Bulletin for the Week of December 20, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Today we celebrate the fourth and final Sunday of Advent.  As the time celebrating the birth of our Savior approaches, we should intensify our preparation and anticipation of celebrating the Incarnation of our Lord.  This Fourth Sunday of Advent reminds us we have a mission here on earth.  In our Gospel reading today, we hear the story of The Visitation, where our Blessed Mother, after being told her mission by the angel Gabriel, follows his directions and visits her cousin Elizabeth.  One goal of our life on earth is to fulfill the mission God has given to us, whether it be wife, husband, single person, mother, father or religious.  God created us for this mission, but he made us free, so we are able to accept or reject the role He has given us in His overall plan of salvation as well as His plan for OUR salvation.  If we allow God to speak to us through the life of Jesus, not only this week, but at all times, then we can discern what is truly good for us in our lives and live a life at His direction.  Whatever mission God has for us, He will provide the Grace to accomplish it.  Once we determine what God is asking, then we decide whether or not to accept His invitation.  During this last week of Advent, as we prepare for and anticipate the coming of Jesus to the world, in our prayer let us put ourselves in a position to hear God's voice and accept the Graces Jesus gives us to fulfill our mission.

This week we also begin to celebrate Christmas.  Of course, we celebrate Christmas Day on Friday in a special way as the birthday of Jesus.  However, we continue to celebrate the Christmas Season until the Baptism of the Lord, which is celebrated on January 10, 2016.  For the most part, the secular world will be finished with Christmas by the day after December 25th.  We, on the other hand, will continue to celebrate the Mystery of the Incarnation for more than two weeks. Our Blessed Mother reflected on the marvel of the Incarnation in her heart (Luke 2:19).  So should we.  Let's not just enjoy Christmas Day, but the Christmas Season.

Enjoy reflecting on the gift God the Father has given us in His Son.  Enjoy reflecting on the gift Jesus has given us in His Life, Death and Resurrection, the events that have led to our salvation.  Enjoy reflecting on the gift of the Holy Spirit, who prompts and empowers us to live a life in imitation of Christ.  Ponder the gift of eternal life (our one true Hope) given to us if we follow Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Let us, as a community, not follow the world in allowing Christmas to end after December 25, but rather keep the Christmas spirit in our hearts all year by continuing to celebrate and reflect on the great gift we have all received at Christmas:  the gift of God Himself dwelling among us and leading us to eternal life with Him.

For all those who are out of town for Christmas, know of my prayers for you and wishes for your Merry Christmas!

Priest on Call for the Hospital
Last week I mentioned that the best way to get a hold of a priest outside of business hours was to call the office and choose option 5.  However, I forgot to mention that if the emergency is a hospital emergency then the best way to get in contact with a priest is to ask the hospital personnel to contact the priest on call.  There is a priest on call 7 days a week for Opelousas General, and all of the Lafayette hospitals have chaplains, so if the emergency call is for a hospital visit, the best way to contact a priest is through the hospital.

Sanctuary Lighting
Just an update on the sanctuary lighting...  We tried to install new lighting last week, but unfortunately ran into some problems.  The sanctuary lighting will not installed until after the first of the year.  Remember, patience is a virtue!

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

            Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of December 20, 2015 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.