Author: Father Albert

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent: A Home Worth Returning To

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Lent Sun 3, C                                                                                                  March 20, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/l7ghhJTgHao “How many of my Father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat?” So the lost son wonders to himself just before he returns. It is this insight that finally draws him back home… that shows us how, without even leaving his home, the Father rescued his son from sin. We know the demographics. We all have or at least know someone who has children who have left the Church and even who have left the family altogether. So often I...Read More

Pastor Column: Fasting, Abstinence, and Annunciation

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[Note: This is not the Sunday homily. It is an article for the bulleting of March 20, 2022]      As everyone knows, Catholic aren’t supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent.  What a lot of people don’t know, however, are all the other rules and exceptions that go with this. For one, we call this requirement abstinence. Most people associate that word with refraining from sexual activity, but it can mean to refrain from any particular thing. In this case, we’re talking about abstaining from meat. Now, I’ll jump to one exciting rule that a lot of people don’t...Read More

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent: The Choice of the Tree

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Lent Sun 3, C                                                                                                  March 20, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/CJDmSHCgal4 “For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none.” For three weeks now, we have been in Lent. Have we born fruit? The answer to that question determines everything. Think about it. Why does Jesus decide to say three years? That was the same amount of time for his ministry on earth. In other places in the gospels, Jesus makes a comparison between the fig tree and the chosen people, the Israelites....Read More

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent: Woken to Glory

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Lent Sun 2, C                                                                                                  March 13, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/TY0G80EN9fQ “Stay woke.” Perhaps you’ve heard some variation of this phrase. Maybe it’s a positive thing to you or maybe you think of it as a kind of insult. Like so many catchphrases, the meaning has shifted over time and it means different things to different people. It was originally meant to encourage people to stay alert to what is really going on behind the scenes… to see past what “the man” tells you. Or it’s being sensitive to injustices that permeate our...Read More

Pastor Column: St. Joseph

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is a column from the bulletin of March 13, 2022]      This coming Saturday is the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary. Like Mary, St. Joseph holds a special place in our faith because of his role in raising Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Mary is the greatest of all the saints, unique because she was Immaculately Conceived and became the virginal mother of Jesus. Mary is fully human, but is unlike us in that she never experienced Original Sin. St. Joseph, unlike his spouse, was born with Original...Read More

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent: Cycle of Victory

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Lent Sun 1, C                                                                                                              March 6, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/WTKMEYA2nX0 Identity. Trial. Thanksgiving. This is the pattern for us in life and the pattern laid out for us at the beginning of Lent. It begins by knowing who we are and what makes us who we are. This identity is challenged, attacked, tried by the Adversary, Satan. And what sustains us through it all is to receive the gifts of God and return it to him with thanksgiving. Jesus was just baptized in the river Jordan. He is revealed as the Son...Read More

Pastor Column: Spring Ember Days

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[Note: This is not the homily. That can be found here.]      You may remember that I’ve often invited you to join me in observing the Ember Days. The Ember Days are a traditional time of prayer and fasting connected to each season of the year. The idea is to sanctify – to make holy – each  season. While not as popular now, the practice of fasting has always been a central part of the Christian call to holiness. It purifies our attachment to food, reminds us of the fact that many go without, and gives us a chance to...Read More

Homily for Ash Wednesday: Now Is The Time

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Ash Wednesday                                                                                                          March 2, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/mkRPK6aA8UQ “Now is the day of salvation.” This is similar to a popular piece of advice: “live in the present moment.” There’s a piece of truth in that popular adage. The reality is that we only have the present. The past is gone and the future is not here. The present moment is most real, most important. But this only goes so far. Another, related popular dictum is “live with no regrets” as if being in the present moment justifies never considering past mistakes. If all...Read More

Homily for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Glorified Body

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8th Sunday OT, C                                                                                           February 27, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/c05HN4gP32g How do we win? Where is our victory? Does not our faith promise victory over evil, sin, and death? The Ukraine crisis, rising secularism, persecution of Christians throughout the world, Covid, cancer, dementia, rising costs, fewer jobs… When you start looking for it, you can stack up quite the list of things going wrong. And we have to be realists. We can’t pretend to not see what it right in front of our eyes, but we do have the choice of what we...Read More

Pastor Column: Mass Times Change

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[Note: This is not the homily, that can be found under homilies on this website.]From the bulletin of Feb 27th, 2022      As I announced last week during the Homily, our Sunday Mass schedule will change to 9am starting the Second Sunday of Easter (April 24). The reason is straightforward: we don’t need two Masses to accommodate the number of people who attend on Weekends. We average just under 300 people on a weekend (100/Mass) though we could fit 600. It’s worth reflecting on how necessary the Saturday 4pm really is (don’t worry, I’m not cancelling it, just provoking thought)....Read More