Homily: August 22, 2023, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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 "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." 

Are we people who aim to be first in all matters?

Be forewarned, because according to Jesus, those who are powerful in the eyes of this world will be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. But those who humble themselves here on earth will be great in the kingdom of heaven. 

Gideon is a perfect example. In today’s first reading, we hear how modestly humble was Gideon’s appraisal of himself, when he was called by God for mission, he said, “My family is the lowliest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father's house.”

Yet, among all the Judges who ruled Israel for about 400 years, Gideon’s story is well-detailed and documented in sacred scripture. There were other Judges whose stories were hardly even mentioned in the scriptures like Gideon’s. I recommend all of you to read the Book of Judges, chapters 6 to 8, to learn more about Gideon.

God chose people like Gideon, who are humble, as his messengers and instruments, because pride leaves little room for God to work, prideful people are too full of themselves.

Another beautiful model of humility is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She who said to Angel Gabriel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.” Even as she was chosen to be the woman to bear the Son of God, the Messiah, she did not claim any credit nor status, but considered herself a servant of God.

And such a humble modest woman became the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven and Earth. She is the Queen of all angels and saints, and she is our Queen, our Mother.

Was it her intellect, or capabilities, or fearlessness that won her God’s favor?

Not at all. It was her humility and total obedience to God. Because she emptied herself before God, thus God’s power could work through her fully. Because she was full of grace, there was no room for pridefulness.

Let us learn from Mother Mary and Gideon, let us remove all pridefulness so as to become effective instruments of God.

Today we celebrate the Queenship of Mary, which is a celebration of God’s power working through humble souls like Mary. Let us call on Mary, our Queen, our Mother for her help and intercession, that we too may be humble and obedient.

Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us. Amen.



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Homily: May 6, 2024, Monday of the sixth week of Easter (Lydia)

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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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“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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 "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe…" If you had been praying to God all your life, but never once were your prayers answered, would you still believe? My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was still studying in Rome. I prayed hard for a miracle for my mommy to be healed and to live long enough to see me become a priest. But she died at age 62 in 2012, four years before my ordination. Then in 2018, my father was also diagnosed with cancer. He was 70 years old. Again, I prayed hard for his speedy recovery, since I was already a priest for two years, I desperately needed a miracle to believe in my priesthood. But he passed away just one week after his diagnosis. I was sad for my parents’ early death, but what I found very difficult to accept was that my prayers for miracles were rejected, or so I thought. Now fast forward to January 2024, finally I made my first trip back to India after four years in USA. One of my anxieties was my hundred-and-o
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