Homily for the Fourth 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 six years ago. This mass, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred twenty fourth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Deacon Sammy Diesi.

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 January 31, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Our March for Life group returned home safe and sound late last Monday night from Washington, D.C.  We very much appreciate all your prayers while we were stranded.  We thank God for getting us home and at the same time allowing us to witness to the dignity of life in the march as well to do all the scheduled touring.  The blizzard began towards the end of the march, which was Friday afternoon.  The march was the end of our trip, so for the blizzard, it was for us just a matter of staying safe inside the hotel and waiting to be cleared for travel.  Little enough compared to what others had to endure.  

I would like to thank the parents and students who made the trip.  During the entire trip they were flexible and patient.  John Braham was, as usual, an able leader who kept us informed of things and with the help of our principal, Mr. John Cavell, they navigated the various procedures that were needed to both stay safe and get home.  The hotel was wonderful (The Hotel Harrington) and many restaurant staff persons in the area stayed at the hotel so that enough restaurants were open to feed the tourists.  It was very kind of them to do so when their own homes and families were also subject to the storm.  The experience certainly reminded me of our vulnerability as well as the general goodness of so many people at a time in history when we seem to highlight, at least in the news, the negative things that go on.  With all that being said, it's certainly good to be home! 

Valentin Hall
It is exciting that we will begin work on Valentin Hall very shortly.  As some of you might have noticed, a window was removed from the south side of the building and plywood was installed.  This was a "test window" so the contractors could determine the structure of the frame for the new windows.  The first phase of the project will be to replace all the windows with windows of similar style, but double pane.  This will help with energy usage and cost and greatly improve the look for the building.  This work should begin in earnest over the next month.

Besides the windows, some of the main features of the work that will be done include:

1.  Accessibility to the building and a bathroom for those with physical limitations; 
2.  Two other newly renovated bathrooms; 
3.  Central air and heat for the entire building (no more window units/space heaters!);
4.  Addition of a third conference/meeting room;
5.  Newly renovated kitchen more suited to our parish needs;
6.  Increased and properly finished office space on both floors;
7.  Adequate lighting and wiring throughout the building;
8.  Depending on the availability of funds, surfacing the gravel parking lot with asphalt.

As I mentioned when we announced this project, there is no need for a capital campaign so long as we meet our goal for the weekly offering, which to this point we have (of course, donations are never turned down should your heart be so moved by the Holy Spirit!).  Thanks so much for your generosity!  Also, please keep the project in your prayers.  As with any large renovation project, we won't know the full extent of what is necessary until we begin, so let's pray that we find what we expect! 

            Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of January 31, 2016 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 Third 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 six years ago. This mass, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred twenty third 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 January 24, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

With the beginning of the new year, a spring time of sorts comes early to our parish - the beginning of sacramental preparation of our children for their First Confession and First Communion, and of our young adults for their reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation. We have approximately 20 of our children preparing for their First Confession and First Communion, and about 30 or so of our young adults preparing for Confirmation. This time of year is a good time for us a parish community to reflect on the goodness of God in giving us the gifts of the sacraments, which are channels of grace that help us to live the Christian vocation and mission given to each of us. Please remember in your prayers all those preparing to receive sacraments this year, their families and our church community, as these times are definitely times of great joy and thanksgiving for all of us!

There are several other upcoming activities about which you should know. We will administer the Anointing of the Sick at the 4pm Mass Saturday, February 6 in connection with the World Day of the Sick (which is The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11). Please see the announcement below for details about it. Anointing of the Sick, of course, is also available at any time for those in need. Just call the office to set up a time for a visit.

Lent is also just around the corner (Ash Wednesday is February 10), so we should be making preparations for our prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Weekly activities that we currently have at St. Landry that can help us with our prayer life during Lent, or any other time of year, are:

       Mondays at 10am and 6pm Bible Study

      Tuesdays at 6pm: Come, Lord Jesus! (Prayer and Scripture Study focused on Sunday's Gospel Reading);

    Wednesdays at 5:45am: That Man Is You! (Presentation and Discussion on Men's Spirituality);

    Wednesdays at 5:15pm: Come, Lord Jesus! (Prayer and Scripture Study focused on Sunday's First Reading).

Finally, for those baptized adults who have not received the sacrament of Confirmation, we will have an Adult Confirmation Class led by Deacon Diesi on Monday evenings, with Confirmation taking place at the Easter Vigil on March 26, 2016. Please call Deacon Diesi at the office for more details. Let's hope that in these activities we can come to greater knowledge and love of Our Savior during the Lenten Season.

World Day of the Sick 

February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, is designated as World Day of the Sick. The focus of this remembrance is prayer for healing and the redemptive value of suffering. In conjunction with this day, we will offer Anointing of the Sick at the 4pm Mass on February 6 for those who suffer from a serious illness or are infirmed due to age. If you or someone you know would like to receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, please make plans to come to this Mass. If one is unable to walk up to Communion at regular Masses, then they should sit in the pews marked and reserved at the front of the church. This is a wonderful way for us as a community to support and pray for those who suffer from illness or the burden of years, and for them to receive the Grace of strength to bear their burden in the light of the salvation of the world and the hope for eternal life. 

            Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of January 24, 2016 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 Second 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 six years ago. This mass, the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred twenty 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 January 17, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

On Friday of this week we will mark the 43rd anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which required states to legalize abortion. Since that date, some 50 plus million children were never given the opportunity to live the life God intended to give them, something we may take for granted. Science is slowly but surely catching up to what we have always known in faith, that life begins at the time of conception and should be nurtured and protected from that time, just like any human being who has been born. In this day and age, the value of human life and its dignity is not fully recognized by the world in general, nor in our society in particular. It would be naive and foolish to believe that many of our recent tragic events which we all mourn as a nation, whether it be terrorism or school shootings, are not related to this lack of respect for human life in general. Let's do our best in word and action to help change the minds and hearts of all to respect and cherish all human life as the gift from God that it is, and to respect and dignify all people not only in the big things, but in the little things.

The Catholic Church has been in the forefront of the movement to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. More importantly, though, our Church has been in the forefront of trying to change the minds and hearts of individuals and our society about abortion. We do this in several ways, not the least of which is to publicly protest the injustice of abortion. In that regard, this week I will join a group of students and parents from Opelousas Catholic to travel to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Pro-Life Rally and March for Life. The March for Life is the longest sustained annual civil rights protest in our nation. Not all of us can travel to Washington, D.C. to march, but I do hope that as many of us as possible will participate in our local march here in Opelousas, which will be held on Saturday, January 30. It begins at 10am at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church with a short program.  The keynote speaker will be Krista Corbello, Youth Programs Co-director of the Louisiana Right to Life Federation.  The march will depart from Queen of Angels and proceed to The New Life Center, where the Catholic Daughters will provide refreshments.  The march should be finished around noon.

On a personal level, and in Christian charity, we all have a duty to help those who participate or have participated in abortion to see the immorality of the act, be they the mothers, the fathers, the doctors or the nurses, and to repent. We also have a duty to help those who have participated in abortion to heal, especially on a spiritual level, as no sin is greater than God's mercy. Rachael's Vineyard is a diocesan program designed for men and woman who have participated in abortion and tries to facilitate healing of the wound left by the abortion. If you know of anyone who might benefit from this program, please inform them of the program's availability so that they, who often are also victims of abortion because of the harm it has done to them, might begin the healing process. For information, they can call our office or contact the Diocese of Lafayette directly. Finally, if we know someone considering an abortion, we should try to persuade them to give life to their child. We should not be afraid to voice the right thing to do and try to persuade their hearts and minds. If I can ever be of assistance in such a situation, please contact me and I will be happy to help.

            Father James Brady

YEAR OF MERCY – PLENARY INDULGENCE


The Year of Mercy began on December 8, 2015, and will continue until November 20, 2016.  The Diocese of Lafayette has designated ten sites as places of pilgrimage for the year.  Books have been printed with the locations and days of the week and times when the locations are open to visitors.  Visiting the places of pilgrimage and following the guidelines listed on the Diocesan Website (diolaf.org), one can obtain plenary indulgences.  Stamps are available at each site for you to stamp the location on the booklet so that you have a keepsake at the end of the year.  The Acadiana Catholic will also have the list available in their next edition so one can use either the booklets printed or the magazine when visiting the sites.  This is a wonderful opportunity for us to visit churches and shrines in our diocese and lift each other up in prayer as we show mercy during this very special year.

The bulletin for the week of January 17, 2016 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 Baptism 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 six years ago. This mass, the Baptism of the Lord, is our four hundred twenty 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 January 10, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

We come to the end of the Christmas Season today in celebrating the Baptism of the Lord. The Baptism of Jesus reminds us of our own baptism. By our Baptism the Gates of Heaven are thrown open to us and we received the Grace to live a Christian Life. However, we must cooperate with our Baptismal Grace, that is, we must accept the Grace and act upon it. God never forces Himself into our lives. The heart of our life as Christians is that we freely give ourselves to God for His purpose.

Although Grace is a free gift given by God and as such is nothing that we merit or can earn, we can dispose ourselves to receive fully His Grace by undertaking prayer and the study of our faith and by practicing virtue. In this way, we are "formed" into the life of Christ. Christian Formation is a combination of study, prayer and worship (both formal and in the lives we lead) that directs and leads us towards Christ.

Our church parish provides opportunities for such activities. We have two Come, Lord Jesus! groups that meet on Tuesday's at 6pm and Wednesday's at 5:15pm. These groups combine prayer and scripture study that focuses on the Mass readings for the following Sunday. For men, we have "That Man is You" which is directed by Deacon Joubert that meets Wednesday mornings at 5:45am. We also have a formal bible study directed by Deacon Miller which meets at 10am and 6pm on Mondays.  Also, I highly recommend a yearly retreat for all as part of our continuing formation. It is a time of quiet and reflection, something critical to a good spiritual life.  A men's retreat from our parish is held each year at Our Lady of the Oaks in Grand Coteau, and there are woman's retreats as well.  In addition to these things, we also have charitable and fraternal organizations, such as The Catholic Daughters and the Knights of Columbus who provide plenty of opportunity to put our faith into action in activities such as the monthly breakfast at New Life Center.  We all should have activities that help us continue to learn about Jesus and express our beliefs in our actions.

With the beginning of Ordinary Time this week, we again thank all those who made our celebration of Christmas so beautiful here at St. Landry. The music was wonderful throughout, and we thank our musicians and singers: The Adult Choir and their director J.P. Porrier, the Youth Choir and their director, Rafael Henry; and Marla Faust, Megan Wilkes and Millie Boudreaux. Our Altar Society did a wonderful job in decorating the church, and they were coordinated by Deacon Joubert and Yvonne Normand. We thank our various ministers at the liturgies, our readers, extraordinary ministers, servers and sacristans who volunteered their time and made adjustments to their personal schedules to serve us. We thank those who donated to the flower fund, making it possible to beautifully decorate
our sanctuary and church.  Thanks to all!!

            Father James Brady

YEAR OF MERCY – PLENARY INDULGENCE


The Year of Mercy began on December 8, 2015, and will continue until November 20, 2016.  The Diocese of Lafayette has designated ten sites as places of pilgrimage for the year.  Books have been printed with the locations and days of the week and times when the locations are open to visitors.  Visiting the places of pilgrimage and following the guidelines listed on the Diocesan Website (diolaf.org), one can obtain plenary indulgences.  Stamps are available at each site for you to stamp the location on the booklet so that you have a keepsake at the end of the year.  The Acadiana Catholic will also have the list available in their next edition so one can use either the booklets printed or the magazine when visiting the sites.  This is a wonderful opportunity for us to visit churches and shrines in our diocese and lift each other up in prayer as we show mercy during this very special year.

The bulletin for the week of January 10, 2016 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.

Radio Maria Interview about the cause for Father Lafleur

Radio Maria interviewed our pastor, Father James Brady, on the cause for Father Lafleur. The interview covered a number of other topics including the history of our church, the sacraments, and many other items. It starts 2 minutes and 50 seconds into this broadcast:

Click here to hear the Radio Maria interview from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.

Homily for the Epiphany

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 six years ago. This mass, the Epiphany, is our four hundred twentieth 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.

Homily for Mary Mother of God

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 six years ago. This mass, Mary Mother of God, is our four hundred nineteenth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father Jerry Mesley.

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