Today, August 3, 2025, marks the 17th anniversary of my priesthood-a profound gift from God that I accepted with humility and without merit. Therefore, this weekend, I kindly request the opportunity to depart from the tradition of reflecting on the Sunday Gospel. Instead, I would like to share an excerpt from the homily delivered by His Excellency, the late Bishop Nestor Timanywa, Bishop Emeritus of Bukoba, on the day of my ordination.

"Esteemed brothers and sisters in the Lord,

As we continue reading Luke's account of Jesus' last journey to Jerusalem, Luke tells us that Jesus and his disciples stopped to visit Lazarus, Martha and Mary in the village of Bethany. Bethany was on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. The name Bethany means "house of the afflicted." The village was a center for accommodating the sick and the destitute that came as pilgrims to Jerusalem, for Passover.' On this occasion, they remained in Bethany until it was time to head on to Jerusalem for Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication.

One of my close friends is a hermit priest who lives on a desert mountain. Recently I found myself in a group conversation about him. One vehemently objected, “What does he do up there all day? Nothing! Priests are down here working, running parishes, making a difference, and he…he is doing nothing! What a waste.” The words dripped with indignation and resentment. Most of the group quietly nodded in silent agreement. Were they correct?

What can I do to inherit eternal life?

Every Sunday, our Mother Church offers us the Liturgy of the Word, which serves as a guide—“a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105)—for the week ahead. The readings for daily Masses, too, are inspired by the Sunday Liturgy of the Word. Thus, in alignment with the traditions established by our predecessors, Fr. Samuel and I shall present a series of thoughtful reflections on the Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word in our weekly bulletins. These insights aim to serve as a guiding framework as we navigate our journey toward holiness.

Fellow parishioners,

I sincerely greet you in the name of the Most Holy Trinity!

Following Fr. Kilian’s devoted service to our parish, His Excellency Bishop John Dolan has appointed me to serve as your pastor. Initially, I considered declining this appointment; however, I soon realized that such a decision would be akin to refusing to embrace God’s love.

Fr. Thomas Kagumisa was ordained as a priest on August 3, 2008, for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bukoba in Tanzania. After six years of dedicated service within his local diocese, he moved to the United States and became affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix in 2014.

During his time in the Diocese of Phoenix, Fr. Kagumisa has held several roles: he served as Parochial Administrator at St. John Vianney Parish in Sedona from 2014 to 2015, before transitioning to the position of Parochial Vicar at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish and School from 2015 to 2018.

My Dearly Beloved in Christ;

It is with great delight that we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi this Sunday. (the full name of the feast is Corpus et Sanguis Christi or The Body and Blood of Christ.) It is also a special day for us as a Parish community, given that our beloved Parish is named after this great gift of God – The Blessed Sacrament Parish!

My Dearly Beloved in Christ;

You may have heard the famous story of St. Augustine and his efforts to fully comprehend the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. He was trying to understand the mystery of the Trinity; “a Tri-unity” which states that God is both one and three; one essence, three persons. How can there be three persons in one God?... So, Augustine went to the bank of the river and was contemplating this mystery. As he walked along the bank of the river, he saw a small boy who was trying to empty the river into a small hole he had dug.

My Dearly Beloved in Christ;

It is the birthday of the Church! So, I guess it’s safe to say Happy Birthday to you all!

Today’s celebration of Pentecost Sunday reminds us of a historical event that occurred almost two thousand years ago. Before then, Pentecost in the Old Testament was a Jewish harvest festival known as the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest (Exodus 34:22). It is celebrated 50 days (seven weeks) after Passover, hence the name “Pentekoste” in Greek which means “Fiftieth”.

My Dearly Beloved in Christ;

It has been 40 days since we celebrated the Solemnity of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the dead. Since then, He has been appearing to His Disciples and speaking to them about the kingdom of God. Eventually, the time came for Him to return to His Father in heaven from whence He came. It is this event of His return to the Father that we celebrate this weekend as the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.

My Dearly Beloved in Christ;

Whenever we read the about the beginnings of the Church and the life of the early Jewish Christians, especially as contained in the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2:42 – 47, we cannot but admire the mutual love, unity and fraternity that existed among them. They lived a communal life that bound them together in body, mind, soul and spirit. This exemplary living won them the admiration of many people especially the gentiles (non-Jews) who eventually joined them and increased their numbers. However, their lives at that early beginning of the Church was not without the controversies and disagreements that could be found among people.

My Dearly Beloved in Christ;

As we continue in joyful thanks to God for the gift of the new Pontiff; His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, today’s f irst reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 14: 21-27 recounts the missionary exploits of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas. Their missionary adventure among the inhabitants of Derbe, Lystra, Iconum and Antioch brought them a mixed bag of admiration and praise but not without the rejection, persecution and stoning that followed shortly after.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is always called Good Shepherd Sunday and is a traditional day of Vocations awareness. This image of The Good Shepherd is the enduring and shows God’s care, love and mercy for all of us.

Nobody wants to be called a sheep. It has some strange connotations. But in the eyes of God, we are these most profoundly gentle and pastoral creatures.

“Yes, Lord, I love you.”

We know that St. Peter did follow Jesus and that he was martyred by crucifixion in Rome. The eyes of the world are on Rome this week. St. Peter did as Jesus asked; as the first Pope, he fed the lambs, tended the sheep, fed the sheep. We see in the Gospel, how Jesus in His tenderness and love, called Peter to turn completely toward Him and to follow Him.