Tag: Ordinary Time

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

Posted on by Father Albert
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

Posted on by Father Albert
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

Posted on by Father Albert
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

Posted on by Father Albert
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

Posted on by Father Albert
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

Posted on by Father Albert
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

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

Posted on by Father Albert
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?

Posted on by Father Albert
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

Posted on by Father Albert
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