Tag: Christmas

A Chosen Family: Homily for the Christmas Vigil Mass 2023

Posted on by Father Albert
Christmas Vigil Mass                                                                                     December 24, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/mv-a2ZjONgs Arthur J Albert became the father of Julius. Julius became the father of Jules Sr. Jules Sr. became the father Jules Jr., whose mother was Bertha. Jules Jr. became the father of Kenneth, whose mother was Nancy. Kenneth became the father of Alexander. Alexander became a priest and stands before you now. But what does that list of names tell you? Probably not much and not nearly as much as the Gospel’s list. Yet, in both, there are important details if you...Read More

Your Will Be Done: Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent 2023

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4th Sunday of Advent, B                                                                                 December 24, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/8yjMcR6JPEo Some of the most useful and most underrated words in all of Scripture are the ones the prophet Nathan says to King David in our first reading: “Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you.” These words can pull you back to the center from one of two dangerous extremes: excessive self-reliance and crippling uncertainty. By far the most common one is excessive self-reliance. Even being too worried about what other people think is relying on...Read More

The Flight of Joy: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent 2023

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3rd Sunday of Advent, B                                                                                 December 17, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/hGXZtli3eJ8 Fly! Go on, start flying! It’s not like you don’t know how, there are about a million people in the air right now. So why aren’t you flying? Probably because it’s not as simple as just deciding “I’m flying now.” We can only fly in specific circumstances. It is the result of several forces beyond our control, it took us thousands of years to figure out how to do it. Flying is the fruit of a complex process. Despite being possible,...Read More

In The Beginning: Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent, B

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1st Sunday of Advent, B                                                                                 December 3, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/KxHrddNPiWA “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” That’s the opening line to the second book of Douglas Adams’ comedy book series “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” You see, Douglas Adams was a Christian-turned-atheist and his book series is full of funny little jabs at bad arguments for God’s existence. That opening line – creation being a bad idea – conjures up the classic...Read More

Homily for the Epiphany: Real Power

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Epiphany                                                                                                         January 8, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/sP2csL942zA Who has the power? In the wake of tense battles over important positions, we might wonder what real power looks like. Majority votes, political concessions, making other people do what you want… all these are a part of how we tend to imagine power. Yet, a careful reading of the scripture ought to challenge us to think more deeply about it. Who, after all, has the real power in the story of these Magi? Herod is a king backed by the power of the...Read More

Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: God’s Resemblance

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Mary, Mother of God                                                                                     January 1, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/vD-o9vVEijQ What is a “person?” There are many questions and debates around personhood. Is it intelligence that makes a person? Free will? A soul? These are all important facets, but for human beings, a person is usually associated with something tangible. You cannot see the essence of a person in the abstract, but you can picture their face, recognize their voice, recall a scent, remember an embrace. Of these, perhaps none is more emblematic of a person than their face. Babies are naturally interested...Read More

Homily for Christmas: The Sudden Arrival of Hope

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Christmas                                                                                                        December 25, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/Gs6_kJf5w6k Allow me to tell you a story… a parable of sorts. Sometime in the past, there once was a man with his daughter. A loving father, a devoted daughter. Living in Australia in its early days, they were both eager to discover what life was like in the old world. After a careless choice by the daughter on the journey, they were separated. Each knowing that the other would not turn back, they resolved to continue the journey, hoping to be reunited along the way. So...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent: The Forceful Humility of God

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4th Sunday of Advent, A                                                                                 December 18, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/uBkuluTIvBQ "Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.” The prevailing explanation of this verse is that Joseph suspected Mary of committing adultery. Since he was righteous, he wanted to follow the law. The law required that women who commit adultery be put to death. Rather than killing her, he decided to divorce her quietly. Then the angel showed up to tell him the full...Read More

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent: Crowned with Joy

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3rd Sunday of Advent, A                                                                                 December 11, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/3ngXssLUSws “Crowned with everlasting joy.” That’s what Isaiah the prophet promises us. Truly, that is the theme of this day – the joy of the Lord. Yet, that joy is not only something that comes in heaven. It begins here. That’s why the Church does this in Advent and Lent – two penitential seasons. Just over halfway through each one, we break from the purple to use the rose vestments and brighten up the décor and music. Today...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent: Visiting Faith Upon The World

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4th Sunday of Advent, C                                                                                December 19, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/NsURWAp8Pik “Blessed are you who believed.” This is the way. I fear that too many people may have heard least week’s homily and concluded that the solution to anxiety is just gratitude. Gratitude does help to overcome anxiety, but the kind of gratitude that actually works depends on what is really the answer: faith. If you recall, the point I made was that, in the face of anxiety, we are called to trust so deeply in God’s providence that we can turn around and thank...Read More