Eduardo Bernardino

Church of the Resurrection Parish

• Contact: 1445 Conway Drive, Escondido 760-747-2322 www.resurrectionchurch.org
• Membership: 3,000+ families
• Neighborhood: North County
• Pastor: Father Eduardo Bernardino  
• Age: 60
• Born: Bulacan Province, Philippines
• Formation: Mapua Institute of Technology, Manila; Our Lady of the Angels Seminary, Quezon City, Divine Word Seminary, Tagaytay City.
• Years Ordained: 30

San Diego Reader: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

Father Eduardo Bernardino: I don’t want to generalize, but there are some people who have somehow lost their enthusiasm to go back to church after covid, perhaps out of fear. They would rather stay at home and watch Mass over the TV or on their gadgets. My fear is that people might develop a laziness in not going back to Mass. I think that is the general feeling in the diocese, because our bishop has emailed us to preach more about the Eucharist to encourage the people to come back to Mass.

SDR: Why did you become a priest?

FB: When God calls, you just have to say, “Yes.” Before I started my formation, I was finishing a degree in engineering. I felt there was something missing, which led me to discover that I was meant for the priesthood. When I was in my fourth year at Mapua, little by little I lost my desire to continue the course I was taking up; then, I felt a lot of loneliness and emptiness inside. I accidentally met a priest to whom I opened up my problems and I asked about the priesthood. From then on, he was the one who helped me enter the seminary.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

FB: We have a mission to make a community of faith in our local parish, bringing Christ alive in every family and individual. We do that through different ministries for the religious and spiritual needs of the people, but also through the social outreach — we help the poor, support Catholic schools in the diocese, and we are active in sharing our resources with the interfaith community.

SDR: August 4 is the feast day of St. John Vianney, patron saint of Catholic priests. What inspiration do you take from St. John Vianney in your own priesthood?

FB: St. John Vianney always made himself available to the people, especially in regard to confession. He would spend a long time hearing confessions at his parish church. I find him inspiring because of his love for the people so they can receive the spiritual graces they need. So, I make confession available as much as possible — Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays each week at Church of the Resurrection — so people can come and confess and be forgiven of their sins.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

FB: I believe there is a heaven and there is hell. There is also purgatory, which is a place where our souls are being purified or cleansed before going to heaven. In the gospel, those who do good deeds receive eternal life and those who do wicked things receive eternal damnation. Bad people will go to hell and good people will go to heaven. I don’t think there is meaning in what I am doing otherwise; if heaven and hell don’t exist, are not real, then all I am doing as a priest is meaningless. Why would I encourage people to do good and insist on their turning away from sin, if there is really no heaven or hell? So, I believe either heaven or hell is the ultimate destination of our souls.