Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over six years ago. This mass, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred first (401st!!) 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 30, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Fr. Lafleur Memorial Mass
We are so pleased to announce that Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for Military Services (in other words, the worldwide leader of the the Catholic chaplains who serve our military personnel and their families whose headquarters is located in Washington, D.C.) has agreed to come to St. Landry and be the main celebrant and homilist at our annual Fr. Lafleur Memorial Mass on Monday, September 7, 2015 at 6:30 pm.  Bishop Jarrell has indicated that he also will be in attendance at the Mass as will many priests of our diocese.  We especially hope that those who have served as military chaplains will be able to attend.  As always, all are invited for this special event, and I hope especially that parents will bring their children to experience the beautiful liturgy as well as hear one of our preeminent church leaders who is both a patriot and a man of God.  Please mark your calendars!

Sanctuary Construction
Hopefully, by the time you are reading this Pastor's Corner the tile in the sanctuary will be completely installed and the work in the sacristies nearly complete.  If not, I hope it is close to being done!  As you know, besides the work in the sanctuary and sacristy, we have been able to renovate both bathrooms and install valves in the air conditioning system that will make it possible to run at least part of the system in the event of a water leak.  Much has been accomplished over the last few weeks, and we continue to thank God for the blessings he has bestowed upon us in giving success to the work of our hands.

In that regard, we will be obtaining furnishings for our sanctuary in the very near future.  Several of you have asked about what is needed for the sanctuary in light of the construction, so we provide here a "wish list" of things that are needed for the sanctuary in order to properly furnish it.  Where possible, we have included the cost of the item.  If you are interested in giving in this manner, please call Fr. Brady (ext. 107) or Deacon Joubert (ext. 104) for more information.  The "wish list" is:

Presider's Chair (please call Fr. Brady for information);
Deacon's Chairs - 2 (please call Fr. Brady for information);
Sanctuary Chairs for Servers/Concelebrants - 12 ($300 each);
Sanctuary Kneelers - 12 ($150 each);
Rugs - 2 (please call Fr. Brady for information);
Formal Cruet Set ($300).

Thanks again for your generosity in the campaign and patience during construction!

Welcome to Fr. Jerry Mesley
Finally, we are pleased to announce that Fr. Jerry Mesley will be coming to live at St. Landry beginning this week and until his usual departure back to New Mexico in February.  Fr. Mesley is well known to many of you because of his many years of service to our area during his yearly trips to south Louisiana. We are so pleased to have the blessing of Fr. Mesley's presence during the next few months.  Please be sure to welcome him when you see him around the church.

            Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 30, 2015 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 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over six years ago. This mass, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundredth (400th!!) 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 23, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

At the time of this writing, the sanctuary floor is partially installed, and I think that it looks beautiful.  The red carpet has been completely removed and replaced, and I think the new colors look great!  I hope by the time this bulletin is published, that all the new flooring will be nearly completed.  Our planned timing is that we will be putting the finishing touches on the project this week and that it will be completed sometime during the week.

One of the regular questions that has come up in the five years that I've been pastor is whether or not there are tombs located under the main aisle carpet that had been covered when the carpet was installed.  We checked...and there are no markings on the floor under the carpet.  I forgot to take pictures...let the conspiracy theories begin!!

At the last Parish Advisory Board Meeting we elected new officers to serve for the upcoming year.  Sharon Ortego was elected Chairperson (Sharon served as Vice-Chair last term), Harry Ragas was elected Vice-Chairperson, and Lori Briggs was elected Secretary for a second year.  Our outgoing chairperson is Dirk Boudreaux who remains on the council. Thanks to all of them for their willingness to serve our church parish!

Registration continues for our sacramental preparation programs (1st Communion (2nd Grade) and Confirmation (High School Juniors)) as well as our CCD catechism program for first grade through high school juniors.  Please be sure to register if you plan to enroll for the classes.

Music at the 5 pm Sunday Mass

Our youth choir has been singing once a month since Christmas, and it has developed to the point where it will be able to provide the music for our 5 pm Sunday Mass every weekend.  It is an exciting development for us and we look forward to hearing our young people using their God given gifts to praise Him with their voices and help to praise Him as well!

In that regard, this Sunday will be the last Mass for Curt Miller to provide the music at the 5 pm Sunday Mass.  Curt has done a wonderful job and we want to thank him for bringing his talents and gifts to our church and providing music that has enhanced our worship over the years.  If you see Curt, please be sure to let him know how much we appreciate his efforts.

            Father James Brady


LT. FATHER VERBIS LAFLEUR

A MEMORIAL MASS honoring Fr. Lafleur will be celebrated on 9/7/15 @ 6:30 PM… Main Celebrant and Homilist will be Archbishop Timothy Broglio from the US Military Archdiocese. Please make every effort to attend!

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 23, 2015 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 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over six years ago. This mass, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and ninety 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 August 16, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Last weekend was a wonderful experience for our church community.  The altar, by all accounts, is beautiful and fits into our church sanctuary in both size and style.  As with any project of this nature, there were some bumps along the way, and all who were involved were devoted and flexible in their roles in making the installation possible.  As with any undertaking of this size, there are many people to thank.

So we thank those who helped last week in making the altar installation a success and our liturgy dedicating it a meaningful and touching event for so many.  Insofar as logistics and installation are concerned, we owe a debt of gratitude to the following, without whose hard work and dedication the installation would not have been possible:

• Courvelle Toyota, who provided logistical support for the installation;
• Leonard Bertrand General Contractors, Inc. who provided the preparatory work;
• Carpetland, Inc., who provided preparatory work;
• Phil Borel, sound expert, who provided logistical support;
• J.C. Stone Experts, out of Houston, Texas, who installed the altar;
• The Gatz Home and Garden, St. Michaels, MD from whom we purchased the altar and helped design it;
• Deacon Joubert, who coordinated the installation with the contractors;
• Our office staff, who took on extra work in administrating The Sanctuary Campaign;
• Our maintenance staff, who also took on extra work and provided support to the contractors while on the premises; 
• Fr. Jaison and our brothers and sisters at Holy Ghost, who provided a place for our daily Masses during installation.

Insofar as the Dedication Mass is concerned, we want to acknowledge and thank Bishop Jarrell for his willingness to come and celebrate with us, and also the following:

• Deacon Joubert for coordinating the liturgy and the reception after on our end;
• Deacons Miller and Diesi for their attendance and support;
• Fr. William Blanda and Deacon Jay Bergeron, the bishop's masters of ceremony;
• Our altar servers, readers and other lay ministers who did a wonderful job with a different liturgy;
• Our choir, who provided beautiful music for the liturgy;
• Andrew Guidroz, who was the photographer during the liturgy;
• Our Altar Society (Group 3), who managed to completely clean the church after the installation in time for the Mass.

But most of all, we thank God for his kindness and blessing to us, and you, the members of our parish community, without whose prayers and generosity none of this would have taken place.  Many, Many Thanks!

NEW PHONE SYSTEM
Last month, we installed a new phone system to better serve you.  When you call, please listen to all the options, as you are now able to dial directly all of our office personnel, and if they are not available, to leave a voicemail for them.  The extensions are on the recording, and they will also be placed in the bulletin.  So far, the system has worked well, although there have been a few bugs which we are working to correct.  For now, if you have a problem with the system, please let us know so we can correct it.

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 16, 2015 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.

Altar Dedication - 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 six years ago. This mass, the Altar Dedication, is our three hundred and ninety eigth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Bishop Michael Jarrell.

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 the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over six years ago. This mass, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and ninety 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 9, 2015 - and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This weekend Bishop Jarrell will dedicate our new altar at the 10 am Mass.  It is a very exciting time for our parish! Please join us for the Rite of Dedication as well as the reception that will follow in the Valentin Hall kitchen. The solemn rite of dedication we will celebrate was formerly called the "consecration of an altar," but is now referred to as the "dedication of an altar."  In the rite, the altar is dedicated for the special use of our parish celebrations of the Eucharist.

The word consecration literally means "association with the sacred." The term has various nuanced meanings in different contexts.  A synonym for "to consecrate" is "to sanctify," or to set apart and  make holy.  Obviously, the most important thing we do as a community is worship Jesus as he taught us in the Eucharistic celebration, and we will dedicate the altar specifically for this special purpose.  A beautiful part of the Prayer of Dedication sums up that for which we hope:  Lord, we stand before you in prayer and ask "that you bless this altar built in the house of the Church, that it may ever be reserved for the sacrifice of Christ, and stand for ever as the Lord's table, where your people will find nourishment and strength."

Every dedicated altar has a first class relic of a saint imbedded in it.  It is most preferable, of course, that a relic from the patron in the parish (in our case St. Landry) be used.  We do not have available a relic of St. Landry, so we have chosen to embed in the altar a relic of St. Vincent de Paul.  The relic of St. Vincent de Paul was chosen because he and St. Landry have a common French heritage and they both gave great service to and had great love for the poor.

Next Saturday, 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 Saturday this year the obligation is suspended. As usual, we will have Mass that morning at 8 am, but because of the solemnity, the Mass will be celebrated in the church rather than the Valentin Hall Chapel.

Finally, school started last week for some of our students, and for some it will start this week. We welcome back all the students, faculty and staff at Opelousas Catholic, especially our new principal, Mr. John Cavell. We also pray for students, teachers and staff at other schools or who are schooled at home. The beginning of the school year brings excitement to all as we think of our young people continuing the journey of their education, not only an education in academics, but also their growth in faith and human maturity. Of course, they are growing physically, and it always amazes me how much our children grow each summer!

As we begin this school year, let us pray that our children and teachers have a safe and successful year, developing the talents given to them by God for use in service to Him and our neighbors. May they, and we, continue to grow in faith, hope and charity over the coming nine months!

OF PARTICULAR NOTE…

Our 12:05 WEEKDAY MASSES for 8/10-8/14 will be celebrated @ Holy Ghost Catholic Church to accommodate our Sanctuary Flooring project! Special thanks to Fr. Jaison and the Holy Ghost staff for their gracious hospitality!

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 09, 2015 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 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.

On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over six years ago. This mass, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and ninety sixth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father James Brady.

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

Bulletin for the Week of August 2, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

(While Father Brady is away on vacation, he has invited the three Deacons of our parish to be guest contributors. This week we are happy to hear from Deacon Dwayne Joubert!)

Greetings fellow parishioners! I hope that your summer is going well and that you have been able  to find some time for rest and rejuvenation with your families. It is hard to believe that by this time next week many of our area students will already have had their first day of classes! How time flies. I pray that the new school year is fruitful for all.

As most of you know, for the past two years I have been a full time member of the staff here at St. Landry. Over that time my duties have varied and last school year I actually spent time in the classroom as a part time Religion Teacher at Opelousas Catholic in addition to my responsibilities here in the parish. As the demands of our growing parish have increased, Father Brady encouraged me to relinquish that responsibility so that I can be freed to assist him in coordinating the many projects that are underway and are on the horizon for our community. I do intend to continue to assist the administration at OC in any way possible, but the bulk of my time will be spent here in the parish.
In addition to assisting in coordinating  the physical plant projects, my duties include, but are not limited to Director of Religious Education, Youth Coordinator, Liturgy Coordinator and Cemeterian.
The youth programs in our parish are largely in their early stages and continue to grow!. Last school year we re-introduced CCD instruction for our students. About nine months ago our newly formed Youth Choir sang at their first Mass.  We sponsored trips for our youth to attend the Abbey Youthfest as well Steubenville on the Bayou Youth Conference again this year. A couple of weeks ago we held our 2nd Vacation Bible School.  None of these activities would be possible without  the support and prayers of our Pastor and YOU our parish community!   There is more to come… We intend to begin monthly Youth Group Gatherings on Sunday evenings beginning in September. In January of 2016, we are assisting Diocesan efforts in hosting a Youth Rally at Opelousas Catholic (more on that later!), and our Youth Choir’s participation in our liturgies will continue to increase.

This is a very exciting time for our parish and I am humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of it! I continue to grow in my love for you, the parishioners of Saint Landry, and I feel your prayerful support as I try my best to minister to your needs.

My prayers remain with you,

      Deacon Dwayne Joubert

NEW ALTAR!

Installation of our NEW ALTAR is scheduled for the week of 8/3-8/7… This is a very exciting time for us as a Church Community! Bishop Jarrell will be with us to celebrate 10 AM  Mass and Consecrate the Altar on August 9th! There will be a reception following the Mass in Valentin Hall.

WEEKDAY MASS LOCATION!

Our 12:05 WEEKDAY MASSES for the weeks of 8/3-8/7 & 8/10-8/17 will be celebrated @ Holy Ghost Catholic Church to accommodate our New Altar installation and Sanctuary Flooring project! Special thanks to Fr. Jaison and the Holy Ghost staff for their gracious hospitality!

The bulletin for the week of August 02, 2015 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.