Homily: May 7, 2023, Fifth Sunday of Easter (The word)

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 “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at the table.”

This scenario was the beginning of the life of the Church. As described in the first reading, “The word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly.” The conversions were in the thousands, new communities were forming fast. 

We can imagine the Apostles busy teaching and preaching the word of God and serving the daily needs and expectations of the new communities.

New situations appeared. Problems arose. Needs were great.

How could the Apostles keep the people satisfied without neglecting their basic mission? They cannot do everything themselves. They need to prioritize. They need to organize.

And so, the role of deacons was created. In today’s first reading we see the selection of God-fearing men to assist the Apostles in serving the daily needs of the people, so that the Apostles, the church’s first bishops, could focus on their main responsibility as emphasized in Mark 16:15, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”

This was the first and foremost mission of the disciples, and this is our mission too, the mission of the church. To preach the word of God, proclaiming the good news to all, is what we are called to do, because it is the Word that save souls, not the feeding and clothing and satisfaction of material needs.

St. Peter reminds us in the second reading, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own...”

We are a chosen race. Definitely, this vocation we have been given, this faith we have received is not a coincidence, it is not luck, but each and every one of us is chosen to be ‘a people of His own’. Our relationship with God is not by chance, but by choice, God’s choice. Do we realize how blessed and privileged we are to belong to the one true God?

We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation. There are no opposing parties in God’s kingdom, we all share one common priesthood of royalty, and we are not differentiated but are one united holy nation.

For what purpose? Why such great titles given to being the people of God?

As St. Peter explained further, "So that you may announce the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light."

When we preach the Word, we are praising God.

The Word of God is not mere words in a language to express our thoughts, but it is Jesus Himself, the Word made flesh. This Word is powerful.

Hebrews 4:11 says, “The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.”

When we preach it, we are allowing God to release life into the hearts of our listeners. As our Lord says, "The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing His works."

This Easter season, we walk in the light of the resurrected Lord. We become a beacon of light for others when Christ’s light shines through us, when we preach the Word.

Lord, may Your Word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Amen.


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Homily, Wednesday,January 5, 2022, Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

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Homily April 29, Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

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 “And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus”. Even after being flogged, all day long, the disciples continued teaching and preaching everywhere… Amazing, isn’t it?  These past few days, we have been reading from Acts of the Apostles. We see how the Jewish leaders and high priest tried to stop the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus. But they failed. The Pharisee Gamaliel rightly said, “if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” How true. The church is from God. The disciples did not stop teaching and proclaiming. They even rejoiced at being flogged for what they were doing. They were on fire for Jesus. They were so eager and excited to tell everyone about Jesus. What about us? If there is a new restaurant serving delicious food or a store is having a great end-of-summer sale, we would hear many people talking about it. Some w...
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Christmas Homily 2021,

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