Evangelization in the Digital World

The Catholic Church celebrated the 43rd World Day of Communication on May 24, 2009. The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, in his message for World Day of Communication speaks of “New Technologies, New Relationship. Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue, and Friendship.” He concludes, addressing himself to young Catholic believers:

…to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this "digital continent". Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: the greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the "Good News" of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people. Human hearts are yearning for a world where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. Our faith can respond to these expectations: may you become its heralds! The Pope accompanies you with his prayers and his blessing.

In an attempt to respond to the Holy Father’s challenge, Mr. Andrew Guidroz has been at work improving the website – http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/. Mr. Guidroz informs us:

1. The website has gone through a pretty big facelift that is still
   ongoing.
   
   http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/
   
   There, you can find a new Calendar with events happening around the church parish. There is a new feedback page for folks to email the church parish. We’ve also got the Photosynth/3D photo of the Father Lafleur monument along with downloadable prayer cards in remembrance of him. The website is usually updated weekly on Thursdays with a downloadable/printable copy of the bulletin.


2. We have a blog
   
   http://stlandrycatholicchurch.blogspot.com/
   
   A Blog is a website where updates, news, and current events are written about. It gives the parish a place to provide additional and more current information than can be fit into the bulletin. It is updated daily and sometimes as much as 6 times a day!
   


3. And now we have a Twitter site.
   
   http://www.twitter.com/StLandryCath
   
   Twitter is a lot like a blog but the messages there are very tiny in size. Twitter can send text messages to parishioners as events are happening around the parish and diocese. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath.

Mr. Guidroz also says, “I would also like to encourage all parishioners to go to the feedback page and drop us a note that includes your email address. We can then include you on the notification list when updates are made. As entries are made to the blog, you’ll get an email notice.”

I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Guidroz for a great work. He is putting St. Landry Church in the forefront of the digital world.

Monsignor J. Robert Romero

Welcome to Seminarian Mr. Mark Miley!

WELCOME SEMINARIAN MR. MARK MILEY

Mr. Mark Miley is a seminarian for the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana and will be with us for the summer.

Seminarian Miley has completed two years of pre-theology studies, and will begin theological studies this fall at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Teche, New Iberia, La. is Mr. Miley’s home parish, which is also where he was for last year’s summer assignment.

Mr. Miley is 50 years of age; a widower and has two children. Catherine, age 25, lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and newborn daughter. Mr. Miley considers himself truly blessed with his first granddaughter. His son, Alex, is 22 years old and attends Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

“I look forward to serving the people of St. Landry Church Parish this summer. If anyone has any questions about my vocation or the journey of life after losing a loved one, please contact me. I will be more than happy to visit. God bless … Love Ya! Mark”

La Pucelle - The Maid

Today is the Feast of St. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans. She is the patroness of France and soldiers.

Born in 1412, she received personal and general messages from the saints starting around the age of 13. St. Joan received revelations that told her to go forward as a general to help the King of France regain his kingdom from the English. At the age of 17, after meeting with the King, she set forth with a small group of soldiers and there began a series of great military victories that culminated with the crowning of the king at Rheims.

Political intrigue caused her to be captured and tried as a heretic. She was burned at the stake at age 19.

Within 20 years, her case was reopened and she was declared not guilty posthumously. The cause for her sainthood peaked with her canonization by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. Her feast day is today, May 30, the date of her death.

More information on her life can be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia by clicking here.

The statue featured in the photos of this post is found in New Orleans at the corner of St. Philip and Decatur, along the Mississippi, near the French Market. It was a gift from the people of France and is a duplicate of the famous statue at Place des Pyramids in Paris.

The statue was sent to New Orleans in 1958 and stored due to lack of funding. After French President DeGaulle's visit in 1960, a group was formed to fund a project to erect it. It was placed on a 17 foot pedestal at the end of Canal Street in 1972 and was gilded in 1985. It was later moved to its current place.

Working for the restoration of Holy Rosary Institute

Holy Rosary Institute was opened back in 1914 as a school, dormitory, and convent. Some of the initial financial investment came from St. Katherine Drexel, the Philadelphia born daughter of a philanthropist who became a nun and donated much of her $20 million inheritance to the education of blacks and Native Americans.

The grounds have fallen into disrepair and many of the alumni have worked together to form a group to try to save the buildings while turning them into a spiritual and educational center again.

Their site can be found by clicking here.

Lafayette City-Parish government is working toward a comprehensive plan of upgrading sites with a view towards what Lafayette will be in the next century. The restoration of Holy Rosary Institute is one site that is being considered.

To read a recent news article on this, click here.

The Community of Jesus Crucified, with Father Michael Champagne and Father Jerome Frey, is based there on the grounds.

Readings and Themes for the Weekend of May 31, 2009

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of May 31, 2009, Pentecost Sunday

Reading I Acts 2: 1-11

As on Sinai, the Lord descends in fire and wind.

Psalm 104

“Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the
earth”.

Reading II Galatians 5: 16-25

Be guided by the Spirit

Gospel John 20: 19-23

The Spirit of truth will guide people to all truth.

THEME:
As the Father sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit!

Our fifty-day celebration of Easter culminates on this day when we remember with vigor the inrushing of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. As we listen to the words of scripture today, let us open our hearts to a renewal within ourselves and within the entire Church. Let us pray that the Spirit will take hold in us and strengthen us on our mission to bring food to the hungry, shelter the homeless, and justice to those who are oppressed. Veni Sancte Spiritus! Come, Holy Spirit!

Question for Children:

When have you heard your inner voice or conscience guiding you to do what is right?

Question for Youth:

When have you felt the Holy Spirit in your life?

Question for Adults:

When have you felt the power of the Spirit, giving you the right words, giving you insight into a dilemma, or in other ways?

Bulletin for the Weekend of May 31, 2009 is now posted

The bulletin for the weekend of May 31, 2009 has been posted. Click here to see it.

The new calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our new calendar here.

Updates are also being made to our new 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.

L'Angelus on TV live tonight

L'Angelus, a local family band of Catholics that play beautiful music with a Cajun influence, will be performing on EWTN tonight live. The show "Life on the Rock" will be broadcast at 7 PM CST. EWTN is found locally on Channel 35 if you have Charter Cable in Opelousas.

The three older siblings do a lot of the performing but, many times, all 9 of the family members perform. Those of you who participated in the Walk for Life in Opelousas this year will remember them playing both before and after the event.

Click here for the band's website.

Click here for EWTN's Life on the Rock's website.

Year of St. Paul - Humble Ministers

Humble Ministers

Let us think again of St. Paul’s phrase: both Apollos and I are servants of Jesus, each one in his own way because it is God who gives the growth [cf. 1 Cor 3:5-9]. These words also apply to us today, to the Pope, the Cardinals, Bishops, priest and laity. We are all humble ministers of Jesus. We serve the Gospel as best we can, in accordance with our talents, and we pray God to make his Gospel, his Church, increase in our day.

Pope Benedict’s address to the General Audience on 31 January 2007

Memorial Day 2009

At 10 AM Mass on Sunday, we took time to recognize and remember our veterans who have served, have given the ultimate sacrifice, and those who are still serving.

Click here for photos from the mass and remembrance ceremony.

Below, is a novena to Lt. Father Verbis Lafleur, a St. Landry Catholic Church parishioner, priest, and soldier who gave his life in World War II.

Novena to Father Verbis Lafleur

O, God of Goodness,You never tire of sending us examples of Your Love.You called Your servant Father Verbis Lafleur to the Priesthood from an early age and kept him in Your sight.In the fulfillment of time, he willingly offered up his life for his God and his country.

Far from home on the battle fields of the South Pacific, O Lord, You were with him.You were with him in the prison camps.You were there, as he healed the spiritual wounds and comforted his comrades.

May we all be blessed by his holy and heroic life, as he was doing Your will.

Our loving God, lead us to charity and allow us to receive the favors we ask through Your good servant Father Verbis Lafleur (name your petition here).

We ask this through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You forever and ever.

Amen.

Published with ecclesiastical approbation

Most Reverend Michael Jarrell, D.D.

Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana

March 20, 2006

The Ascension of the Lord

Today, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. From a homily by Pope Benedict XVI:

The meaning of this last gesture of Jesus is twofold. Above all, ascending on “high,” he unequivocally reveals his divinity: He returns to where he came from, that is, to God, after having fulfilled his mission on earth. Moreover, Christ ascends to heaven with the humanity he had assumed and which has resurrected from the dead: That humanity is ours, transfigured, divinized, made eternal. The Ascension, therefore, reveals the “supreme vocation” (Gaudium et Spes, no. 22) of every human person – called to the eternal life of the kingdom of God, kingdom of love, light and peace.

Pope Benedict XVI, Regina Caeli Address, 21 May 2006

Those of you praying the Novena in Honor of the Holy Spirit are now praying Day 3 and counting down the days until Pentecost. Click here for our earlier blog posting that gives details about praying that novena.

Keeping the Lenten Mission Alive in our Hearts - Part 3

Lenten Mission

This past Lent, Father Mark Thibodeaux, S.J. conducted a Parish Mission on the topics of “Cloister, Community, and Hospitality.” As a way for us to keep the mission’s message alive in our hearts, the handout for each session will be posted here on the blog. Today, “Session III: Hospitality” follows. Parishioners are encouraged to leisurely reflect on these handouts. Let the content inspire us to grow in the Lord Jesus.

Monsignor Robert Romero

Session III: Hospitality

.

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live." But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'

Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Luke 10:25-37

For your reflection

Looking back on times that I have "helped" someone, do I recognize that I might have been responding to my own needs rather than to what the person actually wanted/needed? Speak with Jesus about this.

Can I recall a time when someone really listened to me as I told my story. How did that feel? Can i recall a time when I was that Keeper of the Stories for someone else What was that like? Speak with Jesus about this.

Do I answer and welcome Jesus into my home no matter what face he is wearing? Is there some person or type of person that is not welcome in my life? Is God calling me to open the door to this person at this time?

God's sign is that he makes himself small for us. This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendor. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing other from us than our love, through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, his thoughts and his will. We learn to live with him and to practice with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love.

Pope Benedict XVI

May 29, 2009 - Day of Prayer and Fasting before Hurricane Season

The Catholic Bishops of Louisiana declared Friday, May 29th, 2009, to be a Day of Prayer and Fasting, asking the Lord’s intercession, that we be delivered from all storms. St. Landry Catholic Church is within the North Region of the Diocese. In the Diocese of Lafayette, regional prayer services will be held as follows:

WEST REGION: St. Anne Catholic Church—Mass
17315 Lionel Rd. • Abbeville, La. (Cow Island)
Thursday, 28 May @ 6:30 pm

NORTH REGION: Ecumenical Prayer Service
Hope Presbyterian Church
434 S. Main St. • Opelousas, La.
Wednesday, 3 June @ 6:30 pm

CENTRAL REGION: Cathedral of St John the Evangelist
914 St. John St. • Lafayette, La.
Monday, 8 June @ 6:30 pm

A Prayer for the Hurricane Season written by the second Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette, La., Bishop Maurice Schexnayder is found below.

A Prayer for the Hurricane Season
by Maurice Schexnayder, Second Bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana

O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude; You are still the Master of land and sea. We live in the shadow of danger over which we have no control; the Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and spread chaos and disaster.

During this hurricane season we turn to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wound seem to refuse to heal with passing time. O Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, Our Beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son in our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem where a stormless eternity awaits us. Amen.

iFaith now available from Archdiocese of New Orleans

The Archdiocese of New Orleans, parent of our Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, has released software that runs on the iPhone to keep parishioners up to date on all things Catholic. The software is called iFaith.

It has a news section with text news releases and mass schedules. It has a podcast section where the audio of each of the Archbishop Hughes' homilies are available each week. And it has a video section where the weekly talk show produced by the Archdiocese is available for watching.

Really amazing changes are happening.

Click here to read more about it on the Archdiocese's website.

Memorial Day Mass and Prayer

MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2483 and American Legion Post 45 are sponsoring a Memorial Day Celebration at St. Landry Catholic Church’s 10:00 am Mass on 24 May 2009. A brief ceremony will be held after Mass in front of the Fr. LaFleur Monument.

A MEMORIAL DAY PRAYER

Almighty God, In whom we live, love, and have our being.
We take time today to uplift the heavy hearts of
Those for whom Memorial Day is more than a mere diversion.
But is, instead, a painful time of reflection, lamentation
And enduring bereavement.

This day we remember with compassion
Your children who have lost their lives to war;
Incline us to honor their memory, dear Lord,
With a sincere pledge to seek peace,
And non-violent solutions to world conflict.

We pray for the safety of those entering military service,
And succor for the many returning from combat with wounded
Bodies, or minds sickened by the sight and sounds of war.

Our prayers also extend, Great Comforter,
To those who still wait and pray day by anxious day,
For the precious moment of reunion
With a distant family member, friend, or loved one.

And to others whose reunion has been sorrowfully delayed
Until that Heavenly homecoming with Christ in the
Fullness of time—
We offer the gentle assurance of your promise to all believers,
“Blessed are those who mourn; for they shall be comforted.”

Tracy McNeal

Readings and Themes for the weekend of May 24, 2009, Ascension of the Lord

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of May 24, 2009, Ascension of the Lord

Reading I Acts 1:1-11

Jesus is taken up to heaven.

Psalm 47

God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

Reading II Ephesians 1:17-23

Christ is seated at God’s right hand.

Gospel Mark 16:15-20

After the Ascension the disciples go and preach everywhere.

THEME:
We are sent and Christ is with us

When we hear the account of the Lord’s ascension, we can only imagine how abandoned the apostles must have felt when Jesus was lifted up before their eyes. The power emanating from his passion, death, and resurrection, however, was enough to keep their hearts filled with hope and this hope was the springboard from which they began a preaching and teaching ministry that began to spread the good News of salvation, a ministry that reaches us even to this day. As today’s word is proclaimed; let us listen for words of hope, encouragement, and commissioning.

Question for Children:

Jesus helps us be brave when we need to be. When do you need to be brave?

Question for Youth:

Even after Jesus ascended into heaven, he worked through the disciples to spread the Gospel. We are Jesus’ disciples today. How can you open yourself up more to let Jesus work through you to be Good News in the world today?

Question for Adults:

How do you experience the divine power of Christ-among-us in your daily life?

"Evangelization of this 'digital continent'"

The Holy Father has released a statement and a brand new website for the 43rd World Day of Communications. He has called on everyone --- the youth especially --- to participate in the "evangelization of this 'digital continent'".

The website is http://www.pope2you.net.

There, you'll find press releases related to the event. You'll find links to the Vatican Youtube channel where you'll find videos and news from the Vatican and of the Holy Father.

There is a Facebook application on the website. And, in a few days, an iPhone app will be available as well.

Please make use of your technology skills to share your Catholic faith with others. As the Holy Father says within his statement,

When we find ourselves drawn towards other people, when we want to know more about them and make ourselves known to them, we are responding to God’s call - a call that is imprinted in our nature as beings created in the image and likeness of God, the God of communication and communion.

Bulletin for the Weekend of May 24, 2009 has been posted.

The bulletin for the weekend of May 24, 2009 has been posted. Click here to see it.

The new calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our new calendar here.

Updates are also being made to our new 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.

Opelousas Catholic School News

OC CORNER

Congratulations to 7th grader Chloe Letulle who qualified to take the ACT exam through the Duke University Talent Identification, scored in the top 10 percent, and has been invited to be recognized nationally at the Grand Ceremony in North Carolina.

Family and friends are reminded to please send in the General Mills box tops and Community Coffee UPC labels before the school year ends and to continue collecting all labels through the summer.

Sunday, 10 AM Mass - Memorial Day Celebration

MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2483 and American Legion Post 45 are sponsoring a Memorial Day Celebration at St. Landry Catholic Church’s 10:00 am Mass on 24 May 2009.

A brief ceremony will be held after Mass in front of the Fr. LaFleur Monument.

Year of St. Paul - Unconditional Love

Unconditional Love

The human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him say: “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39). If this absolute love exists, with its absolute certainty, then—only then—is man redeemed”, whatever should happen to him in his particular circumstances.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical letter on Christian Hope, no. 26
November 30, 2007