Author: Father Albert

Heavenly Heritage

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Homily for the Ascension                                                                               May 12, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia  What is your heritage? What is your ancestry? This has been a year of coincidences: Ash Wednesday and Valentines Day. Palm Sunday and the Annunciation. Easter and April Fools day. Now it is Ascension Sunday and, for the people of New Iberia, today is the day we celebrate our Spanish origins. It’s also Mother’s Day, a celebration of our heritage and ancestry in the direct and personal way of celebrating our mothers. And our heritage does matter. It is part...Read More

Daily Collection: The Ascension

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The Collect for the Solemnity of the Ascension is: "Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." Reflection We do not look for a merely earthly joy or worldly form of celebration. Rather, we ask to rejoice with devout thanksgiving. As we ask...Read More

Daily Collection: Memorial of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus

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The Collect for the Memorial of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs: "Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who know the great courage of the glorious Martyrs Nereus and Achilleus in confessing you, may experience their loving intercession for us in your presence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." Reflection Besides the fact that they were martyrs who were loved by the early Church, we know almost nothing about Nereus and Achilleus. Some stories say they were Roman soldiers who...Read More

Daily Collection: Friday before Ascension Sunday

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The Collect for the Friday before Ascension Sunday: "Hear our prayers, O lord, so that what was promised by the sanctifying power of your Word may everywhere be accomplished through the working of the Gospel and that all your adopted children may attain what the testimony of truth has foretold. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." Reflection What was promised by the sanctifying power of God's Word? It is the repentance of sinners and the salvation of souls. So, we...Read More

Daily Collection: Memorial of St. Damien of Molokai

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The Collect for the Memorial of St. Damien of Molokai, Priest: "Father of mercy, who gave us in Saint Damien a shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned, grant that, by his intercession, as faithful witnesses of the heart of your Son Jesus, we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." Reflection St. Damien de Veuster, more commonly known and "Damian of Molokai," dedicated his life to serving...Read More

Daily Collection: Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

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The Collect for Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter is: "Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, as we celebrate in mystery the solemnities of your Son's Resurrection, so, too, we may be worthy to rejoice at his coming with all the Saints. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." Reflection The prayer makes a request, but attaches a condition to it. That condition is our celebration of Christ's resurrection. That because the prayer is looking forward to the rest of...Read More

Daily Collection: Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

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The Collect for Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter is: "Grant, almighty and merciful God, that we may in truth receive a share in the Resurrection of Christ your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." Reflection We invoke God as almighty because we know he has the power to make us share in Christ's resurrection. We already know for certain that everyone will rise from the dead on the last day, but some will rise to face eternal punishment. For that reason, we invoke God...Read More

Daily Collection: Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

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The Collect for Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter is: "Grant, O merciful God, that we may experience at all times the fruit produced by the paschal observances. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." Reflection A single sentence and a simple request are all we have today. By asking to experience the "fruit" at "all times," the Church is inviting us to a deeper understanding of what that "fruit" really is. If we are seriously asking, in a liturgy,...Read More

Saved by Free Gift or by Free Will?

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Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter                                                     May 6, 2018 Fr. Albert                                                                                      St. Peter’s, New Iberia  Well, which is it? Are we saved because God loves us or because we obey him? It really seems like Scripture is talking out of both sides of its mouth. The first reading emphasizes doing what is right. The second reading God’s love. And the Gospel seems to flip flop! In that first reading, we see Cornelius being baptized. He was a Roman – a Pagan. But, he evidently acknowledged the God of Israel and even gave money...Read More

Daily Collection: Sixth Sunday of Easter

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The Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter is: "Grant, almighty God, that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy, which we keep in honor of the risen Lord, and that what we relieve in remembrance we may always hold to in what we do. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." Reflection We are still in the Easter season, which means we are still celebrating the risen Lord. Such a long season can become boring to us, so we...Read More