Homily: October 30, 2023, Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time (Crippled).

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 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, Father!" 

In today’s gospel event, when Jesus saw the woman ‘crippled by a spirit’, he immediately healed her, telling her she is set free.

He saw her physical state, but He also saw the spiritual bondage which shows up in her physical infirmity. Her physical impairment is a result of sin.

But when we look at Jesus on the cross, physically crippled by human cruelty and evil, it shows up our spiritual infirmity. Jesus’ physical deformity is a result of our sin.

When we see Jesus on the cross, we see God, fully human and we also see man, fully divine.

Physically He is nailed to the cross, but spiritually, he is free.

Jesus shows us how we too can live free and live fully. 

St. Paul said it plainly in the first reading, by calling God, “Abba, Father!”

To imitate Jesus in the way he lives, as sons and daughters of the Father, exercising the gift of free will, by willing it to God and exercising the gift of life, by freeing it from sin.

Like Jesus, this is our identity. By accepting this fully, even if we are nailed to the cross of life physically, even if we are burdened by material poverty and challenged by worldly anxieties, our spirits will never be crippled. Let us live our lives to the fullest.

Abba Father, we surrender our life to you. Amen.


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Homily: January 11, 2026, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Beloved)

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 “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” These words were spoken by God was not meant to be a private revelation. It was heard by everyone present on that day, all who witnessed Jesus being baptized by John.  These words were blessings from God, springing forth from His heart. Before Jesus preached a single sermon, before He healed anyone, before He suffered persecution and death, His Father in heaven proclaimed the Truth over Him: This is my beloved Son. Jesus lived His entire life grounded in that truth. He never struggled with His identity. He never doubted His mission on Earth. He knows who He is and why He has come. His purpose is to do the will of the Father, to reveal to the whole world who God is, to show to all generations how God loves and thus save all of humanity. Let us look again at where Jesus was baptized, the River Jordan. Its waters flows from near Mount Hermon, in between Lebanon and Syria, runs through fertile land, carrying nourishment for t...
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Homily: November 29, 2023, Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Joy, Fun)

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Holy Family School Mass:  Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?" Signs are very helpful in our everyday life. When I first came to this church, I had a hard time finding the confessional. There were no signs. I thought it might be somewhere in the vestibule and after going down the stairs, I ended up at the restrooms. Directional signs tell us where to go, spiritual signs tell us what to do. When Jesus spoke about the destruction of the temple, He was also warning the disciples about fake news and scammers. So simply looking for signs may not help, because there are misleading and false signs that will only lead to more confusion and wrong turns. The only reliable signs in life are the Holy Word of God and the teachings and traditions of the church passed down from the Apostles. Our Christian faith guides and provides, it shows the right path to the right place. I have preached before that ...
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Homily: Janaury 10, 2026, Saturday after Epiphany

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 The one begotten by God He protects, and the Evil One cannot touch him. Through our baptism, each one of us was claimed by God. We were called by name, welcomed into the Church, and sealed with the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. From that moment on, we belong to God. Because of this, the Evil One has no power over a baptized Christian. He cannot simply take control of us. He can tempt, distract, confuse, and deceive, but he cannot touch us unless we freely give him permission. In my 9 years of priesthood, I have been asked only a few times to assist with cases related to exorcism. In each situation, careful discernment was required. Most cases involved mental health struggles or minor disturbances, not true possession. The Church is always very cautious. An exorcist asks many questions, not only to understand what is happening, but also to see how a door may have been opened. Very often, when something serious is involved, there has been a violation of the F...
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Homily: September 3, 2025, Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Healing Hands)

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Holy Family School Mass Homily.   “At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.” In today’s Gospel, we hear about Jesus healing many people with different diseases. The passage begins with the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, who was very sick in bed with a very high fever. She was not merely resting, in fact her fever was so bad that she was unable to get out of bed. I am guessing it could be 103 or 104 degrees! Normally, if we get such a high fever, it would take us days to recover with strong medication. But when Jesus visited Peter’s mother-in-law, He simply stood over her, rebuked the fever, that means He scolded the fever, and it left her!  Instantly, she was well again and was able to get up and serve Jesus and His disciples. Wow! Jesus is the King of the Universe, He has power over everything in the world, if you would only believe in Him and trust Him. Even today, Jesus continues ...
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Homilía: Julio 17, 2022, XVI Domingo Ordinario

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 "Marta, Marta, muchas cosas te preocupan y te inquietan, siendo así que una sola es necesaria. María escogió la mejor parte". ¿Qué es esa única cosa que se necesita? Este consejo de Jesús es muy importante para cada uno de nosotros. Reflexionemos sobre las lecturas de hoy para entenderlo mejor. En la primera lectura, Abraham vio a tres hombres que estaban cerca de su tienda; inmediatamente se ofreció a servirles y les dio una buena cena, antes de que siguieran su camino. En la lectura del Evangelio, cuando Jesús entró en el pueblo, Marta y María lo recibieron. Marta se ocupó de preparar una buena cena para Jesús. Mientras que María, se sentó a sus pies a escucharle hablar. Marta se sentía agobiada y ansiosa. Necesitaba la ayuda de María para dar una buena comida a su invitado. Entonces Jesús dijo: "una sola es necesaria. María escogió la mejor parte...". Efectivamente, María eligió algo maravilloso. Sentarse con Jesús y escucharle hablar. Eso es lo que nos gustaría...
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Homily: September 27, 2025, Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary time (SVDP)

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 “But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.” This is such an assuring powerful message from God, from today’s first reading. Our God is fiercely protective of us, His beloved creation. I am sure some of us may have personally experienced God’s protective love, His wall of fire encircling us, defending, guarding, sheltering us from harm and hurt that may destroy our souls. His goal is to save humanity, and in response, in line with His love for us, we are called to be His hands and feet, to extend His protective love towards others. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, a saint who made God’s love visible in concrete ways. He fed, clothed and sheltered the very deprived and forgotten people, especially the imprisoned slaves with generous charity, providing for their very basic needs of a human person. His mission continues, through Vincentian priests, sisters, brothers, and lay members who serve the in nearl...
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Homily: November 22, 2025, Saturday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time (The end).

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 “I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.” These are the final words of Antiochus Epiphanes, the successor of Alexander the Great. If you have been following our daily readings, we first heard about him on Monday described as a “sinful offshoot.” He defiled the Temple of Jerusalem, persecuted the faithful Jews, and opposed the worship of the true God. Now, at the end of his life, Antiochus realizes his mistakes. He is filled with regret, bitterness, and sorrow. It’s a tragic end a man who once had so much power, wealth, and glory, yet dies far from home, spiritually empty and tormented by guilt. We’ve seen similar examples in the Bible and history people who made poor choices, turned away from God, and spent their last moments in deep regret. How different is this from the death of the saints, who met their final moments in peace and joy, having lived their lives faithfully. Life is short. When compared to the v...
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Homily: October 21, 2025, Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time (Sin-Grace)

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 “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.” Really? Yes, absolutely true. There is no doubt that sin is increasing in the world, at least in terms of modern technology. I make this observation based on what priests hear in the confessional. One hundred years ago, people did not confess sins related to television. Thirty years ago, there were no sins involving the internet. Twenty years ago, we didn’t have sins connected to smartphones. Ten years ago, we didn’t have sins committed due to social media. And just a few years ago, no one mentioned sins related to artificial intelligence. From time to time, I have encountered and had to ask the penitents to explain certain words they used in confession and which did not even exist a decade ago! They were new to me, but I am sure Jesus was not stumped like me. Sins come in new forms, but the reality of sin remains the same. Yet, St. Paul reminds us that as sin increases, grace overflows even more. Along with these new challenge...
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Homily: November 16, 2025, Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (End Times )

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 “All that you see here the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” We have reached the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, the last Sunday before we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, which concludes the liturgical year. Naturally, the readings at this time of year turn our attention toward the end times, to the final things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell.  When Jesus foretold the destruction of the Temple, His listeners were shocked. For the Jewish people, the Temple in Jerusalem was the anchor of their faith and center of their life. It was the dwelling place of God, the heart of their worship. And the whole community had poured in their possessions to build this temple. So to be told that the temple would be destroyed must have felt terrible. How could life continue without the Temple? And yet, what Jesus foretold did happen, but only forty years later. The Roman army destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D. What h...
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Homily: April 7, 2024 Second Sunday of Easter Sunday of Divine Mercy

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 Let the house of Israel say, "His mercy endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say, "His mercy endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD say, "His mercy endures forever." We sang these verses in today’s responsorial psalm. God’s mercy endures forever. ‘Forever’ means from the very beginning to the very end of time, God’s mercy ‘endures’. What does it endure? Does it endure just the length of time? No, more than that. It endures the breadth of our sins, and the depth of our hard-heartedness. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they had to bear the consequences of their sins. Even then, we read the scene of God putting together some garments for Man and Woman to cover themselves, who became conscious of their nakedness. This is a beautiful sign of God’s affectionate and compassionate love for the man and woman He created. This is God’s mercy. Thereafter throughout the whole of history, from Abraham to Moses, to Jesus till today, God continues to pur...
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