Homily for the First Sunday of Advent

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, the First Sunday of Advent, is our three hundred and fifty fifth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Deacon Dwayne Joubert.

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 November 30, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This weekend, we continue our journey towards Christ with the beginning of our liturgical year. Today, the 1st Sunday of Advent, marks our liturgical “New Year,” which appropriately begins with our preparation for and anticipation of receiving the gift of Christ at Christmas. The Nativity of Our Lord marks the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life, the life of Our Savior that leads to the salvation of the world. The remembrance of these events is intended to help us all re-focus on Christ and His Church by entering more deeply into the mystery of the Incarnation, that is, the mystery of God becoming Man. The first step in preparing to receive Christ fully was heralded by John the Baptist, Jesus' forerunner, who preached repentance and forgiveness of our sins in order to "prepare the way of the Lord."

In that regard, the Diocese of Lafayette is once again sponsoring “The Light is on for You” campaign. During Advent, all church parishes within our diocese will have their “light on for you” on Wednesdays from 6:30 until 8pm for Confessions. Confession is a beautiful sacrament often under-utilized by Catholics. Confession gives us an earthly and tangible experience of God's Mercy, which is not only the forgiveness of our sins, but also the Grace to overcome them and live a life fully in union with Christ. As the words of absolution say, God grants us "pardon and peace." Confession allows us to tangibly experience God’s mercy in the forgiveness of our sins, and His Grace gives us the strength to cast off the burden of sin to live in true freedom and know Him ever more deeply. Confession will prepare us to receive Jesus more fully at Christmas, so I hope we all take advantage of the Sacrament of Confession during the Advent Season.  Please know of my prayers that all of us are blessed with the greatest gift of all at the end of this Advent Season, the gift of a deeper relationship with Christ!

With the beginning of the New Year, I want to thank all those who have helped at the church this year by volunteering to serve our community.  Last weekend we had our annual appreciation dinner for our volunteers and ministers, which went very well.  I want to especially thank Deacon Joubert and Yvonne Normand for coordinating the event, and all those who participated by bringing  food for the dinner.  Without the generosity of time that our volunteers give, from the beginning of the week early on Monday morning to the closing of the church building after the 5pm Mass Sunday evening, our volunteers do so many things that help our church community.  The variety of gifts and talents that have been given to our parishioners and then used to support our community is so important for a community to thrive and live life in Christ.  Please know of my appreciation for your dedication and generosity, and my hope that all of us will continue to be generous with the time, talent and treasure that God has given to us.

.Speaking of giving thanks, as many of you know, I was in Baton Rouge last weekend to celebrate with my parents and family Mom and Dad's 60th Wedding Anniversary.  It was a beautiful event and Mom and Dad very much enjoyed the afternoon.  They wanted me to thank you for them, and I want to thank you for myself, for your prayers and support while they were in the hospital and after,  while they were in recovery.  Your prayers were answered in the affirmative!  Mom and Dad are back home and their health continues to improve.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate how often you all have asked about their well being and let me know you were praying for them.  It has meant a lot to me and to them.  Thanks again!

Finally, as you may have noticed, our statue of St. Jude was missing the last few weeks, but is now back in the church repaired and freshly painted.  Someone from our community, who would like to remain anonymous, volunteered to do the work, and I think it turned out beautifully.  Please keep the volunteer in your prayers and be sure to take a look at the beautiful work on the statue.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of November 30, 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 Feast of Christ the King

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, Christ the King, is our three hundred and fifty 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 the Week of November 23, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, the end of the Church's liturgical year. This celebration is a reminder to us that Jesus can help us to overcome any problem we might have if we let Him reign in our lives. The primary goal of our life here on earth is to live with God in eternity in the next life, and as Christians this must be our first priority. We make this our first priority by following God's commands as Jesus teaches us through His Church in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, and by cooperating with God's Grace by living a life of virtue and prayer in Faith, Hope and Charity. No matter what the circumstances in our lives here on earth, we always have the hope of eternal life in heaven, and nothing on earth has the power to take that away from us. Today we celebrate the gift God has given to us in Jesus' life, death and resurrection, and we renew our resolve to live a life on earth worthy of the eternal life God has promised. Let us praise Christ our King!

Thursday of this week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Mass that day will be at 9am and I hope to see you there. Although Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, it is certainly religious in its theme. This year, there is much for us to thank God as a church parish and community. The generosity of so many of our parishioners in volunteering their time, talent and treasure has been such a great blessing to me as your pastor, and I am grateful to God for the blessing that each of you are to me in my priestly life and in the furtherance of the mission of St. Landry Church: The growth of our knowledge and love of God the Father through the life of Jesus Christ, His Son, prompting us to serve all in charity by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are blessed with three devoted deacons and a hard working and dedicated staff who make all the good things happening here possible. Thanks to them and all of you. I am very blessed to be your pastor!

My hope is that during this time of the year all of us are able to look back and see the blessings that God has given us as a church community and individually during the year and to thank Him. Of course, some of us have suffered during the year, and many have said "good-bye for now" to loved ones who have passed into the next life. However, even if it has been a difficult year for you individually or as a family, we can still thank God for the hope of eternal life that He has given us, a hope that eases the pain of suffering and death in this world with the belief that we will all be joined together again, without pain or suffering, in God's Heavenly Kingdom.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of November 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 33rd 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, the Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and fifty third 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 November 16, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This weekend our Gospel reading is the parable of the "talents" (a "talent" is a coin having a high but varying degree of value, depending on what metal was used to make the coin) in Matthew 25:14-30.  In the parable, the master entrusts to his servants a different number of talents before leaving on a journey.  Upon his return, his servants account for the talents given to each of them.  As we near the end of our liturgical year, when we focus on the end of our life here on earth and the judgment to come when we move into the next life, it is important to remember several things that we are taught in this parable.

First, we are all given talents in this life to be used, with the help of God's Grace, for the building up of God's Kingdom.  All of us are asked to participate in Jesus' mission of salvation, and our participation is important to His mission and our own salvation.  Second, the talents given to us are valuable.  Our world values things for the greater or the lesser, and some things are not considered valuable at all.  However, in God's eyes, every single person is given talents of the same great value, because the value of salvation cannot be measured by earthly standards.  That's the reason we all have the same dignity in Christ Jesus, even if our earthly lives are very different.  Third, we are all called to use our talents to help increase God's kingdom on earth.  The talents with which we have been entrusted are gifts from God to be used for His greater glory.  We have a responsibility to use them for that purpose, and if we live a perfect life, they will be used for that purpose alone.  Fourth, at judgment we will be held accountable  for the use of the talents given to us.  After all, they were gifts freely given to us by God after we had sinned and fallen from His Grace.  In thanksgiving we should return them to Him after using them for the purpose given, that is, our salvation and the salvation of others.  Let us pray that we remember what God has given to us, and then use these gifts to help build up the Body of Christ here on earth.

Last weekend, I was out of town in Baltimore, MD for a presentation on causes of saints given at the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) annual conference.  The purpose was to help us in determining a proper direction for The Friends of Fr. LaFleur in promoting Fr. LaFleur’s cause.  As you know, we as a community have done many things to promote devotion to Fr. LaFleur and spread the work of his heroic and holy life.  We hope to be able to determine a more concrete plan to do things that will make it more likely that a cause for his sainthood will be opened in the future.  Hopefully, the time was well spent and our hope to one day open and pursue a cause for the canonization of Fr. LaFleur will be realized.  Many thanks to Msgr. Melancon and our Deacons for holding down the fort!

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of November 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 Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

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, Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, is our three hundred and fifty second podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Monsignor Louis Melancon.

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 November 9, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Last weekend, we celebrated the feasts of All Saints and All Souls.  Because All Souls day fell on a Sunday this year, we celebrated the liturgy for it instead of our usual Sunday liturgy.  This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the basilica of St. John Lateran, one of the four major basilicas in Rome.  For your information, the four major basilicas are St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, St. Peter, and St. Paul Outside the Walls.  They are all stunning works of beauty, and if you are ever able, it would be quite enriching to visit them.  The Dedication of St. John Lateran is a major feast and also replaces the Sunday liturgy this weekend since November 9 falls on a Sunday.  We might ask the question, "Why do we celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran in the place of our usual Sunday liturgy when other feasts are either passed over or moved to another day?

Obviously, the Church considers the feast of this dedication to be very important.  It is not important because of the church building so much as what it represents.  The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the Pope's cathedral as Bishop of Rome.  The feast of the dedication represents our understanding of the primacy of the Chair of Peter as well as our unity with it.  The Pope is a bishop just like any other bishop in some respects, and therefore is one with them, and thus all of us.  At the same time, however, we recognize the Pope's special place in unifying us in one Faith and one Truth as taught to us by Jesus.  This is the pillar of our Church and Faith:  that we can be sure of being on the right path to Christ in being given the Church to lead and guide us to the Truth.  It underpins our Faith, and gives us confidence in living it.  Without this unity, we could easily deteriorate into different beliefs than the Truth and lose the confidence to live in the right Faith.  Without it, we would not have our peace in Christ.  For this gift of a unified Faith we thank God today.

On another note, there are a couple of odds and ends about which I want to keep you posted.  First, on the Sanctuary Project Campaign work, the tile for the sanctuary floor has been received in New Orleans, so everything is going according to plan so far.  An issue did come up with having to install the altar prior to laying down the flooring, which we are working out now.  Some of what we had planned may have to change depending on when we receive the new altar.  Also, we will begin construction on the bathrooms this week, beginning with the outside bathroom.  Once it is completed, we will then begin work on the inside bathroom, so that at all times we will have at least one working bathroom.

Regarding the brick sign on the south side of the parking lot, we have ordered the granite, and it is in line for production.  We hope that it will be ready for installation some time in November or early December.

Thanks to all whose help and support have made these projects possible.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of November 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 All Soul's Day

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, All Soul's Day, is our three hundred and fifty 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 the Week of November 2, 2014 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

There are a lot of things going on in our parish over the next few months about which I want to keep you apprised.

This weekend we celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day.  We will have a Memorial Mass at 10am Sunday for all those in our community who died over the last year and for their families.  The poster with the names of those who passed into eternal life last year is located in the sanctuary of the church in front of the Blessed Mother Altar, as she is the Mother of Consolation.  Please know of my prayers for the consolation of all those who mourn the loss of a loved one, and please keep them in your prayers.  We will continue to celebrate this remembrance for the next few weeks until the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, as usual we will focus on helping those who are in need during the Thanksgiving holiday season.  We will again place baskets at the doors of the church during the month of November for food donations.  The donations will be sent to ICON for distribution to those in need in our community.  Please bring non-perishable food to help those in need.

In addition to food donations, we are also going to leave the baskets at the doors during the month of December to collect clothing donations.  As winter approaches, there is a greater need for adequate clothing.  Please  help with  donations of new or lightly used clothing for adults and children of all ages.

We are also excited to announce that we have obtained the services of a choir director for our youth, Mr. Rafael Henry.  Mr. Henry is the choir director at St. Leo Parish in Lafayette and teaches at J.S. Clark Middle School.  The organizational meeting for the choir is Thursday, November 6 at 5:15pm in the church.  All high school age youth are welcome to come and participate.  Hope to see you all there!

Finally, myself and Deacon Joubert (who is the real chef in this operation) will be participating in a gumbo cook-off to benefit John Paul the Great Academy.  The event will be held on Saturday evening, November 15 at 6pm at Vermillionville in Lafayette.  Many priests of the diocese, many of whom you know, will be participating.  It should be a fun time for all.  Please come out and support a good cause, and, of course, vote for me!!

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

     

The bulletin for the week of November 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.