Category: Homilies

29th Sunday OT, Year B (Farewell) Deacon Albert St. John the Evangelist Cathedral   https://sites.google.com/site/fatheralbertmedia/mp3/29_OT_B_6.mp3   “You can do whatever you set your mind to.” Really? Is that true? This claim is made by parents, teachers, advertisements, and politicians throughout our country. Children are filled with this idea from the time they are very little and hear it repeated constantly until some brutal encounter with reality shatters this fragile illusion. Then they must choose between willful naiveté, cold cynicism, or a new-found realism. How few choose the last of these! I once wanted to be a fighter pilot and eagerly researched what it...Read More

Friday of 25th Week OT Deacon Albert St. John the Evangelist Cathedral “Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?” There are some who look back on the “glory days” of the Church and the Church of today pales in comparison, it looks much worse off. Perhaps they lament the change in membership, in liturgy, in style or in some other way. But our Lord tells us today “take courage” because the whole world, and especially the Church are...Read More

Exaltation of the Cross Deacon Albert St. John the Evangelist Cathedral https://sites.google.com/site/fatheralbertmedia/mp3/Exalt_Cross_9-14-15.mp3 Our Lord is a God who loves a paradox. Death came from a tree, so he brought us life through a tree. Death came through serpents, so he brought life through a serpent mounted on a pole. In ancient Rome, Crucifixion was used to mock slaves who were too ambitious - it was a parody of being "raised up" as a King. Christ used the crucifixion to bring our freedom and reveal himself as the True King. The Emperor Constantine had a vision which told him that he...Read More

22nd Sunday OT, Year B Deacon Albert St. John the Evangelist Cathedral https://sites.google.com/site/fatheralbertmedia/mp3/22_OT_B.mp3 Does Jesus have a problem with good hygiene? I mean, what is wrong with washing your hands and dishes before you eat? Or with the occasional “purification… of beds?” Surely Jesus doesn’t want us to sleep on sheets full of mildew and put our food on a layer of crumbs and mold from the last meal, does he? Of course not. These things are good in themselves and there is nothing wrong with doing them. But, Jesus has a reputation to uphold. His family honor is on...Read More

19th Sunday OT, Year B  Deacon Albert St. John the Evangelist Cathedral https://sites.google.com/site/fatheralbertmedia/mp3/19%20Sun%20OT%20B.mp3 What a summer! ISIS still on rampage, a Supreme Court decision, shootings, constant political bickering, gut-wrenching undercover videos, financial chaos in Europe, and our own slump in the oil field … did I miss anything? Isn’t summer supposed to be a time of vacation and rest? But sports, school, and politics are just getting started – time, ordinary time doesn’t stop and the demands just keep coming. I don’t think I’m alone in wanting to shout to the heavens with Elijah: “This is enough, O Lord!” Maybe...Read More