Homily: May 16, 2022, Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter.

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 “We are of the same nature as you, human beings.”

St. Paul had to emphasize this to the people of Lystra. They had just witnessed a miracle performed by Paul. Indeed, no human person can perform such a miracle, only God can. Jesus performed many such miracles in His life, but the Jews did not recognise His divinity, they were spiritually blind. Now St. Paul performed the same, did he also have divine power?

A new bar was under construction in a small town, right across the street in front of a church. The local priest launched a campaign for his parishioners to pray against the new bar from opening.

As construction works progressed, prayers intensified. One week before the opening, lightning struck the almost completed new bar and it burned to the ground. The whole church celebrated, but the bar owner brought the church to court, charging her for causing the loss of his building and business. The church denied all responsibility, defending herself for having no such power to cause the destruction and its damages.

During the court proceedings, the judge analysed the case and commented, “It intrigues me to judge this case. 

It appears that we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that does not.”

What do you think? Do we really have the power to bring about miracles, like St. Paul? It is true that we are all of the same nature, human beings. It is also true that only God can perform miracles. So, how did St. Paul do it?

In the gospel Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

St. Paul loved Jesus and kept His word with total dedication. Thus, the Holy Spirit dwelt in him, and worked powerful miracles through him.

Same for us. When we love God with all our heart and keep faithful to His word, God the Holy Spirit will also dwell in us, and work wonderful miracles through us, bearing beautiful fruits of love. Amen.


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March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

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Did you listen attentively to the Gospel reading? Yes? Let me test you… What did Jesus say? Did He say, “Whoever eats my bread and drinks my wine?”  No! He said, “Whoever eats my FLESH and drinks my BLOOD remains in me and I in him.” Yes, when you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving the real flesh and blood of Jesus. I am sure Fr. Roy, your catechists, parents and the whole parish community have prepared you well for this day, so you know what you are receiving today. But what I want to focus on now is the last part where Jesus says, ‘remains in me and I in him’. 29 years ago in 1996, I received my First Holy Communion. I was eight years old, but I still remember that day vividly. I remember the preparations, my First Reconciliation, and the excitement I felt when I lined up to receive Jesus for the very first time. I remember seeing the priest dipping the Precious Body into the Precious Blood, and then that precious moment – Jesus’ body and blood rested on my tongue. So swee...
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Homily: November 6, 2022, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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 “We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” To the seven brothers and their mother, their faithfulness to the laws were more precious than their lives, so to face death was not a threat to them. Having seen the death of his brothers, the fourth brother declared, “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him.” That was the reason for their courage, that they believed in being raised up by God after death. They would rather die a faithful death than live a faithless life. The first reading went on to say, “Even the king and his attendants marvelled at the young man’s courage because he regarded this suffering as nothing.” Dying a swift death is something, but to bear cruel torture and torment before dying takes more than just guts.  Indeed, the brothers’ and their mother’s courage in accepting suffering and death were marvellous. I too feel amazed at their grit and courage. I wonder if I would be able t...
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Homily: May 6, 2025, Tuesday of he Third week of Easter (Daily -Martydom)

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 "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." The courage of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, always amazes me. Where did he get such strength? How was he able to withstand the big solid stones being thrown at him?  Imagine the heavy and harsh hits on the face, the head, the chest, everywhere on the body – breaking skin, damaging flesh and smashing the bones. Pain aside, how could he still pray for them who were hurting and killing him at that moment? What gave him such strength? It was what he believed, his firm and steadfast faith. Stephen knew who was waiting for him in heaven. As we heard at the beginning of the reading: “Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” He saw Jesus, the King of Martyrs, waiting for him in glory. Jesus was waiting to receive Him. Surely Stephen’s ...
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Homily: January 16, 2023 Monday of the second week in Ordinary time

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 “In the days when he was in the Flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” Even Jesus, the beloved Son of God, prayed hard and fervently while He lived among us in this world. I know of a parishioner who is from one of our refugee communities. I have seen him many, many times kneeling in church, praying deeply and reverently and at length. He always has with him little prayer books that he uses. His deep reverence and focus really inspire me and make me curious too. Finally, I had to ask him about his praying. Each time he prays, he will say the rosary, meditate on the stations of the cross, pray novenas to saints. And his prayer list includes me, all his siblings, his cousins and friends. Wow! Blessed is every person in his prayer list, because he is a reliable prayer warrior interceding for them always. I am blessed. In every one of our communities, I know of at...
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Funeral Homily: William J. Baum, June 8, 2023

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 The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. The soul of Bill is in the hand of God, no torment shall touch him. We are here to bid our final farewell to Bill, our beloved brother, grandpa, dad, husband, friend. I feel privileged to have known Bill these last two years and honored to preside over this Mass for his sending off. Many of you would have known him much longer and much better than I. I wish I had more time with him. I was awed when I read his obituary, his life story is inspirational. I know from my encounter with him that he was a dedicated husband, a loving and caring father, the greatest fan to every one of his grandchildren, and an incredible friend to countless people here and around the world. His going would surely leave a void in our lives. It is only natural that we grieve this loss. Bill was a man of remarkable character. His love for life, his sense of humor, and his thoughtfulness for others were the hallmarks of his persona...
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Homily: May 1, 2024: May crowning Mass at Holy Family School

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 "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Did you remember hearing this from today’s first reading? This verse really struck me. The ‘woman clothed with the sun’ mentioned, do you know who this woman is? Yes, it is referring to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. St. John the Apostle had this vision and he described the mother of the Jesus as ‘clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her heard a crown of twelve stars’. Who would usually wear a crown? Yes, a king or a queen.  It is a symbol of their authority over everyone in the country, a sign of the power vested in them to rule the people and for them to obey their rule. So, Mother Mary is a queen, who wears a crown of twelve stars. Why twelve? Do you know what in the Bible are twelve in number? Yes, there were twelve tribes of Israel and Jesus had twelve apostles. The twelve tribes of Israel descended from the twelve chi...
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Homily: June 6, 2024, Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time.

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“Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory.” Before Paul was converted, he was enjoying success, recognition, authority and power as a Christian persecutor. But when he encountered Jesus and began to love the Lord and His sheep with all his heart, all his understanding, and all his strength, the sufferings also began to come to him, and he had to ‘bear with everything’. We all suffer in one way or another. We all have our own crosses to carry, but it is important to know whether we are carrying a cross because of salvation or because of our own wrong actions. There is an effect to every cause, and a consequence to every action. The consequence of wrong decisions, foolish actions, prideful deeds, selfish greed, over-ambitious endeavor, unhealthy relationships, financial mismanagement, and addictive habits is suffering. And these are self-inflicted sufferings, they...
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Homily: June 24, 2024, Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

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“Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God.”  Some people do go through life tougher and rougher than others. I personally know some such people who lived the whole of their lives literally toiling and working till they die. My own parents lived like that. Since young they were already laboring to help their own families. When they got married, they labored every day from morning till night to provide for us. Before they even got a chance to rest and retire, they fell ill and passed on. They did not accomplish anything spectacular and daily life was simply hardship from beginning till the end. They have never experienced a good life, but they have discharged their duties and responsibilities fully. Is such a life meaningful? Looking at Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist, they might not have lived in extreme poverty, but they toiled in other ways. For a woman to be barren ...
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Homily: February 18, 2025, Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Leaven)

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 Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” What is ‘the leaven of the Pharisees’ and ‘the leaven of Herod’? In this passage, Jesus must have been trying to teach His disciples something very important, but they were all thinking about food, specifically about bread, such that they didn’t understand what He was teaching. Who can blame them? Like all of us, they too had practical concerns, they were worried about the lack of food on the journey. But Jesus was trying to warn them of something more worrying, something which will not just keep them hungry, but will also destroy life. Recently, during my vacation with my sister, I listened to a Bible podcast she was following. Coincidentally, that episode was discussing the significance of the unleavened bread in the Old Testament. Why did God command the Israelites in Egypt to eat unleavened bread for their Passover feast? 1. Because they had to eat in haste, to finish their m...
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Homily: August 14, 2022, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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 “I have come to set the earth on fire.” “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” Jesus has told us He is meek and humble of heart, and we should learn from Him. We call Him the ‘Prince of peace’ and he prayed for us, “Father, that they may be one as we are one.” So, why would he want to set fire? Why would He cause division? First, the fire which Jesus wants to set for the earth is not a destructive fire, but that of the Holy Spirit. It is a purifying, sanctifying fire. Second, Jesus came to preach the truth, but many do not want to accept the truth. Those who reject will oppose those who accept. This is the division caused by hardness of the heart and blindness of the mind. Only when all have accepted the truth, then the world will be of one heart and mind, united and at peace. In this world we see divisions everywhere. Those of us who follow Jesus’ teachings become enemies of the world. Because the worldly ways and values ...
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