St. Bernard's Parish

     A copy of last years financial report is posted above under the welcome tab..  Our fiscal year fruns form July 1-June 30, so this rpeort covers July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.  
      Thanks SO much for your generous support--because of YOUR genrosity we are to continue our mission of building up the Body of Christ here in the North Country.
       If you have any questions or comments please contact Father Ratigan or any of the Finance Council members.
 

Father Alex's Homily, January 13th, 2019

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD C-(Lk. 3:15-16,21-22)

One time three pastors were discussing about cats invading their churches. The Baptist minister said he put the cats in bags and threw them in a nearby river. In spite of that, the cats survived and there were twice as many there the next week. The Methodist minister said they were not in a position to harm any of God's creation. So he confided they humanely trapped the cats and set them free many miles outside town. But three days later, the cats were back.

But the Catholic priest bragged that he had the best and most effective solution. He said: “I simply baptized them and I haven't seen them in church since then!

Obviously, that's just a joke but it illustrates a sad reality that after baptism many Catholics are never seen in church again.

Last Sunday we celebrated the Epiphany of the Lord, the manifestation of the Infant-God to all nations through the Magi. And this Sunday, we are celebrating the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus which marks the end of holy season of Christmas. Today's feast is considered the "second manifestation" of our Lord Jesus for He manifests Himself as the Son of God. And His baptism marks the beginning of His public ministry.

Jesus who was sinless did not really need to receive the baptism of repentance that was being administered by his cousin, John. John was surprised that Jesus, the Lord and savior, should come asking to be baptized.

What's the significance of Jesus' baptism? It shows the Holy Trinity's approval of Jesus' decision to begin his public ministry by having himself baptized by John. As Jesus came out the water, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the bodily form, like a dove; and a voice from heaven was then heard, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” It reveals to us the true identity of Jesus – WHO JESUS IS - God's own Son as the gospel clearly attests.

2nd, it declares what He will do - his mission. This is expressed by the prophet Isaiah in the 1st reading. “Like a shepherds he tends his flock: gathers the lambs in his arms, he carries them in his bosom, gently leading those that are young.” (Is. 40:1-5,9-11).

Jesus is the promised Messiah. He is the Savior of mankind whom God the Father promised.

3rd our own baptism means two things. It not only proclaims publicly our new membership of the church, but also empowers us to Do the good works Jesus did. Through our baptism, we, too, become God's beloved sons and daughters. We are adopted children of God. We belong to God. Being children of God means being witnesses of God here on earth.

There are times in our life when we are called upon to be publicly witness to our Catholic faith. We have to stand for our faith. Every Sunday, we stand up and recite our Creed but we hardly ever really think of what we are saying.

Many baptized kids grow up grossly ignorant of religious instruction and their duties in the Church as Christians. And sadly parents do not care. They would rather actively support their children's activities like hockey or baseball games or any school activities but half-hearted with regards to their religious

instructions. In effect, these kids grow up as nominal Christians or Christians in names only because parents do not want to be the first witnesses of faith.

One of my classmates in the Seminary who never became a priest is now a Major in the Police Force. He was formerly a Chief of Police in one of the big towns in our province. But now he is in floating status meaning no assigned post.

In the Philippines, for the past two years, many police officers have been routinely executing unarmed suspects and in many instances, planting drugs or weapons on their victims to justify the killing. If you kill a suspected drug user - you will be rewarded financially, the amount is $400 or more for every kill. And we have so many cases of drug deaths where the ones being killed were innocents, young as 10 to 17 years of age. My classmate does not want to follow the orders – to shoot and kill. His commander asked him to choose: follow orders and retained his post or be removed from being the chief of police and he chose the latter. Now he is in floating status. But he is happy because his conscience is clear.

That is what we call witnessing. We have to stand up for what we believe in. Do we really have the courage to do that? People might laugh at us or make fun of us. Some people would not want us to be around. Why? Because what we say and what we do might shame them and make them uncomfortable. So we have to go in their opinion.

Today, what we need are witnesses because we have neglected to be one. By witnessing, people may recognize us as God's children as well as that Christ lives in us.

SUNDAY MASSES
Saturday (anticipated)
4:30 pm - St. Bernard's

Sunday
8:00 am - Assumption
10:00 am - St. Bernard's

WEEKDAY MASSES
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
8:30 am - St. Bernard's

Tuesday and Thursday                  
12:00 pm - St. Bernard's 

Please note: Weekday noon Mass may be cancelled if there is a funeral.

SATURDAY
3:30 pm to 4:15 pm - St. Bernard's

Or anytime by appointment.