We’re at war? Then Pray!

29th Sunday OT, Year C  Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/29_OT_C_16.wav"][/audio]   War. We are at war. Like Moses in the desert against Amalek, the people of God, the Catholic Church, all faithful Christians must realize that they will never have authentic peace in this world. As Christ says in John 16:33: “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble…” But, we have to live in this world, so what do we do about it? Especially with the election looming, we want to wish...Read More

The Clever Manager

25th Sunday OT, Year C Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/25_OT_C_16.wav"][/audio]   “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” It’s true, you know. There is no clever homily, no subtle interpretation that lets us get around that fact. Yet, there’s also no getting around the fact that it’s pretty near impossible to survive in this world without making a little money. Anyone who wants to feed their kids, keep them clothed, and possibly even send them to Catholic school knows full well that making money is a necessary part of life. So what can Christ possibly...Read More

The Heart of the Father

24th Sunday OT, Year C  Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia   [audio wav="http://box5246.temp.domains/~alberuc3/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24_OT_C_16.wav"][/audio]   It’s hard; watching someone you love make the wrong decision and suffer for it in the way that we see in the parable of the prodigal son. But we all suffer this fate in some way. Children, friends, siblings – there is someone in your life whom you’ve seen walk right into a bad situation and there was nothing you could do about it. Maybe you thought that it could have been avoided if you were just more loving or more aggressive or...Read More

Warrior, Rebel, Disciple

23rd Sunday OT, Year C Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia   https://sites.google.com/site/fralbertstorage/recordings/23_OT_C.wav   “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question is an important one and we can see that our whole education system is built around the idea of making a long journey to becoming someone. If you count from Pre-K to College graduation, it’ll take 17 years before you even start doing what you want to do, not to mention other training. I personally spent 25 years in a row in school before finally becoming a priest, and I can only...Read More

To Escape Selfishness

22nd Sunday OT, Year C Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia   https://sites.google.com/site/fralbertstorage/recordings/22_OT_C.wav   Satan is your worst enemy. But, after him, you are your own worst enemy. Christ knows this and that is why he seizes this banquet as an opportunity to teach the people about real discipleship. We are selfish and our egos seem to never rest in their quest for gratification. Philosophers and psychologists have long debated whether or not altruism even really exists. Those who think it does notargue that every apparently altruistic act really has some hidden selfish benefit. A good feeling for doing the...Read More

How does it end?

21stSunday OT, Year C Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia   https://sites.google.com/site/fralbertstorage/recordings/21_OT_C.wav   Have you ever binge-watched a TV show? Or perhaps stayed up late into the night reading a book that has really captured your imagination? What’s the motivation behind that? I bet that most people would say something like “I want to know how it will end.” It’s really a natural human desire – wanting to know the whole story – but it can also be quite the temptation. If we’re good, we can use this desire to help stay focused on helping someone till we see...Read More

Fire and Future

20thSunday OT, Year C  Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia   “And so they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern… There was no water in the cistern, only mud.” I guess it’s a good thing Jeremiah didn’t live in South Louisiana. His little adventure in the cistern would have ended quite differently. He may have been stuck in mud, but this weekend, we’ve been just as stuck in the water. Of course, there’s a crucial difference. We certainly pray for and do everything we can to help those who are suffering because of the flooding, but we...Read More

Evidence of God

19th Sunday OT, Year C                                                                                 Fr. Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia   https://sites.google.com/site/fralbertstorage/recordings/19_OT_C_8-7-16.mp3   What is faith? Once, a teacher asked a group of children that question. One little boy raised his hand and said “It’s believing something even when you know it’s not true!” Where did he get such an idea? You gotta love children. They have a real knack for...Read More

Get Rich!

18th Sunday OT, Year C Alexander Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia   https://sites.google.com/site/fralbertstorage/recordings/18_OT_C_10-2016.mp3   “Teacher, tell my brother to vote for my candidate!” “Teacher, tell my boss to pay me better!” “Teacher, tell the police to punish that criminal!” And why not, Jesus! Do you not care about injustice? Do you not care that people are being manipulated, rightful property is being stolen, and that evil is spreading everywhere? So why do you not do what I ask, Lord? Why say something so strange as “who has appointed me your judge and arbitrator?” You are the very source...Read More

“Gotta catch them all…” Or do I?

17th Sunday OT, Year C Alexander Albert St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia   https://sites.google.com/site/fralbertstorage/recordings/17%20OT%20-%20C%20-%207-24-16.wav   “I want to be the very best!” If you recognize that line, you might know something about the game called Pokémon Go. It’s only been around for 3 weeks, but it has made 100s of millions of dollars and is the most popular Smartphone game in the world. It’s pretty clever, really. It uses your phone’s data and GPS to make it seem like these digital monsters, called Pokémon, are actually in different places in the real world. The goal is the same as...Read More