Tag: Ordinary Time

What Is There to Lose? Homily for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Posted on by Father Albert
24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                   September 17, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/KZvkzZgueNM There’s no clever twist here. Jesus’ point is pretty straightforward: forgive other people or you will not be forgiven. And if we aren’t forgiven, we go to Hell. Jesus uses the number seventy-seven as a symbolic number that means “as many times as it takes.” Forgiving people is hard and it’s harder the more they hurt you. But Jesus doesn’t offer exceptions. Forgive or you will not be forgiven. To understand why, we have to get our first principles right, the...Read More

Being the Bad Guy for Love: Homily for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

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23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                   September 10, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/LDdfIRPwomE There are many things I love about being a priest: Mass, confessions, baptisms, weddings, flying in a helicopter to bless the crops from above… the fun stuff that only a priest gets to do, things that help people, often in ways I get to see first-hand. It’s why there’s joy even in the sadder stuff like anointings of the sick and funerals. As with anything worth doing, these can get old and sometimes stress makes it harder to see the joy,...Read More

Not as Human Beings: Homily for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

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22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                  September 3, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/8fyh0bbujDU “Get behind me Satan.” It’s quite the change, really. Last week’s gospel shows Jesus naming Simon “Rock” – Peter in Greek – and proclaiming that the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against the Church founded on that rock. Mere minutes later, Jesus uses a very different name for Simon Peter: Satan. Kind of looks like that promise of never being defeated didn’t last very long, doesn’t it? Appearances can be deceiving. In fact, that’s exactly the point Jesus makes:...Read More

How Ought We To Pray? Homily for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                               July 23, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/XzE9cl6zTII “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought.” That’s comforting, but it does raise an important question: How “ought” we to pray? Last week we heard about the groaning of all creation and how we are awaiting “adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” We used this to reflect on how that groaning and hope allow us to “consider the sufferings of this present time as nothing.” Today’s section...Read More

Considered Suffering: Homily for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                               July 16, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/fmqitH9yJVY “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing.” Isn’t that a bit callous? If you tell someone in serious pain that their pain is nothing, people would think you are insensitive, cold-hearted, mean. Rightly so, too. But that’s not what St. Paul is saying in our second reading. We need to pay attention to what he actually says. He doesn’t say “suck it up” or “your pain is nothing.” He says he “considers” the suffering is...Read More

Receiving Whom? Homily for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                               July 2, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/bnhQLxlvbwQ “Whoever receives you receives me.” Just this past week, I was at the anniversary Mass of a couple celebrating 20 years of marriage. That’s not terribly unusual, the Church provides special prayers for such moments and there’s always a few couples in every parish who will take advantage of such an offer. What was unusual about this one, however, was that it was celebrated by 3 priests. As the main celebrant – not me – pointed out, the reason for...Read More

All Will Be Revealed: Homily for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                               June 25, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/QNoeHhjIgmo “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed.” Does that frighten you a little bit? It does me. There are things in my life I would rather remain concealed. I’m sure that’s true for every human being. It’s also true that there are things which should not be publicized. Jesus is not suggesting we shout out our every fault and sin in public. There is such a thing as prudent silence, discretion, and confidentiality. Indeed, the sacrament of Confession is...Read More

How Can We? Homily for Corpus Christi

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Corpus Christ, A                                                                                                         June 11, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/LYlfEG19rpk “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” How indeed? In almost every culture, cannibalism is recognized as something repugnant, unacceptable, evil. Eating human flesh is almost always sinful because the dignity of the human person extends even to their body. Only the rarest of exceptions – as a last resort for survival – could such a thing even begin to be conceivable, though many would still prefer to die than eat someone. For the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day, it...Read More

Homily for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Imperfect Steps Toward Perfection

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7th Sunday OT, A                                                                                            February 19, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/ELSRlOhK-0k I’m not what I could be… I’m not who I could be. Has any honest person not thought this to themselves? We imperfect human beings have an innate awareness that there’s something more to life that what we currently experience: some greater pleasure, some better situation. Imagining ourselves as better looking, smarter, stronger, more skilled, more well-connected… anything. There’s an innate desire for perfection. At the same time, who hasn’t also felt like that better situation is not actually possible? “I’m not...Read More

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time: No Loopholes

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6th Sunday OT, A                                                                                            February 12, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/pZA-jAkq_zQ You have heard it said, “do not miss Mass on Sundays,” but I say to you that everyone who goes to Mass on Sunday, but purposely comes late or leaves early has already skipped Mass in their hearts. And whoever comes to Mass but plays on their phone or tunes everything out has insulted God rather than worshipping him. You have heard it said, “you can go to confession to get your sins forgiven,” but I say to you that whoever goes...Read More