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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.
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 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.
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