Fr. Don’s Weekly Letter ~ 21 June 2026

Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

First, we wish Fr. Jeb all good things as he assumes his new responsibilities as pastor of Saint Phillip Parish. Also, we thank him for his contribution to the spiritual and communal life of Saint Bernadette. It is a daunting experience to be a pastor for the first time (and even the second). I remember having a lot of doubts about myself when I went to Fredericksburg. There were many good people who welcomed me and brought me up to speed, and we pray that Fr. Jeb’s experience is the same.

Now we come to the sesquiquincentennial (half five hundredth) anniversary of our nation and the Declaration of Independence. Imagine being one of the leaders of those thirteen colonies and stepping out onto un-explored territory. It was the time of change from emperors and kings to “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” to quote President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, dedicating the nation to the preservation of a democratic republic after the Civil War nearly tore it apart.

It was the dignity of the human person -- despite how it was challenged historically in our country with the treatment of immigrants, enslaved persons, manifest destiny and native Americans, and human rights -- that shaped our conversations around small group tables for the past six months in our faith250 program. The program served as an alternative focus on how we can be together in unity with our multifaith country and seek to heal our divisiveness. This unity is not something that is easily achieved; you have to really want it in order for it to come about.

Much is being written this week about the optic of bloody cagefighting for cheering crowds as a part of our national 250th celebration and how it resembles the solution of the Caesars at the decline of the Roman republic to appease the masses by “bread and circus” (gladiatorial fights).

We need to find a better solution as a community to express the foundational love that binds us and calls us to compassion and care for one another. To seek peace and not war, to seek the good of the other rather than promotion and enrichment of the self, which is the witness of the world at our present time. Our children are taking notes. We need to be a counter-cultural voice that recalls the values that were present at the time of our founding.

I keep remembering Cardinal McElroy’s talk on priest/theologian John Courtney Murray, SJ’s understanding of democracy and Catholic Social Teaching. Democracy wasn’t intended to serve ideology, he said. Democracy is intended to serve people.

Pope Leo, in his new encyclical Magnifica humanitas, says, “Founded on Christ, the living stone, we experience the powerful and mysterious action of the Holy Spirit, and we believe that every authentic human effort to cooperate with him for the good will be blessed by our heavenly Father, in whom we place our hope. For this reason, we can diligently contribute to every initiative that builds a more just world, and we can call others to collaborate in promoting the integral development of every human being. We wish to engage in dialogue with all men and women of our time, with whom we share in the events, questions and aspirations of humanity.”

The bishops of the United States (USCCB), have just produced a National Prayer Service Honoring the Many Journeys that Shaped America. I will plan with our Parish Advisory Board and our newly-forming Committee on Multicultural Affairs to plan this prayer service here in the fall, hopefully around Labor Day. It will be an opportunity for people in the parish of all ethnicities, countries of origin, and languages to tell their stories and grow deeper in community together. I would like ALL people in our diverse community to be represented. If you are interested in this project, please talk to me. We are ALL Americans, with many expressions.

The introduction to the prayer service says this: In observance of our 250th anniversary, and “rooted in the Church’s pastoral mission of welcome, accompaniment, and solidarity, the purpose of the prayer service is to acknowlege and honor the many and diverse communities that have journeyed to the United States in search of hope, safety, and opportunity, while also recognizing the voices, sufferings, and enduring contribu-tions of those who were forcibly brought to this land.” This sounds like a more worthy starting point for unity and healing.

The Lord be with you,