December 18, 2020 by frbillnicholas

TRADITION OF ANNUNCIATION

Scripture Reflection
4th Sunday of Advent – B
How many Annunciations are there throughout the Holy Scriptures?

December 13, 2020 by frbillnicholas

A Voice Crying Out in the Rain!

Homily — 3rd Sunday of Advent – B
John 1:6-8, 19-28
(Given outdoors during Covid Pandemic regulations)

November 15, 2020 by frbillnicholas

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.

October 25, 2020 by frbillnicholas

POPE or APOSTLE? Who Does it Better?

Sunday Homily
30th Sunday of the Year – A
1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10 (Second Reading)

Fr. Bill discusses Pope St. John Paul II, Paul’s address to the Thessalonian Church and what it means to be a true Catholic in the eyes of the Apostle.

October 18, 2020 by frbillnicholas

WHO SHOULD CATHOLICS VOTE FOR – Rendering To Caesar during a National Election

Homily – 29th Sunday of the Year (A)
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are God’s”

Does “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” = the “Separation of Church and State”?
What is a Catholic Christian to make of this and any election in a Democratic Republic?
Fr. Bill discusses Election 2020 in light of the Constitution, our Founding Fathers, Catholic Social Teaching and Jesus command to “render to Caesar.”

August 31, 2020 by frbillnicholas

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.

July 31, 2020 by frbillnicholas

GOD’S “GREEN” LAWS – The Ten Commandments & Creation (Series Finale)

The Ten Commandments – Video #22
God’s Creation, Jesus’ Command to Love, and the Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments are “Green Laws” in that they complement the dynamic of God’s laws of God’s Creation.

In the concluding video to this series, Fr. Bill discusses this dynamic, as well as how the Commandments are related to Jesus Commandment to “Love One Another”.

July 24, 2020 by frbillnicholas

THE “GATEWAY” SIN – Is “Wanting” a Sin?

The Ten Commandments – Video #21
“You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife”
“You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Goods”

“You Shall Not Covet…” deals with an interior disposition of desire; but does it make any “wanting” of anything a sin?

Fr. Bill discusses the last two Commandments of the Ten Commandments, classifying desire and want with the serious sin of “Coveting” and how it is the “gateway” to all other prohibitions of the Ten Commandments.

July 17, 2020 by frbillnicholas

ONE COMMANDMENT or TWO – “You Shall Not Covet…”

The Ten Commandments – Video #20
“You Shall Not Covet…”

There are two traditions regarding the Commandment, “You Shall Not Covet”. One is contained in a single 10th Commandment, the other splits it into the 9th and 10th of the Ten Commandments.

Which tradition is the correct one?

Fr. Bill talks about how these two traditions came about, including the origin of both traditions.

July 10, 2020 by frbillnicholas

LEGAL & MORAL TRUTH – The 8th Commandment

The Ten Commandments – Video #19
“You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor.”

“Bearing False Witness” connotes a legal setting, but in the Christian context, with the teachings of Jesus, “TRUTH” is an important part of our cultural and faith “identity”.

Fr. Bill discusses the 8th Commandment – “You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor” in light of the broader standard that the People of God, and the Followers of Christ, be known as People of the Truth.