Transfiguration as Christophany

"The Transfiguration" by Raphael, circa 1520

Today, Monsignor referred to the transfiguration as a Christophany.

The following is a quote from an article by Father Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., a professor of New Testament at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass.

The transfiguration narrative is about a Christophany, that is, it describes a manifestation or revelation of who Jesus really is. The term Christophany is a variation on the more familiar word theophany, a scene in which God reveals God’s self to humans—as, for example, in the encounter between God and Moses in Exodus 3 and 4. In the transfiguration story Jesus is revealed as a glorious figure superior to Moses and Elijah, and is identified by the heavenly voice as the Son of God. In the Markan context of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, the transfiguration gives a glimpse of Jesus’ true nature and the goal to which his journey leads.

Second Sunday of Lent - The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today, during his homily, Monsignor Romero referenced the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Compendium is a wonderful reference to Catholic teaching that, in turn, references back into the more detailed Catechism of the Catholic Church. Both books are wonderful reference texts to have.

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

During the homily, Monsignor Romero referenced paragraphs 101 and 387 in the Compendium.

101. In what sense is the life of Christ a Mystery?

512-521
561-562

The entire life of Christ is a revelation. What was visible in the earthly life of Jesus leads us to the invisible mystery of his divine sonship: “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Furthermore, even though salvation comes completely from the cross and the resurrection, the entire life of Christ is a mystery of redemption because everything that Jesus did, said, and suffered had for its aim the salvation of fallen human beings and the restoration of their vocation as children of God.

387. What is hope?

1817-1821
1843

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire and await from God eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit to merit it and to persevere to the end of our earthly life.

Homily for the Second Sunday in 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. This week, The Second Sunday of Lent, is our fifty first podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Monsignor J. Robert Romero.

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

Forming Good Stewards - This week's gospel message

“Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Luke 9:28b—36

Tradition holds that the Transfiguration occurred on Mount Tabor just after Jesus predicted his suffering and death, and then explained the conditions of discipleship. When Peter observed Jesus change in appearance and conversing with Moses, the Great Law Giver, and Elijah, the Great Prophet, he was frightened, but then felt privileged and secure. He proposed to make three tents or dwellings. It is possible Peter wanted to keep Jesus safe. OR he may have realized that disciples of Jesus risked the same fate and he wanted to avoid the consequences of being a disciple of Jesus. That is particularly true when we feel called to be good stewards of God’s world by fully sharing our time, our abilities, and our resources. In the end, the Father leaves us no choice. He says of Jesus, This is my chosen Son, listen to Him.”

Readings and Themes for the Week of February 28, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of February 28, 2010,
The Second Sunday of Lent

Reading I Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

In a holy covenant, God promises Abram a homeland.

Psalm 27

"The Lord is my light and my salvation."

Reading II Philippians 3:17 - 4:1

The journey of faith is open to all.

Gospel: Luke 9:28B - 36

His face changed in appearance and his clothes became dazzling white.

THEME:

Lent calls us to transform our lives

Today’s readings are all about promises. God promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the skies. In the story of the Transfiguration, we are given a glimpse of the promise of glory made to those who put faith in Christ. Bathed in the brilliant light of the Transfiguration, we open our hearts to listen once again to the dazzling promises made by our loving and compassionate God.

Questions of the week

Question for Children:

Jesus invites you to be close to him, to see him with clear eyes. What is Jesus like as a friend?

Question for Youth:

What do you most want God to help you with?

Question for Adults:

Sometimes we can see Christ with clear eyes, as the disciples did on that mountain.

What can you share about such a time in your life?

Bulletin for the Weekend of February 28, 2010

The bulletin for the weekend of February 28, 2010 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.

Last Night of Lenten Mission - Father Neyrey

Father Neyrey gave a wonderful talk again tonight during the last night of our lenten mission.

Click here to listen to his talk.

Click here to download a copy of the handout from his talk.

Last Night of the Lenten Mission - tonight at 6:30 PM

Tonight at 6:30 PM at St. Landry Catholic Church, we continue our Lenten Mission with Father Neyrey. For an overview of the entire mission, click here.

The topic of the mission is, "The Paschal Mystery: What the New Testament and the Early Church have to say about the Death and Resurrection of Jesus".

The third night's topic is, "You killed him, God raised him: What do Christians say about Jesus who was raised?".

The notes for tonight's talk can be downloaded by clicking the link below.

http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/Brochures/2010LentenMissionNight3.pdf

Second Night of Lenten Mission - Father Neyrey

Father Neyrey gave a wonderful talk again tonight during the second night of our lenten mission.

Click here to listen to his talk.

Click here to download a copy of the handout from his talk.

Click here to see a photo gallery of the images of the crosses referred to in his talk.


Click here for more details about the Lenten Mission.

The mission continues Wednesday, February 24, at 6:30 PM at St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana. Please join us.

Second Night of Lenten Mission Tonight - 6:30 PM

Tonight at 6:30 PM at St. Landry Catholic Church, we continue our Lenten Mission with Father Neyrey. For an overview of the entire mission, click here.

The topic of the mission is, "The Paschal Mystery: What the New Testament and the Early Church have to say about the Death and Resurrection of Jesus".

The second night's topic is, "How the Early Church Imagined the Cross". There will be an audio/visual presentation of a large number crosses, examining them in detail.

The notes for tonight's talk can be downloaded by clicking the link below.

http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/Brochures/2010LentenMissionNight2.pdf

First Night of the Lenten Mission - Father Neyrey

Father Neyrey gave a wonderful talk tonight during the first night of our lenten mission.

Click here to listen to his talk.

Click here to download a copy of the handout from his talk.

Click here for more details about the Lenten Mission.

The mission continues Tuesday, February 22, at 6:30 PM at St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana. Please join us.

Lenten Mission begins tonight at 6:30 PM

Tonight at 6:30 PM at St. Landry Catholic Church, we begin our Lenten Mission with Father Neyrey. For an overview of the entire mission, click here.

The topic of the mission is, "The Paschal Mystery: What the New Testament and the Early Church have to say about the Death and Resurrection of Jesus".

The first night's topic is, "Despising the Shame of the Cross". This references the Book of Hebrews, the beginning of Chapter 12:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Father Nehrey will look to the Book of Matthew and his story of the Death of Jesus.

The notes for tonight's talk can be downloaded by clicking the link below.

http://www.stlandrycatholicchurch.org/Brochures/2010LentenMissionNight1.pdf

Way of the Cross - Fridays, 6 PM, during Lent

St. Landry Catholic Church hosts the Way of the Cross at 6 PM each Friday during Lent. We use the prayers of St. Alphonsus Liguori. You can read the complete Way of the Cross at another website here. The stations in St. Landry Catholic Church are each over 6 feet tall and beautifully painted.

After the stations, we spend some time in Eucharistic adoration as well. It is a wonderful way to spend an hour on Fridays during Lent.

Pictured above is the Seventh Station, Jesus Falls the Second Time. Monsignor Romero referenced it and St. Alphonsus Liguori's prayer during his homily today.

My most gentle Jesus,
how many times You have forgiven me;
and how many times I have fallen again
and begun again to offend You!

By the merits of this second fall,
give me the grace to persevere
in Your love until death.

Grant, that in all my temptations,
I may always have recourse to You.
I love You, Jesus, my Love, with all my heart;
I am sorry that I have offended You.

Never let me offend You again.

Grant that I may love You always;
and then do with me as You will.

The First Sunday of Lent - Excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium

Today, during his homily, Monsignor Romero referenced the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Compendium is a wonderful reference to Catholic teaching that, in turn, references back into the more detailed Catechism of the Catholic Church. Both books are wonderful reference texts to have.

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available by clicking here for the Vatican website.

During the homily, Monsignor Romero referenced first referenced paragraphs 596 and 597 in the Compendium. This is from the section detailing the Our Father and references temptation and deliverance from evil.

596. What does “Lead us not into temptation” mean?

2846-2849
2863

We ask God our Father not to leave us alone and in the power of temptation. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us know how to discern, on the one hand, between a trial that makes us grow in goodness and a temptation that leads to sin and death and, on the other hand, between being tempted and consenting to temptation. This petition unites us to Jesus who overcame temptation by his prayer. It requests the grace of vigilance and of final perseverance.

597. Why do we conclude by asking “But deliver us from evil”?

2850-2854
2864

“Evil” indicates the person of Satan who opposes God and is “the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Victory over the devil has already been won by Christ. We pray, however, that the human family be freed from Satan and his works. We also ask for the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance as we wait for the coming of Christ who will free us definitively from the Evil One.

Monsignor Romero also referenced the Catechism paragraph 2847, section VI, "Lead us not into temptation."

That paragraph has a quote from Origen.

2847 The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death. We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death.

"God does not want to impose the good, but wants free beings. . . . There is a certain usefulness to temptation. No one but God knows what our soul has received from him, not even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us to know ourselves, and in this way we discover our evil inclinations and are obliged to give thanks for the goods that temptation has revealed to us."

Homily for 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. This week, The First Sunday of Lent, is our forty seventh podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Monsignor J. Robert Romero.

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

Ladies Altar Society - Morning of Recollection

This morning at Valentine Hall, the Ladies Altar Society is having a Morning of Recollection with guest Father Tom Voorhies. He will talk to our group for about an hour, starting at 9 AM.

Afterwards, there will be a mass celebrated.

If you are a member of our Ladies Altar Society or are interested in becoming a member, please attend.

Forming Good Stewards - This week's gospel message

"When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time." Luke 4:1-13

Now there’s a scary thought. Jesus, the Word made Flesh, Son of God, and Son of Mary, is tempted by the devil—not just once, but again and again. How was Jesus really tempted?

Turn stones into bread. That is a temptation to acquire material security and financial wealth. The Holy Land is full of stones. Turning stones into bread would have made Jesus very wealthy.

All the kingdoms of the world ... will be yours. That is temptation to use wealth to gain power over others. Tyrants, large and small, national and in families, use wealth to control others. Many people live in poverty and fear of a tyrant who has political and military power. Some people spend their lives catering to the whims of the person who controls a family’s fortune.

Throw yourself down and the angels will protect you. This is the most sinister temptation of all. To do something that will amaze people so you can gain control over their minds and hearts and souls. In various ways, we constantly face these same temptations in our lives.

How do we deal with them? Jesus resisted them again and again. As his disciples, we must do the same.

Readings and Themes for the Week of February 21, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of February 21, 2010,
The First Sunday of Lent

Reading I Deuteronomy 26:4-10

The Lenten fast, like the Exodus, leads to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Psalm 91

"Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble."

Reading II Romans 10:8-13

The journey of faith is open to all.

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

The fast can be a sign that we live on more than bread.

THEME:

Lent is time to open our hearts more fully to Jesus.

Real conversion begins when we recall the deeds God has accomplished throughout salvation history, as well as in the histories of our own faith journeys. Today’s sacred word summons us to remembrance and strengthens us in our own deserts of temptation. As the word is proclaimed, we humbly ask for this strength and, echoing the words of the psalmist, ask the Lord to be with us in times of trouble.

Questions of the week

Question for Children:

When you feel tempted to do wrong, how do you remain strong in your faith?

Question for Youth:

What is one thing you will do during Lent to become more open to God in your life?

Question for Adults:

As you come to understand the temptation of Jesus in the desert, which one of the devil’s offerings is hardest for you to resist?

Bulletin for the Weekend of February 21, 2010

The bulletin for the weekend of February 21, 2010 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.

Homily for Ash Wednesday

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. This week, Ash Wednesday, is our forty sixth podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Monsignor J. Robert Romero.

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