DIOCESAN
Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait
DIRECTOR
Maegan Martin
WRITER
Joseph O’Sullivan
DESIGNER
Alaina Maiorana
BUSINESS
Bill Barbera
ACCOUNTING
Rebecca Thibodeaux
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Caroline Luke
Paul George
Gretchen George
Christina Estes
Cheyene Dodd
Jonah Curole
Jolee Richoux
Kate Dawson
Nick Smith
PHOTOGRAPHER
Maegan Martin
EMAIL US: communications@htdiocese.org
VISIT US ONLINE bayoucatholic.org
you exprienced wonder?
Francine
It seems like more often than we would like, we find ourselves in seasons of waiting in our lives. For example, perhaps now you are waiting for an upcoming break from school, or a holiday from work, or for a loved one to visit for Christmas. As a diocese over the last number of years, we have found ourselves waiting for a new bishop now on two occasions. What makes waiting so hard is that there is something good that we desire but is not yet here. It is a future reality that is not present right now, which creates this feeling of longing and anticipation that often accompanies these seasons of waiting.
The longing of waiting can be uncomfortable, unpleasant, and even painful on a certain level. The fact that the person or thing we are waiting for is not present right now can be a constant thorn in our side. The grief that arises from that can cause a heaviness and weariness. How often do we get tired of waiting for something or someone! The culture of instant gratification that we live in tries to convince us that waiting is bad, that it is something that can and should be avoided, and that we should be able to get whatever we want at a moment’s notice. And our culture has done a very good job of removing many elements of waiting from our lives.
That means that when we find ourselves in a season of waiting that we cannot avoid, it can be even harder. As we get more accustomed to instant gratification, we get less accustomed to waiting. The temptation will be to focus on the thing that we don’t have and the pain that lack causes.
However, the invitation for us this Advent, and indeed every Advent, is to focus less on the lack and more on the real cause of our waiting. Advent is a season of waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus in the flesh, our Savior now becoming Emmanuel. That reality fills our hearts with an expectant joy and wonder at what God has done and will do because He loves us so much. When we focus on what is missing, our hearts become weighed down. But when we focus on what will come, we are renewed in our hope at the good things that are in store for us.
While all of us are waiting for different things, there is one thing that we are all waiting for – the coming of Jesus. And not simply His coming as a child in the manger. We are ultimately waiting to be united with Him forever in Heaven. There is no greater gift that He could offer us. There is no greater life that we could want than the life that He has prepared for us after this life – eternal life, free from all pain and suffering, sorrow and mourning. If we keep our gaze fixed on the good things that God has prepared for us, seasons of waiting will fill us with this expectant joy and wonder at His goodness rather than the grief of “what is not.” As we enter into this season of Advent together, may the Lord bless your waiting and give you great hope at the good things He has prepared for you.
Tal parece que con frecuencia, más de lo que quisiéramos, nos encontramos en temporadas de espera en nuestras vidas. Por ejemplo, tal vez ahora usted está esperando un próximo descanso escolar, o unas vacaciones en el trabajo, o la visita de un ser querido para Navidad. Como diócesis, en los últimos años nos hemos encontrado en dos ocasiones, esperando a un nuevo obispo. Lo que hace que la espera sea difícil, es que hay algo bueno que deseamos pero que aún no ha llegado. Es una realidad futura que no está presente ahora mismo, lo que crea este sentimiento de anhelo y anticipación que, comúnmente acompaña a estas temporadas de espera.
El anhelo de la espera puede ser incómodo, desagradable e incluso doloroso a cierto nivel. El hecho de que la persona o cosa que estamos esperando no esté presente en este momento puede ser una espina constante en nuestro costado. La angustia que surge de ello puede causar pesadez y cansancio. ¡Cuántas veces nos cansamos de esperar algo o a alguien! La cultura de la gratificación instantánea en la que vivimos intenta convencernos de que esperar es malo, que es algo que puede y debe evitarse, y que deberíamos conseguir lo que quisiéramos en un momento. Y nuestra cultura ha hecho un buen trabajo y ha eliminado muchos elementos de la espera de nuestras vidas.
Eso significa que cuando nos encontramos en una temporada de espera que no podemos evitar, puede ser aún más difícil. A medida que nos acostumbramos a la gratificación instantánea nos acostumbramos menos a esperar. La tentación será enfocarnos en lo que no tenemos y en el dolor que causa la falta.
Sin embargo, la invitación para nosotros en este Adviento, y de hecho en cada Adviento, es centrarnos menos en la carencia y enfocarnos más en la verdadera causa de nuestra espera. El Adviento es un tiempo de espera de la venida del Señor Jesús en la carne, nuestro Salvador que ahora se convierte en Emmanuel. Esa realidad llena nuestros corazones de una extraordinaria alegría y de asombro ante lo que Dios ha hecho y hará porque nos ama tanto. Cuando nos centramos en lo que falta, el corazón se agobia. Pero cuando nos centramos en lo que vendrá, se renueva nuestra esperanza en las cosas buenas que nos esperan.
Aunque esperamos cosas diferentes, hay algo que todos esperamos: la venida de Jesús. Y no sólo su venida como niño en el pesebre. En última instancia, esperamos estar unidos a Él para siempre en el Cielo. No hay mayor regalo que Él pueda ofrecernos. No hay vida más grande que podamos desear que la que Él nos ha preparado para después de esta vida: la vida eterna, libre de todo dolor y sufrimiento, pena y luto. Si mantenemos nuestra mirada fija en las cosas buenas que Dios ha preparado para nosotros, los tiempos de espera nos llenarán de esta alegría extraordinaria y de asombro ante Su bondad en lugar de la pena de «lo que no es». Al entrar juntos en este tiempo de Adviento, que el Señor bendiga tu espera y les conceda una gran esperanza ante las cosas buenas que les tiene preparadas.
Dường như chúng ta thường xuyên thấy mình trong những mùa chờ đợi trong cuộc sống hơn là chúng ta mong muốn. Thí dụ, có lẽ bây giờ quý vị đang chờ một kỳ nghỉ sắp tới ở trường, hoặc một kỳ nghỉ làm việc, hoặc một người thân yêu đến thăm vào dịp Giáng sinh. Là một giáo phận trong nhiều năm qua, chúng ta đã nhận thấy mình đang chờ đợi một giám mục mới trong hai lần. Điều khiến việc chờ đợi trở nên khó khăn là có điều gì đó tốt đẹp mà chúng ta mong muốn nhưng vẫn chưa đến. Đó là thực tế tương lai không hiện diện ngay bây giờ, tạo ra cảm giác khao khát và mong đợi thường đi kèm với những mùa chờ đợi này.
Sự khát khao mong chờ có thể khó chịu, không thoải mái và thậm chí đau đớn ở một mức độ nào đó. Thực tế là người hoặc vật mà chúng ta đang chờ đợi không hiện diện ngay bây giờ có thể là một cái gai liên tục trong mắt chúng ta. Nỗi đau phát sinh từ đó có thể gây ra sự ê chề và mệt mỏi. Chúng ta thường cảm thấy mệt mỏi khi chờ đợi điều gì đó hoặc ai đó!! Nền văn hóa thỏa mãn tức thời mà chúng ta đang sống cố gắng thuyết phục chúng ta rằng chờ đợi là điều xấu, điều mà có thể và nên tránh, để rồi chúng ta nên có thể có được bất cứ điều gì chúng ta muốn ngay lập tức. Và nền văn hóa của chúng ta đã làm một công việc rất tốt đó là loại bỏ nhiều yếu tố chờ
đợi khỏi cuộc sống của chúng ta.
Điều đó có nghĩa là khi chúng ta thấy mình đang trong thời gian chờ đợi mà chúng ta không thể tránh khỏi, làm cho nó có thể còn khó khăn hơn. Khi chúng ta quen với sự thỏa mãn tức thời, chúng ta sẽ ít quen với việc chờ đợi hơn. Sự cám dỗ sẽ là tập trung vào thứ mà chúng ta không có và nỗi đau mà sự thiếu hụt gây ra.
Tuy nhiên, lời mời gọi dành cho chúng ta trong Mùa Vọng này, và thực sự mọi Mùa Vọng, là tập trung ít hơn vào sự thiếu thốn và nhiều hơn vào nguyên nhân thực sự khiến chúng ta chờ đợi. Mùa Vọng là mùa chờ đợi Chúa Giêsu đến trong xác thịt, Đấng Cứu Độ của chúng ta giờ đây trở thành Emmanuel. Thực tế đó lấp đầy trái tim chúng ta với niềm vui mong đợi và sự ngạc nhiên về những gì Chúa đã làm và sẽ làm vì Ngài yêu thương chúng ta rất nhiều. Khi chúng ta tập trung vào những gì còn thiếu, trái tim chúng ta trở nên nặng nề. Nhưng khi chúng ta tập trung vào những gì sẽ đến, chúng ta được đổi mới trong niềm hy vọng vào những điều tốt đẹp đang dành cho chúng ta.
Trong khi tất cả chúng ta đang chờ đợi những điều khác nhau, thì có một điều mà tất cả chúng ta đều đang chờ đợi - Chúa Giêsu đến. Và không chỉ đơn giản là sự ra đời của Ngài như một đứa trẻ trong máng cỏ. Cuối cùng, chúng ta đang chờ đợi để được kết hợp với Ngài mãi mãi trên Thiên đàng. Không có món quà nào cao quý hơn mà Ngài có thể ban cho chúng ta. Không có cuộc sống nào quý trọng mà chúng ta có thể mong muốn hơn cuộc sống mà Ngài đã chuẩn bị cho chúng ta sau cuộc sống này - cuộc sống vĩnh cửu không có mọi đau đớn và đau khổ, buồn phiền và than khóc. Nếu chúng ta luôn hướng nhìn về những điều tốt đẹp mà Chúa đã chuẩn bị cho chúng ta, thì những mùa chờ đợi sẽ lấp đầy chúng ta bằng niềm vui mong đợi và sự ngạc nhiên về lòng nhân từ của Ngài thay vì nỗi buồn về “những gì không có.” Khi chúng ta cùng nhau bước vào mùa Vọng này, xin Chúa ban phước lành cho sự chờ đợi của quý vị và ban cho quý vị hy vọng lớn lao về những điều tốt đẹp mà Ngài đã chuẩn bị cho quý vị.
Ignatian Meditation is a form of prayer that allows the person praying to enter the scene of the scripture they are reading. In this form of prayer, we use our imagination to observe the scene with all our senses and allow ourselves to be impacted by what is taking place in the scripture. Take a moment, quiet your mind, and engage all your senses as you begin this meditation in your personal prayer or with a small group. For more information and guidance in Ignatian Meditation, check out Timothy Gallagher’s book, An Ignatian Introduction to Prayer.
For this meditation, we will be praying with the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the census and, ultimately, the birth of Jesus. As we journey together this Advent, we too find ourselves “on the way” in one way or another. Let us enter into this meditation, bringing to the Lord all that we hold in our hearts, and allow Him the opportunity to speak to each of us where we are.
We’ll begin our story in the small town of Nazareth. Use your imagination to place yourself in the scene. Nazareth is in Galilee, and the village is situated in a small basin surrounded by rolling hills in every direction. There are no roadways through the village, making it isolated from the outside world. The homes around you are built of stone, and the dirt floors are cold beneath your bare feet. There’s a well off in the distance where the women go each day to fetch water. Among the villagers are family and familiar faces, bustling through the village center. You take in a deep breath of the dry air and smell the fragrant aroma of meals being prepared in nearby homes. How do you feel as you take in the sights, sounds, and smells of home? How is your heart moved?
Read Luke 2:1-5
As Mary approaches the final days of her pregnancy, she learns that she and her husband must make the long journey to Bethlehem for the census. What emotions do you see on Mary’s face? Is there anxiety about the journey ahead? Is there fear of leaving home? Allow yourself a moment to ponder what you might feel in this moment.
As they begin their journey, Joseph leads a mule with their belongings, and Mary sits on its back, one hand cradling her womb. Joseph’s face is serious, prepared to lead and protect his family for the journey ahead. The terrain becomes unfamiliar quickly. The village fades into the distance as they make their way through the rolling hills and forested valleys. You feel the cool night air and hear the sounds of nature in the distance, the rustling of bushes and trees signaling the presence of wildlife. The days are long, and you feel tired from the
journey. What moves your heart about this journey? Does it remind you of a journey of your own? How do you feel in the place you find yourself now? Are you anxious, weary, or burdened? Sit with Mary or Joseph and rest a while. What do you say to them? How do they respond? Let the conversation play out in your mind.
It’s the final day of the journey, and you can see the exhaustion on the face of every traveler. The morning air is crisp, and the sun begins to creep over the hills. You can see olive orchards in the distance and sheep grazing in a nearby pasture. There’s a sense of relief among the travelers as they see the town of Bethlehem up ahead. What do you feel as you approach your destination? Do you feel relief or hope? Maybe you feel worn down from the journey. In your own life’s journey, how do you feel toward the destination in the distance?
Read Luke 2:6-7
Far from home, Mary goes into labor. Feelings of anticipation, hope, and anxiety fill Mary and Joseph’s faces as they search for a place to stay, but every place is full due to the census. Finally, they settle into a small stable behind an inn, and Mary gives birth to her firstborn son, Jesus Christ. Suddenly, the mood in this humble abode shifts from anticipation to awe and wonder. The night is cold, but the stable is filled with warmth. The smell of hay and animals permeates the room as Mary wraps the child Jesus in swaddling clothes. She lays Him in a manger, and for the first time, both Mary and Joseph gaze upon Jesus. They invite you to do the same. As you lay eyes on this newborn baby, what do you feel? What do you see? Looking back on the journey you took to get to this moment, was it all worth it? Take a moment to relate these feelings and thoughts to the infant Jesus. Imagine His gaze as you speak to Him. It’s okay to take your time and let the moment play out.
Close with a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of the journey you find yourself on, and ask for the grace to receive whatever the Lord has in store when you reach your destination.
Amen.
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT | DECEMBER 1, 2013
Today, on the First Sunday of Advent, we begin a new liturgical year; that is, a new journey of the People of God with Jesus Christ, our Shepherd, who guides us through history toward the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, this day has a special charm, it makes us experience deeply the meaning of history. We rediscover the beauty of all being on a journey: the Church, with her vocation and mission, and all humanity, peoples, civilizations, cultures, all on a journey across the paths of time
But where are we journeying? Is there a common goal? And what is this goal? The Lord responds to us through the prophet Isaiah, saying: “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths’”(2:2-3).
This is what Isaiah says regarding the goal toward which we are travelling. It is a universal pilgrimage toward a common goal, which in the Old Testament is Jerusalem, where the Temple of the Lord rises. For from there, from Jerusalem came the revelation of the Face of God and of his Law. Revelation found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, and he, the Word made flesh, became the “Temple of the Lord”: he is both guide and goal of our pilgrimage, of the pilgrimage of the entire People of God; and in his light the other peoples may also walk toward the Kingdom of justice, toward the Kingdom of peace. The Prophet continues: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (2:4). Allow me to repeat what the Prophet says; listen carefully: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore”. But when will this occur? What a beautiful day it shall be, when weapons are dismantled in order to be transformed into tools for work! What a beautiful day that shall be! And this is possible! Let us bet on hope, on the hope for peace, and it will be possible!
This journey never comes to an end. Just as in each of our lives we always need to begin again, to get up again, to rediscover the meaning of the goal of our lives, so also for the great human family it is always necessary to rediscover the common horizon toward which we are journeying. The horizon of hope! This is the horizon that makes for a good journey. The season of Advent, which we begin again today, restores this horizon of hope, a hope which does not disappoint for it is founded on God’s Word. A hope which does not disappoint, simply because the Lord never disappoints! He is faithful! He does not disappoint! Let us think about and feel this beauty.
The model of this spiritual disposition, of this way of being and journeying in life, is the Virgin Mary. A simple girl from the country who carries within her heart the fullness of hope in God! In her womb, God’s hope took flesh, it became man, it became history: Jesus Christ. Her Magnificat is the canticle of the People of God on a journey, and of all men and women who hope in God and in the power of his mercy. Let us allow ourselves to be guided by her, she who is mother, a mamma and knows how to guide us. Let us allow ourselves to be guided by her during this season of active waiting and watchfulness.
THIS JOURNEY NEVER COMES TO AN END. ” “
One of my favorite examples of a person with immense courage (or fortitude) is Major Dick Winters from World War II.
Major Winters, the Commander of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division, and star of the HBO series “Band of Brothers,” was heralded as a quiet but strong man from Pennsylvania. He became an American hero for his numerous demonstrations of incredible courage and sound judgment under dire circumstances that saved the lives of countless men.
It’s fun to read about figures like Major Dick Winters (at least, it is for me) and draw inspiration in our own lives about how to live with fortitude. However, it’s not always clear what evils are threatening us and our loved ones us when we aren’t tasked with marching forward under Nazi machine guns. There was a clear enemy then, but there’s not always a clear enemy now. That’s why it’s important to dig deeper to discover what can befall us when we live in “peacetime” (as military folk would say), and how we can use fortitude to overcome any difficulties we might be facing.
The Church teaches us that “fortitude is the moral virtue that ensure firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good.” It enables us “to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions” (CCC 1808).
Based on that definition, discovering the “good” in every situation is one of the keys to developing fortitude. If we don’t do that first, it’s easy to lose our direction, so let’s get into that a little more.
Oftentimes, the different “evils” we face today have to do with how we treat people and even how we treat ourselves. This can happen in regular conversation, in family discussions, or even in outings at bars and restaurants.
There might be a situation where the group of people you’re with, or a friend you’re getting coffee with, suddenly starts gossiping about someone or sharing things about them that are very private, casting them in a negative light. It’s important to stick up for people in those situations and signal that you won’t participate in those kinds of conversations. While you might not be facing “enemy fire” as a result, like Major Dick Winters in WWII, it can still make you vulnerable to whatever happens next. What if the person attacks you, gets defensive, and the situation becomes, well, really awkward?
Sometimes situations like these can change our friendships with people and that can genuinely be a very uncomfortable thing to go through. That’s why hard conversations often require a lot of fortitude – whether it’s gossip or something else
you might be facing – because you’re taking a risk that might alter your relationship with that person. If it’s a somewhat random acquaintance, it’s not all that significant. But if it’s your boss? Now you’re really risking something. Who knows if that boss will place you on his “don’t promote” list, negatively affecting your career and income trajectory.
That’s why Josef Pieper, a Catholic German Philosopher who was well known for his writings on virtues, wrote that “fortitude presupposes vulnerability; without vulnerability, there is no possibility of fortitude. When there is nothing to fear, there is no need for courage.”
Without vulnerability, there can’t be any fortitude. We often like things to be clear-cut, knowing exactly what will happen next if we behave a certain way or say a certain thing. As we all know well, life doesn’t work that way. There are risks we have to take to ensure we keep our eyes fixed on the good, even when we know we might be attacked or face a negative consequence because we spoke up.
That’s what fortitude is all about. That being said, God knows we can be weak and give in to temptations, like going along with the group when we know we shouldn’t have – I’ve certainly been there. But that’s where the beauty of confession comes in, where we’re relieved of guilt, our strength is restored, and we can resolve to be stronger the next go-round.
That’s also why it’s great that the virtue of fortitude is a Gift of the Holy Spirit. God knows we need the help, so how wonderful that God turned this all-important virtue into a Gift of the Holy Spirit – something we can ask for quietly in our minds whenever we need it, or under our breath, so that we can receive strength to do the right thing and give the Glory to God, while we also honor our fellow neighbor in love.
Let’s remember to exercise fortitude whenever the situation requires it. It always feels good to do the right thing, which, while uncomfortable at first, allows the Holy Spirit to arrive with peace and joy.
JOE O’SULLIVAN
is the Writer and Content Developer for the Communications Office of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux. He lived in Minnesota for 10 years after growing up in Denver, Colorado, and then moved to South Louisiana in December 2023 to be closer to family. He likes to read, do CrossFit, and hang out with friends in his free time.
FORTITUDE
-JOSEPH PIEPER
WITHOUT VULNERABILITY, THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY OF FORTITUDE. WHEN THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR, THERE IS NO NEED FOR COURAGE. ” “
This Advent moon shines cold and clear, These Advent nights are long; Our lamps have burned year after year And still their flame is strong.
“Watchman, what of the night?” we cry, Heart-sick with hope deferred: “No speaking signs are in the sky,” Is still the watchman’s word.
The Porter watches at the gate, The servants watch within; The watch is long, betimes and late, The prize is slow to win.
“Watchman, what of the night?” but still His answer sounds the same:
“No daybreak tops the utmost hill, Nor pale our lamps of flame.”
One to another hear them speak, The patient virgins wise:
“Surely He is not far to seek”— “All night we watch and rise.”
“The days are evil looking back, The coming days are dim; Yet count we not His promise slack, But watch and wait for Him.”
and her husband Chad M. Luke have been married for 22 years and live in Houma with their four children. Caroline serves as the Campus Minister at Vandebilt, where she also teaches New Testament and World Religions to tenth-graders. They are parishioners of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral
I remember the Christmas my oldest son got the LEGO set of his dreams: The Star Wars Millennium Falcon. It took him almost a full week to put together. He was so proud. A few days later, disaster struck when his baby brother got his hands on this wondrous creation and smashed it to bits. He was devastated, angry and had vowed never to touch LEGOS again. His Dad offered to fix it for him. All he needed to do was give it over to him completely. He couldn’t leave out a single broken piece. His dad needed it all to make things whole again. He did give it all over to him, and the tears stopped instantly. He was at peace. He knew Dad would fix it. This is what the “Surrender Novena” is meant to do for Christians. We give the broken pieces of our lives to Jesus, holding nothing back, knowing that He is the only one who could put it all back together for us.
The “Surrender Novena” originated from the words of Jesus revealed to Fr. Don Dolindo Ruotolo. He was an Italian priest who lived from 1882-1970 and was the friend and spiritual director of Padre Pio. Fr. Ruotolo learned the beauty of complete surrender to Jesus through much pain and suffering. He was affectionately known as “Mary’s Little Old Man,” and Padre Pio called
him a “saint” and said the “whole of Paradise” was in his soul. He grew in love for Jesus through His sufferings, not asking to be freed from them, but surrendering every drop of it to Jesus. He understood that Jesus was the “Divine Physician,” and just as we should not tell the doctor how to heal us, we should trust Jesus to know how best to make us whole. This is why Fr. Ruotolo was able to have so much peace and joy through his trials. He always trusted that Jesus was working it all out for his good and the good of those entrusted to him.
This is precisely why this novena is so powerful and associated with countless miracles. It teaches us that prayer should not be a “honey-do” list for God. We should not tell God what to do and how to do it. We should lay our problems at His feet, trusting in His Wisdom and His plan. We should never leave prayer worried. We cannot expect God to fix a situation and then take charge and try to fix it ourselves. We become obstacles to Him, and He will not work when we are in His way. He respects our free will and waits patiently until we leave it all to
TRUST HIM. SURRENDER IT ALL TO HIM. HAVE PEACE. AND WATCH THE MASTER WORK. ” “
Him and step away in trust. After prayer, we should be at peace and have joy knowing that He has it handled. Then, we can sit back and watch the Master at work. This is faith.
The “Surrender Novena” is a call to complete trust that Jesus knows better than we do how our lives should look and what is good for us. He cannot act if we don’t give him everything. We cannot hold on to our worry, anxiety, unforgiveness and anger and expect him to fix our lives. No. We must be like my son and give him every piece, trusting completely that Dad will fix it. And He will fix it better than we ever could. This is how we grow to be “like little children,” so we can become “the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:1-3).
Whatever your concerns are this season, give them to Jesus. Give Him everything. Trust him. Surrender it all to Him. Have Peace. And watch the Master work.
Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
Surrender to me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to me a worried prayer asking me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything.
It is like the confusion that children feel when they ask their mother to see to their needs, and then try to take care of those needs for themselves so that their childlike efforts get in their mother’s way. Surrender means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, to turn away from thoughts of tribulation and to put yourself in my care, so that only I act, saying, “You take care of it.”
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
How many things I do when the soul, in so much spiritual and material need, turns to me, looks at me and says to me, “You take care of it,” then closes its eyes and rests. In pain you pray for me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to me, instead, you want me to adapt to your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to. So do not act this way, but pray as I taught you in the Our Father: “Hallowed be thy Name,” that is, be glorified in my need. “Thy kingdom come,” that is, let all that is in us and in the world be in accord with your kingdom. “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” that is, in our need, decide as you see fit for our temporal and eternal life. If you say to me truly: “Thy will be done,” which is the same as
saying: “You take care of it,” I will intervene with all my omnipotence, and I will resolve the most difficult situations.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
You see evil growing instead of weakening? Do not worry. Close your eyes and say to me with faith: “Thy will be done, You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that I will intervene as does a doctor and I will accomplish miracles when they are needed. Do you see that the sick person is getting worse? Do not be upset, but close your eyes and say, “You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that there is no medicine more powerful than my loving intervention. By my love, I promise this to you.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
And when I must lead you on a path different from the one you see, I will prepare you; I will carry you in my arms; I will let you find yourself, like children who have fallen asleep in their mother’s arms, on the other bank of the river. What troubles you and hurts you immensely are your reason, your thoughts and worry, and your desire at all costs to deal with what afflicts you.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
You are sleepless; you want to judge everything, direct everything and see to everything and you surrender to human strength, or worse—to men themselves, trusting in their intervention—this is what hinders my words and my views. Oh, how much I wish from you this surrender, to help you; and how I suffer when I see you so agitated! Satan tries to do exactly this: to agitate you and to remove you from my protection and to throw you into the jaws of human initiative. So, trust only in me, rest in me, surrender to me in everything.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
I perform miracles in proportion to your full surrender to me and to your not thinking of yourselves. I sow treasure troves of graces when you are in the deepest poverty. No person of reason, no thinker, has ever performed miracles, not even among the saints. He does divine works whosoever surrenders to God. So don’t think about it any more, because your mind is acute and for you it is very hard to see evil and to trust in me and to not think of yourself. Do this for all your needs, do this, all of you, and you will see great continual silent miracles. I will take care of things, I promise this to you.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
Close your eyes and let yourself be carried away on the flowing current of my grace; close your eyes and do not think of the present, turning your thoughts away from the future just as you would from temptation. Repose in me, believing in my goodness, and I promise you by my love that if you say, “You take care of it,” I will take care of it all; I will console you, liberate you and guide you.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
Pray always in readiness to surrender, and you will receive from it great peace and great rewards, even when I confer on you the grace of immolation, of repentance, and of love. Then what does suffering matter? It seems impossible to you? Close your eyes and say with all your soul, “Jesus, you take care of it.” Do not be afraid, I will take care of things and you will bless my name by humbling yourself. A thousand prayers cannot equal one single act of surrender, remember this well. There is no novena more effective than this.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
Mother, I am yours now and forever. Through you and with you I always want to belong completely to Jesus.
Dec 1 : Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait
Dec 2: Rev. Alexis (Alex) Lazarra
Dec 3: Rev. Peter Tai Le
Dec 4: Rev. Glenn LeCompte
Dec 5: Seminarian Scott Beslin
Dec 6: Very Rev. Eric P. Leyble JCL
Dec 7: Rev. Joey Lirette
Dec 8: Very Rev. P.J. Madden, retired
Dec 9: Deacon Malcolm Andry
Dec 10: Rev. Clyde Mahler, retired
Dec 11 : Rev. Fernando Anaya Maida
Dec 12: Rev. John David Matherne
Dec 13: Sister Carmelita Centanni, MSC
Dec 14: Very Rev. Andre’ Melancon, V.F.
Dec 15: Very Rev. Thankachan (John) Nambusseril, V.F.
Dec 16: Rev. Roch Naquin, retired
Dec 17: Deacon Brent Bergeron
Dec 18: Rev. Ty Nguyen, retired
Dec 19: Sister Mary Benedict Son Thi Vu, F.M.S.R.
Dec 20: Rev. Jean-Marie Nsambu
Dec 21 : Rev. Samuel Okyere
Dec 22: Sister Caterina Maria Adalaide Curth, M.T.
Dec 23: Rev. Charles Perkins, retired
Dec 24: Rev. Joseph Pilola
Dec 25: Rev. Matthew Prosperie
Dec 26: Deacon Daniel Bascle, retired
Dec 27: Rev. Patrick Riviere
Dec 28: Very Rev. Joshua Rodrigue
Dec 29: Deacon Bertrand Rabalais
Dec 30: Rev. James Rome
Dec 31 : Bishop Emeritus Sam Jacobs
Dec 1 : First Sunday of Advent
Jer 33:14-16/1 Thes 3:12—4:2/Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
Dec 2: Is 2:1-5/Mt 8:5-11
Dec 3: Is 11:1-10/Lk 10:21-24
Dec 4: Is 25:6-10a/Mt 15:29-37
Dec 5: Is 26:1-6/Mt 7:21, 24-27
Dec 6: Is 29:17-24/Mt 9:27-31
Dec 7: Is 30:19-21, 23-26/Mt 9:35—10:1, 5a, 6-8
Dec 8: Second Sunday of Advent Bar 5:1-9/Phil 1:4-6, 8-11/Lk 3:1-6
Dec 9: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gn 3:9-15, 20/Eph 1:3-6, 11-12/Lk 1:26-38 (689)
Dec 10: Is 40:1-11/Mt 18:12-14
Dec 11 : Is 40:25-31/Mt 11:28-30
Dec 12: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Zec 2:14-17orRv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10/Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47
Dec 13: Is 48:17-19/Mt 11:16-19
Dec 14: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11/Mt 17:9a, 10-13
Dec 15: Third Sunday of Advent Zep 3:14-18a/Phil 4:4-7/Lk 3:10-18
Dec 16: Nm 24:2-7, 15-17a/Mt 21:23-27
Dec 17: Gn 49:2, 8-10/Mt 1:1-17
Dec 18: Jer 23:5-8/Mt 1:18-25
Dec 19: Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a/Lk 1:5-25
Dec 20: Is 7:10-14/Lk 1:26-38
Dec 21 : Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a/Lk 1:39-45
Dec 22: Mi 5:1-4a/Heb 10:5-10/Lk 1:39-45
Dec 23: Mal 3:1-4, 23-24/Lk 1:57-66
Dec 24: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16/Lk 1:67-79
Dec 25: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord Vigil: Is 62:1-5/Acts 13:16-17, 22-25/Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25 Night: Is 9:1-6/Ti 2:11-14/Lk 2:1-14 | Dawn: Is 62:11-12/Ti 3:4-7/Lk 2:15-20 | Day: Is 52:7-10/Heb 1:1-6/Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14 (16)
Dec 26: Feast of St. Stephen, The First Martyr Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59/Mt 10:17-22
Dec 27: Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist 1 Jn 1:1-4/Jn 20:1a, 2-8
Dec 28: Feast of the Holy Innocents
1 Jn 1:5—2:2/Mt 2:13-18
Dec 29: Feast of the Holy Family
1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28/1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24/Lk 2:41-52
Dec 30: 1 Jn 2:12-17/Lk 2:36-40 (203)
Dec 31 : 1 Jn 2:18-21/Jn 1:1-18
We owe more to St. Nicholas than we realize.
Described by some as the “Patron Saint of Everything,” St. Nicholas was the Bishop of an ancient Greek town called Myra, located in presentday Turkey on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. He was born around March 15, 270 to devout Christian parents, but sadly he lost them both at an early age because of an epidemic. After their deaths, St. Nicholas was greatly impacted by the words of Jesus to “go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21).
It wasn’t long thereafter that St. Nicholas gifted us with the original inspiration for Santa Claus. In the town where he lived, there was a man who’d lost everything and was unable to produce a dowry for his three daughters to marry, meaning his daughters would be sold into slavery. When St. Nicholas heard this, he secretly delivered a bag of gold to the family’s home in the middle of the night. St. Nicholas continued this act of kindness until all three young women were provided for. The father eventually discovered who had delivered the gold, and St. Nicholas’ reputation of generosity started to grow (later resulting in the inspiration for Santa Claus).
Later in life, St. Nicholas became the Bishop of Myra, where he became widely respected as a theologian for his defense of the Church’s teachings. At the Council of Nicaea, he protected the integrity of the Church from the heresy of the day: Arianism, which denied the Divinity of Jesus. The Council of Nicaea went on to produce the Nicene Creed, which articulates the Church’s most essential teachings–a prayer that we recite in Mass to this day.
In another instance, St. Nicholas saved the lives of three young travelers who got stuck in the wrong
place at the wrong time, to no fault of their own. When a ship was unloading at port, a riot broke out and some things went missing. These three innocent civilians were accused of stealing and sentenced to death by the local government. St. Nicholas heard the unfortunate news and intervened just before the executioner was about to put them to death, setting them all free. Because of his courageous intervention to help the three unfortunate civilians falsely accused of stealing, he is also a patron of innocent victims and people wrongly accused of crimes.
St. Nicholas is therefore known for many things, but perhaps most especially, he is known for his spirit of generosity. St. Nicholas was a gift-giver, having delivered gifts that served not only to endear him to others, but to prevent them from being sold into slavery.
St. Nicholas died on December 6. Now, Catholics across the world celebrate St. Nicholas’s Feast Day with gift-giving, often leaving shoes outside their doors for St. Nicholas to stop by and leave gifts. In Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, the custom of making him the secret giver of gifts to children remains to this day, and many families in the Unites States have begun observing this tradition as well.
St. Nicholas is a wonderful example of Christian generosity, courage, and leadership. A protector and defender of the innocent, he is a reminder of the need to stand up for those in need.
Let us ask for the intercession of St. Nicholas, that we may always stand for what is right and follow Christ with courage!
PAUL GEORGE
and his wife Gretchen have been married for 27 years and reside in Lafayette, La. They are the proud parents of five children: Marie, Jacob, Sarah, Clare, and Addie. Paul serves as the Founder and President of Art of Living Inc. whose mission is to help people and organizations fulfill their mission and make a lasting impact. He is a speaker, consultant and author.
The season of Advent is a time to reflect on our spiritual journey. Men are typically good at evaluating things, and Advent gives us the opportunity to do so. We often ask ourselves the question, “Is something working well or not?” If it is, how can it be more efficient, if it’s not, what needs to change? Advent gives us the opportunity to ask this of ourselves with regards to our relationship with God. How am I doing…how is my relationship with God…where is God in my life…what can I work on…and how can I grow in my faith?
For men, being taught and shown is important. We’re taught how to do many things, but who shows us, teaches us and models for us how to be a man of faith – how to love God? In my book, Holy Grit, I highlight ten male saints and look at their lives as models and teachers for men. One of those saints is St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. Let’s reflect on how we can grow in our love of God this Advent through the lens of St. Joseph.
Joseph is one of the greatest figures in Christianity. We know little about him, yet he helped change the course of history. Joseph was the son of Jacob, the husband of Mary, and the earthly father of Jesus, the Messiah. Joseph’s lineage can be traced back to the great king David, an important fact in salvation history. We first hear of Joseph in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. We know little about Joseph from Scripture, but what we do know is very telling. Joseph worked with his hands, a trade he probably learned from his father, Jacob. We know he was a carpenter because the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, “Is he not the carpenter’s son?” (Mt 13:55). The Greek word usually translated as “carpenter” today can also refer more generally to a craftsman or to one who works with both wood and stone, so it’s possible that Joseph was a stone mason as well. We know Joseph wasn’t wealthy, for when he and Mary took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised, they offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24). Jesus would have learned his trade by working alongside Joseph, watching him as a young child and then learning hands-on. Joseph was a provider, a husband, and a dad.
On a human level we can relate to Joseph. Unlike Mary who was born without sin, Joseph is most like us as a man and as one born with original sin. And like Joseph, God meets us where we are and moves us forward. Joseph, a simple carpenter, was not born a saint but became a saint.
Through St Joseph’s life and story, we can learn from him as he grew in patience and courage. I imagine that Joseph was a hard worker—an average man, like you and me, who made an honest living. He maybe even saved a little for the future. He was probably content with his life and work, and at some point, began to desire a family. According to Jewish tradition of the time, Joseph’s marriage to Mary probably would have been arranged by their families. We aren’t sure how old Joseph and Mary were when they were betrothed, but many theologians suggest that Mary was a young teenager and Joseph was years older. I’m certain that Joseph had plans for the future with his beautiful wife and their family, just like everyone else who has ever been
engaged and dreamed of an amazing, joy-filled life with the one they love. Joseph’s plans changed when he discovered that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant, and that the child she carried was not his. His dreams came to a halt. Imagine the confusion and stress Joseph must have experienced. He was in a bind. He needed to make a decision before everyone else found out! The Gospel of Matthew states that when Mary “was found with child through the Holy Spirit, Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly” (1:18–19). We’ve all experienced times in our lives where things don’t go the way we’ve envisioned or planned.
In these moments of despair and confusion, Joseph desired to be patient and act courageously. Many times, we too desire to act bravely and do the right thing. Instead of waiting on God to show us the next step, we take the initiative and act, moving forward on our own terms. Men are good at being “self-reliant.” Joseph was aiming to do this, to act on his own accord. Joseph paused, prayed fervently and waited.
Advent is a season of waiting. In our waiting God gives us a new vision and direction for our life, giving us the courage to take the next step. Maybe you are at a place of wanting to act or take control. And God is inviting you to be patient. Maybe you aren’t sure what God wants, and maybe, like Joseph, you are being asked to pause and give God time to work it out. By waiting, Joseph found out that God’s plans are better than his – much better.
St. Joseph’s journey is one of growing in holiness. Joseph was a “righteous” man, that is, a godly man who was “right with” God. Joseph made up his mind to end the engagement quietly so as not to expose Mary to public shame, which was perhaps his conscience. He was doing a good thing, and probably reasoned to himself, ‘I’ll do what I can, the minimum that’s required of me to be a good and righteous man. Isn’t that the baseline standard for men—to be a good person?’ I hear this often in my conversations with other men: “I’m a good man.”
Joseph could leave and move on, forget about the past, and pretend all was well. That’s what men often do; they pick themselves up by the bootstraps and move on.
I can relate to Joseph in this situation as a man and a husband. I can sense his anxiety, the pressure to make the right decision and do the right thing. Leaving Mary
made sense. Why? Because it was justified. This was not his problem to solve, right?
God intervened as Joseph prayed and contemplated what to do. As Joseph fell asleep praying each night, God showed up through a message of an angel to speak to Joseph and give him clarity on what to do. It became his task to take on this responsibility and handle things. God gave Joseph the Grace to make the holy decision, not the justified one that would serve to clear his conscience by leaving Mary quietly. God too gives us the grace to be holy. God desires our holiness more than we do, he wants good things for us, just as he did for St. Joseph. He gives us the grace we need every day to do that.
St. Joseph desired deeply to do God’s will. God intervened in Joseph’s heart in his time of distress, as the Gospel of Matthew tells us: “the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her’” (Matthew 1:20). God had spoken and Joseph was willing to do God’s will.
God speaks to our hearts too, but do we listen? The same God that spoke to Joseph through a dream is the same God who speaks to us today. In stillness and quiet, God speaks. Amid chaos, God is present. The same grace that St. Joseph received is the same grace we received through Baptism and that remains with us today. God is near, always. The course of Joseph’s life changed the day he said yes to God’s will.
St. Joseph demonstrated his willingness to follow God’s will rather than his own. When God directed him to a manger in Bethlehem when Mary was ready to give birth, Joseph was obedient. When God told him to evacuate to Egypt in the middle of the night to escape the imminent slaughter of the Child Jesus, Joseph did it. When it was time to return to Nazareth to raise his family and to work, Joseph went to Nazareth. To this day, many men have looked to Joseph for guidance. You and I are called to follow God and do His will; to say yes to Him and to put His will before our own.
This Advent let us reflect on our lives through the journey of St. Joseph who teaches us how to be a man of faith, how to be patient and courageous. He teaches us how to seek holiness, pray, listen, and respond to God in our lives. St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us!
“
IS PRESENT. ”
resides in Lafayette, La. with her husband, Paul, of 27 years. They are the proud parents of five children: Marie, Jacob, Sarah, Clare, and Addie. Gretchen is active in her Church, leads a women’s small group, and helps alongside her husband with marriage ministry. She serves The Acadiana area as a real estate agent with Keller-Williams.
During my early young adult years, I remember feeling an aversion to “girly” things. A couple of ways this new thinking manifested in my life was that I no longer liked the color pink, and I tried hard not to let my sensitive side show. Maybe it was because I grew up with brothers and mostly boy cousins. Perhaps it was because I thought these more feminine ways were a sign of weakness and I wanted to be seen as tough. Regardless, I had yet to understand the gift of my femininity.
As I matured and grew in my faith, I discovered St. John Paul II’s Letter to Women. Through it, I discovered that “woman has a genius all her own.” This “genius” expresses an essential nature or spirit. With curiosity and great joy, I dove deeper into what this holy man had to say about this genius and about femininity overall. As I journeyed through the letter with other women, I began to embrace who I am. What a privilege it is to be a woman! But who could I model my life after so as to integrate this identity as a woman in my day to day? The answer should have been obvious, but I was happy to have it spelled out for me. St. John Paul II writes, “The church sees in Mary the highest expression of the ‘feminine genius’ and she finds in her a source of constant inspiration.”
Our Church, in its wisdom, has set aside this holy season of Advent to reflect on that very first Advent two thousand years ago. What can Mary show us about what it means to be a woman, particularly through the events leading up to the birth of Christ? What can we as women learn by looking more closely at what those nine months of her life might have been like? How can she inspire us to more fully live out of our God-given identity as women? A woman’s identity involves four components. She is daughter, sister, mother, and bride. Our core and primary identity as women is that of daughter. Fully receiving and accepting that divine filiation as a beloved daughter of God will not be completely realized in our hearts on this side of Heaven. It is a truth that I often forget and have to go back to again and again when I’m tempted to perform, earn, compare, compete, grasp, strive, cower, take credit. When I turn my gaze to a humble teenage Jewish girl from Nazareth, I remember. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary and speaks words that were surely a great surprise to her listening heart. Her response reveals a young woman who knew well her core identity as daughter.
Growing up in a holy Jewish family, Mary would have been familiar with the scriptures. She knew she was loved by God and precious in His eyes. She knew He would never leave her or forsake her. She knew He was the Lord, and it was He who made her strong and courageous. Mary had received the truth of her belovedness as a daughter of God. Her yes was a natural expression of the grace that was already at work in her life. She replied with those famous words, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Yes, I will trust you, even though I don’t know the road ahead. Yes, I will surrender to You and to this unexpected plan. Her heart was wide open to receive Love Himself. She responded with great faith, trust, and generosity when she heard of the mission that would be entrusted to her upon her consent. I desire to imitate this humble handmaid as daughter.
Filled with joy, Mary went in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth, whom she had learned from the angel was also expecting, “for nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). Mary had received her identity as daughter and now chose to give the gift of sisterhood to
her old and once barren cousin. What great jubilation must have been present that day! These two women, both pregnant, both in seemingly impossible circumstances, were filled with the Holy Spirit and blessed each other with their presence and their words. Together they rejoiced in the mighty things God had done and fully received the other. I imagine these cousins and friends taking turns placing their hands on the other’s pregnant belly, in awe of their good and faithful God. I imagine laughter, delight, and warm embraces. I imagine support, encouragement, affirmation and even hard conversations.
Pondering this great meeting of feminine hearts reminds me of the importance of sisterhood. As we are rooted and grounded in love as daughters, we can rightly see and receive the other, without fear of our lack, without question regarding our own gifts, without envy of a sister’s blessings. Mary shows us how to seek out sisters in faith and how to show up for them.
As an expectant mother during that first Advent, Mary becomes a shelter of love open to God’s very life silently growing within her womb. She is empty of herself and creates a safe space for the seed of God to mature. With patience, trust, and tenderness, she offers her body and soul as a living tabernacle for Jesus. Mary allows God to expand within her so she can grow in love and birth Him as a gift to the world.
This model of Mary’s motherhood in its infancy is not just for biological mothers. It is for all women. Edith Stein, also known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, wrote, “The woman’s soul is fashioned as a shelter in which other souls may unfold.” A major aspect of our feminine genius is that we are open to all human beings and acknowledge his or her inherent dignity, created by God for love and for life with Him forever. We are called to receive God’s divine life and love and to bear it forth to the world. We are called to be life-givers, mothers, in whatever ways the Lord calls us. We are called to give Him permission to expand our hearts and souls and increase our capacity to love. We
are called to empty ourselves so that He can fill us with His love. We are called to be shelters of love for others. Mary, pray for us to mother like you and be a mother to us on this journey!
The final Advent events mentioned in the Bible are Mary and Joseph’s journey to and arrival in the city of Bethlehem. As Joseph’s wife, Mary trusts him to lead, guide, and protect her. Her ripe pregnant body traveled nearly ninety miles on a donkey to the place where Jesus was destined to be born. But Mary knew it wasn’t Joseph who completed her, although he was an amazing husband and a man of great love, faith, and virtue who loved her with the heart of God. She knew her identity as bride was first and foremost a call to union with her Creator. As the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Mary continuously chooses to make a sincere gift of herself and allows Love to be born again and again. She keeps saying yes, suffering well, for love.
Women are called to be bride. Perhaps this identity will manifest partly in a vocation to marriage, but ultimately, we, like Mary, are called to be the Bride of Christ; to grow in union with Him so that we can live the way He created us to live and so that we can persist in love. His spousal love transforms us. Mary’s witness as bride is the perfect example of following God’s lead, allowing Him to guide, protect and care for our feminine hearts. It’s the perfect example of communion with God in all things as she models an abiding relationship with Him.
This Advent, I pray that the Lord will give us the grace to ponder more deeply, as was customary throughout Mary’s life, to consider what it truly means to be a woman. There is a tombstone in the cemetery of a nearby retreat center that has always struck me. The epitaph on the tombstone says, “She gave her greatest gift, love.” May we open wide our hearts to receive the love of God in new and deeper ways this Advent season and courageously bear it forth to the world around us. May love be our legacy. Mary, God-bearer, pray for us!
CHRISTINA ESTES
lives in Thibodaux with her husband Stephen where the couple are expecting their first child this January. The Esteses are parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas. Christina is currently in school to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner while she works part time as a nurse.
Advent is one of my favorite times of year that I associate with meditation and wonder. I try to pursue holiness during the Advent season by focusing on those two aspects, trying to slow down, while limiting the busy-ness and distractions around me. Even though doing this isn’t always easy, I try to incorporate small things into the season like listening to advent songs in the car, lighting the advent wreath every night, or reading a line or two of Scripture each day.
Last Advent and this one have looked very different than in years past. Last year I was married during the Advent season on December 9th, followed by our honeymoon. My husband and I joke that we skipped a few of weeks of Advent last year and went straight to celebrating Christmas because we felt like engagement was one long Advent. This year Advent looks different as we are now married with a baby due in late January. Both times I have found the season to be full of wonder, hope, fear, and waiting. This year, I have been able to enter the season by contemplating how Mary felt during her pregnancy and trying to emulate her trust in the face of so many unknowns. I love to think about the last few days she had in Bethlehem. After her long journey, at nine months pregnant and with nowhere to stay, she held the Lord in her arms and the angels sang.
My favorite part of Advent is the spirit of hope and joyful waiting that surrounds the season. It is for me a time of remembering Jesus will come again one day and that I do not need to give into despair over the brokenness and suffering in the world, but I can rest knowing God will come again like he promised the Israelites.
My favorite saint is St. Mary Magdalene. I have come to love her as a saint because despite her past life of sin and her status as a woman she became one of the greatest disciples sometimes referred to as the “apostle of the apostles”. She believed in Jesus’ love for her so deeply that she remained with him until the very end while He was on the Cross and was at his tomb when he was first risen. I believe that God appeared to her first after his resurrection because of how faithful she had been and because of how much she loved him. That inspires a deeper desire in me to be like her.
I am most excited about getting to meet the new little one and discovering the person God created them to be! I like to joke, lots of things scare me – we live in a crazy world, but I have trust that God will take care of our little one and will help us in whatever life brings.
My favorite Advent hymn is O Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. I have a favorite version I enjoy listening to during advent by the artist Page CXVI.
As a pregnant woman, every meal is my favorite meal.
My advice for those who want to grow in holiness during this season is to know that Jesus will do all the work in helping us become holy we just need to let him in and be with him. I’m still trying to learn that myself.
CHEYENNE DODD, ST. GREGORY BARBARIGO CATHOLIC SCHOOL
“MY MOM SAID A LITTLE SISTER IS LIKE A GIFT FROM GOD.”
I felt wonder when my sister was born five years ago with a few strands of light brown hair and deep brown eyes. Before she was born, my mom told me what a little sister was like. My mom said a little sister is like a gift from God. I didn’t know what that meant because I was four. But my mom said that a little sister was a big responsibility. She said that with a baby around the house it would be hard to spend time together and that it might be hard to adjust to a baby. When Savanna was born, she was tiny. She was so small that she had to be kept in the hospital for about four or five days. When I met her and held her for the first time, I was filled with wonder and amazement. Savanna is five years old now and is perfect!
JONAH CUROLE, HOLY ROSARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL
My parents have always taught my brothers and I that God’s beauty is everywhere. Every place that we look is full of God’s handiwork, and it is just amazing. Miracles surround us, and most of us do not even know that we are experiencing it. Many take these miracles for granted and just carry on with their life. I was taught to be thankful for everything, to give God all the glory, and to not waste the blessings that He has given me. My experience with wonder is probably more personal than most. Yes, a beautiful sunrise, a snow-covered mountain, or a newborn baby are all examples of God’s wonder. However, grandparents are too. I’ve experienced wonder through my grandmother, Bunny. How did God know that I needed her? It’s hard for me to understand that he made her perfect for me before I was even born. He loved me so much that He gave me her. She is one of my best friends and biggest supporters. Out of everything that God created that is amazing and wonderful, grandparents are the absolute best. I pray everyone has a Bunny.
I WAS TAUGHT TO BE THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING, TO GIVE GOD ALL THE GLORY, AND TO NOT WASTE THE BLESSINGS THAT HE HAS GIVEN ME. ” “
WONDER BY SIMPLY BEING SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO CARE SO MUCH FOR MY WELL-BEING AND MY FAITH. ” “
When people hear about Grand Isle, their first instinct is to assume it’s a town with no inhabitants that’s slowly washing away into the gulf. Or they are surprised to discover it because they’ve never heard of it before. But here we are, still standing, with a school, a lively fishing industry, and a flourishing church community. A few others and I who attend Grand Isle School have lived here all our lives and are an active part of our Catholic community. As such a tight knit group, I have experienced wonder by simply being surrounded by people who care so much for my well-being and my faith. I’ve looked in the face of wonder when our youth group leader chose to band together and get funds for a Catholic summer camp so we could experience God in a new and different way. I experienced wonder when our priest, Fr. Mark, and members of my church sought out my mother, an active church goer, when she was sick and couldn’t attend the services, to make sure she was okay. They were happy to provide her with anything she needed, from homemade food to a personal Mass in our living room. As a student from Grand Isle School, I’m proud to say my personal wonder is the love that God has instilled in the hearts of his followers.
KATE DAWSON
has been married to David for 17 years, and they have 10 beautiful children. She resides in Thibodaux where she and her family are members of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. She serves on the local leadership team for Magnificat Women’s Ministry, and she and David are responsible for bringing the Domestic Church movement for married couples from Poland to the U.S. Kate and David speak nationally on marriage, where she’s able to share the good news of God’s faithfulness and mercy.
The journey of how I’ve come to celebrate Advent is best understood in three phases: the Christmas free-for-all phase that began the day after Thanksgiving during my early twenties, the white knuckling phase of not celebrating anything in reaction to the first phase, and then learning to embrace what it means to truly embrace Advent in preparation for Christmas.
One fateful evening in graduate school, when a group of friends and I were headed out, I turned the radio dial to the “All Christmas until Christmas” station. A friend in the car asked me in response, “Why are we listening to Christmas music? It’s not Christmas yet.” Telling me to turn off *NSYNC’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday” felt like blasphemy at the time, but it wasn’t a hill I was ready to die on, so I changed it.
But something happened that night. I started thinking more intentionally about how I wanted to prepare for Christmas. I decided to replace secular Christmas songs with actual Christian hymns. That’s when I noticed a shift happening in me as the lyrics became more Christ-centered. My heart began to shift too, which reminded me of the words from the famous Christmas hymn, Joy to the World: “let every heart prepare Him room.”
A few years later, the second “white knuckling” phase of my journey started. As my kids got a little older, they were forming their own opinions about Christmas, so they started asking my husband and I some hard questions. This made us think about the specific traditions we wanted to observe in our family. For example, when should we put up the Christmas tree and start decorating?
Since the beginning of our marriage, we may have overreacted to the trend to not decorate too early for Christmas. We started white knuckling our way through Advent by not celebrating Christmas until Christmas Eve. That meant we usually brought home the “Charlie Brown Christmas tree” each year since it was the only option left in the lot (at least there was a discount!). I felt like I was making the better choice – unlike the rest of the pagan world – as if the only options were to start celebrating Christmas after Thanksgiving dishes went in the sink or fold my arms and humbug my way through Advent until Christmas Eve. Thankfully, God was so merciful and gentle with us.
At one point, a priest friend told us that his family’s tradition was to wait until “Gaudete Sunday” to start decorating for Christmas. At first, I thought it sounded like cheating, but Gaudete Sunday (“Rejoice Sunday”), which is the third Sunday of Advent, is a common day for Catholics to start decorating for Christmas. The thought of finally having a traditional day for decorating, and one that I didn’t come up with on my own, was very attractive to me, so we eventually adopted the same tradition.
My heart still struggled with what we should do between Black Friday to Gaudete Sunday because Christmas is everywhere. My children would beg us to decorate and the only explanation I could give them was, “because it’s not Christmas yet.”
As our children grew, white-knuckling the pressure not to decorate started to feel overwhelming. By Christmas Eve, my only reward was a big sigh that I didn’t have to hold out anymore. My husband and I started to see that our family was missing out on the gift of Advent, but we had an opportunity to change course. We were living for the first time in a place where neither of us had family nearby, which meant that we didn’t feel as obligated to the particular traditions that either of us grew up with. While his family did some Scripture reflection as a family around the Advent wreath, my family, though faithful and devout, did little more than light the candles each Sunday.
The Lord saw our questions and our desire for something more. He put it on my husband’s heart for us to stop watching TV after putting the kids to bed as a sort of penance for the season. It was hard at first, but it gave us a chance to fill this new void with something else. We really enjoyed the chance to relax without TV after their 8 PM bedtime. That time helped us reengage with each other, and after a few years of doing that, we noticed it was creating this space of deeper preparation for Christmas.
Over the last several years, we’ve taken even more steps to embrace Advent instead of merely using it as the reason to avoid decorating too early for Christmas. We’re learning that God is a God of “yes” even if He says “no” at first. When he says no, it’s because He wants to open a place in our hearts for a yes.
I’ve come to appreciate the opportunity to reflect and have the space to “let all things be brought to the light” during Advent. By saying no to little comforts, or letting go of control in different areas, it creates spaces of “yes” for God to come in and reclaim space in my heart for me to delight in Him, and rejoice in the gift of His presence.
Our family prayer also shifted. We decided to take a break from doing examinations of conscience (at least, for the kids old enough to talk!), and started gathering around our Advent Wreath instead to reflect on the day’s Gospel reading. Each child who can read (and sometimes the one who thinks she can) takes turns, and we all have a chance to share what stands out to us and what we think God is saying to us through it. Comical? Yes. Like herding cats? Most definitely. But many times, it’s quite profound, and my husband and I get to witness the growing hearts of our children and what God is doing in them.
These days, we ease ourselves into Advent and then Christmas season with small, tangible sacrifices, and a little more silence and prayer. For example, this year I plan to have no sweets during the week, to stay off my phone while feeding our newborn, and to read an Advent prayer and reflection journal by someone who’s inspired me over the years. We also receive the sacrament of confession as a preparation for Christmas, which we like to do before we sit down and start all the Christmas festivities, like decorating and listening to Christmas music.
When Gaudete Sunday comes, the kids look forward to dad pulling the tree out of the attic (yes, the attic; this is not the place to argue for real or artificial trees), listening to Christmas music (even the *NSYNC versions when my husband is at work.) And come Christmas Eve, the house is ready (save the chaos of gift wrapping in my closet), and through God’s abundant mercy, our hearts are ready, too.
“Be not afraid of Christ. He takes nothing and gives everything.” -Pope Benedict XIV
FR. SAMUEL OKYERE
is the Parochial Vicar at St. Genevieve in Thibodaux. Originally from the Archdiocese of Kumasi (Ghana), he began seminary formation in Ghana and completed his bachelor-doctoral studies in Rome in 2023, after which he arrived in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.
If you wrongly feed your tummy, it plays a drum for you to dance at night.
This is a Ghanaian adage that literally counsels against wrong inputs, that often leads to uncomfortable outputs like a rumbling stomach. Like how the spiritual life operates, right consumption is essential for a healthy life. For nutritional foods then, one cannot go wrong by following the two-fold principle of assembling the right ingredients, and artistically putting them together.
For amateurs like me, this may require more time and energy than experts. But you won’t regret trying this heavenly recipe inspired by my mama’s kitchen.
• 1/2 Medium Onion
• 1 tbsp Spice Blend
• All Purpose Seasoning
• 1 tbsp Ginger
• 1 tbsp Garlic
• Salt
• Meat of your choice (or smoked meat)
• Oil of your choice
• 1 Large Onion, sliced
• 1 Habanero Pepper, blended
• 10 Fresh Tomatoes, blended
• 5 Eggs
• 1/2 Onion, grated
• Seasoned or smoked meat (from Step 1)
• Boneless Mackerel
• Frozen Spinach, water squeezed off
• Salt to taste
• Cooked potatoes, long grain rice, or green plantains
1. Gather the 1/2 medium onion, 1 tbsp spice blend, allpurpose seasoning, 1tbsp of ginger, 1tbsp of garlic, salt, and your meat of choice.
2. Add some gentle heat to a pan, and then add the meat and the seasonings.
3. Stir, and then allow it to steam with its own juice (add some water if necessary). When you are okay with the tenderness of the meat, set it apart (this step can be skipped if you decide to use smoked meat).
1. Add any oil of choice in a pan, and then fry 1 large, sliced onion in the heated oil for about five minutes. Add 1 blended habanero pepper and stir for a few minutes.
2. Add 10 blended fresh tomatoes, stir, then give the sauce enough time to cook (it should be brownish, not burnt).
3. After a while, crack about 5 eggs into a bowl, add a grated half onion, stir, then pour them in the sauce.
4. Add your seasoned or smoked meat (from Step 1) after the scrambled eggs.
5. Add boneless mackerel and allow it to cook for about 10 minutes.
6. Get your frozen spinach ready by squeezing the water off it, add it to the sauce, stir, and allow it to cook for about 5-10 minutes.
7. Salt to taste
You may decide to eat your sauce with cooked potatoes, long grain rice, or green plantains (peel, add water and salt, and cook for about 5 minutes).
Now, the most important part: sit with the family and/ or friends, say the Prayer of Thanksgiving to our Providential God, and enjoy!
NICK SMITH is a seminarian for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. He currently studies at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.
The secular holiday season, which runs alongside the Advent season, provides an opportunity to see the world with renewed enchantment. Through the various traditions associated with this time of year, we’re invited to break free from any mundanity or discouragement which may have entered into our lives over the past year. We’re invited, in the words of T.S. Eliot, to encounter what is familiar yet “know the place for the first time.”
With this idea in mind, consider adding the two recent Wonder Woman films directed by Patty Jenkins—Wonder Woman (2017) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)—to your holiday queue. In short, they’re excellent and provide a powerful worldview for seasonal reflection. In the first film, simply titled Wonder Woman, viewers meet Diana (played by Gal Gadot). She is Princess of the Amazons, a mythical female warrior class who lives on an island magically separated from the real world. Away from this oasis, World War I is
in full swing. Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), an American spy, crashes his plane off the coast of the island, and he relays the details of the war to Diana and the rest of the otherwise ignorant Amazonians. Convinced that Ares (the God of War) is behind this worldwide conflict, Diana sets out with Steve into the real world to find Ares, defeat him, and end the war.
Viewers will note that Diana, who was raised on the Amazonian island, has never traveled to the outside world. As becomes clear when she first encounters Steve, she has never even seen a man until him. Diana is gazing upon the open sea when she sees his plane crash into the water. She races out to the wreckage and drags an unconscious Steve onto the shore. Clearly bewildered, Diana leans over and observes him. When he wakes, Steve gazes upon her and can only utter, “Wow.” Realizing what she has encountered, Diana gasps, “You’re a man.”
The initial encounter lasts mere seconds, but it’s beautifully captured. Through it, we see clear biblical imagery. Recall the creation story in Genesis, where God creates the woman. He “cast[s] a deep sleep on man” (2:21) and creates her from the man’s rib. The man awakes, and when God presents the woman to him, the man cries, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones / and flesh of my flesh” (2:23). Steve’s reaction to Diana, after awaking from a “deep sleep,” is more-or-less the same response. One can imagine Diana’s reaction as being similar to that of the woman in the creation account as well.
Diana’s encounter with Steve sets the tone for much of the remainder of the film. As she ventures out into the world, she sees everything for the first time, and much of it fills her with wonder. By the way, note the clever use of Diana’s superhero name: “Wonder” Woman, as in, a woman who experiences the world with wonder.
For example, when Diana and Steve first arrive in London, Diana sees a baby for the first time. She exclaims, “A baby!” and rushes over to the infant. In another scene, Steve buys her ice cream, and she takes a bite. Clearly delighted, she states that it’s “wonderful” and remarks to the salesman, “You should be very proud.”
In a later scene, Diana, Steve, and their team, have ventured onto a battlefield and freed a ravaged rural town. It’s a winter evening, and couples are dancing to soft music in the street. Steve decides to teach Diana how to dance. They banter back and forth and are clearly falling in love. As they dance, snow starts to fall gently.
In my opinion, this magical scene is the high point of the film. Her enchantment with the world is essentially complete.
However, as we move into the end of the first film, life’s difficulties begin to bear upon Diana. In brief, she defeats Ares, but Steve sacrifices his life for the cause in heartbreaking fashion. Diana is obviously devastated and, being immortal, she must perpetually live with this devastation. Her heartbreak continues into the second film. However, as we will see, her ensuing experiences are restorative.
The second film, Wonder Woman 1984, brings us to Washington, D.C., in the year 1984 (about 65 years after the events of the first film). Diana has integrated herself into society as a curator at the Smithsonian and as a superhero in her free time. However, the loss of Steve continues to bear upon her. Meanwhile, we meet one of the main villains, Max Lord (Pedro Pascal), a failing businessman desperate to gain glory by any means necessary.
As the plot unfolds, the Dreamstone—a crystal of sorts which can seemingly grant one wish to whomever touches it—enters the scene. However, the Dreamstone has been created by the God of Lies, and it takes away one’s greatest treasure upon granting the wish. That treasure can only be regained by renouncing one’s wish.
As you might have guessed, Diana and Max each get their chance to make a wish. Diana wishes for Steve to return, and so he does. However, she slowly begins to lose her powers as a result. Max uses his opportunity for more evil purposes. Through his efforts, everyone on earth is given the opportunity to use the stone. As more and more people wish, unexpected destruction results.
As she becomes more and more unable to defend the crumbling world without her powers, Diana and Steve both come to the realization that she has to renounce her wish. There’s a moving scene between them where Diana tells Steve that she can’t let him go. Steve responds, “You don’t have to. I’m already gone.”
Steve’s remark is profound. He essentially tells Diana that his return is nothing more than a false reality. When Diana chooses to resurrect Steve, and as the rest of the world wishes, she and her fellow wishers are effectively saying, “I wish for a reality other than the one in which I live. I wish for the truth to not be the truth.”
When framed in this light, the mistake being made here is a serious one. Upon wishing reality away, upon wishing away what’s true, we wish away Christ. Jesus, the fulfillment of all our desire, can only be encountered in the present moment—as it really is, and not as we wish it to be.
Diana finally realizes her mistake and gives an impassioned plea to Max in their final encounter: “[T]his world was a beautiful place, just as it was. And you cannot have it all. You can only have the truth. And the truth is enough. The truth is beautiful.”
Yes, there are difficult experiences in life, but Diana helps us to remember that every moment, even when it contains suffering, is meaning-filled. Every moment serves an immense purpose in the good plan of our God—who is Truth and Beauty Himself—down to the finest detail. The great Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” reminds us that He “order[s] all things mightily.”
In the final scene, Diana is wandering in a park. It’s clearly the holiday season, with Christmas decorations and all, and the surrounding people are full of joy. Snow is falling. After a nice conversation with a man, she muses on the wonder of life as a balloon ascends into the sky.
While they may not appear to be so at first, perhaps they’re Christmas movies after all. Viewers should bring to mind the scene from the first film, where Steve and Diana are dancing in the wartorn town and snow begins to fall. From my view, we’re meant to connect this scene to the final scene of the second film. Difficulties have been endured— yes, Steve is gone—yet Diana’s original wonder as experienced in that first snowy dance with Steve has been restored. She’s “Wonder” Woman once again.
Finally, note that a Catholic Christian should distinguish between Advent and the secular holidays. Advent does invite an attitude of preparation for the return of Christ, rather than merely celebrating as if Christmas has already arrived. One wonders what Christ would hope to observe when He returns. Surely it would not be people who are, to use the words of St. John Paul II, “ground down by mediocrity.” Surely it would be people who are not blind to life’s very real difficulties, yet they rejoice in the enchanting wonder of life anyway. It’s beautiful. With that, a blessed Advent and happy holidays to all.
EVERY MOMENT SERVES AN IMMENSE
THE GOOD PLAN OF OUR GOD—WHO IS TRUTH AND BEAUTY HIMSELF— DOWN TO THE FINEST DETAIL.
When Bishop Sam Jacobs was considering the future of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, he had an ambitious vision. He wanted to ensure that the Diocese and its many ministries, schools, and parishes could continue their work in Christ not just tomorrow, but well into the future and for generations to come. Through that vision, Bishop Jacobs embarked on the launch of a capital campaign which created the Catholic Foundation and secured its first investment in 2014 to endow Catholic Charities and seminarian formation.
Over the past 10 years, the Foundation has helped grow that first investment into over $26,000,000, which directly supports ministries like Catholic schools, our church parishes, and local ministries throughout our community. Through the generosity of its donors with campaigns such as iGiveCatholic and the Mother Teresa Women’s Giving Circle, the
Catholic Foundation has contributed to the building of the adoration chapel at St. Thomas Aquinas, the purchasing of ultrasound equipment for crisis pregnancy centers, and offering scholarships for young people to receive a Catholic education in our Diocese. The Foundation staff help connect donors to any one of 100+ ministries and organizations that they feel most passionately about.
“You can see through the generosity of our donors, that there is something beautiful moving in our hearts,” Amy Ponson, CEO of the Catholic Foundation, shared leading up to the annual St. Joseph’s Dinner celebrating the Foundation’s 10year anniversary this year. “The impact of the Foundation is changing the landscape of our community and will continue to make a lasting impact well into the future.”
Throughout the life of the Foundation, our community has experienced many obstacles, storms, and leadership transitions within our diocese. Preparing for the future means being ready for these adverse times as well. The Foundation stands as a beacon of strength and stability when we need them the most. “Even in times of hardship, the Foundation is still there. That’s the point!” Jimmy Ledet shares from a donor’s perspective about the impact the Foundation has had on this community.
When asked about the ways in which the Catholic Foundation has supported the Office of Vocations to the Priesthood, Fr. Mitch Semar reflects that he’s “never experienced generosity like this before.” He shared, “without the Foundation, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’re doing with our seminarians, and we wouldn’t have the young men in our seminary that we have.”
The Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana has grown and changed over the last 10 years, from the first dollar invested to celebrating its incredible impact at the St. Joseph’s Dinner with more than 400 of its supporters in attendance this past October 2024. As it continues to grow and make a lasting impact on our Catholic community, we have hope for the future of our diocese and the people we serve.
Thank you to all those who have made the work of the Foundation possible over the last 10 years. We pray that the Lord continues to bless this work and the ministries it supports.
To learn how you can partner with the Catholic Foundation to build your own legacy for your parish or school, please visit catholiccfoundationsl.org or call Amy Ponson at (985)850-3116.
