Father Albert

Homily for the 3rd Week of Lent: Freedom

Posted on March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 by Father Albert

3rd Sunday of Lent, B March 7, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/zooLk_rNUqo Freedom. The next step in our journey is to understand the fundamental value of freedom. It might seem a strange thing to talk about when our readings include a list of “you shall not”s and we see Jesus literally using a whip to interrupt other people’s business, yet that really is the core of what’s happening here. Our first reading should have sounded pretty familiar to you; it’s the Ten Commandments. They are given to Moses on Mount Sinai...Read More

Pastor Column: Tra Le Sollecitudini II

Posted on March 8, 2021March 8, 2021 by Father Albert

From the bulletin of March 7, 2021 Last week, we looked at the first part of Pope St. Pius X’s document on sacred music, which gave some basic principles for what kind of music should be used at Mass and other forms of the liturgy. The glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful are the reasons for sacred music and because of this, such music should be holy and beautiful in a way that transcends a single cultural expression. By way of example, the pope pointed to Gregorian Chant as the music developed by the Church herself...Read More

Homily for the 2nd Week of Lent, B: The Victory of Obedience

Posted on February 28, 2021February 28, 2021 by Father Albert

2nd Sunday of Lent, B February 28, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/bKRDZq1mVXk Obedience. In our journey through the fundamentals, it is time to look at the reality of obedience. Last week took us through that fundamental conflict of Good vs. Evil, begun with original sin and carried on today in the heart of every human person. After promising never to use a flood to destroy evil again, God gives us the sign of a rainbow, which foreshadows the way in which he will overcome evil once and for all, by aiming it’s...Read More

Pastor Column: Tra Le Sollecitudini I

Posted on February 27, 2021February 27, 2021 by Father Albert

From the bulletin of February 28 One of the earliest things Pope St. Pius X wrote as pope was a document on the music at Mass, titled Tra Le Sollecitudini, published on November 22, 1903. As he puts it, he is writing this letter because he “deemed it expedient to point out briefly the principles regulating sacred music in the functions of public worship, and to gather together in a general survey the principal prescriptions of the Church against the more common abuses in this subject.” This kind of letter is what’s called a Motu Propio. A good while...Read More

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent: Good vs. Evil

Posted on February 21, 2021February 21, 2021 by Father Albert

1st Sunday of Lent, B February 21, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/X6n0iIVvAAI Good versus evil. This concept is part of nearly every story ever told and central to all the best ones. Some people may talk about these two forces as a necessary part of the balance of the universe, the yin and yang or, to borrow an idea from Star Wars, the dark and light sides of the force. But even then, no sane person actually wants evil to be equal to good. The Jedi talk about balance, but strive continually...Read More

Pastor Column: Pope St. Pius X

Posted on February 20, 2021February 20, 2021 by Father Albert

From the bulletin of February 21 Returning to our journey through major documents of recent popes, it is time to move on to Pope St. Pius X. Born with the name Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, he lived from 1835 to 1914. He lived in Riese, which was in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, though it is now Italy. He became a priest in 1858. He served in a few placed, including as spiritual director and rector (president) of the seminary. By 1880, he was a teacher at the seminary until he was named the Bishop of Treviso in 1884 by Pope...Read More

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Reaching Out

Posted on February 19, 2021February 19, 2021 by Father Albert

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B February 14, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXDYj2HY71Q “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” In a sense, this verse is a summary of the entirety of salvation history. God’s pity, his mercy, moves him to stretch to the point of becoming human so he could touch us infected by sin and death and make us clean. It is, therefore, also the summary of what we should do in evangelization – stretch out, touch...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Defeating Devils and Disease

Posted on February 7, 2021February 7, 2021 by Father Albert

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B February 7, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jXYvPZWQ3LM Life is hard. It can be cruel and quite bitter. Job taps into this melancholy when he asks, “is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?” and when he claims, “I shall not see happiness again.” Why is life hard? More importantly, what can we do about it? The story of Job is peculiar. Most of the Old Testament echoes the idea that the good are blessed by God and the evil punished by him. The Israelites are conquered when...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B: Authority to Share

Posted on January 31, 2021January 31, 2021 by Father Albert

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B January 31, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/t6nwuHpUaWs Authority. If we’re going to proclaim the gospel and evangelize, we will have to deal with this concept. In many cases, the reason a person remains aloof from the Catholic Church is that they don’t like the Church’s claim to authority. Our culture is already riddled with suspicion, with just about every expert being challenged because of bias, media, and politics. People protest: Tell me what to do? Act like you’re infallible? Claiming to be the only ones who’ve...Read More

Pastor’s Column: Mirror of Charity

Posted on January 30, 2021January 30, 2021 by Father Albert

From the bulletin of January 31, 2021 The reason for the Church’s existence is love. The reason Pope Leo XIII wrote about social and economic conditions of his time was because he loved the people affected by society and the economy. Recalling that primary motive, it is perhaps fitting to now look at another one of his letters that deals more directly with love, also called “Charity.” In May of 1902, People Leo XIII issued the letter Mirae Caritatis which is Latin for The Mirror of Charity. The topic of that letter is the Holy Eucharist, which is the...Read More

Father Alexander Albert

Author: Father Albert