Author: Father Albert

Homily for Ascension Sunday, B: The Work of Love

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Ascension Sunday, B                                                                                                  May 16, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/vQfcazDSmdE The Bishop asked that this letter be read during the homily: "Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Diocese of Lafayette, the third commandment of God obliges us to keep holy the Lord's Day. This commandment is fulfilled when we give God the most perfect worship possible, the worship of Jesus Christ himself in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We also observe it by works of charity, spiritual reading, and refraining from unnecessary servile labor to spend time with family...Read More

Pastor Column: St. Jerome and Scripture II

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From the bulletin of May 16, 2021      Pope Benedict XV points us to some pieces of advice that St. Jerome offers on knowing scripture. Not surprisingly the fist thing St. Jerome says is to “exercise your mind, feed it daily with Holy Scripture… to read Holy Scripture assiduously.” I’ve often heard that Catholics of a certain generation were told not to read the bible because they weren’t qualified to interpret it. Enemies of the Church sometimes say the Catholic Church explicitly forbid people from reading the bible on their own. Well, this was written in 1920 and comes from...Read More

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter: Complete Person, Complete Joy

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6th Sunday of Easter, B                                                                                              May 9, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/QDA_Q1Qbjb8 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.” Perfect! Isn’t that exactly what we want… what we’ve been talking about this whole Easter season? Who doesn’t want complete joy? Well then, what is it Jesus says that makes this possible? “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” That kind of sounds...Read More

Pastor Column: St. Jerome & Scripture I

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From the bulletin of May 9, 2021      Our next encyclical from Pope Benedict XV is title Spiritus Paraclitus, which is translated to “The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.”  “Paraclete” is a fancy word that means a combination of helper, advocate, consoler, and defender. While the title focuses on the Holy Spirit, the actual document actually focuses on St. Jerome, who is a doctor of the Church because of his efforts to translate and understand scripture. Indeed, the pope even calls him the “Greatest Doctor” because his work was so directly involved in making scripture accessible to the whole Church.     ...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter, B: Tending the Garden

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5th Sunday of Easter, B                                                                                              May 2, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/cuuQwlxIuaU I tried. Last year, as the pandemic hit, I tried to start gardening, dabbling mostly… Tomatoes, bell peppers, a few vegetables… It did not go well. Most of what I started is dead now, overrun with weeds. The reason why is pretty straightforward: I didn’t take care of it. I started to be a gardener, but I did not remain a gardener, defaulting instead to a passive observer after the first few tomatoes and a single pumpkin. Such fruitlessness isn’t...Read More

Pastor Column: Preaching the Word of God

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From the bulletin of May 2, 2021      Our first encyclical from Pope Benedict XV is called Humani Generis Redemptionem, published in 1917. Translated, that title means “the Redemption of the Human Race.” The pope begins the encyclical by quoting St. Paul (Rom 10:17), “ Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” This sets up the primary theme of the letter, which in proper preaching of the Gospel to the world. Right away, Pope Benedict notes that there are more preachers of the word than ever before, but that the “state...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter: Life Worth Living, Self Worth Giving

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4th Sunday of Easter, B                                                                                              April 25, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/knQwMihv42A When we talk about heaven, most of us imagine it to be a place of eternal happiness, whatever that looks like. Well, St. John in the second reading is talking about heaven. And do you know how he defines the joy in heaven? “We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” That’s what will bring us everlasting happiness, to see Jesus Christ as he is and so to become like him. So, it should...Read More

Pastor Column: Benedict XV

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From the bulletin of April 25, 2021      Returning now to our journey through the teachings of recent popes, we come to Pope Benedict XV, who reigned from 1914 until his death in 1922, which was of course during World War I. Pope Benedict XV called the war the “suicide of Europe,” and made a concerted effort to bring peace and understanding. Though prominent in his papacy, the war was not his only focus. But first, a little history of this man who became pope.      Born in 1846, Giacomo Paolo Battista della Chiesa grew up in Genoa, Italy as...Read More

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter: Am I Real To You?

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3rd Sunday of Easter, B                                                                                               April 18, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/vzx11z22aOI Am I real to you? If we would continue our journey into joy, we have to answer this question from Jesus. Am I real to you? The Apostles evidently had their own struggles to accept it. Jesus appears to them and they think it is a ghost, a detached spirit. But it is not so! Jesus is real, his body is real, and he wants to prove it so we can be witnesses to it. He shows his hands...Read More

Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday: The Command of Peace

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2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy), B                                                       April 11, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/A1PSl54NWiU “Peace be with you.” They’re the first words Jesus speaks to his Apostles since he died. They are the reason he rose from the dead in the first place. It is this peace, and the joy that comes with it, that is the topic, the focus of our journey through Easter. This season begins with rejoicing in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead… rejoicing that our trust in God is not misplaced… that this trust ends with joy...Read More