Author: Father Albert

An Unusual Love

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7thSun OT, Year A  Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/An-Unusual-Love.wav"][/audio] In 2003 Gary Leon Ridgway confessed to the murder of 48 women and hinted that he may have actually killed as many as 60. During his sentencing, a father of one of Ridgway’s teenage victims looked directly and him and said “You’ve made it difficult to live up to what I believe... what God says to do… to forgive. You are forgiven, sir.” That statement reduced the Green River Killer to tears.  On the evening of June 15, 2015 and young man went to Emanuel Church in...Read More

Love is the Law, The Law is Love

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6thSun OT, Year A Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Love-is-the-Law-The-Law-is-Lo.wav"][/audio] “I am spiritual, but not religious.” Just look at the way Jesus treats those religious and legalistic Pharisees! Look at the beatitudes. Catholics shouldn’t worry about the rules because Jesus is all about what’s in the heart… and he’s all about mercy. Oh? Try telling a woman “I love you, but I’m not committed to you” or “I promise to spend my life with you, but I won’t marry you.” Is that really love? If someone chooses to believe that, fine, but is that what Jesus Christ taught? It...Read More

Salt, Light, and Refugees

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5th Sun OT, Year A February 5, 2017 Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Salt-Light-and-Refugees.wav"][/audio]   Eating dirt in the dark. That’s what our world is doing. At least, whatever their eating is so bland and so useless that it might as well be dirt. Without a light to see and without a decent chef to broaden their culinary horizons, human beings spend most of their time groping around without purpose and constantly consuming what they find, but never with the satisfaction they want. The fact is that the human heart craves something and craves it constantly....Read More

Blessedness Of The Gods

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4th Sun OT, Year A January 29, 2017 Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Blessedness-Of-The-Gods.wav"][/audio]   Like a god! We could almost say that the word for “blessed” could be translated like that. For the ancient Greeks, the word that Jesus uses here – makarios – was primarily used to describe their gods. Only the gods were fortunate enough to be immortal, to be able to escape the inevitability of death and the sorrow it brings. Only the gods could be truly happy, fortunate, and blessed. But not so for Jesus. You have heard the beatitudes so...Read More

Adoptive Providence

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Pro-Life Mass January 24, 2017 1 Kings 17:10-16        Ps 139       1 John 3:14-18         Matt 25:31-46 Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Adoptive-Providence.wav"][/audio]   Providence is a funny thing. The invisible hand of God directing all things to work according to an inscrutable divine plan. We are told by Jesus that not even a hair on our head is uncounted. Paul says that everything is to the benefit of those who love the Lord. And yet, there is so much wrong with this world. So many who, through no fault of their own, find...Read More

Our Exile

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3rd Sunday OT, Year A January 22, 2017 Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/our-exile.wav"][/audio] “Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” After this, our exile… this curious little phrase comes from the back half of the prayer Hail Holy Queen, a prayer we have all heard and said. But what does “our exile” mean? Add to that another commonly heard phrase from our Gospel “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” What is “our exile” and what...Read More

Ordinary

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2nd Sunday OT, Year A Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Ordinary.wav"][/audio]   The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. That is what we celebrate today: Ordinary Time. After several weeks of Advent and Christmas, and just before the even longer period of Lent and Easter, we have this chunk of time that we call “Ordinary.” Why? Is it just that, besides Christmas and Easter, the rest of the year seems plain?  “We don’t really have a great name for this, so let’ s just call it ‘ordinary’.” Not quite. You see, when the Church uses the word...Read More

Seeking and Giving

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Epiphany Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Seeking-and-Giving.wav"][/audio] Epiphany means revelation or manifestation. God reveals himself to the world in today’s feast. 2000 years later, Jesus Christ is still the most well-known man in history and the founder of the world’s largest religion. Many people, however, look at Mohammed or Buddha or Abraham and think that Jesus is just like them. They too are historical figures who founded large religions. What makes Jesus different? What makes Christianity right? What makes the Catholic Church right? There are many reasons that Jesus Christ is unique, but consider this one: prophecy....Read More

A Blessed Year

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Mary, Mother of God Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/A-Blessed-Year.wav"][/audio] On the first day of the year, the first reading from scripture that we hear is God commanding his priest to bless his people. But what does a that even mean? “Blessing” is one of those words we use so much that we aren’t actually sure how to define it. We see three petitions in this blessing that point us to its deepest meaning. Blessing is a broad theme deeply embedded in Scripture, but we can focus on one key aspect: relationship. “The Lord bless you...Read More