Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fifty sixth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Monsignor Louis Melancon

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

Bulletin for the Week of August 14, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 14, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

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 --- over seven years ago. This mass, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fifty fifth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father James Brady

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

Bulletin for the Week of August 7, 2016 - and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

Again, it is good to be back home!  I want to thank all those who helped while I was away on vacation:  Msgr. Melancon and Fr. Leger, our deacons, and of course our staff.  All seemed to run smoothly and I very much appreciate their help in holding down the fort while I was away.  As we begin to prepare for the coming school year, there are many exciting things going on in our parish, and I just want to mention a few.  As you know, each year we try to expand our services to you and to upgrade our facilities.  One of the goals of our church parish is to provide adequate facilities and programs that help us to grow in our knowledge and love of our Savior Jesus.

The Valentin Hall construction continues to be going smoothly and our hope is that Phase 2, which renovates the second floor for use as office space, will be completed in the near future.  As you might recall, Phase 1 was the replacement of the windows of the building, which is complete.  After Phase 2 is completed, we will begin work in two areas:  The parking lot (Phase 5) and the north wing of the first floor (Phase 3).  The parking lot will be expanded and asphalted, and a sidewalk will be installed from the back of the church building to Valentin Hall.  The new parking spaces can be used not only for parking at Valentin Hall, but also for Sunday Masses and other events at the church.  

In Phase 3, the north wing of the first floor will be modified to provide three conference/meeting rooms and a library for use by the various bible study and other groups that regularly have meetings.  This additional meeting space has been sorely needed for some time, as with the growth of our parish Valentin Hall has become used much more, oftentimes with multiple meetings on the same nights.  We will finish the Valentin Hall Construction with Phase 4, which is the renovation of the south wing of the first floor, namely the kitchen area and new handicapped entrance.   

Insofar as programs are concerned, we are exploring the expansion of our Come, Lord Jesus! program to Thursday night in addition to the current Tuesday and Wednesday meetings.  The program is designed to be in a small group setting, and attendance has been wonderful in all the groups.  With three nights of bible study in the Come, Lord Jesus! format, as well as a more traditional Bible Study group on Mondays, there is plenty of opportunity for all of us to learn more about Jesus in His Sacred Word.  Please check the bulletin for announcements, or if you are interested in attending or helping to organize the program, please give me a call.

We also have had an increase in the number of parents with young children attending Mass.  We hope to have a couples program, probably monthly, addressing specific challenges to raising children in this day and age as well as a social element so that our young families can get to know each other in a social setting.  We are very excited about this and hope that the Valentin Hall construction can provide a nice facility for this use once it is completed.  Again, if you are interested in attending or helping to organize please give Deacon Joubert a call.  

Finally, school started last week for some of our students, and for some it will start this week. We welcome back all the students, faculty and staff at Opelousas Catholic, especially our principal, Mr. John Cavell, who begins his second year at the helm of the school.  We also pray for all our students, teachers and staff not only at Opelousas Catholic, but also those at other schools or who are schooled at home. The beginning of the school year brings excitement to all as we think of our young people continuing the journey of their education, not only an education in academics, but also their growth in faith and human maturity.

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

May God Bless and Keep You!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of August 07, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the 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 --- over seven years ago. This mass, Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fifty fourth podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Deacon Dwayne Joubert

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

Bulletin for the Week of July 31, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

IN FATHER BRADY’S ABSENCE, Deacon Dwayne Joubert is providing this weekend’s “Deacon’s Corner”-

            We welcome Father Brady back this weekend after a much deserved time of rest! 

            In the parable from our Gospel reading this weekend, Jesus’ depiction of the words that God spoke to the wealthy man should give us all cause to pause in self-examination... “You Fool!” Not many of us would like to stand before the judgement seat of God and be called fools. What caused God to be so condemning of this poor “wealthy” man? Was it the fact that he had been so successful in his endeavors and had attained such great wealth? Was it that he tried to be resourceful and “save up for a rainy day” by building bigger storage facilities? No… God expects us to be good stewards our worldly goods.

            It was not success or riches that made the wealthy man a “fool.” His good fortune was not the problem. The problem was his attitude toward what had been given to him. In short, his own words are what caused God to judge him a fool:

v  This is what I shall do

v  I shall tear down my barns

v  I shall store all my grain and other goods

v  I shall say to myself

The man thought in all capital I’s… He forgot that he was but a steward of the land. He forgot his neighbors who could have benefited from his surplus wealth. He forgot God. “Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’” (Ps 14:1) The man forgot that God is more interested in what we are than in what we have.

            We have to remember that wealth is not bad, but that our attitude toward our wealth is critical to our spiritual well-being. Jesus teaches us that material wealth does not impede our journey toward God; it is our attitude toward that wealth. It is an inordinate desire for things, for wealth, for power, for recognition that stand in our way and that must be overcome if we are to fully realize the kind of life that Jesus made possible for us to live. If we are worried, preoccupied, consumed by concern for wealth, we put a barrier between ourselves and sharing fully in the Kingdom of God.

            Just recently in our own parish community, a lady who most would consider wealthy approached me and expressed that she had noticed a man who had no apparent form of transportation. She said to me, “I’d like to by that man a bicycle. I can afford to do it and I want to do this for him anonymously.” I use this example to point out that wealth is not the problem. This lady’s wealth does not present a barrier between herself and God but instead she uses her surplus wealth to bring the Gospel to her fellow man.  This is an example of the Good News of Christ… Faith in action! Let us all use this example of Christ’s work among us.

            We all have similar opportunities… and true some can certainly afford more than others, but Jesus calls us all to be open to his call to help others… To be true Christians by being his face to those we encounter every day!

May God Bless and Keep You!

Deacon Dwayne

The bulletin for the week of July 31, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Seventeenth Sunday in OrdinaryTime - St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred Fifty 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.

Bulletin for the Week of July 24, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

IN FATHER BRADY’S ABSENCE, Deacon Sammy Diesi is providing this weekend’s “Deacon’s Corner”-

As most of us have been brought into the Catholic Church at a very young age, probably infancy, we would consider ourselves as cradle Catholics. This is not a negative thing but sometimes we seem to take our faith for granted. Those of you that have been brought into the church at a later stage of life maybe even adulthood, probably did so out of choice guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It seems that those who have made this choice at a later age are more thankful for their gift of faith and so we cradle Catholics have to be reminded of how blessed we are.

Cradle Catholic or not we should try to understand the importance of being a Catholic. For one, our Catholic Church can be traced back to the time of Jesus and His apostles. We believe and know that our present Pope Francis’ ordination as bishop of Rome and head of the church can be traced back thru all the popes to that of Peter the first leader chosen by Jesus Himself. Of course another important reason is that the Catholic Church is the only church with seven sacraments of which most other Christian religions may only have one sacrament, Baptism. We may ask ourselves, “Why is having all these sacraments important?” First,  we should know the definition of a sacrament. It is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give us grace. After learning this definition it is also important to comprehend the value and importance of receiving any of the sacraments but especially the Eucharist which truly is the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every time we receive one of these sacraments, we are inviting God to dwell within us; we want Him to be a part of us, we want to feel the warmth and joy of His Love all the time.

Another reason to be thankful for our faith is because of all the saints who lived and died before us to help us grow our faith in Jesus and His church like St. Augustine one of our early saints who taught many things and helped us to understand the teachings of the apostles and is now considered a doctor of the church. Or maybe some of our later saints like St. Padre Pio who died in 1968 and who had the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus for fifty years for the conversion of souls. And Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta who is soon to be declared a saint by the church; and gave her life to God to help the hungry and poor of the world and to be a living example of what it is to be Jesus to all peoples of our time.

These are just a few reasons to be thankful for our faith. If you are asking yourselves, what about the rest of the world and those that are not catholic, what happens to them. No one knows the mind of God but we do know that He created us for one thing and that is to share eternal life with Him. We believe that He is a loving, forgiving and merciful God and so naturally all souls have a path to heaven but we also believe that the Catholic road although it is sometimes rocky, it is the shortest route to Heaven.

So try to take time on a daily basis and thank God for your Catholic faith and the joy of knowing that you are fulfilling the plans and directions of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who lived and died among us to prove His love for each and everyone of us.

May God bless you,

Deacon Sammy Diesi

The bulletin for the week of July 24, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Bulletin for the Week of July 17, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

This weekend and next I will be out of town on vacation.  This is the time of year where I change from a "fisher of men" into a "fisher of fish."  Know of my prayers for you all while I am away, and please keep me in your prayers as well.  The next two weekends our deacons will be guest columnists in The Pastor's Corner and they will preach at all the Masses.  I look forward to seeing you upon my return.

Fiscal Report
We are on a fiscal year that runs from July 1 through June 30.  Therefore, our fiscal year ended at the end of last month.  As usual, we will provide a detailed budget and income statement in September during our annual financial talk.  However, I do want to let you know that we made our goal for the regular offertory and exceeded our total budgeted income (by a small amount) for the year.  Our actual expenses were pretty much in line with the anticipated expenses we published in the budget last year.  For now, we are progressing nicely with the Valentin Hall renovation and our hope is that it will be completed before Thanksgiving.  Thanks so much for your generosity, and please keep the success of the renovation and the safety of the workers in your prayers.

The Diocesan Centennial Campaign
As many of you know, the Diocese of Lafayette has begun a capital campaign called "The Centennial Campaign."  It celebrates the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Lafayette, which will occur in 2018.  Several other parishes, including church parishes located in and near Opelousas, have already participated in the campaign.  I am very excited about the campaign as it has the potential to help our parish both in the short term and the long term.

The five areas where the campaign funds will be used are as follows:

1.  The local church parish (in our case, for St. Landry).
2.  Priest welfare and retirement.
3.  Seminarian Education.
4.  The poor and those in need.
5.  Our college campus ministries, particular Our Lady of Wisdom at ULL and the chapel at LSU-E.

We have discussed the campaign in Finance Council and Parish Advisory Board meetings and it was met with approval.  Our hope is that a large number of us will be contributors (yes, including the pastor!) of a reasonable amount, and if so, we should be able to reach our goal without problem.  Upon my return from vacation, I will provide more details about the campaign and how it can help St. Landry both in the short and long term (actually, it is already helping us with our construction projects!).  For now, we will need some volunteers to help with the campaign.  If you are interested in helping (there are many different tasks, and we can assign one with which you are comfortable), please call the office and let Priscilla Guidroz or Lois Joubert know and you will be contacted upon my return.  Also, please mark August 9, 2016 at 6:30pm on your calendar as that is the initial volunteer meeting at the new Holy Ghost Parish Center.

I look forward to seeing you in two weeks.  Take care and God Bless!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of July 17, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred Fifty 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 July 10, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

Deacon John Miller Retiring
This weekend, we give thanks to God for the vocation of Deacon John Miller.  Deacon Miller was ordained in 1977 and for some 39 years has served our Church as a deacon, most of which has been here at St. Landry Church.  Deacon Miller is going to retire from active ministry other than his service at Mass, and we want to thank him for the many years of service to our church community.  As Deacon Miller put it, it's time to spend more time with his family, as he is seeing the fruitfulness of his family life expanding into Great-Grandfatherhood!

Deacon Miller has always had a willingness to serve, and most recently he has served as a facilitator for our Monday bible studies and as an RCIA facilitator, among his other work here at St. Landry.  Through the years, he's done it all and has helped many people learn about their faith and enter the Church.  He saw a need for more social activity in our church, so he suggested and implemented our Sunday morning coffee and donuts after the 8am and 10am Masses, which is still going strong today!  As a new pastor, he was so supportive of me in offering his assistance, his willingness to help with whatever was needed, and his good advice to me as I got to know our community.  His service in the parish will certainly be missed, and we wish him well in his golden years.

At this time, we should also remember Deacon Miller's loving wife, Laura, who passed away just a few short years ago.  She supported him in all his vocations - husband, father and deacon.  Deacon Miller paid her the greatest compliment after her funeral:  “She made me a better person.”  I know Deacon Miller and his family continues to miss her, and so we remember her and thank her for her support of Deacon Miller throughout the years.  May she rest in peace!

After all the Masses this weekend, Deacon Miller will be in the south sacristy to visit and reminisce.  Please stop by to thank him for his service and to enjoy some food and drink.  Thanks again Deacon Miller!!

Sabbatical
Friday last week marked the 10th Anniversary of my priestly ordination.  What a great gift it has been to me, especially because it has led to my pastorate here at St. Landry Church.  In light of Deacon Miller's retirement and my anniversary, this weekend we will talk about the joy of religious vocations in the homily.

Because of my 10th Anniversary, I am eligible to take a sabbatical.  We've talked about this in our Parish Advisory Board Meetings and it seems all agree that it would be a good thing for me to take advantage of this benefit provided by the diocese.  The sabbatical will begin shortly after the first of the year 2017 and will conclude in the first week of May 2017.  During that time, I will be participating in the sabbatical program at the Institute for Continuing Theological Education located at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy.

A sabbatical program is intended to help a priest reflect on his vocation, be further educated in scripture and theology, enrich his understanding of the world and our faith by travel and a retreat, help him to see his faults and weaknesses in his priestly service and take concrete steps to improve on them, and to be renewed in energy and zeal in his priestly service.  The cost is paid one-third by the priest, one-third by the parish and one-third by the diocese.  A priest is able to take a sabbatical after every 10 years of service, and it is recommended that a priest take at least one sabbatical during the time of his priestly service.

One of the obstacles to taking a sabbatical is the availability of replacements for the priest while he is gone.  We are so blessed to have both Monsignor Melancon and Fr. Jerry Mesley to cover the priestly needs of our parish during the sabbatical, and to have Deacons Diesi and Joubert to assist in the pastoral needs of our community during that time.  A sabbatical would also not be possible without an outstanding staff, and I am thankful that we have such a staff. Although I will sorely miss all of you during the sabbatical, I do think in the long run it will help me provided better service to you and help me grow in my faith.  That's not only the goal of a sabbatical, but the goal of each of our lives.  Most people don't get the opportunity given to me in taking a sabbatical, so I am very appreciative of this opportunity and the blessing that it is.  I'll keep you posted on the details as they become more firm during the fall and as we approach the start of the sabbatical.

I will be out the next two weekends on vacation, during which time I will focus on being a "fisher of fish."  The care of the parish will be left in the competent hands of our deacons, Msgr. Melancon and Fr. Leger.  I'll look forward to returning the weekend of July 29 as we begin a new school year!  May God bless you and keep you during this time!!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of July 10, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred Fifty 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 July 03, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

This Monday we celebrate Independence Day, July 4, 1776, the date of the founding of our country. Over the course of 240 years our country has grown from the thirteen original colonies to 50 states, and she has seen ups (economic prosperity to the extent that poverty, as it was once known, has now been re-defined) and downs (the injustice of slavery and abortion), as well as events that were a mix of both (multiple wars where we've lost loved ones willing to die for our freedom, while at the same time being uplifted by their willingness to do so).

Despite the current movement of our society away from both the founding principles of our country and our Catholic teaching on virtue and morality, we are certainly blessed to live in a country where we are able to freely exercise our faith.  We have been blessed by ancestors who have handed on to us a legacy of freedom and self-governance, a legacy no other modern society has provided for its citizens to the extent we have it.

In that regard, let us thank God for those men and women who had the foresight and inspiration to establish such a society, thank God for those who throughout our history have defended our freedom and given their lives so that we are able to live in this free society, and let us renew our devotion to God who has given us this great blessing. We have been given an opportunity to live a life few other people in human history have been given, and as such we have a greater responsibility to take advantage of these blessings and use them for God's greater glory, especially in living out our Catholic Faith. Let us continue to pray for our country to become more just, let us do what we can to make our country more just, and let us thank God for the wonderful blessing of living as citizens of this great country. May God Bless America!

New Life Center - St. Landry Church Receives Good Samaritan Award

Thanks to all who helped New Life Center with toiletries over the last couple of weeks.  The director informed me that they have received a sufficient amount of toiletries to get them through the lean months of summer.  She expressed her sincere appreciation for our help, and know of my appreciation as well.  Many thanks!

Speaking of New Life Center, St. Landry Church was honored at the annual Catholic Services of Acadiana banquet with "The Good Samaritan Award" for its service to New Life Center.  There are three things that we do to serve the ladies and families there.  First, we sponsor a Saturday morning "bacon breakfast" for them monthly.  The Catholic Daughters of America, the Knights of Columbus, and the Friends of Fr. Lafleur sponsor the breakfast and do an outstanding job of putting the breakfast together.  It is a really good meal, and we certainly invite anyone who would like to help or just have a meal to come.  We thank these groups and the volunteers who are willing to serve.  We also have a Bible Study twice monthly and we offer rides to the ladies and children who would like to attend out 10am Mass Sunday mornings.  Many thanks again to the volunteers who help with these activities!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of July 03, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred fiftieth 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 June 26, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

How Time Continues to Fly!
As was mentioned last weekend in the bulletin, last week marked my sixth anniversary of being your pastor. How time continues to fly! As with any church community, we've had our joys and sorrows over the last six years, as well as our successes and bumps in the road. Over that time we've said "good-bye" to people we love with the hope of seeing them again in Heaven, and we've welcomed with joy new members to community who were baptized into our Church. We've had all the experiences in between: First Confessions and Communion, Confirmations, Weddings, Annointings of the Sick, etc. My hope as your pastor is that in all these experiences, whether joyful or not, we've all grown closer to Jesus over the last six years as we ourselves continue our journey towards the destination of eternal life. In the end, that's all that really matters.

I want to thank all of you for making my job as pastor a joy. My assignment at St. Landry has been a great blessing to me. Your patience and support has been wonderful, and is very much appreciated. You all have made me a better person and priest over the last six years, and have taught me much in your goodness. Our parish has changed much over this time, and my hope is our St. Landry Church community will continue to adapt to meet all your spiritual needs on your journey through this life. Thanks again!

Steubenville On the Bayou Youth Conference
Please remember the young people in our Youth Group in your prayers this weekend, as they will be in Houma attending Steubenville on the Bayou.  It is a wonderful experience for our high school age children, and for those of you with children of that age, please consider having them attend a conference during their high school years.  Just one warning:  If you let them go they'll want to go back!!  The group is being led by Deacon Joubert.  Our summer seminarian, Matt Ardoin, will be travelling with the group as well.  Many thanks for their willingness to give their time and talents!

Parish Registration
Just a note about parish registration and its importance.  Over the last few months we have had to address several issues that could have easily been avoided simply by registering at St. Landry Church.  Some people choose not to register in a parish for various reasons, however there are certain things about registering and not registering of which you should be aware.

Although parish registration is not required to be a part of our community, it is certainly recommended and is an indicator of a formal commitment to our church community.  There are both benefits and consequences of parish registration.  Parish registration is used by the church in determining certain things, such as whether or not one can use church facilities for weddings, whether or not one can participate in our sacramental preparation programs, and whether or not I can certify for another pastor (usually when someone is requested to be a Baptism or Confirmation sponsor) that they are a registered member of our community and actively practicing their faith.  I cannot in good conscience certify that someone is an active and participating member of our community if I've never met them and there is no evidence of either attendance or participation in our community.  Registration, as well as the use of envelopes, helps with this. 

My hope is that all will register so that we can better serve our entire community.  Simple forms are available at the office, or if you like, simply call the office and we will be happy to mail a copy to you.

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of June 26, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred forty nineth 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 June 19, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

Happy Father's Day! Many thanks to all of the devoted fathers who lead and guide their families by teaching and example. The ultimate goal is to make our way to Christ, and thus to God, The Father. We pray that in their fatherly vocation they always stay focused on true good for their families, which is the salvation of the souls entrusted to their care. Again, Happy Fathers’ Day!

Valentin Hall Construction to Begin This Week!
I am happy to announce that the final approval of the Valentin Hall renovation plans and financing was received last week and that we signed the construction contract.  Construction is scheduled to commence tomorrow, June 20, and we hope it will be completed in November, if not before.  As you know, our original plans had to be modified to meet our needs and budget capabilities.  In rough numbers, the cost of the renovation is $731,000.  We have already paid approximately $140,000 of these expenses and have approximately $400,000 in funds remaining after leaving a sufficient amount for a "rainy day" in the case of an emergency building repair.  The remainder of the necessary funds will be borrowed from the diocese, and we hope to pay off this debt within a year or two after construction (we should receive, after construction, a significant amount of assessment and tax credits to help pay down the debt quickly).  

The first phase, the replacement of the windows, is nearly complete.  There is no doubt the new windows have been a great improvement and will make the building much more energy efficient.  Many thanks to Lenard Bertrand General Contractors and Guaranty Glass for a job well done!  When our parking lot, handicapped entrance and other exterior improvements are made, the building and corner will be not only more functional, it will be much more attractive.

The interior renovations will both restore the building and improve functionality for parish use. The work will improve the building infrastructure which includes an electrical upgrade and wiring, lighting, air conditioning; bathrooms (including handicap accessibility); more meeting rooms; more office space; and a newly renovated kitchen/small reception area. The hall will serve us better as our parish center not only for offices and meeting space, but also for the education of our children in CCD and sacramental preparation programs.  It will also provide adequate space for bible study and prayer groups. It is indeed a very exciting time for us, and our hope is that the newly renovated building will serve our parishioners needs for years to come.

As we begin construction, know that our goal is for the parish to continue to operate as usual.  However, as with any construction project, there will be inconvenience to all of us, so we ask for your patience and that you bear with us during this time.  Please keep the safety of the workers in your prayers, as well as the success of the project.  Thank you again for your generosity and support, without which this endeavor would not have been possible!

Parish Advisory Board Elections
I am happy to announce that it is not necessary to have Parish Advisory Board elections.  All three of the nominees, Nancy Briley, Howard Fournier and Yvonne Normand will serve on the board.  Yvonne Normand will be an ad hoc appointee to the board for a term of three years, and Nancy Briley and Howard Fournier will serve 3 year elected terms.  Howard will be serving his second term, and Nancy will fill the vacancy created when Lori Briggs ended her second term of service this month.  Many thanks to them and all of the members of our Parish Advisory Board for their willingness to serve! 

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of June 19, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred forty eighth 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 June 12, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

At St. Landry Church, our patron St. Landry serves as a "father" of sorts to our church family. We celebrate the feast of our patron, St. Landry, on June 10. However, the pastor has the option to move the celebration of the patron saint of a parish to Sunday, which we are doing today so that we can celebrate the occasion as a full parish community.

St. Landry is a wonderful patron for us in both his teaching and example, and as we learn more about him, we can learn more about what our goals should be as a church community.  His life has a great similarity to what Pope Francis is calling us to be, servers of God's people both in word and in deed.

History is an important thing for us to remember.  It reminds us of where we came from and can keep us rooted in the things that are truly good and time tested, and helps us not to repeat things that are not truly good.  Here at St. Landry, we have a rich history of in excess of 250 years.  We've had our share of ups and downs, our sins and our charity.  However, we've never had a Church Crest to signify our history and heritage.  We are pleased to introduce this weekend our newly adopted Church Crest!  This design was approved by myself and the Parish Advisory Board as our official crest.  A copy of the design and an explanation of its meaning is included in this bulletin as an insert.

We thank John Harper for his work in coordinating the project of creating the Church Crest, and his generous gift of time, talent and treasure.  We also thank James H. "Jimmy" Granier, Jr. of Baton Rouge for his gift of the artwork and graphic design services.

Speaking of History - Our Patron, St. Landry
There are actually four St. Landrys: (1) Saint-Bishop Landry of Sées (c.405 – 480), located in the Basse-Normandie region of France; (2) Saint Landry of (Soignies) Belgium, also known as Saint Landry of Metz (c. 622 – 700); (3) Saint Landry of Savoy (1012 – 1050), who was a Benedictine monk of Novalise in Savoy; and (4) Saint Landry, Bishop of Paris, also known as St. Landry the Confessor, who died in 661 after serving as Bishop of Parish for some eleven years. Our church in Opelousas is named after this fourth St. Landry.

In 650, during the reign of Clovis II, Saint Landry succeeded Audobertus as Bishop of Paris. During the famine of 650-51, Saint Landry sold all of his personal possessions, as well as some of the furniture and sacred vessels of the church, to feed the poor. In 651, Saint Landry, Bishop of Paris, founded a hospital, dedicated to St. Christopher, near the Cathedral of Notre Dame (which hospital later developed into the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris). This hospital was still in operation on our parish pilgrimage four years ago, and we were able to see the building.  However, shortly after our visit, it was decided that the building could no longer be used as a hospital, so it will serve another purpose in the future.

Saint Landry built the original church of St. Germain l'Auxerrois, which became the parish of the kings of France. Saint Landry served as Bishop of Paris until his death, which occurred in 661. He was buried in the Church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois in Paris, and today you can see his statue and frescos painted in St. Landry’s Chapel at Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois (we saw these on our pilgrimage as well).

Let us remember to ask our patron to intercede for us in prayers for our church parish, as well call upon his intercession in time of need.  St. Landry prayers cards are located at the doors of the church.  St. Landry, pray for us!!

Father James Brady

The bulletin for the week of June 12, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Tenth Sunday in Ordinary, is our four hundred forty seventh podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father Michael Begley, C.S.Sp.

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