Homily: September 11, 2024 Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (best attitudes)

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 "Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven."

When I was a small boy, I used to look up in the sky when I heard a plane fly by. At that time, no one in my village had ever flown in an airplane before, so my dream was to fly in a plane to a place far away from my home. I thought that would be the day I would be very happy. Today I am here in the USA, more than 8 thousand miles away!

Do you have a dream for yourself?

We all have dreams, and whatever our dreams are, we all believe that when they come true, we will be very happy.

I too have a dream for Holy Family School. I dream that every student who comes to this school will experience joy, that they will be happy learning and growing together, to make good friends and create beautiful memories here, and that every student here will gain not just great knowledge of the world, but also develop a deep understanding and love for God.

Today’s Gospel passage is known as the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are the "best attitudes" for a joyful Christian life. 

How many of you want to be joyful or happy in life?

I am sure we all want to be happy, not just sometimes, but all the time, always and forever.

Some people think that they will be happy when they get more money, a bigger house, a fancier car, a smarter phone etc. Some people make fun of or bully others and get some laughs from it. Some even turn to alcohol or drugs to get a quick high feeling. Those might give some momentary feelings of happiness, but they will not last. What follows are regret, guilt and feelings of lowliness and loneliness.

True happiness is an inside job, not dependent on what we get or how things are on the outside of us. To be truly happy always, we must follow the beatitudes of Jesus.

The happiness that Jesus gives is fulfilling and permanent, and it is experienced even when we are poor, hungry, hated, or excluded, in the name of Jesus. For as long as we live for Jesus, and offer our life to Him, deep inside us we will have true peace and joy.

Beyond your happy years in this school, I also dream of the day after this life is done, when all of us will be together again in heaven. That will definitely be the happiest day ever, it will be the greatest reward to receive!

We will rejoice and leap for joy on the day we see Jesus face to face and find all of us there too!

I think it is a beautiful dream, and I will pray that it will all come true.

Amen!


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Homily: October 5, 2025, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wait-God's Time)

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Holy Family School Mass "He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to His own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began." There are many important points to note in this verse, I will highlight four: One, God saved us. Two, we are called to a holy life. Three, not by our works, but by God’s design. Four, and by the grace of Jesus Christ. Let me check your general knowledge. Can you name some well-known religions in the world? Yes, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism. Do you know any friends who believe in any of these religions? Well, I did too when I was in school. That was in India. I had school friends who were Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists. Although I attended a Catholic school, majority of the students were Hindus, Catholics were a minority. We had school Mass on Fridays, right before the lunch break. During this time, the Muslim students w...
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Homilía: 23 de Octubre 2022, XXX Domingo ordinario (ES)

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 "Those who have never been told of Him shall see, and those who have never heard of Him shall understand."  While the Apostles went around preaching to the Jews, Paul was preaching to the Gentiles, because he wanted to reach ‘those who have never been told of Him’ and ‘those who have never heard of Him’. Yesterday, during our priest study day, our speaker Fr. Patrick Mary said that we are living in a post-Christendom era. Evangelizing the Gentiles and pagans in the early days were about shifting their belief in pagan gods to the one true God. But today, we are dealing with people who believe in nothing, it is a bigger challenge. They have been told of Him, but do not believe. They have heard of Him but refuse to understand. How do we shake and wake people up to the truth? When I was in middle school, there were Jehovah's Witnesses in our small town, and they distributed flyers everywhere proclaiming that the world was going to end. They warned people that for them to be ...
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