Homily: February 16, 2023, Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

-

 “Get behind me satan.”

Jesus’ words to St. Peter, the first pope, are so powerful.

Last week, a man came for reconciliation, and he gave me this beautiful chain with a cross which has the Holy face of Jesus on one side. The other side of the cross has these words: ‘Vade Retro Satana’ in Latin, which means ‘Get behind me, satan’. These are powerful words used in exorcism.

Satan is evil and cunning, he tempted Adam and Eve by cleverly rationalising for them how it seemed logical to disobey God. In the same way, Peter was suggesting to Jesus to avoid the way of suffering and death, which seemed logical but was ultimately against God’s plan.

If we look around us, we see the same thing happening in our world. Satan continues to tempt us with the good life, using technology to increase pleasure, enhance comfort and convenience, to make life easy and avoid anything that could involve hardship, even for the good and betterment of the world. He tempts women to destroy life of the unborn with lies of independence and freedom. All these lead to disobedience to God, turning against God’s plan. His lies lead many of God’s children to slavery.

Like Jesus, we have to repeat these words quite often, ‘get behind me, satan’, back off, step aside, go away, do not tempt me!

In today’s first reading, we see God establishing a new covenant with Noah who represents the whole of humanity. God did not make a new creation but He gave a new beginning to the same creation. A covenant is a solemn vow, that will never be broken. Even if one party fails his part, the other party remains faithful. 

As we come to the end of the daily readings from Genesis, we see clearly the covenantal relationship of God with His people. Man breached, and continues to fail, but God has been faithful and remains so.

Satan may seem to have destroyed the beautiful plan God had for His creation by tempting the first woman and first man. The ripple effect of that sin continues to our generation until the end of time. But God’s plan is a plan of love, which can never be destroyed. This selfless, self-emptying love has triumphed over sin through Jesus’ suffering and death, and will continue to triumph and rule forever.

So whenever we face the temptation to turn against God’s plan, to go the easy way, be firm and say, “get behind me, satan.”

Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: September 27, 2026, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary time (The Fair way)

-
 “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...
Read more

Homily: September 21, 2026, Mass of Healing and Remembrance for those who died by Suicide

-
 “I desire mercy.” As I was going through the readings for today, on this Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, these words of Jesus stood out to me: “I desire mercy.” Those words seem especially appropriate as we gather today to remember and pray for those who have died by suicide, and to pray for their families and friends who continue to carry their absence. Two years ago, on a cold January day, I received a call telling me that a young woman I knew had taken her own life. She was only 21 years old, a young mother with a seven-month-old baby, and she had been struggling with postpartum depression. Her death shocked everyone, her family, her friends, and our community. I still remember the funeral. It was a bitterly cold day, and I remember seeing her little baby wrapped warmly and held in the grandmother’s arms. Looking at that child and realizing that the mother was gone was heartbreaking. After the funeral, the family did not want to keep all the plants that had been s...
Read more

Homily: July 28, 2023, Friday of the sixteenth week in Ordinary time (First commandment).

-
In those days: God delivered all these commandments: “I, the LORD, am your God…” In today's first reading, Moses passed on the Ten Commandments to the Israelites as he had received from God. Most emphasis is given to the first commandment because God wants His chosen people to focus on it seriously. It is the foundation on which all the other commandments rest. Whenever Israel failed in the first commandment, they would get into serious consequences. I am not an exorcist, but I have assisted exorcists as a translator on numerous occasions. Demonic possessions take place when people allow it through intentional offences against God. The exorcists would often ask questions to identify which commandment was violated, and commonly, it is the first commandment that was broken, such as playing Ouija board, practicing black magic or white magic, engaging in witchcraft, and so on. Violating the first commandment is denying God as our Lord, and that is the easiest way for Satan to possess a...
Read more

Homily: September 25, 2026, Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (A time for everything)

-
 “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens.” Yesterday I watched the movie The Lovely Bones. The movie has many flashback scenes—moments from the past suddenly coming back to life. Later in the day, when I read today’s first reading, I found myself doing the same thing: going back through different moments and seasons of my own life. Whenever I hear this passage from Ecclesiastes, especially at a funeral Mass, memories come to mind—good times and difficult times, moments of joy and moments of sadness. Growing up, some of these images were very real to me: the season for planting and the season for harvesting. There really is a time for everything. And it is not only the different seasons of our whole life. Even a single day can contain so many different emotions. Those who regularly make an examination of conscience know this very well. At the end of the day, we look back: there was a moment when I was happy; a moment when I was frustra...
Read more

Homily: September 21, 2026, Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist (Follow me)

-
 “Follow me.” On this feast of St. Matthew, we hear Matthew’s own account of his calling. Jesus saw him sitting at the customs post and said just two words: “Follow me.” And Matthew gets up and follows him. No second thought. No long discernment. No plan for the future. Maybe Matthew had been waiting for a moment like this—a chance to begin again. Matthew was a tax collector, considered a sinner and hated by his own people because he worked for the occupying power. Yet Jesus looked at this man whom others rejected and saw an apostle. That should give every one of us hope. God can change people. God does not wait until we are perfect before he calls us. Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” We are all sinners. We all have weaknesses, habits, failures, and things in our lives that need to change. And there may be people around us struggling with addictions or trapped in sinful situations. Sometimes we may even wonder whether a person can ev...
Read more

Homily: September 19, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Generous God)

-
 “They are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.” We hear this parable during the harvest season, so the image of seed and harvest is very familiar to us. Once, a farmer friend gave me a ride in his combine during harvest. He showed me the GPS system they use for both planting and harvesting. It was fascinating. The system could tell him what kind of seed had been planted in a particular area and how many bushels of corn were harvested from each acre. All that information would help him decide what seed to plant and where to plant it the following year in order to get a better yield. Seed is expensive. So naturally, farmers want to make sure that good seed is planted in good soil where it can produce a good harvest. But the farmer in today’s Gospel seems almost wasteful! He throws the seed everywhere—on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and finally on good soil. He knows that some of the s...
Read more

Homily: August 15, 2026, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sin-death)

-
 “For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man.” Sin and death are connected, but Christ has come to break that connection and give us life. In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul says, “The wages of sin is death.” Sin separates us from God, and God is the source of life.  God created Adam and Eve for life and friendship with him. But through their disobedience, sin entered the world, and with sin came death.  But when God prepared the world for the coming of his Son, he gave Mary a unique grace. From the first moment of her conception, she was preserved from original sin.  We can see Mary as the new Eve. Eve was created without sin, but she disobeyed God. Mary, by God's grace, responded differently. When the angel came to her, she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Eve's disobedience was connected with humanity's fall. Mary's obedience opened the door for Christ, the Savi...
Read more

Homily: September 20, 2026, Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Come to my Vineyard)

-
 “Why do you stand here idle all day?” They answered him, “Because no one has hired us.” There is something very sad in those words: “No one has hired us.” These men were not necessarily lazy. They had been standing there waiting. Perhaps they were not as young or as strong as the others. Perhaps when employers came looking for workers, they looked at them and chose somebody else. And perhaps some of us know something about that feeling. Someone tells you, “We don’t need you anymore.” You lose a job. A relationship ends. Someone you loved decides that they no longer want to walk with you. You are overlooked while somebody else is chosen. There is a particular pain in feeling that nobody wants you. And in the time of Jesus, these workers were not simply looking for something to occupy their day. A day’s wage could mean food on the table for their families. If nobody hired them, they might return home that evening with nothing. But then comes this landowner. He goes out early in the ...
Read more

Homily: April 2, 2024, Tuesday in the Octave of Easter (Mary at the Tomb).

-
 Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb, weeping. Today’s gospel begins by describing the emotional state of Mary. We can all visualize and identify with this scene. Mary Magdalene is very sad, to the point of experiencing deep emotional pain which triggers tears. This is love.  I recall when my papa died within a week of discovering his illness. It was unexpected, we were all unprepared. All my sisters wept on the day he died, and into the days after his burial. They cried again, very emotionally, when we visited his tomb thereafter and I recited the Office for the Dead. I, too, cried a lot at papa’s death. Love is a powerful emotion. It stirs our heart to feel the pain of loss, which works up our brain to trigger the release of tears, to help reduce the emotional pain. God gave us tears to help us manage our pain.  Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus, and before He entered Jerusalem, and at the garden of Gethsemane. His love for humanity stirred up deep emotional pain, s...
Read more

Homily: February 22-2026, First Sunday of Lent (Angles)

-
 As I was preparing this homily, I first thought of preaching about the three temptations of Jesus. Then I changed my mind and thought of focusing on the first reading, and then perhaps the second reading. I couldn’t get the right inspiration, so I went through the readings several times over the past days. Finally, I noticed one phrase which stayed with me quietly but firmly: “The devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him.” It was a reassuring resolution to an intense build-up of temptations. Jesus had fasted forty days. He endured hunger, thirst, solitary living and silence. At the end of it when he was at his weakest, tempting offers to satisfy His possible needs and wants were presented to Him. He was at His weakest, physically, but he was also at His strongest, spiritually. As He overcame the temptations and defeated the devil, heaven responded - not with applause, but with accompaniment. Angels came to minister to Him. We see the same later in the Gospel of Luke. ...
Read more