Tag: Sacrifice

Homily for Ash Wednesday: Now Is The Time

Posted on by Father Albert
Ash Wednesday                                                                                                          March 2, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/mkRPK6aA8UQ “Now is the day of salvation.” This is similar to a popular piece of advice: “live in the present moment.” There’s a piece of truth in that popular adage. The reality is that we only have the present. The past is gone and the future is not here. The present moment is most real, most important. But this only goes so far. Another, related popular dictum is “live with no regrets” as if being in the present moment justifies never considering past mistakes. If all...Read More

Pastor Column: Mass Times Change

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the homily, that can be found under homilies on this website.]From the bulletin of Feb 27th, 2022      As I announced last week during the Homily, our Sunday Mass schedule will change to 9am starting the Second Sunday of Easter (April 24). The reason is straightforward: we don’t need two Masses to accommodate the number of people who attend on Weekends. We average just under 300 people on a weekend (100/Mass) though we could fit 600. It’s worth reflecting on how necessary the Saturday 4pm really is (don’t worry, I’m not cancelling it, just provoking thought)....Read More

Homily for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Cult of Convenience

Posted on by Father Albert
7th Sunday OT, C                                                                                           February 20, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/w1XBvI_Ez00 One huge mistake of the Church in the past 60 years, in my opinion, is we made the Catholic faith too convenient. In part, it’s a psychological thing. Human beings naturally place more value in things that are expensive, difficult, or rare. I’ve seen studies that show how strict religions tend to succeed more than easier ones. I’ve seen in myself and in others that when something is just given to us or made too easily available, we tend to neglect it and...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Choosing Love

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5th Sunday OT, C                                                                                           February 6, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jqCNsAHC4yU “From now on you will be catching men.” This sums up the mission of the Church: to draw men and women to Jesus Christ. Evangelization is at the heart of the Church’s very identity. But what is evangelization? Is it about the number of people at Church on Sunday? Of course not. Peter is already in the boat with Jesus. He has heard him before and listens to his preaching. But Peter is not yet truly evangelized, not yet truly caught by Jesus....Read More

Homily for the 3rd Week of Advent: Beating Anxiety

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3rd Sunday of Advent, C                                                                                December 12, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/sFDcOJ9jJHM Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel. It is Guadete Sunday, from the Latin word for rejoice… the same word used in that ancient and beautiful hymn and in our entrance antiphon. And that is not just a verb. It’s not just describing rejoicing. It is in the imperative mood, it is commanding us, saying “you must rejoice!” But to get there, we should perhaps first try to follow another command, one that St. Paul gives in the second reading: “Have no...Read More

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent: Preparing the Way for Grace

Posted on by Father Albert
2nd Sunday of Advent, C                                                                               December 5, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/Ec3WmCxwSBI Last week I urged you work at almsgiving, prayer, and fasting in order to be blameless in holiness. The world will end and it will end in great tribulation. The difference between our being victims on that day and our being victors on that day is this holiness. Please recall, however, that I warned you not to take up these sacred practices – almsgiving, prayer, and fasting – as proof of your own strength but as cooperation with grace, because it is grace that...Read More

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

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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

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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

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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 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Aspiring to Greatness

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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