Homily: July 27, 2024, Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

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 "This is the temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!"

In the first reading, we hear Jeremiah making this exclamation repeatedly and fervently. 

And in the responsorial psalm, we too repeated, “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!”

In times of war and disaster around the world, when common folks lose their homes or safety, very often many would seek shelter and safety in churches. The temple of the Lord is indeed a safe place, not just for the body and mind, but more importantly, for the soul.

We have many beautiful churches all around the world, old and new. Our very own SAC is an old but grand and beautiful building. I have seen many visitors' faces light up as they enter and admire the architecture, the organ, the stained glass, everything.

From the first reading, it is clear that the temple of the Lord is not just about the physical building, it is also about the community. Being part of this community, we are all called to ‘thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds’ as Jeremiah spoke boldly on behalf of the Lord.

When Bishop Barron addressed the Eucharistic Congress, he greeted, “Hello, fellow sinners.” On one of his first general audiences, Pope Francis too began his talk with this description: “the church is full of sinners, a sinful pope, sinful cardinals, sinful bishops and priests, sinful deacons, and sinful laity.”

We all are sinners, and we form the body of the church. But we do not remain sinful, we come to church to be reformed, to be changed, to become more and more like the Head of the church – Jesus Christ, who is Holy. In other words, we all are work-in-progress journeying toward holiness.

We are wheat sown by the Lord, struggling to grow while being surrounded by weeds planted by the evil one. God allows them to grow alongside the wheat, because He does not want to sacrifice our survival in the process of weeding out evil. He waits patiently for us to reach perfection, and it will be time for separating and harvesting.

As we continue in our pursuit of holiness, let us never be discouraged by the evil we see around us but be focused on receiving as much graces as we can absorb as nutrients for our spiritual strength and always look to the light of God’s word for our direction for growth.

Our goal is heaven, our destiny is eternity. We believe and trust firmly in God’s promise that the gates of hades will never prevail against His temple, the church.

We are the temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!

Amen.


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

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 But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.  Why did Jesus say this? Shouldn’t we resist and fight evil, so that we can keep ourselves holy? I remember years ago, I was traveling in a non-Christian country, and I had in my hand-carry bag, a zip-lock pouch of unconsecrated hosts for celebrating Mass during my trip. At customs, the officer checked my bag, took out the zip-lock pouch containing the hosts, then with one hand, crushed them all into pieces, and put them back into my bag. I felt great anger, and I felt deep sadness. I did not say a word. I knew saying anything about it would not make any difference, it would only complicate my travels. Utter disrespect! Such evil! In my heart I wanted to curse them. In today’s first reading, we see another example. King Ahab was wealthy, powerful, he had everything he needed and more, but he was not satisfied. He was greedy. He desired Naboth’s vineyard. So, his queen, Jezebel, made false accusations against Naboth, ha...
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Homily: November 29, 2023, Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Joy, Fun)

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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 ...
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Homily: May 14, Feast of St. Mathias (Chosen)

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"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you”.  Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Matthias, who was not at first one of the twelve nor part of the inner circle of Jesus. He was chosen later into the college of apostles, to take the place of Judas. In the first reading, we saw how the apostles prayed and asked the Lord to show them whom He had chosen, someone who had accompanied them ‘the whole time’. They then cast their lots and God’s choice was revealed. Did God choose Matthias only at that point when the apostles had to replace Judas? Or did God already planned and prepared Matthias ‘the whole time’ when he was following Jesus throughout His ministry, and remained in the community even after the crucifixion? St. Paul says, “He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world…” Can you imagine, right up to this point in your life and mine, you and I are present right now in this holy place not by chance, but by choice. Through our own decisions nevertheless, but not w...
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Homily: October 19, 2025, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Constant Prayer)

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 “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?” These questions from Jesus in today’s Gospel invites us to reflect on the secret of a powerful prayer. What makes prayers powerful? When we pray for a particular intention, and the intention is fulfilled, we conclude that the prayer was powerful. Jesus questions us to reflect and realize that God is the generous One, who gives us the rights to call out to Him, day and night. God is the patient one, who will answer our prayers timely – His time, not ours. Recently past, one of my sisters told me of a problematic situation she has been trying hard to resolve, but it didn’t. I then suggested to her to pray the novena to our Lady, Undoer of Knots, and she did, she prayed the novena faithfully. Then last week, she called me with great excitement. “The prayer worked!” Her intentions were fulfilled, her prayers were answered according to her wish. Like her, many of ...
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Homily: Janaury 10, 2026, Saturday after Epiphany

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 The one begotten by God He protects, and the Evil One cannot touch him. Through our baptism, each one of us was claimed by God. We were called by name, welcomed into the Church, and sealed with the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. From that moment on, we belong to God. Because of this, the Evil One has no power over a baptized Christian. He cannot simply take control of us. He can tempt, distract, confuse, and deceive, but he cannot touch us unless we freely give him permission. In my 9 years of priesthood, I have been asked only a few times to assist with cases related to exorcism. In each situation, careful discernment was required. Most cases involved mental health struggles or minor disturbances, not true possession. The Church is always very cautious. An exorcist asks many questions, not only to understand what is happening, but also to see how a door may have been opened. Very often, when something serious is involved, there has been a violation of the F...
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 “Since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” In the spiritual tradition of the Church, we often talk about the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell. Death is certain for each one of us. We will all die one day.  Judgment is also certain. It is part of our encounter with God. He is the ultimate Judge. Then the final destination. It is not heaven and hell, it is heaven or hell. Each of us will have the freedom to choose. Do you think everyone will choose heaven? Many do not want hell, but that does not mean they want heaven. Choosing heaven means choosing God, choosing His will. This is where we all failed. Everyone has sinned. But in today’s first reading, the prophet Ezekiel gives all of us a great big hope: our past does not have the final word. The hope is that if a person turns away from sin, if they repent and choose what is right, they shall live - repent and believe in the Gospel! Many people, myself ...
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