Tag: love

Attaining Joy: Homily for Gaudete Sunday 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
3rd Sunday of Advent, C                                                                                 December 15, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/v70YSRU0t5g “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.” It’s hard to pick just one hymn as a favorite, but that’s a contender. Profound meaning, a great tune, a deep connection to tradition, and it’s always sung in my favorite season, especially on one of my favorite days of the year: Gaudete Sunday, which literally means “rejoice.” Our second reading follows that theme by telling us, commanding us to rejoice. How, though? To understand how, it will help to reflect...Read More

Surviving the End of the World: Homily for the 33rd Sunday OT 2024

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33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   November 17, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/eg_n8cldRbY Repent! The end is near! No, really it’s true. I mean, it’s been true since Jesus ascended into heaven, but you really do need to repent nonetheless. Jesus could come back at any moment. Our own deaths could happen at any moment. So, we should be ready now. And if we are not, then we need to start getting ready now. We are two weeks away from Advent, which is the beginning of our liturgical year. So, on the Church’s...Read More

To Be One of the Many: Homily for the 32nd Sunday OT 20214

Posted on by Father Albert
32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  November 10, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/czmrFL-K9z4 Some of you probably remember that, about 15 years ago, when the priest said the words of consecration: “this is my blood… the Blood of the new and eternal covenant,” the sentence used to end with “which will be poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins.” Now, however, it ends by saying his blood will be “poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Why did the Church change the words...Read More

Love Without Loopholes: Homily for the 31st Sunday OT 2024

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31st Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   November 3, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/9F7darsL3j0 Why? Why didn’t anyone dare “to ask him any more questions?” My guess is that it has something to do with the way he told the scribe he was not far from the kingdom of God. Usually when Jesus flexes that kind of power – like forgiving sins or flipping tables – usually the scribes and pharisees complain that he is overstepping his authority. But this time? No one even questions it. Something about the whole exchange must have just...Read More

Who’s Coming With Me? Homily for All Saints Day 2024

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All Saints Day                                                                                                 November 1, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/wfpSmYsgF8c Epic. Or maybe you’d say “sigma.” Most people see the saints as amazing, “up there,” as heroes and legends and special people who do what we never could. And you know what? Some of them really are. Padre Pio could bilocate, read souls, and had the wounds of Christ in his body for 50 years. Joan of Arc led the French armies to victory in battle and bravely faced being burned alive by corrupt men. Francis of Assisi lived radical poverty...Read More

The Face of God: Mass for VC Homecoming 2024

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Friday Week 29 OT                            VC Homecoming                               October 25, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTOyvFG7egg “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” Is it, though? We all just said that 4 times in a row, but do we really mean it? Do we really understand what it means to “long” to see His face? This isn’t some idle wish, some passive desire. And seeing the face of God isn’t as easy as facetiming a friend. There’s a depth, a labor, a concerted effort here that most people fail to appreciate. Let me...Read More

The Cross Already Carried: Homily for the 24th Sunday OT 2024

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24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   September 15, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/M4eBo9yAycI “He spoke this openly.” What did he speak openly? That the dreams of glorious conquest people had about the promised Messiah would turn out to be just dreams, that his mission and ministry would look like a total failure, that he would be betrayed and murdered in the most shameful and painful way. Simon Peter, his right hand man, takes that about as well as you’d expect. We so often look at the crucifix, are so familiar with how the...Read More

The Food of Love: Homily for the 20th Sunday OT 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   August 18, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville N.B. This is the fourth homily in a series. The third is here. https://youtu.be/ufO08G1JHTo “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” How indeed. Perhaps we’re so used to the idea of the Eucharist that we don’t appreciate the difficulty of answering that question. These crowds have seen Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons, and multiply food to feed 5000 people. He is obviously no ordinary man, but a miracle-worker and a prophet. Yet, as miraculous as those...Read More

Body, Love, Glory: Homily for Corpus Christi 2024

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Corpus Christi, B                                                                                                        June 2, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/SHuPAApGo2A Last week, I spoke about “union” as if it was obvious that it was something everyone would want. Well, maybe it isn’t obvious to you. Maybe you aren’t sure what I mean by union and therefore aren’t sure why it’s something you would want to “will” for yourself or “will” as the “good of the other person.” What is union? Why do we want it? A friend of mine shared a story with me about a young man who was...Read More

Being Love: Homily for Trinity Sunday 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
Trinity Sunday, B                                                                                                       May 26, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/LWnwLJEZS3w Three weeks ago, I focused on the teaching that God is love. But what is love? “Love is to will the good of the other.” If God is love, then this means that God’s very existence is to will the good of the other. We tend to think of existence or being as this kind of passive reality. If you ask me “what are you doing?” and I answer “existing,” you’d probably think “ah, so he’s doing nothing” and you’d...Read More