Author: Father Albert

Are We There Yet?

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The First Sunday of Advent, C                                                                       December 2, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia “Already, but not yet.” That is, or should be, the motto of every Christian in this world. It is also the perfect expression of Advent. We already celebrate Christmas, but it is not yet here. The liturgical new year has already begun, but it is not yet New Years in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ has already come as a child to redeem us, but he has not yet come back as the final judge. That’s why, even...Read More

Thy Kingdom Come

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 Quid Est Veritas?  That is the very next line in the Gospel; Pilate’s cynical question, “What is Truth?” Our focus is on the Kingship of Jesus, but this deflection is an accurate expression of the attitude so many have toward the Kingdom of God today. Earlier this week, news broke of a young man being killed on a remote island, home to one of the last untouched tribes in the world, called the Sentinelese. They don’t have modern technology, do not speak a modern language, and have no resistance to modern bacteria. They’ve also never heard of Jesus Christ....Read More

Can You Afford It?

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The Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, B                                           November 11, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia  Money. Everyone needs it. Everyone wants more of it. But, no one likes it when the priest talks about it. It’s probably one of the most off-putting things a priest can do: talk about money from the pulpit. Well, I hope you’ll forgive me because that’s exactly what I’m doing. I don’t exactly enjoy the subject either, but I didn’t bring it up; Jesus did. So, let’s not focus on what I think about money. See what our...Read More

God’s Favorite Lyrics

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Homily for Mass @ CHS                                                                               November 8, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            Catholic High, New Iberia  What is your favorite song? Something by Drake or Ariana Grande or Lady Gaga or whoever? A favorite song with a tune you can’t get enough of or with lyrics that you can’t stop singing to yourself. Maybe it’s a top 40 right now or something from a while back, but it’s there and you love it and keep going back to it. It happens to me too. The bands I sometimes listen to aren’t “Christian bands” but usually...Read More

Do You Meditate?

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The Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, B                                               November 4, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia  Do you meditate? It’s all the rage right now. Mindfulness meditation, zen meditation, transcendental meditation… meditation seems to be the new health trend. A quick google search will pull up articles that list 12, 20, 78! benefits that come from meditation: better health, increased focus, a longer life. Some say meditation could save your life! Actually, I’ll do you one better. Meditation can save your soul. Now, that’s a dangerous statement for me to make from the pulpit....Read More

Memento Mori, Memento Vitam Aeternam

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The Commemoration of All Souls                                                                  November 2, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia  Memento Mori. Since the middle ages, the Church has used this simple Latin phrase to urge us to remember our mortality. “Remember death” is a sound piece of advice to anyone who would like to become wise, and perhaps counterintuitively, to anyone who would like to find happiness. Yes, remembering death helps us to find happiness. How? Because it gives us perspective. Because knowing that you will die helps you to appreciate the time you have. Knowing that you...Read More

What You Really Want

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The Solemnity of All Saints                                                                           November 1, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia  St. Padre Pio could bilocate, read people’s souls, and had the stigmata. Mother Teresa lived 20 years as a teaching nun before dedicating the rest of her life in radical service to the poor. Pope St. John Paul II survived the Nazi and Communist occupation of his country, earned two doctorate degrees, was pope for 25 years, and brought down communism in Poland. St. Augustine was an ancient bishop and is still one of the most well-known writers to...Read More

Wanting To See What You Want

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The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, B                                        October 28, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia  “What do you want me to do for you?” What a question! This man is a blind beggar, what do you think he wants, Jesus? Even worse, Jesus is God; he knows what this man wants even before talking to him. Really, Jesus could have just healed him from a distance as soon as he heard the man calling. He could have snapped his fingers or simply willed it to happen. Why not give him what he wants...Read More

A Layman’s Guide to Leadership

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The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, B                               October 21, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia  “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” Jesus seems to be specifically talking to His Apostles, to the first priests and bishops. Yet, this is more than job description for leaders. It also reveals a fundamental principle of God’s kingdom, of what it means to be Christian. More than a rule, this is a worldview. Contrary to the opinion of some critics,...Read More

First Things First

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The Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, B                              October 14, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia  Scandal, crisis, confusion. Priests against bishops, cardinals against each other, and bishops versus the Pope himself. We are rocked by ongoing revelations of abuse cover-ups. We are faced with a continually declining attendance at Mass and all the sacraments. We see the world becoming more secular, even hostile towards the faith. What happened? Well, many things happened, but the foremost is this: we reversed the order of the Great Commandment. The great commandment is to love God with your...Read More