Author: Father Albert

Homily for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Deaf To Justice

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23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  September 5, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/GdV_jyLIg1o Judgement. Discrimination. These words are sort of taboo nowadays. A history of injustice and prejudice in our country and even the warnings of scripture give some reason for that. Jesus says not to judge. In our series on the letter of St. James we today are told by him to “show no partiality.” Yet, it can be confusing because to be a rational human being requires you to make judgments. Having a functioning society requires discrimination. Before he was healed, the deaf man...Read More

Pastor Column: Christ The King

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     Having completed our journey through John 6 and its special focus on the Eucharist, we return to our ongoing study of teachings throughout Church history. Just before the detour, we learned a little about Pope Pius XI (1922-1939). Today, we pick up with his document on Christ the King, titled Quas Primas, which means “which is first.” It was the document he wrote when he added the feast of Christ the King to our Church calendar.      Since he was reigning in the time between the wars and the all the chaos that that ensued, Pope Pius XI was...Read More

Homily for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Advice from St. James

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22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                 August 29, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/VkGRk39UBKc?t=1173 Last week concluded our month long focus on the Eucharist and the sacraments in general. As encounters with God himself, these liturgical events are essential to our religion; crucial in getting us to heaven. Nonetheless, our religion is not summed up by just being in the Church building. Indeed, even the sacraments themselves point us outwards – Holy Orders, Marriage, and Confirmation are each there to equip Catholics for love and service to their neighbor. There’s a reason for this. When asked about...Read More

Homily for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time: Eucharistic Coherence

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21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  August 22, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/YgEbIEjTHfM “If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve.” For five weeks we’ve journeyed through John chapter 6. We’ve reflected on hunger and weakness and fasting. We’ve considered the limitations of this world and that we need to work at having faith to live from an eternal perspective. We’ve challenged the temptation of focusing too much on what we can get instead of what we can give. We’ve rejoiced at the promises of the Eucharist, especially...Read More

Homily for the Assumption of Mary: The Bodily Promise of Glory

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Assumption of Mary                                                                                       August 15, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/691Gxq-cc34 "From this day all generations will call me blessed.” So Mary proclaims in a moment of great joy. Indeed, we are interrupting our journey through John Chapter 6 to acclaim the blessedness of Mary. Why, though? Why honor Mary in this way? Because “the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” Yes, as always when we honor a saint, we are ultimately honoring what God has done in and through that saint. That’s truer of Mary than anyone else....Read More

Homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Feeding Faith

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19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  August 8, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/UuB4BmoG7OI Elijah the prophet is depressed, worn out, ready to give up and die. But then he gets up and walks 40 days and 40 nights. What changed? God gave him some hearth cakes – bread – to eat. This bread gave him that strength. But that bread is a mere foreshadowing of the Eucharist. If the symbol is powerful enough to keep him going 40 days, how much more powerful must the real thing be? “Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” That’s...Read More

Homily for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Food Worth Working For

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18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 25th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/bQM64w1JMeg “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Is that what you’re doing? I said last week that hunger and need is good… that we actually should be hungry for what Jesus offers. It’s still true, but hunger can also mislead. This crowd begins with a willingness to sacrifice food to get to Jesus but ends up following Jesus precisely because he can give them food. That’s me! I have done that...Read More

Homily for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time: It Begins With Hunger

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17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 25th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/SbCpnC6Ad1Q Are you hungry? Are you willing to be hungry? Because that’s how this whole thing starts. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, the gift where God literally gives us himself… and it started with a crowd that was willing to go hungry. Not that they said anything about being hungry. These people saw paralyzed men get up and walk, fevers disappear, leprosy wiped away by Jesus. So they followed him without cell phones and google maps. Jesus was...Read More

Pope Pius XI

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From the bulletin of July 18, 2021      Pope Benedict XV died in January of 1922. His successor and the next person in our journey through Papal documents is Pope Pius XI who reigned from 1922 to 1939.      Pope Pius’ birth name was Abroglio Damiano Achille Ratti. He was born in Milan in 1857 to Francesco and Teresa. His father owned a silk factory. Ambroglio Ratti was ordained a priest in 1879 and went on to be something of an academic in the Church, ultimately earning three doctoral degrees in Rome and becoming a professor at the seminary in...Read More