Tag: Repentance

Return on Your Investment: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024

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3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                     January 21, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/rbdFnV_JPTI If there was a bank that could give you a return of 50% or more on your retirement, would you put your money there? Given that the average is probably closer to 5%, that sounds impossibly good. So you’d be right to ask “what’s the catch?” The catch is that, every year, there’s a 50% chance this bank – and all the money in it – simply disappears. The logical question here is: what good is a retirement plan if the money disappears before...Read More

How It Burns: Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, B

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2nd Sunday of Advent, B                                                                                December 10, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/4QCixpBM44I If you were running from a fire about to burn your house down, would you stop to make the bed first? It kind of sounds like St. Peter is saying we should in the 2nd reading. Listen again: “the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire… Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought...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

Homily for Ash Wednesday: Why are you Here?

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Ash Wednesday                                                                                              February 22, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/NmYF9BYwq58 Why are you here? Why take the time? It’s not a Holy Day of Obligation. It’s the middle of the week, so it’s not exactly convenient for people working today and probably an interruption for those on vacation. Now, I am glad you’re here, but the question is still important because how you answer that question determines whether or not this time is wasted. Is it to just to get ashes smeared on your forehead? I hope you realize that these ashes aren’t magical....Read More

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent: Poison and Fire

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2nd Sunday of Advent, A                                                                                December 4, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/a8ZR_5PdF2w “You brood of vipers!” So much for Christmas cheer. John the Baptist says this to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but it’s not like he’s caught them doing something terrible. These are the ones who came to him! They traveled out of the city all the way to the Jordan river to hear him preach. They came to be baptized! People often say pastors should just be grateful that people show up… that they shouldn’t get caught up...Read More

Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King: Justice and Mercy

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Christ the King, C                                                                                           November 20, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/0oCRms2gkmw “We have been condemned justly.” Have we? Since the beginning of the Church, there have been those who keep coming back to the same error, the same mistake: the idea that our condemnation isn’t really just, that damnation just can’t be real. There are a lot of subtle and clever arguments to support the idea that everyone goes to heaven – we call it universalism – but it seems to me there is always something beneath the surface…...Read More

Homily for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time: Real Repentance

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31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                    October 30, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/xssUEkvlg5U Repentance, Reparation, and Charity. Last week, we heard the parable of the arrogant pharisee and the repentant tax collector. We focused then on the journey from being the arrogant pharisee in the parable to becoming like St. Paul, confident in his own salvation. A journey that starts with recognizing our pride and conceit, goes through repentance, and culminates in humble service. But what is repentance, really? The tax collector in the parable prays for mercy and admits...Read More

Homily for Corpus Christi: Assisting Communion

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Corpus Christi, C                                                                                                        June 19, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jPNItdt2kdY Ado You may have heard that the US Bishops are launching a kind of Eucharistic Revival in our country over the next few years. To start that off, Bishop Deshotel has asked us to read this letter from him to you: “Dear Friends in Christ, The Church celebrates this weekend the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord. The celebration invites us to reflect on that most precious gift given to us by Our Savior...Read More

Homily for the Ascension: Advancing the Kingdom of Heaven

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Ascension, C                                                                                                               May 29, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/HMLIPbQGB1I Where did he go? Jesus is “lifted up” in the first reading until a cloud takes him from sight. The Gospel tells us he “was taken up to heaven.” So, do we believe that heaven is up there, in the clouds somewhere? Did Jesus go up like a rocket ship into outer space until he reached some distant planet where heaven is? Of course not. But to this day, we talk about heaven as being “above” us and...Read More

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent: The Choice of the Tree

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Lent Sun 3, C                                                                                                  March 20, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/CJDmSHCgal4 “For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none.” For three weeks now, we have been in Lent. Have we born fruit? The answer to that question determines everything. Think about it. Why does Jesus decide to say three years? That was the same amount of time for his ministry on earth. In other places in the gospels, Jesus makes a comparison between the fig tree and the chosen people, the Israelites....Read More