REGULAR MASS SCHEDULE Tuesday - Saturday: 8:30 a.m. Wednesday: 7:00 p.m. Sunday Vigil: Saturday 5:00 p.m. Sunday: 8:15 a.m..*; 11:00 a.m.*, and

5:30 p.m. *The nursery is available RECONCILIATION Saturday 3-4 p.m. or by appointment

BAPTISM To begin the process of having your child baptized, please call the office.

FUNERALS Please contact the parish office if there is a death in the family. The parish will cooperate with funeral arrangements. A priest will assist the family with funeral preparations.

COMMUNION FOR THE SICK & SHUT-INS: To make arrangements for home or hospital visits, contact the Parish Office.

MARRIAGE It is necessary for couples to contact the parish when the engagement is made. You should be a registered active member of the parish. Allow six to nine months for preparation for the sacrament. Extra time must be allotted if either of the parties has been married before.

CLERGY Robert Barras

NORMAL PARISH OFFICE HOURS Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.—5 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m.—4 p.m. Sunday Receptionist: 9:20—10:50

a.m.

15500 EL CAMINO REAL | HOUSTON , TEXAS 77062 | 281-486-0337 | WWW .STBCHURCH .ORG

DECEMBER 22, 2019

Sunday Dec. 8, 2019 $ 20,702.62 Children’s 163.33 Faith Direct* 10,391.58 Total Collection $ 31,257.53 Budget 29,314.00 Over (under) budget $ 1,943.53 Thank you for your continued commitment to St. Bernadette Parish. We pray for your continued generous support of God’s work here at St. Bernadette. *Faith Direct is a weekly average based on a monthly total

DSF 2019 Summary as of Dec. 9, 2019 Goal $ 184,800.00 Pledged by Parishioners $ 139,316.62 Paid to date $ 130,405.76 Over (under) goal $ (54,394.24)

Faith Commitment of Treasure

St. Bernadette Catholic Church

Christmas Mass Schedule

Tues., December 24 5:30 p.m. church 5:45 p.m. PLC 8:30 p.m. church Weds., December 25 9:00 a.m. church

ADVENT VESPERS Please join us for our final Advent Vespers on December 22 at 6:45 p.m. in the church. Vespers, also called Evening Prayer, is part of the Liturgy of the Hours, and allows us to obey the command of Jesus to “pray without ceasing.” Take this opportunity to begin the week in prayer and reflection, especially in this busy time of year.

Fr. Bob, Fr. Dominic, Deacon Bob, Deacon Kevin

and the entire Parish Staff wish you and yours a

Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year.

Welcome to

St. Bernadette Church Amid these busy days, we pause for worship and to remember the heart

of this season. Welcome!

Readings for the Week

Sunday: 4th Sunday of Advent Is 7:10-14/ Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 [7c, 10b]/Rom 1:1-7/Mt 1:18-24 Monday: Mal 3:1-4, 23-24/Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14/Lk 1:57-66

Tuesday: Christmas Eve 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16/Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29 [2]/Lk 1:67-79

Wednesday: The Nativity of the Lord (holy day of obligation) Is 52:7-10/Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6 [3c]/Heb 1:1-6/Jn 1:1-18 or Jn 1:1-5, 9-14

Thursday: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59/Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17 [6]/Mt 10:17-22

Friday: 1 Jn 1:1-4/Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12 [12]/Jn 20:1a, 2-8

Saturday: 1 Jn 1:5—2:2/Ps 124:2-3, 4-5, 7b-8 [7]/Mt 2:13-18

Next Sunday: The Holy Family Sir 3:2-6, 12-14/ Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 [cf. 1]/Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17/Mt 2:13-15, 19-23

DECEMBER 22, 2019

Elementary Faith Formation

The whole Faith Formation Team would like to thank everyone that has worked hard to make Whole Family Catechesis a success this past semester. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. As we end this Advent season and begin to welcome Christ in the Christmas season, we pray that anyone who is traveling will be safe. Whole Family Catechesis will begin again at 4:00 p.m. in the Church on January 12, 2020. Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year!

General News

Pre-K thru HS Faith Formation

See “General News” for general Faith Formation information. SAVE THE DATE

• No EDGE until January 12 – Have a Merry Christmas

and Joyous New Year!! • JrHigh Youth Rally will be at St. Bernadette this year –

February 22, 2020. This is the biggest JrHigh event of the year! Plan to join us all day. Register online*– early bird price thru January 20, late registration due February 2.

• Expedition 2020 – Summer Camp for Jr High (current 6th-8th graders), June 29 – July 3, 2020 – Registration online*

If you are not getting the parent news (usually sent out on Wednesday), first check your junk/ spam mail. If it is not there, email me at bartosm@stbchurch.org If your JrHigher has a sport, music, theater or other event, please contact me – I’d like to go if I am able. Marianne bartosm@stbchurch.org *Go to www.stbchurch.org => Education => Jr. High 6th-8th for the complete calendar and details for registering for events.

Jr. High Faith Formation

For the Tuesday, December 24 Mass at 5:30 p.m., we will have the nursery room open as a calming room for families to come and go as they need to. No nursery or calming room services on December 25 -Christmas 9 a.m. Mass, in order to allow our volunteers time with their families. The nursery room is the first room located in the left hallway of the church. We have a sound and video feed to the church service. If you have any questions please contact Aurora Summa at 281-486-0337 x 254 or summaa@stbchurch.org .

Nursery News

Merry Christmas! “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Classes resume January 12. Congratulations to all who received their First Sacrament of Reconciliation! First Eucharist Parent Meeting will be Tuesday, January 28 in the Parish Life Center from 7-8 p.m. Please contact me if you have any questions! Courtney Fossati Fossatic@stbchurch.org 281 486-0337 ext. 112

December Blood Drive Update THANK YOU so much for participating in the Advent Blood Drive! We collected enough blood donations to help save and sustain 51 lives! Thank you to you and everyone who donated at St. Bernadette Catholic Church for the lives you have impacted.

St. Bernadette Catholic Church

Christian Action Volunteer Needed: Do you enjoy directly helping people? We are looking for bilingual (English and Spanish) volunteers to help in Christian Action one weekday morning a week from 9-12 noon. Volunteers will talk directly with those in need to identify needs and help find appropriate resources. Plenty of training on resources and direct assistance will be provided. Please email Suzanne for more information at starons@stbchurch.org. First Sunday Breakfast: Join us the First Sunday of each month for a delicious breakfast cooked and served by the Knights of Columbus. This is a tasty and fun monthly social event for individuals and families. Coffee and Donut Socials: Take time to visit with other members after 8:15 a.m. Mass on the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of the month in the Parish Life Center. Each item is 60 cents. Everyone is welcome! We could use a few more people to help with coffee and donuts one time a month. Please call Suzanne at 281-486-0337 x110 if you may be able to help.

Has any of your contact information changed in the past year? If you have changed your name, have a new email address, phone number or home address, please let us know by going to our website (www.stbchurch.org => About Us => Address Change Form) to update your information.

Walking Group Please join us in walking around the gym with fellow parishioners. Enjoy walking in a safe and comfortable environment. Join us on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 1:30-2:30 p.m. and Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8-8:30 a.m. in the Brandsma Building gym (2 story building). We will resume our normal schedule on January 6. New members are welcome!

Get Fit While You Sit Join us for gentle DVD facilitated work-outs held on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10 a.m. in the Parish Life Center. These chair and standing routines will teach you skills for breathing exercise, relaxation and meditation. The exercise routines will be presented with warmth, respect and an appreciation for each

person’s physical uniqueness and ability. Men and women are welcome. No fee or registration needed. Classes will resume on January 7.

Time and Talent Preparations for the gala are in full swing. Early birds are getting their tickets, auction items are starting to come in, and the gala is starting to really come together. Do you want to get involved, but unsure what is needed? The live and silent auctions are the primary money makers at our gala, and we can always use new and fun items. Take a look at the list below and see if you can help with any of these. If you are involved with a business, consider having your business donate an item. We will provide all the paperwork for tax purposes.

• Tickets to a sporting event - Do you have season tickets and could part with a game or two?

• Tickets to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo - -Do you have tickets to a show you can donate to the gala?

• Handmade items

• Sports Memorabilia

• Gift certificates to area attractions

• Gift Baskets - We can help you come up with ideas, or choose something you are passionate about

• Tickets to local shows/musical performances

• Artwork

• In-kind donation from a business Considering something not on this list? Please email gala@stbchurch.org

DECEMBER 22, 2019

Hail Mary The Hail Mary is probably the most popular prayer known by Catholics outside the Mass. It forms part of the rosary, the Angelus, night prayer, and certain otherwise hopeless situations involving a football. It took us hundreds of years to write the Hail Mary. The first part came easy. It draws from the angel Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary, that she would give birth to Jesus: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28). When Mary visited Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist, Elizabeth greeted her with the next phrase we use in the prayer, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1:42). Over a period of centuries Catholics combined these two greetings of Mary and made them our own, figuring if Gabriel and Elizabeth could get Mary’s attention this way, maybe we could too. We strung these greetings together with our own prayer for Mary’s intercession. Part scripture, part tradition, the Hail Mary runs deep in Catholic spirituality. Two popular prayer forms use the Hail Mary: the rosary and the Angelus. In the rosary, it serves as a mantra, a repetitive sequence of words, thoughts and rhythms that draw the believer into a prayerful trance before the mysteries of our salvation. In the Angelus it reminds the faithful three times a day of the incarnation, the Word of God becoming flesh. In liturgical prayer, the Hail Mary has never staked out territory in the Mass. The Scripture quotations it borrows from Luke’s Gospel do occur at Mass as antiphons and responses on feasts of Mary, but we usually substitute a hymn to Mary in their place. However, among liturgical prayers, we find the Hail Mary at the one we call “night prayer.” The liturgy of the hours is the official Catholic prayer form marking the principal hours of the day: morning, daytime, evening, and night. The brief service that ends the day concludes with a prayer to Mary. The church offers us several options here, but the most familiar of them is the Hail Mary, the last prayer of the day.

Paul Turner Copyright © 2012 Resource Publications, Inc., 160 E. Virginia St. #170, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 286-8505.

Adult Spiritual Life

Register Now for Men’s Retreat! Growing in Discipleship

Looking for a Christmas gift for that special man in your life? This men's overnight retreat led by men of the parish, January 24 - 26, 2020, will be held at the Christian Renewal Center in Dickinson. Join other men of your parish for fellowship and spiritual growth. This retreat promises to bring everyone into a deeper and more intentional understanding and relationship as disciples of Jesus Christ. Reserve a spot today by completing the online registration form at the St. Bernadette website, www.stbchurch.org => Parish Life =>Spiritual Life =>Men’s Retreat. For more information, please contact Phil Prasek at paprasek@comcast.net .

If you’re wondering what Fr. Bob might like for Christmas, please help him meet our parish goal for this year’s DSF campaign. To date, parishioners have donated $130,406. toward our $184,800. goal. To support this effort, please drop your pledge off at the parish office or in the offertory basket. Or donate online at www.archgh.org/dsf. Thank you!

Christmas and New Years The parish offices will be closed from Noon on

Tuesday, December 24 until 8 a.m. on Thursday, January 2, 2020

Christmas Time

The Season of Christmas

Christmas Time does not begin until the Christmas Eve evening Masses. It extends through the Baptism of the Lord, this year occurring on January 12. All that time that the stores celebrate as Christmas is really Advent. After Christmas Day we usually have less hassle and more time to enjoy the holidays with our families and friends. Keep the holiday spirit alive during those weeks after the actual feast. It is entirely appropriate to keep up the lights, the tree, the music, and above all the good cheer. Christmas is too important a feast to be done with in twenty-four hours.

Masses for the Week

DECEMBER 22 THRU DECEMBER 28, 2019

Sat. 5pm: All Parishioners Sun. 8:15am: Paul Micocci + Sun. 11am: Jim Jacoby + Sun. 5:30pm: John Zarcaro + Mon. No Mass Tues. 5:30pm: All Parishioners Tues. 5:45pm: All Parishioners Tues. 8:30pm: All Parishioners Wed. 9:00am: All Parishioners Thurs. 8:30am: Jerry Hajek, III + Fri. 8:30am: Gerald Moyer + Sat. 8:30am: Anastasius & Andrew Taylor +

PLEASE REMEMBER OUR PARISHIONERS: Carol Koerschner, 12/22/1986; Charles Brown, 12/22/2004; Helen Davin, 12/22/2006; Marie Tamalenus, 12/22/2008; Bud Forrest, 12/23/2002; Fidel Gonzalez, 12/24/2006; Paul Reed, 12/25/1998; Russell Bealer, 12/25/2005; Antonio Chiari, 12/26/2000; Louise Chiotes, 12/26/2010; Anita Durkin, 12/27/1990 on the anniversaries of their entrance into Heaven.

I did not end up being the great parent I had hoped I would be. I am not saying I was bad, but I was not the cool dad who did all things right and led my children by the example of my endlessly good actions. I messed up a bunch. Sometimes I was afraid. I was afraid of decisions I had to make and the possible repercussions. At times, I was afraid that I was not strong enough to lead my family. The fear occasionally led me toward inaction or eventual mistakes. The only thing

that got me through the tough times and allowed me to see it was okay was Jesus. Without Jesus, I would never have been half of the father and husband I have been through the years. When we try to tackle life alone, we can find ourselves in a very lonely position. Just like Jesus’ parents, we need God to assist us and provide us with the strength for what lies ahead. Joseph needed God to be with him as he took Mary as his wife and became a father. Every parent needs God to become more than they can be on their own.

How do you treat those who you love? Who is there to help you when a relationship faces an obstacle? We are called to love others as our Father in heaven loves us. That is really an unreachable goal. Yet with God, all things are possible. As this Advent ends, may your Christmas be about more than presents and decorations. May the most profound gifts you give and receive be that of each other, and may your lives be decorated with the fruits of that love. — Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

Question: Why do we call Jesus “the light of the world”? Answer: In cultures around the world, light and darkness are chief symbols of good and

evil, order and chaos, clarity and confusion, hope and despair. These symbols tap into something essential about the nature of things. God has given us the created world as a gift. His first work, as we see in Genesis 1, is to create light, giving meaning and insight to the abyss. It is in the light that the rest of creation comes to be. A gathering darkness emerges in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve hide, shrouding themselves from the sun’s rays and the gaze of God. While God offers a promise of salvation and establishes a covenant with His people, the sense of fog and dim understanding still remain. The Hebrew people repeatedly betray the promises they have made to God, and all around them the nations actively worship idols. The promise of God is not in vain, however. In John 1, we see a depiction of Christ as primordial goodness, order, clarity, and hope. “The true light, which enlightens everyone was coming into the world … this life was the light of the human race” (John 1: 9, 4). Think of the last sunrise you witnessed. As you watched the lavender brighten to rose edged with gold, did your heart swell? Did you recall the goodness of the world? Did you feel rekindled hope? Such is the role of Christ in the soul. Such is his coming Incarnate in our world.

Why Do We Do That?

St. Bernadette Catholic Church

EVERYDAY

The true worship of God is always expressed in love of one’s neighbour.

Pope Francis, Verified Account @Pontifex

DECEMBER 22, 2019

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