Homily: May 25, 2023, Thursday of the Seventh week of Easter (Holy Spirit- Unity).

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 ‘When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided.’

What do you do when you get cornered by two groups of enemies?

One good strategy is to create a strife between them, make them fight each other and forget about you.

That was what Paul did, he caused the Pharisees and Sadducees to argue about their differences although their original target was Paul, so he didn’t even need to defend himself. Jesus did teach that "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself cannot survive."

When I was still a kid, my grandpa did not approve of any fights between his grandchildren. He always made us reconcile after any disagreement and reminded us that we are siblings in the same family, we should not fight among ourselves, nor hold any grudge against another. His teaching was wise but not easy for us to keep up.

Our society is fragmented and divided because of different ideologies, values, cultures, languages, beliefs. Even the church which is of the same faith is. A friend recently told me that he decided to cut off from all social media to stay away from all kinds of hate messages and divisive arguments. He added that Jesus wants Apostles, not assassins.

If staying united among siblings is not easy, then keeping unity within a diverse society is near to impossible. Yet with God, nothing is impossible. We must continue to pray for and work towards unity.

In the Gospel, we see Jesus praying to his Father, "I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one…”

Again, let us think, who is able to unite those who have been divided?

It is the Holy Spirit. On Monday, we reflected on the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. On Tuesday, He is the Guide. Today, we call on the Holy Spirit to unite us. His very essence is love. Love unites.

Ephesians chapter 4:1-6 always inspires me: "I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Let us pray as St. Augustine prayed, "Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy." Amen.


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Homily: May 6, 2024, Monday of the sixth week of Easter (Lydia)

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 “One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.” The Easter readings are truly remarkable. We witness how the Holy Spirit did amazing works through the acts of the apostles. The apostles simply went about sharing about the life of Jesus and spreading the good news. They were unperturbed by rejections or persecutions, and their persistence and bold proclamations won more hearts than objections. And we also see how the Holy Spirit converts not always in the same way but through many ways according to the charisms of the preachers as well as the unique situations of the listeners.  On Pentecost day, we saw a massive conversion of three thousand people all in one day through one event. Today we encounter the story of a single conversion: that of Lydia, a woman from Thyatira. We are told she was a dealer in purple cloth, that meant she had dealings w
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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 personality
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Homily:" May 7, 2024. Tuesday of the Sixth week of Easter (praise and worship in Prison)

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 "About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God…” I cannot even imagine this scene. How could they still pray and sing in such a situation? Whenever I have a slight headache, ear infection, or a little upset stomach, I would already be very disturbed. I would not even want to talk to anyone during those moments. If I had something worse, I might not even be able to pray. If you look carefully at my left eyebrow, you will notice a scar. During my seminary days in Rome, there was once when I was late for class, and I ran so fast into the classroom that I crashed into the glass door without realizing it was closed. I shattered the glass and a piece of it cut deep across my eyebrow. Thankfully it missed my eye. I was so in pain, shock and bleeding that I could not talk to anyone for a while, and I definitely was not in the mood to sing or pray. But look at Paul and Silas. They had just been attacked by a crowd, were then stripped, and beaten with rods. Aft
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 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”  “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.” God made these two promises to Abram. For the people in ancient times, and for many even in modern times, having children as heir and owning land as property are two most important possessions in life. Abram had been leading a nomadic life for many years and his wife Sarai, already in her old age, was still childless at that time. So, Abram doubted and questioned, “how am I to know…?” Have you been praying for something important, bearing heavy burdens while waiting, trying to keep hopeful but still you received nothing? Would you also doubt and question God? In response to Abram’s doubt, God assured him by cutting a covenant with him, known as a covenant of the pieces. In ancient times, when people entered a treaty, a contractual agreement, they wo
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Homily: January 30, 2023, Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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Homily: March 24, 2022, Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

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 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me, scatters.” Jesus’ message is so clear. We cannot follow Jesus partially. If we are not following him whole heartedly, we are not his followers. Today is the 20th day of Lent, not counting Sundays. We are halfway through. Do you remember what you decided you will do specially for these 40 days of Lent? Are you keeping up to it? While we are trying hard to grow stronger spiritually, the devils are working harder to keep us down. I wonder who is in the lead at this halfway mark? In my childhood years, only rich children in my village could afford to own bikes. When I was in the 5th grade, my older brother and I decided to collect wild nutmeg flowers from the nearby forest to sell, so that we can afford to buy a bike.  We would wake up very early in the morning and run to the forest to search and collect as many as possible. Many children from other villages were doing the same so whoever got there first would get
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Homily: February 17, 2023, Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time.

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“Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says." If that did not happen at Babel, we would all be speaking the same language, I would not need to learn Spanish and you would understand me perfectly, right? Did you wonder, what was so wrong with building a high tower in Babel which would reach up to the sky? If we look around the cities in the world, we will see many huge and tall buildings. And many are so iconic, making the city they are located at famous and well known. Like the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, Petronas Twin Tower in Malaysia, Burg Khalifa in Dubai, Taj Mahal in India, just to name a few. Possibly, the question should be, why do people need to build such mammoth buildings? In the first reading, we are told that the people in Shinar wanted to make a name for themselves. So, it was pride. Their plan would need to use up lots of time and resources to build something which would
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Homily: October 12, 2022, Wednesday of the twenty-eighth week in the ordinary time.

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 “If you are guided by the spirit, you are not under the law”.  From my kindergarten years to grade 4, I used to walk two miles to school and the same distance back home. I would always get really hungry on the way home. My friends and I would pick and eat whatever that was edible along the road. One of our neighbours grew a special cherry plant in his garden. We used to pick the juicy cherries to eat as we walked past. One day, he put up a handwritten sign on the tree which read, “Don’t pick the cherries”. One naughty kid continued to pick the cherries and even tore up that sign. Thereafter, the owner began to guard his cherry fiercely.  If we behaved right and showed respect for his property, there would not need the sign board nor the guarding, right? Similarly, if everyone in society knew how to behave and treat one another, we would not need to have laws. Those who are guided by the spirit of right behaviour will not need laws, because they are above the law.  Is it any wonder why
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Homily: February 3, 2023, Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Amen! I remember very vividly seeing this Bible verse written across the outer wall of a Pentecostal church in the neighbouring town of my village. I was a child then and did not fully understand it. Now I am an adult. This verse is now firmly written in my heart and mind, I can’t claim to understand its full effects, but I know this is the truth about Jesus. He is the same then, now, and forever. He has not changed and never will. In contrast, we are the ones who have changed, and will continue to change, in our thoughts, views, values, beliefs and behaviour. Our emotions also change. And that affects many relationships. Think about your relationships with your parents, children, spouses, friends – have they changed in the way they treat you, love you, connect with you? Have you changed? For better or for worse? We change because we are not consistent. We change because we grow. We change because we are not yet the full version
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Homily: August 28, 2023, Monday of the twenty first week in Ordinary time (Past sins- St. Augustine

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 "And how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await His Son from heaven."  Thessalonica was a Greek city. Before the people encountered St. Paul’s preaching, they were practicing idol worshipping, they had numerous deities which they turn to for their needs and wants. They made statues to worship and accorded much superstitious powers to these statues of various deities.  They believed that many of their wishes and requests were answered through these. Such worship gave them much sensual satisfaction and immediate gratification. These heightened the worshippers’ reliance on the deities. As such, it was not easy for the people to give up idol worship. Although St. Paul’s preaching about Christ and the good news of eternal salvation were powerful in converting some of the Thessalonians, he could not remove them completely from the old habits of idol worshipping. They were living in the city which was still very much practicing the old ways. Even
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