Tag: Mary

Homily for the Assumption of Mary, 2022: The Heights of Desire

Posted on by Father Albert
Assumption of the BVM                                                                                 August 15, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/QK2PRZQNZjU “The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God.” That cuts to the heart of what we’re celebrating in this solemn feast. Mary had a place prepared for her by God and, in order to show us what’s in store, God raised her up body and soul to go to that place. It makes sense that the very body which carried the son of God should be spared from corruption. Many traditions agree...Read More

Pastor Column: Assumption of Mary

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of July 2, 2022]      Next in our reading of Pope Pius XII are the two documents on the Assumption of Mary into heaven. First is a short letter titled Deiparae Virginis Mariae sent in 1946 to all the bishops of the world. In it, Pius XII explains that large numbers of Catholics over the last 100 years have asked the Church to solemnly declare the Assumption of Mary as a dogma of the faith, which means it would be something Catholics are required to believe...Read More

Pastor Column: Mystici Corporis III

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of May 29, 2022]      Recall that last week, we noted Pope Pius XII’s call to practice “effective love.” In the context of the early 1900s, this prompts him to specifically condemn the idea and practice of eugenics and euthanasia. This is of course targeted at the Nazis, but we would do well to remember that eugenics was a popular idea in our own country prior to the war. It is primarily because of what we saw in the Nazis that eugenics faded as a popular...Read More

Homily for Good Friday: The Authority to Love, Triduum Pt 2.

Posted on by Father Albert
Good Friday of the Lord's Passion     Part 2 of Triduum 2022                                  April 15, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette [See part 1 here] [See part 3 here] https://youtu.be/sXt3xI3VWEI The authority to love. That’s how we defined freedom last night as we began this paschal journey. Jesus, aware that the Father has put everything in his power, used that power to serve, to wash the feet of his disciples, to institute the sacraments of the Eucharist and the priesthood while also foreshadowing the sacrament of confession. Even while washing their feet, Jesus continued to give commands,...Read More

Homily for Mary, Mother of God: The Face of God

Posted on by Father Albert
Mary, Mother of God                                                                                     January 1, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/xwbShOVZNcg Do you think there was a resemblance? Between Mary and Jesus, I mean. Do you think it was obvious to anyone who looked that Jesus was Mary’s son? I do. After all, God did not just appear in her womb. The angel said she would conceive, that the child in her womb was taken from her flesh, her genetics. His father, God the Father, provided miraculously the rest of what is human and his divine nature as well. So the face of Jesus must...Read More

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

Posted on by Father Albert
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 Immaculate Conception: Destiny and Freedom

Posted on by Father Albert
Immaculate Conception                                                                                 December 8, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/WaT2iEGRTls Destiny. What is destiny? What do we mean when we say something is a person’s destiny? That they have no choice? That life is beyond their control? I ask because St. Paul tells us we are “destined” for adoption by God through Jesus Christ. We have been “chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will.” And what is his will? “That we might exist for the praise of his...Read More

Homily for the Assumption of Mary: The Bodily Promise of Glory

Posted on by Father Albert
Assumption of Mary                                                                                       August 15, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/691Gxq-cc34 "From this day all generations will call me blessed.” So Mary proclaims in a moment of great joy. Indeed, we are interrupting our journey through John Chapter 6 to acclaim the blessedness of Mary. Why, though? Why honor Mary in this way? Because “the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” Yes, as always when we honor a saint, we are ultimately honoring what God has done in and through that saint. That’s truer of Mary than anyone else....Read More

Homily for the Sacred Heart of Jesus on my 5th Anniversary: A Real Love

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Sacred Heart of Jesus, B                     5th Anniversary of Ordination                         June 11, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/wtPxYLspLDs Five years ago today, and very nearly to the hour, I was ordained a priest in a different Church named St. John the Evangelist. It was our Cathedral, and it was the first priestly ordination in the diocese for our new bishop, Douglas Deshotel. There’s a reason for the specificity and it’s not because I think I’m special. My ordination is not about me. It is the concrete manifestation of God’s ongoing love for us. This...Read More

Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: The Blessing

Posted on by Father Albert
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God                                                         January 1, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jy9roxeL15M Merry Christmas! We’re still celebrating it you know. The Christmas season lasts until the middle of January – or even to February 2nd if you follow the old calendar. More importantly, today/Friday marks the 8th day, the octave day of the feast of Christ’s birth. As with music, an octave is the same thing in a different register. Christmas is so important, so profound that we spend 8 whole days re-entering into it, celebrating it, and – as Mary...Read More