Homily: July 20, 2023, Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

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 "If they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" God replied, "I AM who AM."

Yesterday, we asked ‘Who am I?’. Today, God is telling us who He is, but in a deep and profound way.

Do you understand God’s name?

I didn’t understand until I learned it in Scripture class at the Seminary. Still, the explanation of why God identified Himself as ‘I am who am’ is rather complex. The question is, do we really need to understand it?

Did Moses understand it? I don't think so.

At that point in time, Moses was already 80 years old, having spent 40 years shepherding sheep with his Father-in-law Jethro. At that stage of his life, he probably just needed to know what and how, not why.

In the readings, we do not see Moses questioning further, he did not need to be convinced, he just wanted to know what God wants of him and how he should do it. He took it simply but solemnly and followed God's directives with his heart.

When I first came to this country, and attended finance council meetings, I felt as if I had entered the same ‘burning bush’ zone, the meetings were smokey all around, everything discussed was a blur to me and I could catch nothing. And oh, the spreadsheets from the accountant were mind-blowing!

Finally, one day I had to ask her why she used the term ‘reconcile’ so often, isn’t reconciliation between people and with God? Now I know, the sacrament of reconciliation is important in accounting too. Without which, all will be in hell!

To this day, I still struggle to comprehend discussions about the money market and investments. As long as the finance council agrees on a decision, I will move with them, I refrain from asking questions for explanation, I just trust and follow their directives with my gut.

Some of us tend to question everything and are convinced only when the explanations made sense to us, then only with certainty will we move. But in matters of faith, can we expect to know and understand everything? Can we ever comprehend God fully?

‘I AM who AM’.

Take it with a ‘leap of faith’. God is revealed through faith, not facts. Facts tell us about this material world, faith opens our hearts to eternity.

God knows Himself and He knows us. We don’t have to question His identity. Take it squarely that He is who He is, and we are who we are. God is God. Almighty, omnipotent, omniscient, alpha and omega, creator, Father, Savior, provider, now and forever, and much much more.

Let us trust in Him and move with Him confidently. Amen.


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March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

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Did you listen attentively to the Gospel reading? Yes? Let me test you… What did Jesus say? Did He say, “Whoever eats my bread and drinks my wine?”  No! He said, “Whoever eats my FLESH and drinks my BLOOD remains in me and I in him.” Yes, when you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving the real flesh and blood of Jesus. I am sure Fr. Roy, your catechists, parents and the whole parish community have prepared you well for this day, so you know what you are receiving today. But what I want to focus on now is the last part where Jesus says, ‘remains in me and I in him’. 29 years ago in 1996, I received my First Holy Communion. I was eight years old, but I still remember that day vividly. I remember the preparations, my First Reconciliation, and the excitement I felt when I lined up to receive Jesus for the very first time. I remember seeing the priest dipping the Precious Body into the Precious Blood, and then that precious moment – Jesus’ body and blood rested on my tongue. So swee...
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Homily: June 14, 2025, Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time (Love Impels)

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Homilía: Julio 17, 2022, XVI Domingo Ordinario

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Homily: June 24, 2024, Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

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“Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God.”  Some people do go through life tougher and rougher than others. I personally know some such people who lived the whole of their lives literally toiling and working till they die. My own parents lived like that. Since young they were already laboring to help their own families. When they got married, they labored every day from morning till night to provide for us. Before they even got a chance to rest and retire, they fell ill and passed on. They did not accomplish anything spectacular and daily life was simply hardship from beginning till the end. They have never experienced a good life, but they have discharged their duties and responsibilities fully. Is such a life meaningful? Looking at Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist, they might not have lived in extreme poverty, but they toiled in other ways. For a woman to be barren ...
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Homily: September 18, 2023, Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Men should pray)

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 "It is my desire, then, that in every place, men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument." What a beautiful vision St. Paul had! Imagine if all people are prayerful and peaceful, no anger, no argument. The world would really be perfect. It is through prayerfulness that we learn to be deeply peaceful people, and I too desire to attain this. My papa and grandma were two great examples of prayerfulness for me.  Grandma was completely blind before I was born and she was living in my home. In my memory, she prayed the rosary all the time and she would spend hours reciting all the other prayers daily which she had memorized by heart. I have never seen her forgetting her prayers or skipping her rosary for even one day. My papa, too, had always kept a regular and consistent prayer routine. He read the Bible and devoted a good amount of time for prayer on a daily basis. I also do not recall seeing him miss a single day of his beautiful habit. I do regret though ...
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Homily: June 15, 2025 Soemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

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Today’s second reading ends with this powerful phrase: “Because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Today we celebrate two beautiful events: the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and Father’s Day. So, happy Father’s Day to all our fathers, grandfathers, fathers-to-be and godfathers! My siblings and I are incredibly blessed to have had a good Christian father who fulfilled his duties both as a father and as a Catholic. My papa was a very quiet, resilient, yet very gentle person. He loved and protected all his seven children, physically, emotionally, mentally and especially spiritually. He taught us the faith and was a great model of the traditions. He made sure we never missed Sunday Mass and took us regularly to Confession. I was very much a “dad’s boy”, working with him daily on the farm, taking care of the animals together with him. He didn’t worry much about school grades, but he was very firm and strict with us re...
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Homily: Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist, Monday, December 27, 2021

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  “ They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter…” Today is the 25th death anniversary of my paternal grandmother. I remember vividly that day. My papa had always been a calm and composed man, I hardly see him excited or hurried. But exactly 25 years ago this day, I saw my papa run in anxiety. Early that morning, my grandmother collapsed at home and was unconscious. We had no telephone, no car. There were only three cars in our village and only two families had telephone connection. Papa ran to one family to ask them to drive grandma to the hospital. The rest of us waited in silence at home. Later in the afternoon, our neighbour who had phone connection, ran to our house and reported, "grandma is no more". That was the first time I encountered death in the family. I was eight years old. I didn’t understand what death meant. I knew I would not see grandma at home anymore, I felt sad, because papa was sad. Grandma’s death was certain. But is death final? In the g...
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Homily: Tuesday of the Tenth week in Oridnary Time (Salt lose taste)

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 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Would salt ever lose its taste? From what I understand, the answer is no, not in its pure form. Salt in its pure form, is sodium chloride, and it is very stable, it cannot lose its taste, not even for over a hundred years, it will still maintain its saltiness. So why did Jesus use this salt analogy? What did Jesus mean by “salt losing its taste”? I have come across many interpretations. Some say that salt in this example by Jesus, is referring to our faith, others say it is our love, or our zeal. They are all good perspectives to help us understand what Jesus meant. A Christian without faith, without love, without passion for God, is in a grave spiritual danger of losing his real essence, the purpose of his being and existence. Jesus was warning His disciples: if they lose the mission of their faith, they will lo...
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Homily: January 6, 2022, Thursday after Epiphany.

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For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010622.cfm “Beloved, we love God because he first loved us.” St. John’s epistle of love is so wonderful to help us begin the new year. Throughout this week, we have heard more than 50 times the word ‘Love’. In today’s first reading alone, we hear the word ‘Love’ 13 times. St. John was the only apostle who probably did not die a martyr’s death. Tradition says he lived almost 100 years. And at the end of his life, his repeated preaching during breaking of the bread with the early Christian community was simply, “Dear children, let us love one another.” His focus was clearly this: God is love, He loves us, we love others. What is real love? Psychologists have identified various types of love between humans, and the greatest of these is agape love – selfless, self-sacrificing, unconditional love. Who can love like that? God can. Jesus did. And so did His disciples. Parents do so very often. So can everyone of us. Traditionally, India...
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