Third Sunday of Lent

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 of Lent, is our four hundred thirty 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 February 28, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

As I mentioned last weekend, we have a new bishop!  Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, last week named the Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette.  Bishop Deshotel has been serving as Auxiliary of the Diocese of Dallas since 2010.  We are sincerely grateful for the devoted service of Bishop Michael Jarrell who has served as our Ordinary for the last fourteen years, and we are very excited to welcome our new shepherd.

Bishop Deshotel was born on January 6, 1952 in Basile, Louisiana, as the third of eight children to Welfoot Paul Deshotel and Luna Marie Manual.  After attending Immaculata Minor Seminary High School in Lafayette, he went on to attend Holy Trinity Seminary in Texas, where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy, and a Masters of Divinity from the University of Dallas.  On May 13, 1978, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas by Bishop Maurice Schexnayder in his hometown church of St. Augustine’s in Basile. On April 27, 2010, he was ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of Dallas by Bishop Kevin J. Farrell in the Cathedral Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.

Bishop Deshotel's assignments have included associate pastor and pastor of various church parishes throughout the Diocese of Dallas, as well as Vice Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas. Additionally, he has served on the Diocesan Presbyteral Council; Diocesan Priests’ Personnel Board; Diocesan Finance Council; Bishop’s Senior Staff; Diocesan Review Board; Diocesan College of Consultors; and Region X Chairman, USCCB.

"24 Hours for the Lord" 
In conjunction with our celebration of "The Year of Mercy," we've been asked to have a special celebration next weekend entitled "24 Hours for the Lord."  It is intended, during this season of Lent, to help us focus on God's Mercy in a special way.  The Gospel reading next Sunday is "The Prodigal Son," a most beautiful passage that exemplifies God's passionate love for us and His desire that we "come back to him."  Not only are our sins forgiven if we do, but we are restored to the full dignity God intended for us from the very beginning.

Besides our usual First Friday Eucharistic Adoration (NOTE:  Adoration will be in the church instead of Valentin Chapel), we will have several additional opportunities for prayer and worship.  The prayers and activities include additional time for Confession, The Rosary, Stations of the Cross, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  The bulletin insert this week contains the schedule of events, all of which will be in the church.  It is a great way for families to come and pray together, especially our young children, who may not experience as much as they should the traditional prayers of the church.  I hope you are able to make some of the activities.

The Statue of St. Joseph and Our Blessed Mother 
The statue of St. Joseph has been restored and returned to its proper place in the church.  I think by all measures the work done has turned out beautifully.  We want to thank the volunteer and her family for donating their time and talent for the restoration of our statues.  All they ask is that we keep them and their family in our prayers, which I hope we all will do.

The new colors on the statues are intended to more closely follow the color scheme of our stain glass windows.  Our Blessed Mother statue is currently being worked on, and some have asked about how she will look when completed.  She will look much like she does in the stained glass windows.  The statue should be quite beautiful when completed.  For now, we have moved the Blessed Mother statue from the Valentin Hall Chapel to the church while we await the return of the newly restored Blessed Mother statue.  Thanks again to those who helped make this possible!

            Father James Brady

The Spiritual Works of Mercy: Counsel the Doubtful ✢ Instruct the Ignorant ✢ Admonish
Sinners ✢ Comfort the Afflicted ✢ Forgive Offenses ✢ Bear Wrongs Patiently ✢ Pray for the Living and the Dead


The Corporal Works of Mercy: Feed the Hungry ✢ Give Drink to the Thirsty ✢ Clothe the Naked ✢ Shelter the Homeless ✢ Visit the Sick ✢ Visit the Imprisoned ✢ Bury the Dead

The bulletin for the week of February 28, 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.

Lenten Mission Night 3 - February 24 2016

Lenten Mission - Night 3!

The mission is given by Father Glenn LeCompte.

So, take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to download the Lenten Mission Night 3 from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.

Lenten Mission Night 2 - February 23 2016

Lenten Mission - Night 2!

The mission is given by Father Glenn LeCompte.

So, take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to download the Lenten Mission Night 2 from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.

Lenten Mission Night 1 - February 22 2016

Lenten Mission - Night 1!

The mission is given by Father Glenn LeCompte.

So, take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to download the Lenten Mission Night 1 from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent

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 of Lent, is our four hundred twenty seventh podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father Glenn LeCompte.

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 February 21, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This weekend, we are happy to welcome Fr. Glenn LeCompte to introduce our annual Lenten Mission.  The title of the mission is:  "A Mission of Mercy:  A Lenten Parish Mission for the Year of Mercy."  Fr. LeCompte holds a Master of Divinity Degree from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology with a focus on Sacred Scripture from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  A former professor of Sacred Scripture and Director of Music at Notre Dame Seminary, Fr. LeCompte now serves the Diocese of Houma-Thibodeaux as Director of the Offices of Worship and Priest's Continuing Education.  An experienced retreat and mission presenter, Fr. LeCompte is also a published composer of original liturgical music and has provided guitar accompaniment on "Honoring Mary, Our Mother," a recording of Marian hymns by New Orleans mezzo-soprano, Megan Dearie.  In his retreats, Fr. LeCompte combines his rich background in Sacred Scripture with prayerful music.

Fr. LeCompte was one of my professors of Sacred Scripture while I was a seminarian at Notre Dame Seminary, and his classes on the Pentateuch, the Psalms and Wisdom books opened my eyes and heart to how God speaks to us, teaches us and leads us in the Bible.  I very much look forward to him leading on this mission and coming to better understand and more deeply appreciate God's Mercy.  I hope all of you are able to attend.  The mission will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  Mass will be at 5:30pm each night, and the mission talk will follow shortly thereafter.

Questions about Fasting and Abstinence 
Following up on the homily last weekend, the following is a brief explanation of the reasoning for fasting and for abstinence.

Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by all Catholics in good health and who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. Those who are bound to fast may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to each one’s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted. Some of the spiritual goals of Fasting are to remind us to create a place in our lives where we hunger for God and God alone, and to remind us that we are weak, mortal beings who are totally dependent on God and blessed and loved by him. The money saved from our fasting is also rightly given as alms to the poor and needy among us.

Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Catholics in good health and who are 14 years or older on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and on all Fridays of Lent.  Abstinence from meat is not required on other Fridays during the year, but some form of penance or self-denial should be observed on Fridays in remembrance of Jesus' passion and death caused by our sins.  Abstinence from meat is meant to be a penitential practice, and the money saved in our simpler meals is also rightly given as alms to the poor and needy among us. 

Naturally, this determination of certain days as obligatory days of fast, abstinence and penance should not be understood as limiting the occasions for Christian penance during the season of Lent or through the rest of the year.

            Father James Brady

The Spiritual Works of Mercy: Counsel the Doubtful ✢ Instruct the Ignorant ✢ Admonish
Sinners ✢ Comfort the Afflicted ✢ Forgive Offenses ✢ Bear Wrongs Patiently ✢ Pray for the Living and the Dead


The Corporal Works of Mercy: Feed the Hungry ✢ Give Drink to the Thirsty ✢ Clothe the Naked ✢ Shelter the Homeless ✢ Visit the Sick ✢ Visit the Imprisoned ✢ Bury the Dead

The bulletin for the week of February 21, 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 First Sunday of Lent

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 First Sunday of Lent, is our four hundred twenty sixth 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 February 14, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This past week we began the Lenten Season, a time of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. During the Season of Lent, we focus on many things, such as repentance and the forgiveness of sins, and increased prayer (Love of God), almsgiving (Love of Neighbor) and fasting (Discipline). We try to put ourselves in a position to grow closer to God and each other by the gift of His Grace.  Lent is a time when we reflect on our struggles to follow Jesus, and we watch Jesus show us The Way to eternal life so that we can imitate Him in our own lives.  I once again look forward to making this Lenten Journey with you.

Lent recognizes the reality that we still struggle in our earthly life despite the fact that our Savior died and has risen from the dead.  Salvation is ours, but we still struggle in this life to be rid of sin and to do what is good. We will have this struggle our entire lives.  The reason for this is that God will not impair our freedom and make us follow Him and we have a Fallen Nature which can make us inclined to selfishness and sin.  Our love of God and Neighbor is a choice, and a choice is no choice if we are not free to make it.  Therefore, we are always free to accept or reject the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the Grace to do what God asks of us.  In our Fallen Nature, we struggle with making the right choices.  Scripture tells us that we are all sinners, and our sins always affect us and others negatively.  Sin produces our struggle in this life, whether it be our own sins or the sins of others.  During Lent, we try, with the aid of God's Grace, to rid sin from our lives and be filled up with the Grace of Goodness.

A reminder that there are many additional opportunities for prayer and study during Lent here at St. Landry, and these activities were listed in a bulletin insert last weekend (additional inserts are on the tables in the back of the church) and are listed in the calendar in this bulletin. It's never too late to start these activities. We hope you are able to participate in at least some of them as we journey through Lent and move towards the immediate events that led to our salvation, the Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. 

We hope that these activities can help all of us grow closer to Jesus during the season of Lent so that we can celebrate the joy of Easter more deeply.  In recognizing our own sinfulness during Lent, we better understand the Love God shows us in the life and death of our Savior.  Therefore, in His Resurrection that we celebrate at Easter we can better appreciate the gift of eternal life despite our unworthiness.  Hopefully, we will then be more open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to live better lives! 

            Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of February 14, 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 Fifth 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 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred twenty fifth 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 February 7, 2016 - and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This Wednesday is "Ash Wednesday" and marks the beginning of our annual Lenten journey. The season of Lent is a time of focusing on repentance and the forgiveness of our sins, and discipline in our spiritual life, focusing on three things: Prayer, Almsgiving and Fasting. As your pastor, it is part of my mission to provide you with the tools you need to be disposed to receive the gift of God's Grace.  

During Lent, we will have many activities to help foster a good prayer life.  In its totality, prayer is simply our relationship with God.  In this bulletin is an insert for your review containing the many activities we have during the Lenten Season which provide opportunities for prayer, study and  fellowship.  For families, some of these activities are perfect for a Lenten family activity, such as the Stations of the Cross and the Soup and Bread Dinner.  Other things are more individual, such as Come, Lord Jesus! and  Bible Study.  It is up to you to seek to examine your life and what is the needed for increased "prayer, almsgiving and fasting" in you or your family's life.  For those of you who would like to join Come, Lord Jesus! (a combination of prayer and scripture study) there will be a beginners group during the Lenten Season and sign-up sheets are posted at the doors of the church.  

Finally, please mark your calendar for our Lenten Parish Mission, which will be given by Msgr. Glenn LeCompte, a scholar of Sacred Scripture and my former seminary professor.  The Mission will focus on our Lenten Journey and the Book of Isaiah.  The Mission will be introduced at the weekend Masses February 20-21, and will take place February 22, 23 and 24 at 6pm in the church.  Mass will precede the Parish Mission presentations at 5:30pm for those who may not have had an opportunity to attend Mass during the day.

We hope that these activities help all of us grow closer to Jesus during the season of Lent so that we can celebrate the joy of Easter more deeply.  Please join us for at least one of these activities during the Lenten Season.  

World Day of the Sick - Anointing of the Sick
February 11, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, which is the World Day of the Sick. This weekend, we will commemorate this day by celebrating the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick at the Saturday, 4pm Vigil Mass for all of those who have a serious illness or are infirmed due to age.

The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament instituted by God in Sacred Scripture in the Book of James: "Are there any who are sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick persons, and the Lord will raise them up; and if they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them." (James 5:14). The Anointing of the Sick (sometimes referred to as "Last Rites") is given to those who begin "to be in danger (of death) due to sickness or old age." In case of doubt about whether the circumstances warrant the sacrament, the sacrament is to be administered.  

We receive many calls at St. Landry to provide this sacrament, whether it be someone preparing for a medical procedure, someone who is hospitalized, or someone who is a resident in a nursing home. The sacrament and its Graces have brought great consolation and relief to many people in our community. The sacrament helps us to configure the suffering caused by the illness or injury to Jesus suffering on the Cross for the salvation of the world. It also gives us consolation in suffering caused by the illness and helps us to understand and accept suffering because it has a saving effect, just as Jesus' suffering saved the world.  It helps us to realize that we have a role in the salvation of the world, and suffering is a part of it, so the sacrament aids us "to carry our cross" and to "offer it up" by giving us the Grace to do so.

I hope that all take advantage of this sacrament when needed. You need only call the church and myself or Monsignor Melancon will be glad to administer it. As a practical matter, it is good not to wait until the last minute to request it.  Waiting until the last minute can be a problem, as there are times when both Monsignor Melancon and I are out of town or unable to do so because of other duties in our ministry. Also, please know that if there is an emergency and someone requires hospital care at Opelousas General, there is a priest on call each day for anointings. Therefore, if you are unable to reach myself or Monsignor Melancon, let the hospital staff know that you would like the priest on call to come for an anointing, and they will know how to contact him.

Let us thank God for the goodness He gives to us in all the Sacraments, making sure that we dutifully dispose ourselves to receive them and fully cooperate with the Graces received in them!

            Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of February 07, 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.