Author: Father Albert

To Make Him Heard: Homily for the 23rd Sunday OT 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   September 8, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/LTbr0KIPMo4 Have you ever watched those videos of the first time a person experiences something we all take for granted? Like those glasses that correct color blindness? Or the Cochlear implants that allow someone to hear for the first time? Imagine never hearing. Then, suddenly there’s a rush of sound, a new dimension to life, a whole new level of belonging. You know what happens almost every time? The person lights up and then crumbles into tears, overwhelmed with the newness...Read More

Tradition and tradition: Homily for the 22nd Sunday OT 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  September 1, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/J_-YLi6Z7_I “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’ You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition.” I know a lot of people hear that line and think it’s a bit ironic for Catholics of all people to be proclaiming it from the pulpit. After all, aren’t we Catholics all about tradition? Rituals, memorized prayers, rote gestures… It is even part of Catholic teaching that Scripture and Tradition are together the “one sacred deposit of Word of...Read More

You Have The Words: Homily for the 21st Sunday OT 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   August 25, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville N.B. This in the conclusion of a series on John 6. The series starts here. The previous homily is here. https://youtu.be/ej0u9IG-0Po “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” So we come to the crux of the Bread of Life discourse in John chapter 6. Last week Jesus insistently taught that we are to truly eat his body and drink his blood. The Eucharist literally becomes his body, blood, soul, and divinity during the consecration at Mass. A miracle and a...Read More

The Celebration Continues: Homily for the Queenship of Mary 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
Queenship of Mary                                                                                         August 22, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville N.B. This is a sequel to the homily for the Assumption of Mary. https://youtu.be/u4GFnnLurpM A week later and here we are again, celebrating something about Mary the Mother of God. Once again, it is worth asking: why? As with her Assumption into heaven, there are many reasons that all come back to one reason: to glorify Jesus Christ her son, God incarnate. And what is it that we celebrate this time? Mary’s queenship. It’s not an accident that it is exactly a week after...Read More

The Food of Love: Homily for the 20th Sunday OT 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   August 18, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville N.B. This is the fourth homily in a series. The third is here. https://youtu.be/ufO08G1JHTo “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” How indeed. Perhaps we’re so used to the idea of the Eucharist that we don’t appreciate the difficulty of answering that question. These crowds have seen Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons, and multiply food to feed 5000 people. He is obviously no ordinary man, but a miracle-worker and a prophet. Yet, as miraculous as those...Read More

Why Celebrate? – Homily for the Assumption of Mary 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
Assumption of Mary                                                                                       August 15, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/jwnk-iFshWs Why? Why celebrate the Assumption of Mary? For many reasons, but one above all: everything we celebrate about Mary gives even greater glory to Jesus Christ her son. Every Marian dogma, devotion, and practice is ultimately about Jesus Christ. Before explaining why, let’s answer what it is. The Assumption of Mary commemorates the day that Mary was brought into heaven, body & soul. Everyone else, when they die, leaves their body behind and only their soul goes to heaven. When Jesus rose from...Read More

The Primacy of Grace: Homily for the 19th Sunday OT 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   August 11, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville N.B. This is the third homily in a series. The second is here. https://youtu.be/vkwyEiRKMWc Mission trips, podcasts, retreats, books and articles, hard conversations, clever marketing, good music – all these strategies and more can be found in the Church’s efforts to evangelize non-believers and strengthen those who already believe. None of them are the most important tool, however. None of them are the most effective. Not to say that we can bypass these things. Last week, as we continued our journey...Read More

The Work of Belief: Homily for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   August 4, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville N.B. This is the second homily in a series. The first is here. https://youtu.be/03__dket1y8 Last week, we saw the importance of bringing our hunger, our desires to Jesus no matter what they were. This allows Jesus to satisfy, heal, transform, or transcend those desires. Jesus was happy to multiply the loaves and feed the crowds last week, knowing they’d be hungry again and that they’d follow him. This time when they come to him, instead of feeding them again he deliberately...Read More

Left Wanting More: Homily for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   July 27, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville This is the first in a series, the next homily continues here. https://youtu.be/nMHtaVvIdgU Whatever did or did not happen at the opening show of the Olympics, whatever was or was not intended by its designers, one thing is certain: we all need Jesus Christ. More than that, all human beings hunger for him, though we so often fail to realize that. Complicating things still further, we often try to satisfy that hunger with a substitute version of him. If indeed we...Read More

Seeking Peace: Homily for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                               July 14, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/qCeLEA2WdH4 What can I say about yesterday? Who should we listen to in the days to come? Maybe start with what we hear in today’s psalm: “I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD —for he proclaims peace.” Now, if you proclaim peace, especially in a time like this, you’ll be met with quite the variety of responses. One phrase that jumps to mind – a phrase fans of the John Wick movies might recognize – is the old...Read More