Shrine Church of St. Bernadette

Upcoming Events

• Rectory Office/Holiday Schedule: In observance of Memorial Day, the Rectory Office will be closed on Monday, May 26^th. In addition, please note that the first Mass on Monday will be 8:00AM.
• Special Announcement: It is with great disappointment that we share with you that Sr. Gina Piazza, MPF, will be leaving St. Bernadette Parish to be missioned in New Jersey next year. In these 11 years, Sr. Gina has been a vital part of parish life here at St. Bernadette as the Coordinator of our Religious Education program, a teacher in our school, a Eucharistic Minister and in many other ways. We are grateful to St. Gina who will be greatly missed! Please join us in thanking Sr. Gina for her years of service to St. Bernadette Parish on Saturday, June 7^th at the 5:30PM Mass, followed by light refreshments in Torregrossa Hall.
• Annual Catholic Appeal - If you have received the appeal letter in the mail, please return it to the Diocese, making sure that you list St. Bernadette as the parish. If you will be making a pledge, please do so as soon as possible since the appeal not only helps the Bishop, but also helps our parish. Please be as generous as your means will allow.
• Special Novenas We will be reciting the Novena Prayers to our Lady of Lourdes and to St. Bernadette after every Sunday and weekday mass, until the end of the Anniversary of Our Lady’s Apparitions to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, which is December 8th, The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. You will find the prayers in the pew holders in front of you. Please return them to the proper place for all to use.
• Special Collections – May 31-June 1, 2008: More than 40,000 religious women and men who dedicated their lives to God and to helping others now need your help. Your donations to the RETIREMENT FUND FOR RELIGIOUS helps with living expenses and the cost of health care for elderly religious who have no pension and only minimal Social Security benefits. Please be generous.
• If you have arranged to have a mass offered on a Sunday and you would like to carry the gifts to the altar at the Offertory, please inform the ushers upon your arrival at church so they know where you are seated and they will not pick someone else. Please help us to avoid embarrassment and hard feelings. If we do not know where you are seated, the ushers will select two other people.
• We remind parishioners that the New Directions for Receiving Holy Communion are to be followed. When you are the next person to receive, you are asked to make a bow of your head in reverence to the Blessed Sacrament. When it is your turn to receive let the host be placed on the palm of your hand, step aside, and with your free hand pick up the host and consume it.
• Religious Education News: Registration for First Graders to our Religious Education Program 2008-2009 will be accepted at t e following times: Monday June 2^nd 3:15PM to 4:30PM, 7:30PM to 8:30PM, Wednesday June 4^th: 3:15PM to 4:30PM, 7:30PM to 8:30PM. Place the Religious Education Office in the St. Bernadette School 718-232-7733. Needed at the time of Registration: Baptism Certificate of your child, Proof of Residency, Envelope Number as a registered Parishioner and a check or money order to cover assessed fee per family.
• Annual Spring Festival and Flea Market will take place from Thursday, June 19^thnd Thursday and Friday: 7PM to 11PM, Saturday: 5PM to 11PM; Sunday: 4PM to 10PM The casino will be opened in the evening from 7PM to 11PM Join the Fun and Help Support the Parish! through Sunday, June 22
• Flea Market (Indoor): Tables for the festival will be $25 for Thursday and $25 for Friday (7PM – 11PM$30 for Saturday (5PM – 11PM) and $30 for Sunday (4PM – 10PM) $100 for all four nights. To reserve a table, please call the school at 718-236-1560, or Debbie Russo at 718-837-3400.

Parish Meetings & Committee News

• Altar Rosary Society will meet on Tuesday, June 10th at 7:30 PM in the cafeteria
• Holy Name Society will meet on Monday, June 11^{th h} at 7:30PM in the cafeteria.
  The meetings are set on the Monday after the second Sunday of the month.
• Evangelization Committee
  The St. Bernadette Evangelization Committee invites you to join them for their weekly prayer group on every Monday night at 7:00 PM in the Rectory. The lector readings will be studied and reflected upon. Everyone is welcome!
• Outreach Committee More to follow
• Worship Committee More to follow.

Cluster News

• Diocesan Alcohol and Substance Abuse Assistance Program
  The Diocese of Brooklyn has created a program to provide confidential ongoing assistance to parish and community families who suffer from the effects of alcohol and substance abuse. The program provides counseling, support, treatment and care to those seeking assistance. To connect to a network of services that will help you and your family in addressing this concern, please make a confidential call to the Diocesan Alcohol and Substance Abuse Assistance Program Hotline: 1-800-659-1603. Any one with depression can also call the hotline. For general information, please visit Catholic Charities’ website: www.ccbq.org.
• Help the Needy Program
  Knights of Columbus John Hughes Council has created the Help the Needy Program in order to collect food clothing and toys to help the less fortunate. Items must be in good condition. Items can be brought to the council between the hours of 10am to 4:30pm and 7:30pm to 10pm, seven days a week. For more information, call John Adesso at (718) 614-2689 or Frank Marzigilano at (718) 533-0491
• Italian Board of Guardians
  Located at 7808 18 Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11214 offers Home Companion Services, Counseling Services, Psychological Evaluations and Tutoring Services. Please call 718.232.4242 for more information.
• Make your Voices Heard
  The New York State Catholic Bishops have formed a statewide Catholic Advocacy Network of concerned Catholics who want to put their faith into action. Together, we can speak out in support of the poor and vulnerable, the sick and elderly, the unborn, children and families. Our parish encourages you to join this network. There is no cost. The easiest way to join is to go to www.nyscatholic.org to sign up. Or you can send your name, address, phone number and e-mail address to Catholic Advocacy Network, New York State Catholic Conference, 465 State Street, Albany, NY 12203-1004. Be sure to mention you are a member of St. Bernadette parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn. For more information, see the flyers in the back of the church.
• Our Lady of Angel’s Third Order Lay Carmelite chapter meets every first Saturday of the month. Do you sense that God might be calling you into a deeper relationship with Him? Men and women in every age identified themselves with the Carelites as members of the Third Order. We invite you to se the answers to your questions and discern whether or not you may have a vocation as a Lay Carmelite. We meet every first Saturday of the month from 2-4pm in the Cavanaugh Room at Our Lady of Angels Church, 7320 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. For more information call: 718-788-5290, or 917-841-1403.
• Pilgrimage with Bishop DiMarzio – 40^th International Eucharistic Congress, Quebec & Montreal, June 17-23, 2008: $1,495 perperson, Bishop DiMarzio, Spiritual Director. Includes: Airfare, all taxes, hotels, breadkfast daily, 4 dinners, includes: $200 Congress registration free. Highlights: St. Joseph’s Oratory, Cap de la Madeleine, St. Anne de Beaupre. Registration now due. For a brochure contact Canterbury Tours, 1-800-653-0017, or contact The Diocesan Pilgrimage Office at www.Pilgrimages@RCDOB.org, or call 718-965-7313.
• Trip to the Holy Land – Father John Mendonca, Pastor of Our Lady of Angelus Church in Rego Park is sponsoring a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land from November 11^th to November 20^th, 2008. Departure will be from JFK Airport. Cost is $2,399 per person. You will visit Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Nazareth, Mount Tabor, Cana, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Jordan River, Jericho, Bethany, Mt. of Olives, Gethsemane, the Wailing Wall, Temple Mount, Nativity, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and may other biblical and historical sites. For more information, call Father John at 718-897-4444 or Catholic Tour Company at 1-877-267-4268.
• Attention prayerful single men! The Legionnaires of Christ in Thornwood, NY are hosting a Live-In Experience Vocational Retreat June 20^th – June 22^nd. Other available retreats include, in the Pallotine’s Brothers and Fathers, Philadelphia, PA, June 24^th – June 27^th, and the St. Mary’s Benedictine Monastery in Morristown, NJ, July 2^nd – July 6^th. Pray and work with the community and hear the informative vocational talks. These retreats are very popular so make your reservations soon. There is no cost but space is limited. If you take a bus or plane to the nearest major city, they will pick you up. Call 1-800-221-1807 for more dates and information.
• On Saturday, May 31^st at St . Francis Center for Spirituality, 500 Todt Hill Road, Staten Island the Spiritual Oasis Program for Women will be held from 9AM to 1PM. The topic is Reconnect with Your Spiritual Self! The day includes a discussion on our topic with the Spiritual Oasis team, and enjoyable art workshop which will explore the landscape of the soul, a guided meditation, a healing service and hot lunch. The day will conclude with Benediction. The cost for the program is $20.00 reservations are a must! Call 718-981-3131 from Monday – Saturday to reserve.
• Summer Classes at Fordham University – The Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education at Fordham University is offering some excellent summer courses for credit and personal enrichment in Theology, Scripture, Spirituality, and Religious Education! Please check our web sit – http://www.fordham.edu.gsrre for details or call the office for a brochure at 718-817-4800.
• Worldwide Marriage Encounter: Spring is here: It is time to get out the yard tools and spruce up your garden. Why not experience a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend and learn the tools of communication that will spruce up your marriage? Till the soil or romance and passion and watch your love blossom! The next weekend is August 8^th to 10^th, 2008. For information or to register, call 1-877-NYSWWME (697-9963). Visit our web site at www.mygmgwwme.org.

Fund Raisers

• Memorial Funds
  Remember to support St. Bernadette memorial funds next time you need to memorialize a relative or friend. Arrangements can be made through the Rectory to memorialize with bread, wine, altar flowers, altar candle or sanctuary lamp for one week.
• Prayer Cards
  Available now in the Rectory Office is an assortment of prayer cards for different saints and various special donations. The selection of prayer cards will change depending on the Liturgical season and upcoming feast days. There is a small donation of 25 cents for each card.
• St. Bernadette Wall of Remembrance
  You can remember your beloved departed with a small cross. The donation for the first year is $200.00 and each additional year is $100.00 The crosses are made from imported wood from Belgium, with the name engraved on a metal plate. There are three ways that the engraving can be made on these plates - “John Doe”, “Mr. & Mrs. John Doe” or “The Doe Family”. Included in this donation will be remembrance each month at the Purgatorial Mass and a special remembrance on All Souls Day. If someone wishes not to re-enroll, we will give them the cross as a keepsake. The cross is placed on the wall with a temporary label, and when the metal plate is engraved, it will be put on the cross. Arrangements can be made through the Rectory Office Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm.
• Box Tops Education
  In the vestibule of the church, there is a large box where Box Tops can be dropped off. Find and clip 10¢ Box Tops coupon on hundreds of General Mills, Ziploc and Kleenex products to help St. Bernadette School can earn up to $60,000.00 per year.
• 2008 Annual Catholic Appeal
  If you have received the Appeal letter in the mail, please return it to the Diocese, making sure that you list St. Bernadette as the parish. If you will be making a pledge, please do so as soon as possible since the Appeal not only helps the Bishop, it also helps our Parish. Please be as generous as your means will allow.