Homily: July 25, 2022, Feast of Saint James, Apostle

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 “The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.”

Wow, what a mother. Actively taking charge of and deciding her sons’ future.

I think Mrs. Zebedee was an Indian. Because typical Indian mothers tend to control their children’s life decisions, and typical Indians use social connections to get ahead.

In India, if you know someone who has power, authority or influence, you can get recommendations to jobs, schools, offices etc. If you only did well in your exams even with excellent results, you may not necessarily get admission into the college or university of your choice if you did not have someone prominent, like a politician, to recommend you. 

Similarly, if you want to start a business, you will need someone with great influence to recommend you, along with the basic official documentation and application. So, it is not what you know, but whom you know, that will help you achieve success in life.

That’s why I escaped to USA. Because one of the many things I like about the American culture is equal opportunity for everyone based on your own merit. You work hard, you are smart, you are honest, you are responsible, or you have done well in school, these personal qualities and qualifications are recognised and assessed fairly. Your own effort determines your future to a large extent.

So how does Jesus respond? In this gospel, Jesus sounds like an American. He is not pressured by the mother’s recommendation but questions the two sons’ abilities by laying down the demands of the job – “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”

Our salvation is our responsibility. God has given us gifts and talents to walk the way. Our salvation is also God’s desire so He sends personal angels to help us. And those who have gone before us, the saints, are supporting us too.

And above all these, we have our blessed Mother Mary, who will not just help us become qualified and worthy, but she will ultimately recommend us to Jesus. She will prepare us well for the chalice of life.

Mary is our perpetual help in this life and on our journey to the Kingdom of Jesus. Mary, our Mother, pray for us. Amen.


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Homily: December 28, 2025, Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Dreams)

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 “The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you.’” As a young man, Joseph must have had beautiful dreams about his future family. He could have imagined a helpful and capable wife, children playing around the house and growing up to be well respected people in the community, a vision of a stable and peaceful life. When he got engaged to Mary, it seemed like his dreams would become reality soon. Many of us, married or not, can identify with the dreams that Joseph could have had. Yet like Joseph, the realities of our lives would have unfolded quite differently from how we have dreamt it. Joseph’s family life turned out totally unlike his own dreams, yet he continued to dream, now with God’s will revealed and God’s plan unfolding in the reality of his life. The hardship he went through in Bethlehem, with the birth of Jesus, did not end there. Today’s Gospel shows another unexpected cha...
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Homily: Janaury 11, 2025 Saturday after Epiphany (Increase-Decrease)

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 "He must increase; I must decrease." From this very simple statement, we can very clearly see the attitude of John the Baptist towards his mission - humility. John was a fearless man, he was not at all afraid of the Jewish authorities and preached courageously what he believed he was sent to do, he stood resolutely for truth and justice, not at all bothered about the cost or consequence. Nothing could stop him from speaking the truth. Yet, this aggressive preacher from the wilderness was humble, modest and meek when he acknowledges the presence of the Messiah. He recognized that his work, his purpose, his existence was done and must give way to the Lord. Tradition tells us that John the Baptist lived an ascetic life before his public ministry — a life of pure simplicity and total detachment, right down to the food he ate. Such a life demands complete abandonment of self and dedication to the mission. He lived with only one purpose – to accomplish the mission he was born for ...
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Homily: December 31,2024, The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas (Truth)

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 "Because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Once recently, I was with a group of Catholic friends, having a casual conversation and one topic that came up was about modern behavioral trends and attitudes, particularly referring to LGBTQ trends and gender identity. One friend among us spoke up strongly supporting the ideology of LGBTQ and questioning the natural law of God. Since it was a group setting, I was simply listening to the exchanges, but as the conversation progressed, I finally felt the need to speak up. Firmly, I said, “If you believe this, then you are saying the Holy Bible is wrong.” My friend kept quiet after that. I believe everything in the Bible is true and inspired by the Holy Spirit. I believe in God’s law. Thus, I do not agree with anything that opposes the Bible or compromises God’s law. A true believer in Jesus Christ accepts His teachings entirely. We cannot be half-baked believers or be selective in what...
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Homily: December 28, 2024 Feast of the Holy Innocents (Suffering).

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"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you." Just three days ago, we celebrated Christmas - a joyful commemoration of the day God came to live among us in our world, it is a when divine light entered human darkness, it is a day for rejoicing. The Christmas season continues for the Church up until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. However, if we read and reflect on the details of Christ’s birth and events surrounding this season of joy, we see poverty, simplicity and suffering. Just before our Lord was born into this world, His earthly parents went through hardship just to find a place to rest, He was then welcomed into physical and material poverty, the day after His birth, we celebrated the death of the first martyr, St. Stephen, followed by the feast of St. John the Evangelist who suffered persecution and isolation till a ripe old age. And now today, we observe the feast of the Holy Innocents — a sorrowful event when hundreds of...
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Homily: January 4, 2025, Feast of Elizabeth Ann Seton (Come and See)

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 “He said to them, 'Come, and you will see.' So they went and saw where he was staying.” “Come and See” is often an invitation to take an personal exploration and not just hear about something from others.  Many religious congregations use similar programs for those who are discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, because often it is better to have an experience than simply reading or hearing about it before making a decision with regards the consecrated life. I participated in one such program before. At that time, I had absolutely no interest in joining the priesthood. I went because one of my best friends had asked me to accompany him to that three-day event. And guess what? Later that same year, I entered the seminary. The disciples in today’s Gospel wanted to know where Jesus was staying, instead of telling them, Jesus invited them to ‘Come and you will see.” Whatever it was that they saw, it was convincing enough for them to want to stay with Him, to fo...
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Homily: December 25, 2025, The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

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 “So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Infant lying in the manger.” Today we hear the beautiful story of the shepherds visiting the newborn Christ. They found not only a Child, but a family. God sent His Son into the world not as a warrior or a king, but into the care of a mother and a father. Into a home. Into love. And what kind of family did God choose? Not a wealthy family. Not a powerful family. Not a comfortable family. Mary and Joseph had no room in the inn. Mary gave birth in poverty. Joseph struggled to provide safety and shelter. Their situation was not easy there was fear, uncertainty, and hardship. Yet God entrusted His Son to them. Even if they lacked material comfort, Jesus never lacked what mattered most: a loving mother and a caring father. As God wanted His Son to have a holy family, so too God wants every child to experience a holy, loving, safe family. Today we look around and see many broken families, many homes burdened with pain, absence, d...
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Homily: The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas, Thursday, December 30, 2021

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 For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/123021.cfm “She never left the temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer”. Look at Anna, the prophetess’ life of worship and dedication, isn’t it beautiful and inspiring? Have you ever met someone who prays day and night like her? I have. On Monday I shared about my grandma who died 25 years ago. I was only eight years old then so I do not have much memory of her life, but one very vivid and lasting impression I have of her, is that she was a prayerful person. I almost always see her praying the rosary, day and night, whenever she was not doing any chores. It was a green rosary which one bishop gave her some years before. And you know what? Grandma was completely blind. She had never seen me and my younger siblings before. Yet, she taught us how to pray and would lead the family morning prayers. She helped with the household chores, with chopping vegetables. She would even make brooms for us using coconut...
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Homily: June 15, 2025 Soemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

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Today’s second reading ends with this powerful phrase: “Because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Today we celebrate two beautiful events: the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and Father’s Day. So, happy Father’s Day to all our fathers, grandfathers, fathers-to-be and godfathers! My siblings and I are incredibly blessed to have had a good Christian father who fulfilled his duties both as a father and as a Catholic. My papa was a very quiet, resilient, yet very gentle person. He loved and protected all his seven children, physically, emotionally, mentally and especially spiritually. He taught us the faith and was a great model of the traditions. He made sure we never missed Sunday Mass and took us regularly to Confession. I was very much a “dad’s boy”, working with him daily on the farm, taking care of the animals together with him. He didn’t worry much about school grades, but he was very firm and strict with us re...
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Homily: December 27, 2022, Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

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“We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.” Today’s first reading ended with these words. To St. John the Evangelist, his joy would never be complete if he didn’t write down all that he had seen, heard and learnt from Jesus. Imagine him heaving a deep sigh of relief and satisfaction when he was done writing these texts. What is the one thing that would complete our joy? What gives us joy in the first place? St. John the Evangelist is my patron saint. My baptism name is John. I have always wished I could be like St. John, the beloved Apostle of Jesus, to love the Lord and Mother Mary with the same devotion and affection.  He was the only disciple who was at the foot of the cross and stayed with Jesus in His dying. He was the one appointed with the responsibility to care for Mary. Other than Peter, John was the other disciple who ran to the empty tomb after Jesus was resurrected. He was the only apostle who lived long into old age. However, it was not a life of comfort. He...
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Homily: February 25, 2025, Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Undisappointed Hope)

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 “Study the generations long past and understand; has anyone hoped in the Lord and been disappointed?”  I have read this passage many times before, but it struck me differently this time. The message of hope resonates so deeply with me since this year is the Jubilee Year of Hope.  Romans 5:5: “Hope does not disappoint us.” We are pilgrims of hope, our pilgrimage is a journey of hope, and we are assured that when we place our hope in the Lord, we will not be disappointed. Have you ever been disappointed? Probably yes. And that could be because we were hoping the Lord will meet our expectations. We placed our desires in your own ambitions, and hoped the Lord would satisfy us and please us, He probably did or didn’t. Well, that is not the hope of faith we are talking about here. The answer becomes clear when we study the generations that came before us. If I think about my own parents and grandparents, they lived devout and pious lives. Their only hope was in the Lord and Hi...
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