Author: Father Albert

St. Clare of Assisi

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Collect taken from the feast of St. Clare of Assisi, virgin. Collect: O God, who in your mercy led Saint Clare to a love of poverty, grant, through her intercession, that, following Christ in poverty of spirit, we may merit to contemplate you one day in the heavenly Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "O God, who in your mercy led Saint Clare to a love of poverty," - We take seriously Jesus' call to poverty. We see that in the fact that call it "mercy" when God leads someone, like Clare, to love poverty. How contrary to the world!...Read More

St. Lawrence

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Collect taken from the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. Collect: O God, giver of that ardor of love for you by which Saint Lawrence was outstandingly faithful in service and glorious in martyrdom, grant that we may love what he loved and put into practice what he taught. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "O God, giver of that ardor of love for you by which Saint Lawrence was outstandingly faithful in service and glorious in martyrdom," - Always we begin with recognizing the goodness of God. With a touch of poetic expression, we do that in this prayer,...Read More

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

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Collect taken from the feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin and martyr. Collect: God of our Fathers, who brought the Martyr Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross to know your crucified Son and to imitate him even until death, grant, through her intercession, that the whole human race may acknowledge Christ as its Savior and through him come to behold you for eternity. Who lives and reigns... "God of our Fathers, who brought the Martyr Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross to know your crucified Son and to imitate him even until death," - We recognize that God's grace...Read More

Looking at the Lamp

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Homily for Transfiguration, Year A Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Looking-at-the-Lamp.wav"][/audio]   Darkness. Do you know darkness in your life? In the world? Surely the answer is yes. Loneliness, boredom, lack of direction, restlessness, confusion, heartbreak – darkness. But, Scripture tells us repeatedly that Christ is the light of the world and that we are to be children of the light. Still, who here does not sense the darkness in their life, shadows hiding in their own heart? Each of us needs light, more light. And Peter, the first Pope, tells you how to do that....Read More

St. Cajetan

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Collect taken from the feast of St. Cajetan, priest. Collect: O God, who endowed the Priest Saint Cajetan with the grace of imitating the apostolic way of life, grant us, through his example and intercession, to trust in you at all times and to seek unceasingly your Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "O God, who endowed the Priest Saint Cajetan with the grace of imitating the apostolic way of life," - We acknowledge God's generosity particularly in the form of Cajetan's willingness to live in poverty and spend himself entirely in evangelization. Trust in the form of poverty and...Read More

Dedication of St. Mary Major

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Collect taken from the memorial of Dedication of St. Mary Major, priest. Collect: Pardon the faults of your servants, we pray, O Lord, that we, who cannot please you by our own deeds, may be saved through the intercession of the Mother of your Son and our Lord. Who lives and reigns... "Pardon the faults of your servants, we pray, O Lord," -A straightforward request for mercy that will end with an invocation of Mary's intercession. "that we, who cannot please you by our own deeds, may be saved through the intercession of the Mother of your Son and our Lord." -We...Read More

St. Jean Marie Vianney

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Collect taken from the feast of St. Jean Marie Vianney, priest. Collect: Almighty and merciful God, who made the Priest Saint John Vianney wonderful in his pastoral zeal, grant, we pray, that through his intercession and example we may in charity win brothers and sisters for Christ and attain with them eternal glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "Almighty and merciful God, who made the Priest Saint John Vianney wonderful in his pastoral zeal," -Especially with a saint son wondrous as John Vianney, it is important to recall that God's grace made him what he was, not his own abilities....Read More

Catholics, Yoga, and Words

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You know, words are a funny thing.  That's important to remember when we ask this question because, I think, much of the problem will come down to what we mean by the word "yoga."  I can't speak for other languages and cultures, but American English at least has a pretty nasty track record of dragging words through a while bunch of meanings before leaving them, muddy and muddled, with a definition that was really better served by a word that already existed.  "Gentleman" is one famous example, the word "gay" is another.  My point here is that "yoga" might well...Read More

St. Alphonsus Liguori

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Collect taken from the feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor. Collect: O God, who constantly raise up in your Church new examples of virtue, grant that we may follow so closely in the footsteps of the Bishop Saint Alphonsus in his zeal for souls as to attain the same rewards that are his in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "O God, who constantly raise up in your Church new examples of virtue," -Raising up examples of virtue is an extension of Christ's promise to be with us always, so we acknowledge this aspect of God's providence to...Read More

St. Ignatius of Loyola

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Collect taken from the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest. Collect: O God, who raised up Saint Ignatius of Loyola in your Church to further the greater glory of your name, grant that by his help we may imitate him in fighting the good fight on earth and merit to receive with him a crown in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "O God, who raised up Saint Ignatius of Loyola in your Church to further the greater glory of your name," - Ignatius in particular was converted from seeking glory in this life to seeking the glory of...Read More