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

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 “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.


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Homily: October 12, 2025, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Gratitude)

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 “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” This Gospel acclamation perfectly captured the heart of today’s readings – ‘give thanks’. We heard the story of the ten lepers who were healed, but only one Samaritan returned to give thanks. That small act of gratitude was the key to his salvation. As I grew older, I also became more grateful. There were many things I didn’t appreciate when I was younger. I didn’t know how to appreciate the simplicity of my family’s life, the way my parents disciplined us, the schools my parents chose for us, all the church activities they made us attend, and many more. But decades later today, I looked back and realized my parents knew what was best for us, and I am now grateful. The siblings I used to fight with often are now my greatest blessings and closest friends. I sometimes wish I had been more thankful, more kind, more obedient. Gratitude makes relationships stronger and life more joyful. But even on...
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Homily: August 21, 2023, Monday of the twentieth week in Ordinary Time.

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 “The children of Israel offended the LORD by serving the Baals.” We often say that "experience is the best teacher." However, this holds true only for those who are open to learning. It seems that humanity has never learnt from experience and so history repeats itself. If we had learned the lessons from World War 1, there would never have been World War 2, and the world thereafter would have been free from all wars as well. The Israelites were foolishly guilty of the same. While in the desert, they worshipped other gods and suffered the consequence of being bitten by snakes, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of people. That was not the only experience they had for being unfaithful to God. Did they learn their lesson? No. What are the baals? They were names given to deities, commonly referred to the Canaanite-phoenician god of fertility and rain. Rain was necessary to bring about a bountiful harvest in a fertile land, it was a symbol of fertility. Fertility was a sym...
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Homily: October 7, 2025, Tuesday of the Twenty-Seventh week in Ordinary time (Lord-Speak to me)

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 “She had a sister named Mary, who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.” What a beautiful image. Our Lord Jesus was speaking, and Mary was sitting close by at His feet, watching Him and listening with full attention. No distractions, no interruptions, she was fully present before Him, receiving, absorbing, taking in everything He was saying. Years ago, when I was in my home diocese working at the chancery office, since I was not attached to a parish, I would celebrate Sunday Mass at a convent for the nuns. After Mass, they would always invite me for breakfast. And a few of the elderly nuns would keep serving food to my table, and each one would keep asking me if I need more food, drinks or other things. They were busy serving me.  Naturally, I’m a shy person, so having many of them surrounding me and constantly checking on me made me even more nervous. I could not really enjoy the food. Deep down, I wished they would just sit around the table to eat together...
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Homily: October 5, 2025, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wait-God's Time)

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Homily: October 4, 2025 Saturday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time (devil's fear)

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“Behold, I have given you the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy, and nothing will harm you.” Last week, during one of my classes at Holy Family, I asked the 4th graders, “How many of you are afraid of the devil?” Every single one of them raised their hands. And so, I ask you too, how many of you are afraid of the devil? I suppose it is normal to fear the devil, thinking he has powers which we do not have. But do you know what the devil is afraid of? The next slide I showed the class was a quote from St. John Bosco: “There are two things that the devil is deadly afraid of: fervent Communion and frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament.” Isn’t that good news for all of us here? If we do these two things, the devil will be more afraid of us than we are of him. But note the emphasis St. John Bosco made, it is ‘fervent communion’ and ‘frequent visits’. The truth is, the devil is jealous of us because we are God’s beloved children. We are created...
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Homily: August 14, 2022, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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 “I have come to set the earth on fire.” “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” Jesus has told us He is meek and humble of heart, and we should learn from Him. We call Him the ‘Prince of peace’ and he prayed for us, “Father, that they may be one as we are one.” So, why would he want to set fire? Why would He cause division? First, the fire which Jesus wants to set for the earth is not a destructive fire, but that of the Holy Spirit. It is a purifying, sanctifying fire. Second, Jesus came to preach the truth, but many do not want to accept the truth. Those who reject will oppose those who accept. This is the division caused by hardness of the heart and blindness of the mind. Only when all have accepted the truth, then the world will be of one heart and mind, united and at peace. In this world we see divisions everywhere. Those of us who follow Jesus’ teachings become enemies of the world. Because the worldly ways and values ...
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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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Homily: April 9, 2024 Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter (Needy Person)

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 "There was no needy person among them." Today’s first reading described how the early Christians lived, they shared everything, no one owned anything to their own name, and the apostles distributed everything equally among the people. Can you imagine living in such a community, in such a society? Wouldn’t it be wonderful? Because truly, there would not be any needy person, everyone’s basic needs would be provided for. In the first few decades after the resurrection of Jesus, there was a common belief that the second coming of Jesus would happen very soon. It is reflected in an old Aramaic prayer the people chanted regularly, “Maranatha” which means "Our Lord is coming". Because of that belief, the people did not cling on to their property or wealth.  However, as the number of Christians increased, it must have become a herculean task for the apostles to ensure equal and fair distribution. And when they came to understand later that the second coming of the Lord was...
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Reflection: April 18, 2025 Bridge Churches stations of the cross on good Friday.

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"Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' He replied to him, 'Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'"  The good thief asked only to be remembered, but Jesus, always faithful to His promises, responded with the gift of eternal life. Jesus was nailed to a cross, like a criminal, with two real criminals by His side. He had once been surrounded by thousands who needed His healing, followed by many who wanted to hear Him, and accompanied by friends who loved Him. But now at the final hour of His suffering and dying, they had all left Him. This is what many of us fear, to be forgotten and left alone at our dying moment. Let us look at the situation of the two thieves crucified beside Jesus. As thieves, they probably lived in poverty, anxiety and constantly hiding. They might not have family or friends since they work in darkness. Now caught and condemned, they too are in the last hour of their lives, about to die. Yet,...
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Funeral Homily: William J. Baum, June 8, 2023

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 The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. The soul of Bill is in the hand of God, no torment shall touch him. We are here to bid our final farewell to Bill, our beloved brother, grandpa, dad, husband, friend. I feel privileged to have known Bill these last two years and honored to preside over this Mass for his sending off. Many of you would have known him much longer and much better than I. I wish I had more time with him. I was awed when I read his obituary, his life story is inspirational. I know from my encounter with him that he was a dedicated husband, a loving and caring father, the greatest fan to every one of his grandchildren, and an incredible friend to countless people here and around the world. His going would surely leave a void in our lives. It is only natural that we grieve this loss. Bill was a man of remarkable character. His love for life, his sense of humor, and his thoughtfulness for others were the hallmarks of his persona...
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