Homily: November 16, 2022, Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time.

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The first line from today’s first reading struck me: “I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven…”

Can you imagine that? ‘An open door to heaven’.

Isn’t that wonderful?

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the first readings of these two weeks will be taken from the book of Revelations, which is the last book of the Bible. 

The visions and revelations in this book help us contemplate on the promises of God and prepare for the glorious second coming of Christ. And to be told that at the end of time, heaven’s door will be open for us, is the best news for you and me. But is it so for everybody else?

In 2020, when covid-19 hit the world, the doors to all the churches were closed. Catholics all over the world had no access to Church or the Holy Eucharist. 

When the pandemic got very bad, many faithful died without a funeral in church, without the last rites, without final reconciliation nor holy communion. Many wondered if the church doors will ever be opened again. We waited, hoped and prayed.

It is painful to be separated from God. Like Adam and Eve when they had to leave the garden of Eden. Physical access to God was restricted. Life became suffering and it felt like forever. The Israelites waited, hoped and prayed.

Thankfully, after a few months, the doors to church opened again. But how many of us have come back? There are still many who have gotten used to being away, life without church seems fine to them, life without God’s presence seems normal to them.

Will that be the same situation when the door to heaven is open on the last day?

God has opened the door of heaven to us who accept Jesus as our Lord. God has reached out to reconcile with us through his Son, our Saviour. But how many will accept? How many will enter?

Jesus foretold, “small is the gate and narrow the door that leads to life, and those who find it are few in number.”

When Christ returns in glory, as King of the Universe, will we be ready to pray tribute to Him, by multiplying the gold coins He has given us before He left?

Will we ride with Him into eternal glory through the open door of heaven?

Or will He find us wasting our gifts away, living as if He will never return?

Christ will come. The door is open. Eternity is waiting for us. 

Amen


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Homily: June 29, 2025, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

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 At Cenchreae, he had shaved his head because he had taken a vow. At the end of the first reading, we heard that Paul shaved his head because of a vow he took. Scholars have suggested that very likely Paul had taken a Nazarite vow, and at the completion of the term and requirements, he would shave his head. Such a custom is common in Asia, especially in India. Catholic devotees would make vows to Mother Mary or some saints. Hindus also practice the same, taking vows to their deities, and they would shave their heads in response to the fulfilment of their petitions or requests. My mother was such a devotee, she took many vows. When my parents were childless for 7 years, my mother took many vows in return for the blessing of a child. One of which she promised to shave the head of her first child at the Velankanni Shrine. It is a major Marian shrine located in another state next to where my family lived. Finally, my mother gave birth to 7 children over 13 years, she could not travel t...
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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: January 10, 2023, Tuesday of the first week in Ordinary Time.

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In today’s first reading, St. Paul is writing to the Hebrews to tell them about the dignity with which God created the first man, “You crowned him with glory and honour, subjecting all things under his feet.” This was our original state. We were subject to God only, and all else, the whole of creation, were subject to us. But with one fall, a single sin, we lost our glorious state, and became subject to many other things, even to nature and its forces.  In today’s world, we are still enslaved. The greatest slave master is the social media. Many children are addicted to it and can’t live without their gadgets. Through easy access to social media and its influences, these children are also exposed to drugs, alcohol, pornography, promiscuity and other illegal and immoral activities easily. Many adults too are vulnerable to these. Who introduced gadgets and social media to the children? Their parents, the adults. Slavery is passed down from one generation to another. It all began with ...
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“Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here.’ So they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on.” In this scene, we can identify three parties: the loud voice from heaven, which we know is God; the two prophets who died, but later received the breath of life from God and went up to heaven in a cloud; and finally, their enemies who could only look on as the two were taken up to heaven. Are we people who reject Church teachings and persecute Jesus’ way of life? Or are we people who live by the teachings of the Church and give witness to the Gospel of Christ? We can be called Christians and be baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, but are we living the life as witnesses or anti-witnesses? This vision from the book of Revelations gives us hope and reinforces our belief in resurrection, it also is a warning to those who are believers only in name but not in practice. This vision will become a reality at the end of time. Will we be the ones taken up...
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 “No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” There is no doubt: every Christian who follows Jesus truly and live fully obedient to His commandments will face some form of persecution. The stories of the saints and martyrs throughout history confirm this reality. If we genuinely live according to the values of the Gospel, persecution is inevitable. Why? Because the world lives in opposition to the Gospel values. We all love Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She is now a canonized saint of the church but before she even died, she was already recognized as a living saint. She responded to the call of Jesus with extraordinary faith, humility and full obedience. She lived the Gospel in a powerful and real way, she showed mercy, compassion and solidarity with the poorest of the poor, living with them in the poorest of conditions, feeding them from the poverty she embraced but embracing them with the fullness of Christ’s love through the congregati...
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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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