ST. BERNADETTE NEWS...
LAST CLASS FOR BIBLE BASICS MEETS THIS EVENING AT 6PM IN DOHERTY HALL
SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK AND WEEKEND
Please join us as we participate in prayer over these three days of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection.
CONFESSION DURING LENT,
A GREAT IDEA!
Contact your priest to schedule confession.
DIVINE MERCY NOVENA BEGINS
MARCH 29TH
THE FEAST OF THE DIVINE MERCY
Our Lord asked Sister Faustina to pray and work towards establishing a Feast of The Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter, He told her: On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to confession (eight days before or after) and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (Diary 699).
See attached for more about the message of Divine Mercy: Trust and Mercy
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2024
On February 28th, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee passed HB24-1124, “Discrimination in Places of Public Accommodation.” HB 1124 adds financial penalties of $10,000 per violation for discrimination in places of public accommodation by individuals and businesses, and HB 1124 will add “non-profits” as subject to Colorado's non-discrimination law financial penalties. This bill is an extension of HB21-1108, which added new protected classes to Colorado’s non-discrimination law, including “sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.”
HB 1124 will force every person and institution to conform to government-mandated beliefs about sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression under threat of criminal and financial penalties.
HB 1124 contains a limited religious exemption clause which applies to a place that is “principally used for religious purposes;” however, that exemption will likely be interpreted to not apply to religious-affiliated institutions, including Catholic schools, Catholic hospitals, Catholic homeless shelters, etc.
This means that while the four walls of a church building may be protected from prosecution and financial penalty, many religious institutions and ministries will not be able to both profess and practice their well-founded convictions on human sexuality and marriage without being fined and prosecuted for violating the law.
... (as our democracy strives to take away our rights, claiming non-discrimination, although an extreme comparison how different is this thinking than that of the Taliban?)
Additionally, in a 7-2 decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Colorado was wrong to punish cake shop owner Jack Philips for peacefully living out his beliefs on marriage in the marketplace. This bill makes the same mistake as the Colorado Civil Rights Commission did in the Masterpiece case, by offering NO protections for private individuals to practice their well-founded convictions on human sexuality in the public sphere. The U.S. Supreme Court decided similarly for nonprofits in Colorado Christian University v. Weaver (2008) and private businesses in 303 Creative v. Elenis (2023).
Contact your Representative and Senator and tell them to oppose HB24-1124!
Click the RED button above and send your message!
On Wednesday, March 6th, the Colorado House Business Affairs & Labor committee advanced HB24-1280, Welcome, Reception, & Integration Grant Program, which would create a statewide grant program available to organizations that provide for migrants within one year of their arrival to Colorado.
HB 1280 is a humanitarian bill designed to support community-based organizations that serve the most vulnerable of our community and comes when many organizations that serve migrants are struggling to meet the needs of their communities. In Denver alone, 40,000 migrants arrived in 2023-- more per-capita than any city in the U.S. in that time frame. This influx of migrants has overwhelmed many of the institutions who serve them, including the three Catholic Charities in Colorado. HB 1280 would provide much-needed grant money to these organizations.
Catholic Charities and other migrant-serving organizations serve recent arrivals to the state every day, providing basic necessities and services to help them integrate into our community, thereby fulfilling the Gospel-mandated mission to serve the poorest and most vulnerable of our community. HB 1280 will help ensure that their ministries can continue to operate.
As the bill moves through the Colorado General Assembly, contact state lawmakers and tell them to support this critical legislation.
Click the RED button above and send your message!
COPIES OF THIS ARTICLE WILL BE AVAILABLE THIS WEEKEND
Registration is Open for Wellspring Catholic Academy.
Please forward this email to family and friends and share the wonderful things happening at our little school.
REVIVAL CORNER
THIS Weekend at St. Bernadette
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the night! This is the new day!
“Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King's triumph!”
This passage is the beginning sentence of the Exultet, also known as the “Easter Proclamation” (Latin: Praeconium Paschale) that is proclaimed at the Easter Vigil. On this joyous day can we learn from the Exultet to help experience the glory and grace of God in our lives?
Perhaps some of us in our family, friends, and community have fallen away from the Church. “Rejoice, let Mother Church...arrayed with the lightning of His glory…filled with the mighty voices of the people…shake with joy” (Exultet). As a people we must carry on this paschal proclamation to all those we share our lives with. Allow that and allow God to be with us carrying the cross in the difficult times.
Our human nature may cause us to be stubborn which makes it difficult to have a deep, loving, and open relationship with God. We lose hope that our prayers will be answered. Mary, the mother of God, is there for us and can intercede for us and bring our prayers to Jesus. St. John Henry Cardinal Newman reminds us “Grace comes from Mary, the weapon of the mother of God is prayer, Mary is the handmaid of the Lord, and Mary serves Christians on their pilgrimage to salvation” (Newman, 2019, pp. 92-97). While it is difficult at times to allow ourselves to “behold” and completely trust in all God teaches us, He still asks us to follow in His path. Sharing our challenges with Mary and giving our prayers to Mary, she can bring them to her son to help guide us in the struggles with our families, friends, and community. St. Joseph “listened” to the message from God to stay with Mary even though he wanted to do something different. He was obedient to God.
Fulton Sheen discusses the challenge of following God, throughout history, and listening to His will for us in our lives. That is not something new, or something we experience only in today’s world. It has been a challenge since the original sin in the garden. Remember the proclamation, and rejoice, we are released from the eternal chains of sin, we receive the charity of our Redeemer, the night is as bright as the day, and allows our lives to be full of gladness (Exultet).
So today, brothers and sisters, allow our hearts to receive all the joy and redemptive power of our Lord this day and every day of our lives. Rejoice, and share this jubilance with others, that He is risen! He has devoured the depths of death and has given all of us hope from His saving power.
Father “May this flame (in our hearts) be found still burning like the morning star that never sets, in Christ your Son, Amen!”
In Christ,
Deacon Patrick
Newman, St John Henry Cardinal, 2019, Meditations on Mary, Our Mother Tan Books.
Sheen, Fulton (1952, The Worlds Frist Love, Mary, Mother of God. Ignatius Press.
March 31| Easter Sunday,
The Resurrection of the Lord
Join our parish families in preparing for this Sunday's Mass!
Watch this video as a family:
HAPPY EASTER!
- Divine Mercy Novena
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Pope from April 11, 672 - June 17, 676 A.D.
Died: June 17, 676 A.D.
Pronounced: AH-dee-oh-DAH-tooce
Give me the scoop on Adeodatus II.
Adeodatus II was a Roman by birth, and is only sometimes called “Adeodatus II,” since Pope St. Adeodatus I is sometimes referred to as “Deusdedit” (read here for why). Prior to being pope, he was a monk of the Abbey of St. Erasmus in Rome.
Elected on April 11, 672, Adeodatus was unlike many of his immediate predecessors in that he said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” to engaging in politics and the issues surrounding Monothelitism (the heresy that Christ only has one will). Not much else is known about Adeodatus II. He died on June 17, 676.
What was he known for?
It seems that all St. Adeodatus II was interested in was restoring old churches and giving to the poor. His reputation was one of generosity toward pilgrims and the needy, and during his reign he helped reconstruct the abbey where he served prior to election–St. Erasmus–as well as a lesser church in Rome dedicated to St. Peter.
Fun Fact...
April 11 marks the 1349th anniversary of Adeodatus II’s election as the 77th pope. That’s 5.6 times longer than the United States has been a country.
What else was going on in the world at the time?
The First Arab Siege of Constantinople -- a Muslim attack on the Byzantine capital city -- began in the year 674 and lasted four years. The Islamic forces were ultimately defeated by Emperor Constantine IV’s armies in 678.
Coming next....Pope Donus