Homily: July 17, 2022, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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 "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing.”

What is that one thing needed?

This advice from Jesus is very important, and relevant to every one of us here. Let us reflect on today’s readings to understand better.

In the first reading, Abraham saw three men who were standing near his tent; he immediately offered to serve them and gave them a good dinner, before they continued their journey.

In the Gospel reading, when Jesus entered the village, Martha and Mary welcomed Him. Martha got busy to prepare a good dinner for Jesus. While Mary, sat down at His feet listening to Him speak.

Martha felt burdened and anxious. She needed Mary’s help to provide a sumptuous meal for her guest. Then Jesus said, “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part…”

Indeed, Mary chose something wonderful. To sit with Jesus and listen to Him talk. That is what we would love to do when we have time, right?

But what is wrong with Martha’s choice? She wanted to serve Jesus well with a good meal. Isn’t that what we all do to serve our guests? Wasn’t that what Abraham did also? Is that not good?

A wonderful Mexican mother will understand Martha very well, when you have guests, you just keep making Tortillas non-stop to feed them, right?

I love warm tortillas, so whenever I visit families, I get served a lot. The hosts just keep making tortillas, one after another, to feed me. Do you know how many Tortillas I can eat?

Between 1 to 5 pieces, depending on what the main dish is. But do you know how many tortillas the hosts usually make for me?

More than 10 pieces! Although my tummy looks big, I can’t eat that much. 

I enjoy visiting and eating with your families, but I don’t want to just eat, I want to sit with you, talk and laugh and share life stories. I love to hear about your experiences and faith life. Many times, I would tell the hosts to sit and talk, instead of being busy cooking. I want to spend time to know people, not just to eat.

Many of us are like Martha. We work hard and do our best to provide a good life for our family, loved ones and even friends. We work long hours such that we have no time and no energy to pray and listen to Jesus. We have no time and no energy to relax and listen to our spouse, our children, our parents.

Does Jesus need Martha to serve Him the most delicious meal? Does Jesus want Mary to also be away from Him to be busy with cooking? What does Jesus really want from Martha, Mary and every one of us?

What would please God most? Our hard work, our success, our achievements?

The truth is, God does not want or need anything from us. He simply wants us, our presence, our attention, our hearts. In the same way, our children and family need our love and attention more than the food and gifts we give. And we need their love and attention, more than their success and achievements.

We are the ones in need of God. We need to spend time listening to God. To know God’s will, God’s plan, God’s love so that we know how to live, how to be happy, how to be satisfied. And we will not be anxious, depressed, or lost.

So, coming to Jesus and listening to Him would please God the most.

Jesus doesn’t need us to feed Him. Instead, He wants to feed us. When we come to Mass, we listen to God’s word, we listen to Jesus’ teaching, we receive His body and blood. We will be well-fed, body and soul.

Jesus told Martha “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part”. Doing our work well is good, but listening to Jesus first, is better.

Amen. 


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Homily, Wednesday,January 5, 2022, Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

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Homilía: 3 Julio, 2022, XIV Domingo Ordinario

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Homily April 29, Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

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 “And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus”. Even after being flogged, all day long, the disciples continued teaching and preaching everywhere… Amazing, isn’t it?  These past few days, we have been reading from Acts of the Apostles. We see how the Jewish leaders and high priest tried to stop the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus. But they failed. The Pharisee Gamaliel rightly said, “if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” How true. The church is from God. The disciples did not stop teaching and proclaiming. They even rejoiced at being flogged for what they were doing. They were on fire for Jesus. They were so eager and excited to tell everyone about Jesus. What about us? If there is a new restaurant serving delicious food or a store is having a great end-of-summer sale, we would hear many people talking about it. Some w...
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Christmas Homily 2021,

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