Tag: joy

Obey, and be Free: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter 2025

Posted on by Father Albert
3rd Sunday of Easter, C                                                                                   May 4, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/hCt3nyokYfk Though I never quite rejected my Catholic faith, there was a time that I didn’t live it, a time of selfishness and sin and distraction where no one looking in from the outside would have considered me a practicing Catholic. Then I had a conversion experience. Literally overnight, my life went from selfish pointlessness to a dedicated, daily effort to live my faith wholeheartedly. I suddenly enjoyed praying. I wanted to go to Mass, even during the week. I craved...Read More

2025 Triduum Part II: By His Stripes We Are Healed

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N.B. This is Part II of the 3-part Triduum Series. Part I can be found here. Good Friday of the Lord's Passion                                                                 April 18, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/HuMvxV79v9c “By his stripes we were healed.” How strange to say the wounds, the “stripes” left by a whip could bring healing. Yet what God has written, he has written. Today, we continue our reflection on the healing power of the Paschal Mystery. Last night, at the Last Supper, we reflected on how it heals our community. Salvation is not a private thing, but...Read More

God’s Glory Revealed: Homily for the Epiphany 2025

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Epiphany                                                                                                         January 5, 2025Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/0DchO0T-Kmg Glory! Splendor! Radiance! Majesty! Magnificence! Awesomeness! We have a lot of words to describe greatness and the bible uses most of them to describe God, though I don’t think “awesomeness” shows up in any mainstream translation… Today’s feast of the Epiphany celebrates the fact that God has indeed revealed his splendor to the world. Perhaps, sitting in this incredible church with hundreds of other people, hearing beautiful music, and being familiar with our Catholic faith all make it easy for us to...Read More

Attaining Joy: Homily for Gaudete Sunday 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
3rd Sunday of Advent, C                                                                                 December 15, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/v70YSRU0t5g “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.” It’s hard to pick just one hymn as a favorite, but that’s a contender. Profound meaning, a great tune, a deep connection to tradition, and it’s always sung in my favorite season, especially on one of my favorite days of the year: Gaudete Sunday, which literally means “rejoice.” Our second reading follows that theme by telling us, commanding us to rejoice. How, though? To understand how, it will help to reflect...Read More

Hope Fleshed Out: Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent 2024

Posted on by Father Albert
2nd Sunday of Advent, C                                                                                December 8, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/XVSMWcTmRuA “I’m spiritual but not religious.” “I’m an open Christian.” “I am a spiritual person.” These kinds of sayings can be pretty appealing. For a little while, when I was younger, it was popular to be agnostic or atheist, to act like only dumb people believed in God or anything spiritual. Nowadays, however, most people are open to some kind of higher power or spiritual truth. The reality is that human beings need the spiritual. As soon as people start to...Read More

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

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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

To Receive The Kingdom: Homily for the 27th Sunday OT 2024

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27th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B                                                                   October 6, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville https://youtu.be/RpB7H1EbjTQ There’s something deeply moving about seeing God incarnate give hugs to little boys and girls. We are right to relish that beauty and goodness of the scene, to allow this image to reinforce our perception of God as a kind and loving father. There are still many people who fear God in the wrong sort of way; so, prayerfully engaging with scripture passages like this one can better align our understanding with the truth. At the same time, we must...Read More

The Greatest Fan of Obedience: Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter 2024

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6th Sunday of Easter, B                                                                                               May 5, 2024Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/rh1VdxHvkg8 I’m not much of a sports fan. I rarely watch any games. I don’t follow sports news. Maybe the 4th quarter of a Saints game, but only if they’re in the playoffs. If I’ve got nothing going on and some friends invite me to watch the Superbowl, I’ll go and enjoy myself. Baseball, however? I’ve never been a fan. It’s probably that I’m too easily distracted and too impatient, but I just can’t watch it. Yet, for some reason...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

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