Parish/Church
St. Bernard – Green Bay
Date and Mass time
February 20, 2016 – 4:00PM Mass
Celebrant
Fr. Mark VanderSteeg
The trip there and back
We have been on hiatus from our pilgrimage since October!!! Busy is no excuse, but last the 3 months had its challenges schedule wise, and with CEW coming up and me being on-call for work, today’s trip was a bit of a flier, but we made it and it was great!
Saturday 4pm Mass on the east side of Green Bay meant an easy trip. On the way home, we stopped at Costo and then at Jake’s to help him move some stuff to their new place. It’s a nice duplex on the near east side. Pretty close to St. Bernard actually…
Weather
The last few days have been the first peeks at spring. It’s been in the high 30s and the snow is melting quickly. Today was in the low 40’s so it was pretty nice, but only a few minutes of sun. It was pretty gray on the way to Mass, but who cares when it’s so nice and warm!
Parish History
There’s no history on the website and I couldn’t find anything online. St. Bernard appears to be a newer church, at least the building is, but with it being in an older part of town, I would have expected it to be older. Not sure, but there is a school attached that is in the Grace system and it sure seems to be a vibrant parish and school.
Reflections
As mentioned in the history, the church seems to be newer or at least of the newer design with the lower ceilings and fanned out pews. It doesn’t appear to be a “fancy” church by any means, but seems more simple and austere but certainly beautiful.
Perhaps the most beautiful part was the people, the music, and the worship. For a 4pm Saturday Mass the church was pretty full, the man singing was quite amazing, and Fr. Mark, though he appear perhaps a little under the weather, was energetic, full of life and the spirit, and had a great homily. Fr. Mark is a younger priest, perhaps ordinated in the last 5 or maybe 10 years, but he certainly has a presence about him that is captivating in its holiness.
The homily revolved around the Gospel’s message and story of Jesus’ transfiguration on Mount Tabor. Fr. Mark outline three things that propel our transformations into holiness; Love, Suffering, and Grace. The true love that is selfless and totally giving, the suffering we experience here on earth that joins us with the Lord and brings him closer, and God’s Grace that ultimately aids us and saves us. A very powerful message.
My lovely bride was touched by the music (she loved the man’s voice leading the music) and the Mass and said it was “Good to be at Mass”.
After our hiatus, this was a gain a different visit in many ways, but it sure was great. It got us back on our pilgrimage and we received a great message for our Lenten journey. God surely blesses us!
Pictures
