Tag: Sin

The Breadth of Faith: Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent 2026

Posted on by Father Albert
1stSunday of Lent, A                                                                              February 22, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                           St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/q9cjTNgWNJ4 What’s the big deal? It’s just a piece of fruit. How can something as small as eating one wrong piece of fruit be so bad that it breaks the whole world, gets Adam & Eve banned from the garden, and causes human beings for the rest of time to become weaker, dumber, and doomed to die? Isn’t that a bit unfair? Apparently not. Because God is just. God is good. If God, who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good says this is the right consequence, then...Read More

The Call of the Light: Homily for the 3rd Sunday OT 2026

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3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                             January 25, 2026Fr. Alexander Albert                                                            St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/hAUKlxBw3kY “What can we do? What can I do?” Maybe you’ve asked that question a few times this month. From international anxiety over Venezuela and Greenland to ongoing unrest in Minnesota to the disturbing allegations of abuse in our own diocese, there are a lot of reasons to be worried or even feel powerless. Perhaps you identify with that description of Zebulun and Naphtali in Isaiah. Perhaps you feel like a people who “sit in darkness” and like “those dwelling in a land overshadowed...Read More

Uncomfortable Mercy: Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent 2025

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5th Sunday of Lent, C                                                                                      April 6, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/1qiAE8QwpbE Let’s talk a little inside baseball on scripture today. You see, most scripture scholars think this story of the woman caught in adultery was not originally in John’s Gospel. Why? Because it isn’t in some of the oldest copies of the bible we have, from around 400 A.D. Where it does show up, it’s in different places or in another gospel, which kind of gives the impression that people who added it in later on didn’t know where to...Read More

We Stubborn Brothers: Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent 2025

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4th Sunday of Lent, C                                                                                      March 30, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/jYy-gRolW0k What do you call this story? Parable of the prodigal son, right? That’s not what Jesus calls it. There isn’t a name, actually. Those bolded titles in most bibles are added by editors. I think that, if we asked Jesus what the name of this parable should be, he wouldn’t call it the prodigal son. I think he’d call it the parable of the stubborn brother. Don’t get me wrong, I love to emphasize the prodigal son’s return and...Read More

The Arrows of God: Homily for VC School Mass 20 Feb 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Thursday, OT 6                                                                                               February 20, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               Vermilion Catholic, Abbeville https://youtu.be/BXwgcA-WzOk [Miming a bow & arrow motion] The bow & arrow has been a useful tool for a looong time. Way before we even thought about making the wheel. The only tools older than a bow & arrow are the pointy stick, the hammer, the sharp rock, and fire. There’s evidence that human beings used the bow & arrow over 70,000 years ago. Even today with more high tech options, people still use the bow & arrow to hunt and it’s premier event at the...Read More

Fighting Fear with Fear: Homily for the 5th Sunday OT 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C                                                                     February 9, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/rAf68Cwy3XA I am not worthy to be your pastor, unfit to be a steward of divine things, keeper of the keys of God’s mercy. Yet I am all these things by God’s providence just as St. Paul was an apostle despite once being an enemy of Christ and complicit in murder. Though I’ve never killed anyone, I’ve no reason to feel any more secure about my credentials than Saul the Pharisee. By God’s grace, I am what I am as...Read More

To Defeat the Devil: Homily for Catholic Schools Week 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
Monday Week 1 OT               Catholic Schools Week                                   January 27, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               Vermilion Catholic, Abbeville https://youtu.be/Emt1O26T4Ww 500 years ago, a young Italian woman named Angela traveled over 300 miles to visit Rome. Why? Because, 1525 was a jubilee year – just like this year 2025 is a jubilee year – and those who visited the Major Basilicas in Rome were offered special graces. By that time, she was already a well-known teacher and the Pope tried to get her to stay in Rome and run a school. She refused, preferring to return home to Brescia and...Read More

Victory: Homily for the Immaculate Conception 2024

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Immaculate Conception of Mary                                                                    December 9, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/G8KpyEPrY_A Victory! We are here today to celebrate victory! Not just that, but a flawless victory, undefeated. Small, unimportant, easy to overlook and yet conquering mighty enemies. What a reason to celebrate! I’m talking, of course, about the victory of Mary over the devil. Today we celebrate her Immaculate Conception. The most common mistake people make about this day is that they think we’re celebrating when Mary conceived Jesus. No. That’s the Annunciation on March 25th, exactly 9 months before Christmas. Today, we...Read More

Love Without Loopholes: Homily for the 31st Sunday OT 2024

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31st Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   November 3, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/9F7darsL3j0 Why? Why didn’t anyone dare “to ask him any more questions?” My guess is that it has something to do with the way he told the scribe he was not far from the kingdom of God. Usually when Jesus flexes that kind of power – like forgiving sins or flipping tables – usually the scribes and pharisees complain that he is overstepping his authority. But this time? No one even questions it. Something about the whole exchange must have just...Read More

Steps to Joy: Homily for the 30th Sunday OT 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   October 27, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/mgqV77TSPKI [Steps outlined at the bottom] “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” Does that sound convincing? If we cannot convince ourselves, how can we convince those who do not know God? Preaching on this topic is always a little fraught with danger. For one thing, it rarely helps to try to guilt-trip people into being joyful. “Shame on your for not feeling joy! Start being joyful right now!” I say rarely, not never, because...Read More