Category: Homilies

I post the text and audio of my Sunday homilies here for anyone who wants to go back to something they liked or catch something they missed. I sometimes include links to resources that I mention, so that you aren’t left guessing how to follow up on anything I may have challenged you to do.

I put up every weekend homily and the homilies for special feast days like Christmas or the Assumption.

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The Arrows of God: Homily for VC School Mass 20 Feb 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Thursday, OT 6                                                                                               February 20, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               Vermilion Catholic, Abbeville https://youtu.be/BXwgcA-WzOk [Miming a bow & arrow motion] The bow & arrow has been a useful tool for a looong time. Way before we even thought about making the wheel. The only tools older than a bow & arrow are the pointy stick, the hammer, the sharp rock, and fire. There’s evidence that human beings used the bow & arrow over 70,000 years ago. Even today with more high tech options, people still use the bow & arrow to hunt and it’s premier event at the...Read More

The Truth of an Acorn: Homily for the 6th Sunday OT 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                     February 16, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/6lPZUytPIsg Quid est veritas? Pontius Pilate mocks Jesus Christ with that question, “what is truth?” It’s cynical, showing that Pilate doesn’t think there is such a thing as “truth” in the first place. For him, all that matters is what works, what keeps him comfortable, alive, and in power. Cynical though the question is, Jesus does answer it. Not with words, but by his very presence and by his witness of obedience unto death. I sympathize with the question, though....Read More

Fighting Fear with Fear: Homily for the 5th Sunday OT 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                     February 9, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/rAf68Cwy3XA I am not worthy to be your pastor, unfit to be a steward of divine things, keeper of the keys of God’s mercy. Yet I am all these things by God’s providence just as St. Paul was an apostle despite once being an enemy of Christ and complicit in murder. Though I’ve never killed anyone, I’ve no reason to feel any more secure about my credentials than Saul the Pharisee. By God’s grace, I am what I am as...Read More

What Fire Does: Homily for Candlemas 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Candlemas                                                                                                      February 2, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/DR4qUiEfhK0 Does fire save? Or does it destroy? If you ask the wood and the wax, they will say it destroys. If you ask the man caught in the cold or the child lost in the darkness, they’ll save it saves. Your answer, then, will probably depend on two things: what you are and where you are. It’s for this reason that Our Lord, that Scripture, that the liturgy of the Church makes such frequent use of fire, both literally and symbolically. Take our...Read More

Embodying Spirit and Truth: Homily for the Dedication Anniversary 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Anniversary of the Church's Dedication                                                        January 31, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/16rkHc4GtE0 “Worship in Spirit and Truth.” What does that look like exactly? Clearly, Jesus doesn’t think it requires being in a certain location. In a single line, he completely bypasses a theological debate going back centuries between the Samaritans and Jews about which place is the right place to worship. Even while Jesus says the Jews are right, he moves past the debate to make this point about spirit and truth. Which kind of raises a question: if the location doesn’t matter,...Read More

To Defeat the Devil: Homily for Catholic Schools Week 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Monday Week 1 OT               Catholic Schools Week                                   January 27, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               Vermilion Catholic, Abbeville https://youtu.be/Emt1O26T4Ww 500 years ago, a young Italian woman named Angela traveled over 300 miles to visit Rome. Why? Because, 1525 was a jubilee year – just like this year 2025 is a jubilee year – and those who visited the Major Basilicas in Rome were offered special graces. By that time, she was already a well-known teacher and the Pope tried to get her to stay in Rome and run a school. She refused, preferring to return home to Brescia and...Read More

Anticipating Heaven: Homily for Word of God Sunday 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                     January 26, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://www.youtube.com/live/pWdm09q5vAU?si=S73Anm0_AzMRJbKA&t=1295 What’s the longest you’ve ever waited for something? A new book in a series? A concert? A line for a roller coaster? The first McDonalds in Russia had an 8 hour wait to get a burger on opening day. The Beatles had lines half a mile long and I’m sure Taylor Swift concerts usually come with long wait times. Each time World Youth Day rolls around, people often hike for miles to camp overnight in a field to be...Read More

The Heart Worth Following: Prolife Mass for Vermilion Catholic 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Thursday OT 1                                                                                                January 16, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://www.youtube.com/live/_AnHtt6OB-0?si=y6yDosj4ujGGs6D1&t=772 Ever heard the advice “follow your heart?” Probably. Maybe it wasn’t phrased that way. Maybe “be true to yourself” or “do what makes you happy.” Whatever the case, is it good advice, do you think? Let’s compare it to what scripture says today: “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart.” That doesn’t quite match up. What about a different part of scripture? “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Not quite....Read More

Believe, Child of God: Homily for the Baptism of the Lord 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Baptism of the Lord, C                                                                                   January 12, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/v33L25qmdoE On Sunday, July 10, 1988, I was given life, reborn as a child of God. My ordinary birth was a month and half before that, but were it not for my baptism, I would not yet be truly alive. This is not the case for Jesus. From the moment of his conception, Jesus is divine, the very source of life and grace. So why was he baptized? Because that’s just how important baptism is for us. We need baptism,...Read More

God’s Glory Revealed: Homily for the Epiphany 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Epiphany                                                                                                         January 5, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/0DchO0T-Kmg Glory! Splendor! Radiance! Majesty! Magnificence! Awesomeness! We have a lot of words to describe greatness and the bible uses most of them to describe God, though I don’t think “awesomeness” shows up in any mainstream translation… Today’s feast of the Epiphany celebrates the fact that God has indeed revealed his splendor to the world. Perhaps, sitting in this incredible church with hundreds of other people, hearing beautiful music, and being familiar with our Catholic faith all make it easy for us to...Read More