Tag: Crucifixion

Blessed Are You Who Believed: Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent

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4th Sunday of Advent, C                                                                                 December 22, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/bHDa_DXSTXI “Blessed are you among women.” times 53 in each rosary times the tens of millions of people who pray at least one rosary every day. That means those words are said to Mary over half a billion times every day… and I’m lowballing that number. Mary is blessed indeed! Why, though? Why should Mary be so blessed? And what can we do to be blessed as well? For one thing, it is God’s will. God chose her from before...Read More

That’s My King: Homily for Jesus, King of the Universe 2024

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Christ the King, B                                                                               November 24, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/SRX1lB3_mfE What makes a king? Riches? Bloodline? Popularity? The power to make other people do things? Maybe. Depends on what you mean by a king. The world plays fast and loose with words and their meanings, changing them to suit whatever goal happens to be convenient at the time. This is why Jesus can be elusive sometimes, answering questions with questions. He knows better than anyone that when two people say the same thing, they do not always mean the same thing....Read More

Seeking Peace: Homily for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024

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15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                               July 14, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/qCeLEA2WdH4 What can I say about yesterday? Who should we listen to in the days to come? Maybe start with what we hear in today’s psalm: “I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD —for he proclaims peace.” Now, if you proclaim peace, especially in a time like this, you’ll be met with quite the variety of responses. One phrase that jumps to mind – a phrase fans of the John Wick movies might recognize – is the old...Read More

Good Friday – Part II of the Triduum: A Deadly Love

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Good Friday of the Lords' Passion                                                                 March 29, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/LOsXBjmKEJk Part II of a 3 three part series on the Triduum. Part I is here. Love. We’ve just seen love, continuing our theme for Paschal Triduum. Last night began with the “new commandment” to love one another as Christ loves us, to make others our “own,” invest in them, and serve them even though that leaves us vulnerable to betrayal. While that reality is heartwarming when it’s washing feet, it is heartbreaking when it means inviting those we love to crucify us....Read More

Why Did You Crucify Him? Homily for Palm Sunday 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
Palm Sunday, B                                                                                              March 24, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/NlpiiMfHXWI Why did you crucify Jesus? In a span of 45 minutes, you went from hailing his entrance to shouting, “Crucify him.” What did you do or not do that led you to that point? What motivated you? Money? Pride? Comfort? Power? Popularity? Entertainment? Are you like Judas who first plots against Jesus in response to his waste of money? It’s right after he complains about the woman “wasting” the super valuable ointment that he plots against Jesus. If we let money and valuable things grab hold...Read More

From Beyond Time: Homily for the Immaculate Conception of Mary

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The Immaculate Conception of Mary                                                             December 8, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/Rgpy1AmDGjU Seeing how we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of Mary, some Christians accuse us of over-emphasizing her. Yes, there are people who get carried away and distort Marian devotion, but the Catholic Church’s teaching that Mary was immaculately conceived – conceived without Original Sin – is solid and dependable. Critics say the Immaculate Conception isn’t in the bible. But it is. The angel calls her “full of grace,” which comes from a unique Greek word. We lose something in translation: this is...Read More

Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King: Justice and Mercy

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Christ the King, C                                                                                           November 20, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/0oCRms2gkmw “We have been condemned justly.” Have we? Since the beginning of the Church, there have been those who keep coming back to the same error, the same mistake: the idea that our condemnation isn’t really just, that damnation just can’t be real. There are a lot of subtle and clever arguments to support the idea that everyone goes to heaven – we call it universalism – but it seems to me there is always something beneath the surface…...Read More

Homily for Easter Sunday: The Flower of Perfection

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Part I is here Part II is here Easter Vigil                                         Part 3 of Triduum 2021                                  April 3, 2020Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/32bkjWIy5Zk On Thursday night we began an extended reflection on the idea of becoming perfect, not in the sense of never making mistakes but in the sense of being made complete according to God’s design. It starts with an encounter, an experience of the inexplicable love of God made man. That encounter remains available to you in prayer, in the Church, in confession, and in the Eucharist if you seek it...Read More

Homily for Good Friday: Finishing Perfection

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See part I here. Good Friday of the Lord's Passion     Part 2 of Triduum 2021                                  April 2, 2020Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/xP-fOuMcGzQ The theme of this Triduum is perfection; being complete according to God’s will. Perfection comes from the same Greek word as finished. Last night, we saw that this perfection begins not with our resolutions or ideas, but with encountering Jesus Christ and accepting his love for us. There is a real need to experience this, to feel the love of God manifest. But we also recalled that feelings aren’t what is...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent: Perfection

Posted on by Father Albert
5th Sunday of Lent, B                                                                                     March 21, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/r1BJFiqQXE8 This Lent, beginning with Adam and Eve, we saw God’s firm opposition to evil, especially as shown with Noah and the great flood. In Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac, we saw the importance of faith shown through obedience to things beyond our understanding. With Moses and the Ten Commandments, we encountered the paradox that real freedom is not doing whatever we feel like but being free enough from sin and our impulses to do what is truly good....Read More