I haven’t been publishing many homilies here recently. If you find these audio recordings useful, please click the +1 button at the bottom of this post to let me know you enjoy them. If there’s enough interest I’ll continue to record and publish them.

What follows are two recent homilies preached at St. Mary’s.

Fr. Kamanzi’s Homily
The first is from the Superior General of the Apostles of Jesus, Rev. Speratus Kamanzi. Father Kamanzi is Father William’s superior and he visited our parish on August 21st, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. You can view the photos of his visit here.

Fr. William’s Homily
The second recording is Fr. William’s homily from last Sunday, the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Here Father teaches an important lesson about reconciliation.

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“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by our pastor, Fr. William.

In his homily Fr. William also discusses the changes to the Mass that will take place due to the implementation by the Church of the new Roman Missal. These changes will be implemented in November this year at the beginning of the Season of Advent. All those attending Mass this weekend received a guide to understanding these changes. Additional copies of the guide are available in the Narthex.

✞ The Gospel According to John
(John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45)

The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by our pastor, Fr. William:

✞ The Gospel According to John
(John 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42)

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.”
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
“How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
“If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?”
Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.

“I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus said to her,
“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him,
“I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
Jesus said to her,
“I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him.
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
“We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by our pastor, Fr. William:

.

✞ The Gospel According to Matthew
(Matthew 17:1-9)

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Rise, and do not be afraid.”
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
“Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by our pastor, Fr. William:

✞ The Gospel According to Matthew
(Matthew 5:38-48)

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand over your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by our pastor, Fr. William:

✞ The Gospel According to Matthew
(Matthew 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37)

Jesus said to his disciples:

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.

Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by visiting priest, Fr. John Appiah:

✞ The Gospel According to Matthew
(Matthew 5:13-16)

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

Recommended reading/viewing from Fr. William’s homily (click the title to view on Amazon.com):
1. “Preaching the Just Word” - Walter Burghardt
2. “All Things are Possible to Believers: Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount” – Rudolph Schnackenburg
3. Video: Witness to Hope – The Life of John Paul II

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by our pastor, Fr. William:

✞ The Gospel According to Matthew
(Matthew 5:1-12a)

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Sister Anna and Sister Mary Evelyn

✞ Dominican Sisters Speak on Behalf of Catholic Schools

We were blessed to have two Dominican sisters from Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga speak at the 10:00 Mass today. Sister Mary Evelyn and Sister Anna spoke on behalf of the Catholic schools in our Deanery and urged us to help make it possible for children within our Deanery to attend Catholic school.

The Sisters asked us to prayerfully consider providing financial support for those who do not have the means to pay the tuition, as well as they requested our prayers for the initiative. We will have a 2nd collection next weekend to help raise funds for this worthy effort.

Listen to the recording of their talk and please consider a generous contribution next weekend:

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.

He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by our pastor, Fr. William:

✞ The Gospel According to Matthew
(Matthew 4:12-23)

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”

Listen to the gospel reading and this week’s homily by our pastor, Fr. William:

✞ The Gospel According to Matthew
(Matthew 1:18-24)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

✞ Bulletin

Download this week’s bulletin.