Homily: June16, 2023, Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Jesus Yoke)

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"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Even in the days when I was still a small child, I have carried many things on my head, literally - pots of water, food, wood, and anything that can be balanced on the head. That is the way Indians carry loads, so that our hands are free, and in a way, it is easier as we also have to walk long distances without any transport.

My parents used to take my siblings and me out to gather firewood. When we had gathered enough, my parents would take the heaviest loads while they gave each of us a smaller portion according to our strength. We would balance the stack of firewood on our heads and walk home.

We carried hay for our cows and fetched pots of water from a nearby well during the hot summers. We also carried packs of rice and other groceries from the market back home. Papa always made sure to distribute the loads based on what each of us could carry. All on our heads.

Often, to show off my strength to my siblings and friends, I would try to carry more than I could handle. Finally, I ended up with severe back pain and became useless for the next few days.

In today's Gospel, Jesus’ words reminded me of my childhood. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me... For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Jesus knows what we can bear, He knows our strengths and weaknesses, He would not give us what is beyond us. But so often, we feel burdened and overwhelmed with work and responsibilities, could we be carrying the wrong load, the wrong way?

Jesus says, "Take MY yoke upon you…”

The truth is many of us very often carry unnecessary burdens for years and years. They are not the yoke from Jesus, but baggage from our past, bondage from our sins, heavy emotions from our unforgiveness, cold stone hearts from our pride, iron chains from our worldly ambitions.

I love this phrase from Ecclesiastes 7:29: "God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated."

Jesus continues to say, “…learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.”

If we learn from Jesus, to live simply and humbly, to be meek and not prideful, to love and forgive, we will be relieved, we will find rest, we will feel light.

We often think that the more we have, the happier we will be. But in truth, less is more. The less worldly things we have, the more spiritual peace we enjoy.

Do not be afraid to let go of unnecessary stuff, to declutter your life, throw away anger, hatred, fear. Carry only what is necessary: faith, hope, love. And you will see how immediately you will experience freedom and joy.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours. Amen.


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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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Homily: March 13, 2022, Sunday of the second Week of Lent

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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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“Then they began to beg him to leave their district.” Why?? Jesus just did an amazing miracle, he cast out a multitude of demons in possession of a man and sent them all into nearby pigs. Jesus released the man from his horrible bondage so that he can live a free and fulfilling life. Isn’t that a wonderful thing Jesus did? Wouldn’t they feel secure and safe with Jesus around, so no one will be afraid of demons again? Why would they want to beg Jesus to leave them? Once I was biking with a friend towards Minburn. As we got near, we can already smell a pork refinery. My friend asked me, “Father, do you know what smell is this?” I said, “Yes, it is the smell of pork.” He replied, “Yes, this is the smell of money.” If you reared pigs, you would know what that smell is like. It is a very bad smell. To people from Middle Eastern cultures, including Jews, pigs are considered contaminated and unclean.  But to the rest of the world, it is a popular meat to eat. People may not like real pigs, bu
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Homily: November 27, 2023, Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Fear of the Lord)

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 “In any question of wisdom or prudence that the king posed to them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom.” One of my favorite books in the Old Testament is the book of Daniel. The stories of Daniel and his friends inspire me a lot. I enjoy reading how God was always with them and blessed them with great wisdom and a unique gift in interpreting visions and dreams. In today’s first reading, we see how King Nebuchadnezzar tested and then invited these three young men, Daniel and his two friends, to serve him. It was an honor and seen as a great fortune to be trusted by the King, to eat and converse with him while all other Israelites were living as slaves. But Daniel and his friends did not once forget the God of their ancestors. Even though they had privileges from the King, they did not disobey God’s laws. They feared the Lord in all their days, they loved God in all their ways. And for that, they had great wisdom and understanding. And fo
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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: November 20, 2023, Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time (Hope).

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"But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean; they preferred to die rather than be defiled with unclean food or profane the holy covenant, and they did die.” At the beginning of the first reading, the situation of the Israelites was disappointing. There were many ‘breakers of the law’ who ‘seduced’ their fellow Jews to discard their covenant with God. Many chose to disobey and disown God, and accepted the gods and deities of the Gentiles, believing that would protect their lives. They were quick to give up their faith in the generous God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses because of some difficulties and discomfort in life. That led to the persecution of the Jews during the time of the Maccabees. But when we come to the end of the reading, the determination of some of the Jews ‘not to eat anything unclean’ shows that there were many who kept the covenant with God and were faithful even in the face of death. There is hope. Looking at
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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: May 11, 2024, saturday of the sixth week of Easter (In Jesus' name).

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"Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you." Whenever you pray for a specific intention, do you ask in your own name or do you ask in Jesus’ name? I pondered this as I prepared this homily. Most of my prayers are directed to Jesus, so I would end off like a normal conversation. But now Jesus is advising us in today’s Gospel, "…ask the Father in my name…” It is as if Jesus is telling us to write an appeal letter to God, the Father, and to sign off in Jesus’ name, not our own name. Wow! He is simply saying, use His name! Of course, His Father would never deny Him of anything, because He is the obedient and beloved Son. Every second Saturday during our healing services, Tim and Graeson will always conclude their prayers with “In Jesus’ name we pray.” And thus we see so many miraculous healings from the services. The Church also prays the same way. Holy Mass is the perfect sacrifice we offer to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. Listen to the prayers
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Homily: April 20, 2024 Saturday of the third week of Easter (True peace).

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 "The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit, she grew in numbers.” What peace did the early Church have? There was a period around when I was four or five years old, gangs of robbers were attacking the nearby villages. They came from a neighboring state and broke into many houses. They stole and robbed everything in these houses. The families who tried to fight back would be brutally killed. No one knew when they would suddenly attack again. My family was terrified because there was one family, whom my parents knew, was robbed and killed. We were afraid they would come to our village, to our home. We were afraid to be robbed and killed. We didn’t have any police protection, no helpline to call, no one to save us.  Some evenings when my papa was delayed in returning home from the farm, we children would be so frightened and anxious, worried that the robbe
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