Sacred Heart hosts Come, Lord Jesus! Anniversary Mass

Ville Platte hosted an anniversary Mass Wednesday for the Come, Lord Jesus! program.
Celebrating Mass was Fr. Conley Bertrand, who began the program 50-years-ago in 1969. Sacred Heart’s pastor Fr. Tom Voorhies concelebrated the Mass.
During his homily, Fr. Bertrand spoke about what the Feast of the Ascension means for today’s Catholics.
“What a joy it is for us to be together as we see our humble Jesus transformed into God,” Fr. Bertrand said. “Although He was the second person of the Blessed Trinity, He assumed a human body like we have without concupiscence. As we see Him ascend into the heavens and enveloped by the clouds, we see ourselves in Him seated at the right hand of the Father.”
He continued, “As we go through the troubles of life as He did, we see this passing light affliction, as St. Paul says, is producing in us like in Him an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. We see Him going up to glory to show us what is our end and what is waiting for us, and, yet, He’s still with us by sending us His Holy Spirit.”
Fr. Bertrand then used Resurrection stories to illustrate how Jesus continued to teach his disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit until his Ascension.
“Jesus was very active after He rose from the dead,” Fr. Bertrand said. “He appeared to His apostles and showed them His hand and His side. He kept the wounds to show us the value of suffering as well as to identify Him. He kept on teaching them and breathing upon them His glorious new life as he transformed the apostles into His priesthood.”
Another example was when Jesus appeared along the Sea of Tiberius. “He said to Peter, ‘Upon this rock, I will build my church,’” Fr. Bertrand said. “Well, Peter messed up pretty bad when he disowned Jesus three times that he ever knew Him.”
“At the seashore after He had risen,” Fr. Bertrand continued, “he was cooking fish, and there was a charcoal fire to help Peter remember when he denied Jesus. He knew Peter’s humiliation that came from the denial that he would be humble and full of grace.”
From this, according to Fr. Bertrand, is a lesson for today’s Catholics. He said, “If you fail God miserably, it’s just to allow you to grow into humility so you could be much more open to receive His wonderful grace.”
A final example can be applied to when Come, Lord Jesus! groups have their weekly meetings. Fr. Bertrand told those in attendance at the Mass, “Remember how Jesus appeared after the Resurrection and opened the minds of two disciples on the road to Emmaus. That’s what He wants to do you as you’re studying for your upcoming meeting. Open your heart, spend time with His word, and let His Holy Spirit fall upon you.”