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 First Sunday of Advent 

  This week's Gospel is taken from the end of Mark's Gospel, the chapter that immediately precedes Mark's account of Jesus' Passion. Having been questioned repeatedly by the scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus is now questioned by his disciples — Peter, James, John, and Andrew — who want details about his prediction of the destruction of the Temple. Jesus answers with many warnings about the difficulties that the disciples will face.

    Today's passage comes at the conclusion of Jesus' warnings to his disciples. Jesus emphasizes the need for watchfulness. The Son of Man will come without warning; only the Father knows the exact hour. The disciples must not be caught unprepared when this time comes.

Schedule for Advent and Christmas Season

	First Sunday of Advent	Sunday, December 3rd	Weekend Mass Schedule
	Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Thursday, December 8th	12:10pm
	Second Sunday of Advent	Sunday, December 10th	Weekend Mass Schedule
	Third Sunday of Advent	Sunday, December 17th	Weekend Mass Schedule
	Fourth Sunday of Advent	Sunday, December 24th	Weekend Mass Schedule
	Christmas Vigil	Sunday, December 24th	4:00pm and 8:00pm
	Christmas Day	Monday, December 25th	9:00am
	Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph	Sunday, Dec. 31st	12:10 pm
	Solemnity of Mary Mother of God	Monday, January 1st	9:00 am
	Epiphany of the Lord	Sunday, January 7th	Weekend Mass Schedule
	The feasts of Immaculate Conception, and Christmas are holy days of obligation.
	As per the directives given by the Diocese of Lafayette's Office of Worship regarding Christmas and New Year Masses: This year, the Eve of Christmas falls on Sunday. Catholics are expected to attend separate Masses to fulfill their Sunday obligation and their Christmas obligation. The Fourth Sunday of Advent obligation can be filled as usual: Saturday at 4 pm and Sunday at 7:30 or 10:30 am. The Christmas obligation can be fulfilled on Sunday for Vigil Mass at 4:00 pm, Mass at Night at 8:00 pm, or Christmas Day (Monday) at 9:00 am. Christmas Mass obligation DOES NEED to be a different Mass than the regular Sunday Mass. Someone could go to two different Masses on Sunday — 4th Sunday of Advent Mass at 10:30 am and a Christmas Mass (Vigil at 4 pm or Night at 8 pm) and receive Holy Communion at both Masses. The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on Monday , January 1st, is NOT a Holy Day of Obligation this year.

A WORD FROM THE PASTOR

Counting and Accounting

    When you were a child, did you play the game, Hide and Seek? If you did, you will remember that the person who was "it" closed his eyes while the rest went to hide. To give them time to hide, the child started counting: 5, 10, 15, 20 and up to 100. Then he would say, "Ready or not, here I come!" The point of the game was to hide oneself so well that the leader could not find you, for if he found you, and beat you back to the goal, you had to be "it" the next go-around. The secret of the game was preparing oneself against being found and caught. With excitement we heard the words, "Ready or not - here I come!"

    In today's Gospel lesson Jesus is saying to us, "Ready or not - here I come." In chapter 13 of Mark, Jesus tells us that he will be returning to the earth "with great power and glory." Though this is not a game, there is counting going on right now. In addition, there is also accounting going on. It is a countdown before the blast of his appearance on earth again. It is accounting this time to judge the world and to gather his faithful to himself. Our life on earth is to be one of productive service, uninfluenced by a supervisor's presence or seeming absence.

    "Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come" are the key words that one should keep in mind always. If an expected event does not happen as quickly as expected, people stop doing the things they ought to do. Hence, Jesus uses a parable about the gate-keeper in the house of a traveling master. Since the master was traveling, his servant must be constantly alert at all times. There was always a fear that the master would come home "suddenly and catch you asleep." In such situations, one must constantly, "be on guard!" So there is both counting and accounting. One must be constantly on guard and be ready to give an account to the Master.

    There is no reason for Christ's followers to be fearful, provided we are ready every day for Jesus' return.  If we are awake and ready, the coming of the Son of Man is an event to be greeted with joy. Thus, our whole life should be a preparation to meet the Master. We base this constant watch not on fear but on hope in God's promise of eternal life.

    In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Jewish psychiatrist Viktor Frankl tells his story of how he survived the atrocities of the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Frankl says one of the worst sufferings at Auschwitz was waiting: waiting for the war to end; waiting for an uncertain date of release, and waiting for death to end the agony. This waiting caused some prisoners to lose sight of future goals, to let go of their grip on present realities and give up the struggle. This same waiting made others like Frankl accept it as a challenge, as a test to their inner strength and a chance to discover deeper dimensions of freedom.  

    I pray that this Advent season increases our inner strength to wait for the Lord and be able to account to him.

In the service of the Lord

Article Archives

Why is the First Sunday of Advent So Important ? It serves as a new beginning. Advent season marks the start of a new year for Christian churches. A new year is always an opportunity for growth, restoration, and renewal. It gives people hope. One of the major celebrations of Advent is the birth and Second Coming of Christ. This is a hopeful time in the lives of Christians that paints a better future for the world. It's an opportunity for self-reflection. The Advent season is also a time for personal reflection. It gives Christians an opportunity to renew their faith and solidify their relationship with God.

Faith Formation

   The Church's cycle of Lectionary readings begins on the First Sunday of Advent each year. We are entering Cycle B, which is organized around Mark's Gospel. We will also hear the prophet Isaiah's words in the First Reading. On this First Sunday of the Church year, Jesus speaks of his coming in glory. He cautions us to be ready for him by living each day in the light of God.

   As a family, plan to actively use an Advent wreath in your home this year. It's not just a decoration! Together, come up with a simple prayer or action to perform each day. As you light a candle, simply pray "Come, Lord Jesus, Come." Let this help your family focus on the coming feast and on serving others. God Bless!

 Becky Wiggins, DRE

View Faith Formation class photos on our FB page...

How Well Do You Actually Know The Bible? This week we continue our series to help us know more about the Bible. No book in the history of the world has wielded as much influence on civilization as the Holy Bible. The Bible is unique in that it had God as its Author, while all other books were composed by human beings. It is indeed, the Book of Books.

The Apocrypha
Know Your Bible #6

   Those books which were rejected by the Council of Hippo as being non-biblical belong to what is called the Apocrypha. These books treat largely of the incidents and events during the life of Christ not related in the books of the Bible. They are often well worth reading, as they offer much historical information not otherwise available. However, some of these stories have slightly heretical tendencies.

   The Catholic use of the word “Apocrypha,” as defined above, should be distinguished from the incorrect Protestant use of the word. Protestants use this term to designate the seven books of the Bible included in the Catholic Bible canon, but not accepted or found in Protestant Bibles. These seven books are: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and parts of Esther and Daniel. Protestants call the books found in the Catholic Apocrypha the Pseudepigraphal books.

How Well Do You Actually Know The Bible?

Bible Quiz #32 from the Book of Genesis Chapters 7-11

1. How long did God bring rain down on the earth?
2. How many people were in the ark during the flood?
3. How did Noah know that water dried on the earth?
4. After the flood what did Noah do for the Lord?
5. What was the sign of the covenant that God made with Noah?
6. Why did God establish a covenant with Noah?
7. Who was first to plant a vineyard?
8. Why did God pull down the tower of Babel?
9. What was the impact of the tower collapse?
10. Who was the father of Abram?     

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. Read more...

Confirmation - Official Decree

To Our St. Bernadette Family -

At the end of February, Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel, D.D., issued a decree regarding the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Diocese of Lafayette. A portion of his Decree letter is printed below. You can also find a video by Bishop Deshotel on the Diocese of Lafayette website (diolaf.org).

*The complete decree letter can be found here.

Sharing in the Blessedness of Christ

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.

  Pope Benedict XVI
  2005—2013

Please read more..
The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12

Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration

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.”

If you would like to participate in adoration please contact Becky Wiggins at the rectory for more information.
Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association

Examination of Conscience for Adults

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.

Please read the full article....