Bulletin for the Week of July 03, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

This Monday we celebrate Independence Day, July 4, 1776, the date of the founding of our country. Over the course of 240 years our country has grown from the thirteen original colonies to 50 states, and she has seen ups (economic prosperity to the extent that poverty, as it was once known, has now been re-defined) and downs (the injustice of slavery and abortion), as well as events that were a mix of both (multiple wars where we've lost loved ones willing to die for our freedom, while at the same time being uplifted by their willingness to do so).

Despite the current movement of our society away from both the founding principles of our country and our Catholic teaching on virtue and morality, we are certainly blessed to live in a country where we are able to freely exercise our faith.  We have been blessed by ancestors who have handed on to us a legacy of freedom and self-governance, a legacy no other modern society has provided for its citizens to the extent we have it.

In that regard, let us thank God for those men and women who had the foresight and inspiration to establish such a society, thank God for those who throughout our history have defended our freedom and given their lives so that we are able to live in this free society, and let us renew our devotion to God who has given us this great blessing. We have been given an opportunity to live a life few other people in human history have been given, and as such we have a greater responsibility to take advantage of these blessings and use them for God's greater glory, especially in living out our Catholic Faith. Let us continue to pray for our country to become more just, let us do what we can to make our country more just, and let us thank God for the wonderful blessing of living as citizens of this great country. May God Bless America!

New Life Center - St. Landry Church Receives Good Samaritan Award

Thanks to all who helped New Life Center with toiletries over the last couple of weeks.  The director informed me that they have received a sufficient amount of toiletries to get them through the lean months of summer.  She expressed her sincere appreciation for our help, and know of my appreciation as well.  Many thanks!

Speaking of New Life Center, St. Landry Church was honored at the annual Catholic Services of Acadiana banquet with "The Good Samaritan Award" for its service to New Life Center.  There are three things that we do to serve the ladies and families there.  First, we sponsor a Saturday morning "bacon breakfast" for them monthly.  The Catholic Daughters of America, the Knights of Columbus, and the Friends of Fr. Lafleur sponsor the breakfast and do an outstanding job of putting the breakfast together.  It is a really good meal, and we certainly invite anyone who would like to help or just have a meal to come.  We thank these groups and the volunteers who are willing to serve.  We also have a Bible Study twice monthly and we offer rides to the ladies and children who would like to attend out 10am Mass Sunday mornings.  Many thanks again to the volunteers who help with these activities!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of July 03, 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 Thirteenth 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 seven years ago. This mass, Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fiftieth 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 June 26, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

How Time Continues to Fly!
As was mentioned last weekend in the bulletin, last week marked my sixth anniversary of being your pastor. How time continues to fly! As with any church community, we've had our joys and sorrows over the last six years, as well as our successes and bumps in the road. Over that time we've said "good-bye" to people we love with the hope of seeing them again in Heaven, and we've welcomed with joy new members to community who were baptized into our Church. We've had all the experiences in between: First Confessions and Communion, Confirmations, Weddings, Annointings of the Sick, etc. My hope as your pastor is that in all these experiences, whether joyful or not, we've all grown closer to Jesus over the last six years as we ourselves continue our journey towards the destination of eternal life. In the end, that's all that really matters.

I want to thank all of you for making my job as pastor a joy. My assignment at St. Landry has been a great blessing to me. Your patience and support has been wonderful, and is very much appreciated. You all have made me a better person and priest over the last six years, and have taught me much in your goodness. Our parish has changed much over this time, and my hope is our St. Landry Church community will continue to adapt to meet all your spiritual needs on your journey through this life. Thanks again!

Steubenville On the Bayou Youth Conference
Please remember the young people in our Youth Group in your prayers this weekend, as they will be in Houma attending Steubenville on the Bayou.  It is a wonderful experience for our high school age children, and for those of you with children of that age, please consider having them attend a conference during their high school years.  Just one warning:  If you let them go they'll want to go back!!  The group is being led by Deacon Joubert.  Our summer seminarian, Matt Ardoin, will be travelling with the group as well.  Many thanks for their willingness to give their time and talents!

Parish Registration
Just a note about parish registration and its importance.  Over the last few months we have had to address several issues that could have easily been avoided simply by registering at St. Landry Church.  Some people choose not to register in a parish for various reasons, however there are certain things about registering and not registering of which you should be aware.

Although parish registration is not required to be a part of our community, it is certainly recommended and is an indicator of a formal commitment to our church community.  There are both benefits and consequences of parish registration.  Parish registration is used by the church in determining certain things, such as whether or not one can use church facilities for weddings, whether or not one can participate in our sacramental preparation programs, and whether or not I can certify for another pastor (usually when someone is requested to be a Baptism or Confirmation sponsor) that they are a registered member of our community and actively practicing their faith.  I cannot in good conscience certify that someone is an active and participating member of our community if I've never met them and there is no evidence of either attendance or participation in our community.  Registration, as well as the use of envelopes, helps with this. 

My hope is that all will register so that we can better serve our entire community.  Simple forms are available at the office, or if you like, simply call the office and we will be happy to mail a copy to you.

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of June 26, 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 Twelfth 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 seven years ago. This mass, Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred forty nineth 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 June 19, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

Happy Father's Day! Many thanks to all of the devoted fathers who lead and guide their families by teaching and example. The ultimate goal is to make our way to Christ, and thus to God, The Father. We pray that in their fatherly vocation they always stay focused on true good for their families, which is the salvation of the souls entrusted to their care. Again, Happy Fathers’ Day!

Valentin Hall Construction to Begin This Week!
I am happy to announce that the final approval of the Valentin Hall renovation plans and financing was received last week and that we signed the construction contract.  Construction is scheduled to commence tomorrow, June 20, and we hope it will be completed in November, if not before.  As you know, our original plans had to be modified to meet our needs and budget capabilities.  In rough numbers, the cost of the renovation is $731,000.  We have already paid approximately $140,000 of these expenses and have approximately $400,000 in funds remaining after leaving a sufficient amount for a "rainy day" in the case of an emergency building repair.  The remainder of the necessary funds will be borrowed from the diocese, and we hope to pay off this debt within a year or two after construction (we should receive, after construction, a significant amount of assessment and tax credits to help pay down the debt quickly).  

The first phase, the replacement of the windows, is nearly complete.  There is no doubt the new windows have been a great improvement and will make the building much more energy efficient.  Many thanks to Lenard Bertrand General Contractors and Guaranty Glass for a job well done!  When our parking lot, handicapped entrance and other exterior improvements are made, the building and corner will be not only more functional, it will be much more attractive.

The interior renovations will both restore the building and improve functionality for parish use. The work will improve the building infrastructure which includes an electrical upgrade and wiring, lighting, air conditioning; bathrooms (including handicap accessibility); more meeting rooms; more office space; and a newly renovated kitchen/small reception area. The hall will serve us better as our parish center not only for offices and meeting space, but also for the education of our children in CCD and sacramental preparation programs.  It will also provide adequate space for bible study and prayer groups. It is indeed a very exciting time for us, and our hope is that the newly renovated building will serve our parishioners needs for years to come.

As we begin construction, know that our goal is for the parish to continue to operate as usual.  However, as with any construction project, there will be inconvenience to all of us, so we ask for your patience and that you bear with us during this time.  Please keep the safety of the workers in your prayers, as well as the success of the project.  Thank you again for your generosity and support, without which this endeavor would not have been possible!

Parish Advisory Board Elections
I am happy to announce that it is not necessary to have Parish Advisory Board elections.  All three of the nominees, Nancy Briley, Howard Fournier and Yvonne Normand will serve on the board.  Yvonne Normand will be an ad hoc appointee to the board for a term of three years, and Nancy Briley and Howard Fournier will serve 3 year elected terms.  Howard will be serving his second term, and Nancy will fill the vacancy created when Lori Briggs ended her second term of service this month.  Many thanks to them and all of the members of our Parish Advisory Board for their willingness to serve! 

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of June 19, 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 Eleventh 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 seven years ago. This mass, Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred forty eighth 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 June 12, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

At St. Landry Church, our patron St. Landry serves as a "father" of sorts to our church family. We celebrate the feast of our patron, St. Landry, on June 10. However, the pastor has the option to move the celebration of the patron saint of a parish to Sunday, which we are doing today so that we can celebrate the occasion as a full parish community.

St. Landry is a wonderful patron for us in both his teaching and example, and as we learn more about him, we can learn more about what our goals should be as a church community.  His life has a great similarity to what Pope Francis is calling us to be, servers of God's people both in word and in deed.

History is an important thing for us to remember.  It reminds us of where we came from and can keep us rooted in the things that are truly good and time tested, and helps us not to repeat things that are not truly good.  Here at St. Landry, we have a rich history of in excess of 250 years.  We've had our share of ups and downs, our sins and our charity.  However, we've never had a Church Crest to signify our history and heritage.  We are pleased to introduce this weekend our newly adopted Church Crest!  This design was approved by myself and the Parish Advisory Board as our official crest.  A copy of the design and an explanation of its meaning is included in this bulletin as an insert.

We thank John Harper for his work in coordinating the project of creating the Church Crest, and his generous gift of time, talent and treasure.  We also thank James H. "Jimmy" Granier, Jr. of Baton Rouge for his gift of the artwork and graphic design services.

Speaking of History - Our Patron, St. Landry
There are actually four St. Landrys: (1) Saint-Bishop Landry of Sées (c.405 – 480), located in the Basse-Normandie region of France; (2) Saint Landry of (Soignies) Belgium, also known as Saint Landry of Metz (c. 622 – 700); (3) Saint Landry of Savoy (1012 – 1050), who was a Benedictine monk of Novalise in Savoy; and (4) Saint Landry, Bishop of Paris, also known as St. Landry the Confessor, who died in 661 after serving as Bishop of Parish for some eleven years. Our church in Opelousas is named after this fourth St. Landry.

In 650, during the reign of Clovis II, Saint Landry succeeded Audobertus as Bishop of Paris. During the famine of 650-51, Saint Landry sold all of his personal possessions, as well as some of the furniture and sacred vessels of the church, to feed the poor. In 651, Saint Landry, Bishop of Paris, founded a hospital, dedicated to St. Christopher, near the Cathedral of Notre Dame (which hospital later developed into the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris). This hospital was still in operation on our parish pilgrimage four years ago, and we were able to see the building.  However, shortly after our visit, it was decided that the building could no longer be used as a hospital, so it will serve another purpose in the future.

Saint Landry built the original church of St. Germain l'Auxerrois, which became the parish of the kings of France. Saint Landry served as Bishop of Paris until his death, which occurred in 661. He was buried in the Church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois in Paris, and today you can see his statue and frescos painted in St. Landry’s Chapel at Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois (we saw these on our pilgrimage as well).

Let us remember to ask our patron to intercede for us in prayers for our church parish, as well call upon his intercession in time of need.  St. Landry prayers cards are located at the doors of the church.  St. Landry, pray for us!!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of June 12, 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 Tenth 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 seven years ago. This mass, Tenth Sunday in Ordinary, is our four hundred forty seventh podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father Michael Begley, C.S.Sp.

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 June 5, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

The last few weeks have been busy for most of us! With the Easter Triduum and then First Communion, the parish picnic, Confirmations, graduations and all the other various banquets, award ceremonies, recitals and tournaments that mark the end of the school year, very few of us did not have "extra duty" helping with or attending these events. Whew...it's time for summer vacation!

Hopefully, many of us will have the opportunity to take a break and enjoy our families and friends over the summer, with many taking a family vacation. This is a good and healthy thing. It is good to remember, though, that during this time we do not take a vacation from God. This spring, we've traveled through the disciplines of Lent and the joys of Easter, and hopefully have grown closer to God during this time. 

Summer vacation is not a time to allow the gains made in our relationship with God to dwindle. Regardless of the time of year, we never take a vacation from God. How would we like it if He took a vacation from us? As we plan our vacations, wherever they may be, we should be sure to research not only our accommodations and activities, but also how, when and where we will attend Mass.  God wants to be with us at all times. The question for us is do we want to allow Him?

The school year has ended and summer vacation has begun, so we are planning some summer activities for our young people.  Please note the following activities for which registration is now open and which will take place this month.

Our Vacation Bible School will be the week of June 20th through June 24th.  It is a week of learning about the bible and our Catholic faith for our elementary school age children.  It is both educational and fun.  Please call the office or Deacon Joubert if you would like to register or need additional information.

Our youth group will be travelling later this month to "Steubenville on the Bayou" in Houma, which will be held from June 24th-26th.  Deacon Joubert will be leading the group, along with Ashley Soileau, and our seminarian, Matthew Ardoin.  There still may be room available if any of our young people (those who are entering 9th grade through those who have just graduated) are interested.  Please contact Deacon Joubert if you would like to go or would like further information.  As usual, Father's Day weekend we will have a bake sale to help support the youth group for the trip.

Welcome Matthew Ardoin – Summer Seminarian
We welcome our summer seminarian, Mr. Matthew Ardoin, this weekend. His home parish is St. Peter in Carencro.  He just finished his first year of theology studies at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.  Please stop by and introduce yourself to him after Masses this weekend, and if you are attending the 8am or 10am Mass, visit with him over coffee and donuts in the south sacristy.  

Ordination of our former Summer Seminarians
Last weekend, Christopher Cambre, our 2012 summer seminarian, was ordained to the transitional diaconate.  He is scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood next year.  Next weekend, Deacon Alex Albert, our summer seminarian from 2010, is scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood.  Congratulations to them both!  Please keep in your prayers that they will continue to complete the good work God has begun in them!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of June 05, 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.