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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Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent: Cycle of Victory

Posted on March 6, 2022March 6, 2022 by Father Albert

Lent Sun 1, C March 6, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/WTKMEYA2nX0 Identity. Trial. Thanksgiving. This is the pattern for us in life and the pattern laid out for us at the beginning of Lent. It begins by knowing who we are and what makes us who we are. This identity is challenged, attacked, tried by the Adversary, Satan. And what sustains us through it all is to receive the gifts of God and return it to him with thanksgiving. Jesus was just baptized in the river Jordan. He is revealed as the Son...Read More

Homily for Ash Wednesday: Now Is The Time

Posted on March 2, 2022March 2, 2022 by Father Albert

Ash Wednesday March 2, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/mkRPK6aA8UQ “Now is the day of salvation.” This is similar to a popular piece of advice: “live in the present moment.” There’s a piece of truth in that popular adage. The reality is that we only have the present. The past is gone and the future is not here. The present moment is most real, most important. But this only goes so far. Another, related popular dictum is “live with no regrets” as if being in the present moment justifies never considering past mistakes. If all...Read More

Homily for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Glorified Body

Posted on February 27, 2022March 13, 2022 by Father Albert

8th Sunday OT, C February 27, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/c05HN4gP32g How do we win? Where is our victory? Does not our faith promise victory over evil, sin, and death? The Ukraine crisis, rising secularism, persecution of Christians throughout the world, Covid, cancer, dementia, rising costs, fewer jobs… When you start looking for it, you can stack up quite the list of things going wrong. And we have to be realists. We can’t pretend to not see what it right in front of our eyes, but we do have the choice of what we...Read More

Homily for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Cult of Convenience

Posted on February 20, 2022February 20, 2022 by Father Albert

7th Sunday OT, C February 20, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/w1XBvI_Ez00 One huge mistake of the Church in the past 60 years, in my opinion, is we made the Catholic faith too convenient. In part, it’s a psychological thing. Human beings naturally place more value in things that are expensive, difficult, or rare. I’ve seen studies that show how strict religions tend to succeed more than easier ones. I’ve seen in myself and in others that when something is just given to us or made too easily available, we tend to neglect it and...Read More

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Blessing and Woe

Posted on February 13, 2022February 13, 2022 by Father Albert

6th Sunday OT, C February 13, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/qclvyk4-I04 This past Friday marks three years I have been your pastor, halfway through my first term. Covid certainly made it more difficult and there are a few things I wish I had done differently… some things that pain me. Attendance is still down by 30%. On most weekends, the collection is still slightly lower than what I remember seeing when I started. We lost the partnership with Head Start and had to sell the school property. Yet, it’s not all bad news. We...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Choosing Love

Posted on February 6, 2022February 6, 2022 by Father Albert

5th Sunday OT, C February 6, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jqCNsAHC4yU “From now on you will be catching men.” This sums up the mission of the Church: to draw men and women to Jesus Christ. Evangelization is at the heart of the Church’s very identity. But what is evangelization? Is it about the number of people at Church on Sunday? Of course not. Peter is already in the boat with Jesus. He has heard him before and listens to his preaching. But Peter is not yet truly evangelized, not yet truly caught by Jesus....Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Insulting Love

Posted on January 30, 2022January 30, 2022 by Father Albert

4th Sunday OT, C January 30, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/IU2mslDu01M The Word of God is always fruitful… it is living and effective. But that doesn’t mean we’re always going to like the effect it has. Jesus’ own experience is proof of that. I hinted last week that Jesus’ preaching would bear fruit and now we see it. At first, it’s great. People are “amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” Jesus should be happy with that, right? He gives a good homily and even tells people that they are witnessing...Read More

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Present to the Word

Posted on January 23, 2022January 27, 2022 by Father Albert

3rd Sunday OT, C January 23, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/EOW_ul5yMjA Normally I preach for 10 minutes but in honor of Ezra reading from “daybreak until midday,” how does an hour sound? Not long enough? How about 3? No, but we should take God’s word seriously. The Gospel ends with Jesus saying “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Not “fulfilled in your presence.” Not “fulfilled at this time.” In. Your. Hearing. The Word of God is fulfilled not just in being proclaimed, but in being heard, received, made fruitful. The question...Read More

Homily for the 2nd Week of Ordinary Time: Our Wedding Gifts

Posted on January 16, 2022January 27, 2022 by Father Albert

2nd Sunday OT, C January 16, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/TvwkkMiOCMg This is our wedding feast. To belong to the Church is to be invited to the wedding of God with humanity. Scripture constantly speaks of Israel as God’s bride. It’s the reason that Jesus’ first miracle is done at a wedding feast – it pointing to this deeper reality that God wants to unite all of us to himself in perfect love – marriage is a sign of that truth. Jesus is the bridegroom and the Church – to which we belong –...Read More

Homily for the Baptism of the Lord: You Are My Beloved Son

Posted on January 9, 2022January 27, 2022 by Father Albert

Baptism of the Lord, C January 9, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/ARKHEABt4dI This past Wednesday, Pope Francis stirred up some controversy when he talked about families who get pets instead of having children. People were upset that he called it “selfish.” Maybe there was a better way to say what he said, but he’s right. It’s a statistical reality that less and less couples are having kids and more and more are getting pets. All the time, you’ll see people call themselves a “dog dad” or a “cat mom.” Don’t get me wrong. I love...Read More