Dear Parishioners,

If we follow the Gospel this week, it is one that truly makes us as Christians stand out in the world; the teaching to love our enemy is unique. The deep call in the Christian life is to love not just those who we like or are like us, but to embrace in love all people. This can be difficult, especially when we have been hurt or someone in our family has been mistreated. And it is hard if we keep it simply at an emotional level, but what God calls us as Christians to understand is that love is an action as well as a feeling. We are called always to act in love even when we might not feel like it. This comes from grace – it is a supernatural grace that allows us to do something that otherwise seems impossible.

Dear Parishioners,

Our readings today call our attention to Jesus the teacher as He shares what we call the Beatitudes. A call to what it means to be blessed – to be poor, hungry, weeping and hated. Wow! That does not seem like what we signed up for, does it? Being blessed ultimately is being in a right relationship with God and dependent on Him. So the poor, hungry, weeping, and hated in a special way have to rely on the Lord.

God's love certainly unites us!

This is evident in the parish response to our recent annual mission engagement outreach. THANK YOU! I am humbled and grateful for your commitment to St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, especially during challenging times. Through your commitment, our parish remains vibrant, engaged, and Christ-centered in the Eucharist and in serving one another.

Dear Parishioners,

This weekend we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord. It is a feast of encounter. Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to Jerusalem to the temple to present Him to the Lord. God places two special people in their path, Simeon and Anna, both of them were devout and righteous people of faith. They immediately recognize the presence of God in their midst and proclaim their wonder and blessings to God. The Holy Family will return to Nazareth, where the scriptures tell us “he grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him.”