Author: Father Albert

Homily for the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time: What Faith Isn’t

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27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   October 2, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/LlcdLUKsOB4 It’s not just willpower, you know. Faith is not stirring up some kind interior resolve to summon mystical powers and do the impossible. When Jesus gives this example of the mustard seed moving the mulberry tree, he doesn’t mean that if you dig down enough and just believe in yourself, you can levitate giant trees into the ocean. You see, faith is not just willpower or self-confidence. Faith is a virtue. Now, I say that – “faith...Read More

Homily for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C: Worries of Wealth

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26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   September 25, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/j3869UiivJk There’s not much room for soft balling here: Jesus talks about caring for the poor so much and there’s only so many ways to rephrase it. So, I’ll keep it pretty straightforward. Care for the poor or you will go to hell. The rich man didn’t kill anyone. It doesn’t say that he lied or stole or cheated or commit adultery or skip church. It simply says he was rich and comfortable while Lazarus was poor. Then...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei IV

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Sept 18, 2022]      Continuing our journey through Mediator Dei, we pick up with the pope teaching us that it is good for the lay people to become familiar with the Roman Missal. The missal is the book which the priest uses for Mass. In particular, he means it is good for the laity to have some grasp of what is going on and that various resources can be used to help them do that, including the use of books to help follow along. Remember...Read More

Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Whom You Serve

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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   September 18, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/skWhxMdJTgY What just happened? If you were a little confused by that parable, you’re not alone. Most scripture scholars agree that this is the most confusing parable Jesus tells. Of course, that’s part of what parables are for: to confuse us a little and make us think. Still, what happened? The basic story of the parable is this: a man stole from his boss and when he got caught, he stole from him again, but did it in...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei III

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Sep 11, 2022]           Focusing in on the Eucharist, Pope Pius XII notes that “the nature of men requires” a “visible sacrifice.” This sacrifice is “no mere empty commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true and proper act of sacrifice.” Each celebration of the Mass is the same sacrifice offered by the same person: the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ who offers himself on the Cross. The manner of the offering is different in that the Mass is the unbloody re-presentation...Read More

Homily for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Valued by God

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24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   September 11, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/2QF6BRcdTa4 I wouldn’t. Throw a party, I mean. If I were a shepherd and one sheep wandered off, I wouldn’t risk the 99 to go get it. It’s not like those 99 are safe; it says he leaves them in the desert. Who would leave their entire livelihood to rescue one lost sheep? That’s almost as bad as a gambling addiction that causes people to think “I lost some, but if I risk everything else, I can probably...Read More

Homily for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Discipleship

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23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   September 4, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/IEXvOIRenOA To choose to be where you are for the sake of love. That’s the takeaway from last week. Instead of trying to make the most money or find the most convenience, we ought to look for those places and opportunities to put ourselves in humble service to others. God himself did this, going so far as to serve us not only by preaching and teaching, by healing the sick and washing the feet of his disciples, but...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei II

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of September 4, 2022]      Picking up on the Church’s guidance of the liturgy, Pope Pius XII stresses that a proper understanding of the liturgy factors in both the objective, external reality and the internal, subjective reception of that reality. The Sacraments give grace. That is an objective fact. But receiving that grace requires a person to be properly disposed. He quotes St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians about examining ourselves before receiving communion, lest we eat and drink damnation on ourselves. The salvation offered by...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei I

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[N.B. This is not the Sunday homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Aug 28, 2022]      “The Mediator between God and Men.”  That is the opening line of the next document in our series and where we get the title Mediator Dei (Mediator of God). Written in 1947 by Pope Pius XII, this document addresses the Sacred Liturgy. The “Sacred Liturgy” refers not only to Mass, but to all of the public, formal acts of worship performed by the Church. This includes the other 6 sacraments as well as the many blessings and rituals that populate our...Read More

Homily for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Right Choice

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22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   August 28, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/K_r_46LwqUI Strive for grace. That’s what I left you with last week, a challenge to not worry about things beyond you and to persevere in getting grace from God because only grace gets us to heaven. But what does it mean to strive after grace? And what will that grace mean for the people who are in our lives, the people we hope to bring to heaven with us? Although complex in what it says, the point of...Read More