Teaching & Preaching: Deacon Matt's homilies & podcasts

Deacon Matthew Newsome

Deacon Matthew Newsome is a deacon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and campus minister at Western Carolina University.

  1. Our Participation in the Sacrifice of Christ

    Jun 7

    Our Participation in the Sacrifice of Christ

    Is the Mass a communal meal, or a sacrifice? The Church's answer is that it is both. What do sacrificial offerings have to do with meals, and what does this teach us about the Eucharist? Homily preached on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (The Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ), June 7, 2026.

    18 min

  2. May 10

    Anointed for Mission

    A catechetical homily on the importance and meaning of the sacrament of Confirmation, preached for the 6th Sunday of Easter (Year A). "Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:14-17).

    16 min

  3. Mar 2

    An Elevated Perspective: Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent

    God’s perspective is so much greater than our own — infinitely greater than our own. He sees things we can’t see. He knows things we cannot know. Of course we know this intellectually. God is eternal. He is omnipotent. Of course his perspective is greater than our own. But we often fail to appreciate how this affects our own faith and the trust that we should have in God, especially when things don’t seem to make sense to us. Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent (Year A), preached March 1, 2026.

    14 min

  4. 12/28/2025

    The Family as a School of Love

    Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family, preached at St. Mary Mother of God Roman Catholic Church on December 28, 2025. "Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.And be thankful" (Col 3:12-15).

    17 min

  5. 12/08/2025

    Roots, Shoots, and the Kingdom of Peace

    "On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,and from his roots a bud shall blossom" (Is 11:1). Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent (Year A), preached at St. Mary Mother of God Roman Catholic Church on 12/7/25.

    13 min

  6. 11/03/2025

    Hope full of immortality: Homily for All Souls Day

    Homily for All Souls Day preached on Nov. 2, 2025, at St. Mary Mother of God Roman Catholic Church. "A final purification from sin is necessary for most of us after death because heaven is not for unrighteous souls who have been let in because Jesus paid the price of their admission: it is the abode of the saints who have been transformed and made pure by the love of Christ. Jesus not only redeems us; he perfects us. The perfection of our nature, of our very selves, is part of our hope as Christians, along with resurrection. As we enter into the final months of the Jubilee Year, the theme of which is “Pilgrims of Hope,” it is good for us to be mindful of what our hope is and what our pilgrimage is moving toward."

    15 min

  7. 09/07/2025

    Ordinary Lives. Extraordinary Holiness.

    Homily for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C), preached on Sept. 7, 2025, the day of the canonization of Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis. "When I think about the examples of St. Pier Giorgio and St. Carlo, I see two ordinary young men who had the same gifts and talents as many of the people in this Church right now. They didn’t suffer martyrdom like many in the early Church. They didn’t establish new religious orders like St. Francis or St. Dominic. They didn’t do things that the secular world would recognize them for like cure cancer or overthrow tyrants. They just lived ordinary lives, and short lives at that. Viewed from the lens of the world, we would say that they didn’t do much. But what they did do, they did for God. They put God first and they loved their families and their friends well. And they made it to heaven. "

    22 min

  8. 08/03/2025

    Being Rich in What Matters

    Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). God has given us many good things, but not to use solely for our own pleasure, but to use for the good of others. In other words, material wealth is only a means to an end, and we can’t lose sight of the end, which isn’t to be found in this world that is passing away, but in the world to come. This is why St. Paul says in our second reading from his letter to the Colossians that we must “think of what is above, not of what is on earth” (Col 3:2). And then he says something that sounds curious: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3).

    16 min
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About

Deacon Matthew Newsome is a deacon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and campus minister at Western Carolina University.

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