Aquinas Lafayette

06/04/2026

There's still time to sign up to audit Spiritual Direction!

Classes begin Tuesday, June 9. Details below.

Register at www.aquinaslafayette.org/registration. Tuition cost is $150.

If you have questions, go to our website and fill out a 'contact us' form.

06/04/2026

The month of June is dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI teaches that devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a "summary of all our religion and, moreover, a guide to a more perfect life." The Church also exhorts us to deeper reflection on the Sacred Heart and on the "principles [of this devotion] which take their origin from Scripture and the teaching of the Fathers" (Pope Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas).
In light of this, we should consider what is meant by the word heart, a word that is central to the scriptural understanding of the human person. Sacred Scripture describes the heart as the core of our being and the font from which all our powers flow (cf. Prv. 4:23). The heart is the "source of thought and reflection" (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 611), as we see when we read that the Holy Mother of God pondered the wonders of God "in her heart" (Lk. 2:19). The heart is also understood as "the seat of the will, the source of resolves" (TDNT, 612), which we see when we read of St. Paul instructing the Corinthians each to give "as he has made up his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). In line with our contemporary understanding of the term, the heart is also the center of our emotional lives; thus, the Lord says that, upon His return, the hearts of the disciples will rejoice (Jn. 16:22).
The heart is the truth of who we are, and it "indicates our true intentions, what we really think, believe and desire, the 'secrets' that we tell no one" (Pope Francis, Dilexit Nos). It is also the place that God turns to in order to look upon us in truth. God knows the heart (Acts 15:8), and it is only when the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts (Rom. 5:5) that we can cry, "Abba! Father!" (Gal. 4:6).
When we look upon Our Lord Jesus Christ, we see what it means to have a heart. In Him, we see the fullness of human life centered on love of God and love of neighbor. When we adore the Sacred Heart, we adore "the whole Jesus Christ," for His heart is "a privileged sign of the inmost being of the incarnate Son and his love, both divine and human" (Pope Francis, Dilexit Nos). That Our Lord is both fully God and fully man means that His heart is the key to understanding ourselves and also the key to beholding the mystery of God's love, a mystery revealed most profoundly on the Cross. This is the revelation of God's heart, pierced by our sin and rejection of Him, yet inflamed all the more with love. Our sin is the lance that pierces God's loving heart, but in His infinite love and mercy, God uses this lance to open the floodgates from which the abundant and purifying blood and water of Christ flow forth for the salvation of the very ones who rejected Him.
May we be wounded by the love of Christ's Sacred Heart! May we be pierced by the Pierced One! Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

05/28/2026

St. Thomas Aquinas describes humility as “the subjection of man to God,” wherein we “temper and restrain ourselves” from “[tending] to high things immoderately,” recognizing that all the good in our lives comes from God. Humility also applies to our relations with others, as the humble “count others better than [themselves]” (Phil. 2:3). The humble recognize the good in others that they lack in themselves and are quick to identify faults in themselves that are not present in others.

The fight against pride is a hard one; we often do not even notice our pride because it so pervades everything we do. We treat the gifts of God as if they were earned on our own, we react to the smallest slight with outrage, and we chase after the esteem of the world with great effort and care, all because we esteem ourselves and the world far too highly. St. Thérèse of Lisieux compared a person desiring the esteem of the world to a moth heading toward a flame.

Our Lord teaches that the proud will be brought low, while the humble will be exalted (Mt. 23:12), and He advises us to learn from Him, for He is “meek and humble of heart” (Mt. 11:29). Do we wish to avoid the fall of the proud? If so, let us heed the words of Fr. Bergamo: “No one can fall who lies on the ground.” In the beautiful words of St. Augustine, let us “become weak, seeing at [our] feet the Deity made weak by sharing our coats of skin - so that [we] might cast [ourselves], exhausted, upon him and be uplifted by his rising.” Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

05/28/2026

Join us in auditing this summer course with Father Michael Champagne! Cost is $150. Register at www.aquinaslafayette.org/registration

05/26/2026

Contact us today to get started in pursuing your Masters in Catholic Theology! Our MACT program has openings beginning this fall. A new track has been developed to accommodate students coming into our growing program which will allow the possibility to earn your degree in 3 years or less! We offer affordable tuition to help you reach your goal.
Message us here or through our website at https://www.aquinaslafayette.org/contact with questions or to begin your application.

05/21/2026

This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, “the Church’s Baptism.” Prior to His Passion, Our Lord Jesus Christ promised the coming of “another Counselor, to be with [us] forever” (Jn 14:16). After the Ascension, the Apostles gathered in prayer with the Holy Mother of God, and in the midst of this gathering there appeared to them “tongues as of fire,” and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:3–4). With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles’ fear evaporated, and they boldly proclaimed the Gospel in such a way that “everyone could understand the announcement that Jesus Christ had died and was risen” (Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI, May 2012). In his 2012 Pentecost homily, Pope Benedict XVI compares the Pentecost narrative to the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel shows us that “wherever people want to set themselves up as God they cannot but set themselves against each other,” whereas Pentecost shows us that “wherever [people] place themselves in the Lord’s truth they are open to the action of his Spirit who sustains and unites them.”
The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost brings about the fulfillment of Christ’s Passover, opening “the Kingdom announced by Christ…to those who believe in him” (CCC 731–32). In the words of Pope St. John Paul II, “[t]he Holy Spirit comes after [Christ] and because of [Christ], in order to continue in the world, through the Church, the work of the Good News of salvation” (Dominum et Vivificantem, 3). St. Augustine likens the Holy Spirit to the soul in relation to the Church (Sermon 269, 2), and St. Thomas Aquinas likens the Holy Spirit to the heart in its relation to the Church, since “invisibly he gives life to and unifies the Church” (ST III, q. 8, a. 1, ad 3). We joyfully await the Solemnity of Pentecost, and we pray that the Holy Spirit, who guides Christ’s Church “into all the truth” (Jn 16:13), will take up His rest in our hearts, enlivening and unifying the Mystical Body of Christ. Veni Sancte Spiritus!

05/01/2026

Spend your summer Saturdays developing some practical skills in the spiritual life. Register for our course in Spiritual Direction with Fr. Michael Champagne from the Community of Jesus Crucified! Visit www.aquinaslafayette.org/currentcourses to read more and register!

04/24/2026

📣Take a look at what's being taught this summer & fall!!! Registration is now open for these courses. Visit our website to read course descriptions, see tuition costs, and register! Message us with any questions!

https://www.aquinaslafayette.org/currentcourses

03/06/2026

Come hear Fr. Champagne speak on how our lives are to parallel Christ’s.. Last Friday he spoke on what it means to live the Life of Christ and about forgiveness. Come dive into Jesus’ Dark Night and the Dark Night of the Christian. Can’t make it in person? Join on Facebook Live! 7pm on Fete Dieu du Teche

"My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?" Jesus' Dark Night on the Cross and the Dark Night of the Christian. This evening at 7 PM in Mater Dolorosa Chapel in St. Martinville. Parking at 115 Railroad Avenue.

02/20/2026

Begins tonight!!!!!
Come and prayerfully enter into meditation of Christ’s last words and learn to imitate Him in his passion and death..

"Father, Forgive them, they know not what they do!" 7 Last Words begins this evening at 7 PM at Mater Dolorosa Chapel. Parking at 110 Railroad Avenue and Entrance at covered walk at 115 Railroad Avenue in St. Martinville.