Bulletin for the Week of August 22, 2010

The bulletin for the week of August 22, 2010 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.

Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.

And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page StLandryCatholicChurch.

Homily for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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 --- just over one year ago. This week, the Feast of the Assumption, is our eightieth podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Father James Brady.

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

Father Lafleur Memorial Mass

The Father Lafleur Memorial Mass

The Lieutenant Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur Memorial Mass will be at 6:30 PM, September 7, 2010 on the anniversary of Father Lafleur’s death at St. Landry Catholic Church, 1020 North Main Street, Opelousas, Louisiana.

The mass will be celebrated by Father Francis Lowe, a military chaplain currently stationed in Arkansas, whose father was a prisoner of war alongside Father Lafleur during World War II.

For the last several years, St. Landry Catholic Church has hosted this annual Mass in honor of one of its former altar boys; it was, in fact, through the help and guidance of the pastor, Father A. B. Colliard, that a young Lafleur was eventually able to enter the seminary. Today, some of Father Lafleur’s relatives in the Opelousas area are still parishioners of St. Landry Catholic Church. In 2007, a monument in honor of his memory was erected on the church grounds.

After being ordained to the priesthood in 1938, Father Lafleur went on to serve both his church and his country as a military chaplain during World War II. He and more than 600 other prisoners were killed when the Japanese ship transporting them was torpedoed. Although Father Lafleur’s body was never recovered, survivors later recalled that he was last seen trying to help others escape from the sinking vessel. In the years that followed, Father Lafleur’s family received letters from many others to whom he had ministered during the war, sharing their stories of how deeply the priest’s selfless actions touched and inspired them.

In October 2008, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Joseph Guerra assisted the Lafleur family in submitting a request to the U.S. Army, asking that Father Lafleur be considered for the Medal of Honor. While the family is still awaiting a decision on that matter, Lt. Col. Guerra has authored a book which chronicles Father Lafleur’s heroic endeavors as a military chaplain. The family is hopeful that the book, which is currently being printed by the local Andrepont Printing business, will be available in time for this year’s Memorial Mass.

Those who are interested in learning more about Father Lafleur are encouraged to visit http://www.fatherlafleur.org/ for further information.

Monstrance needed

The monstrance used for First Friday adoration and benediction in the Valentin Hall Chapel is broken and it is not feasible to repair it.

The monstrance is a sacred vessel used to display the consecrated host for adoration, benediction, or during processions. The word monstrance comes from the same root as our English word "demonstrate" - to show. The monstrance is many times designed to resemble the sun, symbolizing Christ as the Light of the World.

If anyone is interested in donating a monstrance for our church parish, please contact me at the church office (337) 942-6552 or email me by clicking this link on the church website. Your generous gift of a monstrance will provide a beautiful item that will be central to worship in our parish for this and future generations to come.

Father James Brady

Pastor's Corner - Welcome to Monsignor Louis Melancon

We welcome Monsignor Louis Melancon to our parish. Many of you already know him because of his good work at Opelousas Catholic School. He will reside, for the next few weeks, here at St. Landry Catholic Church. Due to the renovations in the rectory described in previous bulletins, he will reside in Washington throughout this school year. Beginning in the Fall of next year, he will reside here at St. Landry on a more permanent basis. Between now and then, we look forward to Monsignor's presence in our parish.

Readings and Themes for the Week of August 15, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of August 15, 2010,
The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Reading I Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab

A woman is clothed with the sun and crowned with stars.

Psalm 45

"The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold."

Reading II 1 Corinthians 15:20-27

Christ is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Gospel Luke 1:39-56

As David danced before the ark, so John leaps in his mother’s womb in the presence of the Lord in the womb of Mary.

THEME:

God’s power among us gives us strength.

Mary’s joyful song of praise, her Magnificat, resounds throughout this great festival in honor of her assumption into heaven. Let us be attentive, as was the Blessed Virgin Mary, to God’s word of comfort, peace, and challenge for all who long to see the face of God.

Questions of the week

Question for Children:

How does your relationship to the Blessed Virgin Mary help your faith?

Question for Youth:

Mary said YES to God, to cooperating with God’s plan for her life.

What do you think God wants for our life?

How well are you cooperating with God’s plan?

Question for Adults:

In your own words, how would you describe the role of Mary in the work of Christ?

Bulletin Bites
"More blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb."

On November 1, 1950 Pope Pius XII, in his Encyclical Letter Munificentissimus Deus, proclaimed, declared and defined to be divinely revealed dogma that "... the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." Some ask why, how, when, and where? Those are fair questions. The simple answer is "It’s a mystery!" But it is more important to ask, "Why not?" Why would Jesus not want to honor the young girl who accepted God’s call to be his mother [at great risk to her life], who carried him in her womb and gave birth to him in a cave, who watched him grow and was with him when he died on a cross and who rejoiced at his Resurrection by assuming her uncorrupted body to be with him in heaven for eternity? The world would be a much better place if we all honored our parents, family, friends, and strangers who often do so much for us that we do not appreciate. Once again, Jesus reveals to us that gratitude is the beginning of generosity.

Bulletin for the Week of August 15, 2010

The bulletin for the week of August 15, 2010 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.

Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.

And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page StLandryCatholicChurch.

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Two for the price of one!

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 --- just over one year ago. This week, the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our seventy-ninth podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Father James Brady speaking about Hands Together, missionaries to Haiti. Their website can be found at http://www.handstogether.org/ This is a second homily for this weekend - so you get two for the price of one!

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

Anniversary - Laying of the Cornerstone for St. Landry Catholic Church

Today is the 102 year anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for the current building here at St. Landry Catholic Church. When standing outside of the church facing the front doors (to the east), the cornerstone is to your left. It was carved in 1907 and put into place on August 8, 1908. From my notes on the history of St. Landry Catholic Church ...

In 1900 a temporary church was completed. In 1902 the task of removing and clearing away the old church was started. In 1903 the foundation was formed with concrete and brick from the old church. On August 8, 1908 the cornerstone was laid. During the winter of 1908-1909 construction of the walls continued and was completed and occupied. On April 2, 1909, the first Friday of April, the first mass was said in the current St. Landry Church.  The interior of the church was not completed. Father John Engberink was our pastor who built the church. Father Engberink is buried in the floor of the church near the sanctuary.  Monsignor Albert Benedict Colliard followed Father Engberink as Pastor. Monsignor Colliard completed the interior. Monsignor Colliard is buried in St. Landry Cemetery near the cross.  Monsignor Broussard was the pastor following Monsignor Colliard. Monsignor Broussard in 1963 had the interior of the church redecorated and air conditioned.

As you can see from the photo at the top of this posting, the cornerstone is in Latin …

Ad

Laudem Dei Omnipotentis

Sub

Invocatione St. Landerici Epi – Et

Conf. Mense Januarii A.D. MCMVII

Primarius Novae Aedis Lapis

Collocatur Sedente S.S.D.N.

Pio Papa X

Reverendissime J.H. Blenk S.M. Arch

Rev. J. Engerbrink

Rectore Opelousas

Larry Jagneaux is a parishioner here that many of you know as a Eucharistic Minister at 10 AM Sunday mass.  Larry also teaches Latin 101 and Latin 102 at the Aquinas Institute and has published a textbook on Latin. He was gracious enough to translate the cornerstone as … (with a few additions to clear up the names and abbreviations)

To the praise of Almighty God, under the invocation of St. Landry, conferred in the month of January, 1907, the first stone of the new Church, set during the pontificate of Pope Pius X.  The most Reverend James Hubert Blenk, Society of Mary, being the Archbishop of New Orleans, and the Reverend John Engerbrink, Rector of Opelousas.

Homily for the Nineteenth 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 --- just over one year ago. This week, the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our seventy-eighth podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Bill Darling who represents Hands Together, missionaries to Haiti. Their website can be found at http://www.handstogether.org/

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

51st Anniversary of Charlene Richard's death

Tonight, at 6 PM at St. Edward's Catholic Church in Richard Louisiana, Father Wayne Duet will celebrate mass on the 51st anniversary of the death of Charlene Richard.

Charlene died as a child at the age of 12 of leukemia. Thousands of people visit her gravesite each year as a testament to her faith while going through a difficult illness.

At 5 PM, a rosary will be prayed. Immediately afterwards, Deacon Reggie Bollich will make a presentation about the Charlene Richard Mission house located in Northern Thailand.

Father Joseph Brennan who wrote the book, "My Name is Charlene" will be present to sign copies of his book before mass. Barbara Gutierrez who wrote the book "Charlene" will be there as well.

Prayer cloths made by the St. Edward's Ladies Altar Society, prayer cards, and brochures from the Friends of Charlene will also be distributed free of charge.

A reception will follow the mass.

You can contact the Friends of Charlene at PO Box 91623, Lafayette, LA 70509.

The Pastor's Corner - A Message from our Pastor, Father James Brady

Things continue to go well in the transition of pastors in our parish. Each week I get to know more people and am learning more about our parish. It's been a great month and I appreciate everything each of you have done to welcome me and make my transition comfortable. As several of you have suggested, one liturgical adjustment that could be made is to schedule more Eucharistic Ministers for each Mass. As the new school year approaches, Mass attendance tends to increase as families return home from vacation, and this has occurred over the last few weeks. It is expected that Mass attendance will continue to increase for the next few weeks as more families return home and we settle into our "school year" rhythm. We are in the process of scheduling additional Eucharistic Ministers, but this may take a few weeks, so I ask for your patience in the interim.

This Sunday, August 8th, is the 102nd anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone in our current church. This is a good time to reflect on the beauty of our Church and to thank those who came before us for the great gift they left us. Our worship of God is most important, and our ancestors and predecessors definitely left us a most fitting place to do so. On a trivia note, the rector/pastor at the time of construction of the Church, according to the cornerstone, was "Rev. J. Engerbrink.” In Valentin Hall, there is a portrait of a priest named "Fr. John Engberink" who was the "Dutchman" responsible for building the current Church and was the pastor here from 1895 to 1918. His tomb in the Church has the same spelling. In the rectory, there is a mini-portrait of "Fr. John Embrank”, who looks exactly like the man in the portrait in Valentin Hall. We know all three are the same man, but his name is spelled differently in each place, and two of the three items (the cornerstone and the mini-portrait, which have the most diverse spellings) appear to have been done within a close period of time. Does anyone know the correct spelling?

Father James Brady

Readings and Themes for the Week of August 08, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of August 08, 2010,
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I Wisdom 18: 6-9

On the long-awaited Passover night, God’s children offered the paschal sacrifice.

Psalm 33

"Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own."

Reading II Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19

By faith, we join our ancestors in faith, as together in hope we journey toward our homeland.

Gospel Luke 12: 32-48

The Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour.

THEME:

Do not live in fear. Live, and be ready!

Let us now be attentive to the word of God, which reminds us to nurture our faith constantly, our vision focused on the coming of the Lord. We await our inheritance of the heavenly kingdom promised to those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus.

Questions of the week

Question for Children:

Jesus tells us to always be ready to hear him.

What are some ways he speaks to us?

Question for Youth:

If Jesus were to knock on your door today and give you a report card on your life as his disciple, what grade would you get?

Where would be your areas for improvement?

Question for Adults:

On a daily basis, what are some ways to keep yourself ready for God to act?

How do you pay attention to God’s often-less-than-obvious actions?

Bulletin Bites
"For where your treasure is, there also will be your heart."

The trash we put on the curb to be discarded reveals much about who we are and what we do in life. It contains the packaging of the products that we treasure. It reveals where our heart is. What is in our trash? Is it packaging from the latest electronic games, the best type of athletic equipment, the current fashion in clothes [no matter how revealing], the appliances with the most features, containers that held gourmet foods, too many liquor bottles and beer cans, and the shredded documents of the fortune we are trying to amass? There are some people whose hearts are not revealed by their trash. They have no trash. Sadly, they have nothing to throw away. They do not have sufficient food and they have very little clothing. We would do well to remember the words of Jesus, “Much will be required of the person who has much, and still more of the person entrusted with more”. When we bring our trash to the curb we should ask, “How much treasure have I been entrusted with and what does this trash reveal about my heart?”

Bulletin for the Week of August 8, 2010

The bulletin for the week of August 08, 2010 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.

Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.

And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page StLandryCatholicChurch.

St. John Bosco comes to Louisiana

The relics of St. John Bosco -- "Don Bosco" -- are being brought to a few churches in New Orleans later this month.

 

Last year was the 150th anniversary of his founding of the Salesians ... the Society of St. Francis de Sales ... and the relics are touring the world as part of the celebration.

 

The Salesians are best known for providing education for the poor throughout the world. In Haiti, they take in young boys who have been abandoned by their families due to poverty, educate them in a trade, and then attempt to have them reunited with their families as not only a family member but a provider.

 

On the itinerary:

• New Orleans: September 19-20 veneration at St. Rosalie Parish in Harvey, La.
• September 21, Youth Rally at Alario Center in Westwego, La.
• September 21-22 veneration at St. John Bosco Parish in Harvey, La.

More details at the website, Don Bosco Among Us.

Homily for the Eighteenth 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 --- just over one year ago. This week, the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our seventy-seventh podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Father James Brady, our new pastor.

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

July 31 - Feast of St. Ignatius

Retreat House Chapel at Sunrise,

 Our Lady of the Oaks Retreat House, Grand Coteau, Louisiana

Today, July 31st, is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus --- better known as the Jesuits.

Each year, a group of men from our parish as well as other neighboring parishes attend a retreat at Our Lady of the Oaks Retreat House in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. The retreat is on the first weekend of the month of March each year. We arrive at the retreat house on Thursday evening and the retreat runs until lunch time Sunday. The retreat is an Ignatian retreat given by the Jesuits there.

To find more information you can visit the website for the retreat house at: http://www.ourladyoftheoaks.com/

You can contact me, Andrew Guidroz, by phone at 337 351 0732. Or you can email me through the church office by clicking here.

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for August 2010

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for August 2010 is:

"That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties."

His mission intention is:

"That the Church may be a “home” for all people, ready to open its doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries."

The Pastor's Corner - A Message from Father James Brady

This weekend, we say good-bye to our seminarian, Mr. Alex Albert. He will be returning to St. Joseph's Seminary College in Covington to resume his philosophy studies. We wish him well, but we will miss him. During his stay, Alex was active as a chaplain at Mountain Bayou the first few weeks of his assignment, and then focused on parish ministry the last six weeks. He was a great help in visiting the sick, teaching our children catechism, and doing much (maybe too much!!) manual labor in helping Monsignor Romero and I move during our recent change in pastor. His hard work is very much appreciated and we hope he will come back to visit us when he returns from school. Alex will be speaking at all the Masses this weekend - please wish him well or, if you are able, join him for a cup of coffee after the 8 am or 10 am Mass.

Last weekend we held our altar server in-service, training and picnic. Approximately 15 of our children participated, and all had a good time. Many people helped with the event and we thank them, but special thanks to Dwayne and Mary Joubert, who coordinated the event. I would like to say the servers enjoyed most the in-service and training, but that would not be true. It's hard to beat a water slide! Please remember, if your child is interested in the ministry of serving at the altar, please call Dwayne Joubert, whose number is on the front of the bulletin. This is a good way to teach our children how to be active in their church life at a young age.

A reminder that the Children’s Bulletins are given out AFTER THE MASS IN FRONT OF CHURCH. Please encourage your children to come and meet me for their bulletins.

Father James Brady

Readings and Themes for the Week of August 01, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of August 01, 2010,
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23

All things are vanity!

Psalm 90

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

Reading II Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11

In Christ, you have died.

In Christ, you have been raised up.

Gospel Luke 12:13-21

Avoid greed in all its forms.

THEME:

Faith helps us set Godly priorities.

The message for today’s scripture readings is quite simple, keep your eyes fixed on Christ Jesus rather than on the possessions of this world. Let us allow this challenging word of God to penetrate and change our hearts. For this kind of change, we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit who is present in this holy place.

Questions of the week

Question for Children:

What is the most important thing in your life?

Question for Youth:

It is easy to get self-centered and greedy.

What do you have in your life that is unnecessary?

In your life, what keeps you close to God?

What distracts you from your relationship with God?

Question for Adults:

What wisdom do you pull out of this reading to help you set priorities in your life?

Bulletin Bites
"Take care to guard against all greed."

Greed is a very insidious and seductive emotion. It is at the root of all sin. It was a factor in the sin of the first man and woman in the Garden. They were not content to be grateful for all God had given them. They wanted to BE God.

George Carlin had a comedy routine about stuff. He said that we get stuff and then we need a house to put our stuff. Then we get more stuff. So we need a bigger house for our stuff. We go on vacation and take some of our stuff. But we buy stuff we don’t need and come home with more stuff. Our lives are filled with stuff. And we get very attached to our stuff. Our attachment to our stuff stems from our erroneous belief that we are the source of all of our stuff and that we acquired it out of our own effort and ingenuity. When we acknowledge God as the source of all that we are and all that we have and all that we ever will be, we even enjoy the stuff we have and share it with others without being obsessed about getting and keeping more than we really need to enjoy life.