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: Good vs. Evil

Posted on February 21, 2021February 21, 2021 by Father Albert

1st Sunday of Lent, B February 21, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/X6n0iIVvAAI Good versus evil. This concept is part of nearly every story ever told and central to all the best ones. Some people may talk about these two forces as a necessary part of the balance of the universe, the yin and yang or, to borrow an idea from Star Wars, the dark and light sides of the force. But even then, no sane person actually wants evil to be equal to good. The Jedi talk about balance, but strive continually...Read More

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Reaching Out

Posted on February 19, 2021February 19, 2021 by Father Albert

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B February 14, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXDYj2HY71Q “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” In a sense, this verse is a summary of the entirety of salvation history. God’s pity, his mercy, moves him to stretch to the point of becoming human so he could touch us infected by sin and death and make us clean. It is, therefore, also the summary of what we should do in evangelization – stretch out, touch...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Defeating Devils and Disease

Posted on February 7, 2021February 7, 2021 by Father Albert

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B February 7, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jXYvPZWQ3LM Life is hard. It can be cruel and quite bitter. Job taps into this melancholy when he asks, “is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?” and when he claims, “I shall not see happiness again.” Why is life hard? More importantly, what can we do about it? The story of Job is peculiar. Most of the Old Testament echoes the idea that the good are blessed by God and the evil punished by him. The Israelites are conquered when...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B: Authority to Share

Posted on January 31, 2021January 31, 2021 by Father Albert

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B January 31, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/t6nwuHpUaWs Authority. If we’re going to proclaim the gospel and evangelize, we will have to deal with this concept. In many cases, the reason a person remains aloof from the Catholic Church is that they don’t like the Church’s claim to authority. Our culture is already riddled with suspicion, with just about every expert being challenged because of bias, media, and politics. People protest: Tell me what to do? Act like you’re infallible? Claiming to be the only ones who’ve...Read More

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Repent

Posted on January 24, 2021January 24, 2021 by Father Albert

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B January 24, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/7zvDDl1UdCo “Forty days more and” Jeanerette “shall be destroyed.” You think that might get people back to Mass and confession? It worked for Jonah in Nineveh, so why not here? Even Jesus started his ministry with a little bit of a dire note, “repent!” If Jesus and Jonah can call out for repentance and be successful, why can’t we? We can, though not quite in the same way. In our ongoing reflection on the topic of evangelization, we must deal honestly...Read More

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: What We Found

Posted on January 17, 2021January 17, 2021 by Father Albert

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B January 17, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/XHfLCDpUMP4 “He first found his own brother Simon and told him… Then he brought him to Jesus.” Can the same be said of us? As we dive deeper into the call to evangelization, this question is crucial for us. While Jesus does in some places speak of randomness – like with the parable of the sower – there is a structure and method to his mission of proclaiming the coming of the kingdom, and it starts with those already close at...Read More

Homily for the Baptism of the Lord

Posted on January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 by Father Albert

Baptism of the Lord, B January 10, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/zE_0KN67ELs “I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice.” Who doesn’t want that? Those who believe that Biden was lawfully elected want the victory of justice in having him peacefully take office. Those who believe the election was stolen want the victory of justice in having it overturned or redone. And both sides want the justice of proper punishments for those that they believe broke the law or violated the principles of our nation and the common good....Read More

Homily for Epiphany: How to Give

Posted on January 3, 2021January 3, 2021 by Father Albert

Epiphany, Year A January 3, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/NBtzeX79l0c What do I get for the God who gave me everything? This was the question we asked on Christmas day. The answer was to get him the most valuable, thoughtful, practical, and liberating gift we could – ourselves. That’s “what” we give, but now we wonder “how?” While we give gifts on Christmas day, many other cultures wait until today’s feast, the Epiphany, to make that exchange. So, it’s a fitting day to answer this question by looking how the Magi give...Read More

Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: The Blessing

Posted on January 1, 2021January 1, 2021 by Father Albert

Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God January 1, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jy9roxeL15M Merry Christmas! We’re still celebrating it you know. The Christmas season lasts until the middle of January – or even to February 2nd if you follow the old calendar. More importantly, today/Friday marks the 8th day, the octave day of the feast of Christ’s birth. As with music, an octave is the same thing in a different register. Christmas is so important, so profound that we spend 8 whole days re-entering into it, celebrating it, and – as Mary...Read More

Homily for Patronal Feast of St. John the Evangelist: Clothed in Love

Posted on December 27, 2020December 27, 2020 by Father Albert

Patronal Feast of St. John the Evangelist December 27, 2020Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/qpuoOnauNvM From the baby Jesus to boiling oil… That could be the title of St. John’s autobiography. The life of this man, our patron saint, is a fitting testimony that the joy we’ve just celebrated doesn’t stop with a few nice presents but extends straight through the worst parts of the human condition, through death itself into eternal life. All the other apostles were martyred brutally for proclaiming this truth. Like them, society wanted to kill John for...Read More