Homily for the Seventeenth 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 five years ago. This mass, Seventeenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and thirty 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 July 27, 2014 and the Deacon's Corner

The Deacon’s Corner 

In the Gospel today the Holy Spirit tells us what the kingdom of heaven is like. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into baskets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

       On the great Day of Judgment we will be judged according to the way we live our lives. On that day the sheep will be placed on His right and the goats on the His left. Grace is given to us, if we accept it, to choose the life Jesus wants us to live or reject it. We can gain our heavenly reward by making our ordinary actions for the love of God and keeping ourselves in the state of grace.

     At our baptism we are given Sanctifying grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit so we can live as members of God’s holy people. Sanctifying grace gives our souls a new life, that is, a sharing in the life of God himself. Grace is divine life in our soul. By it, Christ lives in us and we in Him. St. Paul says, “It is now no longer I that lives, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2, 20). Sanctifying grace makes us holy, a temple of the Holy Spirit, adopted children of God and gives us the right to heaven.

     We also need actual grace from God in our daily lives to give us the strength to do what is right. Actual grace is the supernatural help of God which enlightens our minds and strengthens our will to do good and to avoid evil. The principle ways to obtain grace are prayer and the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist.

     Let us all strive to obtain our heavenly reward each and every day by loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. By loving we will never do anything that is against the teachings of Jesus.  Let the Holy Spirit be our guide at all times.

      Deacon John W. Miller

     

The bulletin for the week of July 27, 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 Sixteenth 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 five years ago. This mass, Sixteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and thirty sixth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father Austin Leger.

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 July 20, 2014 and the Deacon's Corner

The Deacon’s Corner 

While he’s on vacation, Father Brady has invited each of the Deacons of the parish to contribute to the bulletin in the section normally reserved for the Pastor’s Corner… It’s my turn…

In this weekend’s gospel reading, Jesus shares the parable of the Sower of the seeds with his followers. We are reminded that God sows good seeds continually, but that they are always being threatened by those bad seeds that are sown by Satan. We must be vigilant in protecting and nourishing those good seeds that are sown so plentifully.

   This summer has been very fruitful in our youth ministries here at St. Landry. Our very first Vacation Bible School was a big success. It was a joy observing our young people grow in their faith during this weeklong summer camp. I hope that even more of our youngsters are able to participate next summer! A few weekends ago fourteen of our teenagers attended the Steubenville on the Bayou Youth Conference in Houma. Once again, the pleasure of seeing the young people allow themselves to fully participate was well worth the sleep deprivation that the weekend demands. The speakers were amazing. The music was great. But overwhelmingly the participants shared their favorite parts of the conference as Confession, Eucharistic Adoration, and the Mass! Amazing, isn’t it? Steubenville Conference is a great way for our young people to jump start their spirituality. We must do what we can to keep this energy alive!

    Looking forward to the fall season, we are very excited about the beginning of a revised CCD format for our students and their families. Lots of prayer and planning have gone into this endeavor. Father Brady is committed to assisting families in educating their children in our Catholic faith through this home based program of religious instruction for elementary aged students. The high school program is also re-vamped and will consist of weekly classroom instruction. And there is more to come.

    Each weekend I can’t help but notice the increase in the number of young voices and yes, even a few crying babies at Mass… Praise God! He is providing us with the good seeds we need to grow as a parish community. Our children represent the future of our church. Please join me in praying that we are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as he provides us with the fertile ground we need to foster the spiritual nourishment that our good seeds require.

Have a Safe and Christ Filled Summer,

      Deacon Dwayne Joubert

     

The bulletin for the week of July 20, 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 Fifteenth 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 five years ago. This mass, Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and thirty fifth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father Austin Leger.

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 July 13, 2014 and the Deacon's Corner

The Deacon’s Corner 

As most of you may already know, our pastor, Father James Brady is on a well deserved vacation.

As a young and irresponsible person, when my parents were away or when my boss was away, I would think that “when the cat’s away the mice will play” and then I would realize after a very short period of time how important they were in my life. How they would care for me, direct me by helping with life questions and giving me reassurances when I was in doubt. They were the rock that my house was built on.

Of course you and I are not young and irresponsible as we once were and already know the value of our Pastor. We see first hand how important he is to our spiritual well being. He truly is the shepherd of our parish. If not for our priest, there would be no mass and communion. There would be no sacrament of Confession and of course there would be no Anointing of the Sick. Without our priest we would be lost.

I was always taught that a good leader was one who could delegate authority well and diplomatically. Father Brady definitely does this. He has allowed all of his deacons the opportunity to exercise our ministry when needed. For me personally, he has afforded me the opportunity to visit the hospital and the nursing homes within and even outside our parish. He understands the importance of visiting the sick and the elderly. He understands the need for Outreach and that is to reach out to all peoples young and old, the healthy and the not so healthy. His goal, like most good Catholics, is to help others grow in their relationship with God. And we do this not only in what we say but in what we do and how we live our lives.

So Father Brady, enjoy your vacation and know that all of us at St. Landry Catholic Church truly appreciate you and are praying for you.

      May God bless you,

      Deacon Sammy Diesi

     Fr. James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of July 13, 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.

Fourteenth 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 five years ago. This mass, Fourteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and thirty fourth 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 July 6, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This weekend we celebrated Independence Day, July 4, 1776. At this time we celebrate the founding of our country. Over the course of almost 240 years, our country has grown from the thirteen original colonies to 50 states, and she has seen ups (the great growth of our economic prosperity to the extent that poverty, as it was once known, has been re-defined) and downs (the injustice of slavery and abortion), as well as events that were a mix of both (multiple wars where we've lost loved ones willing to die for our freedom, while at the same time being uplifted by their willingness to do so).

Despite the current movement away from the founding principles of our country (as well as our Catholic teaching as it relates to virtue and morality), we are certainly blessed to live in a country where we are able to freely exercise our faith. We have been blessed by ancestors who have handed on to us a legacy of freedom on many levels, a legacy no other modern society has provided for its citizens. In that regard, let us thank God for those who had the foresight and inspiration to establish a society with so many freedoms, thank God for those who throughout our history have defended these freedoms (and given their lives for them) by service in the armed forces, and renew our devotion to God who has given us such a great blessing. We have been given an opportunity to live a life few other people in human history have been given, and as such we have a greater responsibility to take advantage of these freedoms and use them for God's greater glory, especially in living out our Catholic Faith. Let us continue to pray for our country to become more just, let us do what we can to make our country more just, but also let us thank God for the wonderful blessing of being a part of this great country. May God Bless America!

This weekend we also say good-bye to our summer seminarian, Ben Pitre. Although we hate to see him leave us, we are happy for him as he leaves for North American College in Rome to continue his studies for the priesthood. We thank Ben for his service to us and we wish him the best in the pursuit of his vocation. Be sure to say good-bye to him after mass this weekend; or after the 8am and 10am masses, join him for a cup of coffee in the south sacristy. Ben, know of our prayers that God continue to bless you in your vocation!

Finally, this weekend and next I will be out on vacation. Please keep me in your prayers for safe travel, and know that you will remain in mine. Take care and God Bless!

     Fr. James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of July 06, 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.