Homily: February 25, 2024, Second Sunday in lent (Obedient to death)

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 “And in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing— all this because you obeyed my command."

This Sunday’s first reading ends with these words. This is so powerful. God promises Abraham that because of his obedience and faithfulness to God, all the nations of the earth all through the generations will be blessed.

It was a very difficult test that Abraham had gone through, his only son who was born at his old age had to be sacrificed as an offering to God, and he was willing.

How many of us would be willing to do the same?

Abraham, a human father, was willing to sacrifice his only son to please God. Would not God, our heavenly Father be willing to sacrifice His only beloved Son to save His people?

Thus, Abraham proved himself worthy to be the father of all the faithful. His obedience and faithfulness remain to this day, 4000 years later, a perfect model for all of us, his descendants.

God called Abraham out of his comfort to a life of seeking the land promised by God. He obeyed and ultimately fulfilled the purpose of his life.

God has called each of us to this life, to this existence, with a plan for us, a purpose, if we obey and follow, we will also ultimately fulfil our purpose and accomplish great things, not for ourselves but for the world.

When I ponder and reflect upon the journey of my life, more and more I am convinced of this. God’s hands are navigating my life when I surrender to Him, and great things are accomplished through His graces, which I, myself am pleasantly surprised oftentimes.

What about your life? Have you let God take control or are you still fighting to have it your way? Are you still stubbornly aiming to fulfil your own dreams and ambitions, instead of seeking God’s will and purpose for you?

The season of Lent is a perfect time for retreat, review and reflection. So that we can reroute, refocus and return to the track that leads back to God.

Lenten observances help us to meditate on the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord through which He fulfilled his mission, so that we can learn how to also fulfil our mission.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke put the transfiguration of Jesus at the centre of their writings. Before the transfiguration, Jesus was becoming more and more popular among the people. After the transfiguration event, Jesus was becoming more and more hated by the Jewish leaders. Jesus began to prophesy about his passion and death, showing His disciples what it meant to be obedient and faithful to God’s will daily. Like Abraham, Jesus was willing to sacrifice His life even to the point of death, to fulfil God’s plan.

Let us imitate Abraham and let us follow Jesus. Let our obedience and faithfulness bring about abundant blessings for many more generations to come. Amen.


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Homily, Wednesday,January 5, 2022, Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

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Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010522.cfm In the first reading, St. John writes, “Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God”.  Do you truly and fully believe that Jesus is God? Do you know someone who does not believe so? Many, I am sure. Similarly in St. John’s time, there were many early Christian communities who questioned the divinity of Jesus. They followed Jesus’ teachings but regarded Him as simply a human person with the special power to perform miracles. They did not believe He is God. The disbelief stemmed from the humanity of Jesus. He was born from a woman like any other human, he grew from infancy to adulthood in the same way as the rest of humanity. He experienced hunger, pain, emotions and temptations like anyone. But He did not sin. Jesus was indeed fully human, so how could He also be fully divine? Human logic cannot explain it. Science cannot prove it. Thus, many could not accept it. God came to sav...
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 In the 2,000-year history of the Church, monastic orders like the Cistercians and Trappists have existed, and the monks dedicate themselves to a life of deep contemplation and penance. Some of these monks take a vow of perpetual silence, speaking only in an emergency. When they pass each other in the monastery, their silent greeting is "memento mori" - "remember death." They remind each other daily to consider the reality of death and to always be prepared for it. Today, November 2, we commemorate All Souls' Day, remembering all the departed souls in purgatory who long to see God face-to-face. Like the consecrated monks, this commemoration invites us to pause and reflect on our own mortality. Memento mori. Remember death. We probably have said goodbye to many people in our lives: family, friends, relatives, famous people and people who have done great deeds that impacted society. Some of their names may have already faded from our memories. Perhaps we’ve even s...
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Homily:August 18, 2024, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wisdom)

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Homilía: 3 Julio, 2022, XIV Domingo Ordinario

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Homily April 29, Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

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 “And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus”. Even after being flogged, all day long, the disciples continued teaching and preaching everywhere… Amazing, isn’t it?  These past few days, we have been reading from Acts of the Apostles. We see how the Jewish leaders and high priest tried to stop the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus. But they failed. The Pharisee Gamaliel rightly said, “if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” How true. The church is from God. The disciples did not stop teaching and proclaiming. They even rejoiced at being flogged for what they were doing. They were on fire for Jesus. They were so eager and excited to tell everyone about Jesus. What about us? If there is a new restaurant serving delicious food or a store is having a great end-of-summer sale, we would hear many people talking about it. Some w...
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“The angel led me to the gate which faces the east, and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east”.  These words in the first reading remind of the Orthodox and Oriental Churches. When they construct their churches, they would set their church altars to face the east, so that, when the priests celebrate Mass, they will be looking towards that direction. In India, especially in Kerala where I came from, all our church altars face the east. The concept is based on the expectation that Christ would come again, arriving from the east, and the priest is leading the community to the heavenly Jerusalem.  Interestingly, the Hindu temples also face eastwards.  And do you know, the houses in my village are built with the kitchens facing the east also. Why? It has nothing related to the coming of Christ. It has to do with the sunrise. The mothers of the households start cooking when they wake up, and the kitchens are open concept, so the rising sun will provide...
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Christmas Homily 2021,

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Homily: December 10, 2024, Tuesday of the second week In Advent (Word of God)

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Homily: November 2, 2024, The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls); Pleanary Indulgnce.

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