Tag: Pride

A Father’s Approval: Homily for the Baptism of the Lord, 2026

Posted on by Father Albert
Baptism of the Lord, A                                                                      January 11, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                            St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/sJHGxSiOQ6k Why are you here? Why do you go to Mass, pray, do the Catholic thing? Habit? Someone else making you do it? Curiosity? Fear of Hell? Motivation in human beings is strange. Animals have instincts that tell them what to seek. They are biologically programed to want food, water, sleep, affection, pleasure and so on. We want those things too, but under the surface, there’s a whole mess of tangled motivations. You feed, shelter, and show affection to an...Read More

Saints & Pharisees: Homily for the 30 Sunday OT 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                   October 26, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/BG2y-1f79ls “O God, I thank you that I’m not like those pharisees who think they’re better than everyone else. They pray and fast and give to the Church, but they’re so judgmental. I’m much more like those tax collectors and other people Jesus loved – I never fast or give tithes, I love money, I’m addicted to drinking, and I like to lust… but, man I’m so glad I’m not judgmental!” Y’all see the problem there? People are so quick to agree with Jesus...Read More

Why Did You Crucify Him? Homily for Palm Sunday 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
Palm Sunday, B                                                                                              March 24, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/NlpiiMfHXWI Why did you crucify Jesus? In a span of 45 minutes, you went from hailing his entrance to shouting, “Crucify him.” What did you do or not do that led you to that point? What motivated you? Money? Pride? Comfort? Power? Popularity? Entertainment? Are you like Judas who first plots against Jesus in response to his waste of money? It’s right after he complains about the woman “wasting” the super valuable ointment that he plots against Jesus. If we let money and valuable things grab hold...Read More

To Repay What We Owe: Homily for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Posted on by Father Albert
29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                   October 22, 2023 Fr. AlexanderAlbert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/A1CWnEMUS7c “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” And what is that, exactly? What do we owe to God? Everything. The demands of our religion aren’t arbitrary. They are concrete expressions of the fact that we owe God everything. Authentic religion is the effort to make that repayment. Last week, I focused particularly on the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Repaying to God what we owe to God means being willing to sacrifice time, money,...Read More

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent: What We Eat

Posted on by Father Albert
1st Sunday Lent, A                                                                                          February 26, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/d16N75iYsrY Why does eating a piece of fruit condemn all of humanity to death and destruction? Why does it matter so much what we eat? Well, if someone is hanging from a cliff by a rope, ask them why it would matter if you cut that rope. The poetic language of the creation story talks about fruit and trees, but it’s really conveying to us our place in the universe. Adam and Eve had no say in how gravity works, how the chemical...Read More

Homily for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Most Dangerous Thing

Posted on by Father Albert
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   October 23, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/eO2TW99OllY “At least I’m not like…” If your thought, your sentence begins with those words, you’ve probably already messed up. As straightforward as this parable is, it’s one of the easiest for people to misapply. Millennia of Christian influence on culture has made it so that we too quickly identify ourselves with the tax collector. Just because we hear the word ‘pharisee’ so often, we assume we know what it means. And all too often we instinctively follow...Read More

Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Whom You Serve

Posted on by Father Albert
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   September 18, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/skWhxMdJTgY What just happened? If you were a little confused by that parable, you’re not alone. Most scripture scholars agree that this is the most confusing parable Jesus tells. Of course, that’s part of what parables are for: to confuse us a little and make us think. Still, what happened? The basic story of the parable is this: a man stole from his boss and when he got caught, he stole from him again, but did it in...Read More

Homily for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time: Strive

Posted on by Father Albert
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   August 21, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/bvUNadKwPHM What are you really after? When you ask a question like “will only a few people be saved,” what is the real question? The deeper motivation? I think it could be several things; most of them aren’t good. Most of them come back to pride. We might want to know how many people will be saved out of a simple desire to have the answer. The one who asks Jesus this question is probably thinking about a...Read More