Homily: May 28, 2024, Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

-

“Set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

St. Peter advises the people to focus on grace, to set their hopes completely on it. But what is grace, really?

Surprisingly, Google provides a very appropriate and theologically accurate answer. It says grace refers to “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.”

So unworthy are we, yet God’s favor rests on us. We are graced.

So undeserving are we, yet God is lovingly benevolent towards us. We are graced.

So deep in sin are we, yet God sent His Son to die so that we are redeemed from eternal death. We are graced.

In his suffering, St. Paul pleaded with the Lord to spare him the thorn, but Jesus comforted and encouraged St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Indeed, it was grace that helped St. Paul go through his pain. Similarly, for all of us, God’s grace is sufficient, with it we overcome everything, we overcome sin, we overcome death.

Where can we find and obtain grace?

The principal source of grace is the sacraments. The sacrament that confers divine grace fully is the Holy Eucharist. The more open we are to the sacraments, the more abundantly we would be graced.

Our generous loving God, through His Church and ordained ministers, wants to shower us with His grace abundantly and wonderfully.

With a gift so precious, valuable, and divine, would we be so foolish as to miss it? Would we be so insane as to deny it?

Instead, let us set our hopes completely on grace. Through the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, where the divine enters humanity, may we be filled with sanctifying grace, to enter divinity and eternity.

His grace is sufficient for us. Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: May 20, 2026 Holy Family School Graduation Mass

-
 We just heard the first reading from Isaiah: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.” Today is a wonderful milestone in your life. You must be so eager to go out and soar on wings like eagles!! But note what is the condition before this line: “Those who hope in the Lord…” Do you remember how it was when you first came to Holy Family School? Some of you came when you were tiny kids. Some of you could not even speak English. Many of you must have been anxious because everything was new to you, teachers and classmates, rules and environment… But over time, days, months and years passed, this school has become your second home. These hallways hold many memories for every one of you: laughter, friendships, victories, even tears, fears and disappointments. There might have been times when you thought you would never make it through. But you did, you got through, you are here now, celebrating the fact that you did not give up, you kept ...
Read more

Homily: May 26, 2026 Tuesday of the Eighth week in Ordinary Time (Leave Everything)

-
 "Peter began to say to Jesus, 'We have given up everything and followed you.'" When I was young, I was very careful with my money, just like my mother. I hardly had much to start with, but I also hardly spent any of my pocket money, so with the little I had, I saved. I even made some money by collecting wild honey in the forest and took some spices from the family farm to sell in the market. Money was very important, and every cent I had meant a lot to me. When I entered the seminary, I knew I would not want to join the religious orders as priest, because they have to take a vow of poverty. Diocesan priests do not need to, so I decided to be a diocesan priest. Soon, I learnt to let go, and gradually I stopped clinging to things as if they defined me. After I joined the seminary, our parish was raising funds to purchase new vestments. Since I was not allowed to keep money with me in the seminary, my parents donated all my years of savings for that fund raising. I woul...
Read more

Homily: May 2-2026 Memorial of St.Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

-
 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.” Jesus is one with the Father. Jesus is not just a teacher or a prophet. He is the eternal Son of God— fully divine and fully human. He took on our human nature to save us, to redeem us, to bring us back to the Father. Today, the Church celebrates Athanasius of Alexandria, one of the great defenders of this truth. He lived in the 4th century and served as the bishop of Alexandria. At that time, a serious error began to spread in the Church. A priest named Arius taught that Jesus was not truly God— that He was only a creature, that He was created, and not equal to the Father. This teaching was very popular. Many people followed it.  St. Athanasius stood firm. Even as a young deacon, he defended the true faith. In the year 325, the Church gathered at the Council of Nicaea. There, the bishops proclaimed clearly: I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only...
Read more

Homily: May 23, 2026, Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter (Scripture is enough)

-
 “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” Once I walked into our youth Bible study, and they were discussing the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish apocalyptic text traditionally connected to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. They asked me questions about it. I had read it myself when I was their age, mostly out of curiosity, but honestly, I do not remember much of its content. There are also several other apocryphal writings, like the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. But the Church never considered them inspired Scripture, because many of them were written decades after the death of the last Apostle, St. John. Public Revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. Sometimes I also wish the Bible had more details about Jesus’ infancy and His hidden life. But St. John reminds us today that the world its...
Read more

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

-
 "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...
Read more

Homily: April 28, 2026, Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter (Simple Faith )

-
 “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” There is a famous English comedian, Rowan Atkinson, who is well known for his act as Mr. Bean. He once shared that sometimes people went up to him to comment that he looked like Mr. Bean. To which he would respond, “I am Mr. Bean.” But they would insist, “No, no, you just look like him!” It sounds funny but this is exactly what is happening in today’s Gospel. The people asked Jesus, “Tell us plainly, are you the Christ?” They had seen His works and heard His profound teaching. There had never been anyone like Him. No one had performed the miracles He performed. No one had fulfilled the prophecies from old, only He did. Everything pointed to Him as the long-awaited Messiah. Those who knew the Scriptures should have recognized Him easily. Then why were they still asking? Simple answer. They were in denial. They knew, but they refused to acknowledge it. They probably thought they were too intelli...
Read more

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

-
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 hig...
Read more

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

-
 “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...
Read more

Homily: March 7, Saturday of the Second Week In Lent (Endless Love)

-
 “Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.” When I read this Gospel, sometimes I ask myself honestly: If I were that father, how would I respond? Of course, I would be happy that my son returned home. But I don’t think I would be this happy. First I might want to hear his apology. I might remind him of the mistakes he made. And since there is another son at home who is angry, I would probably try to be careful not to appear too generous. But this father does something completely different. He does not wait for explanations. He does not ask questions. He does not punish. He runs toward his son, embraces him, and restores him with dignity. To understand how radical this is, we have to remember the culture of that time. In Jewish tradition, children received their inheritance only after the father’s death. For this younger son to demand his share early was like saying: “Father, I wish y...
Read more

Homily: April 19, 2026, Third Sunday of Easter (God Walk with us )

-
 “Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” When I was a child, I walked a lot. Because few families owned a car, including my family and there was hardly any public transportation in my village. So, everybody walked. One of my earliest memories in life was walking with my grandfather. He brought me along wherever he went. We walked along the narrow village roads, through farms and plantations. Sometimes I would walk slowly by his side. Sometimes I would run ahead a few steps, then pause to wait for him, and then I would run ahead again. I still enjoy going on walks, with nowhere specific to go to, just strolling around leisurely, sometimes with my nieces and nephews, with friends, or alone, just to enjoy the scenery and fresh air. It is always especially pleasant to walk with someone you love, respect or are comfortable with. In today’s Gospel, we see a life-changing walk. On the day of the Resurrection, two disciples of Jes...
Read more