Spiritual Blindness
A Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Lent Sunday, March 19, 2023 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Ephesians Eph 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 Audio Recording Today’s gospel is a long one, isn’t it? There’s a lot going on here. It’s MUCH MORE than a story of a PHYSICAL MIRACLE of Jesus giving a blind man his sight. It’s about how all of us need to...
Indulgences
Indulgences are one of the most misunderstood and controversial teachings of the Church, but they are also a great gift of God's mercy and grace. The Church came under fire in the early 1500's for its abuse and selling of indulgences. This was one of the major issues Martin Luther had with the Church, which he described in his Ninety-five Theses, considered to be a primary impetus of the...
Forgiveness
Homily for Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Lent, Cycle A Tuesday, March 14, 2023 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Daniel 3:25, 34-43; Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9; Matthew 18:21-35 Audio Recording In today’s gospel Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother. Jesus gives a short answer, telling a parable to make sure his answer is understood. In the parable God is the king,...
Being Holy and Perfect
A Homily for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday,February 19, 2023 Holy Ghost Church – 10:00 Mass Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48 Audio Recording Video Recording Can you believe that Lent begins this Wednesday?! That’s right, Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of this annual season of repentance and...
All Will Be Revealed
Homily for Thursday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A Thursday, January 26, 2023 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass 2 Timothy 1:1-8; Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10; Mark 4:21-25 Audio Recording Every day before Mass Fr. Bill prays the following prayer with the deacons and altar servers: Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are...
Mastodon: What and Why?
I've been on Twitter since 2007, although for the past few years I've had very little to do with this social media site. Why? Well let's just say that I became so disillusioned by all of the toxic tweets on the platform. Twitter also uses algorithms to determine who sees what. As such, I'm quite sure that many of my 1,200+ followers rarely saw my tweets. And the ads! It seemed as though...
Emmanuel
A Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent Sunday, December 18, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 5:00 Mass Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24 Audio Recording As they say in the Philippines, “Advance Merry Christmas!” The Christian people of the Philippines, approximately 80% of their population, recognize during the season of Advent that Christmas is coming soon,...
Prepare!
A Homily for the First Sunday of Advent Sunday, November 27, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 5:00 Mass Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44 Audio Recording Today is the first Sunday of Advent, which is also the first Sunday of a new liturgical year for the Church. A time of new beginnings as we turn our attention to the coming of our Lord and...
The Kingdom of God: Already, But Not Yet
Homily for Thursday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Thursday, November 10, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Philemon 7-20; Psalm 146:7, 8-9A, 9BC-10; Luke 17:20-25 When will the Kingdom of God come? Today’s question by the Pharisees to Jesus. And what is his answer? Already, but not yet. He tells them that “The Kingdom of God is among you” Isn’t this amazing! The...
Mass with Cirque Italia
Homily for Friday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Friday, November 4, 2022 Cirque Italia Mass under the Big Top at Westtown Mall in Knoxville Philippians 3:17—4:1; Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5; Luke 16:1-8 I was able to arrange a Mass for some of the faithful of the Cirque Italia circus family, celebrated as a bi-lingual Mass by Fr. Pete Iorio of Our Lady of Fatima parish in Alcoa....
The Fire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Homily for Thursday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Thursday, October 20, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Ephesians 3:14-21; Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 11-12, 18-19; Luke 12:49-53 Audio Recording What is the fire Jesus speaks of in today’s gospel? The fire he brought to the earth and desires to see blazing? It is the fire of charity that burns for us and for all of God’s creation...
Praise God, Always and Everywhere!
Homily for Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Thursday, October 13, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Ephesians 1:1-10; Psalm 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4, 5-6; Luke 11:47-54 Audio Recording Today's homily is based on our first reading from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. Today's Psalm also speaks to the importance of praising God. Here is the text of the first reading...
Christian Gratitude
A Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Sunday, October 9, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 10:00 Mass 2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 Audio Recording Today our readings are calling us to reflect on something that is critical for our spiritual wellness and growth - the virtue of GRATITUDE. In ancient Israel, nothing was more pitiable...
Wedding Homily
I had the privilege of presiding at a wedding on Saturday. Here's my homily: Good afternoon. It’s so good for us all to be here together today to celebrate Robert and Tess being joined together in Holy Matrimony, one of the seven sacraments of the Church. A sacrament is simply a visible sign of an invisible reality, a special grace God will give them to strengthen and bless their lives together...
Our Unimaginable Christian Identity
A Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Sunday, September 18, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 10:00 Mass Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13 Audio Recording I believe an important lesson from today’s Gospel reading is that Jesus is always telling us, not just HOW we should behave, but WHO we are. He is communicating our true IDENTITY in...
Illogical? Possibly. Pointless? Think Again!
Homily for Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Thursday, September 1, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass 1 Corinthians 3:18-23; Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6; Luke 5:1-11 Audio Recording Have any of you watched The Chosen? This is a video series about the lives of the apostles, the Pharisees and others living at this time that imagines how their daily lives might have been...
The Rescue Project
A year ago I read an amazing book at the recommendation of my beloved wife Christine. I was on my way to Franciscan University for a week-long retreat with 125 priests, deacons and seminarians. I listened to the audio book, Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel, narrated by its author Fr. John Riccardo, founder of the Acts XXIX apostolate. The book was life-changing for me...
Detachment and Generosity
A Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Sunday, July 31, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21 Audio Recording Over 20 years ago my wife, Christine, and I left the corporate world to start our own business. This business was one that required a great deal of travel. So...
Reserving Judgement: We Are All a Work in Progress
Homily for Thursday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Thursday, July 28, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Jeremiah 18:1-6; Psalm 146:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6AB; Matthew 13:47-53 In today’s gospel reading Jesus speaks of the final judgement in a parable. As fishermen, many who first heard these words of Jesus were very familiar with the scenario he described. In their daily work, the...
Building a Post-Roe America
The following was shared with me by my Spiritual Director, a holy priest in the Diocese of Knoxville. An excellent overview with links to resources to help faithful Christians understand and articulate the importance of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization case. Wednesday, 22 June, 2022, was the feast day of Saint Thomas More (+1535), the patron...
The Healing Power of the Eucharist
Fifth Sunday of Easter Sunday, June 19, 2022 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Holy Ghost Church – 5:00 Mass Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 9:11b-17 Audio Recording Happy Father’s Day! Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi. It is the feast day in which...