Tag: Death

Love That Never Fails: Homily for Easter Sunday

Posted on by Father Albert
Easter Sunday                                                                                                 March 31, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/8oluT1-c5gE Rejected, betrayed, slandered, murdered, and buried, what good is love to Jesus? That question doesn’t even occur to Mary Magdalen early on Sunday morning. She goes to the tomb, ready to anoint him, to fulfill the duties placed on her by law and personal affection. She does not have a plan for the stone across the tomb, yet she goes anyway. She is not willing to let foresight or prudence delay her love even a moment. Whatever she expected, she persevered and when she arrived...Read More

Easter Vigil – Part III of the Triduum: An Enduring Love

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Easter Vigil, B                                                                                                March 30, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/GafqqCduUs0 This is part III of a series for the Paschal Triduum. Part I of the series here. Part II of the series here. Love endures. At the Last Supper, Jesus revealed to us the new commandment of love and so we’ve taken love as the theme of this Paschal Triduum. That new love called us to serve in a way that makes another person our “own.” Because such love cannot set aside the truth, that love turned deadly yesterday when it brought Jesus to...Read More

The Hope of Death: Homily for Ash Wednesday 2024

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Ash Wednesday                                                                                              February 14, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/jjTu_TJLkcM What a day this is, this Ash Wednesday. It fixes itself in the imagination, stands out. Many non-Catholics and even non-Christians have picked up on it as something special, and rightly so. For what other day would millions of people eagerly wait in line to be reminded that they are going to die? “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” But they do. Apart from Christmas and maybe Easter, Ash Wednesday Mass has the highest attendance of the year. Why? You tell me....Read More

Dying To Live: Homily for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

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32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                  November 12, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/-jvAMZk0wIg To get right to the point: we are all going to die. Some people want to avoid this reality, even avoiding the word “funeral” and instead talking about a “celebration of life.” Of course we celebrate life! But we do so precisely because we know we’re going to die and that only by dying do we receive real life, eternal life with God. So it’s important to realize that death comes for us all. If we don’t want that reality to...Read More

Not To Count: Homily for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                  October 1, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/P9Y2vj_vdXk It’s not a ledger. We talk like it is, but judgment isn’t a ledger with good on one side, bad on the other, and whichever has the most decides your fate. If you don’t know better, it seems reasonable that your final fate is determined simply by whether or not you did more good than bad or more bad than good. That kind of idea why the first reading is addressed to people who accuse God of being unfair in how...Read More

All Will Be Revealed: Homily for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                                               June 25, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/QNoeHhjIgmo “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed.” Does that frighten you a little bit? It does me. There are things in my life I would rather remain concealed. I’m sure that’s true for every human being. It’s also true that there are things which should not be publicized. Jesus is not suggesting we shout out our every fault and sin in public. There is such a thing as prudent silence, discretion, and confidentiality. Indeed, the sacrament of Confession is...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 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Divine Death

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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   November 6, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/SLdTWkFzuq4 As many of you know, my Grandfather Jules passed away earlier this year. I’m grateful for all the prayers you’ve offered for him and my family. One thing I could always count on when visiting my grandfather was that he would get on some rant or other about the Catholic faith and what Catholics need to learn or do… a trait you may find familiar… Anyway, one of the stories he told me (more than once) involved...Read More

Homily for Good Friday: The Authority to Love, Triduum Pt 2.

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Good Friday of the Lord's Passion     Part 2 of Triduum 2022                                  April 15, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette [See part 1 here] [See part 3 here] https://youtu.be/sXt3xI3VWEI The authority to love. That’s how we defined freedom last night as we began this paschal journey. Jesus, aware that the Father has put everything in his power, used that power to serve, to wash the feet of his disciples, to institute the sacraments of the Eucharist and the priesthood while also foreshadowing the sacrament of confession. Even while washing their feet, Jesus continued to give commands,...Read More

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent: The Seriousness of Sin

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Lent Sun 5, C                                                                                                  April 3, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/QgizjQEXI7Y Imagine if this scenario went a bit differently. Let’s say Jesus was walking through Jerusalem and came across a small group of people. Let’s say one of them was this woman who had committed adultery and that someone else in the group casually mentioned that fact and then, after some awkward moments, the rest of the group walks away and Jesus is left alone with the woman. He then looks at her and says, “don’t worry about your past, just try to...Read More