Homily: May 24, 2024, Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Don't complain).

-

"Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged… Indeed, we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord."

I really wish we had more scripture texts by St. James the Apostle. His short epistle is full of wisdom. He was the earliest among the apostles to receive martyrdom, which is why he did not get to write much.

Look at today’s reading and you can see how much he understood the human condition and was able to preach effectively with relevance to people’s lives. His advice for his listeners in those days is still applicable and very relevant for us in our time. We still struggle with the same issues even after 2,000 years.

Do not complain but count every blessing! That is my constant reminder for myself. Although most of the time, I just needed to vent my anger and frustrations to someone who understands, yet I would always regret it after complaining. Thank God I behave better and complain less now, my humility is still a work in progress.

Truly, if we were to count it seriously, we would find more blessings than misfortunes. God’s blessings are in abundance and beyond measure. Based on our sins and disobedience in many ways, we do not at all deserve these blessings. Still, we are in the habit of complaining about little things and small issues.

Life is not smooth sailing, there are big waves and thunderstorms but let us persevere like Job, like Moses, like all other prophets, like Jesus our Lord. Pope Benedict said, “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!”

The rough times are not permanent anyway, those will pass and if we manage it well with the help of the Holy Spirit, we get strengthened and graced.

Yesterday, I celebrated Mass for the students from Holy Family school, for their graduation from middle school. While preparing to preach, I reflected a lot on my own journey in life, especially the school days. Looking back, without a doubt, I can confidently say that God has been guiding me, loving me, blessing me, and being with me daily leading me closer to holiness.

I have a lot to be thankful for, I am sure you too can count your blessings and be thankful. Our challenges, difficulties, and crosses of life are privileges, there is really nothing to complain about but much to be thankful for. God is good all the time. Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: February 21, 2026, Saturday After Ash Wednesday (Graceful Souls)

-
 “He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.” Some of us would have experienced the grace of God in a very real way at some point in our lives. Perhaps after a very sincere confession, or during a spiritual retreat, maybe during deep prayer, or some may have felt it at Mass. Different people would experience it differently. It could be a sense of lightness when the heaviness of a grave sin has been lifted, an indescribable feeling of deep peace, a sudden vision of clarity. Sometimes we would most undoubtedly know that God is close. There’s probably a certain quiet joy within. There are so many possible signs. If you have ever experienced that unusual but wonderful feeling, you would know what I mean. And if you have not, try to make a good confession, I mean seriously, do it as if today is your last day, and you desperately want to be free from all sin, what we often call ‘deathbed confession’. And you might just get ...
Read more

Homily: June 30, 2026, Tuesday of the Thirteenth week in Oridnary Time (God's Favorite)

-
"You alone have I favored, more than all the families of the earth." Through Amos, God is reaffirming His covenantal relationship with Israel as His chosen nation, as promised to Abraham. It is an affectionate expression of God's faithful love. The rest of this reading is about Amos warning Israel the consequences of turning away from God, intending to bring them back to faithfulness. Despite all the disobedience and unfaithfulness, God loves Israel and continues to favor them specially. He has chosen them and will not back out of His choice. This is truly how God loves. Faithful, unwavering, unchanging. I heard that when someone spoke with Mother Teresa, she would ignore everything else around her and give her full attention to that one person. She remained fully present for as long as that person needed her. St. John Paul II was also well known for giving people that same kind of attention. They did that well because they were really giving God their undivided attention...
Read more

Homily: June 29, 2026, Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles (Fear of God)

-
 "The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him." Today's Responsorial Psalm is so assuring and is so apt for today as we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. Both were faithful and fervent Apostles who had a deep holy fear the Lord - not like the fear of a slave, or being afraid of God, but a loving and reverent fear like that of an obedient child before a righteous and perfect Father. Having a fear of the Lord is the seventh gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift, not something we can earn or obtain on our own, but freely given to us at baptism, connecting us to God with deep respect and love, with a conscience to never want to offend the One who loves us so much. Peter and Paul did not always have this gift. If Peter had possessed this holy fear from the beginning, he would not have denied Jesus three times. Paul, before his conversion, persecuted Christians because he did not yet know the living God. Without knowing God, he could not truly fear Him....
Read more

Homily: November 29, 2023, Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Joy, Fun)

-
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 ...
Read more

Homily: October 20, 2023 Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Secrets).

-
 "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known." Do you have secrets? Are you worried about your secrets being revealed? Do you keep secrets for someone else? Have you been tempted to leak out the secret to another person? Something I realized growing up in a large family, is that in big families, there are no secrets, there is no way to hide any secret, not for long. Someone will somehow find out something. When I was in school, the period after exams is the secretive time. The teachers would enter our examination results in our school journal, to be shown to our parents for their signature, then return to the teachers next day. My brother and I would always get poor grades, and we would hide our school journals, with a plan to only show to our parents the next day just before leaving for school, so that there would not be much time for them to scold us, they could just sign and we would run off quickly to school. The plan never wor...
Read more

Homily: March 6, 2024, Wednesday of the Third week in Lent (Laws)

-
 “Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, 'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’” In today’s first reading, Moses exhorts the people of Israel to be carefully obedient to God’s Law. It is emphasized that if they remain faithful to these statutes, they will be a great nation, ‘truly a wise and intelligent people’. We know how the story developed after this - they became arrogant, rebellious, and disobedient to God, their glory did not last, eventually they ended up in exile and slavery. By nature, humans have been gifted with free will, and thus we do not like to be controlled, restricted, or bound by rules and laws. Yet, without boundaries, society or community will be in chaos. Everyone will be doing as they wish, there will be no order. Thus, laws are everywhere – in the church, in school, in every country, even in the family. It seems like we have no ...
Read more

Homily: June 27, 2026 Satuday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

-
 "He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases." The first reading from the Book of Lamentations paints a heartbreaking picture of Jerusalem after its destruction. The city that once enjoyed glory, security, and God's blessings is now wounded, abandoned, and without comfort. There seems to be no ray of hope. Growing up in a developing country, I saw many people who were born poor, lived poor, and died poor. They accepted it because it was all they had ever known. But I also saw people who had once been wealthy lose everything through bad choices, mistakes, or circumstances. Their suffering was even greater because they knew what they had lost. Jerusalem is like that. She once experienced God's protection and blessings but turned away from Him, and the consequences were devastating. The same can happen to our souls when we choose sin over God. We lose the peace, joy, and strength that come from living in His friendship. But today's Gospel gives us hope. Jesus...
Read more

Homily: December 10, 2023, Second Sunday in advent (Renewal)

-
 But according to his promise, we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. How many of you change your mobile phones about once every one or two years? How many of you change your car once every five years? How many of you change your spouse once every seven years? Thanks be to God! We live in a world of disposables, and they say, ‘change is the only constant’. Many of us prefer new stuff, when something is used or old, we discard and get a brand new one. Some of us prefer the old stuff, we try to repair or renew the existing one. God is the perfect Constant, He does not change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Yet, He is also the perfect Renew-er, He is constantly renewing us, renewing the earth, renewing His creation. St. Paul says that those who are in Christ are a new creation. Are you really in Christ and is Christ fully in you? I just learnt that our human cells renew or regenerate on average every 7-10 years. And do you know that our skin ...
Read more

Homily: Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist, Monday, December 27, 2021

-
  “ They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter…” Today is the 25th death anniversary of my paternal grandmother. I remember vividly that day. My papa had always been a calm and composed man, I hardly see him excited or hurried. But exactly 25 years ago this day, I saw my papa run in anxiety. Early that morning, my grandmother collapsed at home and was unconscious. We had no telephone, no car. There were only three cars in our village and only two families had telephone connection. Papa ran to one family to ask them to drive grandma to the hospital. The rest of us waited in silence at home. Later in the afternoon, our neighbour who had phone connection, ran to our house and reported, "grandma is no more". That was the first time I encountered death in the family. I was eight years old. I didn’t understand what death meant. I knew I would not see grandma at home anymore, I felt sad, because papa was sad. Grandma’s death was certain. But is death final? In the g...
Read more

Homily: August 10, 2025, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

-
 “You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Do you like surprise visits? Some of us do. Recently, I went again to visit my sister and her family. Since the last visit, my 4-year-old nephew had been calling me almost daily and asking me to visit him again. So, this time, I told my sister to keep my trip a secret, I wanted to surprise the little boy. When he saw me finally, his eyes were wide open with disbelief, and his mouth too was wide open in surprise! I will never forget that look on his face, and the exuberant joy of the moment when I hugged and carried him. But not all of us like surprise visits, especially when the visitors come at the wrong time, and we are caught unprepared. When I was in high school, our principal, Fr. George, was very strict. He didn’t talk much, but he knew every student. Occasionally, he would walk along the school corridors, surveying every corner and if he caught any student misbehaving, he would carry ou...
Read more