Homily: March 10, 2023, Friday of the second week in Lent

-

 “Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt.”

This incident in today’s first reading struck me. 

I don’t sing well but there is one old African-American hymn which I like very much and enjoy singing whenever I think of it. This is how it begins:

There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.

The words and melody of this song are beautiful and moving, it is often sung in funeral masses.

The balm in Gilead refers to a spiritual medicine to heal the Israelites from their sins, pointing to the Messiah. So how does God save and heal the Israelites?

In this first reading, we see how the brothers of Joseph, planning to kill him, decided to sell him to the Ishmaelites when they saw them coming. Who are the Ishmaelites?

They are the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, born from Hagar the servant girl. Sarah chased Hagar and her son out with nothing, they almost starved to death but God protected them and they became a great nation, through Ishmael.

Now after three generations, the Ishmaelites unknowingly rescued Abraham’s great grandson, Joseph. And it is through Joseph’s line that Jesus came to be born.

God saved Ishmael, and his descendants saved the descendants of Jacob. In this sense, the Ishmaelites saved the Israelites.

From this incident, we learn two things: first, God’s healing and protection is always available for us. Secondly, very often His saving grace may be very different from what we had expected.

Brother killing brother. We see that in humanity from the beginning of time when Cain killed Abel. The people thereafter continued to repeat the same sins, as we now see the murder plot of Joseph’s brothers.

Yet, God can turn the wrong doings of man into fulfilment of His plan, He can send graces through the wounds of souls, to heal and make whole again.

God heals and protects, God saves, in His way, in His time. Our wickedness can never destroy God’s plan. Our sinfulness can never dry up God’s mercy.

May we continue to have faith in his love and compassion, and may we always trust in his wonderful plan for our lives.

May God bless us and keep us always in his care. Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

-
Did you listen attentively to the Gospel reading? Yes? Let me test you… What did Jesus say? Did He say, “Whoever eats my bread and drinks my wine?”  No! He said, “Whoever eats my FLESH and drinks my BLOOD remains in me and I in him.” Yes, when you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving the real flesh and blood of Jesus. I am sure Fr. Roy, your catechists, parents and the whole parish community have prepared you well for this day, so you know what you are receiving today. But what I want to focus on now is the last part where Jesus says, ‘remains in me and I in him’. 29 years ago in 1996, I received my First Holy Communion. I was eight years old, but I still remember that day vividly. I remember the preparations, my First Reconciliation, and the excitement I felt when I lined up to receive Jesus for the very first time. I remember seeing the priest dipping the Precious Body into the Precious Blood, and then that precious moment – Jesus’ body and blood rested on my tongue. So swee...
Read more

Homily: June 14, 2025, Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time (Love Impels)

-
 “The love of Christ impels us.” Have you ever observed someone who was madly in love? I know of a young man whose mother always complained that he was sloppy and unkempt, looked like a mess and smelled like a dead rat! He was not interested in anything but was always slouched over his computer games when he was off work. He wore the same dirty shirts and just could not be bothered by the world. Then one day, she noticed he took a bath, shaved clean, brushed his hair neat, wore a crisp ironed shirt, sprayed perfume and asked her excitedly where the best place for pasta was. He was a changed man! And what had that power to move him from the valley to the mountain top? Yes, love! Love is powerful. When we love someone, we are willing to go beyond our limits, step out of our comfort zone, fly to the moon and back, just to please, just to satisfy, just to enrich the relationship. We go more than the extra mile. We might even be willing to die, be it a painful death, to go to hell and c...
Read more

Homily: March 20, 2024 Fifth Monday in Lent (Abraham's work)

-
 Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham.” Traditionally, children often follow the trades of their parents, learning the craft and skills and attitude. Apprenticeship was the prevalent education system. So, what were the works of Abraham? What did he do? Searching scripture for the answer, James 2:23 says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.” All of Abraham’s works were works of faith; it was not ‘what’ he did, but ‘how’ he lived. He lived in faithfulness to God, he lived in close relationship with God. His faithfulness made him the father of all the faithful for generations and generations. His faithfulness caused him to believe in God and in the impossible. When God called him out of his homeland, his birthplace and to move to an unknown distant land, promising him a child in his very old age, and having descendants like the stars of heaven. These were v...
Read more

Homilía: Julio 17, 2022, XVI Domingo Ordinario

-
 "Marta, Marta, muchas cosas te preocupan y te inquietan, siendo así que una sola es necesaria. María escogió la mejor parte". ¿Qué es esa única cosa que se necesita? Este consejo de Jesús es muy importante para cada uno de nosotros. Reflexionemos sobre las lecturas de hoy para entenderlo mejor. En la primera lectura, Abraham vio a tres hombres que estaban cerca de su tienda; inmediatamente se ofreció a servirles y les dio una buena cena, antes de que siguieran su camino. En la lectura del Evangelio, cuando Jesús entró en el pueblo, Marta y María lo recibieron. Marta se ocupó de preparar una buena cena para Jesús. Mientras que María, se sentó a sus pies a escucharle hablar. Marta se sentía agobiada y ansiosa. Necesitaba la ayuda de María para dar una buena comida a su invitado. Entonces Jesús dijo: "una sola es necesaria. María escogió la mejor parte...". Efectivamente, María eligió algo maravilloso. Sentarse con Jesús y escucharle hablar. Eso es lo que nos gustaría...
Read more

Homily: October 30, 2023, Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time (Crippled).

-
 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, Father!"  In today’s gospel event, when Jesus saw the woman ‘crippled by a spirit’, he immediately healed her, telling her she is set free. He saw her physical state, but He also saw the spiritual bondage which shows up in her physical infirmity. Her physical impairment is a result of sin. But when we look at Jesus on the cross, physically crippled by human cruelty and evil, it shows up our spiritual infirmity. Jesus’ physical deformity is a result of our sin. When we see Jesus on the cross, we see God, fully human and we also see man, fully divine. Physically He is nailed to the cross, but spiritually, he is free. Jesus shows us how we too can live free and live fully.  St. Paul said it plainly in the first reading, by calling God, “Abba, Father!” To imitate Jesus in the way he lives, as sons and daughters of the Father, exercising the ...
Read more

Homily: September 18, 2023, Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Men should pray)

-
 "It is my desire, then, that in every place, men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument." What a beautiful vision St. Paul had! Imagine if all people are prayerful and peaceful, no anger, no argument. The world would really be perfect. It is through prayerfulness that we learn to be deeply peaceful people, and I too desire to attain this. My papa and grandma were two great examples of prayerfulness for me.  Grandma was completely blind before I was born and she was living in my home. In my memory, she prayed the rosary all the time and she would spend hours reciting all the other prayers daily which she had memorized by heart. I have never seen her forgetting her prayers or skipping her rosary for even one day. My papa, too, had always kept a regular and consistent prayer routine. He read the Bible and devoted a good amount of time for prayer on a daily basis. I also do not recall seeing him miss a single day of his beautiful habit. I do regret though ...
Read more

Homily: June 15, 2025 Soemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

-
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...
Read more

Homily: Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist, Monday, December 27, 2021

-
  “ 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...
Read more

Homily: Tuesday of the Tenth week in Oridnary Time (Salt lose taste)

-
 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Would salt ever lose its taste? From what I understand, the answer is no, not in its pure form. Salt in its pure form, is sodium chloride, and it is very stable, it cannot lose its taste, not even for over a hundred years, it will still maintain its saltiness. So why did Jesus use this salt analogy? What did Jesus mean by “salt losing its taste”? I have come across many interpretations. Some say that salt in this example by Jesus, is referring to our faith, others say it is our love, or our zeal. They are all good perspectives to help us understand what Jesus meant. A Christian without faith, without love, without passion for God, is in a grave spiritual danger of losing his real essence, the purpose of his being and existence. Jesus was warning His disciples: if they lose the mission of their faith, they will lo...
Read more

Homily: January 6, 2022, Thursday after Epiphany.

-
For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010622.cfm “Beloved, we love God because he first loved us.” St. John’s epistle of love is so wonderful to help us begin the new year. Throughout this week, we have heard more than 50 times the word ‘Love’. In today’s first reading alone, we hear the word ‘Love’ 13 times. St. John was the only apostle who probably did not die a martyr’s death. Tradition says he lived almost 100 years. And at the end of his life, his repeated preaching during breaking of the bread with the early Christian community was simply, “Dear children, let us love one another.” His focus was clearly this: God is love, He loves us, we love others. What is real love? Psychologists have identified various types of love between humans, and the greatest of these is agape love – selfless, self-sacrificing, unconditional love. Who can love like that? God can. Jesus did. And so did His disciples. Parents do so very often. So can everyone of us. Traditionally, India...
Read more