Tag: Worship

Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Build Because It Crumbles

Posted on by Father Albert
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                                   November 13, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/OTgFf7YJ5jI Not long after I was assigned to this parish, I went on a short vacation that kept me away during a weekend, so I made arrangements for another priest to cover for me. While away, my phone rang at about 3pm on the Saturday. I looked to see that it was the priest who was scheduled to hear confessions and celebrate the 4pm Mass. My heart sank. I just knew he was calling to say he forgot...Read More

Homily for the Ascension: Advancing the Kingdom of Heaven

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Ascension, C                                                                                                               May 29, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/HMLIPbQGB1I Where did he go? Jesus is “lifted up” in the first reading until a cloud takes him from sight. The Gospel tells us he “was taken up to heaven.” So, do we believe that heaven is up there, in the clouds somewhere? Did Jesus go up like a rocket ship into outer space until he reached some distant planet where heaven is? Of course not. But to this day, we talk about heaven as being “above” us and...Read More

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter/1st Communion: Feed My Lambs

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Easter Sunday 3, C                                                                                                     May 1, 2022Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/lmOcV7lnrxU One Hundred Million. That’s how many angels John describes here. The second reading is from Revelation, where John is having a vision of heaven. Our translation says they were “countless,” but the literal Greek is “ten thousand ten thousands and thousands of thousands.” That’s at least 100 million. Of course, it’s kind of like when kids say “a million million.” What matters isn’t the literal number, but that it’s really big, countless even. What are all...Read More

Homily for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Cult of Convenience

Posted on by Father Albert
7th Sunday OT, C                                                                                           February 20, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/w1XBvI_Ez00 One huge mistake of the Church in the past 60 years, in my opinion, is we made the Catholic faith too convenient. In part, it’s a psychological thing. Human beings naturally place more value in things that are expensive, difficult, or rare. I’ve seen studies that show how strict religions tend to succeed more than easier ones. I’ve seen in myself and in others that when something is just given to us or made too easily available, we tend to neglect it and...Read More

Homily for the Epiphany: The Light of Worship

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Epiphany                                                                                                         January 2, 2022Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/E4WDaxhc82k “Nations shall walk by your light.” So says the prophet Isaiah of the city of Jerusalem. God chose the Israelites so that he could reveal himself through them and call all nations to himself. They were to be the exemplars, the messengers, the witnesses to the nations. They knew that a king would rise up to make them this light to the nations and eventually even pagans had heard of the prophecy. This is why Persian Magi were aware of the birth of a Jewish king...Read More

Homily for the Assumption of Mary: The Bodily Promise of Glory

Posted on by Father Albert
Assumption of Mary                                                                                       August 15, 2021Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette https://youtu.be/691Gxq-cc34 "From this day all generations will call me blessed.” So Mary proclaims in a moment of great joy. Indeed, we are interrupting our journey through John Chapter 6 to acclaim the blessedness of Mary. Why, though? Why honor Mary in this way? Because “the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” Yes, as always when we honor a saint, we are ultimately honoring what God has done in and through that saint. That’s truer of Mary than anyone else....Read More