Friday, April 30, 2010

Bulletin for the Week of May 02, 2010



The bulletin for the week of May 02, 2010 has been posted. Click here to see it.

The calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information and information on the second collection for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our calendar here.

Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.

Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.

And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page StLandryCatholicChurch.

Readings and Themes for the Week of May 02, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of May 02, 2010,
Fifth Sunday of Easter

Reading Acts 14:21-27
The missionaries Paul and Barnabas complete their journey.

Psalm 145
"I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God."

Reading II Revelation 21:1-5a
Like bride and groom, God pledges everlasting love.

Gospel: John 13:31-33a, 34-35
Jesus' followers live by a new commandment: love one another.

THEME:

Jesus commands us to love one another.

Today we open our hearts to receive Christ’s new commandment: that we love one another as He has loved us. Throughout this Easter season, we ponder that love, which gained for us the promise of eternal life. As we are drawn into the vision of Saint John in the book of Revelation, let us pray for a strengthening of our love for one another.

Questions of the week
Question for Children:
How do you make obvious that you love your family and friends?

Question for Youth:
The world is full of examples of people who do not love others.
What are the results of hate that you see in the world?
How would the world be different if we followed Jesus’ commandment?

Question for Adults:
Jesus’ commandment to love another is a challenge.
What will you do this week to deepen the love you have for those around you in life?

Bulletin Bites
"I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you should also love one another."

Jesus reminds us of the command God gave to the Israelites through Moses to Love your neighbor as yourself. Next, Jesus tells us to Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Psychologists only recently discovered that we must love ourselves in order to be able to love others. That is how God created us. Sadly, many of us do not love ourselves enough to feel that we can be loved by others, or by God. And, sadly, there is a risk that the only one that we will ever love will be ourselves. Jesus takes love to a whole new dimension. Love one another as I have loved you – unconditionally: without a pre-condition of recognition, without expectation of being loved in return. God made us stewards of His love – for ourselves and for others. Are we ready to give an account of our stewardship – to answer the question, "What have you done with My love?"

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Newspaper story on the St. Landry Bell getting picked up by other papers

It looks like our article in the Opelousas Daily World is getting picked up by other papers.

The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette has posted a shorter version of the article on their web site and included it in the printed paper. Click here: http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20104280337

We've been featured in a blog post at the blog of The Opinionated Catholic. Click here: http://opinionatedcatholic.blogspot.com/2010/04/louisiana-catholic-chruch-bell-rings.html

We were also talked about in a blog post at the blog of Father Zuhlsdorf. If you watched the mass in honor of Pope Benedict XVI's 5th anniversary from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on EWTN last weekend, Father Zuhlsdorf was one of the commentators. Click here: http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/04/technology-and-the-new-evangelization-shall-meet-and-go-bong-bong-bong/

We even made it to the front page ... along with a photo ... on a political website that covers Louisiana politics, The Dead Pelican. It may still be up there here: http://thedeadpelican.com/

The Immaculate Conception Bell at St. Landry Catholic Church makes front page


The Immaculate Conception Bell at St. Landry Catholic Church is featured in a front page article at the Opelousas Daily World!

To read the article, click here: http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20100428/NEWS01/4280330/Church+bell+ringing+on+Internet

As far as we know, we've got the only bell in the world that posts to Facebook, Twitter, and its own blog!

The article, written by William Johnson, definitely does a great job of telling the bell's story.

Remember, the website for the bell is at http://stlandrybell.org/

Twitter is http://twitter.com/StLandryBell

Facebook is http://facebook.com/StLandryBell

And the blog is at http://stlandrybell.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

For Your Vocation: Vocare means called





The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has just launched a new site promoting vocations: http://foryourvocation.org/

There is a questionaire to help decide if you're being called, information on this year's ordination class, videos of ordinations, and videos of young people who have answered a call to the religious life.

Please share the link with any young people you know who may be interested in a religious vocation.

The press release is below ...

Bishops Launch National Website To Promote Vocations To Priesthood And Consecrated Life

  • ‘ForYourVocation.org’ offers resources for people in discernment
  • Includes info for parents, teachers, catechists, vocation directors
  • Efforts respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s call to use social media

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations is initiating a new website on April 25 to be a resource for both laity and clergy in the promotion of vocations. The launch date is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations and Good Shepherd Sunday.

The site has two goals:

To help individuals hear and respond to the call by God to the priesthood or consecrated life, and

To educate all Catholics on the importance of encouraging others through prayer and activities to promote vocations.

The Vocations Website can be found at http://www.foryourvocation.org/ . A Spanish-language site will be available this fall at http://www.portuvocacion.org/

Digital Witnesses - an Address by Pope Benedict XVI

Last Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI spoke at a national conference in Italy on "Digital Witnesses: Faces and Languages in the Cross-Media Age". The Italian bishops' conference is the group that promoted this conference.

From his talk, he says about the distance that occurs when only interacting via digital media,

One witnesses, then, a "polluting of the spirit, which makes us smile less, makes our faces gloomier, less likely to greet each other or look each other in the eye..." ("Speech in the Piazza di Spagna, December 8, 2009"). But this meeting points to recognizing faces and so to overcoming those collective dynamics that can make us lose the perception of the depth of persons and remain at the surface: When that happens, they are bodies without souls, objects of trade and consumption.
But the Holy Father sees a great power and hope with digital media as well,

The media can become a factor in humanization "not only when, thanks to technological development, they increase the possibilities of communicating information, but above all when they are geared towards a vision of the person and the common good that reflects truly universal values" (no. 73). This demands that they "focus on promoting the dignity of persons and peoples, they need to be clearly inspired by charity and placed at the service of truth, of the good, and of natural and supernatural fraternity" (ibid.).
Zenit has just posted an English translation of his talk.

For the full text of a very powerful speech, click here: http://www.zenit.org/article-29033?l=english

New statistics about the world wide Church

Vatican Information Services announced this morning that the new statistical yearbook of the Church has been released. It contains detailed information on the number of Catholics around the world as well as the number of priests, bishops, and other religious.

NEW EDITION OF THE STATISTICAL YEARBOOK OF THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, 27 APR 2010 (VIS) - The Vatican Publishing House has recently released a new edition of the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, comprising information on the main aspects of Catholic Church activity in various countries for the period 2000-2008.

Over these nine years, the Catholic presence in the world has grown from 1,045 million in 2000 to 1,166 million in 2008, an increase of 11.54 percent. Considering the statistics in detail, numbers in Africa grew by 33 percent, in Europe they remained generally stable (an increase of 1.17 percent), while in Asia they increased by 15.61 percent, in Oceania by 11.39 percent and in America by 10.93 percent. As a percentage of the total population, European Catholics represented 26.8 percent in 2000 and 24.31 percent in 2008. In America and Oceania they have remained stable, and increased slightly in Asia.

The number of bishops in the world went up from 4541 in 2000 to 5002 in 2008, an increase of 10.15 percent.

The number of priests also increased slightly over this nine-year period, passing from 405,178 in 2000 to 409,166 in 2008, an overall rise of 0.98 percent. In Africa and Asia their numbers increased (respectively, by 33.1 percent and 23.8 percent), in the Americas they remained stable, while they fell by 7 percent in Europe and 4 percent in Oceania.

The number of diocesan priests increased by 3.1 percent, going from 265,781 in 2000 to 274,007 in 2008. By contrast, the number of regular priests showed a constant decline, down by 3.04 percent to 135,159 in 2008. Of the continents, only Europe showed a clear reduction in priests: in 2000 they represented 51 percent of the world total, in 2008 just 47 percent. On the other hand, Asia and Africa together represented 17.5 percent of the world total in 2000 and 21.9 percent in 2008. The Americas slightly increased its percentage to around 30 percent of the total.

Non-ordained religious numbered 55.057 in the year 2000 and 54,641 in 2008. Comparing this data by continent, Europe showed a strong decline (down by 16.57 percent), as did Oceania (22.06 percent), the Americas remained stable, while Asia and Africa grew (respectively, by 32 percent and 10.47 percent).

Female religious are almost double the number of priests, and 14 times that of non-ordained male religious, but their numbers are falling, from 800,000 in 2000 to 740,000 in 2008. As for their geographical distribution, 41 percent reside in Europe, 27.47 percent in America, 21.77 percent in Asia and 1.28 percent in Oceania. The number of female religious has increased in the most dynamic continents: Africa (up by 21 percent) and Asia (up by 16 percent).

The Statistical Yearbook of the Church also includes information on the number of students of philosophy and theology in diocesan and religious seminaries. In global terms, their numbers increased from 110.583 in 2000 to more than 117.024 in 2008. In Africa and Asia their numbers went up, whereas Europe saw a reduction.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Homily of Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma on the 5th Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI

Yesterday, a mass celebrating the fifth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's election as Pope was celebrated at the Basilica of National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Due to some complications, Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma was asked to be the celebrant at the last minute. The homily he gave at the mass was truly thoughtful and beautiful and I thought I would share it with all of you.

Solemn Pontifical Mass
Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, D.C.

Celebrating the fifth anniversary
of the ascension of Benedict XVI to the throne of Peter
- ad multos annos! -

Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma

We have much to discuss - you and I …

… much to speak of on this glorious occasion when we gather together in the glare of the world’s scrutiny to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the ascension of Joseph Ratzinger to the throne of Peter.

We must come to understand how it is that suffering can reveal the mercy of God and make manifest among us the consoling presence of Jesus Christ, crucified and now risen from the dead.

We must speak of this mystery today, first of all because it is one of the great mysteries of revelation, spoken of in the New Testament and attested to by every saint in the Church’s long history, by the martyrs with their blood, by the confessors with their constancy, by the virgins with their purity and by the lay faithful of Christ’s body by their resolute courage under fire.

But we must also speak clearly of this mystery because of the enormous suffering which is all around us and which does so much to determine the culture of our modern age.

From the enormous suffering of His Holiness these past months to the suffering of the Church’s most recent martyrs in India and Africa, welling up from the suffering of the poor and the dispossessed and the undocumented, and gathering tears from the victims of abuse and neglect, from women who have been deceived into believing that abortion was a simple medical procedure and thus have lost part of their soul to the greed of the abortionist, and now flowing with the heartache of those who suffer from cancer, diabetes, AIDS, or the emotional diseases of our age, it is the sufferings of our people that defines the culture of our modern secular age.

This enormous suffering which can take on so many varied physical, mental, and emotional forms will reduce us to fear and trembling - if we do not remember that Christ - our Pasch - has been raised from the dead. Our pain and anguish could dehumanize us, for it has the power to close us in upon ourselves such that we would live always in chaos and confusion - if we do not remember that Christ - our hope - has been raised for our sakes. Jesus is our Pasch, our hope and our light.

He makes himself most present in the suffering of his people and this is the mystery of which we must speak today, for when we speak of His saving presence and proclaim His infinite love in the midst of our suffering, when we seek His light and refuse to surrender to the darkness, we receive that light which is the life of men; that light which, as Saint John reminds us in the prologue to his Gospel, can never be overcome by the darkness, no matter how thick, no matter how choking.

Our suffering is thus transformed by His presence. It no longer has the power to alienate or isolate us. Neither can it dehumanize us nor destroy us. Suffering, however long and terrible it may be, has only the power to reveal Christ among us, and He is the mercy and the forgiveness of God.

The mystery then, of which we speak, is the light that shines in the darkness, Christ Our Lord, Who reveals Himself most wondrously to those who suffer so that suffering and death can do nothing more than bring us to the mercy of the Father.

But the point which we must clarify is that Christ reveals Himself to those who suffer in Christ, to those who humbly accept their pain as a personal sharing in His Passion and who are thus obedient to Christ’s command that we take up our cross and follow Him. Suffering by itself is simply the promise that death will claim these mortal bodies of ours, but suffering in Christ is the promise that we will be raised with Christ, when our mortality will be remade in his immortality and all that in our lives which is broken because it is perishable and finite will be made imperishable and incorrupt.

This is the meaning of Peter’s claim that he is a witness to the sufferings of Christ and thus one who has a share in the glory yet to be revealed. Once Peter grasped the overwhelming truth of this mystery, his life was changed. The world held nothing for Peter. For him, there was only Christ.

This is, as you know, quite a dramatic shift for the man who three times denied Our Lord, the man to whom Jesus said, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Christ’s declaration to Peter that he would be the rock, the impregnable foundation, the mountain of Zion upon which the new Jerusalem would be constructed, follows in Matthew’s Gospel Saint Peter’s dramatic profession of faith, when the Lord asks the Twelve, “Who do people say that I am?” and Peter, impulsive as always, responds “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Only later - much later - would Peter come to understand the full implication of this first Profession of Faith. Peter would still have to learn that to follow Christ, to truly be His disciple, one must let go of everything which the world considers valuable and necessary, and become powerless. This is the mystery which confounds independent Peter. It is the mystery which still confounds us: to follow Christ, one must surrender everything and become obedient with the obedience of Christ, for no one gains access to the Kingdom of the Father, unless he enter through the humility and the obedience of Jesus.

Peter had no idea that eventually he would find himself fully accepting this obedience, joyfully accepting his share in the Passion and Death of Christ. But Peter loved Our Lord and love was the way by which Peter learned how to obey. “Lord, you know that I love thee,” Peter affirms three times with tears; and three times Christ commands him to tend to the flock that gathers at the foot of Calvary - and that is where we are now.

Peter knew that Jesus was the true Shepherd, the one Master and the only teacher; the rest of us are learners and the lesson we must learn is obedience, obedience unto death. Nothing less than this, for only when we are willing to be obedient with the very obedience of Christ will we come to recognize Christ’s presence among us.

Obedience is thus the heart of the life of the disciple and the key to suffering in Christ and with Christ. This obedience, is must be said, is quite different from obedience the way it is spoken of and dismissed in the world.

For those in the world, obedience is a burden and an imposition. It is the way by which the powerful force the powerless to do obeisance. Simply juridical and always external, obedience is the bending that breaks, but a breaking which is still less painful than the punishment meted out for disobedience. Thus for those in the world obedience is a punishment which must be avoided; but for Christians, obedience is always personal, because it is centered on Christ. It is a surrender to Jesus Whom we love.

For those whose lives are centered in Christ, obedience is that movement which the heart makes when it leaps in joy having once discovered the truth.

Let us consider, then, that Christ has given us both the image of his obedience and the action by which we are made obedient.

The image of Christ’s obedience is His Sacred Heart. That Heart, exposed and wounded must give us pause, for man’s heart it generally hidden and secret. In the silence of his own heart, each of us discovers the truth of who we are, the truth of why we are silent when we should speak, or bothersome and quarrelsome when we should be silent. In our hidden recesses of the heart, we come to know the impulses behind our deeds and the reasons why we act so often as cowards and fools.

But while man’s heart is generally silent and secret, the Heart of the God-Man is fully visible and accessible. It too reveals the motives behind our Lord’s self-surrender. It was obedience to the Father’s will that mankind be reconciled and our many sins forgiven us. “Son though he was,” the Apostle reminds us, “Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered.” Obedient unto death, death on a cross, Jesus asks his Father to forgive us that God might reveal the full depth of his mercy and love. “Father, forgive them,” he prayed, “for they know not what they do.”

Christ’s Sacred Heart is the image of the obedience which Christ showed by his sacrificial love on Calvary. The Sacrifice of Calvary is also for us the means by which we are made obedient and this is a point which you must never forget: at Mass, we offer ourselves to the Father in union with Christ, who offers Himself in perfect obedience to the Father. We make this offering in obedience to Christ who commanded us to “Do this in memory of me” and our obediential offering is perfected in the love with which the Father receives the gift of His Son.

Do not be surprised then that here at Mass, our bloodless offering of the bloody sacrifice of Calvary is a triple act of obedience. First, Christ is obedient to the Father, and offers Himself as a sacrifice of reconciliation. Secondly, we are obedient to Christ and offer ourselves to the Father with Jesus the Son; and thirdly, in sharing Christ’s obedience to the Father, we are made obedient to a new order of reality, in which love is supreme and life reigns eternal, in which suffering and death have been defeated by becoming for us the means by which Christ’s final victory, his future coming, is made manifest and real today.

Suffering then, yours, mine, the Pontiffs, is at the heart of personal holiness, because it is our sharing in the obedience of Jesus which reveals his glory. It is the means by which we are made witnesses of his suffering and sharers in the glory to come.

Do not be dismayed that there many in the Church have not yet grasped this point, and fewer still in the world will even consider it. You know this to be true and ten men who whisper the truth speak louder than a hundred million who lie.

If then someone asks of what we spoke today, tell them we spoke of the truth. If someone asks why it is you came to this Mass, say that it was so that you could be obedient with Christ. If someone asks about the homily, tell them it was about a mystery and if someone asks what I said of the present situation, tell them only that we must - all of us - become saints.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church


Today, during his homily, Monsignor Romero referenced the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism is a wonderful reference to Catholic teaching.

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

During the homily, Monsignor Romero referenced question 78 of the Compendium in the section "The Fall".

78. After the first sin, what did God do?

410-412
420

After the first sin the world was inundated with sin but God did not abandon man to the power of death. Rather, he foretold in a mysterious way in the “Protoevangelium” (Genesis 3:15) that evil would be conquered and that man would be lifted up from his fall. This was the first proclamation of the Messiah and Redeemer. Therefore, the fall would be called in the future a “happy fault” because it “gained for us so great a Redeemer” (Liturgy of the Easter Vigil).

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday. This week, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is our sixty third podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Monsignor J. Robert Romero.

So, take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to download the Fourth Sunday of Easter homily from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Readings and Themes for the Week of April 25, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of April 25, 2010,
Fourth Sunday of Easter

Reading Acts 13:14, 43-52
Paul and Barnabas preach to the Gentiles.

Psalm 100
"We are his people, the sheep of his flock."

Reading II Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
The Lamb of God is our shepherd who leads us to life-giving pastures.

Gospel: John 10:27-30
No one can harm one of Jesus' lambs.

THEME:

Jesus knows us and calls us.

Each year of this Fourth Sunday of Easter, we focus on the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd. As members of His holy flock, we open our ears to listen to his voice in the sacred word proclaimed this day.

Questions of the week
Question for Children:
Jesus promises to guard us like a shepherd does the sheep.
How do you experience his loving care in your life?

Question for Youth:
Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice: I know them, and they follow me."
How does Jesus speak to you?
What new path is he asking you?

Question for Adults:
What is your experience of being a follower of Christ, of being cared for and guarded with him as shepherd?

Bulletin Bites
"My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me."

There are very few family members or friends that we cannot identify by their voice. Jesus tells us that His followers hear His voice. Jesus also says He knows us. Jesus does not need to know our voice. He knows US! He knows what we need before we say it. But, do we know the voice of Jesus? And, what do we do when we hear the voice of Jesus? Do we hear the voice of Jesus in prayer, when we stop speaking and listen – listen for God’s will for us. Do we hear the voice of Jesus in our family, our friends, and strangers through the people and events in our lives? Jesus challenges us to be and to do all that God created us to be and do. When we hear ourselves saying, “No, I don’t want to love that person" or take that risk or challenge that evil, we probably just heard from God. How do we respond as stewards of our prayer life and of all that God has given us? Our first response may be “NO”! Our final response must be “YES LORD!”

Expressions

Let your inner “sunshine” glow for others to see. Your hopefulness, peace, contentment, and comfort in relationship with God, and in stewardship expressions, shine as testimonies to the life you choose to live as one of Christ’s disciples.

Attitude, word, and deeds are visible “rays” of stewardship.

Bulletin for the Week of April 25, 2010



The bulletin for the week of April 25, 2010 has been posted. Click here to see it.

The calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information and information on the second collection for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our calendar here.

Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.

Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.

And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page StLandryCatholicChurch.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

St. Landry Bell and Country Roads Magazine


Country Roads Magazine called. Check out their website: http://www.countryroadsmagazine.com/ They might write an article about our friend, The St. Landry Bell. Takes a lot of brass to be heard in Baton Rouge but they've heard him even there.

Our bell is the only one in the world with its own blog, Facebook, and Twitter page. Not bad for a 98 year old.

You can follow him at Twitter: http://twitter.com/stlandrybell

On Facebook, he is here: http://www.facebook.com/stlandrybell

And his blog is over here: http://stlandrybell.blogspot.com/

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Healing Mass at National Seelos Shrine

It's the Tenth Anniversary of the Beatification of Blessed Francis X. Seelos, C.Ss.R. The mass will be Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 1 PM at the Nation Seelos Shrine/St. Mary's Assumption Church. The Church is located at 919 Josephine Street, New Orleans Louisiana - that is in the Lower Garden District/Irish Channel.

There will be:
  • Confessions before Mass
  • Veneration of Relic Missionary Crucifix
  • Wheelchair Accessible/Free Parking lot
  • One on One Intercessory Prayer in back of church & in shrine, starting at 11:45 AM -- venerate his relic as you and your loved ones enter.
For more information: 504-525-2495

You can visit the Shrine/Museum and see the new Seelos Welcome Center Monday thru Fridays from 9 AM to 3 PM, Saturdays 10 AM to 3:30 PM.

The website is http://www.seelos.org/

The Gift Shop is at 919 Josephine Street, on the first floor. It will be open before and after the mass. Sign up for the monthly newsletter there.

Bob and Penny Lord coming to the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana

Bob and Penny Lord will be visiting in our Diocese over the next week. Many of you have seen them on EWTN in series that cover their travels to various shrines and holy places around the world.

For more information including ordering DVD's of their various shows or information about participating in a pilgrimage with them, visit their website at http://www.bobandpennylord.com/

The schedule for them this week is:

Monday, April 19, 6:30 PM
Subject: Super Saints
St. Peter And Paul Catholic Church
1110 Old Spanish Trail
Scott, Louisiana

Tuesday, April 20, 6:30 PM
Subject: Priesthood and the Mass
St. Anne Catholic Church
716 6th Street
Mamou, Louisiana

Wednesday, April 21, 6:30 PM
Subject: Super Saints - Visionaries, Mystics & Stigmatics
St. Peter Catholic Church
108 East St. Peter Street
New Iberia, Louisiana

The Third Sunday of Easter and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church


Today, during his homily on The Passion, Monsignor Romero referenced the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism is a wonderful reference to Catholic teaching.

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

During the homily, Monsignor Romero referenced questions 127 thru 129 of the Compendium in the section "Jesus Christ descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead."

127. What are the signs that bear witness to the Resurrection of Jesus?

639-644
656-657

Along with the essential sign of the empty tomb, the Resurrection of Jesus is witnessed to by the women who first encountered Christ and proclaimed him to the apostles. Jesus then “appeared to Cephas (Peter) and then to the Twelve. Following that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brethren at one time” (1 Corinthians 15:5-6) and to others as well. The apostles could not have invented the story of the resurrection since it seemed impossible to them. As a matter of fact, Jesus himself upbraided them for their unbelief.

128. Why is the Resurrection at the same time a transcendent occurrence?

647
656-657

While being an historical event, verifiable and attested by signs and testimonies, the Resurrection, insofar as it is the entrance of Christ's humanity into the glory of God, transcends and surpasses history as a mystery of faith. For this reason the risen Christ did not manifest himself to the world but to his disciples, making them his witnesses to the people.

129. What is the condition of the risen body of Jesus?

645-646

The Resurrection of Christ was not a return to earthly life. His risen body is that which was crucified and bears the marks of his passion. However it also participates in the divine life, with the characteristics of a glorified body. Because of this the risen Jesus was utterly free to appear to his disciples how and where he wished and under various aspects.

Homily for The Third Sunday of Easter

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday. This week, the Third Sunday of Easter, is our sixty second podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Monsignor J. Robert Romero.

So, take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to download the Third Sunday of Easter homily from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Readings and Themes for the Week of April 18, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of April 18, 2010,
Third Sunday of Easter

Reading Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
The apostles openly give witness to the power of Jesus' name.

Psalm 30
"I will praise you Lord, for you have rescued me."

Reading II Revelation 5:11-14
John declares the glory of Jesus, The Lamb of God.

Gospel: John 21:1-19
The risen Christ welcomes his own at the seashore.

THEME:

Jesus, feed us so that we can feed and serve others.

In today’s Gospel, we witness one of the Lord’s post-Resurrection appearances. Jesus prepares breakfast for his disciples. Peter, who had betrayed Jesus a few days earlier, is invited to eat the fish Jesus has prepared. Just as Peter had denied Jesus three times, so today he professes his love for Jesus three times. Let us see in this simple seaside meal the expression of reconciliation that today’s Eucharist offers to all who believe.

Questions of the week
Question for Children:
Jesus asks Peter three times if Peter loves Jesus.
What one thing can you do this week to show Jesus you love Him?

Question for Youth:
Jesus asked Peter three times to "feed my sheep".
Whom are you being called to help in your life right now?

Question for Adults:
Christ continues to feed us as his disciples, even after his death and resurrection.
How does the Eucharist feed your faith?

Stewardship
"Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you."

After appearing to the disciples two times in a room behind locked doors in Jerusalem, Jesus reveals Himself a third time to seven of His disciples who are fishing at the northwest end of the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee).

The scene is a reminder of His first call to them to become fishers of men. After preparing and sharing a breakfast of fish with them, Jesus asks Simon Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter, who had denied Jesus three times, finally says, “Lord you know everything, you know that I love you”. Peter reveals his great faith in Jesus. Only God knows everything and only God could know what was in Peter’s heart.

When we encounter Jesus He asks us, “Do you love me?” Is our faith in Jesus such that we have no doubt that He is God and that He knows what is in our heart?

How do we respond to Jesus?

Stewardship Expressions

Many people will receive the Sacraments of First Eucharist and Confirmation in April and May.

Celebrate their progression in faith formation.

Pray for their continued development throughout life.

Serve as a good role model and mentor to encourage further personal and spiritual growth.

Stewards mentor others toward a closer relationship with God.

Bulletin for the Week of April 18, 2010



The bulletin for the week of April 18, 2010 has been posted. Click here to see it.

The calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information and information on the second collection for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our calendar here.

Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.

Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.

And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page StLandryCatholicChurch.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

La Vita Monastica

A beautiful photo project has been posted on the web. The photos were taken by Robert Falcetti. From his website:

La Vita Monastica (The Monastic Life) is my photographic study of the cloistered community of Benedictine nuns at the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut. The roots of The Abbey of Regina Laudis, founded in 1947, have their origin in the ancient Abbey of Notre Dame de Jouarre, which was founded in the 7th century and is located northeast of Paris. This personal project started as a single assignment. Many of the images here are being shown for the first time.

The photo gallery is at http://www.photoshelter.com/c/falcetti/gallery/La-Vita-Monastica/G0000IQOa9HH3N3s/

For the website of the Abbey, go to: http://www.abbeyofreginalaudis.com/sitelive/index.htm

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Thursday April 15 last day to submit name for Pastoral Council

The St. Landry Catholic Church Pastoral Council elections for 2010
Council members are coming in May. The pastoral council member term is a 3-year commitment with a monthly meeting held on the first Monday of each month.

The purpose of the church pastoral council is to advise our pastor on issues and events within the church parish. This year we have two positions to fill.

Parishioners interested in becoming a candidate are to submit your name and a brief paragraph of your call to church parish involvement to the Church Office.

The deadline for submitting candidates is Thursday. April 15, 2010. For more information, contact Yvonne L Normand, Church Trustee, and Election Chair at 337-308-3474.

Year for Priests


YEAR FOR PRIESTS
Faithfulness of Christ, faithfulness of priests

I think these things are essential [in the daily life of a priest]: the Eucharist, the Office of Readings, prayer and a conversation every day, even a brief one, with the Lord on his words, which I must proclaim. And never lose either your friendship with priests, listening to the voice of the living Church, or the availability to the people entrusted to me, because from these very people, with their suffering, their faith experiences, their doubts and difficulties, we too can learn, seek and find God, find our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Roman Major Seminary on February 17, 2007.

Appreciations from Monsignor J. Robert Romero

Many thanks to all who helped care for the Church’s liturgical environment during Lent and the Easter Triduum. I thank all who worked on the Easter decorations. A great job!!

I also thank all the altar servers, lectors, extra ordinary ministers of communion, ushers, sacristans, and music ministers for their good work. The many demands of the Easter Triduum Liturgy were surpassed with trouble-free teamwork.

In addition, acknowledgement is due to all who participated in the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday. These are Shelby Boudreaux, Alice Cormier, Lloyd Cormier, Howard Fournier, Mark Fuselier, Frances Hargroder, Audra LeJeune, Lee LeJeune, Gloria Miller, Madisonne Ned, Tyler Smith, and Beau Stelly.

Thanks to one and all!
 
Monsignor J. Robert Romero

Monday, April 12, 2010

Vatican Information Services launches a blog


Vatican Information Services has launched a blog.

I would like to think they are following St. Landry Catholic Church's example ... ha ha!

To see the latest on the blog of the Vatican's news site, click below.

http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Greeting in the Lord

Descent to Hell by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11

Monsignor J. Robert Romero included a section of an Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday in the weekly bulletin as an example of "Greeting in the Lord". Jesus greets Adam after the crucifixion.

The painting above portrays the event. Christ in a robe trimmed with gold stands on a vanquished demon as he reaches out to help Adam up. Eve sits beside him. You can see the crushed doors of hell below as well. David appears with a crown. Other ancient forefathers surround them.

Below is the full homily as it read in the Liturgy of the Hours for Holy Saturday. The greeting is in the third paragraph.

The Lord's descent into hell

"What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he
who is God, and Adam's son.

The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.

‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.

‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image.

'See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.

‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.

"The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages."
 
Source: Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday: PG 43, 440A, 452C; LH, Holy Saturday, OR

Divine Mercy Chaplet and Benediction this afternoon

At 3 PM this afternoon at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Opelousas, Louisiana, there will be a benediction as well as the praying of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

We hope to see you there.

Divine Mercy Sunday and the Catechism of the Catholic Church


Today, during his homily on The Passion, Monsignor Romero referenced the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism is a wonderful reference to Catholic teaching.

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

During the homily, Monsignor Romero referenced paragraph 445 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church under the topic of "The Only Son of God".

445 After his Resurrection, Jesus' divine sonship becomes manifest in the power of his glorified humanity. He was "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead".57 The apostles can confess: "We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday. This week, Divine Mercy Sunday, is our sixty first podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Monsignor J. Robert Romero.

So, take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to download the Divine Mercy Sunday homily from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Bulletin for the Week of April 11, 2010



The bulletin for the week of April 11, 2010 has been posted. Click here to see it.

The calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information and information on the second collection for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our calendar here.

Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.

Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.

And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page StLandryCatholicChurch.

Readings and Themes for the Week of April 11, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of April 11, 2010,
Divine Mercy Sunday

Reading Acts 5:12-16
Peter's faith in Jesus enables him to work signs and wonders.

Psalm 118
"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting."

Reading II Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
He is the first and the last, the one who lives.

Gospel: John 20:19-31
How blessed are those who have not seen but have believed.

THEME:

Receive the Holy Spirit

Today’s scriptures invite us to gather around the risen Christ, whose words echo across the millennia to each person in this holy place: “Peace be with you.” This blessing is at the heart of the message of Easter. As the scriptures are proclaimed, let us pray for a continued outpouring of peace on a world grown weary by war and violence.

Questions of the week
Question for Children:
Jesus appeared to the disciples even though they were afraid and locked in the closed room.
How can you show Jesus to another person this week by the way you act?

Question for Youth:
Thomas didn't believe because he hadn't seen Jesus with his own eyes.
How hard is it for you to believe in God without being able to see God?
How do you see God in the words and actions of others?

Question for Adults:
Jesus said: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." Give one example of how you will show your belief in Jesus this week -- how you are being sent forth.

Stewardship
"Blessed are those who have not seen and believe."

John tells us that the disciples who abandoned Jesus when He was arrested and taken to the cross [John was one of them] were locked in a room a week after they had seen him risen from the dead and had appeared to them in that same room. Jesus had good reason to be disappointed with them, but He says to them, “Peace be with you!” He knew it was difficult for them to believe even though they had seen. And He knew how difficult it would be for us who had not seen to believe. That is why, at our Baptism, our parents, or we ourselves if we are old enough, promise to make our faith constantly grow stronger in our hearts and to bring that faith unstained into heaven. We renewed our Baptismal Promises on Easter Sunday. What have we done to make our faith grow stronger in our hearts? What are we doing? What will we do in the future? Are we being good stewards of our faith?

Stewardship Expressions

Stewardship starts with the personal experience of the Risen Christ in our midst and in our hearts. It is a vocation to discipleship. We have so much to consider as we progress through Easter and Spring.

Learn about Our Lord’s special grants of mercy and forgiveness to sinners on Divine Mercy Sunday (April 11th). Citizen stewardship is reflected on tax day (April 15thth). We celebrate and value God’s Creation in special ways on Earth Day (April 22nd). Throughout the month, let us strive to further develop our personal relationship with the Risen Christ and give witness to our discipleship through our stewardship expressions of daily living.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Al Soileau to speak to Imperial St. Landry Genealogical and Historical Society

Al Soileau will speak to the Imperial St. Landry Genealogical and Historical Society this Saturday, April 10th. He will discuss history and interesting facts about St. Landry Catholic Church.

Society meetings continue to be held at 10:00 am on the second Saturday of each month (except December.) Doctor's Hospital is now referred to as the SOUTH CAMPUS of OGH (Opelousas General Hospital) and the Society continues to meet in the first floor Conference Room. Coffee and other refreshments will be served beginning at 9:30 am before each meeting. The public is always welcome.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Images from Holy Week in Rome

Images from Holy Week in Rome

From Rome Reports' YouTube channel, here's a video of the best images from Holy Week at the Vatican with the Holy Father.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D3dl5zMgnc

Monday, April 5, 2010

Te Deum - You, God

Today, for those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the Te Deum is prayed. This hymn will be prayed every day during the octave of Easter as well as the Sundays of Easter. It's name, Te Deum, comes from the opening line, "Te Deum Laudamus --- You, God, we praise!"

Historically, it was said that the hymn was written and sung by St. Ambrose and St. Augustine on the night of St. Augustine's baptism around the year 387 A.D. More recent scholarship says it was written by Nicetas of Remesiana (modern day Romania) 100 years later. During the Jubilee Year of the Church in 2000, Pope John Paul II declared this hymn the Jubilee Hymn.

YOU ARE GOD (Te Deum)

You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.

To you all the angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
    Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
    heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
    Father, of majesty unbounded,
    your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
    and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.

When you became man to set us free
you did not spurn the Virgin's womb.

You overcame the sting of death,
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
R. Govern and uphold them now and always.

V. Day by day we bless you.
R. We praise your name for ever.

V. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
R. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.

V. Lord, show us your love and mercy;
R. for we put our trust in you.

V. In you, Lord, is our hope:
R. and we shall never hope in vain.

Photos from the Easter Vigil



Deacon John Miller lights the candles of altar servers from the Easter Candle.

We've got photos up from the Easter Vigil Mass. It's the full mass along with the lighting of the Easter Candle and confirmation.

See the photo gallery here ... http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/gallery2/main.php/v/20100403EasterVigilMass/

We also have photographs of the practice before the mass here: http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/gallery2/main.php/v/20100403EasterVigilPractice/. Our altar servers worked very hard during the Easter Triduum as well as throughout the year and we want to thank them.

Our bell started ringing again during the Gloria at Easter Vigil and we now celebrate the Easter season.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

A little music from the Easter Triduum - Pange Lingua & Ye Sons and Daughters

Something a little different today ...

Two links to music from our choir at St. Landry Catholic Church, headed up by Curt Miller.

Click here for Pange Lingua from Holy Thursday Mass during the Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament, April 1, 2010.

Click here for Ye Sons and Daughters from Easter Vigil Mass during communion, April 3, 2010.

Lyrics of "Pange Lingua"
Pange, lingua, gloriosi
Corporis mysterium,
Sanguinisque pretiosi,
quem in mundi pretium
fructus ventris generosi
Rex effudit Gentium.

Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory,
of His flesh the mystery sing;
of the Blood, all price exceeding,
shed by our immortal King,
destined, for the world's redemption,
from a noble womb to spring.

Of a pure and spotless Virgin
born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
then He closed in solemn order
wondrously His life of woe.

On the night of that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
first fulfills the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own hand.

Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His word to Flesh He turns;
wine into His Blood He changes;
what though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.

Down in adoration falling,
This great Sacrament we hail,
Over ancient forms of worship
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith will tell us Christ is present,
When our human senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son who made us free
And the Spirit, God proceeding
From them Each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia.

Lyrics of "Ye Sons and Daughters"

[Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!]
Ye sons and daughters of the King,
whom heavenly hosts in glory sing,
today the grave bath lost its sting. Alleluia!

On that first morning of the week,
before the day began to break,
the Marys went their Lord to seek. Alleluia!

An Angel bade their sorrow flee,
for thus he spake unto the three:
'Your Lord is gone to Galilee.' Alleluia!

That night the Apostles met in fear,
amidst them came their Lord most dear,
and said: 'Peace be unto you here!' Alleluia!

When Thomas afterwards had heard
that Jesus had fulfilled hiœ word,
he doubted if it were the Lord. Alleluia!

'Thomas, behold my side,' saith he,
'my hands, my feet, my body see;
'and doubt not, but believe in me.' Alleluia!

No longer Thomas then denied;
he saw the feet, the hands, the side;
'Thou art my Lord and God,' he cried. Alleluia!

Blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet whose faith bath constant been,
in life eternal they shall reign. Alleluia!

On this most holy day of days,
to God your hearts and voices raise
in laud, and jubilee, and praise. Alleluia!

And we with holy Church unite,
as evermore is just and right,
in glory to the King of Light. Alleluia!

St. Landry Catholic Church in the Opelousas Daily World

Take a look at the Daily World newspaper, page 2A at the top left. There's a photo from our Holy Thursday mass featuring Monsignor J. Robert Romero and Mr. Howard Fournier!

Thanks Daily World!

He is risen, Alleluia Alleluia!

The Resurrection Window, over the altar
St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana

Easter is here --- and we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord. The Resurrection Window at our church is a powerful image. One of the Roman soldiers has been knocked down. Christ stands on an opened sepulchre with a staff bearing his standard. Below him is a casted off cloak and the crown of thorns. He's clothed now in fine clothes and raises his right hand in a blessing. A flower next to the sepulchre blooms.

Today is also the 1st anniversary of our new look website and our blog. It's been a wonderful year, sharing all of the things going on in and around our parish as well as all things Catholic around the world. We've received kind comments and questions from around the world, have had some of our artwork featured in diocesan magazines as far as Spain, and have had some of our information featured in other blogs on the internet. We've started a presence on Twitter and Facebook, set up a YouTube channel, and have started a new presence for the St. Landry Bell on those social sites as well.

Thanks to everyone for all of the positive feedback and we hope to be an even better resource into the future.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Homily for Easter Vigil

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday. This week, Easter Vigil, is our fifty eighth podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Monsignor J. Robert Romero.

So, take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to download The Easter Vigil homily from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.

Homily of Pope Benedict XVI for the Easter Vigil at St. Peter's, April 3, 2010

What follows is the Homily of Pope Benedict XVI for the Easter Vigil at St. Peter's, April 3, 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

An ancient Jewish legend from the apocryphal book “The life of Adam and Eve” recounts that, in his final illness, Adam sent his son Seth together with Eve into the region of Paradise to fetch the oil of mercy, so that he could be anointed with it and healed. The two of them went in search of the tree of life, and after much praying and weeping on their part, the Archangel Michael appeared to them, and told them they would not obtain the oil of the tree of mercy and that Adam would have to die. Subsequently, Christian readers added a word of consolation to the Archangel’s message, to the effect that after 5,500 years the loving King, Christ, would come, the Son of God who would anoint all those who believe in him with the oil of his mercy. “The oil of mercy from eternity to eternity will be given to those who are reborn of water and the Holy Spirit. Then the Son of God, Christ, abounding in love, will descend into the depths of the earth and will lead your father into Paradise, to the tree of mercy.” This legend lays bare the whole of humanity’s anguish at the destiny of illness, pain and death that has been imposed upon us. Man’s resistance to death becomes evident: somewhere – people have constantly thought – there must be some cure for death. Sooner or later it should be possible to find the remedy not only for this or that illness, but for our ultimate destiny – for death itself. Surely the medicine of immortality must exist. Today too, the search for a source of healing continues. Modern medical science strives, if not exactly to exclude death, at least to eliminate as many as possible of its causes, to postpone it further and further, to prolong life more and more. But let us reflect for a moment: what would it really be like if we were to succeed, perhaps not in excluding death totally, but in postponing it indefinitely, in reaching an age of several hundred years? Would that be a good thing? Humanity would become extraordinarily old, there would be no more room for youth. Capacity for innovation would die, and endless life would be no paradise, if anything a condemnation. The true cure for death must be different. It cannot lead simply to an indefinite prolongation of this current life. It would have to transform our lives from within. It would need to create a new life within us, truly fit for eternity: it would need to transform us in such a way as not to come to an end with death, but only then to begin in fullness. What is new and exciting in the Christian message, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was and is that we are told: yes indeed, this cure for death, this true medicine of immortality, does exist. It has been found. It is within our reach. In baptism, this medicine is given to us. A new life begins in us, a life that matures in faith and is not extinguished by the death of the old life, but is only then fully revealed.


To this some, perhaps many, will respond: I certainly hear the message, but I lack faith. And even those who want to believe will ask: but is it really so? How are we to picture it to ourselves? How does this transformation of the old life come about, so as to give birth to the new life that knows no death? Once again, an ancient Jewish text can help us form an idea of the mysterious process that begins in us at baptism. There it is recounted how the patriarch Enoch was taken up to the throne of God. But he was filled with fear in the presence of the glorious angelic powers, and in his human weakness he could not contemplate the face of God. “Then God said to Michael,” to quote from the book of Enoch, “‘Take Enoch and remove his earthly clothing. Anoint him with sweet oil and vest him in the robes of glory!’ And Michael took off my garments, anointed me with sweet oil, and this oil was more than a radiant light … its splendour was like the rays of the sun. When I looked at myself, I saw that I was like one of the glorious beings” (Ph. Rech, Inbild des Kosmos, II 524).


Precisely this – being reclothed in the new garment of God – is what happens in baptism, so the Christian faith tells us. To be sure, this changing of garments is something that continues for the whole of life. What happens in baptism is the beginning of a process that embraces the whole of our life – it makes us fit for eternity, in such a way that, robed in the garment of light of Jesus Christ, we can appear before the face of God and live with him for ever.


In the rite of baptism there are two elements in which this event is
expressed and made visible in a way that demands commitment for the rest of our lives. There is first of all the rite of renunciation and the promises. In the early Church, the one to be baptized turned towards the west, the symbol of darkness, sunset, death and hence the dominion of sin. The one to be baptized turned in that direction and pronounced a threefold “no”: to the devil, to his pomp and to sin. The strange word “pomp”, that is to say the devil’s glamour, referred to the splendour of the ancient cult of the gods and of the ancient theatre, in which it was considered entertaining to watch people being torn limb from limb by wild beasts. What was being renounced was a type of culture that ensnared man in the adoration of power, in the world of greed, in lies, in cruelty. It was an act of liberation from the imposition of a form of life that was presented as pleasure and yet hastened the destruction of all that was best in man. This renunciation – albeit in less dramatic form – remains an essential part of baptism today. We remove the “old garments”, which we cannot wear in God’s presence. Or better put: we begin to remove them. This renunciation is actually a promise in which we hold out our hand to Christ, so that he may guide us and reclothe us. What these “garments” are that we take off, what the promise is that we make, becomes clear when we see in the fifth chapter of the Letter to the Galatians what Paul calls “works of the flesh” – a term that refers precisely to the old garments that we remove. Paul designates them thus: “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like” (Gal 5:19ff.). These are the garments that we remove: the garments of death.


Then, in the practice of the early Church, the one to be baptized turned towards the east – the symbol of light, the symbol of the newly rising sun of history, the symbol of Christ. The candidate for baptism determines the new direction of his life: faith in the Trinitarian God to whom he entrusts himself. Thus it is God who clothes us in the garment of light, the garment of life. Paul calls these new “garments” “fruits of the spirit”, and he describes them as follows: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22).


In the early Church, the candidate for baptism was then truly stripped of his garments. He descended into the baptismal font and was immersed three times – a symbol of death that expresses all the radicality of this removal and change of garments. His former death-bound life the candidate consigns to death with Christ, and he lets himself be drawn up by and with Christ into the new life that transforms him for eternity. Then, emerging from the waters of baptism the neophytes were clothed in the white garment, the garment of God’s light, and they received the lighted candle as a sign of the new life in the light that God himself had lit within them. They knew that they had received the medicine of immortality, which was fully realized at the moment of receiving holy communion. In this sacrament we receive the body of the risen Lord and we ourselves are drawn into this body, firmly held by the One who has conquered death and who carries us through death.


In the course of the centuries, the symbols were simplified, but the
essential content of baptism has remained the same. It is no mere cleansing, still less is it a somewhat complicated initiation into a new association. It is death and resurrection, rebirth to new life.


Indeed, the cure for death does exist. Christ is the tree of life, once more within our reach. If we remain close to him, then we have life. Hence, during this night of resurrection, with all our hearts we shall sing the alleluia, the song of joy that has no need of words. Hence, Paul can say to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil 4:4). Joy cannot be commanded. It can only be given. The risen Lord gives us joy: true life. We are already held for ever in the love of the One to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given (cf. Mt 28:18). In this way, confident of being heard, we make our own the Church’s Prayer over the Gifts from the liturgy of this night: Accept the prayers and offerings of your people. With your help may this Easter mystery of our redemption bring to perfection the saving work you have begun in us. Amen.

Bulletin for the Week of April 04, 2010



The bulletin for the week of April 04, 2010 has been posted. Click here to see it.

The calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information and information on the second collection for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our calendar here.

Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.

Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.

And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page StLandryCatholicChurch.

Photos from Good Friday Service - Join us for Vigil tonight at 8 PM


A parishioner venerates the cross held by altar servers at St Landry Catholic Church during Good Friday Services.

We've got photos up from the Good Friday Service. It's the full service along with the veneration of the cross.

See the photo gallery here ... http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/gallery2/main.php/v/20100402GoodFridayService/

We also have photographs of the practice before the service here: http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/gallery2/main.php/v/20100402GoodFridayPractice/. Our altar servers work very hard during the Easter Triduum as well as throughout the year and we want to thank them.

You'll notice there is no activity on the Twitter, Blog, and Facebook accounts for the St. Landry Bell. The bell rang during the Gloria of Holy Thursday Mass and won't be heard again until the Gloria of the Easter Vigil. Our church is quiet and is awaiting the Risen Lord.

Please join us tonight at 8 PM for The Easter Vigil Mass. Or come Easter Day for our two masses, one at 8 AM and the other at 10 AM - no 5 PM mass. St. Landry Catholic Church, 1020 North Main Street, Opelousas, Louisiana.