Bulletin for the Week of October 2, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

This weekend we welcome Bishop Deshotel to our 4pm Mass concluding the Festival de la Grande Eglise. We are so happy that he is able to attend the festival, enjoy good food and fun, and of course we're honored that he agreed to be our main celebrant and homilist at the Mass. We hope that the festival was a good experience for all who attended and for the many volunteers who made the day possible. We will be listing a number of people to whom we owe a debt of gratitude in the bulletin next weekend, but for now we would like to thank the following sponsors without whose support the festival would not have been possible.  Please patronize them whenever you are able:

Major Sponsors
American Bank and Trust
Bellevue Animal Clinic
Courvelle Toyota
Dupre Carrier Godchaux Insurance Agency
Friends of Fr. Lafleur
Gaiennie Lumber Company
Going, Sebastien, Fisher Le Bouef LLP
Ignatius "Iggie" Castille State Farm
Lafond Ardoin Funeral Home
Mama's Fried Chicken
Ortego Oil
Roy Motors
Sandoz Law Offices
Tony Chachere's

T-Shirt Sponsors
Circle H Welding
LHC Group
Piggly Wiggly
Lafleur Estate Sales
Ventura Foods 

Many, many thanks to our sponsors!

Upcoming Special Activities for October and November
Just a reminder that October and November are months devoted to our appreciation of those who have gone before us into the next life. The Cemetery Tours will begin next weekend and continue the weekend after. Our celebrations will culminate with All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd. We will have our annual blessing of the cemetery on October 29th after the 4pm Mass, and our annual Memorial Mass for those recently deceased on Wednesday, November 2nd at 6pm (All Souls Day), at which we will remember some 50 or so of our brothers and sisters who departed this life over the last year. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us!!

October is also a month devoted to our Blessed Mother, the Mother of Consolation. We know of her many sorrows throughout her life, but especially in the suffering and death of her Son, Jesus. We also know of her consolation in Jesus' Resurrection and her Assumption into heaven. We ask her for her intercessory prayer of consolation during this month for those mourning the death of a loved one. Special Marian prayers this month include a rosary each Monday at 5:15pm at the grotto sponsored by the Catholic Daughters. As usual, there will also be a rosary prayed at the Fr. Lafleur Monument at 6pm on Mondays. These rosaries make for a wonderful family activity.  Please make plans to join us in prayer! 

Fr. Brady

Festival de la Grande Eglise – Sat. 10/01 ALL DAY!

CATHOLIC RADIO NEEDS YOU, ARE YOU LISTENING?
Catholic Radio for Acadiana, 1230AM, needs to know if you are listening and if you can help us spread the word. Please give us a call at 337-284-5538 or email us at office@christourkingradio.com if you can donate some of your time to help spread the good news of Catholic Radio for Acadiana in your parish community.

The bulletin for the week of October 02, 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.

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Homily

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, Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixty second 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.

2016 Color Run - 2 Miles

The 2 Mile Color Run, part of our Festival de la Grande Eglise, is Saturday, October 01, 2016, 9:00 AM at St. Landry Catholic Church, 1020 N. Main St., Opelousas, LA.  Click the link here to register:  https://register.cajuntiming.com/Search/event.aspx?id=38639

Bulletin for the Week of September 25, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

In this weekend's bulletin is our annual financial report for fiscal year 2015-2016 (side by side with the budget published last year). On the flip side of the page is our budget for the upcoming fiscal year, 2016-2017. I have worked with the Finance Council to provide you with an understandable presentation of our church finances. As pastor, I am accountable to you for the proper use of the offerings given to support church ministry and operations, and the report is a way to keep you informed of the financial status of parish. Overall, our financial status continues to be stable, and I thank you for your support over the last year.

The budget for fiscal year 2016-2017 assumes that we will operate at or near the amount budgeted for our regular offertory and the offertory for repair and maintenance. Our goal this year is to average $9,000 per week in our regular offertory, and in an effort to keep you informed of our financial status throughout the year, we will continue to publish in the bulletin the amount of the average weekly offertory needed to meet our budget as well as the actual average for the fiscal year to date.

As you know, we are now in the midst of renovating Valentin Hall to better serve the needs of our community.  The financing for the Valentin Hall renovation did not require a formal capital campaign, but rather through savings and a legacy gift, as well as a diocesan loan, we will be able to pay for the renovations by use of the funds we already have on hand if we maintain the level of our regular offertory and meet the goal we have set. We ask that you please consider increasing the amount of your offering so that we can reach our goal. In determining the amount one should offer, the following criteria may be useful:

1. The offering should be thoughtful and made after prayerful consideration, as opposed to arbitrary.
2. The offering should be generous, as it is only giving back what has already been received.
3. The offering should be substantial (as opposed to a token), showing the value we place on our spiritual life.
4. The offering should be appreciative, giving thanks to God for the gifts He has given to us.
5. The offering should be regular and disciplined, habitually keeping in our mind God's gifts to us.
6. The offering should be sacrificial (it is good if we can point to something we gave up to make the offering).
7. The offering should be in joyful spirit, in other words, we are "glad to do it."
8. The offering should not prevent us from meeting our obligations or cause undue hardship.

Also please be reminded of the impact legacy gifts have on our community. The work we are going to do on Valentin Hall would not have been possible without legacy gifts our church has received over the last few years. These gifts are a way to express gratitude for the service the church has provided to us and our community, and they help to perpetuate the mission of the Church for future generations. There are many ways one can provide a gift to the church in their estate planning, including wills, bequests, trusts, and life insurance policies, or the gift of stocks or a family home. If you are so moved, please remember the church in your estate planning. If you have any questions we can certainly help you with obtaining further information.

Thanks again for your generosity over the past year and your continued support! God Bless!!

Fr. Brady

THIS WEEK!

Nuit de la Comedie – Wed. 9/28 @ 6pm!

Festival de la Grande Eglise – Sat. 10/01 ALL DAY!

CATHOLIC RADIO NEEDS YOU, ARE YOU LISTENING?
Catholic Radio for Acadiana, 1230AM, needs to know if you are listening and if you can help us spread the word. Please give us a call at 337-284-5538 or email us at office@christourkingradio.com if you can donate some of your time to help spread the good news of Catholic Radio for Acadiana in your parish community.

The bulletin for the week of September 25, 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.

St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery Tours 2016

St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery Tours

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Click here for the brochure

Festival de la Grande Eglise 2016

Festival de la Grande Église

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Click here for the brochure

Twenty 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 seven years ago. This mass, Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixty first podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Deacon Dwayne Joubert

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 September 18, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

Jesus' words after the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, and after he had washed His disciples feet: [If] I washed your feet...then you must wash each other's feet....What I just did was to give you an example: as I have done, so must you do." Jn 13: 14-15. As Jesus teaches us, our worship of God in the Eucharistic celebration does not end after Mass, but rather is just beginning. We receive in the Eucharist the grace to live our Christian lives in serving God and each other. This service extends outside the walls of our church to our neighbors. We help others by serving in our church and helping those in need. Thus, our worhsip of God and our spiritual lives are incomplete without this service. Traditionally, we have categorized service in the gifts of "time, talent and treasure." This weekend, we will conduct our annual Ministry Fair, when we focus on "time and talent."

Our annual Ministry Fair is an opportunity to learn the various ways we can serve here at St. Landry and to consider giving our time and talent for the church's ministry, whether the ministry is within the church building or out in the community. In supporting our church community, everyone who is able should have some service to our church in order to fully participate in our parish life. For families, what a great way for parents to teach their children the importance of service in following Jesus. In our parish, there are opportunities for service individually and in a group or social setting. There's something for everyone. Since service is the primary function of a deacon, Deacon Joubert will preach the homily this weekend about the importance of service in our spiritual life.

One special area of need for our parish this year is preparation for The Festival de la Grande Eglise as well as volunteers for the festival itself, which takes place October 1.  I hope you can make the time to pitch in, as well as volunteer to work during the festival. There are sign up sheets in the back of the church with festival committee chairs to answer any questions you may have. Please help...we need it!!

Orphan Train Musuem-The importance of history
In order for us to understand where we are, we have to understand what came before us.  I was blessed to be asked recently to do the invocation at the Orphan Train Museum annual gathering as well as to bless the building and grounds.  I had been to the museum several times in the past for brief tours, but had never spend a lot of time there or met the people who are descendants of the orphan train riders.  Without going into great detail, it struck me how many people in our area have family roots recorded in the museum, as well as the wonderful fruit produced by the acts of charity of parents who were willing to give their children up for a better life and those willing to take the children in to provide that life.  Our church, St. Landry, under the leadership of our then pastor, Msgr. John Engberink, was a crucial cog in helping to facilitate the travel and adoptions.  It reminds us of how blessed we are and how many people have given in the past to give us the life we have today. 

Father Brady


CATHOLIC RADIO NEEDS YOU, ARE YOU LISTENING?
Catholic Radio for Acadiana, 1230AM, needs to know if you are listening and if you can help us spread the word. Please give us a call at 337-284-5538 or email us at office@christourkingradio.com if you can donate some of your time to help spread the good news of Catholic Radio for Acadiana in your parish community.

The bulletin for the week of September 18, 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.

Twenty Fourth 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, Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixtieth 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.

Homily for Father Lafleur Memorial Mass

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, Father Lafleur Memorial Mass, is our four hundred fifty ninth 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 September 11, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

We have a very busy couple of months coming up at St. Landry!  

Initially, over the next two weekends we will have our annual Ministry Fair September 17-18 and annual Financial Report September 24-25.  The following week is our annual Festival de la Grande Eglise which kicks off September 28 with "Nuit de la Comedie" featuring Cajun humorist Kent Gonsoulin with dinner and a silent auction, followed by the festival day Saturday October 1.  We then move into our Cemetery Tours and preparation for All Saints and All Souls Days in October/November.  
The festival will include all the favorite events and activities from last year as well as some new ones, including the Nuit de la Comedie, a spaghetti dinner, and live music from 12-3pm.  Bishop Deshotel will be the main celebrant and homilist at the 4pm Mass that evening to conclude the festival.  Tickets for the spaghetti dinner and Nuit de la Comedie are limited and on sale now, so please be sure to get yours!  More information on the festival can be found at www.festivaldelagrandeeglise.com.  

Like last year, many volunteers will be needed on the festival day, and there are sign-up sheets in the back of the church for those who are able to help.  Please be generous with your time, and any help, even just an hour or two, is very much appreciated!  We should also take this opportunity to thank the volunteers who have been working all year to plan the festival.  The chair of the festival is Yvonne Normand, and the Festival Executive Committee members are Deacon Dwayne Joubert, Sharon Ortego and Harry Ragas.  There are many other sponsors and chairs of the different events for the festival, and we thank each of them for their willingness to help!

Many, Many Thanks for the Fr. Lafleur Memorial Mass!

We thank all of those who helped with the beautiful liturgy at the Fr. Lafleur Memorial Mass. It was very special that our new bishop, Bishop Deshotel, was able to attend for the first time.  We thank him for his willingness to be with us for this very special event in the life of our parish.   We also give our heartfelt thanks to all who participated in the liturgy: The priests and deacons who served and attended; Deacon Joubert, who coordinated the liturgy; the choir and its director, J.P. Porrier; the lay liturgical ministers, including the sacristans, lectors and altar servers; and the various service groups who were in attendance (Catholic Daughters, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Peter Claver and Military Honor Guard). We especially thank the Friends of Fr. Lafleur, coordinated by Richard and Carrol Lafleur, for helping to cultivate devotion to Fr. Lafleur and promote his cause for sainthood.  Through the efforts of the Friends of Fr. Lafleur, which is active all year long, our St. Landry Church community better understands our rich history and through the good example of those who came before us, are inspired to live our lives more firm in our faith! 

St. Landry Centennial Campaign

In July we announced in a Pastor's Corner that we would begin our portion of the Centennial Campaign this month. The Centennial campaign is a diocesan campaign celebrating the 100th Anniversary of our diocese. We have now begun the campaign here at St. Landry. You should have received a letter from myself and Bishop Deshotel about the campaign. If you did not, then please let us know as you may not be registered in the parish. The campaign begins with in-home visits to our parishioners. Obviously, this is a big effort requiring much time, and I am happy to say that we have approximately 20 volunteers who have joyfully embraced the task of helping to make the in-home visits. I hope that all of us, including myself, will open our doors and hearts to the volunteers and the campaign. As you know, we have begun to do much needed renovation and updating of our campus buildings, beginning the the church 2 years ago and now in Valentin Hall. We've been moving along as our finances have permitted. The success of the campaign has the potential to help us complete the needed repairs and updating not only of Valentin Hall, but also the remaining work on the rectory and the church. Let us all pray for the success of the campaign!

Valentin Hall Construction

Finally, Valentin Hall Construction is moving along nicely, although the parking lot work was delayed a bit due to the weather.  Parking lot construction was scheduled to begin last week and will continue for the next 3 or 4 weeks.  Please be aware of the construction when visiting the church.  If you need to visit the office during the week, please park on Prudhomme St.  It may be more convenient during construction to take care of anything that can be by phone or email.  In the end, we are very excited about the design of the new parking lot, as it will service both Valentin Hall and the church building, will provide handicapped access to Valentin Hall, and will certainly make our campus more functional and beautiful.  Thanks again for all your support to help make this project possible!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of September 11, 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 Twenty Third 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, Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fifty eigth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Monsignor Louis Melancon

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 September 04, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

Our annual Memorial Mass for Fr. Lafleur will take place this week Wednesday, September 7, at 6:30pm. We are especially excited that Bishop Deshotel, our new shepherd, will be in attendance at the Mass.  The main celebrant and homilist will be me, a humbling honor of which I am certainly unworthy. The Memorial Mass gives us the opportunity as an entire community to learn about the extraordinary life of Fr. Lafleur. Below is an invitation to you to attend. I especially hope that families will come and bring their children, teaching the lesson that "church" is not just for Sunday and that by the Grace of God, each one of us can live a saintly life.  Please make plans to attend this special event memorializing the life of a man we believe is a saint and for whom St. Landry Church is "home."

LT. FATHER JOSEPH VERBIS LAFLEUR MEMORIAL MASS

The ‘Friends of Lt. Fr. Lafleur’ request your presence to commemorate the 72nd Anniversary of the death of Lt. Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur, Chaplain-United States Army Air Corps, Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at 6:30pm in St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, LA. The Celebrant and Homilist will be Fr. James Brady, JCL, JD, Pastor of St. Landry Catholic Church.

Joseph Verbis Lafleur was born in Ville Platte on January 24, 1912. Later, he would move with his family to nearby Opelousas, where he faithfully served as an altar boy at St. Landry Church during his youth. After serving as an altar server here at St. Landry, he left for the seminary under the sponsorship of Fr. Colliard and St. Landry Church. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1938, he celebrated his first Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving here at St. Landry. He then served a short time in the Lafayette Diocese at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville (where he is still fondly remembered for his piety and work with the youth). He then began to serve as a chaplain in the United States Army in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Fr. Lafleur was captured by the Japanese and was imprisoned, where he ministered to his fellow prisoners. The story of Fr. Lafleur's life is extraordinary, especially in his selflessness, kindness and bravery, all the while he himself was being treated cruelly.

For his service, Father Lafleur was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, and Bronze star for his valor. After being taken prisoner by the Japanese, by all accounts he served his brother prisoners with honor and distinction. He had the opportunity to evacuate prior to the Japanese invasion of the Phillipines, but instead stayed in order to serve the men who were entrusted to his pastoral care. On September 7, 1944, he and several hundred other prisoners were killed when the ship upon which they were being transported was torpedoed. Father Lafleur's body was never recovered, but memories of survivors report that he was last seen aiding others to escape the sinking ship. His memorial monument in front of St. Landry Church serves as our tangible remembrance of his life, as he indicated that if he died during his service to our country that he desired to be buried at St. Landry Church. He is also remembered in the chaplain's memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. The year 2016 marks the 72nd anniversary of his death.

Fr. Lafleur is certainly a significant figure in our church parish history and a part of our spiritual patronage that we should all cherish. Let us enjoy the celebration of his life this weekend, become inspired by it, and try to imitate the Christ-like virtues he modeled for us. All are invited and encouraged to attend the Memorial Mass. You can also learn more about Father Lafleur by visiting http://www.fatherlafleur.org or by purchasing the book chronicling his life, "But He Dies Not,” which will be available after the Memorial Mass and is always available in our church office or at Catholic bookstores in Lafayette.

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of September 04, 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 Twenty Second 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, Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fifty seventh podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Monsignor Louis Melancon

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 August 28, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

I want to begin by thanking all of you for your prayers and support over the last two weeks.  With my parents’ house flooding, so many pitched in to help me in so many ways.  From the priests who covered Confessions and Masses as well as those who covered my other duties here, to those who provided tools and the sweat of their brow to help gut the house, to strangers who brought meals to the houses in the neighborhood, all kindnesses shown to myself and my family are sincerely appreciated!

To update, Mom and Dad are doing well in their new surroundings.  It was quite miraculous that we were able to find a place for them together (they are both disabled) under the circumstances.  Hopefully they will continue to adjust to their new environment and establish a new routine and a good rhythm of life.  Thanks again!

Now that the storm waters have receded from our area, we begin the process of recovery.  For some it will be relatively fast, for others painstakingly slow.  We should all do our best to support those in need.  As I mentioned in the homily last week, the best place for help is right here among us as neighbors.  We should not focus on what we can't do but rather should focus on what we can do, and then do so on an individual basis.  All the small pieces add up to a big piece and the individual interaction strengthens our solidarity as human beings, making cheerful and fulfilled givers and truly grateful receivers.  As desirable as they are, coordinated relief efforts (whether governmental or private) are not capable of the great power of neighbors loving their neighbors.  In the end, only Jesus can save, and no person or group is capable of the relief needed for this widespread a disaster.  Individually, though, if we focus on what we can do and then by God's Grace take action, then the love of our neighbors shown will alleviate much suffering and provided great relief and consolation. 

Report of St. Landry Church storm damage
We did have some damage here at St. Landry due to the storm, mostly leaks.  Considering the magnitude of the storm, our problems were relatively minor.  We had a leak in the rectory in Monsignor Melancon's room, a leak in the Valentin Hall Chapel and a leak in the south sacristy of the church building.  One of our compressors also went out during the storm, and we are checking to see if it is storm related.  All in all, our campus did well considering the age of the buildings and the volume of the rain.  The premises will be inspected by the insurance company and we will begin the necessary repairs in the near future.

Diocesan Relief Efforts - Thanks to Bishop Deshotel for the tax holiday
As mentioned above, in addition to our individual help of our neighbors, coordinated relief efforts are necessary and desirable in the case of a widespread disaster such as this.  In light of that, our diocese is coordinating a relief effort, and more information on giving financially to this effort can be found on it's website:  www.diolaf.org.  The diocese has committed to giving $1,000,000 to the relief effort from The Centennial Campaign (which we will be starting in the coming weeks).  In addition, in order to help local parishes feeling the financial strain of the flooding, Bishop Deshotel has graciously decided to give a diocesan tax break for the month of August, meaning that we will not have to pay our usual diocesan assessment for any donations to local parishes received this month.  We thank Bishop Deshotel for this help both to the diocesan wide coordinated relief efforts and to our individual parishes

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 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.

Homily for the Twenty First 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, Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fifty seventh 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 August 21, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

After the storms and flooding last week (the time of this writing is last weekend, and the rain is still coming down, so I don't know the extent of flooding) we should keep in our prayers all those affected by the weather, and when the opportunity permits, to lend a helping hand to those who are in need.  Let us always remember that our Christian Faith is marked and should be known by how we are willing to joyfully give of ourselves to help others, especially those in need.

Upcoming Events - Please mark your calendars!

Many good things will be taking place in our community in the coming months.  As I mentioned last week, Saturday October 1st will be The Festival de la Grande Eglise, and The Nuit de la Comedie will take place the Wednesday before, September 28th.  The Cemetery Tours will then take place the two weekends following, October 8-9 and 15-16.

In addition, our annual Memorial Mass for Lt. Fr. Joseph Verbis Lafleur will take place on Wednesday, September 7 at 6:30pm.  I am both humbled and honored to be the main celebrant and homilist.  Fr. Lafleur has been an inspiration for me since my arrival here at St. Landry, and being able to celebrate his life in this way will make this year's Memorial Mass a very special time for me.  The Memorial Mass gives us the opportunity as an entire community to learn about the extraordinary life of Fr. Lafleur. Please make plans to attend this special event celebrating the life of a man we believe is a saint and for whom St. Landry Church is "home."  We especially hope that parents will bring their children so that they can learn of the rich spiritual heritage they have and the gift of faith that by God's Grace has been handed down to them.

Valentin Construction

We hope to begin the parking lot construction more in earnest this week.  The rain has put a hamper on the preparatory ground work that needs to be done, but we still hope our new parking lot will be ready by the weekend of October 1st.  The second floor construction is moving along nicely, as we are in the phase of flooring, painting and other finishing touches, so we look forward to the construction moving down to the north side of the first floor in the near future.

Children in Church - "God's Voice is in a Child's Tears" 

One of the joys of the growth of our parish has been our new parishioners who are parents of young children. There is a certain "life" that is brought to a community when young children are present.  Many commented about the presence of so many children at our parish picnic and the joy that it brought to our hearts.  Our programs, such as Catechism and Vacation Bible School, are growing each year.  Pope Francis recently addressed the issue of crying children, referring to children’s tears as “the best sermon.” The Pope also told parents of young children that “children cry, they are noisy, they don’t stop moving. But it really irritates me when I see a child crying in church and someone says they must go out. God’s voice is in a child’s tears: they must never be kicked out of church.”)  As you know, as far as I'm concerned, children and their cries are always welcome in our church.

However, many parents of young children have asked what they should if their child begins to cry at Mass? The issue for them is to figure out how to be courteous and thoughtful of others during Mass, as well as reverent in the church. A good article on this was published in the Catholic Herald (UK) which is still available online. The article addresses what the priest, parents and others in the congregation should do in the case of a crying child.  The suggestions are basically courtesy and common sense, and the article is worth reading.  I tried to get permission to reprint the article, but was unable to do so, so here's the link:
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2014/09/12/what-should-you-do-when-a-child-starts-crying-during-mass/

Let us thank God for the blessing of our children!  God Bless!!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 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.

Help Storm Victims ....

Greetings! Bring your family and friends that at are available today to help set up the donation distribution center at the Save A Lot Store behind Taco Bell. We will be accepting donations for the flood victims and setting up for the distribution to begin after all is in place. Come dressed in shorts or slacks, t-shirt and comfortable shoes.

Homily for the Twentieth 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, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fifty sixth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Monsignor Louis Melancon

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 August 14, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

Festival de la Grande Eglise will be on October 1st!
Please mark your calendars for our annual "Festival de la Grande Eglise," which will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2016.  We are very excited about this year's event after a very successful inaugural festival last year.  The festival is a celebration of our local community and its history, but it is also intended to be a fundraiser to help defray the costs of maintaining historic St. Landry Cemetery, which was built at a time when cemetery endowments did not exist (families generally cared for cemeteries and the tombs of their loved ones).  With over 4,000 tomb sites, maintenance is both difficult and expensive.  At the festival, not only is the local community invited, but we also reach out to all who have roots in our church community to “come home” and visit our beautiful and historic church and grounds.  If you know of anyone who might like to come, please be sure to let them know about the event and invite them.

As with any annual event, we hope to improve it each year, and some exciting changes will be made for this year's event.  The festival will "kick-off" on Wednesday, September 28th  with the "Nuit de la Comedie" featuring drinks, dinner, entertainment by comedian Kent Gonsoulin, and our silent auction.  The event will be held at the Delta Grand and should be fun for all.  On October 1st we will have our festival day on our grounds which will include a color run, children's area and petting zoo, a jumbalaya cook-off, bingo, church and cemetery tours, spaghetti dinners to go, concessions and a live band from 12-3pm.  The day will conclude at the 4pm Vigil Mass with our new bishop, Bishop Douglas Deshotel, as the main celebrant and homilist.  More details about the day's schedule and events will be published soon as well as how to purchase tickets for the various events.  Please make plans to come as it should be a good day for our community to enjoy Christian fellowship, food and fun while at the same time helping support the maintenance of our cemetery.

We thank you in advance for your support, and please keep the success of the festival in your prayers.  We'd also like to thank our sponsors who have committed to helping underwrite the cost of the festival and our volunteers who have been planning this year's festival since the conclusion of the festival last year.  We will acknowledge them individually at a later date, but needless to say, without them this day would not be possible.

Valentin Hall Construction
The construction on the second floor of Valentin Hall continues to run smoothly.  We will be starting another phase of construction very soon (if it hasn't begun already) on the parking lot.  This part of the project will primarily consist of installing an asphalt parking lot (expanded to accommodate approximately 35 parking spaces), a sidewalk connecting Valentin Hall to the church building, building a ramp for access to the building for those with mobility limitations, and reconfiguring our fence.  Our hope is that the parking lot will serve Valentin Hall, but also the church. During this phase of construction, which should last four to six weeks, (pray for good weather, as we hope to have the parking lot completed for the festival!) there may be some inconvenience for those wanting to visit the office.  We ask that if you plan to visit the office and the parking lot is unavailable for parking, then please park on Prudhomme Street or in the church parking lot to access Valentin Hall.  

New Financial Goal
The Finance Council has reviewed the financial statements of our community for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016.  We will be composing a financial statement to be published in the bulletin next month when I make the annual financial report to you.  Everything looks good, and thank you again for your generosity and support last year.  In light of our anticipated expenses for the coming year, the Finance Council set a goal for our weekly offertory, which is $9,000 per week.  If you are able, please consider increasing your weekly offering.  If all of us increase our offering by a small amount, it makes a big difference! 

Solemnity of The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Monday, August 15, is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Usually it is a holy day of obligation, but since it falls on a Monday this year the obligation is suspended. As usual, we will have Mass that day at 12:05pm, but there will not be any additional masses to accommodate the increase attendance. 

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 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.