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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A Clean Heart: Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
5th Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                      March 17, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/Rq7nymESj0w When I was a kid, my boy scout troop would take rock climbing trips. Now, we all knew that falling from a great height can kill you, which is why we were careful to use ropes, harnesses, and anchors to keep us safe. We were taught how to use it and we knew that the gear was perfectly safe. But when you’re 70 feet off the ground, barely clinging to a tiny handhold and your feet start to sleep… you suddenly know the power...Read More

Exiling Ourselves: Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
4th Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                      March 10, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/f_3QXhry7rc From about 605 to 535 BC, God’s chosen nation of Israel went through the Babylonian Exile, described in the first reading. Our psalm today is a lament, a song expressing the sorrow the Jews felt when it seemed like God had abandoned. Why, though? Why did God allow the Babylonians – a pagan empire – to conquer Jerusalem, destroy the temple, and exile His people to a foreign land? [      ] Sin, obviously. God promises never to abandon his people. Yet, he also promised...Read More

Resting In Zeal: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
3rd Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                     March 3, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/oQSiCq5f3Cg Zeal for your house consumes me. Does it, though? It’s possible to do the right thing without ever being zealous about it… even possible to do the right thing while avoiding zeal. Indeed, if you hear someone say, “oh, that girl? She’s a real zealot,” how do you think he intends that comment to be taken? As a compliment or a criticism? Odds are he means it critically. He might not be wrong. Zeal can be dangerous. Just ask Saul; his zeal drove him...Read More

A Trigger Warning: Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
2nd Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                     February 25, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/vEuAWfzPkKY Image by CC 2.0 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/gcfairch/4189169360 A story. A true one, as far as I know. At a church elsewhere in Louisiana, there was a young pastor who once opened the door to find a gun pointed straight at him. Holding that gun was a nervous looking man who rather shakily said, “Father, I’m sorry but God told me I have to kill you.” Inspired, he quipped, “oh, God just told me to tell you that you don’t have to kill me anymore.” The...Read More

To The Bone: Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent

Posted on by Father Albert
1st Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                      February 18, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/PLpt7gAnj1k In 1363, King Edward III of England decreed that every able-bodied man in the country must practice archery every Sunday and Holy Day, extending to boys as young as 12, 8, or even 5 years old. The bow and arrow has long been a deadly weapon. The deadliest version in the Middle Ages, the English Longbow, required the ability to pull 150 pounds or more of force with one arm. Thus the training from childhood. This lifelong training was so effective that a unit...Read More

The Hope of Death: Homily for Ash Wednesday 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
Ash Wednesday                                                                                              February 14, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jjTu_TJLkcM What a day this is, this Ash Wednesday. It fixes itself in the imagination, stands out. Many non-Catholics and even non-Christians have picked up on it as something special, and rightly so. For what other day would millions of people eagerly wait in line to be reminded that they are going to die? “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” But they do. Apart from Christmas and maybe Easter, Ash Wednesday Mass has the highest attendance of the year. Why? You tell me....Read More

Do I Will It? Homily for the 6th Sunday OT, 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                     February 11, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/lOVg2MYP1SY “I do will it. Be made clean.” Jesus means it. And this man is right, Jesus can do whatever he wills because he is God. So, why aren’t we clean? Because, even though God wills it, we don’t. I’m not talking about leprosy, of course. We have that cure already. We know that God does not always heal diseases. Here, though, scripture is using leprosy as a metaphor for sin. Don’t get me wrong, Jesus did heal this man of a real biological disease....Read More

What’s Your Price? Homily for the 5th Sunday OT, 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                     February 4, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/o5FeYgl6YWw What’s your price? What would it cost someone to convince you to proclaim the gospel to them? In the second reading, St. Paul says he offers the gospel free of charge. Of course, it’s his job: “an obligation has been imposed” on him to preach the gospel. Yet, even though he has the right to be paid for this job but he refuses to accept money from the people he’s preaching to. Why? Because he wants them to see it’s not about the paycheck,...Read More

A Heart That Can Be Astonished: Homily for the 4th Sunday OT 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                     January 28, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/aJ_e1CLKBsM “The people were astonished at his teaching.” I’ll admit it, there’s a part of me that wants people to say this about my preaching, that wants people to look up to me because of it. But I know that’s my vanity talking and I’ve learned – often at the expense of people I love – just how harmful it can my vanity can be. So, what do I do? Preach badly on purpose so I never get complements that might make me vain? Then...Read More

Return on Your Investment: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                     January 21, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/rbdFnV_JPTI If there was a bank that could give you a return of 50% or more on your retirement, would you put your money there? Given that the average is probably closer to 5%, that sounds impossibly good. So you’d be right to ask “what’s the catch?” The catch is that, every year, there’s a 50% chance this bank – and all the money in it – simply disappears. The logical question here is: what good is a retirement plan if the money disappears before...Read More