Your Will Be Done: Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent 2023

4th Sunday of Advent, B                                                                                 December 24, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/8yjMcR6JPEo Some of the most useful and most underrated words in all of Scripture are the ones the prophet Nathan says to King David in our first reading: “Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you.” These words can pull you back to the center from one of two dangerous extremes: excessive self-reliance and crippling uncertainty. By far the most common one is excessive self-reliance. Even being too worried about what other people think is relying on...Read More

Fear of Fruitlessness: Homily for the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time

27th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                  October 8, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/hzKx4gYwYDc Why didn’t they just give him some of the grapes? No one likes it when it’s time to pay the rent. But how much sense does it make that their first response is to beat, kill, and stone the messengers? No request for leniency, no negotiation. It’s not like the landowner is unreasonable or impatient. He tried again, even after they murdered his servants. He sent his own Son. Clearly, if these tenants had even tried to work out a deal...Read More

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter: The Way of Peace

Easter Sunday 6, C                                                                                                     May 22, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/FWmyMx8vzto “My peace I give to you.” Of the many gifts Jesus offers, this is probably one of the most requested. “Pray for me to find peace, Father.” And I do so gladly because, after all, Jesus does promise it right here. But what does that peace look like? How do we recognize it, increase it, cooperate with it? In short, the answer is the Holy Spirit. Notice what Jesus lists right before he mentions peace. “The...Read More