Message from Father Bob

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT – WHAT’S THE GOOD NEWS?

                Today we hear Mark start his Gospel with the headline, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  The gospel or “the good word” or “the good news” is that this person Jesus whom Mark will be telling us about during this new Liturgical Year is the MESSIAH, the Christ.  To top off this good news, he is even more – he is the Son of God. 

                Well now there is no mystery left in how the Gospel of Mark is going to end.  Mark already has told us that Jesus is our divine savior and redeemer.  That’s the Good News!

ADVENT WREATH PRAYER – FOR WEEK 2

                “For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.”  Baruch 5:9

                Light two candles on your wreath, then pray: 

Lord, as you come to us once again at Christmas, you invite us to come to you as well.  Soften our hearts to recognize the areas in life where we need to grow.  Smooth over the craggy peaks and deep crevasses that keep us apart from you.  May we seek you above everything else and give you to others as the best gift of all this Christmas.  AMEN.

TODAY, DEC. 6^TH, IS ALSO THE FEAST DAY OF ST. NICHOLAS!

                For many of us as children, this was a day when an extra sweet treat of some kind would always appear in a mysterious sort of way.  For me and my siblings, some years on St. Nicholas Day, a half-gallon of Velvet Freeze chocolate ripple ice cream would be setting right outside the kitchen door after supper.  Eventually it dawned on me that Dad just went for a haircut to the barbershop that just happened to be right next door to the Velvet Freeze ice cream parlor.  Hmm!  That was a real treat in those days, and we always thanked good ol’ St. Nick!

                St. Nicholas was a real person who is a real saint in heaven.  He lived in the early 4^th century and was martyred by the Romans around 350 A.D. during the last great Roman persecution.  He was the bishop in Myra, Asia Minor (now the country of Turkey).  When he became bishop, he was known as the “wonderworker” because he could heal the sick and calm storms.    There are many legends about Bishop Nicholas, including about the man who was going to sell his three daughters into slavery so they would not starve.  The bishop found out about this and secretly tossed three bags of gold through a window in their house.  This remarkable act of charity became an example to others centuries later to surprise children with a treat or gift.  Eventually, in the 1800’s St. Nicholas’ name was shortened to Santa Claus who always seemed to delight in children receiving surprising gifts. 

                St. Nicholas, bishop and martyr, pray for us and especially for our children, including children from poor families!

“PANDEMIC” CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE AT ST. BERNADETTE PARISH!

                Tentatively, pending any further guidelines from St. Louis County or the Archdiocese of St. Louis, our Christmas Mass schedule will be (different from last year):

                Christmas Eve – 3:00pm and 5:00pm

                Christmas Morning – 9am

NEW MISSALETTES FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

                Pandemic protocols from the Archdiocese call for no missalettes or hymnals to be left in the pews in church.  But since we have them anyway and not wanting to waste them,  each parish member is invited to take one from the church entrance table and keep it for your personal use every Sunday.   Write you name on the cover and take it home with you, and then remember to keep bringing it with you every weekend.

  For a video tutorial visit the St. Bernadette Youtube channel or click the link below:

https://youtu.be/am3MpURk_L4

STARTING THIS WEEK PRINTED WORDS OF THE HYMNS AT MASS

Since it looks like it will be a long while before we can get back to using Missalettes and Hymnals because of Covid19, we will start providing a printed, throwaway sheet with just the words of the Entrance Hymn and theRecessional  Hymn.  Just pick up the sheet at the church entrances, and then after Mass throw it right in the trash can as you leave church. We cannot reuse any music sheet.

Bulletins Available! Something New!!

There will be a plastic box with the most recent Sun- day bulletins inside fixed to a post by the rectory steps leading up to the parish office. If you cannot come to the church or get them online, here's your chance to keep up with the news of the parish. Please alert all those still quarantining so they can come  by  to  get one. New bulletins will be available each week after  the 10:30am Mass on Sunday. Those of you not coming back to Mass yet are not forgotten and we look for- ward to the day when it is safe for everyone to    re- turn.  In the meantime, we hold each other in prayer and keep in touch!

You can click on the link for this on our Parish Website, or type this link in:

      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGfj7nDgJ4vAnL31_c-5Tlg