Looking to the Future – The Best Chapters Are Yet to Be Written
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
As we come closer to celebrating the 70th anniversary of St Bernadette Parish, it would be easy to think that this milestone is mainly about remembering the past. In a way it is. We acknowledge the people who founded the parish and those who contributed wholeheartedly for its development. Still, anniversaries are also about the future.
As we give thanks for seventy years of God's faithfulness, we also ask ourselves an important question: What kind of parish is God calling us to become?
The answer does not lie in just preserving memories. That would be like sitting on our or others’ laurels. It is about embracing our mission. Jesus continues to call and send us out as missionary disciples, to proclaim the Gospel, welcome those searching for hope, accompany families, nurture young people, care for the vulnerable, and invite others into a living relationship with Him.
Every generation receives the gift of faith and is entrusted with passing it on. We have inherited a wonderful parish because those before us were willing to dream and to serve, even when that meant to sacrifice. Now that same responsibility rests with us.
Our anniversary celebration will surely fill us with some nostalgia. But it would be a pity if we stop there. We need to renew our sense of purpose. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we continue to grow as a welcoming, faith-filled and joyful community where people encounter Christ and experience His love.
The best way to honour our past is to invest in our future. Seventy years from now, parishioners will probably gather to celebrate the 140th anniversary of St Bernadette Parish. Let us continue to commit ourselves, so that they will look back with gratitude and say that this generation remained faithful to the Gospel and courageously embraced God's call.
May God continue to bless our parish family, and may St Bernadette intercede for us as we journey together with faith, hope and love.
Fr Silvio Bezzina MSSP
Parish Priest