Author: Father Albert

Homily for Easter Sunday: The Flower of Perfection

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Part I is here Part II is here Easter Vigil                                         Part 3 of Triduum 2021                                  April 3, 2020Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/32bkjWIy5Zk On Thursday night we began an extended reflection on the idea of becoming perfect, not in the sense of never making mistakes but in the sense of being made complete according to God’s design. It starts with an encounter, an experience of the inexplicable love of God made man. That encounter remains available to you in prayer, in the Church, in confession, and in the Eucharist if you seek it...Read More

Homily for Good Friday: Finishing Perfection

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See part I here. Good Friday of the Lord's Passion     Part 2 of Triduum 2021                                  April 2, 2020Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/xP-fOuMcGzQ The theme of this Triduum is perfection; being complete according to God’s will. Perfection comes from the same Greek word as finished. Last night, we saw that this perfection begins not with our resolutions or ideas, but with encountering Jesus Christ and accepting his love for us. There is a real need to experience this, to feel the love of God manifest. But we also recalled that feelings aren’t what is...Read More

Homily for Mass of the Lord’s Supper: Accepting Perfection

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Mass of the Lord's Supper                  Part 1 of Triduum 2021                                  April 1, 2020Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/Tpp30vmuNUg Good vs. Evil, Obedience, Freedom, Hope, Perfection. These were the themes of our Lenten journey through the fundamentals, a journey that ended with us crucifying Christ this past Sunday. But now we begin a different journey. Lent is over, but tonight begins the Triduum. It is a single liturgy that spans three days, a continual act of worship that takes us through the Last Supper, Christ’s death, and then to his resurrection. So the homilies...Read More

Pastor Column: Modernism II

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From the bulletin of March 28, 2021      Continuing our look at the heresy of Modernism, we come to how they view the Church’s authority. Since Modernists say that Christ is only human and that all religion is the product of a vague internal “religious sense,” they go on to reject the idea that the Church has real authority coming from God. They see the Church’s authority as the product of the “collective conscience” of all believers. In other words, they argue that the Church should be democratic about it’s beliefs because it’s authority is really based on the opinion...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent: Perfection

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5th Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                     March 21, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/r1BJFiqQXE8 This Lent, beginning with Adam and Eve, we saw God’s firm opposition to evil, especially as shown with Noah and the great flood. In Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac, we saw the importance of faith shown through obedience to things beyond our understanding. With Moses and the Ten Commandments, we encountered the paradox that real freedom is not doing whatever we feel like but being free enough from sin and our impulses to do what is truly good....Read More

Pastor Column: Modernism I

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From the bulletin of March 21, 2021      Continuing with the documents of Pope St. Pius X, we come to one of his better known encyclicals, Pascendi Dominici Gregis, subtitled “On the Doctrine of the Modernists,” published in 1907. “Modernism” is the name that the pope uses to describe a collection of erroneous beliefs which were becoming popular at the time. As the pope, he sees it as his responsibility to point out and correct these errors as directly as possible.      The first error he tackles is what he calls “agnosticism.” This refers to the belief that human reason...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent: Hope of Victory

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4th Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                     March 14, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/LWCH83GpMoA We are losing. At least, that’s what it looks like. And that is a key part of this next step in our journey through the fundamentals – the hope of victory. In the battle of good vs. evil, this battle for freedom fought with the weapons of obedience, we must remember what victory really looks like if we are going to avoid discouragement. The first reading is from the end of the Jewish bible and it speaks of what...Read More

Homily for the 3rd Week of Lent: Freedom

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3rd Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                     March 7, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/zooLk_rNUqo Freedom. The next step in our journey is to understand the fundamental value of freedom. It might seem a strange thing to talk about when our readings include a list of “you shall not”s and we see Jesus literally using a whip to interrupt other people’s business, yet that really is the core of what’s happening here. Our first reading should have sounded pretty familiar to you; it’s the Ten Commandments. They are given to Moses on Mount Sinai...Read More

Pastor Column: Tra Le Sollecitudini II

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From the bulletin of March 7, 2021      Last week, we looked at the first part of Pope St. Pius X’s document on sacred music, which gave some basic principles for what kind of music should be used at Mass and other forms of the liturgy. The glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful are the reasons for sacred music and because of this, such music should be holy and beautiful in a way that transcends a single cultural expression. By way of example, the pope pointed to Gregorian Chant as the music developed by the Church herself...Read More

Homily for the 2nd Week of Lent, B: The Victory of Obedience

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2nd Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                    February 28, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/bKRDZq1mVXk Obedience. In our journey through the fundamentals, it is time to look at the reality of obedience. Last week took us through that fundamental conflict of Good vs. Evil, begun with original sin and carried on today in the heart of every human person. After promising never to use a flood to destroy evil again, God gives us the sign of a rainbow, which foreshadows the way in which he will overcome evil once and for all, by aiming it’s...Read More