Tag: Fire

What Fire Does: Homily for Candlemas 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Candlemas                                                                                                      February 2, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/DR4qUiEfhK0 Does fire save? Or does it destroy? If you ask the wood and the wax, they will say it destroys. If you ask the man caught in the cold or the child lost in the darkness, they’ll save it saves. Your answer, then, will probably depend on two things: what you are and where you are. It’s for this reason that Our Lord, that Scripture, that the liturgy of the Church makes such frequent use of fire, both literally and symbolically. Take our...Read More

How It Burns: Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, B

Posted on by Father Albert
2nd Sunday of Advent, B                                                                                December 10, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/4QCixpBM44I If you were running from a fire about to burn your house down, would you stop to make the bed first? It kind of sounds like St. Peter is saying we should in the 2nd reading. Listen again: “the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire… Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought...Read More

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent: Poison and Fire

Posted on by Father Albert
2nd Sunday of Advent, A                                                                                December 4, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/a8ZR_5PdF2w “You brood of vipers!” So much for Christmas cheer. John the Baptist says this to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but it’s not like he’s caught them doing something terrible. These are the ones who came to him! They traveled out of the city all the way to the Jordan river to hear him preach. They came to be baptized! People often say pastors should just be grateful that people show up… that they shouldn’t get caught up...Read More

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

Posted on by Father Albert
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