The heart of what we are called to do as Catholic Christians is to worship our Lord. We come to the Lord, not out of obligation, but out of love and gratitude for what the Lord has done for us. Below are prayer opportunities at St. Bernard Catholic Parish and at home.
- Attend Weekend Mass
- Pray together as a family/couple
- Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least 1-3 times per year
- Attend Mass on Holy Days of Obligation
- Participate in all the sacraments
- Pray for the needs of the Church
- Participate in devotional prayer
- Pray daily for at least 10 minutes
- Read Scripture each day
- Pray grace before meals
- Participate in on-going formation
Stewardship Prayer
Oh Lord, giver of life and source of our freedom, we are reminded that Yours is “the
earth in its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it.” We know that it is from your
hand that we have received all we have and are and will be.
Gracious and loving God,
we understand that you call us to be the stewards of Your abundance, the caretakers of
all you have entrusted to us. Help us always to use your gifts wisely and teach us to
share them generously. May our faithful stewardship bear witness to the love of Christ
in our lives. We pray this with grateful hearts in Jesus’ name. Amen
Prayer Requests
“I urge, then first of all that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone.”
1 Timothy 2:1
Prayer is an essential part of our lives and often there are times where you may need to ask for help from others to pray on your behalf. At St. Bernard we have many community members who have committed to pray for the various needs of parishioners. They are here to pray for you. Simply complete the form below to submit your prayer request to our prayer team. Our prayer wall is another way to ask others to pray for your needs and the needs of others. These prayer requests are submitted on our parish web site. To submit a prayer request through our prayer wall, click here.
“Could you not keep watch with me one hour?”
– Jesus (Matthew 26:40)
One way to encounter Jesus more powerfully and to hear His invitation to come and follow as His disciple is to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament; for Jesus is truly present in a unique way in the Eucharist. Just as we love to spend time with those we love, so Jesus loves to spend time with us.
To learn more about the benefits of spending time with Jesus in this special way, read about the insight shared by Ruth Kennedy in her article. “10 Surprising Things That Happen When You To To Adoration More Often.”
In the Appleton area, Eucharistic Adoration is offered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (with the exception of the First Friday of each month). The Divine Mercy Chapel is located at 500 West Marquette St., Appleton.
An invitation to spend some time with Jesus Present in the Eucharist
Once a month, our parish offers an opportunity for people to worship Jesus in a Holy Hour of Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. During this hour, we sing hymns of praise to God, listen to scripture and other texts written by holy men and women, and spend time in sacred silence. For the current year, Holy Hour focuses on praying for vocations to the priesthood.
Morning Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours/Divine Office) with Communion will be held on Friday mornings at St. Bernard Parish.
Here is one of the songs we sing during Holy hour, “Divine Praises.”
“Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio Divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further to the knowledge of the love of the lord Jesus, to union with him.”
—CCC 2708
One of the most powerful devotions of our Catholic faith is praying the Rosary, a practice that originated as a way to pray in solidarity with medieval monks, who recited the 150 psalms in the Psalter. Since most people could not read the psalms, they began reciting the 150 Hail Mary’s in the Rosary instead. As noted in the catechism, the rosary offers a way to deeply meditate on the mysteries of Jesus’ life, to grow closer to him.
Here are some resources for praying the rosary.
The Stations of the Cross, also known as the Way of the Cross or Via Crucis, commemorate Jesus’s passion and death on the cross. There are 14 stations that each depict a moment on his journey to Calvary, usually through sacred art, prayers, and reflections. The practice began as pious pilgrims traced his path through Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa.
Later, for the many who wanted to pass along the same, but could not make the trip to Jerusalem, a practice developed that eventually took the form of the fourteen stations currently found in almost every church throughout the world. Similarly, the 150 Hail Mary’s that were recited for the rosary were an adaptation of the medieval monastic practice of reciting the 150 psalms in the Psalter. Read More
As a parish, we offer Stations of the Cross during Lend on Friday evenings, as well as a special form of stations called “Mary’s Way of the Cross” on Wednesdays at noon.
Here are some resources for anyone who would like to meditate on the Stations of the Cross.
Stations of the Cross by Saint Alphonsus Liguori