Tag: Heart

The Heart of a Good Compliment: Homily for School Mass, Thurs Week 28 OT

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Thursday Week 28 OT                       Margaret Mary Alacoque                    September 29, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               Vermilion Catholic, Abbeville https://youtu.be/hwBIkzfOzFo People have often said that I’m intelligent. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the intent behind that compliment, but I have to say that it’s not my favorite. Why not? It’s a nice thing to say, right? Especially when it’s true. Yes. So why not just accept it? Well, I do accept it. But here’s why it’s not a big deal: being smart is just a natural quality. It doesn’t say anything about the kind of person someone is. Smart people can...Read More

The Restless Heart Made Strong: Homily for School Mass Aug 28 2025

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Thurs, Week 21 OT - I                       St. Augustine                                      August 28, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/NmvMULMh9Lo “What are you looking for?” Sometimes in confession, I ask that question of the person confessing. Especially when their sins seem to involve chasing thrills or pleasures, I want them to reflect on what they thought they would get our of committing those particular sins. Today is the memorial of St. Augustine, one of the greatest saints of the Church and one of the most significant figures of human history. Why is he so great? Because he went looking, seeking,...Read More

Thy Kingdom Come… Where? Homily for the 19th Sunday OT 2025

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19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                   August 10, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/nxXZdCHeD7g What is faith? Once, a teacher asked that question to a group of children. One little boy raised his hand and said, “it’s believing something even when you know it’s not true!” Where did he get such an idea? I doubt anyone said those exact words to him. Someone probably told him that with their actions. Children don’t usually get hypocrisy, so they simply take in and imitate what they see. Why did that boy think Faith is believing something you know is...Read More

The Wealth of Judgment: Homily for the 18th Sunday OT 2025

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18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                   August 3, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/rgCDUWrgduk “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Uh, friend Jesus, our Father did. In Acts chapter 10, Peter the chief apostle outright says, Jesus “commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.” So, is Jesus being forgetful or is he just trolling this guy? Actually, “trolling him” isn’t far off. If you’re unfamiliar, that expression is used to describe when someone purposely says things more...Read More

Him Whom My Heart Loves: Homily for the Patronal Feast of St. Mary Magdalen 2025

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Patronal Feast of St. Mary Magdalen                                                                         July 20, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/szYXUkvax6U “Him whom my heart loves.” Who does your heart love? Last week, Jesus exhorted us to love God with our whole heart, mind, being, and strength. Now we hear this love poem from the bible. The Song of Songs is 8 chapters of lyrical verse about love. Traditionally ascribed to King Solomon, some Church Fathers read this poem as an allegory for the kind of love that should exist between God and the human soul with God as the groom and the...Read More

From the Heart: Homily for the 8th Sunday OT 2025

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8th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                     March 2, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/HEQZJ0XLQIM While at lunch in the seminary dining room one day, the conversation got onto the topic of how people acted when they were fans of something: famous people, stories, music and so on. When one book in particular came up, I casually interjected, “oh man, I hate fans of that book” only to look up and lock eyes with someone who was indeed a fan of that very book, a horrified expression on his face. It’s still a clear...Read More

The Heart Worth Following: Prolife Mass for Vermilion Catholic 2025

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Thursday OT 1                                                                                                January 16, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://www.youtube.com/live/_AnHtt6OB-0?si=y6yDosj4ujGGs6D1&t=772 Ever heard the advice “follow your heart?” Probably. Maybe it wasn’t phrased that way. Maybe “be true to yourself” or “do what makes you happy.” Whatever the case, is it good advice, do you think? Let’s compare it to what scripture says today: “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart.” That doesn’t quite match up. What about a different part of scripture? “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Not quite....Read More

Mother of Memory: Homily for Mary, Mother of God 2025

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Mary, Mother of God                                                                                     January 1, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/LXWgcCJzGB4 What do you keep? What in your life and experiences and memories do you store up, hold onto, safeguard? That word, “keep,” has a lot more connotation than just maintaining possession of something. It’s also translated as “treasuring” something. So, like keeping a trophy or keeping something in a safe-deposit box or “keeping” an eye on your small child. There’s value in the thing being kept. There are lots of memories that we kind of “keep” whether we want to...Read More

The Best Brick to Build With: Homily for 1st Communion 2023, 5th Sunday Easter, A

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5th Sunday of Easter, A                                                                                               May 7, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/mdw7Xsv0QD0 One hundred fifteen years this brick Church has endured through fire and storm and decay – a sign to us of the whole Church that will never fall. Yet, this building didn’t build itself, repair itself, or fill itself with love. When I began as pastor, someone told me one of my favorite stories of all time, a story about how this church was built. In 1907, the bricks for the new church were brought by train and dropped off right by...Read More

Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Love or Passion?

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25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  September 19, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/PQeOTknERwA Love God and love your neighbor. It’s our mission statement and it is the greatest commandment. Love of neighbor in particular is the driving theme of St. James’ letter that we’ve been working through for a few weeks. Today, James addresses one of the great obstacles to actually doing this: why is it so hard to love our neighbor? To embrace poverty and sacrifice in order to be closer to God? In a word, your passions. What is a passion? Your passions are...Read More