Author: Father Albert

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Repent

Posted on by Father Albert
3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                    January 24, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/7zvDDl1UdCo “Forty days more and” Jeanerette “shall be destroyed.” You think that might get people back to Mass and confession? It worked for Jonah in Nineveh, so why not here? Even Jesus started his ministry with a little bit of a dire note, “repent!” If Jesus and Jonah can call out for repentance and be successful, why can’t we? We can, though not quite in the same way. In our ongoing reflection on the topic of evangelization, we must deal honestly...Read More

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: What We Found

Posted on by Father Albert
2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   January 17, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/XHfLCDpUMP4 “He first found his own brother Simon and told him… Then he brought him to Jesus.” Can the same be said of us? As we dive deeper into the call to evangelization, this question is crucial for us. While Jesus does in some places speak of randomness – like with the parable of the sower – there is a structure and method to his mission of proclaiming the coming of the kingdom, and it starts with those already close at...Read More

Pastor Column: Rerum Novarum VII

Posted on by Father Albert
From the bulletin of January 17, 2021      After two special columns, we return this week to our journey through Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII. In our last installment, we heard about the importance of fair wages for those who work and about the importance of protecting the those who are desperate from being taken advantage of. Again, this interest is not necessarily anti-capitalism or anti-business, but simply pro human dignity. Unions and minimum wage laws can be helpful for this purpose and they can also be abused. At the time this encyclical was written, they were generally more...Read More

Homily for the Baptism of the Lord

Posted on by Father Albert
Baptism of the Lord, B                                                                                   January 10, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/zE_0KN67ELs “I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice.” Who doesn’t want that? Those who believe that Biden was lawfully elected want the victory of justice in having him peacefully take office. Those who believe the election was stolen want the victory of justice in having it overturned or redone. And both sides want the justice of proper punishments for those that they believe broke the law or violated the principles of our nation and the common good....Read More

Pastor Column: The Morality of Vaccines

Posted on by Father Albert
From the bulletin of January 10, 2021      As Covid-19 vaccines are becoming more available, now is a good time to consider some of the controversies around their production. First, we should make it clear what the Church says about vaccines in general. As a scientific and medical practice, it’s not the Church’s job to judge their effectiveness on a medical or scientific level. Still, the Church’s job (and mine) is to teach the truth about God and about the moral life we are called to live. Inasmuch as vaccines are meant to protect and promote health, the Church affirms...Read More

Homily for Epiphany: How to Give

Posted on by Father Albert
Epiphany, Year A                                                                                           January 3, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/NBtzeX79l0c What do I get for the God who gave me everything? This was the question we asked on Christmas day. The answer was to get him the most valuable, thoughtful, practical, and liberating gift we could – ourselves. That’s “what” we give, but now we wonder “how?” While we give gifts on Christmas day, many other cultures wait until today’s feast, the Epiphany, to make that exchange. So, it’s a fitting day to answer this question by looking how the Magi give...Read More

Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: The Blessing

Posted on by Father Albert
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God                                                         January 1, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jy9roxeL15M Merry Christmas! We’re still celebrating it you know. The Christmas season lasts until the middle of January – or even to February 2nd if you follow the old calendar. More importantly, today/Friday marks the 8th day, the octave day of the feast of Christ’s birth. As with music, an octave is the same thing in a different register. Christmas is so important, so profound that we spend 8 whole days re-entering into it, celebrating it, and – as Mary...Read More

Homily for Patronal Feast of St. John the Evangelist: Clothed in Love

Posted on by Father Albert
Patronal Feast of St. John the Evangelist                                                       December 27, 2020Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/qpuoOnauNvM          From the baby Jesus to boiling oil… That could be the title of St. John’s autobiography. The life of this man, our patron saint, is a fitting testimony that the joy we’ve just celebrated doesn’t stop with a few nice presents but extends straight through the worst parts of the human condition, through death itself into eternal life. All the other apostles were martyred brutally for proclaiming this truth. Like them, society wanted to kill John for...Read More

Pastor Column: Rerum Novarum VI

Posted on by Father Albert
From the bulletin of December 27, 2020      Continuing our journey through Pope Leo XIII’s landmark document, we pick up this week with how the government should view religion and family. First, the pope lays out the principle that “the State must not absorb the individual or the family; both should be allowed free and untrammeled action so far as is consistent with the common good and the interest of others.” For this reason, “the safety of the commonwealth” is the reason for government’s existence and it is therefore its primary responsibility.      But this does not boil down to...Read More