Welcome to St. Bernadette's Parish, Belfast

The Parish Pastoral Council has produced an Advent Calendar for Children. This can be downloaded below

Long warm days…
The pace of life slows…
A time for picnics and rest in the shade…
Lord, help me to rest awhile
in the cooling shade of your presence.
Slow down my restless heart and
fill me with
gentle compassion for all your people.

A pastoral reflection by the Catholic Bishops Of Northern Ireland on the forthcoming NI Assembly Election.

Trócaire’s Lenten Campaign this year focused on Zimbabwe, through the story of Thandekile and her two children. Thousands of miles from Ukraine, and far from the media spotlight, families like Thandekile’s are enduring a forgotten crisis of Covid, poverty and climate change. They need our help. For further information see www.trocaire.org, section Lent 2022.
This year’s Lenten Campaign closes on Easter Sunday. Trócaire boxes and donations can be returned to the church from this weekend. It is also possible for parishioners to donate directly to the Lenten campaign through the Trócaire website – www.trocaire.org

Trócaire can benefit again this year from the UK Aid Match programme, which means that the UK government will match parishioners’ donations up to a maximum of £2 million. This is an opportunity for our Lenten donations to double.

“CHRIST IS ALIVE! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive! (≠1)
… Christ is alive! We need to keep reminding ourselves of this, because we can risk seeing Jesus Christ simply as a fine model from the distant past, as a memory, as someone who saved us two thousand years ago. But that would be of no use to us: it would leave us unchanged, it would not set us free. The one who fills us with his grace, the one who liberates us, transforms us, heals and consoles us is someone fully alive.
He is the Christ, risen from the dead, filled with supernatural life and energy, and robed in boundless light. That is why St Paul could say: ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile’ (1Cor 15:7).
(extracts taken from Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation to Young People & to the Entire People of God, CHRISTUS VIVIT, Christ is Alive, 2019)

The Irish Bishops have asked that a national church collection, to support humanitarian relief for those affected by the war in Ukraine, be held on Sunday 27^th March 2022.

“People are also invited to support the charitable initiatives of Aid to the Church in Need, the Jesuit Refugee Service, and Trócaire. Trócaire is currently responding to the crisis through its partners Caritas Ukraine and Caritas Poland which have a strong presence in the region and can use resources strategically to the greatest effect.”

At this time in the Catholic Church all over the world, Pope Francis is calling for a period of listening in preparation for a gathering, known as a synod. The synod will take place in Rome in 2023. Synods have long been a tradition in the Church and, while in the past it has typically been Bishops who got involved in synods, this time Pope Francis wants all of us, you and I, to become involved. Pope Francis is asking us to listen to each other and share our experiences of the Church. This will be happening across the world and is a global exercise in listening to each other and listening to the Holy Spirit as we do so.

Recently you received a postcard in the church. Cards are still available to collect at the back of the church. On your postcard you will see four questions that ask you about your experience of the Church and ask for your thoughts and ideas for the future.

Some people will want things to change and others will want things to stay the same. It’s important to remember there are no right or wrong answers. This is about your experience of the Church and your ideas for the future. We would ask that you think about the questions, pray about them, discuss them perhaps at home, and submit a response. This will allow your voice to be heard.

Completed postcards should be returned by Sunday 27th March to allow the information to be gathered and fed back into the diocese. There is a box available at the front of the church (at Our Lady’s shrine) for you to return your postcard. Alternatively, it is now also possible to submit your feedback directly to the Living Church Office using their on-line questionnaire. See www.downandconnor.org/synod

Pope Francis’ goal is to encourage us to listen to the Holy Spirit as well as listening to one another. It is quite an ambitious task and quite a journey we are about to go on, but, as with all journeys, it begins with small, first steps. We are now taking our small, first steps into the Synod. May God bless us all as we set out together.

Walking with Jesus along the Via Dolorosa.