I hope you all had a blessed week and a Happy Saint Valentine’s Day. Having been invited to Put Out Into the Deep last Sunday, this Sunday we are confronted with the contrast between a life lived in a self-satisfied way and a life nurtured by life in the Lord. We are so inclined to distracting ourselves in a million ways from the deep needs of our hearts, needs that can only be filled through a cultivated and close relationship with Jesus. When we lack this relationship, we dry up, but our distractions can keep us from noticing it. The psalm today is Psalm 1. It contrasts the relationship in the Lord that the righteous have, comparing it to a tree beside flowing water, to that of the wicked, who dry up and are blown away by the wind. We ask for grace today to stay rooted in the One who truly nourishes us, first and foremost through the Holy Mass!
Attention families of 7th-12th grade students! Please make note of the retreat we are having on March 19th in the Lourdes Center, there is a flyer with a QR code to sign up on page nine. We are bringing in a team of Missionaries from Net Ministries to lead this retreat. This is a team of young people who travel the country giving retreats and helping the next generation to develop an authentic relationship with Jesus. I promise that this will be a worthwhile investment of time for our youth!
A special word of thanks to Wanda Gerber, who has for the past eighteen years been the coordinator of the seasonal decorations for Saint Bernadette Church. The work of getting our church ready for Mass is one that would be impossible without the assistance of dedicated volunteers. The leadership and the work of decorating is particularly important, and Wanda has done this with devotion and joy and as such has helped a generation of our parish to know and love Jesus through the Mass through the various seasons of the church year. Thank you, Wanda!
Linda Valentine and Sue O'Toole have taken the baton from Wanda in this holy work, and I thank them as they begin this new chapter!
Our committee to determine the path forward for our rectory at Saint Bernadette has its inaugural meeting on Monday February 17. More news and communication to come, but please pray for their work!
Come Holy Spirit, Come through Mary,