First Sunday in Advent

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, First Sunday in Advent, is our four hundred 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 November 27, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

This weekend, we continue our journey towards Christ with the beginning of our liturgical year. Today, the 1st Sunday of Advent, marks our liturgical “New Year,” which appropriately begins with our preparation for and anticipation of receiving the gift of Jesus at Christmas. The Nativity of Our Lord marks the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life, the life of Our Savior that leads to the salvation of the world. The remembrance of these events is intended to help us all re-focus on Christ and His Church by entering more deeply into the mystery of the Incarnation, that is, the mystery of God becoming Man. The first step in preparing to receive Christ fully was heralded by John the Baptist, Jesus' forerunner, who preached repentance and forgiveness of our sins in order to "prepare the way of the Lord" in our hearts.

In that regard, the Diocese of Lafayette is once again sponsoring “The Light is on for You” campaign. During Advent, St. Landry Church will have its “light on for you” on Wednesdays from 6:30 until 8pm for Confessions. Confession is a beautiful sacrament often under-utilized by Catholics. Confession gives us an earthly and tangible experience of God's Divine Mercy, which is not only the forgiveness of our sins, but also the Grace to overcome them and live a life fully in union and in peace with Jesus. As the words of absolution say, God grants us "pardon and peace." Confession allows us to tangibly experience God’s mercy in the forgiveness of our sins, and His Grace gives us the strength to cast off the burden of sin to live in true freedom and know Him ever more deeply. Confession will prepare us to receive Jesus more fully at Christmas, so I hope we all take advantage of the Sacrament of Confession during the Advent Season. Please know of my prayers that all of us are blessed with the greatest gift of all at the end of this Advent Season, the gift of Jesus peace and a deeper relationship with Him!

Centennial Campaign Commitment Weekend
Finally, a reminder that our Centennial Campaign commitment weekend is next weekend, December 3rd and 4th. So far the campaign has gone extremely well, and we are moving nearly to our goals.  Many thanks to all of those who have given to the campaign!!  If you have not yet considered giving to the campaign, I ask that you do so during this week in preparation for next weekend.  As you know, the success of our campaign depends on all donations, and no donation is "too small."  Our Sanctuary Campaign was based on the same principle: that all of us have the same dignity and importance in our community; that all are loved and cherished; and that all have an obligation to participate in supporting our community to the extent that they can!

Again, Thanks to our Volunteers!
With the beginning of the new liturgical year, I want to once again thank all those who have helped at the church this year by volunteering to serve our community. Last weekend we had our annual appreciation dinner for our volunteers and ministers, which went very well. I want to especially thank Deacon Joubert and Yvonne Normand for coordinating the event. Without the generosity in time that our volunteers give, from the beginning of the week early on Monday morning to the closing of the church building after the 5pm Mass Sunday evening, our volunteers do so many things that help our church community. The variety of gifts and talents that have been given to our parishioners and then used to support our community is so important for our continued ability to thrive and live life in Christ. Please know of my appreciation for your dedication and generosity, and my hope that all of us will continue to be generous with the time, talent and treasure that God has given to us.

Fr. Brady

The bulletin for the week of November 27, 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.

Thirty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Thirty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred 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 November 20, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

What an exciting time for our parish, but a very busy time.  From the Festival de la Grande Eglise to The Cemetery Tours to All Saints and All Souls Day and our Annual Memorial Mass.  In the background of all these event have been the Valentin Hall Renovations, The Centennial Campaign and the blessing of locating and receiving Fr. Verbis Lafleur's chalice.  Here's an update on how our current activities are going.

Fr. Lafleur's Chalice
I promised at masses that I would let you know how Fr. Lafleur's chalice was located and received, so here it is.  Several weeks ago, Fr. Tom Voorhies, Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Ville Platte was able to make contact with Fr. Carl Beekman, a priest of the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois and someone with whom Fr. Voorhies was familiar.  Some of you know Fr. Beekman as he lived in our diocese for several years and eventually entered the seminary and was ordained a priest.

When Fr. Lafleur died his heroic death in the waters just off the Philippine Islands, his chalice, which had been left behind with his family for safekeeping, was given to his nephew, Wilfred Sylvester, who was in the seminary and was also ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lafayette.  Fr. Sylvester left the chalice to now Fr. Beekman should he be ordained, and Fr. Beekman was ordained and took possession of the chalice.  Fr. Voorhies became aware of this and checked with Fr. Beekman about returning the chalice to Fr. Lafleur's childhood parish, Sacred Heart in Ville Platte.  Fr. Beekman, who I spoke to last week, was willing to do this.

Upon hearing this news, myself and Richard and Carrol Lafleur (Fr. Lafleur's nephew and niece-in-law) traveled to Cary, Illinois by car, picked up the chalice and brought it home.  We were able to use the chalice, very fittingly, for our All Saints Day and All Souls Day Masses.

What a wonderfully generous gift this was by Fr. Beekman.  As I mentioned to some of you, a priest's chalice is akin to wedding rings for married couples, so it was something very special to Fr. Beekman.  Please keep him in your prayers and thank God for his generosity!  In the near future, we intend to return the chalice to Sacred Heart in Ville Platte for safekeeping.  When needed for special occasions in the future, it will be available for us to borrow.  Thanks to Fr. Voorhies for locating the chalice, Richard and Carrol Lafleur for traveling to retrieve it, and most of all to Fr. Beekman for his kindness and generosity!

Construction Update
We have nearly completed the renovation work on the second floor of the hall, and it has turned out beautifully.  The parking lot is complete and fully functional except for some work to be done on the fence and sidewalks, and it will be of great service to our parish both in access to the hall and to the church building.  Over the next week, construction will begin on the first floor on the kitchen side of the building, and myself and Deacons Diesi and Joubert will move into our new offices on the second floor.

The next two phases of construction will cause the most inconvenience to you and our operations, so I ask for your patience.  For now, Priscilla Guidroz (our receptionist and archivist) and Lois Joubert (our bookkeeper) will be located on the first floor on the north side of the building.  The entire area from the entrance hall to the kitchen will be under construction, and the back door to the kitchen will be unavailable for use.  The chapel will remain open for visitation during business hours.  We are doing what we can to accommodate all with the facilities that we have available.  Please be sure to schedule any use of the facilities with Priscilla as far in advance as possible!

Campaign Update
Last week we began the telephone solicitation phase of the campaign.  We continue to move towards our goal.  At the time of this writing we are rapidly approaching, if not already exceeded, $300,000 in pledges.  Many thanks to all who have made both donations and pledges to this point!

Volunteer Banquet
Don't forget our volunteer banquet set for Sunday evening, November 20th, at 6pm at the Opelousas Catholic Cafeteria.  All volunteers who gave of their time and talent to our church community are invited.  Look forward to seeing you all there

Fr. Brady

The bulletin for the week of November 20, 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.

Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Thirty ThirdSunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixty 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 November 13, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

What an exciting time for our parish, but a very busy time.  From the Festival de la Grande Eglise to The Cemetery Tours to All Saints and All Souls Day and our Annual Memorial Mass.  In the background of all these event have been the Valentin Hall Renovations, The Centennial Campaign and the blessing of locating and receiving Fr. Verbis Lafleur's chalice.  Here's an update on how our current activities are going.

Fr. Lafleur's Chalice
I promised at masses that I would let you know how Fr. Lafleur's chalice was located and received, so here it is.  Several weeks ago, Fr. Tom Voorhies, Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Ville Platte was able to make contact with Fr. Carl Beekman, a priest of the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois and someone with whom Fr. Voorhies was familiar.  Some of you know Fr. Beekman as he lived in our diocese for several years and eventually entered the seminary and was ordained a priest.

When Fr. Lafleur died his heroic death in the waters just off the Philippine Islands, his chalice, which had been left behind with his family for safekeeping, was given to his nephew, Wilfred Sylvester, who was in the seminary and was also ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lafayette.  Fr. Sylvester left the chalice to now Fr. Beekman should he be ordained, and Fr. Beekman was ordained and took possession of the chalice.  Fr. Voorhies became aware of this and checked with Fr. Beekman about returning the chalice to Fr. Lafleur's childhood parish, Sacred Heart in Ville Platte.  Fr. Beekman, who I spoke to last week, was willing to do this.

Upon hearing this news, myself and Richard and Carrol Lafleur (Fr. Lafleur's nephew and niece-in-law) traveled to Cary, Illinois by car, picked up the chalice and brought it home.  We were able to use the chalice, very fittingly, for our All Saints Day and All Souls Day Masses.

What a wonderfully generous gift this was by Fr. Beekman.  As I mentioned to some of you, a priest's chalice is akin to wedding rings for married couples, so it was something very special to Fr. Beekman.  Please keep him in your prayers and thank God for his generosity!  In the near future, we intend to return the chalice to Sacred Heart in Ville Platte for safekeeping.  When needed for special occasions in the future, it will be available for us to borrow.  Thanks to Fr. Voorhies for locating the chalice, Richard and Carrol Lafleur for traveling to retrieve it, and most of all to Fr. Beekman for his kindness and generosity!

Construction Update
We have nearly completed the renovation work on the second floor of the hall, and it has turned out beautifully.  The parking lot is complete and fully functional except for some work to be done on the fence and sidewalks, and it will be of great service to our parish both in access to the hall and to the church building.  Over the next week, construction will begin on the first floor on the kitchen side of the building, and myself and Deacons Diesi and Joubert will move into our new offices on the second floor.

The next two phases of construction will cause the most inconvenience to you and our operations, so I ask for your patience.  For now, Priscilla Guidroz (our receptionist and archivist) and Lois Joubert (our bookkeeper) will be located on the first floor on the north side of the building.  The entire area from the entrance hall to the kitchen will be under construction, and the back door to the kitchen will be unavailable for use.  The chapel will remain open for visitation during business hours.  We are doing what we can to accommodate all with the facilities that we have available.  Please be sure to schedule any use of the facilities with Priscilla as far in advance as possible!

Campaign Update
Last week we began the telephone solicitation phase of the campaign.  We continue to move towards our goal.  At the time of this writing we are rapidly approaching, if not already exceeded, $300,000 in pledges.  Many thanks to all who have made both donations and pledges to this point!

Volunteer Banquet
Don't forget our volunteer banquet set for Sunday evening, November 20th, at 6pm at the Opelousas Catholic Cafeteria.  All volunteers who gave of their time and talent to our church community are invited.  Look forward to seeing you all there

Fr. Brady

The bulletin for the week of November 13, 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 Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixty seventh podcast to be posted. The homily is given by Father 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 November 6, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

Many thanks to all who participated in our Memorial Mass on All Souls Day last Wednesday. What a beautiful liturgy, and I know the families who grieve appreciate the support of those who were able to attend. We thank all our servers, extraordinary ministers, lectors, choir members and sacristans, as well as Deacon Joubert who coordinated the liturgy. Their work and dedication is very much appreciated. Please be sure to keep in your prayers those who mourn and for the repose of souls in purgatory.

Mark Your Calendar for Annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet - November 20th
We are rapidly approaching Thanksgiving and the end of the Liturgical Year, which concludes November 20 when we celebrate The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. As has now become custom, we will also have our annual appreciation banquet for all our volunteers that evening after the 5pm Mass at the Opelousas Catholic cafeteria. All who volunteer and give the gift of time to our church community are invited, but at the risk of omitting someone (please accept my apology in advance!) these volunteers and their spouses are invited:

        Members of The Altar Society and Knights of Columbus
        Money Counters
        Readers
        Extraordinary Ministers of Communion
        Altar Servers and their parents
        Festival Volunteers
        Ushers
        Members of the Parish Advisory Board and Finance Council
        Trustees
        Sacristans
        Members of our choirs and musicians
        CLJ/Bible Study Leaders
        Youth Group Volunteers

We thank all of our volunteers for their gift of time and talent, a gift without which we would not be able function as a church community. Please make plans to attend, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Food Boxes During November 
As usual we will focus on helping those who are in need during the holiday season. We will again place boxes at the doors of the church during the month of November for non-perishable food donations. The donations will be sent to ICONS, our local food pantry, for distribution to those in need in our community. Please be generous in helping during the holiday season.

Veterans Day and Patriotic Rosary
This week, on Friday, November 11, our country celebrates Veteran's Day, a day when we take time to give thanks to those who have served in our armed forces. As we are reminded every time armed conflict occurs in our world, in order to protect individual and societal freedoms, including the freedom to practice our faith, an armed force is necessary. We are thankful for the brave men and women who have served or are currently serving in our armed forces, and we pray for them and their families. John's Gospel tells us: "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." We thank God for raising up these men and women who are willing, if necessary, to lay down their life so that others have the opportunity to live a life in freedom and full human dignity. We pray that God will continue to bless our country, and that He bless and keep in his care our veterans and active service members. May we always appreciate what they have done for us!

On Veterans Day there will be a Patriotic Rosary sponsored by the Catholic Daughters at 6pm in the church. All are invited to join us for this event!

Fr. Brady

The bulletin for the week of November 06, 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 Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixty sixth 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 October 30, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

This week we celebrate and honor those who have returned to their eternal home, our ancestors and relatives who, by God's gift of Grace, lived a good life in word and deed and played their part in handing down the faith to us who live here today. In the same way, we are called to be lights of Christ to those around us and especially to those whose faith formation is entrusted to our care, particularly our children. This week we have several events marking our devotion, thanking God, and praying for those who have gone before us.

Saturday, we will have our Cemetery Blessing after the 4pm Mass at 5:15pm. Tuesday, November 1st, All Saints Day, is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning we are obligated to attend Mass that day. We will have a Vigil Mass at 5:30pm Monday, October 31st, and Masses on November 1st at 8:40am (Opelousas School Mass), 12:05pm and 5:30pm. Finally, on Wednesday, November 2, we will celebrate All Souls Day where we pray for those who are in purgatory. Mass that day will be at 12:05pm and there will be a special Memorial Mass for those who were called home in the last year at 6pm. A display of those who died in the last year will be in church by the Marian Altar until Thanksgiving week for us to remember them and to assist those who would like to pray for them by name.

Fr. Lafleur's Chalice Comes Home!
Some very exciting news...Fr. Lafleur's chalice was located in Cary, Illinois!! Last week, I was able to travel with Richard and Carrol Lafleur, Fr. Lafleur's nephew and niece-in-law, to receive the chalice. The chalice has been given to Sacred Heart Church of Ville Platte for safe keeping. Sacred Heart Church is the parish where Fr. Lafleur went to church as a child until his family moved to Opelousas when Fr. Lafleur was 12 years old. A priest's chalice is a most sacred item because of its use in the Holy Mass. For a priest, his chalice, usually received at ordination, is a most cherished symbol of his priestly life, akin to the meaning wedding rings have for a married couple. More information on the chalice and how it was located will be provided later, but for now let us thank God and the priest who was willing to give us the chalice, Fr. Carl Beekman of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Cary, Illinois. Our plan is to use the chalice in our All Saints and All Souls Masses before it is returned to Sacred Heart Church in Ville Platte.

Centennial Campaign - Volunteers Needed!
The Centennial Campaign is going very well, and we have passed the 50% mark our goal. We will soon be publishing the progress in the bulletin. For now, we will begin the second phase of the campaign next week, which is making phone calls to those we could not personally visit during the initial phase of the campaign. We need volunteers to help with phone calls in asking for donations. Training will be done on November 9 at 5:30pm in Valentin Hall and the actual work of the phone calls will be from approximately 6-8pm. Other dates for the phone bank will be provided at that time. Please come if you are able and bring your cellphone. Any time you are able to give, even if just for one evening or for a part of an evening, will be greatly appreciated!

Election Homily Link
As I mentioned last week in my homily, there was an excellent homily given and posted on the internet for viewing.  It is well worth watching and puts our election and the issues that it raises into a Catholic perspective, especially on the issues of the protection of life and human dignity.  Here is the link to the homily, which lasts about 20 minutes:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=881aDDE5qFY.

On another election note, there are groups running ad campaigns in association with the election next week who claim to be Catholic and support the abortion movement.  Please know that these groups do not speak for our Church and are gravely erroneous in their depiction of Catholic teaching.  Support of abortion in any way (procuring one, performing one, paying for one, advising someone to have one, etc.) is a serious matter and incompatible with our Christian Faith.  This includes voting for a candidate who supports abortion when there is a viable alternative candidate who supports the right to life (unfortunately, there may be times when there is no candidate who supports the right to life, so one is forced to vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights, which is another sad statement about the status of our society).
   

Fr. Brady

The bulletin for the week of October 30, 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 October 23, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

What beautiful weekends for our Cemetery Tours the last two weeks! They were picture perfect, and the tours were once again a great success. There was much preparation and hard work put into this year's tours by many people. We thank the Cemetery Tour Committee and all those who supported, assisted and helped in making this year's tours such a great success. We also want to thank all who came and took the tour, both parishioners of St. Landry Church and our visitors. Proceeds from the tours are used for cemetery maintenance, as this month we remember and reverence those who have gone before us and have handed down to us their faith, culture and wisdom.

In that regard, we are at the time of year when we remember those who have passed into the next life before us. We especially remember our deceased loved ones on All Saints Day, which is November 1, and All Souls Day, which is November 2. Two things we should be reminded of during this time. First, if you have family members who are buried in St. Landry Cemetery, please check on their tombs, and if necessary, spruce them up or repair them. Our cemetery is beautiful, and we hope to maintain that beauty through the continued effort to maintain the tombs properly. We hope that families will continue the tradition of reverencing their ancestors by proper maintenance of their tombs. Second, our cemetery was built at a time when families maintained the tombs of their family members as well as the grounds. Because of this, cemetery endowments were not deemed necessary, so our cemetery has no endowment for perpetual maintenance. As a church parish, we maintain the cemetery without charge of a cemetery maintenance fee, and the cost of maintaining the grounds for some 4,000 tomb sites is, to say the least, substantial. The Festival de la Grande Eglise was established to help offset these cost.  If you were unable to support the festival, please consider a donation for cemetery maintenance. Special envelopes are in the church for this purpose. Thanks so much! 

Please also note the upcoming special liturgies we will have next week.  Our annual Cemetery Blessing will take place next Saturday after the 4pm Saturday Mass, beginning at approximately 5:15pm. Of course, November 1st is All Saints Day and a holy day of obligation, meaning that we attend Mass just as if it was a Sunday.  We will have a vigil Mass on Monday, October 31st at 5:30pm and will have Masses on November 1st at 8:40am (OCS Mass), 12:05pm and 5:30pm.  Please make every effort to attend this wonderful celebration of all the saints God has created and who have brought the Light of Christ into our world.  Finally, our annual All Souls Day Memorial Mass will be at 6pm on November 2, where we especially remember those who have died in the last year and pray for the consolation of their families.  Hope to see you all at these special liturgies!!

Last Weekend's Centennial Campaign Kick-Off
Thanks to all of you for the positive response we received after the kick-off last weekend of the Centennial Campaign.  Many of you have made the effort to let us know of the positive reception the campaign has received, and that is very much appreciated.  As stated, we are nearly half way to our goal, and we will begin publishing our status in the coming weeks in the bulletin so that you can be kept up to date on how the campaign is going.  Know of my appreciation to all who have helped in the campaign, including the diocesan personnel, volunteers, donors and all who have prayed for the campaign.

Mom and Dad
Finally, thanks so much for all the help and prayers for my Mother and Father.  So many of you have followed up with me to see how they are doing and to let me know of your prayers for them.  Please know that I informed them of your prayers and support and that they greatly appreciate it.  They are doing fine, adjusting to their new surroundings, and they are in good spirits.  Considering the circumstances of the flood, the transition is going better than we could have ever expected.  Thanks again!    

Fr. Brady

OCS SENIOR TRIP TO DC
Many of the Senior Class @ Opelousas Catholic will be attending the Annual March for Life in Washington, DC in January. Students will be at the entrances our church after Masses this weekend selling Raffle Tickets and accepting donations to help defray the cost of this trip. Please keep all attending in your prayers. And let us continue to pray for an end to abortion in our nation! 

The bulletin for the week of October 23, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixty 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 October 16, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

The Diocesan Centennial Campaign

This weekend, we formally introduce The Centennial Campaign at all our Masses.  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.  For the last month or so, myself and volunteers have been making in-home visits, and will continue to do so as the campaign continues through November. 

 The response to the campaign has been wonderful.  As of this writing, we have been able to pledge as a community about one-half of our $440,000 goal.  Many people have come forward seeking to donate, asking they be called for an in-home visit...how wonderful!  It's so nice to experience the joy of giving with others and to help with the exciting things that the campaign will support.  I will explain in the homily this weekend in more detail how the donations to the campaign will be used, but for now the following five areas will be supported by the campaign:

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.

The funds that St. Landry receives from the campaign will be used to continue our construction work on the campus, namely Valentin Hall, a few remaining projects in the rectory (bathrooms and three other rooms that have not yet been repaired), and then we will return to the church building (air conditioning components, organ, and repairing water damage in the interior of the church).

For our campaign, it is hoped that a large number of us will be contributors (yes, including the pastor!) of a reasonable amount.  If we all give what we can, and not worry about what we cannot, we should be able to reach our goal without problem. Thanks again to all our volunteers and to those who have already supported campaign as we look forward to bringing the campaign to a successful completion!!

Cemetery Tours

The Cemetery Tours continue this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, and we hope to continue to have beautiful weather as we did last weekend. We should remember the spiritual purpose of the tours, which is our prayer and and remembrance of those who have gone before us and left a legacy of Faith in Christ Jesus and their role in helping to build our Opelousas community. This legacy includes the Faith that has been handed down to us from the time of the apostles, as well as the things that tangibly help us worship today, such as establishing our church parish and constructing the beautiful church in which we have the privilege to worship.  Please come out and enjoy one of the tours!

Fr. Brady

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

The bulletin for the week of October 16, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Homily for the Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixty fourth 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 October 9, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

What a wonderful weekend we had for the second annual Festival de la Grande Eglise!! The weather was beautiful and we had good crowds. All seemed to enjoy the festivities. My participating in the 2 Mile Color Run was great fun for me, as well as the other activities of the day, especially Bishop Deshotel joining us at the 4pm Mass. There are many people to whom we owe thanks for making the festival such a great success, and there is an insert in this bulletin acknowledging those who helped to make the day possible. We especially thank our sponsors, without whose support the day would have never gotten off the ground. Please patronize them if you are able. We will be providing an accounting of the festival as soon as the numbers are available. Thanks again!!

Holy Ghost, AIC and Opelousas Catholic Homecoming this weekend
This weekend we celebrate homecoming for our alumni of Holy Ghost, AIC and Opelousas Catholic.  We welcome home those who have matriculated from these institutions and thank them for their continued support and positive presence in the world.  Our best wishes for all our alumni, and prayers and wishes for safe travel for those coming from out of town.

Cemetery Tours begin this weekend
The Cemetery Tours begin this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, and will continue next weekend. We should remember the spiritual purpose of the tours, which is our prayer and appreciation for those who have gone before us who left us a legacy of Faith in Christ Jesus. This legacy includes the Faith that has been handed down to us from the time of the Apostles, as well as the things they've done to help us tangibly in our worship today, such as establishing our church parish and constructing the beautiful church which we have the privilege to worship in today.

We remember that the promise of Christ is eternal life, and His Resurrection (and thus our resurrection) on the Last Day is both in body and spirit. We treat the bodies of those who have passed from this life to the next with reverence because it is a Temple of the Holy Spirit while alive on earth, and also because it will be raised up in glory on the Last Day. Therefore, the funds raised by The Cemetery Tours are used to maintain, repair and beautify our historic cemetery. It is important that in reverence we properly maintain our cemetery because those who have gone before us have handed down the faith to us that was handed on to them by the generation before, and we are the beneficiaries of our ancestors teaching us our faith by both word and deed. Our devotion to this endeavor is evidence of that continuing belief in the resurrection and our appreciation for what has been done for us by our ancestors!

Fr. Brady

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

The bulletin for the week of October 09, 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 27th Sunday In Ordinary Time

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- over seven years ago. This mass, Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our four hundred sixty 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 October 2, 2016 and the Pastor's Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER:

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

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

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

Many, many thanks to our sponsors!

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

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

Fr. Brady

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

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

The bulletin for the week of October 02, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Homily

Homilies are now available to download and listen to!

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

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

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

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

2016 Color Run - 2 Miles

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

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

PASTOR’S CORNER:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fr. Brady

THIS WEEK!

Nuit de la Comedie – Wed. 9/28 @ 6pm!

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

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

The bulletin for the week of September 25, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.

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

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

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

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