An updated Adoration Schedule is in the vestibule. We have many open hours available for you to spend time alone with Jesus. Call the office to let us know what time you are choosing.
Welcome!
Thank you for visiting us at Saint Bernadette Church, which is a Roman Catholic parish located in Bayou Vista - between Patterson and Berwick, Louisiana,
in the Diocese of Lafayette . St. Bernadette Church continues the Sacramental Traditions of Jesus Christ as handed down by the Apostles, we strive to live lives of Communion and Participation as we seek to fulfill the mission bestowed upon us by Christ.
Our Pastor is Father Thainese Alphonse.
The Liturgy of the Word for The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls' Day)
On the Feast of All Souls, we pray for the souls of all those who have died. The Gospel story of the raising of Lazarus offers us many important insights about this aspect of our faith.
Jesus was good friends with Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. Lazarus had fallen ill, and Martha and Mary had sent word to Jesus. Jesus delays his journey to them, however, and when he arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead and has been buried for four days.
The scene described at Bethany is a sad one; Lazarus and his family have many friends who have come to mourn his death. Martha goes out to meet Jesus when he arrives. She cries with him, saying that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Yet she remains confident that God will do whatever Jesus asks. Jesus consoles her with the promise that Lazarus would rise from the dead. Martha affirms her belief that there will be resurrection of the dead in the last days. Jesus promises her even more; he says that he himself is the Resurrection and the life for all those who believe in him. Martha professes her faith in this, acknowledging that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God.
This is the profession of faith we continue to make, and it is the promise on which we base our hope for eternal life for ourselves and for all those who have died. In his death and Resurrection, Jesus has conquered death for all those who believe in him.
First Reading
Wisdom 3:1-9
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 23:1-3a,3b-4,5,6
Second Reading
Romans 5:5-11
Gospel Reading
John 6:37-40
Jesus said to the crowds:
"Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."
John 6:37-40
All Saints' Day & All Souls' Day
The liturgical calendar of the Church is punctuated by various feast days of saints. On these days, we ask in a special way for the intercession of these holy men and women as we honor their cooperation with God's grace and seek to imitate their lives. Because there are too many saints to honor specifically by name, the Church celebrates All Saints' Day each year. We are obligated to attend Mass to thank God for the witness of all saints, those known by name and those known to God alone.
All Souls' Day is a commemoration of all the faithful departed, including those still undergoing the purification of purgatory. On this day, the focus is on our friends and loved ones, or indeed anyone waiting at the "bus stop: of purgatory, looking for a transfer to heaven.
All Saints' Day - Holy Mass - Saturday, November 1st, 9:00 am
The Communion of Saints
The term "communion" refers to a shared participation of the Church Militant (those on earth), the Church Penitent (souls in purgatory), and the Church Triumphant (saints in heaven), made possible by the Holy Spirit. This unity is not broken by death but is instead strengthened through the power of Christ's resurrection. The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses this doctrine in its discussion of the Church as the Body of Christ (see CCC 946-962). We, as Catholics, believe that all members of this communion are called to holiness and assist one another in achieving it. The saints in heaven intercede for us on earth, while we-the living-pray for the souls in purgatory. This mutual assistance reflects the communal nature of salvation. The doctrine counters the idea of an isolated spiritual life by affirming that we all are linked in a single family of faith. It is a source of encouragement, showing that no one strives for holiness alone.
The Communion of Saints is a living reality in our Catholic life. It binds us together across time and space in our shared pursuit of holiness. From its scriptural origins to its liturgical expression, it reveals the depth of our identity as the Church. As a part of the communion of saints, we are reminded that we are part of something greater than ourselves. Through prayer and action, we participate in this communion daily, inviting all to share in in this union.
Every year on the evening of All Souls' Day, the parish church bells of St. Mary's toll softly at dusk. As the sound echoes through the neighborhood, the faithful begin to gather-some carrying flowers, others holding candles-to remember those who have gone before them in faith.
At the edge of the parish stands the home of Mrs. Teresa Ramirez, a longtime parishioner. For more than twenty years, she has placed a single white candle in her window on All Souls' night. "It's my prayer," she says quietly, "for my husband, for my parents, and for all the souls who have no one left to pray for them."
One November evening, a young altar server named Daniel walked past her house after Mass. Seeing the candle, he stopped and asked, "Mrs. Ramirez, why do you light that candle every year?" She smiled gently. "Because love doesn't end at the cemetery, Daniel. The people we've loved are still with us-in Christ. My candle is a way of saying to God, 'Remember them, Lord, and bring them into your light.'"
Daniel thought for a moment. "Then maybe I'll light one for my grandfather tonight," he said softly. "He used to sit right behind me at Mass." "That would be beautiful," Mrs. Ramirez replied. "Each prayer, each small flame, helps light the way-for them, and for us too."
Later that evening, when the bells of St. Mary's tolled once more, small lights began to appear in windows up and down the street. One by one, the parish families joined in the quiet tradition-each candle a sign of faith, each flame a prayer that death never has the final word.
On All Souls' Day, we remember that we belong to one family in Christ-on earth and in heaven. Every prayer, every light, every whisper "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord," becomes a bridge of love between this world and the next.
Therefore, All Souls' Day is deeply personal. We remember mothers and fathers, grandparents, children, friends, and neighbors - all who have touched our lives and helped shape our faith. We visit cemeteries, light candles, and whisper prayers not out of despair, but out of hope. For death is not the end; it is the doorway to eternal life. As the Preface for the Dead proclaims so beautifully:
"For your faithful, Lord, life is changed, not ended; and when this earthly dwelling turns to dust, an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven."
In praying for the dead, we also prepare our own hearts for eternity. All Souls' Day gently calls us to live each day in faith, repentance, and love - so that when the Lord calls us home, we may be ready to enter into the joy of his presence.
Let us approach this day, then, with peaceful faith and grateful remembrance. Let us pray earnestly for all who await the light of heaven, that they may soon behold the face of God. And let us live in the hope that, when our earthly pilgrimage is complete, we shall be reunited with them in that eternal communion of love where every tear will be wiped away.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
Faith Formation 2025 - 2026
In our Gospel Weeklies lessons throughout the year, our children will be meeting Jesus in the Sunday Gospel, the same Gospel that will be proclaimed during Mass the upcoming weekend. As your child's first, and most important catechist, its your role to help them develop a personal relationship with God by providing them with opportunities to learn about the teachings of the Church, the sacraments, and the lives of the saints. While we are extremely grateful that your children are usually present at class weekly, it is more important for them to be in Mass every weekend. Your family belongs to the Catholic community, but in order to feel this sense of belonging, your family MUST BE involved in the life of the Church. By taking an active role in the life of the Church, you can help your children see the relevance and importance of our Catholic faith in our lives.
In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus promises that he will never turn away any person who comes to him. He gives us the perfect example to follow to do the will of God the Father as we are a part of the Communion of Saints. He also reminds us - Whoever believes in Him will have eternal life with God in heaven. That seems like an easy thing to do, but it is often difficult in reality. With prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit, we will enjoy eternal happiness with the Lord.
This week, take some time to pray that your family can answer God's call to live as saints.
Please keep our Confirmands and First Communicants in your prayers.
Confirmands
Miles Bourgeois
Parker LaCoste
Isabelle Neil
Chloe Ross
Colin Lasseigne
First Communicants
Noah DeRouen
Carlos Dominguez
Brylee Guillory
Amelia Guillot
Asher LaCoste
Olivia Lemoine
Kaden Wade
Avery Gaspard
Alex Garcia
Melissa Nice
Liam Pike
Classes throughout the year will be held on Wednesdays from 5:45pm - 7:00pm for ALL GRADE LEVELS (Kindergarten - 8th).
Our next Family Mass is November 23rd
I can't wait to see and pray with everyone this Wednesday!
Hail, holy Queen enthroned above, oh Maria.
Hail, mother of mercy and of love, oh Maria.
Triumph all ye cherubim, Sing with us ye seraphim.
Heaven and earth resound the hymn.
Salve, Salve, Salve Regina.
The beautiful tradition of May Crowning reflects the beauty of the 5th Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary which it evokes. Honoring Our Lady, Queen of Heaven and Earth, honors her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ Who first crowned her as His Queen. Adorning Our Lady with a crown of flowers is a custom of great devotion to Our Holy Mother and recalls the beauty of her love for us during difficult times in the world.
Our Lady always guides as a loving Mother. Her Immaculate Heart and her maternal beauty will always triumph over the ugliness of sin and suffering.
As we crown the Blessed Virgin on Mother's Day, we ask that she intercede for us to her Son.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
Holiness demands a constant effort, but it is possible for everyone because, rather than a human effort, it is first and foremost a gift of God, thrice holy. The Apostle John remarks: See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. It is God, therefore, who loved us first and make us his adoptive sons in Jesus. Everything in our lives is a gift of his love: how can we be indifferent before such a great mystery? How can we not respond to the heavenly Father's love by living as grateful children? In Christ, he gave us the gift of his entire self and calls us to a personal and profound relationship with him. Consequently, the more we imitate Jesus and remain united to him the more we enter into the mystery of his divine holiness. We discover that he loves us infinitely, and this prompts us in turn to love our brethren. Loving always entails an act of self-denial, "losing ourselves," and it is precisely this that makes us happy….
In truth, the blessed par excellence is only Jesus. He is, in fact, the true poor in spirit, the one afflicted, the meek one, the one hungering and thirsting for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemaker. He is the one persecuted for the sake of justice.
The Beatitudes show us the spiritual features of Jesus and thus express his mystery, the mystery of his death and Resurrection, of his Passion and the joy of his Resurrection. This mystery, which is the mystery of true blessedness, invites us to follow Jesus and thus to walk toward it. To the extent that we accept his proposal and set out to follow him—each one in his own circumstances—we too can participate in his blessedness. With him, the impossible becomes possible and even a camel can pass through the eye of a needle; with his help, only with his help can we become perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect.
One of the greatest graces for our parish is Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in our chapel.
To quote Pope John Paul II; "We come here to meet the Heart of Jesus pierced for us, from which water and blood gush. It is the redeeming love, which is at the origin of salvation, of our salvation, which is at the origin of the Church. Now still today, the living Christ loves us and presents His Heart to us as the source of our redemption… We are called not only to meditate and contemplate on this mystery of Christ's love; we are called to take part in it. It is the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, the center of our Faith, the center of our worship of Christ's merciful love manifested in His Sacred Heart, a mystery which is adored here night and day. In the Eucharist – this is also the meaning of perpetual adoration – we enter the movement of love from which all interior progress and all apostolate efficacy springs."
Mother Teresa taught "When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now."
This examination of conscience is not intended merely as a checklist to be used prior to confession. The purpose of this examination is to help souls to know what actions or attitudes are sinful and the gravity of the particular sin. The hope is that this knowledge will serve to keep people from committing these sins.
* Three things are necessary for a sin to be mortal: 1. Serious matter (things listed on this sheet); 2. Knowledge or firm belief that the act is seriously wrong prior to committing the act; 3. Full consent to the will.
All three of these conditions must be present simultaneously for a sin to be mortal. This means that if you did not know the act was seriously wrong, then you are not guilty of having committed a mortal sin. If you did not will the act, e.g., if you were forced or if it was in a dream, you are not guilty of having committed a mortal sin.
All mortal sins committed since your last confession must be confessed by both type and number, i.e., the title of the sin and how many times it was done. If there is a mortal sin from the past that was forgotten and has not been confessed, it should be confessed at your next confession. It is not necessary to confess venial sins, but it is a good and pious practice.
There's an old saying that goes, "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic." Maybe you have been away from the Church for a little while or quite some time, but somehow you now feel a tug at your heart calling you back home to the Catholic Church. That's why we're here.
Whether or not you know you want to return to the Catholic Church, we're here to help you take that second look. That mysterious pull inside you, driving you to look into your faith once more, comes directly from God. Your Heavenly Father is yearning for a relationship with you again, in the Church founded by Jesus 2000 years ago. He's waiting for you with open arms. Please Read More...
USCCB - Pro-Life Activities
Laws that permit or promote abortion, infanticide, human cloning, destructive embryo research or physician-assisted suicide ignore the sanctity of each human life and undermine the foundation of a just and healthy society. As citizens and people of faith, each of us should actively advance our convictions in the public square in every legitimate and ethical way. We should rededicate ourselves to upholding the sanctity of human life, and hold those elected to represent us to the same standard. Please Read More...
Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics
This voter's guide helps you cast your vote in an informed manner consistent with Catholic moral teaching.
This voter's guide identifies five issues involving "non-negotiable" moral values in current politics and helps you narrow down the list of acceptable candidates, whether they are running for national, state, or local offices. Please Read More...
Weekly Reflection
Commemorating All Souls "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day."
John 6:40
Yesterday's Solemnity of All Saints gave us an opportunity to celebrate and rejoice in the fact that there are countless people who have gone before us who are now enjoying the glories of Heaven. These faithful souls lived lives that were grounded in God's grace and have been fully purified of all sin. They now gaze at our good God face-to-face.
Today, we commemorate the fact that many who die in a state of grace are not immediately ready to stand before the glorious throne of God and see Him face-to-face. The only way this is possible is if every sin and every attachment to sin is purged from our souls. We must have nothing but pure charity alive within us if we are to enter the eternal glories of Heaven. But how many people die in such a state?
The Church, in her wisdom and holiness, has taught clearly through the centuries that when a person passes from this world to the next while still attached to less serious sin, they need to be fully purified in order to enter Heaven. This is Purgatory. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned" (#1030-31a).
For some, Purgatory can be a frightening and even confusing thought. Why doesn't God, in His infinite mercy, simply take all our loved ones who followed Him straight to Heaven? The answer is simple. He does! And the path for them to Heaven is this incredible mercy of their final purification.
Purification of all attachment to sin within our soul is a mercy beyond what we can imagine. Through this final purification, God prepares the holy souls who have died for an eternity of joy. But this purification is necessary because God, in His love, does not want any soul to live eternally with even a minor attachment to sin. God wants us all free. The truth is that every sin on our soul, even the smallest one, is reason enough for us to be excluded from Heaven. So Purgatory must be seen as a final mercy from God by which He lifts every last burden that keeps us from perfect love, so that our eternity will be one of utmost freedom and ecstasy. God wants us to be filled only with the purity of love forever. Thus, upon our death, we are graced to enter into a final and intense purification of every minor sin, so that when we see God in all His glory, we will see Him with the perfection to which we are called. Purgatory is a gift, a grace, a mercy. It will be painful to go through in the same way that overcoming any sin is painful. But the good fruit of freedom from sin makes every final purification we must endure worth it a hundredfold and more.
Reflect, today, upon the spiritual truth that God wants you to be a saint. If you are among those few who die in a state in which you are purified from every sin, then be assured that you have already completed your purgatory on earth. But if you or your loved ones are among the many who still hold some minor attachment to sin at the time of death, then rejoice that God is not done with you yet. Anticipate with much gratitude the final purification that awaits and look forward to the freedom that ultimately comes from that purification.
My merciful Lord, You desire that my soul and the souls of all your faithful be purified of every sin, even the smallest imperfection. I thank You for the mercy of Purgatory and pray that I will continually work toward that purification here and now. I pray, also, for all those who have gone before me and are still in need of these purifying fires. Pour forth Your mercy upon them so that they may be counted among the saints in Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You. Source: mycatholic.life
If you have any questions regarding Religious Education, please call Becky at 395-2470.
Get Involved-
Catholics have a long history of action - feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, caring for the poor, praying for souls. Are you doing all you can to help? If not, find out if there is a parish ministry that could use your time, talent, or treasure. Catholics are meant to make a difference.
Lay people who place their time and talent as acolytes (altar servers), lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, cantors, choir members, instrumentalists, and ushers become more fully in union with Christ and with each other.
Our current ministers are ready to partner up with any and all who are willing to say yes. At one time, we were all nervous and feared stepping into the sanctuary of the church - some of us are still nervous today. You don't have to do it alone. We will support and guide you.
Bishop Services Appeal 2025 - Stepping Through the Holy Doors
When someone wants to show you their affection and friendship, they invite you to their home. There are two important things which occur next: conversation and a meal. In the celebration of the Mass, it is Jesus who invites us to participate in his friendship, during which we also encounter these two important moments: conversation, which is when Jesus speaks to us through his Word and we respond with our prayers; and a meal, when Jesus offers us the Eucharistic banquet giving us his Body and Blood.
Knights of Columbus Council 6211 is located in Bayou Vista, La. We are currently recruiting new members from the Parish.
Monthly Meetings for the Bayou Vista Knights Council are held on the 1st Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m.
Location for the meeting is at 113 Sunset Rd, Bayou Vista, LA 70380. KC Council 6211 Contact Info... Knights
of Columbus Info...
St. Bernadette Parsih Pastoral Council and Finance Committee
Holiness demands a constant effort, but it is possible for everyone because, rather than a human effort, it is first and foremost a gift of God, thrice holy. The Apostle John remarks: See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. It is God, therefore, who loved us first and make us his adoptive sons in Jesus. Everything in our lives is a gift of his love: how can we be indifferent before such a great mystery? How can we not respond to the heavenly Father's love by living as grateful children? In Christ, he gave us the gift of his entire self and calls us to a personal and profound relationship with him. Consequently, the more we imitate Jesus and remain united to him the more we enter into the mystery of his divine holiness. We discover that he loves us infinitely, and this prompts us in turn to love our brethren. Loving always entails an act of self-denial, "losing ourselves," and it is precisely this that makes us happy….
One of the greatest graces for our parish is Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in our chapel. 
