Come, Lord Jesus! Thanksgiving ----Living With a Grateful Heart

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1 Come, Lord Jesus! Spiritual Insights Reports Formation Program Updates NEWSLETTER November 2017 VOL. XXVII NO. 30 November Every Thursday Memorial Mass for the enrollees in the CLJ! Memorial Burse November 1 All Saints Day November 5 31stSunday in Ordinary Time November 12 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time November 19 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time November 26 Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Thanksgiving ----Living With a Grateful Heart Gratitude is the channel through which we become aware of the sacred, and the blessings in our lives. It has been defined as a virtue of highest excellence, as it implies living in generosity and appreciation. Gratitude is an emotion of the heart excited by a favor or benefit received; a sentiment of kindness or good will towards a benefactor. The virtue of gratitude has been called a state of mind and a way of life because it shapes our entire outlook on our existence. It links to the divine and to every part of the creation. Embedded in the Bible are numerous examples, from patriarchs to the apostles who understood that a vital part of honoring God is thanking him. Psalm 50 :23 states, He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me. In 2 Samuel 22: 47-51, King David sang to the Lord the words of this song when he was delivered from the hand of his enemies. The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation. O God who granted me vindication, subdued peoples under me, and helped me escape from my enemies...thus I will proclaim you, Lord among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. You have given great victories to your king, and shown kindness to your anointed, to David and his posterity forever. Another treasury from King David is found in 1 Chronicles 16:34 in thanksgiving of the arrival of the arc of the Covenant in the city of David. He proclaims, Give thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever;...that they may give thanks to your holy name and glory in praising you. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Let all the people say, Amen! Hallelujah. God s loving fidelity is praised in many of the Psalms. We join in this prayer of Psalm 138: 1-2 as we proclaim, I thank you, Lord, with all my heart; in the presence of the angels to you I sing. I bow low toward your holy temple; I praise your name for your mercy and faithfulness. For you have exalted over all your name and your promise. In the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (1Cor 1: 3-9) St. Paul eloquently speaks, I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ... God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Gratitude is one of the hallmarks of a life lived well. It is a virtue that profoundly impacts our personal happiness. It gives glory and honor to God who makes all things possible. May we always count our blessings, express our appreciation and be mindful of God s greatness. Happy Thanksgiving! Marianne Hebert, Outreach Administrator

2 Thanksgiving to the Father Jesus is eternally grateful for his being born, that is, for his proceeding eternally from the Father - his whole being is an eternal act of thanksgiving to the Father. Jesus expresses his eternal gratitude to the Father by his total surrender to him in the paschal mystery (his suffering, death and resurrection). His self gift to the Father is Eucharist, that is, thanksgiving, an eternal act of gratitude to the Father for his being begotten by him. Jesus is Father-centered, not self-centered: His whole being was oriented toward the Father in love and thanksgiving. Such thanksgiving enabled him to continually live out of himself and in the Father. In this way, he was totally connected to the Father in an unbroken, life-giving union and communion. That is how we must be: living out of ourselves in continuous gratitude to the Father for our being - living no longer for ourselves but for him who brought us into being both naturally and supernaturally. When we receive the Eucharist, we are swept into the current of Jesus eternal gratitude to the Father. We want to join him with all our hearts in this movement of thanksgiving to the Father. The only reason why we were conceived and born is because God wanted us to be: he chose us in him (in Christ), before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). Out of a possible 500 million persons, he wanted us specifically to be - no one else. It is not by chance that we were conceived - we were chosen by God, our Father, to be conceived and born for a particular purpose. Moreover, through baptism, he endowed us with special graces for us to praise and thank him by pointing out his overwhelming love and mercy toward us who are totally without merit or deserving of such blessings. St. Paul, in a hymn of praise to God expresses this truth this singular way: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him (Christ), before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved (Eph 1:3-6). We are filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for God s calling us into being, both by nature and by grace. God destined us for the purpose of bringing out the wonders of his love and mercy toward us unworthy sinners. He graced us with his own divine life for this purpose. We have been made partakers of his own divine nature (2 Pet 1:4) so that by sharing his divine life, we could know him and be uplifted and vivified to be able to somewhat adequately express to him our gratitude and praise. We can do this if we understand the splendor of his glory seen in his infinite love and mercy, his superabundant liberality toward us, his undeserving children. We cannot cease praising him for the magnificence of his glory and thanking him for blessing us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. Rather than becoming absorbed in ourselves and the pleasures we enjoy, our attitude must be one of thanksgiving and love toward God for giving us such gifts. Thanksgiving enables us to live out of ourselves and in God. In this way, our whole lives are lived in gratitude to God in the praise of the glory of his munificent spiritual blessings. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, surrounded by such an abundance of food and family, friends and many other things, we pray that our spirit of gratitude will spontaneously raise our hearts to a continuous, unending hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God, our Father. Father Conley Bertrand 2

3 Words of Gratitude Ginny Dufrene celebrating with her group from Harvey, LA. I knew I wanted to go deeper into my Catholic faith, I just didn t know where to start. I am so thankful for this program!!! 3

4 Recent Events Anniversary Mass for the New Iberia area groups Anniversary Mass for the New Orleans area groups Holy Cross Catholic Church in Morgan City, LA host our first Advent Journey 4

5 September 2017 Gift Bags Received Thank you for your generosity! Abbeville LA: Carolyn Trahan Chackbay LA: Karen Steib Cow Island LA: Nikki Melancon Lafayette, LA: Georgette Prejean Lake Charles, LA: Jeanne Marcantel, Mary Webre Leroy, LA: Mitzi Dohrman Leslie O Byrne Milton, LA: Dawn Chaisson Mobile, AL: Michelle Wilson,Jenny Jauregui, Karen Johnson, Judith Cerda New Iberia, LA: Simone Antoinette Rochelle Schriever, LA: Joseph Richterberg Scott, LA: Jackie Stoute Thibodaux LA: Dottie LeCompte Ville Platte, LA: Ted Sylvester, Terri Sylvester RNeturning Members Abbeville Arnaudville Baker Basile Baton Rouge Bayou Vista Bell City Berwick Borger, TX Breaux Bridge Broussard Carencro Cecilia Chackbay Coteau Cow Island Delcambre DeRidder Dry Creek Duson Erath Estherwood Eunice Evangeline Forked Island Franklin Grand Prairie Harvey Houma Jefferson Judice Kinder Krotz Springs Lacombe Lafayette Lake Charles Leonville Loreauville Lufkin,TX Marrero Maurice Melville Metairie Milton Mire Morgan City Morse Mowata New Iberia New Orleans Oberlin Opelousas Parks Pierre Part Prairie Ronde Rayne Richard Schriever Slidell St. Martinville Sulphur Ville Platte Washington Youngsville Lake Charles, LA...Kimberly Esposito...Leader Debbie Campbell, Audry Fontenot, Kayla LeJeune,Chrissie Trahan Lafayette,LA... Andretti Bellard...Leader Louida Fuselier,Geraldine Bernard,Veronica Alexander Houma, LA...René Rhodes...Leader Julie Rhodes,Bill and Karen Maloz, Kim and Dennis Sanvi, Angela and Rory Roorse Madeline Picou, Murch Trahan,Laura Melancon Notice: The office will be closed on Wednesday Nov 1st in observance of All Saints Day and on Wednesday November 22nd (day before Thanksgiving). 5

6 T Condolences September 2017 o leader Brenda Fontenot of Ville Platte, LA on the death of her husband, Steve A. Fontenot. o member Theresa Attales of Ville Platte, LA on the death of her son, Mitchell J. Attales. o member Velma Broussard of Abbeville, LA on the death of her husband, Calvin Fabian Broussard o the members of Believers in the Lord in Pine Prairie, LA on the death of their member,rovieland (Mr. Rov) Fontenot. o member Geraldine Stelly of Carencro, LA on the death of her brother, Joseph Stelly. SEPT 20- OCTOBER 17, 2017 Memorial Burse Donations Mitchell J. Attales Eileen DeRouen Grace G. Simon Calvin Fabian Broussard Darlene D. Faul Vincent J. Spizale Rosa Mae Blanchard Cancienne Steve A. Fontenot Joseph Stelly Elizabeth (Liz) Champlin James J. Lackett, II Claire Flores Tribou Betty Jane Loch Constans Tootie LeMaire Come, Lord Jesus! 1804 W. University Ave. Lafayette, LA Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Lafayette, LA Permit No. 729