Author: Father Albert

Series on the Mass #1

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I know I talk about Mass a lot. Don’t worry, it’s not going to be the only thing I ever focus on. It’s just the first step in a larger plan. I do want to build community, do outreach, and have some fun too! But, it’s important to maintain priorities. I want to start by building up our understanding of and participation in the worship of God because God comes first. With a solid core and foundation, we can expand to the many other aspects of Church life. In the fall of 2008, I had a deeper conversion and return...Read More

Striving to Sing

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Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                    August 25, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette “I’m a good person. I never killed anyone.” I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that. People often say this to me whenever the subject of hell comes up, or confession, or the need for repentance. Just last week, Jesus warned us that really following him will cause division because repentance means being divided from sin. We saw how the Mass itself expects us to take repentance seriously, asking us to repent at least twice every time we come...Read More

The Power of Unanswered Prayer

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Homily for Mass @ CHS – Queenship of Mary                                            August 22, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                            Catholic High, New Iberia When you go to Disney World, don’t forget to go to Sunday Mass. There are a few options in the area, but the closest one is a church called the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. That’s what we celebrate today. Mary is the Queen of the Universe. As the mother of the King, Mary is queen of not only the physical universe, but of heaven itself. What do you think of when you...Read More

The Questions of Death

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Funeral - Gracie Brasseaux                                                                            August 19, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                                        OLPH New Iberia Gracie. That sweet, sensitive girl in my 3rd period religion class. Gracie the creative, clever girl with a quick wit. The girl who ended up on the board in class almost every day but also had some of the best questions. The girl confident enough to challenge me but surprised and incredulous when I told her I thought that her voice had potential and she should join the choir. I loved Gracie. We all did. We still do. And...Read More

Jesus the Merciful Arsonist

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Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                         August 18, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette Jesus the Son of God is also Jesus the Divine Arsonist. Right here he says, “I have come to set the earth on fire!” It’s a dramatic way of saying he wants the whole earth to burn with the love God has for us and the love we ought to have for God and each other. But that’s not the only dramatic image he uses. Immediately after this reference to the fires of love, he seems to contradict himself: “Do...Read More

Victory!

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Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary                                                        August 15, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette Victory! We are here to celebrate victory over sin, death, and decay.. That’s why Mary’s Assumption matters. By being taken body and soul into heaven, she is a sign to all of us what awaits us in heaven. It may be the last enemy to be destroyed, but death is defeated so completely that even our bodies will last forever one day. It’s true that this isn’t explicitly in scripture. Then again, neither is the word Trinity or the phrase...Read More

Faith After Failure

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Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                        August 11, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette We have failed you. Three generations of Catholics failed by the clergy. Rather than being the “faithful and prudent steward[s]” Jesus talks about, we priests and bishops have been careless and foolish. Just yesterday (Friday), a study was released that showed that 70% of Catholics do not believe the Eucharist is the actual Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Even among those who go to Mass every week, 30% say they think the Eucharist is just a symbol....Read More

How To Get Rich

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Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                        August 4, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette What does it mean to be rich? Having $100,000? $1,000,000? Someone who makes more than $200,000 a year is in the top ten percent of the world. And not just of the present day, but in all of history! Yet so many who make that much consider themselves “middle class” and say they worry about their finances. 70% of millionaires do not consider themselves wealthy.  How can that be? Well, for most people, when they make more, they spend more....Read More

Making Prayer Work

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Seveneenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   July 28, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette What is a good way to ruin a human being? To make them immature, selfish and entitled? Give them everything they want as a child. We even call it “spoiling” a child when a parent instantly satisfies every desire. On the opposite extreme is to never give a child anything they want or need. They might become hard-working and self-sufficient, but they are plagued by difficulty in their relationships with God and others, usually because they have problems with...Read More

The Divine Visitor

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Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                      July 21, 2019Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette Here we see God visiting Abraham and being fed by him and his servants. Then there is Jesus entering into Martha’s home and eating at her table. And how many times do we see him eating at other people’s houses too; friends, tax collectors, and other sinners? Yet, almost in contrast to what we see, we are in God’s house about to eat from his table fed by his servants. Don’t get me wrong, you do need to be...Read More