Homily: March 11, 2024, Mnday of the fourth week in Lent (Need signs and wonders to believe)

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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-one-year-old grandfather. I am the only priest among his 15 grandchildren, and I have always prayed to be able to see him again before he passed away and to preside over his funeral.

Before the churches closed during the pandemic, my grandfather attended daily mass, served as a trustee of his parish for several years, and healed many people as a physician practicing traditional medicine. We were all very proud of him and I was especially fond of him.

A few days before my flight to India, I was told he suddenly became unresponsive and did not get out of bed. Again, I prayed for a miracle, but I doubted, recalling how my prayers for mommy and papa were not answered the way I wanted.

Amazingly, I was able to visit him, spend couple of hours with him on the very day I arrived. A few hours after I left his house, he passed away satisfied and at peace. I celebrated his funeral the next day.

Praise the Lord! Finally, I received a miracle!

No wonder Jesus says, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe…"

Even His ordained priest has faith so weak and so flickering.

If grandpa had passed away before I arrive, would I still praise God? Would I still believe in Him?

Many of us seek miracles when we face huge challenges or desperate situations in our lives. But the truth is, every day is a miracle. Every breath we take is a miracle. Every Holy Mass when God comes to be in communion with us, is a miracle. At reconciliation when every stain of our sin is wiped away, is a miracle.

Do we really need signs and wonders to believe? Do we not see that the Holy Eucharist is the greatest sign of God’s love, mercy and grace? Do we not see that our very existence is the greatest wonder of God’s creation?

No. We do not need more miracles, but we need better sight. We do not need signs and wonders, but we need eyes of faith. Lord Jesus, open my eyes and let me see all that you have already done for me. Amen.


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Homily: April 23, 2024, Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter (Exciting news).

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Homily: April 6, 2024, Saturday in the octave of Easter (First five saturday devotion.)

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Thank you all for continuing to come for Saturday morning Mass. When I was little, my family used to attend Saturday morning Mass together and will always end with the Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. To me, that is a beautiful devotion for the whole family. I have wanted to start Saturday morning Mass when I first came to SAC but didn’t know if it will catch on with the parishioners. Last year, I attended an evening talk about Our Lady of Fatima at St. Augustine Parish and came to know about the First Five Saturday devotion, and I was again motivated. Finally, today being the first Saturday of the month, we can begin. Let me share a bit more about this devotion. Sr. Lucia was one of the three shepherd children visionaries to whom our Blessed Mother appeared for six months in 1917 in Fatima. Later when Lucia grew up and joined the convent in Spain, our Blessed Mother appeared to her again on December 10, 1925, with this message, “Behold, my daughter, my Heart encircled with thorns
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Homily: March 24, 2022, Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

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Homily, March 22, 2022, Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent.

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Homily: March 25, 2024, Monday of the Holy week (Servant songs).

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“A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.” There are four passages in the book of the prophet Isaiah known as ‘Servant Songs’, or ‘Songs of the Suffering Servant’.  Today’s first reading is taken from the first song. The next two days we will read from another two songs. These are prophecies about Jesus, written 700 years before His birth, and they reveal the mission and disposition of the Messiah. This first song describes the most important disposition of Jesus and His very purpose on earth. A bruised weed is a stalk of grain which is crushed and broken in such a way that it will never produce any grain again. It is a dying stalk. This refers to the poor and oppressed, so miserable is their life such that they can never on their own, rise above their poverty and neediness. Their only hope is having someone to lift them out of their situation. A smoldering wick mi
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Homily March 20, 2022, Third Sunday of Lent Year A Readings (For RCIA)

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Homily: September 25, 2022, Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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From the gospel, “He raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side”. The poor man who went to heaven in this parable had a name: Lazarus. The rich man who went to hell had no name. Our name is our identity. Our relationship to God is our identity. And we are all children of God, He calls each of us by name, both on earth and in heaven. In another gospel passage Jesus told his disciples, “Rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). The rich man may have enjoyed a life of comfort and luxury on earth, but he did not have a relationship with God. Thus in Jesus’ story, he had no name. Now, how did Lazarus get to heaven? Was it because of his poverty. No. How did the rich man end up in hell? Was it because of his wealth? Of course, not. What we have or have not, is not the deciding factor of our destiny after this life.  Our eternity depends on how we use what we have been given. We do not know if the rich man committed any mortal sins in his life, but w
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Homily: August 20, 2022, Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

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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 the much need
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Homily: February 27, 2022, Eight Sunday in the Ordinary Time

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For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022722.cfm There were two brothers who lived debauched lives engaging in terrible deeds. They were notorious yet not at all ashamed. Then one brother died. The surviving brother asked the local pastor to preach at his brother’s funeral. The pastor, aware of the brothers’ background, was reluctant to do it. The brother then promised to donate a big sum of money to the church and begged the pastor to preach with a special request. “Father, in your homily, you just have to say that my brother was a saint.” The pastor thought about it and agreed. The funeral day came. The pastor began his homily, “The man laid in the casket was a rotter; he led a horrible and debauched life. He was truly rotten to the bone. But compared to his brother, he was a saint.” Saintly life or shoddy living – Would the priest at our own funeral have to be paid to tell a lie? It all depends on what kind of fruit we produce from the way we live. Usually, we cannot
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Homily: November 7, 2023, Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time (Invitation).

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“Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame." Today’s gospel story really struck me deep. The poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame: who are they? At the time of Jesus, these were the people who were despised, considered imperfect and looked upon by society as people abandoned by God, cursed and thus without the blessing of wealth nor health. And because of their imperfections, being rejected by society, they can't do many things on their own, opportunities are blocked, doors are closed to them. They only have one hope - God. They have no one else to depend on. Conversely, those who were better off, those blessed with wealth and health, who were the first guests invited to the grand dinner, were so busy with their own affairs, and engrossed in their own world that they had little or no regard for the invitation.  They were independent, they did not think they needed to deepen their relationship w
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