Author: Father Albert

Homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Feeding Faith

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19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  August 8, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/UuB4BmoG7OI Elijah the prophet is depressed, worn out, ready to give up and die. But then he gets up and walks 40 days and 40 nights. What changed? God gave him some hearth cakes – bread – to eat. This bread gave him that strength. But that bread is a mere foreshadowing of the Eucharist. If the symbol is powerful enough to keep him going 40 days, how much more powerful must the real thing be? “Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” That’s...Read More

Homily for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Food Worth Working For

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18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 25th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/bQM64w1JMeg “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Is that what you’re doing? I said last week that hunger and need is good… that we actually should be hungry for what Jesus offers. It’s still true, but hunger can also mislead. This crowd begins with a willingness to sacrifice food to get to Jesus but ends up following Jesus precisely because he can give them food. That’s me! I have done that...Read More

Homily for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time: It Begins With Hunger

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17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 25th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/SbCpnC6Ad1Q Are you hungry? Are you willing to be hungry? Because that’s how this whole thing starts. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, the gift where God literally gives us himself… and it started with a crowd that was willing to go hungry. Not that they said anything about being hungry. These people saw paralyzed men get up and walk, fevers disappear, leprosy wiped away by Jesus. So they followed him without cell phones and google maps. Jesus was...Read More

Pope Pius XI

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From the bulletin of July 18, 2021      Pope Benedict XV died in January of 1922. His successor and the next person in our journey through Papal documents is Pope Pius XI who reigned from 1922 to 1939.      Pope Pius’ birth name was Abroglio Damiano Achille Ratti. He was born in Milan in 1857 to Francesco and Teresa. His father owned a silk factory. Ambroglio Ratti was ordained a priest in 1879 and went on to be something of an academic in the Church, ultimately earning three doctoral degrees in Rome and becoming a professor at the seminary in...Read More

Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: The Lord Is Our Shepherd

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16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 18th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/VD8LvVmGWeM “Like sheep without a shepherd.” It’s too easy to make these readings about pointing fingers; To point at the pope’s latest controversy or at the failures of various bishops or at whatever pastor did whatever you think was a problem. Online I’m sure you’ll find homilies and articles and blog posts that do exactly that this weekend. What good will it do? If you hear a homily or read something that uses the first reading and takes...Read More

Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: The Kingdom of Healing

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15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 11th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/_mTau59tI44 Repentance, Exorcisms, and Healings; three characteristics of the Apostle’s ministry seen in this passage. To this day, they remain a core part of the Church’s mission. The Church exists to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. Indeed, the Church is the kingdom of Christ already present in mystery. That’s what St. Paul is talking about in that really complicated second reading. There is a mystical reality that’s something deeper than bureaucracy, buildings, and bishops. The Church is Christ’s...Read More

Pastor Column: Dante

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From the bulletin of July 11, 2021      After a long hiatus, I’d like to return to our journey through the writings of various popes. You may remember that we last looked at Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) and his encyclical on preaching the Word of God. Today, we’ll take a look at a timely letter of his on the famous poet Dante Aligheri.      Dante was an Italian poet who lived 1265-1321. He is most famous for a long epic poem called The Divine Comedy. It consisted of three parts: The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso. It is a...Read More

Homily for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Prophetic Patriotism

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14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 4th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/NGyzAF_kXfA “He was amazed at their lack of faith.” Just a few verses before, as we heard last weekend, Jesus raised someone from the dead! He cured a woman simply because she touched his clothes with faith. Coming from the joy of being able to reward such faith, Jesus is astounded at the contrast, the hard-heartedness of his own friends and family that blocks them from seeing similar miracles. As an aside, if you’re wondering about the brothers...Read More

Pastor’s Column: Liberty

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From the bulletin of July 4, 2021      As we celebrate our Independence day, it is a fitting time to learn a little about the one Catholic who signed the Declaration of Independence: Charles Carroll of Carrollton. He was also the cousin of Archbishop John Carroll, who was the first Archbishop in the United States.      Born in 1737 in Annapolis, Maryland, Charles was a very well-to-do, very well-educated citizen of the English colonies despite the fact that he was originally born out of wedlock. His parents married in 1757 and after his education, his father entrusted Carrollton Manor to...Read More

Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Vending Jesus

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13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              June 27, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/6A679v2gTuE Jesus is not a vending machine. You can’t just go to Jesus, put in some faith, and then get what you want back. Yet, many people treat it like this. You can almost excuse them because it kinda seems to work in the gospels. Every time Jesus encounters someone with faith, he performs a miracle. When four friends bring a paralyzed man, he sees their faith and heals the man. He repeatedly tells people to have faith...Read More