will figure out how to make the building happen, that careful balance between watching the budget and ensuring we receive what we need. Once that step is done and, with the next okay from the Diocese, we begin to secure our GC, the bid process, construction drawings followed by applying for permits. This is one of those steps that you can never guess how long the process will take. The construction drawings scope can run over 100 pages which detail every wall, doorknob, technology and fixture. But with drawings we know will work, we can look forward to determining an estimated start of construction. There are probably steps I’ve left out, but you have the idea. The great news is we have begun!
3) Our country has joined the rest of the world’s problems in earnest now, and there is a great deal of uncertainty many of you have about employment, economy, security and our republic. I have spoken with many of you who speak about you or your friends experiencing a downward spiral of anxiety and stress.
We have decided to have a prayer service a week from this Monday, February 24, an Evening Prayer for Healing and Hope. It is an evening prayer, so families with members observing different Christian traditions can come together and truly pray together. It will include Scripture and prayers based on the Liturgy of the Hours, but will include additional reflections, as well as a talk by our own Fr. Cedric Wilson who has a PhD in psychology and has practiced as a therapist, “Anxiety: a Spiritual Roadmap Forward.” Many don’t know about Fr. Cedric’s professional life which he as served as an Augustinian priest.
This prayer service is intended for everyone, especially our many members who are employed by the federal government and its many agencies as well as those in the military who are facing uncertainty at this time. Please pass the word about this prayer service as you are able, it is intended to provide pastoral help to all of us who are wondering what is coming next. Please see p. 9 for details.
No matter what, know that you are loved and your first vocation as a follower of Jesus is, as Saint John of the Cross said, “Where there is no love, let me put love. Then, there I will find love.”
The Lord be with you.
Worship Aid for Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The 2025 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal mailing was recently sent to parishioners. The 2025 theme is “Abounding in Hope,” which reminds us of this great theological virtue that is rooted in Jesus Christ and the victory he won for us. The in-pew pledge weekend is March 1 - 2, or you can make a gift at: www.arlingtondiocese.org/BLA. Please indicate you are a parishioner here and it will count toward our parish goal of $560,000.
The second collection is weekend is for the Parish and Facilities Maintenance.
The diocese just announced dates for eucharistic ministry training and they are soon. If you are interested in serving in this ministry, please contact Fr Don as soon as possible.
Concerts at Saint Bernadette presents the first concert of the 2025 season, welcoming the US Navy Band Chamber Ensemble on Friday, February 21 at 7:30pm, in the church.
All Saints Church (Manassas) has invited our parishioners to participate in their Multi Car Raffle. Tickets are being mailed to households in the next week A portion of the proceeds raised are granted back to our parish school. See today’s bulletin for more information.
Knights of Columbus Springfield Council 6153 will be hosting a Spaghetti Dinner and Trivia Contest Saturday, March 1 in the school cafeteria. Dinner is from 6–7:30pm followed by trivia until 9pm. Please join us, more details on page 9 in today's bulletin.
Congratulations on a successful St. Lucy Food Drive last weekend. Through your generosity Saint Bernadette parish collected 4 tons! (8,055lbs) of food and an additional $ 850 in cash donations. It a huge help to the start of their month! The team at St. Lucy extends their sincere appreciation for the support from our parishioners.
Inclement Weather Delays and Closures
Saint Bernadette Parish and School follows the Fairfax County School System regarding closings for snow and other inclement weather. If public schools are closed, our school is closed and all activities on the campus for that day and evening are canceled. Please take this policy into account when scheduling use of Parish facilities during winter months.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
WASHINGTON - In response to last week’s Executive Orders signed by President Trump, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offered the following statement:
“Many of the issues President Trump addresses in his recent Executive Orders, along with what may be issued in the coming days, are matters on which the Church has much to offer. Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us. Other provisions in the Executive Orders can be seen in a more positive light, such as recognizing the truth about each human person as male or female.
“I wish to reiterate that the Catholic Church is not aligned with any political party, and neither is the bishops’ conference. No matter who occupies the White House or holds the majority on Capitol Hill, the Church’s teachings remain unchanged. It is our hope that the leadership of our Country will reconsider those actions which disregard not only the human dignity of a few, but of us all.
“Following the ancient tradition, Pope Francis has declared 2025 as a Jubilee Year of Hope. As Christians, our hope is always in Jesus Christ, who guides us through storm and calm weather. He is the source of all truth. Our prayer is one of hope that, as a Nation blessed with many gifts, our actions demonstrate a genuine care for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers, including the unborn, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and migrants and refugees. The just Judge expects nothing less.”
______________
Thanks, Archbishop Broglio, for your voice. These are confusing times and the diocese has provided materials with regard to immigration and the constitutional rights of undocumented immigrants. I was so glad to receive a policy with corresponding instructions, and everyone should know the procedures. I didn’t know them...
For this reason I have put “Know Your Rights” as well as Bishop’s letter in English and Spanish in the bulletin this week (pages 10-17), and on the church bulletin boards. If you know people who are at risk, please share this information with them.
Whatever we do, we must not answer hate with hate, or the cycle will only worsen. Jesus must have seen similar challenges in the context of his own day, and this is what he preached to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
“To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
“Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.
“But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give, and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
The Lord be with you.
Worship Aid for Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Our next St. Lucy Project food drive is THIS WEEKEND, February 1–2 after all Masses. Please bring your blue Saint Lucy food bags filled this weekend.
The 2025 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal mailing was recently sent to parishioners. The 2025 theme is “Abounding in Hope,” which reminds us of this great theological virtue that is rooted in Jesus Christ and the victory he won for us. The in-pew pledge weekend is March 1 - 2, or you can make a gift at: www.arlingtondiocese.org/BLA. Please indicate you are a parishioner here and it will count toward our parish goal of $560,000.
This weekend’s second collection is for the Arlington Catholic Herald. Please consider supporting the official, award-winning newspaper of the diocese and its mission to evangelize through news from a Catholic perspective. Our $ 46,312 assessment is based 80% of our registered households.
2024 year-end Contribution Statements were mailed this week. Please contact the parish office if you have any questions.
Concerts at Saint Bernadette presents the first concert of the 2025 season, welcoming the US Navy Band Chamber Ensemble on Friday, February 21 at 7:30pm, in the church.
All Scouts are invited to wear their uniforms to 9am Mass on Sunday, February 2 in recognition of Scout Sunday.
All 6th-8th graders are invited to our Middle School Youth Ministry this Wednesday, 5 February. Join us for games, snacks, and fun from 6:45-8pm in the Gym. All middle schoolers are welcome, bring a friend!
All Saints Church (Manassas) has invited our parishioners to participate in their Multi Car Raffle. Tickets are being mailed to households in the next week A portion of the proceeds raised are granted back to our parish school. See today’s bulletin for more information.
Inclement Weather Delays and Closures
Saint Bernadette Parish and School follows the Fairfax County School System regarding closings for snow and other inclement weather. If public schools are closed, our school is closed and all activities on the campus for that day and evening are canceled. You may also call the Parish Office for a recorded message. Please take this policy into account when scheduling use of Parish facilities during winter months.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
This week we will be sending out our end-of-the-year financial statements to all registered parishioners so that we make sure that our records match your records of your charitable giving. It is also an opportunity for me to offer to you our gratitude, my gratitude, for your support of the mission of the parish, as well as to ask the parish for wider support in trying to keep our weekly offertory at least in line with rising expenses, which we all know too well.
The thing “they” don’t tell you in seminary is that you are going to be responsible for a business with a $6+ million annual budget. Fortunately, I had a little business experience prior to going to the seminary, but a parish doesn’t follow a usual business model with countable products or service hours to sell: it relies entirely on the goodwill and generosity of you, the people who belong.
It is an integral part of living our faith, supporting the church which shapes our lives. No matter how large or small the gift, it is a responsibility shared by every member.
We have about 4,100 families registered at Saint Bernadette, and a little less than half having no record of financial giving this year. Of course, we give in many other ways, too, by giving time to volunteering and service, by using your talents to give back to God in ways that can build up the kingdom. For that we are grateful.
In doing our ten-year projection for the new building we have discovered that, at its current rate of growth, our Sunday offertory for the parish may not keep up with the cost of living in the years ahead, whether we were building a Parish Hall or not. So I am asking you to give, if you are not, and consider helping us meet the annual 3% rise in expenses – and be ready for the additional maintenance costs of the new building. Anything you can do will be appreciated.
In a spirit of transparency, we need to enhance our weekly collections to illustrate our strong ability to move forward with construction. We are exactly where we need to be with regard to the building campaign.
When I was a kid at Christ the King elementary school in Kansas City, we weren’t rich but my dad would always take the first $20 bill and set it aside for Sunday. When we were kids my dad worked for the newspaper and went to night school to get his college degree. My mom worked hard at home.
That $20 was in their budget. Back in those days, that was a generous amount (It is considered a good amount today!). Then, if you had a regular contribution to the parish collection, Monsignor Kearney would provide discounts on school tuition for families.
I don’t know how much tuition was then, my guess would be it was about 5% of the cost today, probably $400. Today, as a primary mission of our parish to provide a Catholic education for our children, we close the $1,200 gap for all our Catholic students between the tuition parents pay and the cost of educating each child. That $1,200 comes from your donations, the monthly Tuition Assistance second collection, and the operating budgets of the church and school.
I realize that a lot is coming up, and it seems like everyone is asking for money too often, but this is not a big ask. I ask only that you let your commitment to faith and the church be an active, visible expression of stewardship, supporting what is good, and holy, and true, the place where you can always be at home and find God, peace and calm in the middle of so many storms.
While I’m thinking of it, thanks and congratulations to our wonderful teachers and staff, Dr. Burgess, Mrs. Reid and their admin team, and our priests for a great year as we celebrate Catholic Schools Week this week. We have fun events and activities throughout the week as our school family grows together and we shape the future not only of our church, but of our society.
The Lord be with you.
Worship Aid for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Volunteers are needed to help prepare meals and visit with those in our community that are homeless, January 26 through 28 at Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church in Springfield. Food and monetary donations will be accepted on Sunday, January 26th between 1-4 in the Bradican Rm. A signup has been created listing specific requests. Flyers are in the vestibule of the church and a link is included on the announcements page on our website.
Saint Bernadette School will celebrate the start of Catholic Schools Week with an Open House being held tomorrow/today on Sunday January 26, from 12 - 1:30pm. Please call for a reservation. See what Saint Bernadette School has to offer your family.
Please mark your calendar for our next St. Lucy Project food drive on Sat/Sun, February 1/2 after all Masses. Be sure to pick up your blue Saint Lucy food bags at Masses this weekend January 25/26 and bring them back filled on February 1/2.
Please join us for a WorkCamp Interest Meeting January 26, for all teens and Adult Volunteers Contractors and Crew Leaders. Please join us in the Bradican Rm at 6:15pm
All adult parishioners who have volunteered in the past several years are invited to come to our Night of Gratitude - Saturday, February 8, 7-11pm. Join us for an evening of hors d’oeuvres, drinks and dancing to the music of the Andrew Thielen Big Band of North Myrtle Beach. This is an opportunity to recognize and appreciate the work of parish volunteers. RSVP to Evelyn in the parish office by January 31. Details on page 12.
All Scouts are invited to wear their uniforms to 9am Mass on Sunday, February 2 in recognition of Scout Sunday.
The 2025 BLA mailing was recently sent to parishioners. Having celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Diocese of Arlington, we move forward renewed and united in faith. The 2025 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal theme is “Abounding in Hope,” which reminds us of this great theological virtue that is rooted in Jesus Christ and the victory he won for us. You make a gift at: www.arlingtondiocese.org/BLA.
Inclement Weather Delays and Closures
Saint Bernadette Parish and School follows the Fairfax County School System regarding closings for snow and other inclement weather. If public schools are closed, our school is closed and all activities on the campus for that day and evening are canceled. You may also call the Parish Office for a recorded message. Please take this policy into account when scheduling use of Parish facilities during winter months.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
This week we will be sending out our end-of-the-year financial statements to all registered parishioners so that we make sure that our records match your records of your charitable giving. It is also an opportunity for me to offer to you our gratitude, my gratitude, for your support of the mission of the parish, as well as to ask the parish for wider support in trying to keep our weekly offertory at least in line with rising expenses, which we all know too well.
The thing “they” don’t tell you in seminary is that you are going to be responsible for a business with a $6+ million annual budget. Fortunately, I had a little business experience prior to going to the seminary, but a parish doesn’t follow a usual business model with countable products or service hours to sell: it relies entirely on the goodwill and generosity of you, the people who belong.
It is an integral part of living our faith, supporting the church which shapes our lives. No matter how large or small the gift, it is a responsibility shared by every member.
We have about 4,100 families registered at Saint Bernadette, and a little less than half having no record of financial giving this year. Of course, we give in many other ways, too, by giving time to volunteering and service, by using your talents to give back to God in ways that can build up the kingdom. For that we are grateful.
In doing our ten-year projection for the new building we have discovered that, at its current rate of growth, our Sunday offertory for the parish may not keep up with the cost of living in the years ahead, whether we were building a Parish Hall or not. So I am asking you to give, if you are not, and consider helping us meet the annual 3% rise in expenses – and be ready for the additional maintenance costs of the new building. Anything you can do will be appreciated.
In a spirit of transparency, we need to enhance our weekly collections to illustrate our strong ability to move forward with construction. We are exactly where we need to be with regard to the building campaign.
When I was a kid at Christ the King elementary school in Kansas City, we weren’t rich but my dad would always take the first $20 bill and set it aside for Sunday. When we were kids my dad worked for the newspaper and went to night school to get his college degree. My mom worked hard at home.
That $20 was in their budget. Back in those days, that was a generous amount (It is considered a good amount today!). Then, if you had a regular contribution to the parish collection, Monsignor Kearney would provide discounts on school tuition for families.
I don’t know how much tuition was then, my guess would be it was about 5% of the cost today, probably $400. Today, as a primary mission of our parish to provide a Catholic education for our children, we close the $1,200 gap for all our Catholic students between the tuition parents pay and the cost of educating each child. That $1,200 comes from your donations, the monthly Tuition Assistance second collection, and the operating budgets of the church and school.
I realize that a lot is coming up, and it seems like everyone is asking for money too often, but this is not a big ask. I ask only that you let your commitment to faith and the church be an active, visible expression of stewardship, supporting what is good, and holy, and true, the place where you can always be at home and find God, peace and calm in the middle of so many storms.
While I’m thinking of it, thanks and congratulations to our wonderful teachers and staff, Dr. Burgess, Mrs. Reid and their admin team, and our priests for a great year as we celebrate Catholic Schools Week this week. We have fun events and activities throughout the week as our school family grows together and we shape the future not only of our church, but of our society.
The Lord be with you.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
This week with the inauguration of the President of the United States, I imagine we will feel a nation divided. The popular vote was still so narrow that it is likely that we are a country divided right down the middle, not a good place to be.
Regardless of which side of the aisle we may be, there is one thing that we can consciously do to seek unity: hope. We can all hope for the best, for what is right, for what is God’s will and the humility of those assuming the responsibility of governing to listen to the Holy Spirit and seek the good of all people whose care is placed in their hands.
Pope Francis says that Christian hope is a gift from God that is based on the resurrection of Jesus. The possibility of things we even dare not for. It is openness to the possibility that the impossible is possible: all things are possible with God. It is also an active virtue that helps make good things happen.
You and I, by our human nature, are guided by natural virtues, also called Cardinal Virtues: justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence. They are natural, of our nature, and by them we recognize right from wrong, we become angry at injustice, we have the ability to complete the task at hand, and we have the common sense to apply all of these to life experiences to make good choices.
But with original sin, our human nature was damaged. We lost the indwelling Spirit of God and no longer had the certainty of goodness. Our weakness, our brokenness didn’t guarantee good outcomes and we needed an infusion of the Spirit of God to restore the balance.
The result? We just celebrated it: baptism. That Spirit returns, Sanctifying grace that transforms us into our original creation. The Church teaches that this is God’s gift, not a result of our earning it, something that doesn’t come from ourselves. It is supernatural, beyond our ability. In baptism we receive the supernatural, or theological, virtues which order us according to the mind of Christ. Our natural virtues are informed by that which is not experienced or deduced from human experience. These virtues are faith, hope, and love (charity). We walk by faith, and not by sight; we live in the hope of God’s good plan for us even when it may not be obvious to us; we love, even to the unnatural point of loving our enemies. We enter into the mind of Jesus himself with these gifts that sustain us through life’s challenges, knowing that there is always more to know, and we don’t know what we don’t know.
Hope is an active virtue that helps make good things possible. It is a sign which shines through acts of justice, solidarity, and charity. It is based on God’s promise of the future.
Pope Francis has dedicated the theme of the Jubilee Year 2025 “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Reflecting on Christian hope, Pope Francis writes in his new book, is especially important “in times like the ones we are living in, with a Third World War being fought ‘piecemeal,’ unfolding before our eyes. It can lead us to assume attitudes of gloomy discouragement and ill-concealed cynicism.”
Christian hope is not optimism, he wrote. Rather, it is “waiting for something that has already been given to us: salvation in God’s eternal and infinite love.”
Be on the lookout for hope; keep moving forward in faith, the pope writes, and love one another. The rest is passing controversy.
I found Pope Francis’ words to be powerful and I want you to share this message with anyone who is allowing themselves to be controlled by worry or discouragement, or uncertainty at this time. One thing we know for certain is that God is love, and he has chosen you for a purpose. And he knows what he is doing!
Starting each new day with an open heart to recognize this purpose is a way of discovering a new path in your life, a path that God has written into your being from before the foundation of the world.
The Lord be with you.
Worship Aid for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Join us for our monthly (third Monday) Taizé Prayer Service on Monday night, January 20, 8 - 8:45pm. Come for a peaceful moment of simple song and silence and pray for unity.
Saint Bernadette School will celebrate the start of Catholic Schools Week with an Open House being held on Sunday January 26. See what Saint Bernadette School has to offer your family. The Principal's letter can be found on page 5 in this week's bulletin..
All volunteers involved in parish ministry and their spouses are invited to our annual celebration. The Night of Stars will be held on February 8, 2025. Please contact the parish office to RSVP by 31 January.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Prayer Service: Wednesday evening, January 22. Join Bishop Burbidge and other bishops of Christian churches in Virginia for the annual observance of the international Week of Prayer. Invite all your friends from other churches to join us at 7:30pm, followed by a light reception.
Volunteers are needed to help prepare meals and visit with those in our community that are homeless, January 26 through 28 at Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church in Springfield. Food and monetary donations will be accepted on Sunday, January 26th between 1-4 in the Bradican Rm. A signup has been created listing specific requests. Flyers are in the vestibule of the church and a link is included on the announcements page on our website.
The parish will be hosting a baby supplies drive for Catholic Charities and Mary’s Comfort next weekend through January 26th. There are flyers in the vestibule with more information. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
The St. Lucy Project Food Drive will be held on the first weekend of February. Blue bags and lists of requested items will be distributed the last weekend of January.
Please join us for a WorkCamp Interest Meeting January 26, at 6:15pm in the Bradican Rm. All interested teens and adult volunteers, Contractors and Crew Leaders are invited to attend this informational meeting.