Bulletin for the Week of May 3, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

On Saturday of this weekend we celebrate the Jubilee of several sisters of the Marianites of the Holy Cross at special Mass here at St. Landry Church at 10:30am.  This year we especially give thanks to God for the gift of the vocation to the consecrated life, as the Universal Church has designated this year as one of special celebration of this special call to serve God.  In the consecrated life, men and woman are called and given the gift to live a life practicing the evangelical counsels, meaning the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.  The Marianite Sisters live the consecrated life and serve our community with the charisms of their order.  In Opelousas, the Marianite Sisters have deep roots in serving our community in different ways through the years.  Highlighting their service was the founding and staffing of Opelousas General Hospital, teaching at AIC (Valentin Hall was formerly the convent which housed some 30 sisters who taught at AIC), and today serving our community with the operation of C'est la Vie (independent living) and Prompt Succor Nursing Home.  We thank the Marianites for the great gift they have been and continue to be to our community, and pray that God will continue to give success to the work of their hands.  We also thank and congratulate those sisters who are celebrating jubilee years!!  May God continue to bless and keep them!

This weekend, we also begin the month of May, which along with October are special months of veneration of our Blessed Mother.  As in years past, The Catholic Daughters of America, St. Landry Court 119, is sponsoring a weekly rosary at our Grotto on Mondays during May ( May 4, 11 and 18) at 5:15pm.  This year, there is a special emphasis on teaching the rosary.  Our faith is one that is handed down from generation to generation, most especially within the family.  In essence, parents teach their children the faith that was handed on to them.  Many of us have fond memories of the family rosary prayed when we were young, and many have maintained that tradition when they marry and have families of their own.  The rosary is a wonderful way to pray as a family and to teach sacred scripture to our children by learning the mysteries of the rosary.  If your family does not have regular prayer together as a family, please considering incorporating the rosary into your routine.  As we all know, the family that prays together, stays together!  Refreshments will be served following the rosary.  You may want to bring a lawn chair or towel to sit on the ground near the grotto.  On the last Monday of May, May 25, the Catholic Daughters will also sponsor a Patriotic Rosary at the new Veterans Memorial Park along Hwy 182 at 5:30 PM.  If you need more information, please call Yvonne Normand, 337–308–3474 or Mary Joubert, 337-308-1037.

Next weekend is Mother's Day, and as usual our youth group will have a bake sale to help defray the cost of travelling to the Steubenville South conference in June.  Make sure you stop by and get your Mom (and yourself) a treat for her special day!

Finally, we will have our re-scheduled parish picnic this weekend following the 10am Mass.  I hope all of you are able to make it as we celebrate the gift God gives us in our salvation!!

Please mark your calendars and, if possible, attend the following celebration:

            May 24, 2015 - Confirmation (5pm Mass).

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of May 03, 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 Fifth Sunday of Easter

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 five years ago. This mass, Fifth Sunday of Easter, is our three hundred and eighty third 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 the Fourth Sunday of Easter

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 five years ago. This mass, Fourth Sunday of Easter, is our three hundred and eighty 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.

Parish Picnic moved to next Sunday, May 3, 2015

The parish picnic will not be held tomorrow Sunday April 26, 2015. Instead, we will move it forward to next Sunday May 3, 2015 after the 10 AM Mass. We look forward to seeing you there.

Bulletin for the Week of April 26, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Today we celebrate "Good Shepherd Sunday."  It is called "Good Shepherd Sunday" because of the Gospel reading of the day, taken from the 10th chapter of St. John's Gospel.  In the Gospel passage, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd who will lay down His life for His sheep.  Jesus' willingness to lay down his life for us (meaning for our salvation) derives from the fact that if we choose to be, we are the sheep of His flock, and He has real love for us as a shepherd has for his flock.  During this Easter Season we continue to marvel at how good God is to us in giving us His Only Begotten Son, the Risen Christ and our Good Shepherd.  Thanking God for such a Good Shepherd, we continue to celebrate our Easter Joy!

Many of you are aware and have been praying for my father after his recent accident.  He fell a little over two weeks ago and fractured one of his vertebrae.  He was hospitalized in Baton Rouge for five days and then was transferred to a rehabilitation facility last week.  As of the time of this writing, he is progressing nicely and it looks like his recovery will be full.  Being there to help both Mom and Dad required me to be away from the parish a good bit over the last few weeks, and I'd like to thank Msgr. Melancon, our deacons and our staff for handling things while I was out.  Thanks to you also for your prayers and support.  My father, mother and the rest of our family very much appreciates it.

One blessing of Dad's accident was that I was able to spend a good bit of time with him, something we don't get to do very often one-on-one.  I was also able to spend some time with my mother as well, but not quite as much, as Dad was the center of attention.  The time spent with them was a wonderful blessing and something that I very much appreciate.  I have been blessed that my parents have lived a long life, Dad being 87 and Mom 83.  In this busy world of ours, we may not make enough time to care for and be with our elderly relatives, especially those in nursing homes or who are homebound.  Many of you have lost parents at a much younger age, and would give much to have had more time with them.  For those of us who have parent(s) living, it is good to remember the opportunity you have and the blessing it is to spend time with your parents.  If necessary, make the effort to mend fences.  It leads to a more peaceful passing for them, and a more peaceful life for us who remain.

Please mark your calendars and, if possible, attend the following celebrations:

            May 3, 2015 - Annual Parish Easter Picnic moved to alternate date due to weather following the 10am Mass

            May 24, 2015 - Confirmation (5pm Mass).

These parish celebrations of the sacraments and our parish picnic highlight the joy of the Easter Season in our parish community.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of April 26, 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 Third Sunday of Easter

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 five years ago. This mass, Third Sunday of Easter, is our three hundred and eighty first 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 April 19, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

With Divine Mercy Sunday last weekend, we ended the Easter Octave and now enter into the regular Easter Season, which will last until Pentecost.  Last weekend was highlighted with First Communion, which went beautifully.  God teaches us by our children, and last week He reminded us how special the Eucharist is and the reverence with which we should approach the Blessed Sacrament.  Thanks again to Phyllis Guidry and Mary Joubert for leading the First Communion Program and the parents of the children who taught them at home.  It takes both, and it was evident throughout the program that our children were well prepared for their First Confession and First Communion.  Please also continue to pray for our young people preparing to receive Confirmation on Pentecost Sunday!

I also wanted to provide you with an update on the Sanctuary Project.  As you may have noticed, our new angels were placed on each side of the tabernacle for Easter, and many people have commented how beautiful they look.  Indeed, they do look wonderful.  The next part of the project will be to re-install the sanctuary light, which we hope to do in the coming weeks.  On the new sanctuary flooring and altar, we are still waiting for the altar to arrive from overseas, and expect it within the next 2 months.  We have to wait for the altar to be installed before we can install the flooring, which has already arrived and is ready.  As soon after the arrival as possible, we will schedule the installations.  Installation is complicated a bit by our busy wedding schedule, as it will take approximately 2-3 weeks to complete.  The latest  it will take to schedule the installation is some time in August/September as we have no weddings scheduled during that time.

Insofar as the campaign itself  is going, we have exceeded our goal and have now raised enough funds to update our sound system and to improve our lighting.  A more precise fiscal accounting will be provided after the end of the campaign, which is May 31st.  If you know of anyone interested in donating and they haven't done so yet, please let them know the end of the campaign is near!

I will be out this weekend taking a post-Easter break, and look forward to seeing you all next weekend.  May God continue to bless us all during this Easter Season!

Please mark your calendars and, if possible, attend the following celebrations:

            April 26, 2015 - Annual Parish Easter Picnic following the 10am Mass (alternate weather date is May 3);

            May 24, 2015 - Confirmation (5pm Mass).

These parish celebrations of the sacraments and our parish picnic highlight the joy of the Easter Season in our parish community.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of April 19, 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 Second Sunday of Easter

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 five years ago. This mass, Second Sunday of Easter, is our three hundred and eightieth 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 April 12, 2015

The Pastor’s Corner 

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, marking the end of the Easter Octave. The Easter Octave is the eight day celebration of Easter from Easter Sunday until today. We continue the Easter season until Pentecost Sunday in May. Looking back over the last couple of months, we have so much to be thankful for as a church parish, especially to those who made our Lent and Easter so beautiful and spiritually meaningful. We are blessed to have Msgr. Melancon living in our parish. He took on extra duties during Lent here at St. Landry and at Opelousas Catholic, helping to lead both us and our children through Lent. We are also blessed with three deacons, Deacon Diesi, Deacon Joubert and Deacon Miller, who also took on extra duties joyfully and without reservation. Our parish staff, both office and maintenance, did an outstanding job in cheerfully handling the extra work that always comes during this time of year. If you have the opportunity, please express your appreciation to them.

However, without the support of so many of you, the celebration of Lent and Easter would not have been as beautiful and meaningful as it was. It began with Ash Wednesday and our Altar Society appropriately decorating our church. Many worked long hours to provide some new statue covers for Passiontide. The Altar Society worked throughout Lent and Easter to make our church look more beautiful for our spiritual benefit. A generous parishioner provided the "Little Black Books" which so many of us found spiritually fruitful in preparing for Easter, and our Parish Advisory Board sponsored a "soup and bread" dinner after Stations of the Cross on Fridays. Our choir and music ministers did an outstanding job during the seasons, but especially during Passiontide and the Easter Triduum. Our sacristans, altar servers, readers, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion served reverently and competently. Our blog was most informative about what was going on in our church parish for those who may not have been able to attend services. Some cut palms for Palm Sunday, while others cultivated our gardens around the church. Our suppliers ably and competently provided things we needed (obviously, we thank Jim Durio Florist for the beautiful flowers, but we also had a sound system problem that was immediately repaired by Phil Borel in time for the Holy Week celebrations). So many people helped in so many ways. We thank and appreciate all of you!

I also want to thank all of you who participated in our liturgies and activities during Lent and Easter. Good attendance is usual during Lent at daily Mass and Stations of the Cross, especially at the beginning of the season. After a few weeks, however, attendance usually shrinks a bit. This year, attendance stayed pretty steady over the season! Our confessional was busy, enough so that we many times had to hear confessions both before and after our daily Mass! These things indicate a healthy spiritual life within our parish and a living out of the Lent and Easter seasons within our hearts. It also encourages others by example and solidarity in our faith. This is most important to our community, and makes for a most joyful Easter in the most important way, in our hearts and souls!

Thanks again to all! May God Bless you during the Easter Season, Alleluia, Alleluia!!

There will be much going on after Easter in our parish, so please mark your calendars and, if possible, attend the following celebrations:

            April 12, 2015 - 1st Communion (10am Mass);

            April 26, 2015 - Annual Parish Easter Picnic following the 10am Mass (alternate weather date is May 3);

            May 24, 2015 - Confirmation (5pm Mass).

These parish celebrations of the sacraments and our parish picnic highlight the joy of the Easter Season in our parish community.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of April 12, 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 Easter Sunday

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 five years ago. This mass, Easter Sunday, is our three hundred and seventy 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 April 5, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Alleluia, Alleluia!! The Lord is Risen! We rejoice today because of God's goodness to us in giving us the gift of eternal life. We now celebrate Easter for 50 days, 10 more than Lent, because we are an Easter people living in the hope of the Resurrection! While we acknowledge the struggle of our earthly life during the 40 days of Lent, we now celebrate the gift of eternal life for the 50 days of Easter. We especially celebrate Easter during this coming week, which is referred to as "The Easter Octave." The Easter Octave ends next Sunday, which is commonly referred to as Divine Mercy Sunday.

Fittingly, during the Easter Season we will celebrate two of the sacraments of initiation, First Communion and Confirmation, and we will celebrate the Easter Season as a community with our parish picnic. Please be sure to keep our second graders and high school juniors in your prayers as they make their final preparation for the reception of these sacraments. As previously announced, our annual parish picnic will take place on April 26, 2015 after the 10am Mass. It is our community's way of celebrating God's Easter gift to us. Please be sure to mark your calendars and join us for theses celebrations!

Let us enjoy this Easter season, and let the promise of eternal life fill our hearts with joy because of the love God has for each and every one of us!! Alleluia, Alleluia!!

There will be much going on after Easter in our parish, so please mark your calendars and, if possible, attend the following celebrations:

            April 12, 2015 - 1st Communion (10am Mass);

            April 26, 2015 - Annual Parish Easter Picnic following the 10am Mass (alternate weather date is May 3);

            May 24, 2015 - Confirmation (5pm Mass).

These parish celebrations of the sacraments and our parish picnic highlight the joy of the Easter Season in our parish community.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of April 05, 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.

The Passion - Opelousas Catholic School Class of 2015

The Passion, as performed by the Opelousas Catholic School Class of 2015.

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

Homily for Palm Sunday

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 five years ago. This mass, Palm Sunday, is our three hundred and seventy seventh podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Deacon Sammy Diesi.

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 week of March 29, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Today we celebrate Passion Sunday, or Palm Sunday. It marks the beginning of our remembrance this week of the events that give rise to our salvation.  There are several special liturgies and other events this week.  Please take a look at the insert in this bulletin for our Holy Week schedule of liturgies and events.  A special effort should be made by each of us to attend the major liturgies of the Easter Triduum, that is Holy Thursday Mass celebrating the institution of the Eucharist, Good Friday Services commemorating the Lord's Passion and Death, and the Easter Vigil. We are blessed that we will have one new parishioner being received into the Church at the Easter Vigil, as well as two of our brothers receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Holy Week Liturgies are moving and beautiful, and a fitting way to celebrate these most important events of our salvation.  Easter weekend often begins early, with our children getting out of school and many places of employment closing for the holiday.  This gives us an opportunity with the extra time given to us for the holiday weekend, an opportunity to take part in the Easter Triduum services.  It is understandable that sometimes family celebrations of the holiday weekend begin early, especially when people we love and do not get to see often come from out of town.  However, we cannot understand or fully appreciate Easter if we don't both understand and appreciate Jesus' act of love on Good Friday.  A thought for reflection is that if we can make time for other social events during these holidays, then should we not also be able to make time to attend the Triduum Services, maybe with our out of town visitors?  If we are not able or are not willing to make the time, then we should also ask ourselves if we need to examine our priorities and change them.

This week we also celebrate on Thursday, April 2, the 106th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated in our current church building.  We should take time to give thanks to God for our beautiful church and for the people who in their gifts of time, talent and treasure left such a wonderful spiritual legacy from which we benefit so greatly!

Now is also an appropriate time to look ahead to the Easter Season.  There will be much going on after Easter in our parish, so please mark your calendars and, if possible, attend the following celebrations:

            April 12, 2015 - 1st Communion (10am Mass);

            April 26, 2015 - Annual Parish Easter Picnic following the 10am Mass (alternate weather date is May 3);

            May 24, 2015 - Confirmation (5pm Mass).

These parish celebrations of the sacraments and our parish picnic highlight the joy of the Easter Season in our parish community. As we continue to make our Lenten journey, let us renew our efforts in the discipline of prayer, almsgiving and fasting so we can more deeply appreciate and celebrate the gift of Easter!

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of March 29, 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 Fifth 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 --- over five years ago. This mass, The Fifth Sunday of Lent, is our three hundred and seventy third podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Deacon Sammy Diesi.

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 March 22, 2015 - and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

If all is going well on our pilgrimage to Italy, we will have been to Rome and attended an audience with Pope Francis, visited the four major basilicas  of Rome (St. Peter's, St. John Lateran, St. Paul's Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major), as well as the Vatican Museum.  Hopefully, I will also have had dinner with our seminarian, Ben Pitre, last Wednesday and was able to drop off a "care" package from his family and our community.  We also will have travelled to the Abbey of Montecassino, the home of St. Benedict, as well as another Benedictine abbey, the Abbey of Santissima Trinita.

Today, we are visiting the Grotto of Michael the Archangel, through whose intercession we pray each day for our protection and care at our daily Mass.  We will also visit the San Giovanni Rotondo, the home of Padre Pio, and have our Sunday Mass in the chapel there.  This week, we will visit Loreto, Florence (famous for its Renaissance art and architecture), and Assisi (the home of St. Francis (Pope Francis' patron) and St. Clare).  We will then return to Rome for one last view of the skyline, and then return home.  Thank you for your prayers for us, and please continue to keep the group in your prayers for a safe return home.  Know that we are keeping you in our prayers as we visit these holy places.  We pray that they, and the saints’  lives that we learn about will inspire us to know God more deeply and to imitate Jesus in our daily lives!

Last weekend, we passed the halfway point of Lent.  Our focus now slowly shifts from the fundamentals of removing sin from our lives and being more fervent in our prayer (Our Love of God), almsgiving (Our Love of Neighbor) and fasting (The discipline necessary to live a Christian life, that is, to Love God and our Neighbor), to the Paschal Mystery (suffering and death leading to new life).  It is a good time to take advantage of Sacramental Confession and to meditate more deeply on the coming commemoration of Jesus' Passion, Death and Resurrection during Holy Week.  If we have not been faithful to our Lenten goals, it is never too late to begin!  If we have succeeded in our Lenten goals, we thank God for the Grace of conversion.  If we have failed in our Lenten goals, then we are humbled (in a good way) and realize our weakness and our need for God's strength.  In any case, we don't give up, but keep trying!  God knows that we all struggle to live a good life in imitation of His Son, and delights in our effort, knowing it leads to a strengthened relationship with Him. Our continuing struggle gives us new life in Christ, and thus we live the Paschal Mystery every day, looking forward to our Easter Resurrection at the end of our earthly life.

I look forward to seeing you next weekend, Palm Sunday, as we begin Holy Week.  May God bless you with the Grace of conversion as we enter these last few weeks of the Lenten Season!

Now is also an appropriate time to look ahead to the Easter Season.  There will be much going on after Easter in our parish, so please mark your calendars and, if possible, attend the following celebrations:

            April 12, 2015 - 1st Communion (10am Mass);

            April 26, 2015 - Annual Parish Easter Picnic following the 10am Mass (alternate weather date is May 3);

            May 24, 2015 - Confirmation (5pm Mass).

These parish celebrations of the sacraments and our parish picnic highlight the joy of the Easter Season in our parish community. As we continue to make our Lenten journey, let us renew our efforts in the discipline of prayer, almsgiving and fasting so we can more deeply appreciate and celebrate the gift of Easter!

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of March 22, 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 Fourth 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 --- over five years ago. This mass, The Fourth Sunday of Lent, is our three hundred and seventy 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.

Bulletin for the Week of March 15, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

Today is Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent. It marks "half-time" in our yearly Lenten journey. Laetare means to rejoice, and this Sunday is a time when we, in the middle of our Lenten journey, joyfully anticipate the Easter mystery celebrated in the liturgies of the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter).  The priests and deacons wear rose colored vestments this weekend, "lightening up" the Lenten violet.

During this midpoint of Lent, we should reaffirm our commitment to our Lenten disciplines of prayer, almsgiving and fasting.  If we have been successful in our Lenten goals, then we should thank God for the Grace to succeed and to continue to recognize that with the help of God's Grace we can overcome sin and temptation.  If we have not been successful, then in humility we should ask God for the graces to succeed and continue to do our part to cooperate with His Grace.  In either case, we have the second half of Lent to grow closer to God.  Know of my continued prayers that all of us have a spiritually fruitful Lent, and please be sure to keep me in your prayers!

Now is also an appropriate time to look ahead to the Easter Season.  There will be much going on after Easter in our parish, so please mark your calendars and, if possible, attend the following celebrations:

            April 12, 2015 - 1st Communion (10am Mass);

            April 26, 2015 - Annual Parish Easter Picnic following the 10am Mass (alternate weather date is May 3);

            May 24, 2015 - Confirmation (5pm Mass).

These parish celebrations of the sacraments and our parish picnic highlight the joy of the Easter Season in our parish community. As we continue to make our Lenten journey, let us renew our efforts in the discipline of prayer, almsgiving and fasting so we can more deeply appreciate and celebrate the gift of Easter!

Parish Pilgrimage

This week,  approximately 20 members of our community and myself, will be leaving for a pilgrimage to Rome and southern Italy.  Please keep us in your prayers.  We hope to get to see our seminarian, Ben Pitre, who is studying for the priesthood in Rome.  I will be out next weekend, returning the following week before Palm Sunday.  Know that you and our community will be in our prayers while on the trip.

Gratitude for the Parish Mission

Many thanks to all for the success of our parish mission last week!  It was great to see so many praying and learning together.  What a great way to strengthen our Lenten Journey!!  We especially thank Mr. Paul George for his wonderful presentations on how to live "Our Lenten Journey," helping us to make Lent a fruitful time of spiritual renewal.  We also thank Deacon Joubert for his efforts in coordinating and providing for the logistics of the mission. The purpose of the mission was to help us come to know Jesus more deeply during Lent.  This is done by acknowledging and accepting the healing power of His Mercy, and so imitate Him more faithfully in our lives.  Properly lived, Lent will bring us greater joy when we celebrate the Easter Triduum on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday!

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of March 15, 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.

Lenten Mission - Night 3

The third night of our Lenten Retreat is our three hundred and seventy fourth podcast to be posted. The Retreat is given by Paul George.

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

Lenten Mission - Night 2

The second night of our Lenten Retreat is our three hundred and seventy third podcast to be posted. The Retreat is given by Paul George.

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

Lenten Mission - Night 1

The first night of our Lenten Retreat is our three hundred and seventy second podcast to be posted. The Retreat is given by Paul George.

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 Third 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 --- over five years ago. This mass, The Third Sunday of Lent, is our three hundred and seventy first 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 March 8, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This week, we welcome Mr. Paul George (no, not the small forward/shooting guard who plays for the Indiana Pacers).  Paul George is a nationally renowned speaker and has given presentations at Steubenville Conferences and other large faith rallies, and he will be presenting our annual parish Lenten Mission.  The theme of the mission is "Our Lenten Journey."  The mission will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday beginning with Mass at 5:30pm followed by the mission presentation at 6pm.  Mr. George is a husband, father, and follower of Jesus.  A passionate believer and communicator of the Gospel, he has traveled the world proclaiming God’s love and freedom as a parish youth minister, diocesan director, author, and full-time evangelist.  He holds a master’s degree in theological studies from the University of Dallas.  He currently lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he directs the campus ministry program at University of Louisiana/Our Lady of Wisdom Parish and serves as a professor of theology at the Aquinas Institute on campus.  Mr. George also co-founded and directs Adore Ministries, a nonprofit Catholic organization whose mission is to call all people to worship God with their entire lives.  He and his wife have four children.  We are very blessed to have him present our parish Lenten mission this year, and we thank him for being willing to come and help us on "Our Lenten Journey."

It has been heartening to see so many of you make the effort to attend daily Mass and receive the Eucharist, our spiritual food for life's journey.  Many of you have also been attending Stations of the Cross on Friday's at 5:15pm,  when we remember and meditate on Jesus' Passion and Death.  Of course, I want to encourage all to continue these wonderful practices during the entirety of Lent, and also to invite all who have been unable to come to begin to do so.  These are such fruitful ways to observe Lent in the area of prayer. Following the Stations of the Cross on Fridays, we also have a soup and bread dinner in Valentin Hall sponsored by the Parish Advisory Board.  All are invited, and it is a wonderful way for families to observe a Lenten discipline together and at the same time get to know fellow parishioners.

Finally, just a reminder that it is never too late to participate in Lenten activities here at St. Landry.  There are many additional opportunities for prayer and study during this season, and all are invited (feel free to invite others as well, including non-parishioners or non-Catholic friends).  These activities are listed in the calendar in this bulletin and on flyers on the tables in the back of the church.  As mentioned above, it's never too late to start these activities and all are welcome.  We hope you are able to participate in at least some of these activities as we journey through Lent and move towards celebration of the immediate events that led to our salvation, the Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

- See more at: http://www.steubenvilleconferences.com/team/profile/92/paul-george#sthash.k3y7r2B9.dpuf

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of March 08, 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 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 --- over five years ago. This mass, The Second Sunday of Lent, is our three hundred and seventieth 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 March 1, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

We are now a week and a half into the Lenten Season.  Lent is a time of prayer, almsgiving and fasting which helps us to grow stronger in our love of God (prayer), love of our neighbor (almsgiving), and the discipline to love God and our neighbor (fasting).  Lent is intended to help us put ourselves in a position to receive God's Grace of Transformation, that is, the Grace of Conversion, so that we change our lives and live more closely in imitation of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  During the Season of Lent, we also focus on repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  In its simplest terms, we are relying on God's Mercy to be rid of the bad in our lives, and the Grace of the Holy Spirit to be filled with His Good.

Our individual sins separate us from God and impair our relationship with Him. Sin, whether it be our own sin or the sin of others, is also the cause of suffering in the world, beginning with the Sin of Adam. Suffering caused by the sin of others is "innocent" suffering, whereas suffering because of our own sins can be referred to as "culpable" suffering. We all have a mix of innocent and culpable suffering as we have all sinned and are all burdened by Original Sin. Jesus, Our Savior, had all innocent suffering because He was Divinely conceived and committed no sins. All His suffering was due to the sin of humanity, that is, our sins. Suffering is a mystery and can be difficult to understand, as we discussed in the homily a couple of weeks ago. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to people we think are bad? We take solace that Jesus redeemed all suffering, and gave it a purpose, namely our salvation and the salvation of the world.

A reminder that there are many additional opportunities for prayer and study during Lent here at St. Landry, and these activities were listed in a bulletin insert over Mardi Gras Weekend (additional inserts are on the tables in the back of the church). It's never too late to start these activities. We hope you are able to participate in at least some of them as we journey through Lent and move towards two of the immediate events that led to our salvation, the Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of March 01, 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 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 --- over five years ago. This mass, The First Sunday of Lent, is our three hundred and sixty 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 February 22, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This week we begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday.  Lent is a time when we reflect on our struggles to follow The Way of Jesus in this life, and we watch Jesus show us The Way to eternal life so that we can imitate it in our own lives.  I once again look forward to making this Lenten Journey with you.

Lent recognizes the reality that we still struggle in our earthly life despite the fact that our Savior died and rose from the dead.  Salvation is ours, but we still struggle in this life to be rid of sin and to do good.  We will have this struggle our entire lives.  The reason for this is that God will not impair our freedom and make us follow Him.  Our love of God and our neighbor is a choice, and a choice is no choice if we are not free to make it.  In our Fallen Nature, we struggle with making the right choices.  Scripture tells us that we are all sinners, and our sins always affect us and others negatively.  Sin produces our struggle in this life, whether it be our own sins or the sins of others that affect us, directly or indirectly.

During Lent, we will have many activities to help with our prayer, our relationship with God.  In this bulletin is an insert for your review containing the many activities we have during the Lenten Season which provide opportunities for prayer, study and fellowship.  For families, some of these activities are perfect for a Lenten family activity, such as the Stations of the Cross and the Soup and Bread Dinner.  Other things are more individual.  It is up to you to seek to examine your life and what is needed for increased "prayer, almsgiving and fasting" in you or your family's life.  Finally, please mark your calendar for our Lenten Parish Mission, which will be given by Mr. Paul George, Campus Minister at ULL and renowned speaker.  The Mission will be on March 9, 10 and 11 at 6pm in the church. Mass will precede the Parish Mission presentations at 5:30pm for those who may not have had an opportunity to attend Mass during the day.

We hope that these activities can help all of us grow closer to Jesus during the season of Lent so that we can celebrate the joy of Easter more deeply.  In recognizing our own sinfulness during Lent, we better understand the gift of the life and death of our Savior, so that in His Resurrection that we celebrate at Easter we can better appreciate the gift of eternal life despite our unworthiness.  Hopefully, we will then be more open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to live better lives! Praise to our Lord Jesus Christ!!

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of February 22, 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 Sixth 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 five years ago. This mass, The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and sixty eighth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father Jerry Mesley.

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 February 15, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This week we begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday.  Lent is a time when we reflect on our struggles to follow The Way of Jesus in this life, and we watch Jesus show us The Way to eternal life so that we can imitate it in our own lives.  I once again look forward to making this Lenten Journey with you.

Lent recognizes the reality that we still struggle in our earthly life despite the fact that our Savior died and rose from the dead.  Salvation is ours, but we still struggle in this life to be rid of sin and to do good.  We will have this struggle our entire lives.  The reason for this is that God will not impair our freedom and make us follow Him.  Our love of God and our neighbor is a choice, and a choice is no choice if we are not free to make it.  In our Fallen Nature, we struggle with making the right choices.  Scripture tells us that we are all sinners, and our sins always affect us and others negatively.  Sin produces our struggle in this life, whether it be our own sins or the sins of others that affect us, directly or indirectly.

During Lent, we will have many activities to help with our prayer, our relationship with God.  In this bulletin is an insert for your review containing the many activities we have during the Lenten Season which provide opportunities for prayer, study and fellowship.  For families, some of these activities are perfect for a Lenten family activity, such as the Stations of the Cross and the Soup and Bread Dinner.  Other things are more individual.  It is up to you to seek to examine your life and what is needed for increased "prayer, almsgiving and fasting" in you or your family's life.  Finally, please mark your calendar for our Lenten Parish Mission, which will be given by Mr. Paul George, Campus Minister at ULL and renowned speaker.  The Mission will be on March 9, 10 and 11 at 6pm in the church. Mass will precede the Parish Mission presentations at 5:30pm for those who may not have had an opportunity to attend Mass during the day.

We hope that these activities can help all of us grow closer to Jesus during the season of Lent so that we can celebrate the joy of Easter more deeply.  In recognizing our own sinfulness during Lent, we better understand the gift of the life and death of our Savior, so that in His Resurrection that we celebrate at Easter we can better appreciate the gift of eternal life despite our unworthiness.  Hopefully, we will then be more open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to live better lives! Praise to our Lord Jesus Christ!!

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of February 15, 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 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 five years ago. This mass, The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and sixty 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 February 8, 2015 and the Pastor's Corner

The Pastor’s Corner 

This coming week, on February 11, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, we will celebrate the World Day of the Sick. This weekend, we will commemorate this day by celebrating the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick at the Saturday, 4pm Vigil Mass for all of those who have a serious illness or are infirmed due to age.

The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament instituted by Jesus in Sacred Scripture in the Book of James: "Are there any who are sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick persons, and the Lord will raise them up; and if they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them." (James 5:14). The Anointing of the Sick (sometimes referred to as "Last Rites") is given to those who begin "to be in danger (of death) due to sickness or old age." In case of doubt about whether the circumstances warrant the sacrament, the sacrament is to be administered. We receive many calls at St. Landry to provide this sacrament, whether it be someone preparing for a medical procedure, someone who is hospitalized, or someone who is a resident in a nursing home. The sacrament has brought great consolation and relief to many people in our community. The sacrament helps us to configure the suffering caused by the illness or injury to Jesus suffering on the Cross for the salvation of the world. It also gives us consolation in the time of difficulty caused by the illness by helping us to understand and accept suffering because it has a saving effect, just as Jesus' suffering saved the world. It helps us to realize that we have a role in the salvation of the world, and suffering is a part of it, so the sacrament aids us "to carry our cross" and to "offer it up" by giving us the Grace to do so.

I hope that all take advantage of this sacrament when needed. You need only call the church and myself or Monsignor Melancon will be glad to administer it. As a practical matter, it is good not to wait until the last minute to request it. Some people are of the mistaken belief that it should only be administered just prior to one's passing from this life to the next. However, it can be administered any time when someone is seriously ill (or has a serious condition) or is of a certain age (around 70, depending on the person's general health). Anyone who is homebound or in a nursing home can be anointed regularly (usually every few months). Please let us know if you have a loved one who needs to be anointed and we will be happy to administer the sacrament. Waiting until the last minute can be a problem, as there are times when both Monsignor Melancon and I are out of town or unable to do so because of other duties in our ministry. Also, please know that if there is an emergency and someone requires hospital care at Opelousas General, there is a priest on call each day for anointing. Therefore, if you are unable to reach myself or Monsignor Melancon, let the hospital staff know that you would like the priest on call to come for an anointing, and they will know how to contact him.

Let us thank God for the goodness He gives to us in all the Sacraments, making sure that we dutifully dispose ourselves to receive them and fully cooperate with the Graces received in them!

      God Bless

      Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of February 08, 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 Week of February 1, 2015

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 five years ago. This mass, The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our three hundred and sixty 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.