Catholic Social Teaching Archives

Artificial Holy Spirit: Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter 2025

Posted on May 25, 2025May 25, 2025 by Father Albert

6th Sunday of Easter, C May 25, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/90qqAsN_UZc Imagine the kind of hard-hitting tweets we would get if St. Paul had an X account. What would Sts. Peter and John do with Instagram to share their visions? Read the letter of St. James and consider what he would be like on Facebook. Talk about a fiery comment section… It's an interesting thought experiment, especially in light of today’s first reading. Peter, James, and Paul are at a meeting in Jerusalem to discuss the number 1 hot-button issue of the...Read More

Pastor Column: Pacem in Terris III

Posted on February 27, 2023February 27, 2023 by Father Albert

[N.B. This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Feb 26, 2023] After a long hiatus, we return to our journey through the document Pacem in Terris by Pope St. John XXIII, written in 1963. Last we left off, we were looking at broad changes in society around the world and breaking open the Church’s teaching about government power and human rights. While the Church does not dictate any single governmental system to be the best, Pope John XIII does highlight the value of dividing powers within the government as well as the...Read More

Mater et Magistra IV

Posted on December 5, 2022December 5, 2022 by Father Albert

[N.B. This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of December 4, 2022] Continuing Pope St. John XXIII’s reflection on farming, we pick up with the subject of taxation. Yes, the Church teaches that governments do have the right to impose taxes in order to pay for services to the common good. She also teaches that taxation systems should be “based on justice and equity,” meaning that tax raters are “proportioned to the capacity of the people contributing.” The pope point out that this means the system should note the particular challenges facing farmers...Read More

Pastor Column: Mater et Magistra III

Posted on November 29, 2022November 28, 2022 by Father Albert

[N.B. This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article from the bulletin of Nov 27, 2022] We left off last week with the Papal teaching on a Just Wage. This week, we follow that train of thought into the teaching on the relationship between wages and profits. We’ve already seen that laborers ought to share in the profits in some way since it is their labor that produces them. Pope St. John XXIII goes on to say that “any adjustment between wages and profits must take into account the demands of the common good of the particular...Read More

Pastor Column: Mater et Magistra II

Posted on November 28, 2022November 28, 2022 by Father Albert

[N.B. This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article from the bulletin of Nov 20, 2022] We left off our journey through Pope John XXIII’s letter with an emphasis on balance between individuals and communities, between the principles of Subsidiarity and Solidarity. We pick up this week with the pope noting that science and technology have made is possible for the “public authority” to more directly react to imbalances between branched of the economy or between different regions. Since they have more ability, governments ought to be all the more responsible. Once again, the pope then immediately...Read More

Pastor Column: Mater et Magistra I

Posted on November 7, 2022November 7, 2022 by Father Albert

[N.B. This is not the Sunday homily. It is an article for the bulletin of November 6, 2022] Since his pontificate was short and much of his effort went toward beginning the Second Vatican Council, Pope St. John XXIII did not write very many encyclicals. We’ll begin with one of the more important ones, titled Mater et Magistra and written in 1961. It is Latin for “Mother and Teacher,” and it focuses on the role of the Church as mother and teacher of all nations. Like other popes, John XXIII released this document on the anniversary of a very...Read More

Pastor Column: The Social Question III

Posted on November 22, 2021November 21, 2021 by Father Albert

[Note: This is not the weekly homily.] This is an article from the bulletin of November 21, 2021 Having discussed just wages, we turn now to Pope Pius XI’s focus on two things that he considers “especially necessary” if the good work started by Rerum Novarum is to continue. Those two are the “reform of institutions” and the “correction of morals.” As far as institutions, the pope notes that “the State comes chiefly to mind.” The reason for this, he explains, is that “individualism” has disintegrated the rich social life that used to exist so that we are...Read More

Homily for Christ The King: A Reign That Matters

Posted on November 21, 2021November 21, 2021 by Father Albert

Christ the King, B November 21, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/YtrUTHzNR4E Christ is King! Not Christ will be king… not Christ is like a king. As much as we cherish our democratic republic, this truth cannot. must not be forgotten. Jesus Christ is king of the Universe now and forever. Yet, there are some powerful lies circulating in our world that blind us to this truth and its implications. Many Christians claim the Kingdom of God is not really until the end of the world. But that flatly contradicts Revelation right here. “Jesus Christ is...Read More

Homily for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Dying To Live

Posted on September 12, 2021September 19, 2021 by Father Albert

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B September 5, 2021Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/hYROyU8uBj8 Can faith save us? By itself? No. The second reading ends before we get to it, but in the very next line, St. James says, “even the demons believe and tremble.” They know God is real, but it doesn’t save them. Peter has faith to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, but immediately gets called “Satan” by Jesus. Why? Because he tries to reject the work that Jesus must do, the work of carrying the cross. Faith, in order to save us, must...Read More