Bulletin for the Week of March 2, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This week we begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time when we reflect on our struggles in this life, and we watch Jesus show us the way to eternal life. I am once again looking forward to making this Lenten Journey with you.

Lent recognizes that we still struggle in our earthly life despite the fact that our Savior died and rose from the dead. Salvation is ours, but we still struggle in this life until our passing into eternal life. The reason for this is that God will not impair our freedom to make us follow Him.  Our love of God and our neighbor is a choice, and a choice is no choice if we are not free to make it.  Scripture tells us that we are all sinners, and our sins always affect us and others negatively.  Sin produces our struggle in this life, whether it be our own sins or the sins of others that affect us.

During Lent, we will examine the nature of sin in a series of homilies after our parish mission next week, which will help us to learn how to "Embrace Calvary."  The Lenten Parish Mission will be given by Deacon Randy Hyde and will be introduced next weekend at all Masses, followed by the mission on March 9, 10 and 11 at 6pm in the church.   Mass will precede the Parish Mission presentations at 5:30pm for those who may not have had an opportunity to attend Mass during the day.

Enclosed in this bulletin is an insert containing the Liturgical Schedule for Lent, as well as additional opportunities for prayer, study and fellowship during the Lenten Season.  We hope that these activities can help all of us to grow closer to Jesus during the season of Lent and to celebrate the joy of Easter more deeply.  In recognizing our own sinfulness in Lent, we better understand the gift from God the Father in the life, suffering and death of His Son, so that in the Resurrection we celebrate at Easter we can better appreciate the gift of eternal life despite our sins.  Hopefully, we will then be more open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to live better lives!  Praise to our Lord Jesus Christ!!

     Fr. James Brady

St. Landry Church Lent Activity Schedule

Weekday Mass Schedule
Monday – Friday at 12:05pm; Saturday 8am (Church)
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Confession Schedule
Monday – Friday from 11:30am to 12pm
Saturdays from 2:30pm to 3:30pm
Sundays 4 to 4:45pm
Citywide Penance Service – Monday, April 14, 6-7pm
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Stations of the Cross
Fridays at 5:15pm in the Church
Followed by soup and bread dinner in Valentin Hall **********************************************
Lenten Mission
“Embracing Calvary”
Presented by Deacon Randy Hyde
Introduced at Sunday Masses, March 8th and 9th
Mission: March 10th, 11th and 12th
Mass at 5:30pm; Mission begins at 6pm
**********************************************

Additional Weekly Activities

All Activities are in Valentin Hall

Tuesdays at 6pm – Lenten Gospel Study (Note: Begins March 6, the Thursday after Ash Wednesday).  Also, the group will not meet March 11 due to the Parish Mission, but rather will meet that week on Thursday, March 13 at 6pm).  The study is in a modified “Come Lord Jesus!” format designed for Lent.

Wednesdays at 6am – “That Man is You!”

Wednesdays at 5:15pm – “Come Lord Jesus!” Group


Adult Confirmation Class – Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation for adults (21 years of age or older) will be provided on Monday evenings.  The Sacrament will be administered at the Easter Vigil (April 19 at 8pm).  Please call Deacon Diesi at the office (942-6552) for more details.

The bulletin for the week of March 02, 2014 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 SaintLandryCatholicChurch.

Homily for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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 --- over four years ago. This week, the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and eighth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father James Brady.

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

Bulletin for the Week of February 23, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Over the last few weeks our Church has been in the news in light of a United Nations report regarding the protection of children. The report was very negative towards the Church, and I think it fair to say that it was a "hit piece" designed to malign the Church and to try to alter Her Faith and teachings. Needless to say, in the past there were wrongs committed by both clergy and lay people in the Church, and for that we as a community have apologized, taken corrective action to make sure it does not happen again, and to the best of our ability helped and supported the victims and their families.

Here at St. Landry, as in all parishes in the Diocese of Lafayette, a Safe Environment Program has been implemented for all clergy, employees and volunteers who work with our children (this same program is also at Opelousas Catholic). The program includes criminal background checks and yearly training regarding proper boundaries, detection and reporting of any potential problem. The program is a "gold standard" of education of clergy, employees, volunteers, parents and our children for the safety and protection of our young people. Despite the existence of serious and systematic abuse problems in our society in general (the problem is not just a Catholic Church problem, but rather a societal problem; just ask any of us who work in this area), other institutions including schools (both public and private) and churches, for the most part, have not implemented such a program. To date, the program has been very effective, albeit no program is perfect.

However, the United Nations report went further than just addressing the protection of children, and addressed matters of our faith that it thinks should be changed, including our teaching on marriage and the dignity of life from conception to natural death. Rather than taking a shot at the United Nations regarding its lack of diligence regarding other serious and, unfortunately, commonplace crimes against children that occur worldwide, including the use of "children soldiers," slave trafficking, child labor, and child prostitution (not to mention the problems of poverty, healthcare and education), or by noting the well documented corruption that the United Nations has had through the years, I think it more fruitful to reflect on what the report teaches us about our world and our role in it as Catholics.

First, we have discussed in homilies over the past year or two the widening of the gap between secular morality (the morality of our society) and our Catholic morality (what the Church teaches us is moral) in the United States, with particular examples being the new health care law (Obamacare) and the recent Supreme Court decisions on marriage. We can now safely say that this widening of the gap is not only in the United States, but also worldwide. Second, we can see that in this widening of the gap that secular governments and authorities will attempt to force Catholics to accept their morality by the use of their power over those they govern, even if it violates legitimate religious beliefs. Third, in the attempt to force secular morality upon us, we will be impugned because of our religious beliefs, whether being called or thought of as bigots (as happened during the debate on marriage) or unenlightened/ignorant as is common in secular media commentary. At some point, if this widening of the gap continues, we may be made to make certain choices between the practice of our faith or submitting to laws that require us to violate our religious beliefs.

Our response as Catholics is simple, but may be difficult. The widening of the morality gap is being caused by changes in secular morality instituted by governments. Our morality is rooted in Our Savior, Jesus Christ, and what He taught us. His teachings have not and will not change, because they are the Truth. We are not at liberty to change God's teachings, nor will we try. Our job is to simply live by them in imitation of Our Savior, not trying to make Jesus into who we want Him to be, but rather letting Him make us into who He wants us to be. Catholics have always been good citizens in just societies, and the less just a society becomes, the more tension increases between governmental authorities and the Church. This is nothing new, as it has occurred repeatedly in societies all over the world since the founding of our Church by Jesus Himself some 2000 years ago, and at times has led to persecution.

For now, our mission remains the same: To know our faith and to live it so that we can be with God in eternity, resisting the temptation to "go along" with societal norms that violate our faith. We must properly educate our young in word and especially in deed so they will also be able to live and be firm in the faith given to us by Jesus. We cannot compromise our faith, because eternal life is the most important and precious gift we have been given by God. We must not be afraid or ashamed of our faith, but rather know it and share it, especially by loving each other as Jesus loved us. As good citizens, we also do what we can to make our society more just and truly good by the changing of hearts and minds. Let us resolve to continue to remain firm in the Truth taught to us by Jesus and His Church!.

     Fr. James Brady

The bulletin for the week of February 23, 2014 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 SaintLandryCatholicChurch.

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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 --- over four years ago. This week, the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and seventh podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father James Brady.

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

Bulletin for the week of February 16, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Last weekend we addressed the United Nations report regarding the Catholic Church, primarily addressing what the Church has done for the protection of children.  This week, we address the issue of the United Nations declaring that the Church should, among other things, change it's teaching regarding marriage and the dignity of life from conception until natural death.

First, we have discussed in homilies over the past year or two the continued widening of the gap between secular morality (the morality of our society) and our Catholic morality (what the Church teaches us is moral) in the United States, with particular examples being the new health care law (Obamacare) and the recent Supreme Court decisions on marriage. We can now safely say that this widening of the gap is not only in the United States, but also worldwide. Second, we can see that in this widening of the gap that secular governments and authorities will attempt to force Catholics to accept their morality by the use of their power over those they govern, even if it violates legitimate religious beliefs. Third, in the attempt to force secular morality upon us, we will be impugned because of our religious beliefs, whether being called or thought of as bigots (as happened during the debate on marriage) or unenlightened/ignorant as is common in secular media commentary. At some point, if this widening of the gap continues, we may be made to make certain choices between the practice of our faith or submitting to laws that require us to violate our religious beliefs.

Our response as Catholics is simple, but may be difficult. The widening of the morality gap is being caused by changes in secular morality instituted by governments. Our morality is rooted in Our Savior, Jesus Christ, and what He taught us. His teachings have not and will not change, because they are the Truth. We are not at liberty to change God's teachings, nor will we try. Our job is to simply live by them in imitation of Our Savior, not trying to make Jesus into who we want Him to be, but rather letting Him make us into who He wants us to be. Catholics have always been good citizens in just societies, but the less just a society becomes, the more tension increases between governmental authorities and the Church. This is nothing new, as it has occurred repeatedly in societies all over the world since the founding of our Church by Jesus Himself some 2000 years ago, and at times has led to persecution.

For now, our mission remains the same: To know our faith and to live it so that we can be with God in eternity, resisting the temptation to "go along" with societal norms that violate our faith. We must properly educate our young in word and especially in deed so they will also be able to live and be firm in the faith given to us by Jesus. We cannot compromise our faith, because eternal life is the most important and precious gift we have been given by God. We must not be afraid or ashamed of our faith, but rather know it and share it, especially by loving each other as Jesus loved us. As good citizens, we also do what we can to make our society more just and truly good by the changing of hearts and minds. Let us resolve to continue to remain firm in the Truth taught to us by Jesus and His Church!

     Fr. James Brady

The bulletin for the week of February 16, 2014 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 SaintLandryCatholicChurch.

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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 --- over four years ago. This week, the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and sixth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father James Brady.

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

Bulletin for February 9, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This coming week, on February 11, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, we will celebrate the World Day of the Sick.  This weekend, we will commemorate this day by celebrating the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick at the Saturday, 4pm Vigil Mass for all of those who have a serious illness or are infirmed due to age.

The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament instituted by Jesus in Sacred Scripture in the Book of James: "Are there any who are sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick persons, and the Lord will raise them up; and if they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them." (James 5:14). The Anointing of the Sick (sometimes referred to as "Last Rites") is given to those who begin "to be in danger (of death) due to sickness or old age." In case of doubt about whether the circumstances warrant the sacrament, the sacrament is to be administered. We receive many calls at St. Landry to provide this sacrament, whether it be someone preparing for a medical procedure, someone who is hospitalized, or someone who is a resident in a nursing home. The sacrament has brought great consolation and relief to many people in our community. The sacrament helps us to configure the suffering caused by the illness or injury to Jesus suffering on the Cross for the salvation of the world. It also gives us consolation in the time of difficulty caused by the illness by helping us to understand and accept suffering because it has a saving effect, just as Jesus' suffering saved the world. It helps us to realize that we have a role in the salvation of the world, and suffering is a part of it, so the sacrament aids us "to carry our cross" and to "offer it up" by giving us the Grace to do so.

I hope that all take advantage of this sacrament when needed. You need only call the church and myself or Monsignor Melancon will be glad to administer it. As a practical matter, it is good not to wait until the last minute to request it. Some people are of the mistaken belief that it should only be administered just prior to one's passing from this life to the next. However, it can be administered any time when someone is seriously ill (or has a serious condition) or is of a certain age (around 70, depending on the person's general health). Anyone who is homebound or in a nursing home can be anointed regularly (usually every few months). Please let us know if you have a loved one who needs to be anointed and we will be happy to administer the sacrament. Waiting until the last minute can be a problem, as there are times when both Monsignor Melancon and I are out of town or unable to do so because of other duties in our ministry.  Also, please know that if there is an emergency and someone requires hospital care at Opelousas General, there is a priest on call each day for anointings. Therefore, if you are unable to reach myself or Monsignor Melancon, let the hospital staff know that you would like the priest on call to come for an anointing, and they will know how to contact him.

Let us thank God for the goodness He gives to us in all the Sacraments, making sure that we dutifully dispose ourselves to receive them and fully cooperate with the Graces received in them!

     Fr. James Brady

The bulletin for the week of February 09, 2014 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 SaintLandryCatholicChurch.

Homily for the Presentation of the Lord

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 --- over four years ago. This week, the Presentation of the Lord, is our three hundred and fifth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father James Brady.

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