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 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

Homily for the Epiphany: The Light of Worship

Posted on January 2, 2022January 27, 2022 by Father Albert

Epiphany January 2, 2022Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/E4WDaxhc82k “Nations shall walk by your light.” So says the prophet Isaiah of the city of Jerusalem. God chose the Israelites so that he could reveal himself through them and call all nations to himself. They were to be the exemplars, the messengers, the witnesses to the nations. They knew that a king would rise up to make them this light to the nations and eventually even pagans had heard of the prophecy. This is why Persian Magi were aware of the birth of a Jewish king...Read More

Homily for Mary, Mother of God: The Face of God

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

Mary, Mother of God January 1, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/xwbShOVZNcg Do you think there was a resemblance? Between Mary and Jesus, I mean. Do you think it was obvious to anyone who looked that Jesus was Mary’s son? I do. After all, God did not just appear in her womb. The angel said she would conceive, that the child in her womb was taken from her flesh, her genetics. His father, God the Father, provided miraculously the rest of what is human and his divine nature as well. So the face of Jesus must...Read More

Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family: Subordinate to Love

Posted on December 26, 2021December 26, 2021 by Father Albert

Holy Family, C December 26, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/dRPewa-4n48 What does the word “family” conjure up in you? Warmth? Safety? Stress and anxiety? Worry and loneliness? Sorrow and mourning? Family can put us through the full gamut of human emotion and experience. Sometimes seems like more trouble than it’s worth, but family is important. Jesus comes first, but Jesus also tells us that family is important both through his teaching in the Old Testament, through his personal example, and through the teaching handed on to us by his apostle, St. Paul. Some of you...Read More

Homily for Christmas: The Beginning

Posted on December 26, 2021December 26, 2021 by Father Albert

Christmas December 25, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/o5yM9yzUvDY There’s just something about a good beginning, isn’t there? When you first crack open a great book… when the last preview ends and the movie’s title screen comes up… the first day of college… your wedding day… the birth of a child… There’s a sense of possibility, of openness, of hope for more to come. I think perhaps that’s one reason so many people love Christmas. New gifts to enjoy, new memories to make. Not only is it just a week away from New Years, it’s...Read More