Rev. David F. Gaffney, Pastor

sbc.pastor@aol.com Rev. John E. Unsworth, Pastor, Emeritus Rev. Charles Maher, Weekend Assistant

Pastoral Assistant: Angelo Giacchi Administrative Assistant: Michael Saunders Elementary Faith Formation: Dawn Masterson Youth Faith Formation: Christina Pichette Music Director: Alison Shea

Mass Schedules

Weekends Saturday Vigil ~ 5:00 PM

Sundays 7:00 AM 8:30 AM 10:30 AM

Weekdays 8:00 AM Monday through Friday

Address: 275 Tower Hill Road North Kingstown, RI 02852 Phone : 401-295-0387 E-mail: sbc.bus@verizon.net Web: www.stbernardnk.org Hours: Mon - Tues: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Wednesday 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Thursday & Friday: Closed

Baptism: Please call Angelo at the Parish Center for information about scheduling and preparation. Communion Please notify us of those sick and to the Sick: in need of Communion at home. Marriage: Please call 10 months in advance. Holy Orders: Tel: 401-831-8011 www.catholicpriest.com Project Rachel: Post abortion counseling Tel: 401-421-7833, ext. 118 Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturdays 4:00 PM

Eucharistic Adoration Following Tuesday’s 8:00 AM Mass until 11:00 AM

Family Faith Formation Program Our programs provides parishioners of all ages oppor-tunities for learning, growing and living our Faith through common experiences, age-specific learning and interactive sharing. Please call the Parish Center for information regarding any of our programs or email:

Grades: 1 to 5: sbc.reled@verizon.net

Grades: 6 to 10: sbc.teenff@gmail.com

Saint Bernard Church

November 22, 2020 Feast of Christ the King

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Ponderings

Daily Mass 8:00 a.m. (Monday-Friday)

25 minutes that could change your day, your week, your life!

Meister Eckhart was a German mystic and theologian who died in the early 1300s. One of his most often quoted passages is the following: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” Tis’ the season of Thanksgiving and so it is helpful to consider this quote more deeply. We might begin by recognizing that the simple phrase ‘thank you’ is a prayer. As young children we were often taught by our parents the simple expressions ‘please’ and ‘thank you’---it was just considered good manners. I don’t think that I considered ‘thank you’ a prayer when I was a young child! When I say the words ‘thank you’ to another I am recognizing their kindness, selflessness, generosity, or charity. Some-thing has been done for me by another or I have received something from another. I might say ‘thank you’ when someone holds the door open for me. I might say ‘thank you’ when I receive a gift from an-other person. I might say ‘thank you’ to someone because of a general sense of gratitude about a rela-tionship----spouses might say ‘thank you’ to each other; children might say ‘thank you’ to parents. Every act of our generosity or kindness towards another has its origin in God. When I thank another person for what they have given me I am in a certain sense thanking God----for having inspired this per-son, motivated them, caused them to be attentive to all that God had done for them in their life and the resulting desire to imitate God in generosity and kindness. It is good to say thank you to family, friends and even strangers for their kindness. It is even more important to take time to say ‘thank you’ to God. In doing so we recognize God as the giver of all good gifts and the first one to give. We owe our very existence to God who formed and fashioned us out of love. We owe every breath we take to God. We owe everything we have in this life to God. Yes, we may have worked hard to earn and achieve---but we did so with what we were first giv-en by God. As we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving once again (with all its limitations this year) let us remember to thank those around us but also say that short prayer, ‘thank you’ to God---from whom all blessings flow! Each time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist (a word that means Thanksgiving) we do, in fact express our gratitude. And wouldn’t it be a good habit to end each day with a brief prayer to God expressing our gratitude---our thanks----for the blessings of just that day. We hear the phrase often, ‘count your blessings’------there are literally too many to count, and yet we can start with the two simple words, ‘thank you’. And so I say ‘thank you’ to all of you for your kindness to me as I begin my six month as your ‘new’ pastor! These are challenging days for all of us----we don’t know what new unex-pected events may be brought about by the pandemic…….but we trust that God who is never outdone in generosity will care for us and those we love…….. We have Mass at 8:30 on Thanksgiving morning. Even though your celebration of this holiday may be different from previous years…..with all the necessary safety restrictions…..I hope you have a nice cele-bration of Thanksgiving…… --Fr. Gaffney

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Mass Intentions

MONDAY, November 23 8:00 AM – Audrey Mae Casey by the Quimby family

TUESDAY, November 24 8:00 AM – Joseph Besignano by Mike & Mary Ann Pignataro

WEDNESDAY, November 25 8:00 AM – Special Intention

THURSDAY, November 26: Mass of Thanksgiving 8:30 AM – Deceased of the Parish

FRIDAY, November 27 8:00 AM – Bart Spano by Mike Pignataro

WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, November 28 5:00 PM – Dorothy Chevalier by her family

SUNDAY, November 29 7:00 AM – Deceased of the Parish

8:30 AM – Thomas Walsh by his family

10:30 AM – Dee Anne Madusky Birthday Remembrance by her family

Giving Tree (Adaptation during Coronavirus-time)

We are grateful for your past generosity in this important outreach project! Thank you! Due to the corona-virus there are a couple of ‘adaptations’ for our Giving Tree outreach project.

First. The agencies (which provide us with the names of those in need) have requested that we give them ‘gift cards’ instead of the actual item. There is less ‘handling’ of clothes, etc. (a safety precaution during this corona-virus period)

Second. In order not to “cluster around the tree” -----we will have a “Grab-And-Go” envelope for you to take from the table near the tree this weekend. All of the envelopes are the same. Inside you will find a paper asking that you purchase gift card(s) from a list of local retail stores. Please bring back the envelope with the gift card(s) to the church col-lection basket OR drop off at the parish center OR mail your gift card(s) to the church. We ask that the denominations of the cards be in ‘smaller amounts’ ($10.--$25). Cards will be combined de-pending on the needs of a family/particular situa-tion. For example, we might provide a $10 card for diapers together with a $25 card for infant’s cloth-ing. Please return the gift cards by December 13th. If your family, or any family you know, needs help with gifts this Christmas, please contact the parish center at 295-0387 or email: sbc.pa@verizon.net Suggestions for gift card vendors: Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Ocean State Job Lot, Dollar Tree, Walgreens, CVS, Amazon, etc. You are not limited to these stores/businesses. Monetary donations will be accepted and converted to gift cards.

Thanksgiving Day Mass

Please join us on Thanksgiving Day for Mass at 8:30 a.m. In a year when there have been so many challenges and difficulties we pause to recall God’s blessings, as well. We plan to video the Mass and post it by noon to the ‘Links/Video’ page on our website

Emmanuel House Homeless Shelter

We are always in need of new socks, bath towels, and backpacks, twin-sized bedding, etc. Drop off items in the Church gathering space or at the Par-ish Center.

Parish Support

November 8, 2020 2019

Basket $7,641.53 $6,032.00 ACH $2,018.00 $3,019.00

November 15, 2020 2019

Basket $6,504.00 $7,498.00 ACH $1,878.00 $1,744.00 YTD $185,992.03 $186,545.50

Parish Support

We are truly grateful to the many members of the Parish who have been so faithful and gener-ous in using ACH accounts or mailing in their budget envelopes to help support the finances of the Parish. You can send us one check for your entire month’s donation or you can open an ACH account by going to our website:. In-structions and the Online Giving link can be found on our website: www.stbernardnk.org/support-your-parish

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Eucharistic Adoration

We resumed Eucharistic Adoration on Tuesday mornings. There will be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament immediately after the morn-ing Mass (approximately 8:30 a.m.) and the Blessed Sacrament will be reposed at 11:00 a.m. Please follow the directions posted at the en-trance of the church for seating purposes.

Annual Coat Drive

Please drop off your GOOD, USED COATS and HATS at the Church or Parish Office to be dis-tributed to those is need. For more information or to help, please con-

tact the Parish Office .

Remember St. Bernard Church in your will and estate planning. Thank you.

St. Bernard’s Thanksgiving Food Drive

Help us stock the shelves at the North Kingstown Food Pantry and make a great holiday feast for

those who need our help! Here is what you can bring to Church this week-

end 11/21-11/22 Cereal

Baked Beans Canned Vegetables

Hearty Soups Pasta

Hamburger Helper Rice-A-Roni

Hygiene Products (razors, shaving cream, sham-poos, toothbrushes)

Any non-perishable food items that are in date

Annual Collection Recently a copy of the Annual Parish Financial Report was mailed to all of our active parishion-ers along with an appeal for our Annual Collec-tion. This is the single most important collection of the year because it helps us meet the many needs we have which are not funded by the regu-lar Sunday Collections. Please be as generous as your means allow, and we ask in a special way that those who do not contribute regularly to the support of the parish might consider using this as an opportunity to make at least one annual gift to your parish and donations will be accepted until December 31st. You are always welcome to call the office with any questions you might have. If you did not receive a copy of the report, please contact us and we will get one out to you.

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Faith Formation 2020-2021

REGISTRATION

Check out our website www.stbernardnk.org for all details about the changes to the program and the exciting new curriculum for this year. Please view the informational slideshow first for an ex-planation of how the program will be running this year. Also, registration and payment can be done on our website. Upon your review of the documents, should you have any questions, please contact the Faith Formation Office at sbc.reled@verizon.net or 295-0387.

Spotlight Mass

Each week at the Sunday 8:30am Mass, a differ-ent grade level class is invited to attend and stay after for a quick check-in. This is an opportunity for you to have in-person support, ask questions and learn about their optional service project.

Upcoming Mass Dates

11/29: Grade 1 12/6: Grade 2 12/13 Grade 7

Treasures from Our Tradition Today we have a modern feast, less than a centu-ry old, and placed at the very end of the liturgical cycle of Sundays only in 1969. In 1925, the world was in a sorry state from the vantage point of Pope Pius XI. The winds of war had swept the map of Europe raw, and ancient Christian dynas-ties had fallen in Russia and Spain. Although the Great War had ended, wars were breaking out everywhere. Fascism was already in control in Italy, and Nazism was on the horizon for Germa-ny. The disorder making its claim on the human race was, the pope felt, an insult to the Divine Order. Pius XI designated the last Sunday in Oc-tober as a day of universal recognition of the kingship of Christ. Creating this feast was an act of bravery by the pope, who was standing up against idolatry of the state and the dehumanizing forces of the modern world, things that are not hard to detect in today’s world as well. In 1969 it seemed fitting to move the feast to a place of honor at the end of the year, a way of summing up the whole movement of the liturgical year to-ward the perfection of the Kingdom of God. In recent decades, many Protestant churches have adopted this day from the new Roman calendar, so it is shared now with the Church of England, the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Lutheran churches, and others.

If you were unable to attend our second Drive thru pick up for your Faith Formation program materi-als you can pick up the materials in the parish hall. The hall is open after any of our Masses and dur-ing our office hours: Monday, Tuesday 9am-4pm or Wednesday 9-Noon.

From: Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

October 3, 1863 “It has seemed to me fit and proper that they (gracious gifts of the Most High God) would be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowl-edged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and ob-serve the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”