Tag: Hope

Keep Watch With Me: Homily for Palm Sunday 2026

Posted on by Father Albert
Palm Sunday, A                                                                                           March 29, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                           St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/PSgb2kBhC1s Who wins? The chief priests? Not when the veil of the sanctuary is torn. Judas? Certainly not when he takes his own life. Pontius Pilate? Not when he has to answer to his wife who asked him not to do it. The disciples? Not when they fell asleep in the garden, not in their futile attempt to use the sword, not when they fled and not when Peter denies Jesus. Who wins in the end, then? Jesus wins in his resurrection. But we aren’t there yet. Who...Read More

Losing Jesus: Homily for St Joseph 2026

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St. Joseph, Husband of Mary                            March 19, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                      St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/J-uZJWt7usk How can you lose Jesus? More easily than you might think. Once, when were kids, my brother and I were on a camping trip with a bunch of other people. My brother is… not a morning person. So, when everyone else was getting out of their tents and preparing to go to the place where we’d go rock climbing, my brother was trying to grab a few extra minutes of sleep. Well, he got more than a few. With all the people and commotion,...Read More

Asking Without Grumbling: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent

Posted on by Father Albert
3rd Sunday of Lent, A                                                                                   March 8, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                            St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/G9Z_RRVSko0 When you need water, do you ask for it? Or do you grumble about the fact that you are thirsty? In both cases, the need is the same... that need is legitimate. Without water we die, so the suffering and misery of thirst is our body saying “this is important!” If our bodies can use misery to get what it needs, why can’t we? Who says we can’t? I’m saddened by the misguided way Christians sometimes talk about our feelings and experiences, often reducing them...Read More

Not By Sight: Homily for the Funeral of Unclaimed Bodies 2026

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Funeral Mass for the Unclaimed Bodies                                                      March 5, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                           St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/7l4POdGvkYs “We walk by faith, not by sight.” It’s a common expression among us Christians. We often hear it in preaching and in the lives of the saints. We’ve just heard the part of scripture it comes from: St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. And the context of that saying is important because it tells us what the original point was. It is meant as an expression to help us face death because none of us can see past death. And...Read More

Why Do Anything? Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent 2026

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2nd Sunday of Lent, A                                                                                  March 1, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                            St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/IN8w68Tje-o “It is good that we are here!” Why is it good? “Because we see Jesus in glory!” “Why do we want that?” This past week, I pestered the 6th grade boys with this kind of questioning. Every time they answered why we should want something, I would ask, “why do we want that?” Now that we’re in the heart of Lent and some of the things we’re doing can begin to weigh on us, we might ask ourselves, “why are we doing this?” You might...Read More

Beyond The Way of All Flesh: Homily for St. Agatha, VC School Mass

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Thursday, Week 4 OT (St. Agatha)                                                         February 5, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                           St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/q9o9fzR-g7Y “I am going the way of all flesh.” When King David says that to his son Solomon, he means he is going to die. But the way he expresses that is important for us to understand. Death really is the way of all flesh. Everyone dies eventually. King Solomon is a legendary king, but he’s dead now. The 12 apostles that Jesus sends out? All dead. The people they healed, the ones they delivered from demons? All dead. When we really think about...Read More

What’s In A Name: Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent 2025

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4th Sunday of Advent, A                                                                  December 21, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                            St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/KGRQCZBwWtE Myth. Legend. Liar. Lunatic. The cause of wars. The symbol of oppression, hatred, and discrimination. The angry judge. The source of guilt and repression. The role model. The teacher. The nice guy. The Lord. The Savior… When you call upon Jesus, when you think or speak of him, how do you name him? Because everyone of those titles, every one of those “names” has been applied to Jesus of Nazareth. But this is not a sociological question. It is a personal one. What do...Read More

The Joy of Poverty: Homily for Gaudete Sunday 2025

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3rd Sunday of Advent, A                                                             December 14, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                         St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville N.B. Technical Difficulties meant the recording failed this week. You don’t have to feel Catholic in order to be Catholic. You don’t have to feel Catholic in order to be Catholic. Somehow, American Catholics bought into the lie that practicing a faith you don’t feel deep down makes you a hypocrite, that acting Catholic while you have doubts makes you a hypocrite. It doesn’t. How do I know? Because we have an example no less illustrious than John the Baptist himself. Look again at what...Read More

What We Know: Homily for All Souls Day 2025

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All Souls Day                                                                                     November 2, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/-50x9MAY37M “I know he will rise.” Not “I believe,” not “I think,” not even “I hope.” I know he will rise. How? How can this unimportant woman from a small town outside of Jerusalem know someone will rise from the dead? Because faith is not a guess or an opinion. It is a supernatural conviction of truths that are beyond our natural reason. Faith is not opposed to knowledge. It is not opposed to reason. It is an extraordinary way of knowing. Of course, it is...Read More

Saints & Pharisees: Homily for the 30 Sunday OT 2025

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30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                   October 26, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/BG2y-1f79ls “O God, I thank you that I’m not like those pharisees who think they’re better than everyone else. They pray and fast and give to the Church, but they’re so judgmental. I’m much more like those tax collectors and other people Jesus loved – I never fast or give tithes, I love money, I’m addicted to drinking, and I like to lust… but, man I’m so glad I’m not judgmental!” Y’all see the problem there? People are so quick to agree with Jesus...Read More