Homily: July 11, 2023, Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Namesake)

-

 "You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob but as Israel." 

Jacob was well known for giving new names to places where he had a memorable experience. In yesterday's first reading, we saw how he changed the name of the place where he had his beautiful dream of angels and stairs to heaven, from Luz to Bethel. Today, he wrestled with God’s angel, and he named the wrestling place Penuel. In the chapters that follow, we will see him name another place Manahaim and so on. The names of these places carry the memory of the event that happened to Jacob.

Interestingly, in today’s reading, we see God's angel changing Jacob's name to Israel, because now, the person of Jacob was what carried the memory of the event. ‘Israel’ means ‘the one who wrestles with God’. 

What is the significance of a name?

Many roads and streets are named after people who contributed to the history of the land, this ensures that their names and the events of their time will not be forgotten. Jesus says, “The good shepherd calls his sheep by name”, they are not just ‘sheep’, each of them is different and the good shepherd knows each of them specially.

God calls each of us by our names too, because we are not nobody, we are not a thing, we are somebody. God knows each of us specially and uniquely.

God told Abraham, “I will make your name great.” And He did. Through His angel, Jacob became Israel, and the whole Jewish people became known as Israelites, bearing the identity of being Jacob’s lineage and Abraham’s descendents.

Saint Benedict, the abbot, is still remembered today, even after 1500 years. Not just his name, but also his way of life. Thousands of monks have been and still are following his footsteps. Even our popes, 16 of them, had chosen ‘Benedict’ as their papal names because Benedict was faithful to God and his earthly life was inspirational.

Let us also be faithful to God in every situation. He knows our names and calls out to us daily. Let us hear and recognize His voice and follow Him every day. Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: February 27, 2026Friday of the First Week in Lent (Salvation)

-
 “Since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” In the spiritual tradition of the Church, we often talk about the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell. Death is certain for each one of us. We will all die one day.  Judgment is also certain. It is part of our encounter with God. He is the ultimate Judge. Then the final destination. It is not heaven and hell, it is heaven or hell. Each of us will have the freedom to choose. Do you think everyone will choose heaven? Many do not want hell, but that does not mean they want heaven. Choosing heaven means choosing God, choosing His will. This is where we all failed. Everyone has sinned. But in today’s first reading, the prophet Ezekiel gives all of us a great big hope: our past does not have the final word. The hope is that if a person turns away from sin, if they repent and choose what is right, they shall live - repent and believe in the Gospel! Many people, myself ...
Read more

Homily: February 15, 2026 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Yes or No)

-
 “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” Every one of our Christian journey begins with a very simple thing: “Yes”. At baptism, the priest asks the parents or the candidates three questions: Do you renounce Satan? Do you reject sin? Do you reject all that leads you away from God? If the answer is Yes, Yes and Yes, then he asks three more questions to confirm our belief, the profession of our faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yes, Yes and Yes. And from that moment, we belong to God totally. Our new relationship with God, our new life as a Christian begins. Do we then live happily ever after? Realistically, this is where the struggle also begins. Growing up, I have said many “Yes’s” to God. Often, I have also said “No” to Him. But more often, My Yes’s were compromised, unaccomplished, unreliable. Often, they were conditional “Yes’s”. I negotiated and bargained with God, I procrastinated and made excuses. They would so...
Read more

Homily: March 29, 2025, Saturday of theThird Week in Lent (Rain)

-
 “He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.” Do you like the rain? I have always enjoyed rain, not just watching it from my window, but walking or playing in the rain. Rain is refreshing, especially on hot days. When I was little, growing up in India, we always looked forward to the summer rain. It wasn’t until I came to Iowa that I experienced spring rain, which is gentle, joyful and uplifting. During summer in India, the scorching heat would dry up everything; water in the creeks and ponds would vanish, grass and plants would wither. In those days before there was tap water, people would walk long distances in the summer heat to collect water then carry it home in huge plastic pots. The intense heat, the lack of oxygen and the loss of liveliness in the environment also dulled everybody’s mood. Then after some months, the rain would come. Sometimes suddenly, sometimes in thunderstorms, but we would always know it was coming. The hornbill birds would...
Read more

Homily: March 23,2025, Third Sunday of Lent (First Scrutiny of the elect)

-
 "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) On the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent, we celebrate the Rites of Scrutiny with our elects - those preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation, to enter the Catholic Church, as part of the period of ‘Purification and Enlightenment. The purification process is God's way of helping to remove the stain and dirt from the souls of the Elect, so to see the true good and beauty of each soul. God does not scrutinize to find the wrongs but to celebrate the real identity of each child of His, revealing the value within each of us and rejoicing in the light of Christ reflecting from us. Each of these Sundays has a powerful theme: Water, Light and Life. These themes are presented through the Gospel texts of various encounters with Jesus Christ: the wom...
Read more

Homily: February 28-2026, Saturday of the First week in Lent (Perfection)

-
 “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” At first, those words sound overwhelming. No option. No compromise. Just: Be perfect. Jesus sets the highest standard possible—not human perfection, but divine perfection. And immediately we might think: How is that possible? And how do we move toward that perfection? The Church gives us a beautiful path: the three theological virtues, faith, hope, and love. First, faith. Faith means trusting. Trusting God, Trusting in God’s promises. Jesus tells us that faith even the size of a mustard seed is enough. God does not demand enormous faith, He asks for sincere faith. Second, hope. Hope keeps us steady when life becomes difficult. When problems feel like mountains in front of us. When suffering enters our family. When prayers seem unanswered. Hope whispers to us: You have a perfect heavenly Father. He is faithful. Hold on. Christian hope does not deny pain—it carries us through it. It reminds us that God can turn everything tow...
Read more

Homily: February 22-2026, First Sunday of Lent (Angles)

-
 As I was preparing this homily, I first thought of preaching about the three temptations of Jesus. Then I changed my mind and thought of focusing on the first reading, and then perhaps the second reading. I couldn’t get the right inspiration, so I went through the readings several times over the past days. Finally, I noticed one phrase which stayed with me quietly but firmly: “The devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him.” It was a reassuring resolution to an intense build-up of temptations. Jesus had fasted forty days. He endured hunger, thirst, solitary living and silence. At the end of it when he was at his weakest, tempting offers to satisfy His possible needs and wants were presented to Him. He was at His weakest, physically, but he was also at His strongest, spiritually. As He overcame the temptations and defeated the devil, heaven responded - not with applause, but with accompaniment. Angels came to minister to Him. We see the same later in the Gospel of Luke. ...
Read more

Homily: February 21, 2026, Saturday After Ash Wednesday (Graceful Souls)

-
 “He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.” Some of us would have experienced the grace of God in a very real way at some point in our lives. Perhaps after a very sincere confession, or during a spiritual retreat, maybe during deep prayer, or some may have felt it at Mass. Different people would experience it differently. It could be a sense of lightness when the heaviness of a grave sin has been lifted, an indescribable feeling of deep peace, a sudden vision of clarity. Sometimes we would most undoubtedly know that God is close. There’s probably a certain quiet joy within. There are so many possible signs. If you have ever experienced that unusual but wonderful feeling, you would know what I mean. And if you have not, try to make a good confession, I mean seriously, do it as if today is your last day, and you desperately want to be free from all sin, what we often call ‘deathbed confession’. And you might just get ...
Read more

Homily: February 22, 2025 Feast of the chair of St. Peter.

-
 “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”  Our Lord founded the Church and handed over its growth and development into the future, to Peter. Note that the disciple is Simon, but the pope is Peter. Thus, this appointment to build the church, an appointment so solid like a rock, will be so strong and firm that not even hell could ever overcome it. Simon Peter was not perfect; he had his human weaknesses. It is written that he had cowardly denied Jesus three times, and at one point, Jesus even rebuked him, “Get behind me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23). Christian Tradition also tells that during the time of persecution in Rome, he had tried to escape and flee from Rome. The story continued that on his way along the road outside the city, he met our Lord Jesus where he asked, “Quo vadis, Domine?” - “Where are you going Lord?” To which our Lord replied, “Romam eo iterum crucifigī” – “I a...
Read more

Homily: February 3, 2026, Tuesday of the Fourth Week In Ordinary Time (Hope-Eternal life)

-
 “The king was shaken, and went up to the room over the city gate to weep.” Separation by death of a loved one is painful. But for a parent to grieve the loss of a child, it is deep anguish. The pain reaches deep into the core of the being. King David wept. The tears did not flow from his eyes, but from the depth of his very soul. No matter how strong, the king broke down and was completely helpless at the death of his own beloved son. No matter how powerful, this king could not bring back the life of his son. In the Gospel today, we meet another grieving parent. Jairus, who had just lost his beloved daughter. But there is one major difference. Jairus was not helpless, he had Jesus to turn to. And Jesus has the power to bring back life. A friend once shared her experience with her neighbor who lost a family member. Wanting to comfort the family, she visited them and enquired with the children, “Do you know what happens after death?” The children replied simply, “We become dirt.” Th...
Read more

Homily: May 28, 2024, Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

-
“Set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” St. Peter advises the people to focus on grace, to set their hopes completely on it. But what is grace, really? Surprisingly, Google provides a very appropriate and theologically accurate answer. It says grace refers to “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” So unworthy are we, yet God’s favor rests on us. We are graced. So undeserving are we, yet God is lovingly benevolent towards us. We are graced. So deep in sin are we, yet God sent His Son to die so that we are redeemed from eternal death. We are graced. In his suffering, St. Paul pleaded with the Lord to spare him the thorn, but Jesus comforted and encouraged St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Indeed, it was grace that helped St. Paul go through his pain. Similarly, for all of us, God’s grace is sufficient, with it we overcome everything, we overcome sin, we overcome death. Where can we fi...
Read more