Homily: February 9, 2022, Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time.

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For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020922.cfm  

When the Queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s kingdom, she was breathless. “Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard. Blessed are your men, blessed these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom.”

Today’s first reading tells us about the richness, the wealth of King Solomon, the result of his wisdom, the virtue of having good judgement of what is right and wrong, good and bad.

My paternal grandfather was a wise man. He was 98 years old when he passed away. He was very alert and fit. One of his wisdom in daily living was using traditional herbal Ayurveda products, all in its most natural form. He has never used chemically produced soap but uses natural herbal powder for his daily bath. I have never seen him sick until the last two weeks of his life on earth. His health was proof of his simple wisdom that man-made chemical products may harm but nature provides the best and most suitable products for us.

God has given each of us this wisdom to know good from bad, right from wrong. In the gospel today, Jesus teaches us very clearly that “what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him”.

So, our thoughts, our decisions, our actions are proof of what is in our hearts. If we carry God’s word in our hearts, our life choices will bring forth the fruits of God’s wisdom.

Jesus teaches that “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person” so let us not worry about what is happening outside us but take care to make sure our hearts are pure and holy, right and true. God’s wisdom will lead us to holiness.


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Homily: January 18, 2025, Saturday of the first week in Ordinary Time (High-Priest)

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"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin." When someone is diagnosed with a major illness, they often turn to others who have gone through a similar experience. They seek advice about doctors, treatments, and coping strategies. Why? Because those who have been through the same struggles can empathize and possibly share insights about the situation, better than someone who has not been through it. They know the pain, the challenges, and the fears, the journey. Of course, not everyone’s experience will be the same, but the reference can be useful. I remember when my mummy was diagnosed with cancer, we asked many people who had cancer before which helped us understand some things about the condition.  In today’s first reading, we hear about Jesus, our High Priest, who sympathizes with our weaknesses and knows what we go through in life, because He has gone through it all...
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Reflection: April 18, 2025 Bridge Churches stations of the cross on good Friday.

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"Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' He replied to him, 'Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'"  The good thief asked only to be remembered, but Jesus, always faithful to His promises, responded with the gift of eternal life. Jesus was nailed to a cross, like a criminal, with two real criminals by His side. He had once been surrounded by thousands who needed His healing, followed by many who wanted to hear Him, and accompanied by friends who loved Him. But now at the final hour of His suffering and dying, they had all left Him. This is what many of us fear, to be forgotten and left alone at our dying moment. Let us look at the situation of the two thieves crucified beside Jesus. As thieves, they probably lived in poverty, anxiety and constantly hiding. They might not have family or friends since they work in darkness. Now caught and condemned, they too are in the last hour of their lives, about to die. Yet,...
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Homily: January 11, 2026, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Beloved)

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 Let the house of Israel say, "His mercy endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say, "His mercy endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD say, "His mercy endures forever." We sang these verses in today’s responsorial psalm. God’s mercy endures forever. ‘Forever’ means from the very beginning to the very end of time, God’s mercy ‘endures’. What does it endure? Does it endure just the length of time? No, more than that. It endures the breadth of our sins, and the depth of our hard-heartedness. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they had to bear the consequences of their sins. Even then, we read the scene of God putting together some garments for Man and Woman to cover themselves, who became conscious of their nakedness. This is a beautiful sign of God’s affectionate and compassionate love for the man and woman He created. This is God’s mercy. Thereafter throughout the whole of history, from Abraham to Moses, to Jesus till today, God continues to pur...
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Homily: September 15, 2025, Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (Entrustment)

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 “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” This arrangement, spoken from the Cross, may look like a simple and practical arrangement for the care of His surviving mother, but truly, it carries a deeper and profound truth. It is one of the ‘seven last words of Jesus’. Quite naturally and obviously, He entrusted the care of His beloved Mother to someone reliable and obedient. He gave her to John. And at the same time, He also entrusted the continued nurturing of John, His beloved disciple, to His Mother. Jesus had no earthly possessions which will wither and end to leave behind. What He left, as a lasting forever legacy to His disciples and as a gift of eternity to all believers to come, was the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. Now from the Cross, He is giving to the whole of humanity something personal: His own Mother,  whom He took His human flesh and blood from when she carried Him in her womb. Why John the beloved ap...
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