Homily: June 25, 2023, Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Precious than sparrows).

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 "Even the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

As part of my studies and ministry, I have travelled and lived in different countries. Being shy and an introvert, it takes time for me to connect with people and build relationships in a new environment.

Yet, surprisingly, many times when I moved in to a new place or country, there would somehow be an old friend or acquaintance there to help me settle in and their presence provided much relief and consolation.

Like when I first joined the seminary after high school, I found a good friend who also joined the same seminary. When I went to Rome for my studies, another friend was there a year ahead of me. Four years ago, when I came to Des Moines, an older distant cousin had already been here many years.

Without all these friends, I would have taken a long time to adapt before I could start making new friendships. We all need to connect with someone.

A recent Harvard study shows that 61% of the youth in America feel lonely. This is very alarming. Don’t young people make friends easily?

Could it be because our youth are now spending most of their time in the virtual world, and are not out there making real friends and forming meaningful relationships?

Are they struggling to make real conversations, or afraid to show their real self in a real world?

Is it because they do not know how to connect with real humans?

We are definitely seeing an increasing number of people who have no religious affiliation, and thus many children are raised in a family with no knowledge of God nor the assuring experience of faith.

If they have no real friends, and do not know the God who loves them, they surely will feel lonely.

What about us?

We believe in God, who knows us and loves us, He cares for us, provide for us and assures us, "Fear not, do not be afraid, you are not alone."

Even if we can’t feel His physical presence, we know He is there with us. Even if we can’t hear His real voice, we can talk to Him in prayer. Even if we can’t have a face to face conversation with Him, His holy scriptures tell us so much about His love for us.

Deuteronomy 31:6 assures us, “for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you”.

And today’s Gospel confirms it, that we are so super precious to Him. If we truly know and believe that God loves us and are with us always, we will never feel bored or lonely. If we do, we will have to check ourselves, check our belief.

As followers of Christ, we are very privileged to have the comfort and assurance from God Himself, declaring to us His undying love and promising us His everlasting blessings. How then could we be afraid or lonely?

May we be confident and secure that our God knows us, loves us and provides for us as we also learn to know Him, love Him and serve Him. Amen.


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

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Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010522.cfm In the first reading, St. John writes, “Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God”.  Do you truly and fully believe that Jesus is God? Do you know someone who does not believe so? Many, I am sure. Similarly in St. John’s time, there were many early Christian communities who questioned the divinity of Jesus. They followed Jesus’ teachings but regarded Him as simply a human person with the special power to perform miracles. They did not believe He is God. The disbelief stemmed from the humanity of Jesus. He was born from a woman like any other human, he grew from infancy to adulthood in the same way as the rest of humanity. He experienced hunger, pain, emotions and temptations like anyone. But He did not sin. Jesus was indeed fully human, so how could He also be fully divine? Human logic cannot explain it. Science cannot prove it. Thus, many could not accept it. God came to sav...
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Homily: February 27, 2022, Eight Sunday in the Ordinary Time

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For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022722.cfm There were two brothers who lived debauched lives engaging in terrible deeds. They were notorious yet not at all ashamed. Then one brother died. The surviving brother asked the local pastor to preach at his brother’s funeral. The pastor, aware of the brothers’ background, was reluctant to do it. The brother then promised to donate a big sum of money to the church and begged the pastor to preach with a special request. “Father, in your homily, you just have to say that my brother was a saint.” The pastor thought about it and agreed. The funeral day came. The pastor began his homily, “The man laid in the casket was a rotter; he led a horrible and debauched life. He was truly rotten to the bone. But compared to his brother, he was a saint.” Saintly life or shoddy living – Would the priest at our own funeral have to be paid to tell a lie? It all depends on what kind of fruit we produce from the way we live. Usually, we can...
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Homily: November 3, 2024, Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Memento Mori)

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 In the 2,000-year history of the Church, monastic orders like the Cistercians and Trappists have existed, and the monks dedicate themselves to a life of deep contemplation and penance. Some of these monks take a vow of perpetual silence, speaking only in an emergency. When they pass each other in the monastery, their silent greeting is "memento mori" - "remember death." They remind each other daily to consider the reality of death and to always be prepared for it. Today, November 2, we commemorate All Souls' Day, remembering all the departed souls in purgatory who long to see God face-to-face. Like the consecrated monks, this commemoration invites us to pause and reflect on our own mortality. Memento mori. Remember death. We probably have said goodbye to many people in our lives: family, friends, relatives, famous people and people who have done great deeds that impacted society. Some of their names may have already faded from our memories. Perhaps we’ve even s...
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Homily:August 18, 2024, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wisdom)

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 “Let whoever is simple turn in here; To the one who lacks understanding, she says, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!” This generous invitation in today’s first reading is from Lady Wisdom. This reading is taken from Chapter 9 of the Book of Proverbs which portrays two women: Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly. Our first reading presents only the invitation of Lady Wisdom. She invites us, ‘whoever is simple’, to her home to enjoy the real good life, one of understanding and food good for our body and soul, while Dame Folly attracts people to destruction. Many people seek wisdom, sometimes for unwise reasons, often in the wrong places, and in the wrong ways. Wisdom is unlike knowledge and intellect, it is not something we can gain through studying or hard work, it does not come automatically with age or experience; it is ultimately a gift from the Holy Spirit. In Proverbs 2:6, it says ‘For the Lord gives wisdom…” I am very blessed to have met many wise people who in ...
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Homilía: 3 Julio, 2022, XIV Domingo Ordinario

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 “Pónganse en camino; yo los envío como corderos en medio de lobos. No lleven ni dinero, ni morral, ni sandalias”. Jesús está enviando a sus discípulos a proclamar la buena nueva de la salvación a todos. Sin embargo, su instrucción suena como si los estuviera enviando a morir, a una misión peligrosa. En lugar de avisarles que traigan todas las necesidades y recursos para ser autosuficientes e independientes, les está diciendo que sean indefensos y vulnerables. ¿Pueden manejar? Jesús es el cordero de Dios. Su misión es dar Su vida por Sus ovejas. Él es totalmente dependiente sólo de Dios. Él no necesita nada más de este mundo para cumplir Su misión. Y ahora Él está enseñando a Sus discípulos a hacer lo mismo. Él nos está diciendo que hagamos lo mismo. ¿Podemos manejarlo? Parece difícil, ¿no? Tengo un muy buen amigo, Doctor Samuel Thomas. El es un ministro pentecostal también presidente de una organización internacional llamada Hope Givers que da esperanza de un futuro mejor a los ni...
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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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Homily: August 20, 2022, Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

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“The angel led me to the gate which faces the east, and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east”.  These words in the first reading remind of the Orthodox and Oriental Churches. When they construct their churches, they would set their church altars to face the east, so that, when the priests celebrate Mass, they will be looking towards that direction. In India, especially in Kerala where I came from, all our church altars face the east. The concept is based on the expectation that Christ would come again, arriving from the east, and the priest is leading the community to the heavenly Jerusalem.  Interestingly, the Hindu temples also face eastwards.  And do you know, the houses in my village are built with the kitchens facing the east also. Why? It has nothing related to the coming of Christ. It has to do with the sunrise. The mothers of the households start cooking when they wake up, and the kitchens are open concept, so the rising sun will provide...
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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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Homily: December 10, 2024, Tuesday of the second week In Advent (Word of God)

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 "Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever." On Sunday, I taught the confirmation class about the Bible and shared how it was written and compiled. The word ‘Bible’ in Ancient Greek means ‘book’. It contains 73 books, and thus is often referred to as ‘The Book of books’.  These sacred scriptures were penned by 40 different authors over a span of 1,500 years. Every single word in the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, because every author wrote, not for any other reason but what they believed was what God wanted them to write. You may have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls or Qumran Scrolls. In 1947, near the north-eastern part of the Dead Sea, a teenage shepherd lost his sheep and went searching for it in a cave. Incidentally, he found ancient jars stuffed with scrolls in the cave.  At first, he tried to sell them at the market, and those who bought them eventually re-sold them to scholars. That led to Archaeologists getting interes...
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Homily: November 2, 2024, The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls); Pleanary Indulgnce.

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 “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” This beautiful passage from today’s first reading is one we often hear at funeral Masses. It comforts and consoles us deeply, assuring us of God’s merciful love and protection for those who have passed from this life. Today, as we commemorate All Souls’ Day, we remember the souls of all the faithful departed, those in purgatory awaiting the fullness of union with God. Their souls are in the hands of God, and while we need not worry for them, we can still assist them with our prayers. During the first week of November, the Church offers us the special grace of a plenary indulgence for our deceased loved ones. But what exactly is a plenary indulgence? It is a special grace that removes the temporal punishments due to sin. While the Sacrament of Reconciliation forgives sins and removes the eternal punishment of hell, temporal punishments may remain. Temporal punishments are the natural consequences arisi...
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