Father Alexander Albert
Father Alexander Albert grew up in Kenner, LA as a pretty typical Catholic. After graduating from Archbishop Rummel High School in 2006, he moved to Lafayette, LA where he started a degree in Middle School Education. Before finishing that degree, however, the Lord kindly informed him of His other plans and so Alexander transferred to St. Joseph Seminary College (a.k.a. “St. Ben’s) in St. Benedict, LA. Having fallen completely in love with the people and culture of Acadiana, he entered as a Seminarian for the Diocese of Lafayette.
After 7 years in seminary (3 at St. Ben’s, 4 at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans), Father Albert was ordained a priest on June 11, 2016 for the Diocese of Lafayette. He served as the Parochial Vicar for St. Peter’s Catholic Church in New Iberia, LA for 2 and a half years. In February of 2019, he began his assignment as Pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Jeanerette, LA where he currently serves.
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Why do I call myself “the Ordinary?”
Well, there are these two pesky guys who’ve already used my names and earned themselves the title “the Great.” Now, between you and me, Alexander “the Great” really isn’t the best role model for a Catholic priest, so I rather prefer to take after Albert the Great, also known as Albertus Magnus. But, he still beat me to that awesome title. It’s not a problem, really, because I’m not exactly comfortable calling myself “the Great.” So he can keep the title! But, I am comfortable calling myself “ordinary.” Not that being ordinary is a bad thing. In fact, I devote a good bit of time and energy to serving the Universal Call to Holiness. The fact is that every Catholic is called to be a saint. Sure, the Church really benefits from amazing saints who earn that rare title “the Great,” but what we really need right now are a whole bunch of Catholics who are willing to be holy and saintly in their ordinariness. I hope to help as many with that as possible.
Why call you “ordinary?”
Why not extraordinary? Why not challenge people and push them to be great, extraordinary, and better than the rest? Well, because ordinariness is something quite extraordinary in this our fallen little world.
There’s a great quote on the internet, attributed to G.K. Chesterton, that says “The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.” Unfortunately, there’s no evidence he ever actually said that or, at least, that he ever wrote such a thing down. While no one can seem to find those exact words, he has said similar things and the idea definitely fits his style. There are similar themes in two quotes that definitely came from him:
“It has been often said, very truely, that religion is the thing that makes the ordinary man feel extraordinary; it is an equally important truth that religion is the thing that makes the extraordinary man feel ordinary.”
That one’s from his book Charles Dickens. Then there is this one:
“The people who are quite convinced they are superior are the very inferior people; the men who really think themselves extraordinary are the most ordinary rotters on earth.”
Anyhow, the point is that I, like Chesterton, love a good paradox and there is a real paradox in the extra-ordinariness of being ordinary. In a world of YouTube fame, Instagram glory, and Twitter infamy, it is easy to think that the people with large audiences and well-known accomplishments are the people who’ve really “made it.” But that’s all an illusion. Besides, if you’re reading this page, you’re probably not interested in worldly fame, are you?
No, I’m pretty sure anyone on my website is at least interested in translating that desire for greatness from a worldly language to a spiritual one. In that case, you might find yourself having a case of holy jealousy towards saints like Padre Pio, Mother Teresa, Pope St. John Paul II and many others who seemed to have reached an impressive level of holiness and world-wide recognition to boot. Saintliness and holiness can seem extraordinary, out of reach, and meant for the chosen few who rise above the masses.
But, I’m here to tell you that it’s not.
Saintliness can be rather ordinary. The haggard father who slogs through work, lovingly fumbles through his share of housework, plays with his four kids, and just barely gets to Sunday Mass on time each week may well be a hidden saint. Holiness is mysterious, yet within reach. It’s hallmarks are not worldwide fame, or mystical prayer, or even the ability to perform miracles. Really, the heart of holiness is love and fidelity. The thing is, loving someone and being faithful to them almost always looks ordinary. That’s one reason that most TV shows are full of infidelity, grudges, and unexpected twists – it’s meant to get our attention by being “extraordinary.” Yet, how rare, how extraordinary is it when we find real life examples of long, faithful marriages? Or simple, good men and women who’ve quietly helped others their whole lives? Yet the faithful love that makes them that way is pretty day-to-day, it’s usually pretty simple, and it’s often full of mistakes and messes – in other words, it’s ordinary. And such love often looks like that even when the person we love is God.
Always trying to be extraordinary, special, and totally-amazing will often leave you feeling unsatisfied, disappointed, and inadequate. Yes, God can and does choose people to be completely stand-out and amazing in the way they love Him. They seem extraordinary, but if you ask these people, if you look closely at the saints, they don’t see themselves that way: they simply respond with faithful love over and over again, making an ordinary part of life. And Jesus – himself quite the fan paradoxes – also says this:
“The one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest“
The least ones, the little people, the ordinary folk are always the focus of our Lord and Savior. He has a whole heaven to fill, and only a few super saints, so he’s made it pretty clear that we don’t need to get carried away on all things flashy, important, and special.
So, to finally answer the question, why ordinary? Because holiness is the call of every Christian. And if every Christian is supposed to be holy, then it’s an ordinary thing. This is what Pope John Paul II called “The Universal Call to Holiness” and it is a call that isn’t answered only in the rare great moments of life, but in the everyday, ordinary life that you live now.
That’s my secret; That’s what I’m trying to sell you on. You can be holy, you should be holy, and if you’re willing to let go of the idea that holiness is only for the extraordinary few, your ordinary life can become the extraordinary example of holiness it was meant to be. Still, you have every right to ask,