Author: Father Albert

Homily for Pentecost Sunday: Confirmed in Mission

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Pentecost Sunday                                                                                                        June 5, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/YFG_PBT4EHQ “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Do we really understand what that means? We are sent by Jesus in the same way the Father sent him. The Son of God didn’t become man… Jesus wasn’t born just to sightsee the world he created. He came with a mission. We aren’t here just to get through life. We have a mission – His mission. Sure, this command is given specifically to the Apostles, but when...Read More

Homily for the Ascension: Advancing the Kingdom of Heaven

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Ascension, C                                                                                                               May 29, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/HMLIPbQGB1I Where did he go? Jesus is “lifted up” in the first reading until a cloud takes him from sight. The Gospel tells us he “was taken up to heaven.” So, do we believe that heaven is up there, in the clouds somewhere? Did Jesus go up like a rocket ship into outer space until he reached some distant planet where heaven is? Of course not. But to this day, we talk about heaven as being “above” us and...Read More

Pastor Column: Mystici Corporis III

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of May 29, 2022]      Recall that last week, we noted Pope Pius XII’s call to practice “effective love.” In the context of the early 1900s, this prompts him to specifically condemn the idea and practice of eugenics and euthanasia. This is of course targeted at the Nazis, but we would do well to remember that eugenics was a popular idea in our own country prior to the war. It is primarily because of what we saw in the Nazis that eugenics faded as a popular...Read More

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter: The Way of Peace

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Easter Sunday 6, C                                                                                                     May 22, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/FWmyMx8vzto “My peace I give to you.” Of the many gifts Jesus offers, this is probably one of the most requested. “Pray for me to find peace, Father.” And I do so gladly because, after all, Jesus does promise it right here. But what does that peace look like? How do we recognize it, increase it, cooperate with it? In short, the answer is the Holy Spirit. Notice what Jesus lists right before he mentions peace. “The...Read More

Pastor Column: Mystici Corporis II

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article in the bulletin for May 22, 2022]      Having laid out the need for a single visible head in the Church (the Pope), Pope Pius XII turns to the three virtues that manifest the unity of the Church: Faith, Hope, and Love. These connect Catholics to each other and to God. Citing several passages of the New Testament, the Pope focuses first on faith.      We share one faith in the sense of having the same beliefs. We have the same faith in the sense that the one Holy...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter: Glory Revealed

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Easter Sunday 5, C                                                                                                     May 15, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/dPm5jrJocwc "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” This is during the last supper. Jesus has just washed their feet and announced that one of them will betray him. After everyone denies it, Jesus tells Judas “what you’re going to do, do quickly.” Betrayal prompts Jesus to speak of glory. What do you think of when you hear glory? What does it mean to “glorify” something or someone? For Jesus Christ,...Read More

Pastor Column: Mystici Corporis I

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of May 15, 2022]      The next encyclical of Pope Pius XII is Mystici Corporis Christi (“On the Mystical Body of Christ”) written in 1943. By “Mystical Body,” the pope is referring to the Church and this document gives a thorough teaching on what we mean when we say “the Church is the body of Christ.” So, we’ll take it a little at a time and see what it says.      To start with, Pope Pius says he is speaking specifically about the Church Militant, which...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter: One With The Father

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Easter Sunday 4, C                                                                                                     May 8, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/EjmRKNmKjLU He didn’t smell very good and he was only half-covered by the hospital gown. Introvert that I am, I was already timid and uncomfortable simply entering his room – this stranger in a dimly lit room to which I was sent as a kind of hospital chaplain intern. I was not enjoying the experience, I was not exactly happy to do it, and I wanted to get out of there. Then… something happened. It's hard to...Read More

Pastor Column: Summi Pontificatus

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article from the bulletin of May 8, 2022]      In 1939, not long after Pope Pius XII was elected pope, he wrote his first encyclical titled Summi Pontificatus, which translates to “Supreme Pontificate.” This document was meant to set a tone for his pontificate and so he used those words in the title. The subtitle, however, tells us what this particular document is about: On the Unity of Human Society.      Like most encyclicals, this one begins with a rather lengthy introduction summarizing recent events and documents and praising God...Read More

Pastor Column: Pope Pius XII

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article from the bulletin of May 1, 2022]      We’ve wrapped up most of the encyclicals written by Pope Pius XI, so now we move on to Pope Pius XII. Born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli on March 2 1876, he was raised in a very devout family in Rome. The Pacellis had historic connections to the papacy with a number of ancestors who served in important positions under previous popes.      Once he turned 18, Eugenio Pacelli entered seminary in Rome to begin training for the priesthood. He was...Read More