Homily, June 30, Thursday, Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

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 “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”

Before healing the paralyzed man from his physical illness, Jesus first healed him of his spiritual burden. Jesus forgave his sins.

Physical, psychological, emotional, even social illnesses are linked to our spiritual well-being. Illnesses are a consequence of sin.

During our third Wednesdays’ healing services, the ministers of healing always direct the sick people to the sacrament of reconciliation first because they believe forgiveness of the soul is necessary before healing of the body.

But are all our sicknesses due to our own sinfulness?

Many saintly people suffer illnesses, and we can be sure those are not consequences of their own sins.

Many great saints suffered serious illnesses too. One beautiful example is St. Teresa of Lisieux.  She suffered much during her short life and she offered all her sufferings for the conversion of sinners. Her suffering was salvific, just like our Saviour.

Jesus suffered and died not for His own sins, but for the sins of humankind.

Mother Angelica said, “Suffering in itself does not make us holy. It is only when we unite it, out of love, to the suffering of Christ that is has meaning.”

All our sicknesses and sufferings are salvific if we offer them for our own and for the salvation of the world.


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Homily: October 13, 2026, Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Love)

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 “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.” What a hopeful and assuring message. Even though our bodies are weakened by sin and subject to death, the Spirit of God within us is alive and active. But note the one condition: if Christ is in you! The Father and the Son have given us this precious gift, the Holy Spirit, the divine helper who will dwell in our hearts if we accept Jesus Christ into our lives. If we follow the timeline of our salvation story, all of us are now living in the era of the Holy Spirit. God the Father has revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets. Then in the fullness of time, God the Son came into the world and revealed to us the Father’s love. Before returning to heaven, Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to be our companion, our guide, and our strength till the end of time. And from then, the Holy Spirit has been active in the world, in the church and in o...
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“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.” These beautiful words are from today’s first reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. What were the promises God made to Abraham? There were several.  One of the promises that always comes to my mind is this: “I will bless you… so that you will be a blessing.” Abraham is known as the father of faith. He became a blessing to the world because of his faith and obedience to God. Think about his life. He followed a God he was only beginning to know, to a land he had never seen. He did not know where God was leading him or what his future would look like. Even when God asked him to do the most difficult things, Abraham remained faithful and obedient. And because of his faithfulness, he became a blessing, not only to his own family but to generations after him. St. Paul reminds us today that through our baptism, we too have become descendants of Abraham and heirs to God's promises....
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 “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” What a terrible accusation against the Son of God! Jesus, who came to destroy the power of evil, is accused of working for the devil himself. What could be a greater insult than accusing Jesus of being on the side of his greatest enemy? But why did people think this way? May be because, even before Jesus, there had been false prophets and people claiming to be the Messiah. Some attracted followers through extraordinary signs or impressive claims. Naturally, people were confused. How could they distinguish the true Messiah from false prophets? I think we can understand this confusion very well in today's world. We live in a time when we cannot always believe what we see or hear. With artificial intelligence, we can create images, videos, and even voices that look and sound completely real. Sometimes we struggle to distinguish what is real from what is artificial. The same is true in matters of faith. Even toda...
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 “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Life in Christ is a life of freedom.  We have heard many beautiful stories of conversion, especially of people who struggled with addictions to drugs, alcohol, or other destructive habits. When they encountered Christ and experienced his love, their lives changed completely. They discovered a freedom they had never experienced before. Jesus came into this world to liberate us. He came to free us from the bondage of sin, from everything that controls us, and from everything that prevents us from living as children of God. But today, we need to ask ourselves a very personal question: Am I truly free? What are the things that make me live like a slave? It could be an addiction, the excessive use of social media, an unhealthy attachment, anger, resentment, or even certain ideologies that control the way we think and act. Interestingly, even our religious practices can sometimes become ...
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Homily: September 27, 2026, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary time (The Fair way)

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 “Thus says the Lord: You say, ‘The Lord’s way is not fair!’” I chose this phrase from our first reading for our reflection today because it sounds very similar to what we heard last Sunday in the first reading.  “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” I think most of us, at some point in our lives, have said something similar to God. I know I have. “Lord, this is not fair.” “Why do I have to go through this?” “Why didn’t you answer this prayer?” “Why did you allow this to happen?” “I am trying to follow you. Could you not treat me a little better?” We may not say those words aloud, but sometimes they are deep within our hearts. So what exactly is God’s way? The second reading gives us an answer.  For centuries humanity wondered what God was like. Then Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, came among us and revealed the face of God. And St. Paul describes Jesus with these extraordinary words: “He did not regard equality with God something to...
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Homily: February 23, Wednesday of the seventh week in the Ordinary time

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Preached at Holy Family school mass  Did you hear what the Gospel reading was about? Something very exciting and amazing was happening. Let me repeat that part for you: John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name…” Yes, someone was driving out demons. wow! Can you imagine, the nasty, violent, fierce and frightening spirits entering a human person, controlling his behaviour and making him talk crazy and look mad. Then came the brave man who used Jesus’s name, called out the evil spirit and freed the poor man. What a hero! Now tell me, who has greater power? Is it 1) the evil spirit? 2) the brave man? Or 3) Jesus? Yes, Jesus is the powerful one, His name alone is strong enough to cast out evil spirits because they fear Him so much because He is God. We too can do wonderful things, perform miracles and save souls but only if we fulfil these two conditions: First, we must be friends with Jesus. We must believe in Him and be His followers. Jesus says, “F...
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 "I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven." Do you have a favorite saint who inspires you? How would you feel if you got to meet this saint in real, and had a meal together? In today’s Gospel text, Jesus describes the banquet in heaven. Imagine that glorious day when we will all recline at the heavenly banquet together with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and your favorite saint! All the saints, the martyrs, the prophets we have read about in the Old Testament and the apostles of Jesus will all be present too. How wonderful that will be! At the head of the banquet table we see Jesus, gloriously radiant, with the Father and the Holy Spirit united as one, and Mother Mary right beside them! That is just the heavenly banquet we can describe; I am sure the real thing will be much more wonderful. Every time we celebrate Holy Mass, we get a tiny glimpse, a foretaste of that heavenly b...
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"Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you." Whenever you pray for a specific intention, do you ask in your own name or do you ask in Jesus’ name? I pondered this as I prepared this homily. Most of my prayers are directed to Jesus, so I would end off like a normal conversation. But now Jesus is advising us in today’s Gospel, "…ask the Father in my name…” It is as if Jesus is telling us to write an appeal letter to God, the Father, and to sign off in Jesus’ name, not our own name. Wow! He is simply saying, use His name! Of course, His Father would never deny Him of anything, because He is the obedient and beloved Son. Every second Saturday during our healing services, Tim and Graeson will always conclude their prayers with “In Jesus’ name we pray.” And thus we see so many miraculous healings from the services. The Church also prays the same way. Holy Mass is the perfect sacrifice we offer to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. Listen to the prayers...
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Homily: February 7, 2023, Tuesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary time.

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 “God blessed them, saying: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” We continue our first readings from the book of Genesis. The first eleven chapters of Genesis are pre-historic, what we read are not historical facts, the events cannot be explained scientifically. But there is no doubt that every detail is divinely inspired as God wants to reveal the Truth to us. Through these chapters, God wants us know that he is the Creator, the author and owner of everything. He has a plan and purpose. The Bible is God revealing His plans to us. The world thinks that resources are limited and so we should not overpopulate. Many countries even have birth control laws. But God says ‘multiply, fill the earth’. Surely, He knows what He is saying, and His instructions are not flawed. I agree with Mahatma Gandhi who once said, “The world has enough resources for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.” Yes, it is greed which limits our resources and creates hunger, pover...
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