Tag: Authority

In The Beginning: Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent, B

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1st Sunday of Advent, B                                                                                 December 3, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/KxHrddNPiWA “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” That’s the opening line to the second book of Douglas Adams’ comedy book series “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” You see, Douglas Adams was a Christian-turned-atheist and his book series is full of funny little jabs at bad arguments for God’s existence. That opening line – creation being a bad idea – conjures up the classic...Read More

How You Treat Your King: Homily for the Christ the King 2023

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Christ the King, A                                                                                          November 26, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/vSPc8phV1jI You could maybe be excused for thinking that today’s solemn feast is about the end of the world. After all, we’ve been hearing about that subject for a few weeks in our readings and today we hear again about the final judgment. Today also marks the last Sunday of the Liturgical year. Next Sunday begins Advent, which is the start of a new cycle. So, it kind of makes sense that the feast of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe should be...Read More

Not as Human Beings: Homily for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

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22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                  September 3, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/8fyh0bbujDU “Get behind me Satan.” It’s quite the change, really. Last week’s gospel shows Jesus naming Simon “Rock” – Peter in Greek – and proclaiming that the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against the Church founded on that rock. Mere minutes later, Jesus uses a very different name for Simon Peter: Satan. Kind of looks like that promise of never being defeated didn’t last very long, doesn’t it? Appearances can be deceiving. In fact, that’s exactly the point Jesus makes:...Read More

The Authority of a Father: Homily for 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                               June 18, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/hRhiLEarpgY “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Who do you think are these laborers he’s talking about? What are we praying for more of? If you think it’s “priests,” you’re not wrong. After all, Jesus immediately follows this with appointing 12 Apostles and giving them authority to be his laborers. Pray for vocations. I know there are young men in this parish right now...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei III

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Sep 11, 2022]           Focusing in on the Eucharist, Pope Pius XII notes that “the nature of men requires” a “visible sacrifice.” This sacrifice is “no mere empty commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true and proper act of sacrifice.” Each celebration of the Mass is the same sacrifice offered by the same person: the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ who offers himself on the Cross. The manner of the offering is different in that the Mass is the unbloody re-presentation...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei II

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[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of September 4, 2022]      Picking up on the Church’s guidance of the liturgy, Pope Pius XII stresses that a proper understanding of the liturgy factors in both the objective, external reality and the internal, subjective reception of that reality. The Sacraments give grace. That is an objective fact. But receiving that grace requires a person to be properly disposed. He quotes St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians about examining ourselves before receiving communion, lest we eat and drink damnation on ourselves. The salvation offered by...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei I

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[N.B. This is not the Sunday homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Aug 28, 2022]      “The Mediator between God and Men.”  That is the opening line of the next document in our series and where we get the title Mediator Dei (Mediator of God). Written in 1947 by Pope Pius XII, this document addresses the Sacred Liturgy. The “Sacred Liturgy” refers not only to Mass, but to all of the public, formal acts of worship performed by the Church. This includes the other 6 sacraments as well as the many blessings and rituals that populate our...Read More

Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday: The Point of the Power

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Divine Mercy Sunday                                                                                                 April 24, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/Z1VOiVY0vNk What’s the point? Of this passage I mean. If, as so many people say, that we can just confess our sins directly to God, why would Jesus bother to give his Apostles the authority to forgive sins? “Whoever’s sins you forgive are forgiven them, but don’t worry about it because they can just confess directly to me and so you’ll never use this power.” Is that what people think Jesus is doing here? Of course not! There...Read More

Homily for Easter: The Authority to Love, Triduum Pt. 3

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Easter Vigil                                         Part 3 of Triduum 2022                                  April 16, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette [See part 1 here] [See part 2 here] https://youtu.be/laRr7ujxiyk Thursday night, we began the most sacred time of the year – the Paschal Triduum – and began also an extended reflection on the meaning of freedom and authority revealed in the life and death of Jesus Christ. Through the washing of the disciples feet and the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood, we saw that authority is truly a service to the people over whom it is wielded....Read More

Homily for Good Friday: The Authority to Love, Triduum Pt 2.

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Good Friday of the Lord's Passion     Part 2 of Triduum 2022                                  April 15, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette [See part 1 here] [See part 3 here] https://youtu.be/sXt3xI3VWEI The authority to love. That’s how we defined freedom last night as we began this paschal journey. Jesus, aware that the Father has put everything in his power, used that power to serve, to wash the feet of his disciples, to institute the sacraments of the Eucharist and the priesthood while also foreshadowing the sacrament of confession. Even while washing their feet, Jesus continued to give commands,...Read More