Homily: May 10, 2023, Wednesday of the Fifth week of Easter (Holy family School Mass)

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We heard in the Gospel today, Jesus is telling His disciples, "Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine."

How many of you enjoy gardening?

Have you ever noticed what happens when you cut off a branch from a plant? What will happen to that branch? It will dry up, wither and die after a short time, right?

Some of you don’t do gardening so you may not be familiar and may not understand. What about this - how many of you use a mobile phone or tablet?

What happens when the battery is used up and you don't charge it? Yes, it shuts down and stops working. You can’t play on it, can’t send messages, can’t make calls, you can’t even switch it on. The mobile phone or tablet is dead!

So what should you do to revive it? Yes, you connect it to the power source to charge it, either plug in to the electrical outlet or to a power bank to power up the battery. Only then does the phone become useful again, right?

Our spiritual lives are the same. Our power source is Jesus. We need to stay connected to Jesus, to keep receiving the power of spiritual gifts so that we can do what we have been created to do, that is to bring about wonderful fruits like love, compassion, kindness, joy, peace, generosity, and so on. Fruits that will give life to others and make the world a beautiful place to live in.

So, remember to stay connected with Jesus as often as possible. Power up when you feel low and weak, sad and sick, by receiving the sacraments, with prayer and Bible reading.

Talk to Jesus always and let Him charge you and power you up full. Never be disconnected, and you will be ok. God bless you always.

Amen.


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Homily: July 19, 2026 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Holy Spirit -Praying for us.)

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 “So from that day on they planned to kill him.” These are very strong and shocking words from today’s Gospel. During this season of Lent, we have been praying often in the responsorial psalm: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Every morning, priests and religious pray this line in the Divine Office. It is like a daily reminder, a warning—to keep our hearts open to God. But in today’s Gospel, we see the opposite. The Pharisees and the chief priests witnessed so many miracles of Jesus. And the final one—the raising of Lazarus after four days in the tomb—is something truly extraordinary. That one miracle alone should have led anyone to faith. But instead of believing, they decide to kill Him. Why? Because their hearts had become hard. They chose not to see. They chose not to listen. They chose not to believe. They closed their eyes to the truth and shut their ears to God’s voice. And this is where today’s Gospel speaks to us. Hardness of heart does not happen in o...
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 “Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time.” Yesterday we heard the disturbing story of Naboth and the terrible injustice committed against him by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Their actions were cruel, wrong and sinful. They deserved judgement and punishment, especially Jezebel, who orchestrated the whole scheme. Yet today we see something remarkable. When Ahab humbled himself, fasted, and repented, God relented. He delayed the punishment that had been announced. What does this show us about God? It shows us that God’s mercy is greater than our sins. For thirteen years, Pope Francis reminded the Church of this beautiful truth: God's very name is mercy. God is just, but He is also infinitely merciful. He never ceases to seek out the sinner and offer the way back to Him. We see this throughout the events in Sacred Scripture. When Adam and Eve sinned, God pronounced the consequences of their sin. Yet immediately afterward, we read that “the LORD Go...
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