Homily: August 1, 2023, Tuesday of the seventeenth week in Ordinary time.

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 "The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another."

I am so envious of Moses! How wonderful to be able to have a conversation with God face to face!

It is hard to imagine how it would be like and how I would feel, knowing that God can see through all my thoughts, my sins and my fears.

Yet I have so often wished that God would speak to me like that, so that I would know His will and plans for me, and not have to feel stressed with many matters, especially with difficult decisions. Many times, during my holy hour before the tabernacle, I have begged God to speak to me and tell me clearly what He wants, but I have not heard so far.

Do you also wish to talk to God like Moses?

For that to happen, maybe we have to do what Moses did in preparation. Today’s first reading says, "So Moses stayed there with the LORD for forty days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water."

Can you do that? I can’t.

If you noticed, he did the same when he was at Mount Sinai before receiving the Ten Commandments.

For the glass to be filled, it needs first to be empty. For us to hear God, we first need to be purified. We need to be still and silent, to be detached from the world’s distractions and attractions. To be totally and completely available to God.

God is speaking to us all the time, in the silence of our hearts. Like Moses, through fasting and praying, we can detach from the physical world and enter the spiritual realm where God resides. Then we may be able to hear Him.

Many mystics like St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, Edith Stein, and St. Anne Catherine Emmerich, all had their profound God experiences through deep silence.

I need to be more silent, in my mind and in my heart. Then, I should be able to hear God speak. Let us pray that we will be able to discern His voice, away from the world’s noise. Amen 


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Homily: November 16, 2024 Saturday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary time (Find Faith)

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Funeral Homily: William J. Baum, June 8, 2023

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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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Homily: March 14, 2023, Tuesday of the Third week in Ordinary time.

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 In the first reading we heard “But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received”. And our Gospel text today ends with these words “unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart”. It is very clear what God wants of us in our relationship with Him and in our relationship with one another. It is all about the heart. Worship God with a contrite heart, forgiving brother from our heart. So being a disciple of Christ is an inside job. From times of old, beginning with the Israelites, the tradition of pleasing God with burnt offerings, sacrifices, incense, first fruits and so on continues to our time. Our liturgy expresses our worship in similar rituals. And in this Lenten season, we are also encouraged to make sacrifices, fast, pray and give alms. All these are good and helpful in cultivating a spiritual discipline of self-denial and putting God in the focus, but if we do it without a sincere, contrite heart, would it really please God? Our God is a God who looks i...
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