Tag: Jesus

Homilies for the 27th & 28th Sundays of Ordinary Time: What We Have In Common

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27th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  October 3, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/XevZjQ6nALs “It is not good for the man to be alone.” God knows this, he isn’t just figuring it out. Neither is he surprised that none of the animals prove “to be a suitable partner for the man.” He is not showing the animals to Adam as part of an experiment, he is doing it as a lesson for Adam, for all mankind. He is teaching us that we are not meant to be alone… that we are meant to be in communion with...Read More

Pastor Column: The Value of Money

Posted on by Father Albert
From the bulletin of October 10, 2021      As I mentioned last week, this week is the annual financial report. Please see the handout for more details on numbers, accountability, and where it goes. In this space, I want to address the point of giving in the first place.      First, why does giving matter? Besides the obvious practical aspects, it is an important part of our spiritual lives. If what we believe about God is true - that he loves us, gave us his only Son, and calls us to eternal life with him - then it should affect...Read More

Homily for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Riches That Burn

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26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  September 26, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/FnF5xxxFkwU Here we are, the prophetic crescendo of the letter of St. James. And when I say “prophetic,” I don’t mean James is predicting the future but that he, like many prophets before him, strongly warns us about sin, death, and judgment. And James gets this preoccupation with damnation from his cousin, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Hell is real and people do go there. Damnation is real. It isn’t some medieval masochist who came up with the idea of eternal fire, but...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

Homily for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Deaf To Justice

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23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  September 5, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/GdV_jyLIg1o Judgement. Discrimination. These words are sort of taboo nowadays. A history of injustice and prejudice in our country and even the warnings of scripture give some reason for that. Jesus says not to judge. In our series on the letter of St. James we today are told by him to “show no partiality.” Yet, it can be confusing because to be a rational human being requires you to make judgments. Having a functioning society requires discrimination. Before he was healed, the deaf man...Read More

Homily for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Advice from St. James

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22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                 August 29, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/VkGRk39UBKc?t=1173 Last week concluded our month long focus on the Eucharist and the sacraments in general. As encounters with God himself, these liturgical events are essential to our religion; crucial in getting us to heaven. Nonetheless, our religion is not summed up by just being in the Church building. Indeed, even the sacraments themselves point us outwards – Holy Orders, Marriage, and Confirmation are each there to equip Catholics for love and service to their neighbor. There’s a reason for this. When asked about...Read More

Homily for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time: Eucharistic Coherence

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21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  August 22, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/YgEbIEjTHfM “If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve.” For five weeks we’ve journeyed through John chapter 6. We’ve reflected on hunger and weakness and fasting. We’ve considered the limitations of this world and that we need to work at having faith to live from an eternal perspective. We’ve challenged the temptation of focusing too much on what we can get instead of what we can give. We’ve rejoiced at the promises of the Eucharist, especially...Read More

Homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Feeding Faith

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19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  August 8, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/UuB4BmoG7OI Elijah the prophet is depressed, worn out, ready to give up and die. But then he gets up and walks 40 days and 40 nights. What changed? God gave him some hearth cakes – bread – to eat. This bread gave him that strength. But that bread is a mere foreshadowing of the Eucharist. If the symbol is powerful enough to keep him going 40 days, how much more powerful must the real thing be? “Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” That’s...Read More

Homily for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Food Worth Working For

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18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 25th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/bQM64w1JMeg “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Is that what you’re doing? I said last week that hunger and need is good… that we actually should be hungry for what Jesus offers. It’s still true, but hunger can also mislead. This crowd begins with a willingness to sacrifice food to get to Jesus but ends up following Jesus precisely because he can give them food. That’s me! I have done that...Read More

Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: The Lord Is Our Shepherd

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16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                              July 18th, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/VD8LvVmGWeM “Like sheep without a shepherd.” It’s too easy to make these readings about pointing fingers; To point at the pope’s latest controversy or at the failures of various bishops or at whatever pastor did whatever you think was a problem. Online I’m sure you’ll find homilies and articles and blog posts that do exactly that this weekend. What good will it do? If you hear a homily or read something that uses the first reading and takes...Read More