Homily: August 6, 2024, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Transfigration Glory).

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“Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

What Peter said so spontaneously reflects an instinctive desire common to all human beings.

I was away last few days in Colorado Springs. I went there to meet my second sister and her children for a short vacation. She needed the vacation, I was there to accompany her. But honestly, I did not want to come back to reality, I would have loved to continue the vacation forever. I was relaxed and free.

I can understand Peter’s suggestion. He had just seen the full glory of his master, this mountain is the best place to be, why go back to the troubles and dangers in the town? Surely, he would prefer to stay on this mountain forever.

Similarly, in life there would be moments when we experience deep satisfaction, pure happiness, love and peace, we would want that moment to last forever, we want things to stay that way. We wouldn’t want to go back to how things were before, and we wouldn’t want that moment to change.

But life cannot be on a standstill. Jesus had a mission to accomplish, so He had to go back down the mountain. And each of us have a purpose to fulfil, we too have to step out of our comfort zone.

At that moment when Peter made that suggestion, God spoke from a cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”

What was Jesus going to tell them or teach them after the Transfiguration?

Jesus told them everything about His passion, death, and being rejected by His own people. He also foretold His resurrection. He taught them how to serve, about forgiveness and mercy. He showed them what true love means on the cross.

Did they listen to Jesus? Did they understand?

Are we listening to Jesus? Do we understand?

Like Peter, James and John, we too want to live in the glory of Jesus forever. But on this feast of the Transfiguration, we are reminded that to live in Jesus’ glory is to live as God wills. Jesus lives to glorify God the Father, and in turn, the Father glorifies the Son.

As Jesus walked down the mountain after His glorious transfiguration, back to the reality of His earthly life, He showed His disciples and shows us that His full glory comes from His unwavering faithfulness, strengthens through His passion, bursts through His death, and lasts forever through His resurrection.

If we want to live in His glory, we must live like He did while on earth.

Lord, grant us the grace to be faithful in our living, joyful in our serving, steadfast in our suffering, and fearless in our dying. May we then live in your glory in our eternity. Amen.


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Homily, Wednesday,January 5, 2022, Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

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Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010522.cfm In the first reading, St. John writes, “Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God”.  Do you truly and fully believe that Jesus is God? Do you know someone who does not believe so? Many, I am sure. Similarly in St. John’s time, there were many early Christian communities who questioned the divinity of Jesus. They followed Jesus’ teachings but regarded Him as simply a human person with the special power to perform miracles. They did not believe He is God. The disbelief stemmed from the humanity of Jesus. He was born from a woman like any other human, he grew from infancy to adulthood in the same way as the rest of humanity. He experienced hunger, pain, emotions and temptations like anyone. But He did not sin. Jesus was indeed fully human, so how could He also be fully divine? Human logic cannot explain it. Science cannot prove it. Thus, many could not accept it. God came to sav...
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Homily: February 27, 2022, Eight Sunday in the Ordinary Time

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 In the 2,000-year history of the Church, monastic orders like the Cistercians and Trappists have existed, and the monks dedicate themselves to a life of deep contemplation and penance. Some of these monks take a vow of perpetual silence, speaking only in an emergency. When they pass each other in the monastery, their silent greeting is "memento mori" - "remember death." They remind each other daily to consider the reality of death and to always be prepared for it. Today, November 2, we commemorate All Souls' Day, remembering all the departed souls in purgatory who long to see God face-to-face. Like the consecrated monks, this commemoration invites us to pause and reflect on our own mortality. Memento mori. Remember death. We probably have said goodbye to many people in our lives: family, friends, relatives, famous people and people who have done great deeds that impacted society. Some of their names may have already faded from our memories. Perhaps we’ve even s...
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Homily:August 18, 2024, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wisdom)

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Homilía: 3 Julio, 2022, XIV Domingo Ordinario

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Homily April 29, Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

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 “And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus”. Even after being flogged, all day long, the disciples continued teaching and preaching everywhere… Amazing, isn’t it?  These past few days, we have been reading from Acts of the Apostles. We see how the Jewish leaders and high priest tried to stop the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus. But they failed. The Pharisee Gamaliel rightly said, “if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” How true. The church is from God. The disciples did not stop teaching and proclaiming. They even rejoiced at being flogged for what they were doing. They were on fire for Jesus. They were so eager and excited to tell everyone about Jesus. What about us? If there is a new restaurant serving delicious food or a store is having a great end-of-summer sale, we would hear many people talking about it. Some 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...
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Christmas Homily 2021,

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Homily: December 10, 2024, Tuesday of the second week In Advent (Word of God)

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Homily: November 2, 2024, The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls); Pleanary Indulgnce.

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