Homily: May 23, 2024, Holy Family school Graduation Mass.

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First, congratulations to all of you for successfully completing middle school! Are you happy that you are graduating?

I graduated from middle school in 1999. That was twenty-five years ago! We did not have a graduation ceremony like this because my school provided pre-K to grade 12 classes all on the same campus. So, we did not leave school, we just moved up to another grade, another class, but thankfully, our teachers organized something simple for us to celebrate that milestone.

I remember during my school days, the hours in class seemed to pass very slowly, but now I look back, time seems to fly by with rocket speed! It will be the same for you, so enjoy being a student now, these could be the best times of your life!

Here, you are the seniors of the school, soon, you will be freshmen in high school, you will be the juniors. You will again look up to the seniors and learn from them. In middle school, your teachers gave you a lot of attention and took care of you. When you go to high school, things will be different, you will be more independent and have to take care of things for yourself.  Are you ready for it?

I am sure you are prepared and looking forward. Just remember that wherever you go, whatever life stage you are in, you will always be a beloved child of God, created in His image and likeness.

In Psalm 139, we read, “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am wonderfully made; awesome are your works.” 

Yes, you are all wonderfully made, lovingly knit together, with great care, with a beautiful purpose. God knew you and loved you before you were born, and that has not changed, God knows you and loves you even now.

In this last chapter of the Gospel of John which we heard, before entrusting Peter with a big mission, Jesus checks if he has what it takes, Jesus asks him: “Do you love me?” Not once, but three times. Because that is the most important criteria to do God’s work, to be Jesus’ disciple, to be a happy human being.

God loves us and He wants us to be truly happy. Nothing is this world can ever make us happy for long. Only God’s love and when we learn to love God, we will find true and lasting happiness.

In today’s second reading, we heard, “Who then can separate us from the love of Christ?”

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, but many little things can stop us from loving Christ. So, it is very important never to fall away from Jesus.

God has great things to accomplish through you. I love this quote from Pope Benedict XVI: “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!”

And He will strengthen us to accomplish greatness, our purpose in life. Today’s first reading assures us, “He gives strength to the weary; and new vigor to those who are powerless - those who place their hope in the Lord will regain strength.”

Place your hope in the Lord, trust in His ways, remain in His love, and love Him with your heart, and your mind, you’re your soul. With this, you will find happiness in your next phase of life, you will find happiness in your forever. I wish you joy, I wish you love, I wish you happiness, I wish you Jesus. Amen.


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Homily: December, 22,2024, Fourth Sunday in Advent (Mother- Peace)

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Homily: January 26, 2025, Thir Sunday in Ordinary time (God - Today)

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 “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus is a man of “today”. Throughout the Gospels, we hear Him emphasize the significance of the present moment: • “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” • “Today salvation has come to this house.” • “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Even in the prayer He taught us, He said, “Give us this day (today) our daily bread.” In Luke’s Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus is just beginning His public ministry and has not performed miracles of healing the blind and deaf etc, but He boldly declares that the Scripture passage which prophesied how things would be when the Messiah arrives is fulfilled in their presence, thus He is almost making an announcement that He is the Messiah, that He is the fulfillment of the prophesy. Indeed, our Messiah comes not to be crowned a worldly king, but to lower Himself down to heal and help us. And He is present and actively reaching out to us in our ‘todays’, every da...
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Homily: January, 8, 2025 Wednesday after Epiphany (Take courage)

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Holy family school Homily Did you listen carefully to today’s first reading and the Gospel? There are two phrases that really struck me. From the Gospel, Jesus says, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid!” And from the first reading: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear…" Let me ask you: is there anyone here who has no fear, who does not fear anything at all? Do you think I have any fears? Oh yes, I do! I do not fear death, illness, wild animals, reptiles, or insects. But I am fearful of dark places and confined spaces. I do not fear crowds of people, but believe it or not, I fear preaching! Yes, every time I walk up to the ambo to preach, my heart starts beating heavily. Thankfully, I’m getting better at managing that fear. While I do not fear death for myself, I am afraid of losing my loved ones. When I was in 4th grade, one of my best friends lost his dad suddenly. From that time, I started fearing that I might lose my own parents too. Eventually,...
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Homily: January 23, 2023, Monday of the Third week in Ordinary Time.

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 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” This is applicable to any kingdom, any organisation, any group, and of course, it applies to church, the kingdom of God here on earth as well. We see decline and weakening of organisations where divisions exist. Is the church, the kingdom of God here on earth divided or united? In this so-called modern society, it is not difficult to see many divisive opinions and views. Many people strongly advocate abortion, same-sex marriage, and other behaviour which the church has explicitly identified as unacceptable. Yet these people claim to be catholic. They justify their arguments based on their own ideologies and political principles, not on the church’s teachings. And there are church leaderships who keep silent regarding these issues for fear of losing popularity. Yes, God forgives but we cannot take God’s mercy for granted and live like ...
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Homily: January 10, 2023, Tuesday of the first week in Ordinary Time.

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In today’s first reading, St. Paul is writing to the Hebrews to tell them about the dignity with which God created the first man, “You crowned him with glory and honour, subjecting all things under his feet.” This was our original state. We were subject to God only, and all else, the whole of creation, were subject to us. But with one fall, a single sin, we lost our glorious state, and became subject to many other things, even to nature and its forces.  In today’s world, we are still enslaved. The greatest slave master is the social media. Many children are addicted to it and can’t live without their gadgets. Through easy access to social media and its influences, these children are also exposed to drugs, alcohol, pornography, promiscuity and other illegal and immoral activities easily. Many adults too are vulnerable to these. Who introduced gadgets and social media to the children? Their parents, the adults. Slavery is passed down from one generation to another. It all began with ...
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"She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger..." This Gospel scene brings me back to one special day when I was in grade eight. My eldest sister was back at home from college for summer vacation. The rest of my family were out of the house for a parish event, and so it was just the two of us at home. Before leaving the house, my mother had pre-empted us that one of our she-goats on the farm was ready to give birth, although she did think it might happen in a few more days. However, shortly after my parents and other siblings left the house, the she-goat or doe went into labor and gave birth to three babies: two males, one female. The baby doeling was very weak and looked unhealthy, my sister and I did not know what to do. So we called our grandmother on the phone, and she explained to us how to take care of the newborn kids. Following her instructions, we used iodine to treat the navel cords to prevent infection, cleaned up the birth site, made a nice bed of...
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Homily: August 14, 2022, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Homily: December 2, 2024 Monday of the First Week in Advent (Banquet)

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 "I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven." Do you have a favorite saint who inspires you? How would you feel if you got to meet this saint in real, and had a meal together? In today’s Gospel text, Jesus describes the banquet in heaven. Imagine that glorious day when we will all recline at the heavenly banquet together with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and your favorite saint! All the saints, the martyrs, the prophets we have read about in the Old Testament and the apostles of Jesus will all be present too. How wonderful that will be! At the head of the banquet table we see Jesus, gloriously radiant, with the Father and the Holy Spirit united as one, and Mother Mary right beside them! That is just the heavenly banquet we can describe; I am sure the real thing will be much more wonderful. Every time we celebrate Holy Mass, we get a tiny glimpse, a foretaste of that heavenly b...
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Homily: September 11, 2023, Monday of the twenty third week in Ordinary time.

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“The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him”.  Today’s miracle healing took place in a synagogue on a Sabbath, the Lord’s holy day, in the Lord’s holy place. But when we follow this reading closely and try to visualize what the scribes and Pharisees were doing, we can really understand why Jesus considered them hypocrites. We also wonder, why did the Pharisees go to their synagogues? What was the Sabbath to them? The Sabbath is a day for prayer and thanksgiving to God for the week that passed, for rest and relaxation from a week of labor, a day to recall and recollect how God saved their forefathers from slavery and gave them hope of a Messiah. It is a day to fellowship with their fellow Jews to celebrate the blessings received, as one race, one people of God. However, sadly, the scribes and Pharisees here weren't even truly hearing the message of love, compassion, and mercy from Jesus ...
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