Homilies

Homilies Given at Mass and other Celebrations

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ALL THAT IS GOLD… – The Annunciation and the Lord of the Rings

Homily – 4th Sunday of Advent
The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary

How does a poem by J.R.R. Tolkien, featured in “The Fellowship of the Ring” (Book 1 of “The Lord of the Rings”) reflect the same sentiment expressed by the Angel Gabriel during the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary?

In his Homily, Fr. Bill discusses an often overlooked detail in the Annunciation to Mary, it’s relation to the Annunciation to Zechariah immediately preceding it, and how Tolkien’s Catholicism was worked into his storytelling of the redemption of Middle Earth.

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LOSING ETERNAL LIFE – How NOT to Prepare for Christ’s Coming

Homily – 33rd Sunday of the Year (A)
Matthew 25:14-30
Parable of the Servants and the Talents

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus tells three parables regarding the preparation for the Coming of the Lord. Each one reminds us of the potential we all have of losing salvation. Fr. Bill describes the method in the Parable of the Three Servants and how we can use or misuse the “talents” God gives us for the benefit or detriment of Salvation.

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NATIONAL HEROES & CATHOLIC SAINTS – A Lesson for Post-Election America

Homily
ALL SAINTS DAY

What can we learn from the lessons of our National Heroes as Americans, and our Heroes in Holiness as Church? Fr. Bill gives a vision for a post-election 2020 America in which the Church, by the example of American Heroes and Catholic Saints, can itself be an example for our fellow countrymen and the world in moving beyond our differences and moving forward as a nation.

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PANDEMIC, ELECTION & LIVING GOD’S STANDARDS AS AMERICANS

Homily – 22nd Sunday of the Year
Jeremiah 20:7-9
Matthew 16:21-27

St. Peter is reprimanded by Jesus for judging not as God does, but as human beings do, thereby being a hindrance and a stumbling block to Him.

Fr. Bill preaches on how we can be more aware of the way we live, vote, and react to a crisis less by human standards and more by God’s standards.

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God’s Promise to Be With Our Nation

Homily
14th Sunday of the Year – A
Sunday after Independence Day

Has God abandoned the United States of America. Fr. Bill talks about the promise made by God to be with his people if we remained faithful, and how that fidelity is promised by our Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence.

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DEMONS AMONG US – A Perspective on the Current Crisis

Sunday Homily
13th Sunday of the Year – A

Pandemic, Racism, Riots, Looting, Civil Unrest.

Fr. Bill offers a Biblical perspective on what is going on in our Society, what is at stake, and how we, as followers of Christ, can respond and resist the spiritual and civil assault we are witnessing.