Come,Lord Jesus!

DecemberEvery Thursday Memorial Mass

for the enrollees in the CLJ! Memorial Burse

December 6Second Sunday of Advent

December 13

Third Sunday of Advent

December 20 Fourth Sunday of

Advent

December 25The Nativity of the Lord

December 27

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 2020 VOL. XLXIV NO. 66

Come, Lord Jesus!

Jesus is born and prophecy is fulfilled in a most striking way – even literally.The dark world of ignorance of divine things has actually become all lit up by the light of the glory of God. A world of gloom and death is enlivened with heav-enly music and cheerful song.

“I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”The qualities given to the newborn king were true in the fullest sense pos-sible. This long-expected king is really Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father Forever, Prince of Peace, Son of God. Ordinarily, these titles were given to kings when they were enthroned. But they were not fully realized. In Jesus, however, a descendant of King David, all of these qualities are literally fulfilled in his person.

You must come to know this Lord of yours better. He is far more wonderful than anyone else you have ever known. He is God incarnate. You can get to know him personally through prayer: heart to heart communion and by doing what pleases him.

When you do discover this wonderful Person, you will have come upon the joy of your life. He is not only a limited hu-man being; he is also unlimited divinity. The birth of Christ in our world is such a happy occasion that the word of God directs us to “sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds.” We express our joy by singing. This is why we sing Christmas carols at this time of the year. We want to express our excitement and wonder regarding the marvelous happening of God’s birth as a human baby. What dignity and honor he has bestowed on our human nature – that he would choose to become one of us!

“The grace of God has appeared” (Ti 2:11). God has shown us his favor. The loving kindness of God can now actually be seen. It can now be felt and experienced in the form of a human being: warm, tender, loving. Jesus is the grace of God embodied in human flesh. Now all know exactly where to find God. The unreachable, invisible God comes to visit us and reveal himself to us in Jesus. He shows himself not as one to be feared, but as a sweet little baby. He is the grace of God. We can approach him with confidence. Father Conley Bertrand

On Christmas day, we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. The Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, became a human being. The Virgin Mary gave him birth. He was born into our world as a little child. What did he look like? What did God’s infinite perfection look like in a newborn baby? Could you experience God in his eyes and holy face? Did the glory of God shine around him illumi-nating the dark cave?

He comes to win our hearts. We are drawn to him. We want to take him in our arms and love him. God is love.He wants us to approach him so he can love us. He be-came human so he could lift us up to a divine level of be-ing. God became human so humans could start living the life of God.

By suffering and dying in our own human nature, Jesus destroyed the sin that separated us from God. By rising from the dead and giving us his sanctifying grace, he gave us a share in his divine life: he makes us children of God, able to call God “Father” and enter into intimate, personal communion with him.

The invisible God has made himself visible. Now, he can be seen in Jesus. Now, we know where he is so we can contact him. He makes himself available to us. We can locate him in the Catholic Church, which he founded. There, he left us the seven sacraments as meeting points with him. He is particularly present in the Holy Eucharist. You can visit with him anytime in the tabernacle. The Christ-Mass gives us Jesus as he is in himself: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The Catholic Church does not only talk about Jesus; she gives us Jesus in the fullness of his humanity and divinity. Our redeemer, who was born and lived years ago, is still with us today as risen Lord.

The Holy Eucharist, which Jesus instituted for us at the last supper, and fully realized through his passion, death, and resurrection, gives us Jesus in all of his mysteries. During this Christmas season, we focus on the myster-ies of his childhood. The Eucharist gives us Jesus and the grace to live out the mysteries of his holy childhood: the grace to live as innocent children of God; the grace of depending on God like a child on his parent; the grace to reverence God as our Father; the grace to hug him tight and to live in continuous communion with him.

It is significant to note that Jesus first shows himself to the poor, lowly shepherds. He identifies himself with them by being born in a stable and laid in a feed trough. He does not disdain to associate himself with people that others despised. He is particularly attracted to us when we experience our own poverty of being: our weakness, our sinfulness, our misery, our helplessness. By taking up our human nature as his own, Jesus makes us all brothers and sisters. He goes even further than that and actually tells us, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers [and sisters] of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).

Every human nature owned by any and every human be-ing belongs to Jesus because he has taken it to himself as his own in the mystery of the Incarnation. When we love them, we love him. When we neglect them, we neglect him.

May our love for Jesus be real. May we give Jesus the gift of our love and respect in each human being that we meet. There, we meet Jesus in a concrete, clear, definite way – the way he himself said you could locate and love him.

Father Conley Bertrand

The Nativity of the Lord

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Aspiring to Live the Highest Life

When we receive the Holy Eucharist, we receive the divine Jesus in Person under the form of bread. It is his way of nourishing us with the divine substance that is his. The soul is of such high spiritual quality and is endowed with such dignity as the image of God, nothing less than God himself can be its food. The Eucharistic bread Jesus gives us is alive; it is his glorified flesh, saturated with the Father’s divinity, which also belongs to Jesus by nature. For he is the God-man who gives himself to us so we can assimi-late the holy virtues of his divinized humanity that comes to us as spiritual food.

“Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love.” (Saint)Pope John Paul II Dominicae CanaeIn every Catholic’s life, there should be a regular hour kept wholly for Jesus in the Blessed Sacra-ment. The Hour of Adoration is an hour filled with eternal merit, abundant graces and spiritual enrichment. As revealed by Saint Gertrude: “I understand that each time we contemplate with desire and devotion the Host in which is hidden Christ’s Eucharistic Body, we increase our merits in heaven and secure special joys to be ours later in the beatific vision of God.” In the holy presence of Jesus, our spiritual energies are renewed and we are imbued with divine love and fervor.

Attend daily Mass and receive Communion as frequently as possible.

Adore Jesus in a weekly Holy Hour.

My name is Paula Carriere. I am so grateful that in early March I made the call to Clarie Robicheaux in ef-fort to inquire about the program. She seemed absolutely excited informing me of the particulars of Come, Lord Jesus! and immediately, without thought, I joined! Only, after we hung up, I said to myself: “What did I just do?” Well, what I had just done, was what our Lord needed me to do – arrive at a crossing. At the other end of the crossing were a handful of CLJ! participants welcoming me to the table of discussion and active contribution, and I never looked back. Come, Lord Jesus! has done remarkable things to me in that it grants me the view of God’s word for which he intends me to see and to share the beauty of. I search for the mean-ing of that Reading as though searching for treasure and thus finding that my knowledge of God has deeply swelled, particularly in unity with God and in accord with others who deeply share the same end. To grant justice to my participation in the CLJ! program, I resign not only to be spiritually devoted to the program, but also to genuinely embrace and love that spiritual devotion while rendering it lovable to everyone I en-counter. I must live what I have learned with credibility – silently and delicately inviting others to join – to love God better. It seems clear to me that all homes hosting CLJ! should be filled with many others wanting to arrive at a crossing that leads to the treasure of the Word – the Word of Our Lord. I am so thankful to have shared a part of my life with you today.

Testimony

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Anniversary Mass

St. Ann / Mamou

G

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Buda, TX: Maria Ybarra, Armida (Middy) MunozDuson, LA: Lyndon LeJeune Harvey, LA: Jo Ann MattisonKaplan, LA: Brendel MireMadisonville, LA: Veronica Lalonde Marrero, LA: Marion Cortez, Ruthie Tassin, Kim CatalanottoMetairie, LA: Richard LyonsNew Iberia, LA: Michelle Evans

Gift Bags Received During the month of

October 2020

AbbevilleAvery IslandBasileBayou VistaBorger, TX Breaux Bridge BroussardBuda, TXCanktonCarencroCeciliaCoteauCow IslandDelcambreDeRidderDusonEganErathEstherEstherwoodEuniceFentonForked IslandFranklinGrand Coteau

Grand PrairieGretnaHarveyHoumaIotaJeaneretteJeffersonKaplanKinderLafayetteLake CharlesMamouMarreroMetairieMiltonMorgan CityMorseNew IberiaOpelousasPierre PartPine PrairieRayneRichardSlidellSt. Martinville

ThibodauxVille PlatteWashington

Thank you for your generosity!

Come, Lord Jesus! Advisory Board John Cart, Fr. Randy Moreau Patrice Williams, Father Bertrand Shawn O’Neill

NEW GROUP!

Abbeville, LA : Brenda B. Bares- Leader

Beverly Reaux, Stephen Brier, Kim Briggs

Durbin Joseph Gibbens, Jr. Fred HeromanRhea JohnsonLeatrice Derise MarquetteDeacon John Louis McGinnis, Jr.Frances Ann Ragusa NotoDiane Ottis

Come, Lord Jesus!1804 W. University Ave.Lafayette, LA 70506

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDLafayette, LA

Permit No. 729

OCTOBER 20TH - NOVEMBER 17, 2020 Memorial Burse Donations

Condolences December 2020

To member Rose Rabon of Broussard, LA on the death of her brother-in-law, Lionel Ryes, Sr.

To member Agatha Wiggins of Bayou Vista, LA on the death of her husband, Terry P. Wiggins.

To member Alice Pillaro of Jeanerette, LA on the death of her mother, Leatrice D. Marquette.

To member Cathy Voelkel of Metairie, LA on the death of her brother, Mark Voelkel.

Paul Anthony PlaisanceLionel Ryes, Sr.Tim TateJessie Faye Womack VannoyDeacon Leslie VincentTerry P. Wiggins