Homily: Ocotber 8, 2024, Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Purpose)

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"But when He, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me, so that I might proclaim Him to the Gentiles."

St. Paul’s conversion always gives us hope. A persecutor who became a preacher. His transformation was a miracle. Yes, nothing is impossible for God. Paul went around to preach and proclaim what he previously persecuted and sought to prevent its spread.

What struck me deeply is Paul’s belief that “from my mother’s womb, He had set me apart and called me.” That means that the very purpose of his existence was not to persecute the Christians, but to preach the Good News to the Gentiles. St. Paul was born for this, to be an apostle to the Gentiles and an author for nearly 25% of the New Testament books.

When he realized his true calling, he embraced it fully and excelled in it. That is why he said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.” His life would have been meaningless and purposeless if he did not find and fulfill his calling.

Do we know what God is calling us to be? What is our purpose in life?

It is thus crucial that we discern and discover soon what is the purpose we have been set apart for, which is meant for us specifically. If we do not fulfill it, no one else will, and our life could become meaningless, purposeless and restless.

Without this discovery, we will never be satisfied with life, we would continue seeking happiness in the wrong places, and possibly ending in greater despair.

God called us to this life and chose us in Christ even before the foundation of the world. This is the truth.

So let us be open to His divine call, listen keenly to His promptings, look attentively to His signs. If you hear that inner voice stirring your heart, please say "yes" and act upon it. When you find your call, you will find deep peace, you will find true joy, and God will be pleased.

Amen.


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March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

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 In the first reading we heard, “Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.” And then it continued with, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.” It is very clear, isn’t it? That those who turns away from God will be cursed and those who trusts in God will be blessed. The gospel reading today is known as the beatitudes, in which our Lord Jesus also spelled out the curses and the blessings. But it seems much harder to accept what Jesus is teaching here. I too struggle with this. Let us try to understand it together. We have been told that we came from God, and after this life, we will go back to God. For a long time, I questioned the rationale. Why create me to throw me into this difficult life just to bring me back to Him again? Why not just keep me with Him from the beginning and save me the trouble of going through this life? This earthly life is not easy. I w...
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“Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory.” Before Paul was converted, he was enjoying success, recognition, authority and power as a Christian persecutor. But when he encountered Jesus and began to love the Lord and His sheep with all his heart, all his understanding, and all his strength, the sufferings also began to come to him, and he had to ‘bear with everything’. We all suffer in one way or another. We all have our own crosses to carry, but it is important to know whether we are carrying a cross because of salvation or because of our own wrong actions. There is an effect to every cause, and a consequence to every action. The consequence of wrong decisions, foolish actions, prideful deeds, selfish greed, over-ambitious endeavor, unhealthy relationships, financial mismanagement, and addictive habits is suffering. And these are self-inflicted sufferings, they...
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