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Faith: The Mission to Pray and Worship
Our Catholic
Faith Centers On The Eucharist
 Catholics
should believe that the mass
is a wonderful celebration , in fact, a foretaste of heaven.
Moreover, the holy
sacrifice of the mass surpasses any spiritual deed past or present in
that it is an amalgamation of God's infinite love and forgiveness. Just as sin
came into the world through one man Adam, so did man's redemption come about
through the God
Man Jesus Christ. Now the priest
through the powers
invested by Christ the Messiah offers the same saving sacrifice made present
at Calvary around 2,000 years ago (referred to as the Passion.)
By Christ offering His body and blood and by Jesus' death and resurrection, we
are freed from the power of Satan. (cf. Acts 26:18) As the Second Vatican
Council states concerning the Eucharist, "No other action of the Church can
match its claim to efficacy nor equal the degree of it" Finally, in
celebrating this sacred liturgy, we also fulfill
the command of Jesus Himself who said, "Do
this in remembrance of me."
 For
our own benefit and all humankind, we come together at
St Bernardine of Siena as a Christian community to celebrate the Liturgy
of the Word and the Liturgy
of the Eucharist. That is, God has not only given us the Heavenly Jerusalem
to which to look forward, but also the means by which we can obtain such a
wonderful gift. The spiritual blessings of the mass are enormous. Let us come
with a sincere
heart and a firm
belief. Even
for those who are not present or who do not share our belief, we know that
Christ came to save the entire world via His Passion
and Resurrection.
And it is through the gift of grace that is so abundantly and freely given to us
by God and also in the sacraments of His
Church that makes us His sons and daughters. Who can underestimate such a
benefit? Even quoting extensively from the Vatican
II document on the Sacred Liturgy's below shows that it cannot be otherwise:
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6.....From
that time onward {Pentecost}, the Church has never failed to come
together to celebrate the paschal mystery, reading those things which
were in all the scriptures concerning Him, celebrating the Eucharist
in which the victory and triumph of his death are again made present,
and at the same time giving thanks to God for His inexpressible gift
in Christ Jesus in praise of his glory through the power of the
Holy Spirit
7.
To accomplish so great a work Christ is always present in his Church,
especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the
Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of his minister,
"the same now offering through the ministry
of priest, who formerly offered himself on the cross, but
especially in the Eucharistic species....
From
this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an
action of Christ the priest and of his Body, which is the church, is a
sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can
equal in efficacy by the same title and to same degree.
8.
In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of the heavenly
liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which
we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of
God, Minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle.
10.
Nevertheless, the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of
the Church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power
flows."
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 To
offer a mass for someone living or deceased is a wonderful expression of
charity. As Christ laid down His life for us, we too can offer that same saving
action of our Messiah. Recipients may be those whom we have been given the
opportunity to know throughout our earthly journey or a complete stranger. This
offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the mass for a special intention reminds us of
the request of the good thief who hung besides Jesus on the cross. Saint Dismas
(patron
saint of the condemned) participated first as we do presently. He received
the benefit of salvation on Calvary when he commended to Christ,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus
responded, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in
Paradise." Remember as the psalmist says, "One
thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the LORD'S house all the days
of my life" In so giving this gift, i.e., the offering of a mass,
we in turn imitate Christ and wonderfully manifest the gifts of the Holy
Spirit for the benefit of others.
May our parish community continue to
pray for and encourage vocations
within our church so that we can always benefit by maintaining
a priest presence here. And consequently, we can rest assured that our mass
intentions may be said locally.
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What the Franciscan Friars Say
(Remember, our Patron St. Bernardine of Siena is a
Franciscan!)
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Request A
Mass Intention
You can request a mass and give the stipend
directly (presently ten dollars) through our parish office. They will give you a
card similar to that pictured below. In addition, they have a schedule from
which you can jointly determine when the mass will be said. Please be aware that
the schedule is usually filled up to a month in advance.
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