Tag: love

Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family: Subordinate to Love

Posted on by Father Albert
Holy Family, C                                                                                               December 26, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/dRPewa-4n48 What does the word “family” conjure up in you? Warmth? Safety? Stress and anxiety? Worry and loneliness? Sorrow and mourning? Family can put us through the full gamut of human emotion and experience. Sometimes seems like more trouble than it’s worth, but family is important. Jesus comes first, but Jesus also tells us that family is important both through his teaching in the Old Testament, through his personal example, and through the teaching handed on to us by his apostle, St. Paul. Some of you...Read More

Homily for Christmas: The Beginning

Posted on by Father Albert
Christmas                                                                                                        December 25, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/o5yM9yzUvDY There’s just something about a good beginning, isn’t there? When you first crack open a great book… when the last preview ends and the movie’s title screen comes up… the first day of college… your wedding day… the birth of a child… There’s a sense of possibility, of openness, of hope for more to come. I think perhaps that’s one reason so many people love Christmas. New gifts to enjoy, new memories to make. Not only is it just a week away from New Years, it’s...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent: Visiting Faith Upon The World

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4th Sunday of Advent, C                                                                                December 19, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/NsURWAp8Pik “Blessed are you who believed.” This is the way. I fear that too many people may have heard least week’s homily and concluded that the solution to anxiety is just gratitude. Gratitude does help to overcome anxiety, but the kind of gratitude that actually works depends on what is really the answer: faith. If you recall, the point I made was that, in the face of anxiety, we are called to trust so deeply in God’s providence that we can turn around and thank...Read More

Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Fighting to the End

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33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  November 14, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/EJS5nbER25o The end of the world. In one sense, we should fear it. In another, we should look forward to it. Fear it because it means destruction and suffering and death. Jesus himself calls it “tribulation” and Daniel the prophet is told “it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress.” Yet, we should look forward to it because it also means the end to our long battle… final victory. The angels will gather God’s “elect” and the “wise shall shine brightly.” That’s us… if...Read More

Homily for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Offering That Counts

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32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                 November 7, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/l4a-ELiF_rE “What can I possibly offer? I don’t have much money, influence, or talent, what difference will it make?” Have you ever asked yourself that question? Maybe when you read some bad news or perhaps when challenged to serve our community or God’s Church? I know I have. I think most people face some version of that doubt. Well, then I have good news. Jesus doesn’t care how successful your efforts are, he only cares that you give what you do have. “This poor...Read More

Homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time: Inside Out

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31st Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  October 31, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette [No recording this week.] This is a rare moment in the Gospel. Why? Most of the time, when someone asks Jesus a question, he responds with another question or parable or warning. He rarely just answers the question plain and simple. There are many reasons for this – the question was a trap, the answer is not a piece of information but a change of heart, or the answer is beyond words and Jesus is trying to invite wonder and mystery. Yet, the full...Read More

Homily for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Seeing The Way For What It Is

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30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  October 24, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/T3KOCEk2Qws “What do you want me to do for you?” Like you don’t know, Jesus? The man is a blind beggar, why make him ask for what we all know he wants? Because that’s how prayer works. That’s how faith works. Prayer is not conveying information to God, it is expressing desire. It is fostering desire. It stirs up faith and prepares the heart to receive. A desire honestly expressed changes us, not God. The answer is not always what we expect. There is...Read More

Homily for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Aspiring to Greatness

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29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                  October 17, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/YMh_jINNQ5k “You can do whatever you set your mind to.” No, you can’t. This claim is made all the time by parents, teachers, advertisements, and politicians in our culture. Children are filled with this idea from the time they are very little and hear it repeated constantly until some brutal encounter with reality shatters this fragile illusion. Then they must choose between being willfully naive, coldly cynical, or coming to a greater realism. And few people really get to that last one. I once...Read More

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