Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Homily

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, Twenty Second Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and forty second 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 August 31, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Last weekend, we began our newly organized CCD program for our young people.  As you may recall, three years ago we decided to discontinue the CCD summer program because of lack of participation and effectiveness, so CCD was offered to our children through the programs conducted at the other three parishes in Opelousas, namely Holy Ghost, Our Lady Queen of Angels and Our Lady of Mercy.  The option to participate in these other programs is still available to our families that choose to do so.

Our newly constituted program instructs our children who are entering the first grade through their junior year in high school.  The program is divided into two parts:  the elementary children are instructed at home by their parents and meet once a month in Valentin Hall between the 8am and 10am Masses for testing, parental instruction and questions, and to receive the new assignments for the following month.  The junior high and high school students meet on Sunday afternoons prior to the 5pm Mass for regular in-class instruction.

The revival of the CCD program is an exciting event for our parish, as it indicates growth in our parish family and the need to provide this service to our families with school age children.  We are very excited about the program, especially the home instruction component, which will provide a great benefit to not only our children, but to the parents and entire family as well.  Deacon Joubert is leading the program, and we want to thank him and the volunteers from our parish who have made the program possible!  Please keep them, the parents, and the children participating in the program in your prayers.

Speaking of Deacon Joubert, we are also excited that this year he will be teaching two sections of high school religion at Opelousas Catholic.  These classes are scheduled in the morning and will be one section each of the freshman classes and one section of the sophomore classes. We thank him for his willingness to serve our children in this capacity.  Please keep him in your prayers that he effectively teaches  our children about the salvation Jesus offers them, and that he continues to be a good role model for our youth.

Finally, with the beginning of the school year, we should note that one of our parishioner's daughters, Jennifer Miller, the daughter of Curt and Jeannette Miller, will begin to teach at Notre Dame Seminary this Fall.  Jennifer has studied at the Pontifical Universities of the Angelicum and the Gregorian in Rome, as well as the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Rome.  She received her doctorate with a thesis on Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.  She has accepted the position of Professor of Moral Theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, where she will teach seminarians, including seminarians from our diocese.  We thank her for her service to the Church in this most important calling, and we also thank her parents and family for providing the "fertile soil" for her vocation to be fulfilled.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of August 31, 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 21st 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, Twenty First Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and forty first 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 Week of August 24, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

In the next few weeks, we hope to complete the brick sign that has been installed on the short stretch of the street just after the corner that connects N. Union Street to N. Main Street.  The brick work is nearly completed, and we plan to install an engraved granite sign in the brick frame.  Many have asked questions over the last few weeks about what the construction was; and if it is a sign, what's it going to say?  The sign will simply say "St. Landry Catholic Church."

      As a matter of history, the plans to install a marquee sign for the church have been long in the making.  When I first arrived here four years ago, several of our parishioners suggested that we should take advantage of one of the busiest corners in the city by making sure people not from Opelousas driving through town knew what the church building was, that is, the name of the church and the faith of the congregation.  The people of Opelousas, of course, know St. Landry Church and refer to her affectionately as "The Big Church;" However, there are many who travel from Sunset to Washington who may not be familiar with our beautiful church building.

      It was true that we had no marquee sign for the church, so we began to look at the project more in earnest about two years ago.  We selected the location because it was a busy street and would have the best visibility since it would be set above the road.  The sign could be set far enough back so that it would not block the view needed to safely check for traffic when exiting the parking lot.  One of our parishioners, who does not wish to be recognized by name, offered to pay the expenses for construction of the sign.  Since we are in the historic district, there were certain limitations on the size of the sign and its composition, so we submitted the plans to the historical committee and they were approved.  Finally we began the process of selecting a contractor, and we are so happy that Lenard Bertrand was able to do the project.

      The "sign project" has been discussed at the Parish Advisory Board meetings for some time...as a matter of fact, the monthly report on the status of the sign construction has been a running joke at meetings because it has taken so long to finally get to construction.  I am so glad we are finally near completion of the project.

      I think the sign turned out beautifully, not only because it is of high quality, but also because it is consistent with the beautiful architecture of the buildings on the church grounds and it fits the personality of our church community:  Traditional and Welcoming.  We thank Deacon Diesi for heading up the project, the parishioner whose generosity made the construction possible and Lenard Bertrand for constructing the sign. 

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of August 24, 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 20th 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, Twentieth Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and fortieth 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 August 17, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Our annual Memorial Mass for Fr. LaFleur will take place on Sunday, September 7, 2014 at the 10am Mass.  This year the anniversary of Fr. LaFleur,s death falls on a Sunday, and this gives us the opportunity for our entire community to learn about the extraordinary life of Fr. Lafleur.  Below is an invitation to you to attend.  Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this celebration of the life of a saint for whom St. Landry Church is "home."

LT. FATHER JOSEPH VERBIS LAFLEUR MEMORIAL MASS

 The ‘Friends of Lt. Fr. LaFleur’ request your presence to commemorate the 70^th Anniversary of the death of Lt. Father Joseph Verbis LaFleur, Chaplain-United States Army Air Corps, on Sunday, September 7, 2014 at the 10:00am Mass at St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, LA. The Celebrant and Homilist will be The Very Reverend Monsignor Jefferson DeBlanc, Pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church in Church Point, Louisiana, and Episcopal Vicar for the West Region of the Diocese of Lafayette.

Joseph Verbis LaFleur was born in Ville Platte on January 24, 1912. Later, he would move with his family to nearby Opelousas, where he faithfully served as an altar boy at St. Landry Church during his youth.  St. Landry Church is also where he celebrated his first Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving following his ordination to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lafayette in 1938. Fr. LaFleur’s first and only diocesan assignment was to St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville, during which he sought and was granted permission to join the U.S. Army Air Corps.  He was sent to serve at Clark Field in the Philippine Islands before the United States entered World War II.

During his service, Father LaFleur was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, and Bronze star for his valor. He was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese, and on September 7, 1944, he and several hundred other prisoners were killed when the ship upon which they were being transported was torpedoed. Father LaFleur’s body was never recovered, but memories of survivors report that he was last seen aiding others to escape the sinking ship. His memorial monument in front of St. Landry Church serves as our tangible remembrance of his life, as he indicated that if he died during his service to our country that he desired to be buried at St. Landry Church. He is also remembered in the chaplain's memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.  The year 2014 marks the 70th anniversary of his death.

All are invited and encouraged to attend the Memorial Mass on September 7th. Learn more about Father LaFleur by visiting http://www.fatherlafleur.org or by purchasing the book chronicling his life, "But He Dies Not,” available in our church office or at Catholic bookstores in Lafayette

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of August 17, 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 19th 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, Nineteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and thirty nineth 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 August 10, 2014 - and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This week we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother on Friday, August 15.  In the Assumption, we celebrate our Blessed Mother being taken up to heaven body and soul, a day which we ourselves look forward to at the Second Coming.  It is a holy day of obligation, meaning that we are obligated to attend Mass that day just as if it were Sunday.  We have a special mass schedule for this day, beginning with a vigil mass on Thursday, August 14 at 5:30pm.  Masses on Friday will be at 8:40am (school mass), 12:05pm and 5:30pm.  In celebration of this holy day, our offices will be closed.

In addition, school starts this week and we welcome back all the students, faculty and staff at Opelousas Catholic. We also pray for students, teachers and staff at other schools or who are schooled at home. The beginning of the school year brings excitement to all as we think of our young people continuing the journey of their education, not only an education in academics, but also their growth in faith and human maturity. Of course, they are growing physically, and it always amazes me how much our children grow each summer!

As we begin this school year, let us pray that our children and teachers have a safe and successful year, developing the talents given to them by God for use in service to Him and our neighbor. May they, and we, continue to grow in religious maturity, that is, in the growth of faith, hope and charity over the coming nine months.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of August 10, 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 Eighteenth 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, Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and thirty 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 August 3, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

  It is good to be back home!  I want to thank all those who helped while I was away on vacation:  Msgr. Melancon and Fr. Leger, our three deacons and of course our staff.  All seemed to run smoothly and I very much appreciate their help in allowing me to get a little break.  As we begin to prepare for the coming year, there are many exciting things going on in our parish, and I just wanted to mention a few that are coming up.

Initially, as you are aware, we will begin work pursuant to the Sanctuary Project Campaign.  For now, the campaign is going well and I am confident we will reach our goal.  Please continue the good work in getting the word out about the campaign!  I will give a more formal report when we have our stewardship weekend and yearly financial report during the weekend of September 20th and 21st.  At that time, we will better know the time frames for when the work will begin and be completed on each project.

In addition, we will have a Faith Rally for Opelousas Catholic and her five owner-parishes, which are St. Landry, Holy Ghost, Our Lady of Mercy, Queen of Angels and Immaculate Conception (Washington).  This Faith Rally has been tentatively scheduled for Saturday, October 18, 2014 from 9am to 1pm at Opelousas Catholic.  All parishioners and their families (it is intended for those in the sixth grade or older) are invited to celebrate a united Catholic Community in Opelousas, and this includes not only families that attend Opelousas Catholic, but all families of these five church parishes, including our families who school at home or at public schools.  Please mark your calendar for this special event, as music, faith sharing, and nationally renowned speakers are tentatively scheduled for the event.  More details will be coming as plans become more final.

Finally, I am excited to announce that we will begin to provide more formal ministerial services to our parishioners who live at the New Life Center.  Although the details are still being worked out, we are excited to be able to work with our brothers and sisters at New Life, and we hope they look forward to working with us!  Once the details are ironed out, we will ask for volunteers to assist in the different ministries and activities, so in the mean time please keep your heart open to helping with this ministry.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of August 03, 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.