Done To Her For Me: Homily for the Immaculate Conception

Immaculate Conception of Mary                                                         December 8, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                          St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/DTeKU_PwCgg The most powerful thing ever done by a human being and it was done before she was even born. Mary is the Immaculate Conception. From the very first instant of her existence in her mother’s womb, Mary was immaculate, totally free from sin, a human being the likes of which had not existed since Adam and Eve were first created in the garden. We speak of Mary’s Immaculate Conception with such familiarity that this is lost on us. An uncorrupted human nature? No sin...Read More

In Accord With The Kingdom: Homily for 2nd Sunday Advent 2025

2nd Sunday of Advent, A                                                                December 7, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                           St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/gL_YwlId6KI I feel as though being a priest, a spiritual father entitles me to the occasional dad joke, so here’s a bible dad joke: What kind of car does Jesus have? A Honda, but he doesn’t drive it: “I came not of my own accord, but he sent me” (Jn 8:42, RSV). Really though, what is this “accord” scripture speaks of? St. Paul today in our second reading prays that “with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our...Read More

The Hour of His Coming: Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent 2025

1st Sunday of Advent, A                                                                 November 30, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                           St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/kKP5CynznWw One Sunday when I was a boy, we were running late for reasons I don’t remember. My dad insisted on going to Mass every Sunday; that’s one of the only times I remember us not making it. Pulling up to the Church and seeing Mass about to end, my father decided we’d pray in the adoration chapel. He told us to spend some time in prayer to make up for missing Mass. So we did. I went in, knelt down, and told God sorry....Read More

Viva Cristo Rey: Homily for Christ The King Sunday 2025

Christ the King, C                                                                   November 23, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                          St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/UcLneADiZKo Ninety-eight years ago today, the Mexican Jesuit priest José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez was led before a firing squad in Mexico City. The Mexican government had severely restricted Catholicism at that time. So, Padre Miguel Pro continued to minister in secret. Eventually, he was caught. On the morning of November 23, 1927, Miguel Pro, holding a rosary in one hand and a crucifix in another, blessed the men about to shoot him and knelt to pray. He then stood and extended his hands like...Read More

The Heat of Salvation: Homily for the 33rd Sunday OT 2025

33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                      November 16, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                           St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/3WYBnlvJBVk “Blazing like an oven.” How does that make you feel? To hear that the “day of the Lord,” the day of Jesus’ return, the end of the world is coming “blazing like an oven?” Well, to a piece of wood or straw, to something or someone who would be destroyed by fire, that must be terrifying. But what if you’re the unfinished pie, full of the right ingredients but needing heat to bring together the delicious perfection you’re meant to be? What if...Read More

Seeing the Kingdom of God: Homily for St. Frances Cabrini

Thursday Week 32 OT           St. Frances Xavier Cabrini                  November 13, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                         Vermilion Catholic, Abbeville Audio Recording: The movie Cabrini is well made and fairly compelling to watch. It does a good job of portraying just how hard it was for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini to do her work, showing the obstacles, the reluctance of some Church leaders, and how bold and persistent Mother Cabrini could be in the face of those challenges. It conveys well her love for the poor and her witness to human dignity. For those reasons, it’s worth watching. But it misses something...Read More

The Temple of Time: Homily for Dedication of St. John Lateran 2025

Dedication of St. John Lateran                                                            November 9, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                            St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/BVmAcUUki58 It’s like a mythical alignment of the stars that novels and movies sometimes use for important plotlines; a rare coincidence that only happens once a decade or century or millennium. In this case, it’s every seven years. What am I talking about? I’m talking about the surprising number of special feast days that happened to fall on Sundays in the year 2025. Normally in the Church, Sundays are important feasts in their own right. Easter is also always a Sunday. Most of our other...Read More

What We Know: Homily for All Souls Day 2025

All Souls Day                                                                                     November 2, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/-50x9MAY37M “I know he will rise.” Not “I believe,” not “I think,” not even “I hope.” I know he will rise. How? How can this unimportant woman from a small town outside of Jerusalem know someone will rise from the dead? Because faith is not a guess or an opinion. It is a supernatural conviction of truths that are beyond our natural reason. Faith is not opposed to knowledge. It is not opposed to reason. It is an extraordinary way of knowing. Of course, it is...Read More

The Odds of Sanctity: Homily for All Saints Day 2025

All Saints Day                                                                              November 1, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                          St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/RjiaxZJncGA Saints are exceptional people, aren’t they? Heroic leaders, bold preachers, prophetic speakers, miracle workers, lifelong witnesses to love, brave martyrs… our spiritual hall of fame is full of some amazing people whom even the world sometimes acknowledge as the best of the best. There are an estimated 11,000 official saints in the Catholic Church, all of whom we celebrate today. But that’s not all we celebrate today. For all the ones we know of, there are far more we do not – some of whom...Read More

Saints & Pharisees: Homily for the 30 Sunday OT 2025

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                   October 26, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/BG2y-1f79ls “O God, I thank you that I’m not like those pharisees who think they’re better than everyone else. They pray and fast and give to the Church, but they’re so judgmental. I’m much more like those tax collectors and other people Jesus loved – I never fast or give tithes, I love money, I’m addicted to drinking, and I like to lust… but, man I’m so glad I’m not judgmental!” Y’all see the problem there? People are so quick to agree with Jesus...Read More