1. From My Heart to Your Heart by Father Bernadino

THE BACK DOOR MINISTRY

1.

Margaret has been the parish residence cook for many years. Fr.
Dan, the parish pastor, always trusted in her and Margaret felt very
comfortable with her job. Fr. Dan was very kind and flexible but
Margaret was aware that he was the «boss». Very often Margaret, while
in the kitchen, was interrupted by the poor who would knock at the
back door begging for food. The majority of them were women with their
children where malnutrition was very visible. The group of the poor
started growing and Margaret’s heart bled for them. When she prepared
the meals for the pastor and his two associates she started adding
some more food hoping she would never be caught by her boss. She would
put their food on the table and in separate dishes Margaret would
serve the poor that started being regular at the rectory’s back door.
She knew she was «stealing» but she also knew that a little more food
wouldn’t make a big difference in the budget of Fr. Dan. Actually she
was sure he wouldn’t even notice it. But… one afternoon Margaret was
caught. Fr. Dan needed something from his car, used the back door and
saw a group of people enjoying a delicious hot meal. There was even a
table with a few chairs that Fr. Dan had never seen there. Fr. Dan
stopped, looked at the poor and looked at Margaret. She blushed…
stuttered a few words, tried to explain but nothing of what she was
trying to say made any sense. When she was expecting Fr. Dan to scold
her she realized that Fr. Dan had tears in his eyes. And something
fabulous happened. In that afternoon Fr. Dan established in his parish
a new program and Margaret became the first Director of the «BACK DOOR
MINISTRY».

2.

Last Sunday, (June 5th, 2016) all of us, at Penha de França English
Mass, were surprised by the presence of a small group of young people.
They were all homeless. I already knew some of their stories. Some are
very dramatic and some are horror stories. Sleeping in the streets is
not fun. They found out about the project People Helping People (which
was started at the Chapel to help the poor) and about the
compassionate tourists that support People Helping People. They came
without being invited. They knew that in the Catholic Church there are
no questions asked, that they don’t have to dress well and smell well
and that they don’t need letters of recommendation. However, I have to
confess that not everything worked that well. It was obvious that
everyone felt a bit uncomfortable and that is understandable. I felt
that it was like forcing two people to be married without knowing each
other and without being prepared for each other. But they had coffee
and cookies at the Social Room even if I was told that some people,
very carefully, took special care of their purses. The following day
(Monday, June 6th, 2016) I had lunch with them in downtown of Funchal.
Now I invited them to be my partners in starting a new project at
Penha de França. I invited them to come to the Portuguese Mass the
following Sunday, (June 12th, 2016) at 11:30 AM (after the English
Mass). After that Portuguese Mass there will be a fresh and delicious
lunch waiting for them at the Social Room. Two restaurants have
already volunteered to donate their hot lunch.

3.

It is my joy to announce that today, June 12th, 2016, the 51st
Anniversary of my Priestly Ordination, we inaugurate in our Chapel
Penha de França a new project called THE BACK DOOR MINISTRY.

God loves you and so do I…

Fr. Bernardino Andrade

Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade

My life and my ministry as a priest can be and has been, sometimes, very tiring but it is never boring. Even when I used to say seven and eight Masses in a weekend I never felt that it was a repetition. I never felt bored. It was always unique. It was always a surprise.
I have been performing Weddings for over fifty years and I feel that every Wedding I perform is like the first in my life. Actually it is the first with that particular couple, family and friends. Last month I had a Wedding that impressed me in a very special way.
David is from Iceland and a member of the Lutheran Church. He is fluent in English but not in Portuguese. That´s the reason why the Ceremony was bilingual.
Linda is a very proud Portuguese girl, a member of the Catholic Church, born and raised in Venezuela. Very deep in her heart, and in her purse, she carries two passports with two Nationalities.
We had a few meetings to prepare the ceremony. David and Linda were more concerned about their married life than about their marriage day. We talked about marriage, about married life, about the church, about prayer and about the world with its deep problems. We talked about the homeless, about the project «People Helping People», about the suffering, about the poor, about the refugees. We talked about the tremendous crisis that is affecting Venezuela. Linda is very conscious of all the troubles that are affecting her people in Venezuela and among them the supermarkets with empty shelves. People there have a card that assigns them the day of the week when they can go to the supermarket to buy their groceries, and where they can find almost nothing to buy. We talked about this man who spent four hours in line to pay for two kilos of rice.
Then we went back to the ceremony. Beautiful readings were chosen, the vows, the music and we also talked about the rice that is becoming a tradition to throw to the newly weds. Together we realized that throwing rice is transforming food into garbage. How can we do that in a Wedding when there is so much hunger in Venezuela and in the world? Together we realized that transforming food into garbage was an insult to the people in Venezuela and an insult to all the poor of the world and an insult to God. Somebody told Linda: «But it is your Wedding. To make the Wedding of Cana a special Wedding, Jesus transformed water into wine». «You are right», Linda answered, «but He did not insult the poor by transforming food into garbage».
Then Linda and David decided to prepare a big basket of groceries that was carried to the altar at the moment of the Offertory. Then all the people who had rice to be thrown to them brought their bags of rice and respectfully deposited them inside the basket. After the wedding, with the help of a volunteer, I carried the basket and on behalf of Linda and David I delivered it to a family of six people who saw in this action one more sign of hope. The poor and the hungry had been invited to their Wedding. Linda mentioned a very powerful word from the Gospel. «We need to be YEAST of the Kingdom of God» (Mat. 13:33).
Linda and David understood what a Sacrament is about.
By the way, I forgot to say that Linda and David were not victims of rice thrown against their faces but they were «buried» under beautiful and aromatic flowers.

God loves you and so do I,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son:  
– “How was the trip?”    
– “It was great, Dad.”      
– “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked.      
– “Oh Yeah, ” said the son.      
– “So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.      
– “We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.”      
“We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.”      
“Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.”      
“We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.”
“We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.”      
“We buy our food, but they grow theirs.”      
“We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

With this the boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added,      
– “Thanks, dad, for showing me how poor we are.” (Anonymous)

God Loves you and so do I,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade

I met Jose a few years ago during a Spanish Cursillo (a spiritual retreat experience). He had come to California from Nicaragua, was a University professor and a politician. He had enjoyed a «good» life until he was forced to flee the country for serious reasons. Visiting his family in California, Jose was invited to take part in a three day Cursillo. Jose «had no choice» because his brother-in-law was going to be the Coordinator of the retreat. The only reason he said «yes» was because he felt embarrassed to decline his brother-in-law’s invitation. Jose had no faith at all. His last time in church and his last Communion had taken place 40 years before.
The first day of the Cursillo was a struggling and painful journey. Then he felt something different. He discovered a «different God».  He discovered that «his» God whom he had left behind was not the God of Jesus. On the second day of the Cursillo Jose was uncontrollably in love with «his new God», the God of the Bible, the God of Jesus, the God of the Lost Sheep and of the Prodigal Son. Jose was fascinated by the person of Jesus. I heard his first Confession in 40 years and gave him absolution in the name of God. He felt loved and forgiven and I had the privilege of giving him his First Holy Communion after forty years of absence.
During one of the breaks he confided to me that the «hardest thing for him to understand was that during these 40 years, God performed so many miracles in his life, and he didn’t even believe in Him».
I put my hand on his shoulder, looked in his eyes, and also confided to him:
– Jose… a mother never asks permission from her baby to love him… to help him…to feed him.
God will never ask your permission to love you and to help you. God will never ask «May I love you, please? ». That’s free. The blessing and the tragedy is that we have the power to say “yes” or “no”. The religion of Jesus is a religion of the YES.

Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino

A “Cursillo” is a spiritual retreat experience. It was born in Spain, and that’s why even in the English-speaking countries they are still faithful to the name “Cursillo”. We also have it here in Madeira. In June there is one for men and in August there is one for ladies. It starts on a Wednesday night and ends on a Saturday night. In Madeira, the place where the Cursillo takes place is in Terreiro da Luta (Monte). It is excellent and it is in almost every country of the world

FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – A way of Life

Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade

I strongly believe that life is about relationships. Faith is about relationships. Politics are about relationships. We all belong to God and we belong to one another. Very often I am invited to bless houses and business places. Some time ago I was invited to bless a Bank. Every time this happens I always read a special passage of the Bible. It is Galatians 5: 22-23. I consider it a mini-course on human relationships. It applies to all situations where people are involved. They are, what St. Paul calls, the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.      
Here they are: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF-CONTROL. There is no law against such things (Gal. 5: 22-23).    

I would like to invite you, when you meet or pray as a couple, as a family or as a group to say one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit and complete a sentence. No discussion. Just sharing. In discussion you give your opinion that can be right or wrong. In sharing there are no right or wrong answers. It would be like this:

1 – LOVE IS ______________________________________________________
2 – JOY IS _______________________________________________________
3 – PEACE IS _____________________________________________________
4 – PATIENCE IS __________________________________________________
5 – KINDNESS IS __________________________________________________
6 – GENEROSITY IS ________________________________________________
7 – FAITHFULNESS IS ______________________________________________
8 – GENTLENESS IS ________________________________________________
9 – SELF-CONTROL IS ______________________________________________

Please try. God loves you and so do I.

Fr. Bernardino Andrade

Congratulations to Father Bernadino on his Jubilee. Thank you father for your fifty years’ service as a priest.