Why Celebrate? – Homily for the Assumption of Mary 2024

Assumption of Mary                                                                                       August 15, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/jwnk-iFshWs Why? Why celebrate the Assumption of Mary? For many reasons, but one above all: everything we celebrate about Mary gives even greater glory to Jesus Christ her son. Every Marian dogma, devotion, and practice is ultimately about Jesus Christ. Before explaining why, let’s answer what it is. The Assumption of Mary commemorates the day that Mary was brought into heaven, body & soul. Everyone else, when they die, leaves their body behind and only their soul goes to heaven. When Jesus rose from...Read More

Up, Up, Up: Homily for the Assumption of Mary

Assumption of Mary                                                                                       August 15, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/d8MApXvCvRs Up, up, up. If we wanted to distill the entirety of this Festival to a single word, it would be “up.” The Assumption celebrates when Mary was taken up into heaven, but that direction, that movement didn’t start at the end of her life. Indeed, it began over a thousand years before. King David, anointed by Samuel the prophet and successor to Saul as king of Israel, set out to properly establish and rule the kingdom given him by God. He conquered...Read More

Homily for the Assumption of Mary: The Bodily Promise of Glory

Assumption of Mary                                                                                       August 15, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/691Gxq-cc34 "From this day all generations will call me blessed.” So Mary proclaims in a moment of great joy. Indeed, we are interrupting our journey through John Chapter 6 to acclaim the blessedness of Mary. Why, though? Why honor Mary in this way? Because “the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” Yes, as always when we honor a saint, we are ultimately honoring what God has done in and through that saint. That’s truer of Mary than anyone else....Read More