Homily: September 27, 2022, Tuesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Memorial of of St. Vincent de Paul)

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“Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!” 

Job was so upset that he wished he was never born! I can fully understand how Job felt. He had been faithful, he had lived right but he had lost everything in his life, including his own health. He had nothing left. He had every reason to curse, to complaint.

Recently I visited a mom whose son took his own life. She was lamenting and crying her heart out to God. She cursed her life, complained to God and questioned Him why He allowed this tragedy to happen.

In my own troubled moments when nothing is going right, I too wonder, “Why did God create me?” Why send me to this world to go through hardship then bring me back again? He could have just kept me in heaven.

When everything go wrong, won’t we also think that life is meaningless?

Even though I don’t have the perfect explanation, I find my consolation in the cross of Christ, looking at the crucified Jesus, the sacrificial lamb of God. Why did God come to suffer? Why did he take the cross? Why go through torture and death? Could there be an easier way?

This much I know. I am saved through His suffering. You are saved through His death. This is the truth. This is the good news.

Jesus’ answer is clear and certain, there is victory only through the cross. It is a difficult concept to accept, but once we embrace, we will be graced.

Jesus, give me the grace to bless when I am tempted to curse. 

Jesus, give me the wisdom to follow you when I am tempted to walk my way. 

Jesus, give me the courage to carry the cross when I am tempted to avoid it.

Amen!


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Homily: June 23, 2026 Tuesday of the Twelth Week in Ordinary time (Narrow Gate)

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 “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” What Jesus says today is both challenging and true. Heaven is a popular destination, almost everyone wants to go there, but the road that leads to it, is not the most preferred, few people want to walk it. Our natural tendency is to take the most comfortable, convenient, and pleasurable route. The world constantly invites us to choose the easy path, promising happiness without sacrifice and fulfillment without commitment. Seriously, we all know those are lies. Recently I came across a striking phrase: “If your life is very comfortable, you may have wandered away from the Lord.” While comfort itself is not a bad thing, the Christian life was never meant to be centered on comfort. It is centered on Christ. We are pilgrims on a journey. A pilgrim knows where he wants to go. He does not travel merely to explore, to be entertained, or to enjoy the scenery. He keeps his eyes fixed on the de...
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 “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” I have many personal friends whom I do not contact regularly anymore, mostly because of our busy schedules, time zone difference, and simply how quickly time passes. But when I need something from there, when I need their help, I would not hesitate to call them. And they would oblige and not reject me. They too, would reach out to me only when they need my help, and I would not deny them my assistance either. I do feel guilty quite often, however. I do think I should have called them more often, to check in with them and show concern, not just when I needed help. My friends are guilty of the same. In today’s Gospel, people were looking for Jesus, and He knew their motivation, because they knew He could provide for their needs, He could feed them and satisfy their hunger for food. Sadly, they did not know He could give them much more than mere food, they simp...
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Homily: June 16, 2026, Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Mercy)

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Homily: February 4, 2026 Wednesday of the Fourth Week In Ordinary Time

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Homily: march 15, 2026, Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare Sunday)

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 “Their message goes out through all the earth.” This is what we repeated in today’s Responsorial Psalm, and it aptly describes the missionary coverage of the apostles and disciples. They truly brought the message of Jesus’ Resurrection, the Good News of God’s redemptive love everywhere, to all corners, through all the earth. All the way to India, St. Thomas brought the Gospel, that’s how many of my ancestors became Catholic, and the faith has been handed down to the generations thereafter. Peter and Paul went to Rome. Luke went to Egypt. Matthew stayed and preached in Judea. Asia, Africa, even China received the Gospel. Today we celebrate the feast of the apostles James and Philip. James, the son of Alphaeus, also known as James the Lesser, is hardly mentioned in Bible, only when the twelve chosen apostles were listed. James wrote an epistle to his name. But Philip appears more often. When some Greeks came looking for Jesus, it was Philip who informed Jesus about it. At the multip...
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Homily: April 18, 2026, Saturday of the Second Week of Easter (Be not Afraid )

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 “It is I. Do not be afraid.” One of my nephews and I used to do WhatsApp video calls. You know how those apps have masks and funny filters. One day I put on a scary mask, he threw the phone aside, and ran away. He got frightened. Later I called him and said , “It’s your uncle. Don’t worry.” After that we made an agreement—no more masks/ filters during our calls. Now he is fine! In today’s Gospel, the disciples see Jesus walking on the water, but they do not recognize Him. They think they are seeing a ghost, and they are terrified. Then Jesus speaks: “It is I. Do not be afraid.” The moment they hear His voice, fear begins to leave them. His words help them recognize Him. His voice brings peace. That is the power of the word of God. We see the opposite in Gethsemane. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, they asked, “Are you Jesus the Nazorean?” Jesus answered: “I AM.” And the Gospel says they drew back and fell to the ground. The same Lord. The same voice. The same divine power. ...
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Homily: February 20, 2026 Friday after Ash-Wednesday (Fast)

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 “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” People fast for various reasons. Many people fast for health, fitness and vanity reasons by doing intermittent fasting, detox diets, or weight loss programs. Some prominent figures use fasting as a form of silent protest. Leaders like Gandhi used hunger strikes to fight injustice. And sadly, some people are simply not eating, they are starving not by choice but because of poverty. Christian fasting is different. It is spiritual fasting and is not primarily about the body. It is about the spiritual heart. Jesus’ disciples were not fasting like the disciples of other preachers, and He told them that when the bridegroom is taken away, they will fast. Because their fasting will be an sign of longing, a spiritual desire to be re-united with their master, it expresses the deep sorrow of separation. Later, when the disciples could not cast out a demon, Jesus reminded them: “This kind can only come ...
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Homily: June 18, 2025, Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Not to be seen)

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 “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.” We live in a world of performance, we work to be seen and heard, to be recognized and applauded. With the explosive growth and popularity of social media, modesty has nearly disappeared. Many have taken to exposing every aspect of their personal lives, it is now so convenient and easy to share, like, and repost every little thing for the world to see. It is not a bad thing to share openly and freely with friends, especially the good moments, the joyful events, the memorable occasions. And within the Church, it is helpful to keep the community connected and informed, to broadcast and share all the good that is done, so that we can together praise and thank God for His blessings. Ahhh, here is the problem... Do we do good so that we can praise God, or do we do good so that others can praise us? Do we sometimes work hard to show that we are the most active, generous, or popular church in town? Are we offend...
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Homily: Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist, Monday, December 27, 2021

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  “ They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter…” Today is the 25th death anniversary of my paternal grandmother. I remember vividly that day. My papa had always been a calm and composed man, I hardly see him excited or hurried. But exactly 25 years ago this day, I saw my papa run in anxiety. Early that morning, my grandmother collapsed at home and was unconscious. We had no telephone, no car. There were only three cars in our village and only two families had telephone connection. Papa ran to one family to ask them to drive grandma to the hospital. The rest of us waited in silence at home. Later in the afternoon, our neighbour who had phone connection, ran to our house and reported, "grandma is no more". That was the first time I encountered death in the family. I was eight years old. I didn’t understand what death meant. I knew I would not see grandma at home anymore, I felt sad, because papa was sad. Grandma’s death was certain. But is death final? In the g...
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