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Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
It has been a crazy season, crazier than ever. And I don’t know if you noticed, parish life has become non-stop. I included a photo of last week’s breakfast with Santa/classroom Christmas tree raffle/Christmas shop below because I have never seen so many people packed in our cafeteria/gym for such a successful and joyful parish family event. People just came coming all morning! It underlined how badly we need a parish hall (page 9)! Thanks to all our PTO leaders, teachers, parents, and staff who brought so much Christmas joy to our parish. I am definitely a proud Father of my amazing family!
As things are busy and our spaces are pretty much completely booked, I wanted to give some reminders about time limits and security. Last year we invested much in programmable keys for many of the doors on the property to allow access to various buildings and zones of buildings as well as to limit access so people aren’t in the building when they are not scheduled. This is for liability as well as to make sure the wrong people aren’t gaining access to the buildings. We ask -- whatever the meeting might be, Women’s Group or CYO, please do not leave doors propped open.
Also, you may notice during the week (at least during school hours) that only one door is unlocked at either end of the church vestibule. This added security is not intended to frustrate anyone. Coming up the steps for daily Mass you will find the right-hand door open. On rare occasions the church also may be locked temporarily for special school use
Another big item in our security plan was installed this fall, the security gate on the road alongside the rectory leading to the school. The gates are closed during the school day (after morning carpool and open before afternoon carpool), and then close at 9pm. Use of buildings is to end at 9pm regardless of who is using them. This has always been the rule. If, for some reason, you need to go to the school after 9pm, you will need to park in the lower lots and walk up. If you are leaving after hours, drive up to the gate slowly; when you are near it will open so you can exit. If you need special access during the school day when the gate is closed, there is a video callbox on the left which will connect you with staff on call who will provide entry.
It is a shame that in today’s world we must be so aware of security issues, but it is all about the safety of the children.
You are our eyes and ears as people who help with security. As always, if you see something strange don’t overlook it, and inquire of a stranger if there is something you can do to help them, or contact parish staff who will be standing by.
The Lord be with you.
Today's Live-Streamed
Worship Aid for the Third Sunday in Advent
The Springfield Council of the Knights of Columbus will be selling Christmas trees in the lower parking lot from November 30 through December 20. Please support the charitable work of the Council by purchasing your tree from the Knights. The lot is open from 5pm to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 9pm on weekends.
Saint Bernadette Music Ministry and Lector Ministry present carols, hymns, choral music and scripture readings from the rich treasury of the Advent Season. The event free, please bring family and friends! Friday, December 13 at 7:30pm in the Church.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in our Parish Bake Sale December 14 - 15 by contributing baked goods, helping with setup and cleanup, or shopping during the sale. All proceeds support our Capital Campaign.
Our Parish will celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation as a parish with 16 priests present on Tuesday, December 17 at 6:30pm. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us.
Please note that there is NO Taizé Ecumenical Prayer Service this month due to School Christmas Pageant in the Church. We will resume next month on January 20 at 8:15pm.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
Last week we celebrated the Rite of Entrance at the 11am Mass, literally formally welcoming all those who are in our OCIA (formerly RCIA) program, who are discerning being received into full communion with the Catholic Church through the sacraments of initiation. At this point, those who are to be baptized are no longer inquirers, but catechumens who enter into a time of more intense formation by the Word of God, prayer, and communal life of the Church.
Those who are already baptized are already “in the family,” so to speak, because we claim “one Lord, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is in all and above all...” These are called candidates for full communion. People who are already baptized should never be called converts when they enter the Church: they are already followers of Jesus Christ and, in him, we are brothers and sisters.
On Monday night I led the OCIA group in our weekly meeting. These last several weeks have been (or, at least, have seemed) frenetic and I have been anxious because there is more to do in a day than a day will hold. So I overlooked the fact that I was teaching -- I had just taught also the week before -- and when I remembered on Monday afternoon that I was to teach that night I quickly went to see what the topic was and if I had notes from teaching it before. I had not, and topic was salvation. Wow. A big subject.
I discovered something that was startling. What is salvation, exactly? Is it heaven? Simple but foundational questions.
It is something that only God does, we can’t buy it or earn it. It is freely given. No matter how saintly our lives might be, God doesn’t have to reward us for it. At the end of the day, we have to admit that we are but servants, and have only done what we were supposed to do, anyway. Salvation is not an entitlement.
Or is it something that God does? Isn’t salvation a restoration of a relationship that existed in our created original innocence? It is our sins that cause the rupture in the relationship, a rejection of God’s will, division where there once was unity. So, surely, salvation must be being forgiven, something only God can do. But, as I say to people who come to confession and may be troubled by unremembered sins, Jesus already knows every sin we commit. We really don’t need to tell him. But the one thing we must do ourselves is to say “I’m sorry.” That is the one thing that Jesus can’t say on our behalf to himself! I am sorry.
Salvation, then, is the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of the original friendship with God which can be done only by God, the unity that is God’s original plan for us. Baptism is the way by which we are no longer defined by original sin, forgiven-ness.
God could do this work any way he wants. So his choice of delivering his only-begotten Son into the hands of sin, becoming sin itself on the cross was the process of salvation. We call it redemption. This, for that. His obedience, for our disobedience. His innocence for our guilt. “For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him” 2 Cor 5:21. The path home is becoming him.
I’m sure sometime you have been asked by someone, “Are you saved?” The Catholic answer is, “I surely hope so. But I know for certain I am redeemed.” The gift of baptism transforms us into a rebirth that we spend the rest of our life embracing and growing into. The rest is up to me, by uniting my will with God’s will in love.
Remember: unity is not something that God does; it is who God is. We never stop being his, he never stops loving us perfectly. We are the ones who introduce distance away from him and from each other. Unity is oneness, it is salvation. Heaven isn’t a place, it is being in the being of God. When the priest adds the wine and water in the chalice every Mass, he prays a prayer in secret: “By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”
Salvation is that chalice, a synergy of wills of God and us, united, and offered to the Father, then returned to us as food. We are now what we receive. We are filled with gratitude: that is our thanks, our eucharist.
The Lord be with you.
Worship Aid for the Second Sunday in Advent
Keep in your giving plans for the holidays the annual Catholic Charities’ Christmas Collection December 7 - 8 which provides a large portion of the annual budget for diocesan charitable works. Please be generous.
The Springfield Council of the Knights of Columbus will be selling Christmas trees in the lower parking lot from November 30 through December 20. Please support the charitable work of the Council by purchasing your tree from the Knights. The lot is open from 5pm to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 9pm on weekends.
Saint Bernadette Music Ministry and Lector Ministry present carols, hymns, choral music and scripture readings from the rich treasury of the Advent Season. The event free, please bring family and friends! Friday, December 13 at 7:30pm in the Church.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in our Parish Bake Sale December 14 - 15 by contributing baked goods, helping with setup and cleanup, or shopping during the sale. All proceeds support our Capital Campaign.
Our Parish will celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation as a parish with 16 priests present on Tuesday, December 17 at 6:30pm. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us.
Please note that there is NO Taizé Ecumenical Prayer Service this month due to School Christmas Pageant in the Church. We will resume next month on January 20 at 8:15pm.
Worship Aid for the First Sunday in Advent
Remember there will be no religious education classes for the next two weeks. Classes will resume on Dec 3rd.
Please keep in your giving plans for the holidays the annual Catholic Charities’ Christmas Collection December 7 - 8 which provides a large portion of the annual budget for diocesan charitable works.
Keep Christ in Christmas! The Knights of Columbus will be selling Christmas Cards in the vestibule of the church after all Masses the weekends of November 16-17 and November 23-24. You may contact Mike Candalor at mcandalor@cox.net to get more information or arrange another opportunity to view/purchase cards.
The Springfield Council of the Knights of Columbus will be selling Christmas trees in the lower parking lot from November 30 through December 20. Please support the charitable work of the Council by purchasing your tree from the Knights. The lot is open from 5pm to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 9pm on weekends.
All women are invited to attend an Advent Night of Reflection with the theme "Pilgrims of Hope." Join Walking With Purpose women's Bible study for a night of finger food, fellowship, and prayer with a special reflection by Fr. Andrew Clark. Saturday, December 7 from 7:00-9:00 pm in the St. Bernadette School Gym. All women are welcome, so please invite a friend. See bulletin for
Everyone is encouraged to participate in our Parish Bake Sale December 14 - 15 by contributing baked goods, helping with setup and cleanup, or shopping during the sale. All proceeds support our Capital Campaign.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
Congratulations, newly-confirmed and fully-initiated members of the parish! Celebration last week was beautiful, one of the nicest confirmation liturgies I can remember, and I was in meetings with Bishop Burbidge the two days following and he kept telling everyone that Saint Bernadette’s confirmation class wins the award for the best singing students in the diocese! That made me feel good, especially as he said it in front of all pastors with schools and priests of our Deanery!
I wanted to feature all of you 8th graders, both in our school and area public schools, because you are now the youngest leaders in our church community. I challenge you to take your rightful place, and become active in the life of the Church as you have begun already in your confirmation teams. Feed the poor, care for each other. I ask you, please, to remind all of us how beautiful is the Holy Spirit that dwells within us and what it means to be Christians who look forward to a bright future filled with grace and possibility.
And what a great time for new beginnings is the start of the new liturgical year of grace, 2025! It is a time we really need to take an inventory of what has been, what is now, and what will be. The gifts of the Holy Spirit which correspond to words and events of the past would be knowledge and understanding and form the foundation for our work of taking inventory. How faithful have I been to what I know to be true? How thoughtful am I in working toward understandings that would form my conscience more truly according to my faith?
Working more deeply into how I have intentionally lived into the gifts of the Holy Spirit, have I grown in wisdom in applying my understanding to the challenges and confrontations of life? Have I applied the gift of counsel in sharing the wisdom I have been given? Have I shared this gift with the new generation of Catholics? Have I strengthened the community in this way?
The next gift we use in our inventory at the new year is fortitude. The gift of the Holy Spirit, fortitude, is different from the Cardinal Virtue fortitude which is a part of our human nature and meant as an individual attribute. It is carrying through with your good intentions, it is finishing the job despite hardship or struggle. The fortitude of the Holy Spirit is the glue of the community, to work toward bringing about the Kingdom of God. Have I made an offering of myself, like Jesus, for the salvation of the world?
The remaining two gifts, piety and fear of the Lord, pertain to our consideration of each other and of God. Piety has been described as the ability to recognize what is holy. Not just church stuff, but everyone as well. Do I recognize holiness in person in need, the friendless, the stranger? You are holy. And holy is the Lord, in a way beyond our understanding. We don’t fear him, but we recognize that he is totally other, and loves us no matter what.
The Lord be with you.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
I came across an account of the real stories of the times that our celebrations of Thanksgiving Day look back to, almost with fond memory, and realized that we have more to consider in our Thanksgiving holiday, including our debt to the peoples whose lands we inhabit today. Our celebration should come with a commitment to somehow express our regret (at least) for what our forefathers did in those days of colonialism and settlements. From the lens of Israel Palestine, we almost get a story that is all too familiar today. I have included here some paragraphs summarizing the website of the Potawatomi nation, who give a history from their experience that is different, and difficult for many to acknowledge.
Although many Potawatomi and others across the United States celebrate Thanks-giving, the factual history behind the holiday for them is something to be less than thankful for. While communing with loved ones and showing appreciation for the bounties and gifts provided is one positive aspect of the national holiday, teaching a false narrative of its beginnings perpetuates colonialism and ignores more than 400 years of atrocities committed against Native Americans and First Nations’ people.
The formation of Thanksgiving as an official, United States’ holiday did not begin until November 1863 during the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln officially established the holiday as a way to improve relations between northern and southern states as well as the U.S. and tribal nations. Just a year prior, a mass execution took place of Dakota tribal members. Corrupt federal agents kept the Dakota-Sioux from receiving food and provisions. Finally at the brink of death from starvation, members of the tribe fought back, resulting in the Dakota War of 1862. In the end, President Lincoln ordered 38 Dakota men to die from hanging, and he felt that proclaiming Thanksgiving offered an opportunity to bridge the hard feelings amongst Natives and the federal government.
“It was to try and build this event so that you could have a deeper narrative about community building and coming together in shared brotherhood and unity.”
Textbooks often indicate the Pilgrims settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, because the harsh winter was approaching or a storm sent them off course from their original Virginia destination. Winter’s onset cannot have been the reason, however, for the weather would be much milder in Virginia than Massachusetts. Clearly, the Pilgrims wanted to avoid the persecution they were fleeing from with the Anglican church, who were already in Virginia. It is thought that the Dutch possibly bribed the Mayflower’s captain to sail north, a good distance from New Amsterdam in present-day New York.
Some historians believe their arrival in Cape Cod was purposeful. It has been argued that, in addition to the fine fishing along Cape Cod, much of the land already cleared by the indigenous people offered an unusual opportunity for English settlement due to a plague that, within three years, had wiped out 90 to 96% of the native populations. Prior to European arrival, America’s Indigenous did not experience illnesses attributed to livestock, overcrowding or poor hygiene. One in 20 survived the coming of Europeans. Once the pilgrims did arrive in 1620, the epidemics across Indian Country were far from over. They believed the wide-spread death and devastation of Native Americans due to disease was divine providence and that God wanted them to take over the land.
The article concludes with this hopeful message: While many will continue getting together with friends and loved ones to celebrate and recognize the gifts provided since the year before, incorporating traditional ingredients and recipes as well as teaching the factual history can go a long way in healing and restoring the Native narrative within the American culture.
As we look back over the histories of cultures and peoples, we always find narratives that have been changed or skipped over depending on who is writing (or rewriting) the account. The fact that we are still here is enough to declare a day of thanksgiving, but we must also remember those who didn’t survive the conflict and who paved the way for our being here today, rightly or wrongly.
I think it is for this reason that the immigrant communities over the decades have been, perhaps, the greatest to embrace Thanksgiving Day. But we should do so with a sober realization that what we enjoy was not free, and in many cases it was not ourselves who paid the price.
The Lord be with you.
Worship Aid for Christ the King
You are invited to our Burke/Springfield Thanksgiving Interfaith Prayer Service on Tuesday, November 26, at 7:30pm at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Please join us.
Start the Christmas Season making a beautiful Family Advent Wreath! Join the Women’s Group on Sunday November 24 following the 9 and 11 AM Masses in the Bradican Room. Supplies will be provided.
There will be only one Mass at 10 am on Thanksgiving Day. To thank God for the many blessings in our lives, please help those experiencing food insecurity by bringing non-perishable food items to Mass, to be brought up to the altar at the offertory procession. All donations will benefit the Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project.
Please keep in your giving plans for the holidays the annual Catholic Charities’ Christmas Collection December 7 - 8 which provides a large portion of the annual budget for diocesan charitable works.
Keep Christ in Christmas! The Knights of Columbus will be selling Christmas Cards in the vestibule of the church after all Masses the weekends of November 16-17 and November 23-24. You may contact Mike Candalor at mcandalor@cox.net to get more information or arrange another opportunity to view/purchase cards.
The Springfield Council of the Knights of Columbus will be selling Christmas trees in the lower parking lot from November 30 through December 20. Please support the charitable work of the Council by purchasing your tree from the Knights. The lot is open from 5pm to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 9pm on weekends.
All women are invited to attend an Advent Night of Reflection with the theme "Pilgrims of Hope." Join Walking With Purpose women's Bible study for a night of finger food, fellowship, and prayer with a special reflection by Fr. Andrew Clark. Saturday, December 7 from 7:00-9:00 pm in the St. Bernadette School Gym. All women are welcome, so please invite a friend. See bulletin for
Everyone is encouraged to participate in our Parish Bake Sale December 14 - 15 by contributing baked goods, helping with setup and cleanup, or shopping during the sale. All proceeds support our Capital Campaign.
Remember there will be no religious education classes for the next two weeks. Classes will resume on December 3rd.
Worship Aid for 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Join us for Taizé Prayer Service on Monday 18 November, at 8pm. Come pray for unity in our community and the world. All are invited.
Do you want to create Heaven in Your Home? Join us for a free dinner, family formation, and activities for the kids after the 5pm Mass on Saturday, November 23. See this week's bulletin and the poster in the vestibule for more information. Registration is recommended so that we have enough pizza for everyone!
Start the Christmas Season making a beautiful Family Advent Wreath! Join the Women’s Group on Sunday November 24 following the 9 and 11 AM Masses in the Bradican Room. Supplies will be provided.
There will be only one Mass at 10 am on Thanksgiving Day. To thank God for the many blessings in our lives, please help those experiencing food insecurity by bringing non-perishable food items to Mass, to be brought up to the altar at the offertory procession. All donations will benefit the Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project.
All 6th-8th graders are invited to Middle School Youth Ministry every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. Join us this Wednesday, November 20th, from 6:45-8 pm in the Gym.
Keep Christ in Christmas! The Knights of Columbus will be selling Christmas Cards in the vestibule of the church after all Masses the weekends of November 16-17 and November 23-24. You may contact Mike Candalor at mcandalor@cox.net to get more information or arrange another opportunity to view/purchase cards.
All women are invited to attend an Advent Night of Reflection with the theme "Pilgrims of Hope." Join Walking With Purpose women's Bible study for a night of finger food, fellowship, and prayer with a special reflection by Fr. Andrew Clark. Saturday, December 7 from 7:00-9:00 pm in the St. Bernadette School Gym. All women are welcome, so please invite a friend. See bulletin for more details.
Remember there will be no religious education classes for the next two weeks. Classes will resume on December 3rd.
Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,
This week I had the luxury of most of a day spent with three retired Lutheran pastor friends, and we talked about the 20 years we worked together as ecumenists in the work of Christian Unity. All three of them were pastors in the northern Virginia area, and all were involved in our several local and state dialogues as we were able with our own parish duties. At times we recalled some of the really funny moments of our work together, but the truth is it has always been a struggle to keep the movement alive. Now it seems we are hitting an all-time low.
Not just the Catholics, ecumenism isn’t really a priority for leadership in any of the Christian churches. Many reasons have been given for this: tightening budgets, concern over diminishing congregation sizes, maybe even a sense that we have gone about as far as we can go with this work.
I said that, after my 20+ years in this work, I am realizing that the movement has been more outcome-oriented. What is measurable that we are to get out of a dialogue that we can publish? What new discoveries might we make about each other that could change the context of a conversation that might have taken place (or not) 25 years ago. Have we learned anything in the meantime?
These kinds of outcomes don’t come out easily -- sometimes not at all, but it is the process of dialogue that keeps the relationship alive. As long as we are talking with and listening to each other, and open to the idea of discovering something new, there is hope. Where hope is not, there is just silence.
My pastors and I admitted that it is getting quieter and quieter.
One of the reasons could be that bishops have so many worries today that Ecumenism doesn’t land high enough on the priority list to get attention or promotion. We have always gathered around our bishops in solidarity and optimism because of their encouragement. That doesn’t happen any more, generally speaking, in any Christian church. Also, there are a few of us who have kept this alive for a number of years, appearing to be vibrant, where that may not have been the honest truth. And we are not getting younger!
Two initiatives which we had celebrated annually with great success had been the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the State LARCUM (Lutheran Anglican Catholic United Methodist) Committee’s annual conference when we would invite a speaker and gather for prayer and formation in Christian unity. We were struggling with numbers and bringing our leaders together before the pandemic, but it seems that we have lost most of our steam post-pandemic.
I asked my friends: do you think these could become more grassroots efforts, something springing up from the community itself, reestablishing these relationships and planning prayer services and conferences? We decided yes, this might just be the way to win the bishops’ attention once again when they see what is possible. As I wrote to a friend of mine working on initiatives in Palestine, sometimes it is easier to get people to join a movement rather than create it.
This week I would like to place a challenge before you, and I am going to forward it to the members of our diocesan ecumenical commission and every Christian pastor I know. I challenge us to become the context of open dialogue and friendship with our Christian neighbors and start that groundswell of a grassroots movement that seeks unity where all we can see right now is division. It would do our own Church some good, too, if we focused more on our agreements.
A good place to start is our Burke/Springfield Interfaith Thanksgiving Prayer Service on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It won’t be only a Christian gathering, we have friends coming from Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and many other religions as well. But perhaps over the course of the evening you might meet a pastor or a member of another church and ask the question: Is this something we can do together? Does unity begin with us? Then you can begin to dream what that might look like not only in spiritual relationship but also shared responsibilities in caring for our poor and people without homes, the neighbors in need we share. One neighborhood, one voice. And we will find that that voice is the voice of Jesus himself as we listen to each other.
Congratulations to our Confirmation kids this week, let us pray for them.
The Lord be with you.