Homily: February 7, 2023, Tuesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary time.

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 “God blessed them, saying: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.”

We continue our first readings from the book of Genesis. The first eleven chapters of Genesis are pre-historic, what we read are not historical facts, the events cannot be explained scientifically. But there is no doubt that every detail is divinely inspired as God wants to reveal the Truth to us.

Through these chapters, God wants us know that he is the Creator, the author and owner of everything. He has a plan and purpose. The Bible is God revealing His plans to us.

The world thinks that resources are limited and so we should not overpopulate. Many countries even have birth control laws. But God says ‘multiply, fill the earth’.

Surely, He knows what He is saying, and His instructions are not flawed. I agree with Mahatma Gandhi who once said, “The world has enough resources for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.”

Yes, it is greed which limits our resources and creates hunger, poverty and slavery. This abusive and oppressive approach reverses the fullness, abundance and freedom which God intends for the world. Every human has the right to access all the goodness of His creation.

How can we help to restore God’s creative purpose?

Most of us wake up in the morning and have our meals without much thought or worry, and we go to bed filled. But for millions of other people, they wake in hunger and go to sleep empty. You may wonder if it is possible to share our food with people far from us. The truth is they are not far.

Some families in our own parish here are struggling for food on a daily basis, are you aware?

When you lament that your fridge has no space to store more food, you may like to store them with another family. Next time, when you are looking for a new place to eat, try to find a place with children who have little to eat. If your new year resolution is to lose some weight, it might work if you help another brother or sister to put on some healthy weight with what you have in the kitchen.

Lent is coming. One good way to fast is not to avoid food, but to give food. With five loaves and two fish, Jesus can feed five thousand men. Imagine what He can do with one bag full of groceries. Are you willing to offer Him that bag? Amen.


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Homily: July 6, 2026, Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Crowd)

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Homily: May 29, 2026 Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

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 “But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.” Has this ever happened to you before? When everything went wrong. There are days when I made good plans, I did my best, but my plans were overturned, my efforts came out wrong, then problems and troubles arose one after another. Those days were really frustrating, I even question Him why He didn’t come to help me and where He was when I was suffering. In those moments, my prayers became complaints. Now looking back, those may have been the very moments when God was allowing me to unite my small suffering with Jesus on the cross. I should be rejoicing, instead of complaining, for having the privilege to share in the sufferings of Christ. But that is not easy. Naturally, no one welcomes suffering. Yet no one can avoid suffering. And as Christians, every little pain, hardship, difficulty or failure, can be the pebble forming our path to holiness ...
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Homily: July 22, 2025, Feast of Mary Magdalene (Loved Most)

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 Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’  St. Mary Magdalene is known in the Church as the “Apostle to the Apostles”, a privileged and beautiful title. Even Peter, the head of the apostles, or John, the beloved disciple, were not entrusted with the first announcement of the Resurrection. Instead, Jesus gave that mission to Mary Magdalene. She was the first to proclaim the central truth of our faith: Christ is risen! He has overcome death, and because of that, we live with hope and our faith is strengthened. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Death has no power over us too, because the One who conquered it, has the power to resurrect us as well. For over 2,000 years, since Mary Magdalene’s first announcement, Christians have continued to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’s resurrection. It is our call, our mission, to echo Mary Magdalene’s joyful ...
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 Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And without hesitation, Levi got up and followed Him. There was no second thought, no delay, no negotiation. In that moment, Levi left behind his profession, his security, and all the benefits and privileges that came with it, and he became Matthew, the apostle. Not only that, Matthew brought many of his friends to Jesus.  Where there is true conversion, others are always drawn in. This is how discipleship works. When someone genuinely encounters Christ, that encounter never remains private. Every true conversion becomes contagious. Those who grow closer to Jesus naturally begin to bring others to Him. The same is true for us. Our discipleship is not a one-person journey. We live our faith within families, communities, and parishes. If we are truly walking with Christ, our lives will influence others, whether we realize it or not. And this leads us to a serious truth. Influence works both ways. In the first reading, we hear about Saul, who was ...
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Christmas Homily 2021,

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 For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122521-night.cfm “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” A very blessed Christmas to all of you again. This is my third Christmas in USA, in Iowa. But my first with this parish. It’s a very special feeling, celebrating Christmas here and now. When Bishop Joensen first told me about my transfer to this parish as Rector, I was very hesitant to accept because I am very young as priest, very new in this land and very inexperienced in parish management. The call was too huge for me. I tried to say no, appoint someone more capable than I. But I think Bishop pretended he didn’t understand my accent. Honestly, I was really anxious and not ready for such a big change so soon. In obedience, I finally said ‘yes’, like Mary did when angel Gabriel announced to her about God’s plan. Maybe that was how Mary felt too. She was so young, inexperienced and not married. To be the mother of the Me...
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