What Unity Means: Homily for Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday, A                                                                                                       June 4, 2023Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/7CSgy6PHzs4 You may have noticed that instead of the usual greeting of “the Lord be with you” at the beginning of Mass, I said: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the [communion] of the Holy Spirit be with [you all].” Then we heard something very similar from the conclusion of our second reading, which is also the end of St. Paul’s Second letter to the Corinthians. Indeed, the greeting I used came from that part of scripture...Read More

Homily for the Epiphany: Real Power

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 Trinity Sunday: The Mystery that Makes us Who We Are

Trinity Sunday, C                                                                                                       June 12, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/-Kr02irRkbY In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is how we’re baptized, how we begin and end everything. It’s so ingrained in us Catholics that we instinctively respond to it. It’s one of my favorite ways to quiet down a room full of Catholics – just shout it out and by the end, most people in the room have done the sign of the Cross and are now at...Read More

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter: One With The Father

Easter Sunday 4, C                                                                                                     May 8, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/EjmRKNmKjLU He didn’t smell very good and he was only half-covered by the hospital gown. Introvert that I am, I was already timid and uncomfortable simply entering his room – this stranger in a dimly lit room to which I was sent as a kind of hospital chaplain intern. I was not enjoying the experience, I was not exactly happy to do it, and I wanted to get out of there. Then… something happened. It's hard to...Read More

Homily for Trinity Sunday: Faith Beyond Reason

Trinity Sunday, B                                                                                                       May 30, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/ZMDF8JDjlcc It’s unreasonable, irrational even… isn’t it? At the very heart of the Christian faith is this illogical claim about who God is. The Trinity is One God and Three Divine Persons. It’s not like there’s three people who each have their own thoughts or make their own decisions. One God means one mind and one will. They don’t just agree with each other, they think the same thoughts and make the same decisions as one God. Yet, there are three...Read More