Author: Father Albert

St. Lucy

Posted on by Father Albert
Collect taken from the memorial of St. Lucy, virgin and martyr. Collect: May the glorious intercession of the Virgin and Martyr Saint Lucy give us a new heart, we pray, O Lord, so that we may celebrate her heavenly birthday in this present age and so behold things eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ... "May the glorious intercession of the Virgin and Martyr Saint Lucy give us a new heart, we pray, O Lord," - We echo the many places in Scripture that ask for a new heart or promise one to those who seek God. The implication is of course that our...Read More

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Posted on by Father Albert
Collect taken from the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Collect: O God, Father of mercies, who placed your people under the singular protection of your Son's most holy Mother, grant that all who invoke the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe, may seek with ever more lively faith the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and of peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ... "O God, Father of mercies, who placed your people under the singular protection of your Son's most holy Mother,," - It is God's design that we are helped by the intercession and protection of Mary. Far from taking away...Read More

Comfort, Comfort on the Double

Posted on by Father Albert
Homily for 2nd Sun Adv, Year B Fr. Albert St. Peter’s, New Iberia, LA [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Comfort-Comfort-on-the-Doubl.wav"][/audio]   “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.” Prophets don’t generally like to be rejected and hated. They don’t enjoy being the sign of contradiction and conviction. But, faithfulness demands they hand on what God says, not what they feel like saying. Yet, there are the joyful moments when God commands them to encourage and comfort. Isaiah is often filled with bold challenges and strong warnings, but here the prophecy is closer to what we’ve come to expect in...Read More

Second Sunday of Advent

Posted on by Father Albert
Collect taken from the Second Sunday of Advent Collect: Almighty and merciful God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet your Son, but may our learning of heaven wisdom grain us admittance to his company. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "Almighty and merciful God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet your Son" - In seeking to live the Christian life, a person is called to "set out in haste" to meet Christ in their daily living. Remembering that our home is ultimately in heaven, we pray not only...Read More

St. Juan Diego

Posted on by Father Albert
Collect taken from the optional memorial of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. Collect: O God, who by means of Saint Juan Diego showed the love of the most holy Virgin Mary for your people, grant, through his intercession, that, by following the counsels our Mother gave at Guadalupe, we may be ever constant in fulfilling your will. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "O God, who by means of Saint Juan Diego showed the love of the most holy Virgin Mary for your people," - In line with His great love of the humble and lowly, God took this unimportant man and used...Read More

Pure As The Wind-Driven Snow

Posted on by Father Albert
Homily for The Immaculate Conception  Fr. Albert St. Peter’s, New Iberia, LA [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Pure-As-The-Wind-Driven-Snow.wav"][/audio]   Why? Why do we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary? I can think of three great reasons to do so. First, because the glory of Mary always points to the glory of Christ. It is fitting that the woman who is meant to bear God Himself in her womb should be without any sin or defilement. When something is valuable to us, we often adorn it or place it in something that is also quite valuable. Like diamond for an engagement ring,...Read More

St. Nicholas

Posted on by Father Albert
Collect taken from the optional memorial of St. Nicholas, bishop. Collect: We humbly implore your mercy, Lord: protect us in all dangers through the prayers of the Bishop Saint Nicholas, that the way of salvation may lie open before us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ... "We humbly implore your mercy, Lord: protect us in all dangers through the prayers of the Bishop Saint Nicholas," - God already wants to protect us. We can and do ask him directly for that protection. But, we learn from God that he prefers to include us in his works. So, we pray that that protection be given...Read More

Tuesday of the 1st Week of Advent

Posted on by Father Albert
Collect taken from the Tuesday of the 1st Week of Advent Collect: Look with favor, Lord God, on our petitions, and in our trials grant us your compassionate help, that, consoled by the presence of your Son, whose coming we now await, we may be tainted no longer by the corruption of former ways. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "Look with favor, Lord God, on our petitions, and in our trials grant us your compassionate help," - We make a direct appeal to God's compassion, knowing that he is kind and generous because he's already given his Son to us. "that,...Read More

St. John Damascene

Posted on by Father Albert
Collect taken from the optional memorial of St. John Damascene, priest and doctor. Collect: Grant, we pray, O Lord, that we may be helped by the prayers of the Priest Saint John Damascene, so that the true faith, which he excelled in teaching, may always be our light and our strength. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "Grant, we pray, O Lord, that we may be helped by the prayers of the Priest Saint John Damascene" -  By invoking St. John Damascene specifically as a priest, the Church is alluding to the reality that each of us participates in the work of...Read More

Will This Be The Year?

Posted on by Father Albert
Homily for 1st Sun Adv, Year B Fr. Albert St. Peter’s, New Iberia, LA [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Will-This-Be-The-Year.wav"][/audio]   Happy New Year! Now is a time for new beginnings, resolutions, and looking forward to what the future might hold. It’s the time to ask ourselves “will this be the year? Will this finally be the year when I get my act together, be the person I want to be, and show my friends and family the loving, generous side of me they never knew before?” What are your New Year’s resolutions? No, I haven’t got my wires crossed and I’m not off...Read More