Tag: Confirmation

Approaching Angels: Homily for the 22nd Sunday OT 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                   Confirmation                           August 31, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/o8x7dHl8nBg N.B. This Mass featured a confirmation. The homily is slightly different from those given at the other weekend Masses. “You have approached…” That’s what our second reading tells us and that is especially true for you today, Jacob. Confirmation is a sacrament of initiation, a sacred ritual that draws you more fully into the Church. Unlike the old testament, the old covenant, this approach isn’t on a mountain with fire and trumpet blasts and the terrifying, booming voice of God. Though...Read More

To Follow the Holy Spirit: Homily for Pentecost 2025

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Pentecost Sunday, C              Adult Confirmation Mass                          June 8, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                          St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/-W_p5fkkP_M Jesus says the word “peace” 23 times in the gospels. A few times are as part of a lesson. A few times are when he uses it like a simple farewell, “go in peace.” A few are when he tells the apostles to wish peace to the houses they visit while going on mission. The only time he gives peace directly to the Apostles, however, is the last supper and here. At the last supper, he says “Peace I leave with you;...Read More

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

Posted on by Father Albert
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

What That Power Can Do: Homily for Pentecost Sunday

Posted on by Father Albert
Pentecost Sunday                                                                                            May 28, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/3Hrt3-06meQ Have you thought about it? About what you would do with more power? For those of you who weren’t at the 4pm Mass last week, I asked everyone to consider what they would do with more power. I explained that Jesus had all power in heaven and on earth and used it on a single command: “go make disciples, baptizing them…” I explained that power is not found in fear and coercion, but in the ability to give others the freedom to choose what is...Read More

Homily for Christmas: The Sudden Arrival of Hope

Posted on by Father Albert
Christmas                                                                                                        December 25, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/Gs6_kJf5w6k Allow me to tell you a story… a parable of sorts. Sometime in the past, there once was a man with his daughter. A loving father, a devoted daughter. Living in Australia in its early days, they were both eager to discover what life was like in the old world. After a careless choice by the daughter on the journey, they were separated. Each knowing that the other would not turn back, they resolved to continue the journey, hoping to be reunited along the way. So...Read More

Homily for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Water and Fire

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20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                  August 14, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/fS5JI_Jm798 Water and fire. Hearing this Gospel, it might be tempting to focus on Jesus’ promise to divide families, but we’ll miss the point of this if we miss what he’s saying about fire and water. These two have certain things in common: both can be used to cleanse and purify and both can be used to kill and destroy. Often, it is by destroying that they purify. Dirt and grime dissolve in water – are kind of...Read More

Homily for Pentecost Sunday: Confirmed in Mission

Posted on by Father Albert
Pentecost Sunday                                                                                                        June 5, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/YFG_PBT4EHQ “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Do we really understand what that means? We are sent by Jesus in the same way the Father sent him. The Son of God didn’t become man… Jesus wasn’t born just to sightsee the world he created. He came with a mission. We aren’t here just to get through life. We have a mission – His mission. Sure, this command is given specifically to the Apostles, but when...Read More